SCRIPTURES A CALVINIST WILL NEVER TEACH
II Peter 1:10, “Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fail.”
All of mankind was in a predicament because all of mankind had sinned, those sins were recorded in Heaven, and God placed a price of death in Hell on those sins. As a result three things had to happen in order for man to go to Heaven at death. One, his sins had to be removed from those records in Heaven. Two, no future sins could be recorded on those records. Three, Jesus’ righteousness had to be placed on those records in Heaven.
ELECTION is the doctrine that means something that God Himself chooses by His Sovereignty! There are some who teach that salvation has to do with ELECTION. They say that God by His Sovereignty chooses who will be saved. That is simply not true! Man chooses whether he is saved or not. He either accepts or rejects God’s payment of His only begotten Son for sin.
Some teach God knew who would be saved and so He then elected them to be saved. That is not the doctrine of ELECTION. The doctrine of ELECTION has nothing to do with salvation, but it has to do strictly with our working for God.
A man is saved by trusting Jesus Christ as payment for his sins, God wipes away all of his sins, refuses to record future sins, and places Jesus’ righteousness on the saved person’s record in Heaven. He is declared innocent, as if he had never sinned at all. God appeases Himself! God sets the saved person apart for a future life in Heaven. God gives him a new birth and a new creature to escort him to Heaven.God gives the saved person the person of the Holy Spirit to convert him to usefulness for God. God prepares a glorified body for the saved person to give him when he arrives in Heaven. God made RECONCILIATION possible so that man could fellowship with God Himself. God preserves the saved person for Heaven. This is amazing because all of that took place the moment the saved person placed his or her faith in Jesus Christ for salvation!
Now comes the doctrine of ELECTION! God elected me to be in the ministry! God elected my sons to be pastors! When you were saved God commanded you to be baptized, join a local church, tithe and give offerings, and go soul winning; second His ELECTION is to put you into and area of ministry to others. In essence ELECTION has to do with you working for God. No one is elected for Heaven or elected for Hell. That is as much heresy as a bloodless religion is or a non-inspired Bible is!
When God saved me at age eleven at 132 E. Michigan Ave., Galesburg, Michigan, in February of 1957 He cleared my record in Heaven, declared me justified or innocent, appeased Himself, court adjourned, He gave me a new creature, He gave me the Holy Spirit, He prepared a glorified body for me in Heaven, gave me an opportunity to fellowship with Him, preserved me for Heaven, and elected me to be in the ministry.
ISRAEL WAS CALLED AN ELECT NATION
Romans chapters 9, 10, and 11 you find that Israel was not chosen for salvation but was chosen by God to do a unique work in the world. She was chosen by God to give us the Scriptures, give us the Messiah, and give us the local New Testament church. In Matthew chapter 10 all of the members of the first Baptist church of Jerusalem were all Jews. Israel was chosen by God to present the Gospel to the world.
When God elected Israel to do all of that He was saying I need a nation to give the Scriptures too, the Messiah too, the local New Testament church too, and the Gospel too! God is not saying I have chosen Israel to go to Heaven and all the other nations to go to Hell. No, God elected Israel to do a particular work for Him on earth.
A LOCAL NEW TESTAMENT CHURCH IS CALLED “THE ELECT LADY”
II John 1:1, “The elder unto the elect lady…” The local New Testament church is called “…the elect lady…” Does that mean that everybody who’s a member of a local church is elected to go to Heaven? Oh, no! ELECTION is not about going to Heaven or Hell in the Scriptures! The local church has been elected to be the instrument of the propagation of the Gospel in your area of the nation.
Israel was elected for a particular work for God on earth. Every local New Testament church is elected to spread the Gospel on earth. ELECTION is when my sons were saved God said, “I’m going to elect Bob Gray II and Scott Gray Sr. to be the pastors of local New Testament churches. At salvation God elected you to do what you are doing for God.
Here is the question! Your calling is to be a soul winner! Are you doing it? Your election is to do a specific work for God on earth at this very moment! Are you doing it?
Israel was an ELECT nation. Elected to Heaven or Hell? No! Elected to give the world the Saviour, Scriptures, Gospel, and New Testament. The local New Testament church is the “elect lady.” Elected to Heaven or Hell? No! Elected to give the Gospel to every human being on earth for God! This was not given to “Youth For Christ,” “Child Evangelism,” “Gideons,” “Campus Crusade,” “Bill Bright Ministries,” “The 700 Club,” or any Para-church organization. God has elected the local New Testament church not to Heaven or Hell, but to spread the Gospel to “every creature.”
THE APOSTLES ARE CALLED HIS ELECT
Does this mean that the Apostles are the only ones going to Heaven? No, thousands were saved and baptized during their day! ELECTION cannot be referring to going to Heaven or Hell. The Apostles were the first ones chosen for a specific job on earth for God. They were chosen in a unique way to lead in spreading the Gospel to the world. ELECTION is being chosen for leadership to spread the Gospel around the globe to every nation.
PAUL THE APOSTLE
Titus 1:1, “Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God’s elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness;” Paul calls himself a servant and an apostle with both being according to the faith of God’s elect.” He is saying God has elected him or chosen him to be a servant and an apostle. Paul was elected for Heaven? No! Paul elected to get saved and then God elected Paul to be a servant and an apostle.
II Peter 3:9, “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” Our God does not want any one to go to Hell! Our God does not elect people to Heaven or Hell. He elects people to do a work on earth for God
ELECT ANGELS
I Timothy 5:21, “I charge thee before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the elect angels…” Are angels born again? No! Thus, this cannot be dealing with Heaven or Hell. Angels cannot be saved! What are angels? Messengers! What are they elected too? To be messengers!
Paul was elected to be an apostle to the Gentiles. He took the Gospel to the Western World. The Jewish nation was an elect nation to give us the Messiah, the Scriptures, the Gospel, and the local New Testament church. The local New Testament church is the elect body to spread the Gospel to the world. The angels have been elected as special messengers to help us spread the Gospel for God.
ELECTION is a Sovereign act of God to do a specific work to spread the Gospel to the world for God. If God makes an act based based on what you do then that is not a Sovereign decision by God. God cannot elect you to do something or be something you have already chosen. I did not choose to be a preacher and neither did any one else who is in the ministry.
All are commanded and called to be soul winners, but only a few are chosen to be the pastor, youth pastor, or bus director, etc. Just before Matthew 20:16 is the parable of Jesus sending forth labourers in to the vineyard. In dealing with those labourers He said, “few are chosen.” Thus, this doctrine of has nothing to do with who goes to Heaven and who goes to Hell but who works or who labors in a particular field.
John 15:16, “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.” God does not want you to be barren spiritually but fruitful spiritually. Jesus is saying the being “chosen” relates to the work in the vineyard.Every context of the word “elect” in the Scriptures has to do with work! God has elected you not to be a lazy hound dog! All of us are called to be a soul winner, but some are elected to be the principal, youth pastor, mission’s director, college president, or pastor, etc.
At salvation God took away our sins, decided not to record any future sins, put Jesus’ righteousness on our record, declared us justified, appeased Himself by Himself, declared the case closed with the court adjourned, set me aside for Heaven in the future, regenerated us, gave us a new creature, sent the Holy Spirit into us to convert us, reserved a new body in Heaven for him, made it possible for us to fellowship with God, preserved us by sealing us with the Holy Spirit, and then ELECTION is God giving us a specific work to do for Him!