He has shown you, O man,
what is good;
and what does the LORD
require of you
but to do justly,
to love mercy,
and to walk humbly
with your God?
Micah 6:8
With God there is mystery(s), some are revealed and others are not, but God does reveal His requirements for His children. Men are not able to know good, other than the good that he has when he chooses one thing over another; yet that good is not from a pure heart, rather, it is so that man can receive some honor, or a feeling of achievement, etc. God though reveals what He requires of us, this knowledge of His good is not by anything man does, rather it is only from God and reveals to us in His word. Man's choice to do good things or bad things is to be attributed to his free will and he will be judged on his choice. Clement of Alexandria (c. 195), stated: "Sin, then, is voluntary on my part." Clement further states: "To obey or not is in our own power, provided we do not have the excuse of ignorance." Man has free will given to him by God, but God exercises through the power of grace over the freedom of the will: "This will be the power of the grace of God--more potent indeed than nature--exercising its sway over the faculty that underlies itself within us: even the freedom of our will.... We define the soul as having sprung from the breath of God. It is immortal.... [and] free in its determinations" (Tertullian c. 210). If anyone makes the statement that man does not have free will, then all he has done by that statement is to make God the author of sin: "Some persons decide that man is not possessed of free will. rather, they assert that he is governed by the unavoidable necessities of fate and her unwritten commands. Such persons are guilty of impiety towards God Himself. For they make Him out to be the cause and author of human evils" (Methodius, c.290).
God has a number in mind who are the elect and it is the elect that will be saved: "Day and night, you were anxious for the whole brotherhood, so that the number of God's elect might be saved" (Clement of Rome, c.96). Irenaeus gives us this hope: "When the number is completed that He had predetermined in His own counsel, all those who have been enrolled for life will rise again" (Irenaeus, c. 180). God has Predestined men by decree, without taking from man free will so that man can choose to do things that would please him and some would say that man can choose God, to do good and receive from God salvation, but this is not the case, for if by decree man has no alternative but to do good or evil then God has authored evil. God's decree is not the cause of man's exercise of free will, rather it is by God's decree to permit man to exercise his free will, whether good or bad. Clement of Rome states: "He, then, who faultlessly acts the drama of life that God has given him to play, knows both what is to be done and what is to be endured" (c.195). Salvation is the purpose of God, salvation to some and not to others according to His good pleasure, therefore man cannot boast that he has done enough good works, or is good enough in some manner so that God is not indebted to save them; no! "Being convinced at that time of our unworthiness of attaining life through our own works, it is now, through the kindness of God, graciously given to us. Accordingly, it is clear that in ourselves we were unable to enter into the kingdom of God. However, through the power of God, we can be made able" (Letter to Diognetus, c.125-200).
The mystery of God is not to be confused how we use and understand the word in our culture and language, it is that which is kept secret and unknown and needs to be revealed by God and this He does in His word so that we can unlock the mystery of God by the power of the Holy Spirit activating our minds according to Scripture. Some things are hard to understand if we try to unlock a mystery by our own minds and presuppositions. We need God to work in our hearts and minds so that which is hard becomes knowable. He will not just implant into us this knowledge that unlocks His mystery, we must examine the mystery in light of His word, for it is in His word that we come to have the revelation of God. Not as some preach, that God reveals to individuals some notion or idea through some implanted religious revelation, for God has given to man what man needs to come to know Him and His doctrines which govern the Church, and this by His written word, the Bible.
I have quoted from some of the early Church fathers to show that the idea of Predestination, and election is not some new idea formed by men such as John Calvin, rather that they taught and believed in this doctrine. Further, they did not take away the right for man to exercise their free will, only that salvation by God is by God enabling man by giving to a man grace and faith so that by this grace and faith they can choose what they could not choose before God gave them this gift. When man receives God's gift of faith and choose Him as Savior, then from the faith is the outflow of good works that are of God and not of man who works for his own good, or goodness. It will be accounted to man what man does, whether saved or not, for man, even though is elected by God, there is justification and sanctification that man receives as he grows in devotion to God. Yes, man is justified and sanctified in the eyes of God in regard to man's eternal destiny, this by the cross and when we reach our new home with Him all of what God sees in man through His Son Jesus Christ will be applied to him infinitely. This is good news, it is the good news that is the gospel; God chooses, God saves, His children are secure in Him.
We must though, look into the effects of each of the two doctrines so far presented. How have they affected the Church, that is you and me for we are the Church. To do this I will present some historical events that have preceded our time and have had great influence on society as a whole, and especially the Church. Look for it in the next blogs.
This also comes from the
LORD of hosts, who
is wonderful in counsel
and excellent in guidance.
Isaiah 28:29
Rest In The Justice Of God
Richard L. Crumb
No comments:
Post a Comment