- Aug 11, 2017
- 22,133
- 7,245
- Country
- United States
- Faith
- Non-Denom
- Marital Status
- Married
Preparing a sermon on John 10:22-30 I was struck by Jesus phrase - "you do not believe because are not my sheep..my sheep hear my voice"
If the only people who can see what Jesus does and understand how it affirms him as the Messiah are those predestined for an eternity with God then why bother speaking to the unsaved at all.
Is the message here that only Christians will interpret attempts to live like Jesus correctly and so words are wasted on those not chosen to believe, those who are not and never will be his sheep
In which case does Jesus say this only for those who love Him so that they understand the gulf between those eternally saved and those who are dammed. Or do his words fix that gulf for the unsaved who hear them and are thus condemned to darkness
This passage seems to affirm double predestination to me.
If double predestination is true then what’s the point of Jesus and the apostles telling people to believe? If they are chosen by God they are incapable of not believing, if they are not chosen by God they are incapable of believing regardless. According to John 3:18 why are people judged according to whether they believe or not if God hasn’t enabled unbelievers to believe. Would that be a just and loving God to condemn those who do not have the ability to believe because God has not chosen them? According to the doctrine of predestination who is ultimately responsible for their unbelief? 1 Timothy 2:3-4 and 2 Peter 3:9 say that God wants all to repent and be saved not wishing that any should perish. So why would He only enable a few to be saved? If predestination is true then eternal security must also be true so according to John 15:1-10 why does The Father cut off or remove branches who are “in Christ” from the vine (Christ) for not bearing fruit? Why does Jesus tell His 11 faithful apostles, who were undoubtedly chosen by God, to abide (remain) in Him if they are incapable of failing to abide. Why does He say in verse 6 anyone who does not abide (remain) will be cast away to wither then thrown into the fire? According to predestination a person cannot believe unless they are chosen by God. So if they don’t believe they cannot be in Christ in the first place. A person can’t abide or remain somewhere they aren’t currently at or somewhere they cannot get to. Only believers can abide or fail to abide because only they can be in Christ. Before someone claims these branches aren’t really in Christ I will point out that is contradicting what the scriptures actually say. Verse 2 specifically says the branches are “in Christ” and branches can’t be cut off or removed from the vine if they are not currently attached. Romans 11:17:23 branches who are grafted in can be cut off and grafted back in again if they repent. I’ll stop here I’ve already posted too many questions.
Upvote
0