An ineffectual call will always land on
deaf ears, but an effectual call will always reap its desired result; salvation
in and through the finished work of the cross. All glory, will always, into the
ages of eternity, belong to our blessed Redeemer, the Great, the One and only
Lord Jesus Christ, the One in whom I will boast. Amen and hallelujah!
Election; those who God has and will
save, from the vilest of the vile, the meekest of the meek and those in a deep
hole of desperateness, they will be turned, for when it happens, it highlights
the brilliance of God. Why does the same message save one and not another,
think about it, two people in the same room under the exact same conditions and
only one responds favourably. Why is one hardened whilst the other laps the
message in like a dry sponge soaks up water? It is a rather simple answer, the
call was either ineffectual or effectual, pay careful attention; Think on it
like this, two cars parked in a garage, the ineffectual cars battery has run
flat, the is no power to crank the engine, there is no spark! The effectual
cars battery is primed by the Spirit of God and turns over with ease. One is
capable of response whilst the other isn’t. No matter how hard we try to
convince someone to believe, if they haven’t been elected it is a fruitless
exercise, of this I am now convinced!
The hour when the Spirit of God works
in the sinners life, the day when someone openly declares; “I believe, I can
see, I can see”, is a miracle. It’s only when we start to humanize the process
that we get bent out of shape, remember the Lord’s words to Nicodemus; “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the
Spirit is spirit.” (John 3:6)
How do some get saved and others not, and
I’m not talking about those who come along for the ride for a time and then
bail out, they were never truly saved. Read John Bunyan’s Pilgrims Progress… or the parable of the sower also illustrates this well. But those whom God has chosen from before the
world began, they are the elect. The twelve disciples, hand-picked before they
were even born. Jesus selected them individually to teach them the way. Look at
Peters explanation; “So the honor is for you who believe, but for those
who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the
cornerstone,” and “A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.” They
stumble because they
disobey the word, as they were destined to
do.” (1Peter 2:7-8) – The
gospel they heard was ineffectual. On the flip side those effectually called,
case in point, the Apostles. He said follow me and the account reads: “immediately they left their nets and
followed Him.” Other encounters with men in scripture tell a different story,
one man wanted to first go bury his father and then he would follow the Lord.
When the Spirit of God works in a person’s life, nothing will and can take
preference over that call. When God said let there be light, it’s not as if the
light debated whether to shine or not.
This does not detract from the
gospel message going out to all… “If Judas had not been an apostle, he could not have been a traitor; if
men had known the way of righteousness, they could not have abused it.” (Matthew
Henry)
Think of it like this, a
writer pens a novel and he/she creates the characters in the book, some are villains and then there’s the hero. God
scripted His plan and it is now
working itself out exactly as He has willed. Do not be fooled into ever
thinking that God can
get caught off guard. Through the chaos of life, He has ever “T’ crossed and every “I” dotted. Did you know that
even Judas Iscariots betrayal was predestined? In other words scripted in
Gods manuscript, someone had to hand over our Saviour. The Arminian (the free
will thinker) believers accept as truth that he has a choice, did pharaoh have
a choice or was his heart hardened to glorify the brilliance of God’s
deliverance for the enslaved Israelites? Think it through, you decide. I am not
here to sway your decision, I have settle on what I believe. The next objection
we need to address is this, “then God is unfair!” But the Apostle Paul silences
that thought very smartly; “So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he
hardens whomever he wills. You will say to me then, “Why does he
still find fault? For who can resist his will?” But who are you, O man, to
answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you
made me like this?” Has the potter no
right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use
and another for dishonorable use? What if God, desiring to show his
wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels
of wrath prepared for
destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for
vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory—“ (Romans 9:18-23)
How does this play
out in the lives of so many that claim Christianity as their own; it’s the love
of money that sways them to place their greed above the true gospel message.
They twist the Word for self-gain. Judas Iscariot in a manner is the father of
such men and woman. Beware of the love of money, because from such a mind-set,
springs the root of all kinds of evil. True Christianity encapsulates the will
of God, whilst a deceiver rides on the back of the gospel as a means for
self-gain and sadly there are many who have travelled this path. “The blind
leading the blind and both fall into the ditch.”
Christian let us be
as wise as serpents and yet as gentle as doves; “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity.
Amen.”
Signing out
Tyrone
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