Double Predestination, what a joy!

[CalvinOwen]

I love this biblical doctrine because it demonstrates God's great love toward us who are predestined to salvation. We also could have been predestined to be Pharoah, Judas, Esau or many others, but He loved us and chose to have mercy on us. Prasie God!

It seems that those who hate this doctrine, under the pretention of loving better and more than God, water down this great and specific love the Scriptures teach that God has towards His elect whom He calls His "beloved," the name itself teaching us that we were loved by Him before the foundations of the world. And once the arminian ruins this Scriptural teaching in our minds it seems we tend to suffer with less joy than what the Lord has revealed and given to us to have.

It also seems this joy is lost in our daily routine of living, the same joy that Christ had, as the Predestined One, and wanted us to have with full knowledge of our predestinated standing before God.

I can't stand this attempted arminian robbery of our God given revelation and right to joy, can you?

ROM 9:13 Just as it is written, "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated."
ROM 9:14 ¶ What shall we say then? There is no injustice with God, is there? May it never be!
ROM 9:15 For He says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion."
ROM 9:16 So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy.
ROM 9:17 For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, "For this very purpose I raised you up, to demonstrate My power in you, and that My name might be proclaimed throughout the whole earth."
ROM 9:18 So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires.
ROM 9:19 ¶ You will say to me then, "Why does He still find fault? For who resists His will?"
ROM 9:20 On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers back to God? The thing molded will not say to the molder, "Why did you make me like this," will it?

 

[cygnusx1]

I love this biblical doctrine because it demonstrates God's great love toward us who are predestined to salvation. We also could have been predestined to be Pharoah, Judas, Esau or many others, but He loved us and chose to have mercy on us. Prasie God!

It seems that those who hate this doctrine, under the pretention of loving better and more than God, water down this great and specific love the Scriptures teach that God has towards His elect whom He calls His "beloved," the name itself teaching us that we were loved by Him before the foundations of the world. And once the arminian ruins this Scriptural teaching in our minds it seems we tend to suffer with less joy than what the Lord has revealed and given to us to have.

It also seems this joy is lost in our daily routine of living, the same joy that Christ had, as the Predestined One, and wanted us to have with full knowledge of our predestinated standing befor God.

I can't stand this attempted arminian robbery of our God given revelation and right to joy, can you?

ROM 9:13 Just as it is written, "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated."
ROM 9:14 ¶ What shall we say then? There is no injustice with God, is there? May it never be!
ROM 9:15 For He says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion."
ROM 9:16 So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy.
ROM 9:17 For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, "For this very purpose I raised you up, to demonstrate My power in you, and that My name might be proclaimed throughout the whole earth."
ROM 9:18 So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires.
ROM 9:19 ¶ You will say to me then, "Why does He still find fault? For who resists His will?"
ROM 9:20 On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers back to God? The thing molded will not say to the molder, "Why did you make me like this," will it?

I am not overly keen on Arminianism , but I guess you knew that

[font=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]FIRST THINGS
By Gardiner Spring
VOLUME 2 • CHAPTER 15[/font]

[font=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]
The First Act of Discriminating Grace.[/font]
​

[font=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]
God’s truth is always the same. Moses was as staunch a believer in the doctrines of grace as Paul; nay, Paul himself refers to Moses as himself inculcating the great doctrine of God’s discriminating grace. There are those who would fain have us believe that there is no such thing. So the devil taught our credulous mother, when, with impudent and lying tongue, he uttered the words, “Thou shalt not surely die.” There are those also who would have us carried away by the modern notion, that God saves all he is able to save; and that if any are lost, it is because his almighty power cannot convert them. If this theory were true, instead of uttering the language, “I will have mercy upon whom I will have mercy,” we should somewhere have heard him say, I will have mercy upon whom I am able to have mercy.

[/font]http://www.shilohonline.org/article..._firstthing.htm

 

[Foundthelight]

From the Westminster Confession, Chapter 3:



3:2 Although God knows whatsoever may or can come to pass upon all supposed conditions (Mat_11:21, Mat_11:23; Act_15:18; 1Sa_23:11, 1Sa_23:12), yet hath He not decreed any thing because He foresaw it as future, or as that which would come to pass upon such conditions (Rom_9:11, Rom_9:13, Rom_9:16, Rom_9:18).

3:3 By the decree of God, for the manifestation of His glory, some men and angels (Mat_25:41; 1Ti_5:21) are predestinated unto everlasting life, and others fore-ordained to everlasting death (Pro_16:4; Rom_9:22, Rom_9:23; Eph_1:5, Eph_1:6).

3:4 These angels and men, thus predestinated and fore-ordained, are particularly and unchangeably designed, and their number is so certain and definite, that it cannot be either increased or diminished (Joh_13:18; 2Ti_2:19).

3:5 Those of mankind that are predestinated unto life, God, before the foundation of the world was laid, according to His eternal and immutable purpose, and the secret counsel and good pleasure of His will, hath chosen, in Christ, unto everlasting glory (Rom_8:30; Eph_1:4, Eph_1:9, Eph_1:11; 1Th_5:9; 2Ti_1:9), out of His mere free grace and love, without any foresight of faith or good works, or perseverance in either of them, or any other thing in the creature, as conditions, or causes moving Him thereunto (Rom_9:11, Rom_9:13, Rom_9:16; Eph_1:4, Eph_1:9): and all to the praise of His glorious grace (Eph_1:6, Eph_1:12).

3:6 As God hath appointed the elect unto glory, so hath He, by the eternal and most free purpose of His will, fore-ordained all the means thereunto (Eph_1:4, Eph_1:5; Eph_2:10; 2Th_2:13; 1Pe_1:2). Wherefore they who are elected, being fallen in Adam, are redeemed by Christ (1Th_5:9, 1Th_5:10; ***_2:14), are effectually called unto faith in Christ by His Spirit working in due season, are justified, adopted, sanctified (Rom_8:30; Eph_1:5; 2Th_2:13), and kept by His power through faith unto salvation (1Pe_1:5). Neither are any other redeemed by Christ, effectually called, justified, adopted, sanctified, and saved, but the elect only (Joh_6:64, Joh_6:65; Joh_8:47; Joh_10:26; Joh_17:9; Rom_8:28-39; 1Jo_2:19).

3:7 The rest of mankind God was pleased, according to the unsearchable counsel of His own will, whereby He extendeth or withholdeth mercy, as He pleaseth, for the glory of His sovereign power over His creatures, to pass by; and to ordain them to dishonour and wrath, for their sin, to the praise of His glorious justice (Mat_11:25, Mat_11:26; Rom_9:17, Rom_9:18, Rom_9:21, Rom_9:22; 2Ti_2:19, 2Ti_2:20; 1Pe_2:8; Jud_1:4).

3:8 The doctrine of this high mystery of predestination is to be handled with special prudence and care (Deu_29:29; Rom_9:20; Rom_11:33), that men attending the will of God revealed in His Word, and yielding obedience thereunto, may, from the certainty of their effectual vocation, be assured of their eternal election (2Pe_1:10). So shall this doctrine afford matter of praise, reverence, and admiration of God (Rom_11:33; Eph_1:6), and of humility, diligence, and abundant consolation to all that sincerely obey the Gospel (Luk_10:20; Rom_8:33; Rom_11:5, Rom_11:6, Rom_11:20; 2Pe_1:10).

 

[AndOne]

Great post CalvinOwen!

 

[CalvinOwen]

Great post CalvinOwen!

Thx so much Behe!

It is just so interesting to me that the revelation that we have been predestined is taught by the Holy Spirit in the context of relief in suffering:

ROM 8:35 Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

This verse is right smack in the middle of the famous predestination/double predestination verses. As the early Christians suffered these persecutions they were able to endure it and that with great joy. The consolation the Holy Spirit brings with these truths is that:

• God brings the persecution and controls the wicked
• Since God predestined you before creation because He loved you that intense specific love will never change
• Since God sent His Son for you specifically because of His love for you, not everyone, there is nothing He won't give you now
• Since God predestines all things for the elect, all things will work out for your good

The belief in a sorta sovereign god who kinda gets what he wants if and only if people "decide" to let him and then only when is able to defeat the other god, satan, is no consolation. It is terribly frightning! Who could put their life into the hands of a wet noodle arminian god like this?

Of course the answer is no one.

 

[Bulldog]

Good post. You should see some of the crazy interpetations I've heard about Romans 9.