Jesus is clearly stating that Judas was never chosen.
Not true---Jesus says, "You will not now go away too, WILL you?" (The Greek here uses the "me" {pronounced "may"} form of negative question, which expects "NO" in answer). Yet the possibility of them leaving is represented in Peter's answer: "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Messiah." Jesus answered them, "Yes, but I chose you the TWELVE, and ONE of you is a devil..."
Jesus
chose the twelve---Jesus chose Judas. Judas forsook Jesus and betrayed Him.
You say, "Judas was never chosen".
Jesus said that He CHOSE Judas...
There is no way to deny this...
Jesus also says "My sheep hear my voice".
WHY are they His sheep? Because of God's choice, or because of their OWN? There is an answer in the Bible:
"I am the DOOR. If ANYONE enters through Me, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out and find pasture." Jn10:9 TIS---anyone. They-who-believe, not they-whom-God-has-chosen...
He also says you have not chosen me but I have chosen you.
John15:16. And yet, in the same exact chapter, verse 6: "If anyone does NOT abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries ...and is cast into the fire." Which is it---are we CHOSEN TO SALVATION, or do we BELIEVE BY OURSELVES? The Bible does answer. First, "faith-unto-salvation" is NOT "Divinely-installed". Romans 10:17 (and 10:10) undeniably state that "faith-to-salvation
comes by HEARING. For with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses resulting in salvation." What does "you did not choose ME but I chose you" mean? Salvation is by faith---
OUR OWN faith. "Receiving as the outcome of YOUR faith the salvation of your souls" (1Pet1:9). In Matt22 is the parable about "the kingdom of God is LIKE a wedding feast".
ALL ended up being invited; but only those who CAME,
and clothed themselves with righteousness became the chosen. "For MANY are CALLED but FEW are CHOSEN". What could this conclusion of the parable possibly mean? Only one thing:
that some called are not chosen. How then can we be PREDESTINED? God's WILL (boulema, decree) certainly cannot be thwarted---if we are predestined, then
all CALLED will be saved.
All are called (Jn12:32---"Called", "helkuo-dragged"---exact same word as in Jn6:44). Some believe, some do not. Why do some NOT believe? Because they do not WANT to! (Jn8:43-44)
"And this is the WILL (thelema, desire) of God, that EVERYONE who beholds the Son, AND BELIEVES in Him, may have eternal life. And I (Jesus) will raise him up the last day." Jn6:40
First we establish that it is OUR BELIEF that saves us---the consequence of our hearts conviction on hearing the Gospel. (See Eph1:13---"Hearing, believing, then receiving the seal of the Holy Spirit"---in that order!) Then we correctly understand that it is HIS CHOOSING that saves us, because every bit of our salvation was done by Him on the CROSS---but the CHOSEN are they who RECEIVE CHRIST. Now look at 2Thess2:13: "...God has chosen you from the beginning, through sanctification by the Spirit
and through faith in the truth". So you understand? It is all founded upon our BELIEF! He did not "install saving-belief", belief comes from HEARING! And it is
through BELIEF (along with sanctification by the Spirit) that we are CHOSEN!!!!!
It is not "unilateral" at all---we who are saved, we who are CHOSEN,
are we who BELIEVE!
Look at 1John 3:9 No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in him he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. verse 10 says, This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the Devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother.
And yet, in chapter 1 of the SAME LETTER, John writes: "If we say we haved no sin we LIE and the truth is not IN us!" James very plainly
to SAVED CHRISTIANS, the warning about perseverence under trial. And the reality that temptation by lust can conceive sin,
and sin brings DEATH. Or did he not really MEAN "death"? Yes he did. (Jms1:12-15)
This is another verse that shows that a true believer is secure because they are born of God and His seed remains in him: and that one who is not born of God but may have followed for a time looking for what they can get out of this religion will always show whose child they really are even if it's not until Jesus says depart from me I never knew you.
We're not allowed to write into Scripture
what we want it to say. Salvation is ABIDING IN GOD---if we ABIDE NOT, then we are CUT OFF AND BURNED. 1Jn3 supports this: "No one who
abides in Him sins..." Salvation is FELLOWSHIP, SURRENDER,
ABIDING-IN-HIM.
"Whoever confesses Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. ...the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in Him." 1Jn4:15-16
KEEP YOURSELVES in the LOVE OF GOD, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ! (Jd21)
Abiding is a choice,
daily---while we have breath...
"WATCH YOURSELVES, that you do not LOSE what you have gained; for anyone who goes too FAR and does not abide in the teachings of Christ, HAS NOT GOD!" 2Jn1:8-9 Very clear, unmistakable...
If you read the whole chapter of 2nd Peter 2 you will see that these people are desribed as thus:
as false teachers
introducers of destructive heresies
deniers of the Master
followers of sensuality
greedy
liars
deniers of authority
daring and self-willed
revilers of angelic majesties
stains and blemishes
revelers in deceptioms
eyes full of adultery
NEVER CEASING FROM SIN
enticers of unstable minds
accursed children
followers of the way of Balaam
lovers of the wages of unrighteousness
springs without water
mists without storms
people for whom black darkness has been reserved
arrogant flatters
slaves of corruption
In 2Peter chapter 2, are
false teachers/prophets. They are NEVER saved, they NEVER cease from sin, they are SLAVES TO CORRUPTION. These horrible degenerates,
entice unstable souls (verse 14). They
entice by fleshly desires and by arrogant words of vanity and sensuality, those who ONTOS-APOPHEUGO-TRULY-ESCAPE from THEY-WHO-LIVE-IN-ERROR! Verse 18
Do you understand now? Peter is talking about
TWO GROUPS OF PEOPLE---the FALSE TEACHERS/PROPHETS,
and he is talking about
THE TRULY ESCAPED.
There are two choices here: the second, is to engage in EISEGESIS, rewriting Scripture to fit preconcieved belief---
in taking the TRULY ESCAPED as NEVER-EVER-SAVED.
The first choice, is "Exegesis", correctly reading Scripture
as it is written. In 2:1:1-4, are US who are of the SAME FAITH as PETER---we who have
apopheugo-escaped the world's corruption through the EPIGNOSIS-SAVED-KNOWLEDGE of the LORD and SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST". Then, in almost the same breath, there is chapter 2---first the description of the FALSE, who seek to entice the TRUE. Followed IMMEDIATELY with: "For IF, after having APOPHEUGO-ESCAPED the defilements of the world through the EPIGNOSIS-SAVED-KNOWLEDGE of the LORD and SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST..."
The "escapees" in chapter 2, absolutely are the TRULY ESCAPED that are being ENTICED by the FALSE. They are described
word-for-word-the-same as the escapees in chapter 1! If those in chapter ONE are saved (and they
undeniably are),
there is NO WAY to contend those in chapter 2 were NOT saved! We are required to honestly accept what Scripture SAYS---and it says
they WERE SAVED!!!
Yet, they are "AGAIN ENTANGLED in the defilements and
overcome; the LAST state is worse than the first." Their FIRST state, was BEFORE they escaped through the saved-knowledge of Jesus. Their SECOND state was SAVED. Their LAST state is WORSE than
BEFORE THEY WERE SAVED. They WERE "dogs and sows" (called this
by virtue of the vomit/mire in which they dwelt, BEFORE they were SAVED). Their SECOND state was
SHEEP!!!!! And their LAST state, is
epistrepho-ek-TURNED-AWAY from the Holy Commandment, and epistrepho-epi/eis returned-TO/UNTO the vomit/mire.
Eisegesis says "they were never saved", or "they never lost salvation". Exegesis recognizes
they LOST SALVATION. Exegesis is honest, eisegesis
is not...
The WHOLE GOSPEL, supports CHOICE---from start to finish. Read Deuteronomy 30:15---"I have set before you life and prosperity, and death and adversity; life and death, the blessing and the curse;
therefore choose LIFE" Rev22:17 says, "Let O THELO
HE THAT WILLS take the water of life FREELY"...
Ben waves to Miss Shelby! Good posts!