Posts Tagged ‘Election’
Good People Do Not Go To Heaven…
If God were to ask, “Why should I allow you into Heaven?” I would imagine that each one of you would give many and varied answers. In the end, however, you would all be saying that it is because you have been a good person.
In saying that, how good is good enough? At what level of being good do you think God would allow you into heaven? What if God were to reply by saying that no one is good, what reason would you then give?
Mar_10:18 (KJV) And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? There is none good but one, that is, God.
Rom_3:12 (KJV) there is none that doeth good, no not one.
So, God says that no one is good. How then does He perceive all of the good things that we have done?
Isa_64:6 (KJV) But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags.
How can that be? What makes God see our good works as “filthy rags”?
Rom_3:23 (KJV) For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
Isa 59:2 But your iniquities(sin) have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.
Psa 5:4 For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee.
Psa 5:5 The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity(sin).
When you know how God views you and your sins then you will be able to understand why God hates what you do in committing those sins. I know that is harsh to say and it is not what you hear in Christian circles these days even though God says so in His Word. All you will hear is that God loves you. However, there is a little catch.
1Co_2:14 (KJV) But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
In your sinful state no matter what anyone says, even in reading this, if God does not give you understanding into His Word so that you can receive and believe them, you will never act upon them. Worse you will not enter into the Kingdom of God. In other words, you will not go to Heaven no matter how good you think you are.
There is only one way, and through one person, that anyone will enter into Heaven.
Joh 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
Joh 3:5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
Joh 3:7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
You see, in your sinful state you are dead to God. You do not want God nor do you feel that you need Him. Like Jesus said in this quote:
Luk_19:14 (KJV) But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us.
That is exactly how you feel about Jesus in your dead sinful state. You say it in words and in ways that you do not understand. That is why Jesus tells us that we must be born again. Being born again is God making us alive in the spirit so that we can see Him, hear Him and respond to Him in the way that not only is as He wants but also in a way that we will desire to come to Him as He wills.
When we come to God the Father, it is only by one person through which that can be done.
Joh_14:6 (KJV) Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
I hope that now you can see, or soon will be able to see, and understand why good people do not go to Heaven; because in your sinfulness you can never be good enough. The only way to Heaven is by being born again by the Spirit of God and in believing Jesus to be the only true Lord and Savior; the One to whom you must submit your whole being – mind, body and soul(self will).
Act_4:12 (KJV) Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
Good people do not go to Heaven. Only they who have been “born again” will God allow into His Kingdom. In His Word God has given you a simple and straightforward explanation of the only way, and through whom, you will be allowed into Heaven. The question you now face is this. Have you been “born again”?
Are You Known Of God?
If someone were to ask you, “Does God know you?” One would imagine that you would say, “of course God knows me. He knows everyone, doesn’t He?” What if one were to answer, “That depends?”
In 1st Corinthians 8: 3 we read:
“But if any man loves God, the same is known of him.”
Being known of God is walking with Him every day, trusting in Him in all areas of your life and being so close to Him that you can talk with Him in a most intimate way. God needs to be first in your life so that everything else plays off that.
So, now the question is this, “Do you love God?” Well of course, “I love God,” you would say, but do you? To say that you love God is one thing but there is only one way that you can prove that you love God.
In the Gospel of John 14: 21 Jesus says the following:
“He that hath my commandments, and keeps them, he it is that loves me: and he that loves me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.”
If you truly love Jesus then you will be trying your very best to be obedient to Him. However, if you have not been born again, and have become a disciple of Jesus, you will have no desire to be obedient to Him, nor even love Him. You will only have the desire to fulfill the lust of the flesh, savor yourself with the lust of the eyes, and be full of pride as you brag about all of your accomplishments in life.
Think about that. Maybe you are “not” known by God,” especially in that most intimate way.
If that is the case, you will be one of them who will face Jesus on that great day of Judgement when you will hear Jesus say:
And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, you that work iniquity. Mathew 8: 23
How dreadful that will be. It truly is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
You can make sure that you will not hear Jesus say this to you. To everyone who will confess that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God the Father has raised Him from the dead you will have found yourself to have been born again, and are now a disciple of Jesus. That is the only way that one can truly know that God knows them – loves them.
Do you not think that it is better to be known of God so that if someone asks you, “Does God know you?” you will then be able to say in a most absolute way, “Why yes, yes He does!”
In addition, your smile will say it all.
Do You Have The Right To Call God “Father”?
I do believe that most people would acknowledge that God, specifically Jesus who is God in human form, is the Creator of us all.
Joh_1:3 (KJV) All things were made by him (Jesus); and without him was not any thing made that was made.
Now there came a time in a certain place when Jesus was heard praying by his disciples. They must have marveled at His praying because when he was finished one of them asked Him, “Lord, teach us to pray”.
Jesus said to them, “When you pray say, Our Father.” By this Jesus told them that the first thing you should do when praying is to acknowledge to whom it is that you are praying. Not only is that person God but He also is your Father. However, who has the right to call God “Father” and why?
Throughout the New Testament, whether talking to groups of Christians or to individual Christian, the Apostle Paul would address them in this manor:
Eph_1:2 (KJV) Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul specifically states that God is “our Father”, and he says that only when he was communicating with Christians. So, how do we become a child of God?
Now everyone knows about John 1:12 that says:
John 1:12 But as many as received him (Jesus), to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
It is by receiving Jesus, who is God, that people are given the right to become sons (children) of God.
However, very few people, even Christians themselves know about the next verse that speaks of the “sons of God” and reads:
John 1:13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
People are not born into the family of God because they might belong to a religious family, nor are they born into God’s family because they earn their way into His family, or even will themselves to be born into God’s family.
In John 3: 3 Jesus says the following:
Joh 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
One must be “born again” before they not only can see the kingdom of God but also be able to enter into the kingdom of God, and it takes God to decide who will be “born again” and become His children.
In short, when a person is born of God (born again), as God chooses, does one receive the right to call God “our Father”. That is why Paul told the Christians, as he wrote to them, that God is our Father because they have been born into the family of God.
Therefore, only they who are true disciples of Jesus, who have been born again by the power of God, are the only ones who are given the right to call God “Father”. No one else has that right. God has no obligation to listen, or even to respond, to anyone who is not a member of His family. They have no assurance that their prayer will be answered.
How about you? Have you been born again? If so, then you have the right to do as Jesus says to do. When you pray, you can start by saying to God, “Our Father”.
Simple Doctrine of Election
There are two different views of salvation in Christian theology. In both of them, there is the cause and effect doctrine for how one is saved from facing the wrath of God and spending eternity in Hell.
On one hand, there is the doctrine of “free-will”. It says that man has the ability to choose of his own free will, when faced with the gospel of Jesus, whether or not to accept Jesus as Savior and so be saved or choose to reject Him and go on his merry way. In this, man can save himself, as his salvation is based upon what he does first and then God responds accordingly.
However, in the doctrine of election, as Jesus says in the Gospel of John chapter six and verses 44 & 65, “no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws (or enables) him.” In response some will say that God draws “all” men. If that were the case then everyone would be saved for in the same chapter Jesus also says, “All that the Father gives me will come.”
Now we know that not everyone will be saved. Therefore, we see then, that God will only draw certain ones to Jesus and they, and only they who are drawn, will come to Jesus and be saved. It is they who will be told about Jesus and will hear the gospel, as we are told in John 6: 45, “And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that has heard, and has learned of the Father, comes to me.” In this, we see that God is the cause of man’s salvation and man responds by willing coming to Jesus.
So, in free will salvation man acts first and then God responds, but in the doctrine of election, God acts first and man responds. Who ever acts first is the cause and the effect is salvation.
As we have seen, of his own free will, man cannot choose to come to Jesus, as the Father must first draw him, and they who are drawn, and who are taught about Jesus, will come willing and so be saved.
Man’s will cannot save him as it takes God’s will to save man (see John 1:13).
In the first chapter of Ephesians 1 – 14 Paul, in writing to believers only, writes so beautifully about how and why God chose to save whom He wills…
Eph 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus:
Eph 1:2 Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Eph 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
Eph 1:4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
Eph 1:5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
Eph 1:6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.
Eph 1:7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
Eph 1:8 Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence;
Eph 1:9 Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:
Eph 1:10 That in the dispensation of the fullness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:
Eph 1:11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
Eph 1:12 That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.
Eph 1:13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
Eph 1:14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.
Man cannot save himself. It takes God to save man and God will save whom He has chosen. If it were not so, He would not have written about it to tells us so. Whoever calls upon the name of Jesus, and confesses that He is Lord, is one who has been saved. To do so in submission to Jesus is proof that one has been chosen by God for salvation.
How about you? Do you think that you have been saved by your own free will? Alternatively, are you saved because you were chosen by the will of God to be saved? Remember, all who call upon Jesus and submit to Him as Lord will have been saved already.
Simplistic Christianity
What does it mean to become a Christian? Simply put, it means to become a disciple of Jesus. So, how does one become a Christian?
That is a good question. Let us see what the Bible says about becoming a Christian in a very simplistic way.
In the Gospel of Mark 1: 14, 15 we read the following quote by Jesus:
Mar 1:14 Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,
Mar 1:15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.
Here Jesus simply says, “You repent and believe the gospel.” The word repent means “to think differently, that is, reconsider morally to feel compunction.” We are to admit our sinfulness, have a desire to change morally, and to ask for forgiveness for having lived our lives as we want instead of what God wants; to want to live for God and not for ourselves.
The second thing that Jesus said was to believe the gospel. What is the gospel? In First Corinthians chapter one and beginning with the first verse, the Apostle Paul states very clearly what is the gospel:
1Co 15:1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;
1Co 15:2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.
1Co 15:3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
1Co 15:4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
Now we have the simple basics of how to become a Christian; repent and believe the gospel. You have seen what it means to repent and you now know what the gospel is in a very simplistic way. So, how does this all work together?
When God draws someone to Jesus, in doing so, He also gives them the power to repent and to believe the gospel, giving them the ability to do the following as we read in Romans 10: 8 – 10:
8. The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;
9. That if thou you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
10. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
So now, you know what it means to “repent and believe the gospel”. In doing so you will receive forgiveness for your sins, have everlasting life with Jesus in Heaven, and you will know what it is truly like to feel the love of God.
The alternative? Read this from the Gospel of John 3: 36:
Joh 3:36 He that believeth on the Son has everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abides on him.
When you compare the two choices, and you have “only two” from which to choose, Simplistic Christianity does not seem like a bad choice after all.
The Verse That Brought Repentance
When I was just a young boy, I attended an Anglican church faithfully. I was an acolyte, president of the church youth program and a lay reader. I was a Christian; or so I thought. It seemed, as it turned out, that I was only a Christian in name only (a CINO).
You see, in being a Christian in name only can be very deceiving, and so many people today are doing the same as I, and are only CINO’s, and do not realize that they are “not” heading for Heaven. I hope you are not one of them.
Then, as an adult, one day came when I heard about two verses in Proverbs 3 that for the life of me I could not get them out of my mind. They bothered me to no end and I just had to find out how to do what they were saying, because I could not do so of my own will; and therein lay the answer.
The two verses to which I refer are these:
Proverbs 3: 5, 6
5. Trust in the LORD with all your heart; and lean not unto your own understanding.
6. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your paths.
I tried and I tried and I just could not get myself to trust in the way that these verses wanted for me to do. No matter what I did I just could not trust in the Lord. Sounds terrible, does it not?
Then it hit me. How could I trust in someone who I do not know? Who was this Lord in whom I am to trust? Could it be this Jesus I kept hearing about? Oh, yeah, I heard about Jesus, and how they would call Him Lord every time I had gone to church, but I really did not know Him. I had to find out – who was this Jesus.
I knew that my bible was my only true source for learning about Jesus. I had some knowledge of the gospel of John, so I started my reading about Jesus with that book.
Admittedly, the first time through it I really did not get much understanding from it. So I began to read it again and each time I would read a chapter or two I would ask Jesus to give me understanding in these words that I might learn more about Him.
Little by little a verse or two would stand out and they would be quite interesting in little ways, and I realized that I began to trust more and more this Jesus about whom I was studying and to whom I was praying. Then one day it hit me about whom Jesus was – or is. Jesus is God!
By now, not only had I become more dependent on Jesus in giving me understanding in the bible but more importantly, unwittingly, I also became to trust in Him in helping me in my daily life.
I would ask Jesus with help at work, when I was driving and in just making daily decision. I was always, and still do, asking Jesus for guidance in making all kinds of decisions, and trusting in Him for the outcome, as well as trusting in Him to change my direction on anything, if I was going the wrong way.
Through hard times and good times I was looking to the Lord for guidance, even when I did not or could not understand why sometime was happening. Even when my wife was diagnosed with cancer, she is now cancer free. I found myself asking for stronger faith so that I would have deeper trust in the Lord for whatever would happen or in what would be His will.
That is when I realized that in turning from myself, from my self-will, and trusting in the will of the Lord, what I had done was to repent of my own sin of self-will.
This was something I had done all my life. I would look to myself to trust in my own understanding, in any situation for the answer, and to have the self-serving nerve to direct my own life.
It was these two verses from Proverbs 3: 5, 6 that led me to repent of the sin of trusting in myself and to turn to the Lord Jesus for forgiveness, and to come to an understanding of whom is Jesus.
It is in Him that we are to trust for the outcome for all circumstances and situations, and to submit to His Lordship over us in directing our life as He wills.
You see, we are to trust in the Lord Jesus on a daily basis, and to keep trusting in Him even when we do not understand what is happening or why.
In addition, when we acknowledge Him as being Lord of our lives, as God, Jesus has the right to take us down the path that He knows is best for us, and one that will glorify Him.
All it takes is an understanding of who is Jesus, and repentance on your part. That is to turn from your own selfish ways of trusting in yourself, to submitting to the Lordship of Jesus over you.
Only then will you ever find true Godly direction for your life.
Not Planted By My Father
Mat 15:10 And he called the multitude, and said unto them, Hear, and understand:
Mat 15:11 Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.
Mat 15:12 Then came his disciples, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended, after they heard this saying?
Mat 15:13 But he answered and said, Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up.
Mat 15:14 Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.
My Dad was born on a farm in 1908 that lay in a wonderful valley next to a mountain in the hills of West Virginia. The farm was about a mile across the valley over a dusty and bumpy road from the little town of Lost City. Most of the folks, in and around Lost City, had a garden of their own in varying sizes depending on their ability and family size.
Being the middle brother of three, he learned early what farm life was all about. They grew their own food and had livestock for their meat, poultry and fish from the river that flowed through the valley. They learned how to hunt for game and wildlife for eating as well.
When he was old enough for school he had already learned the basics of farming; one of them being growing the crops, and when and how to bring in the harvest. This was very important as when the crops were brought in they were canned and stored away for winter food.
The most important thing was not to remove improperly the good crops so that nothing bad was included in the canning process. You see, as the crops that they had planted were sprouting and growing to full potential, other non-eatable plants, that they had not sown, would sprout and grown along with them.
If the plants that they had not planted were pulled to soon it may have been possible for them to pull up the good plants as well, which is not what was wanted; for the roots between the two may have been intertwined as they began to grow. So, to keep the good ones they would let the un-wanted plants that could not be pulled grow along with them.
At harvest time, as they were pulling up the good plants, my Dad along with the rest of the family, knew what they had planted and separated them from the bad plants, and took the bad plants and set them aside in a pile of their own for burning later on.
Only what the family planted would be kept for eating through the winter months, and they knew what these plants were for they had planted them. They knew their own plants and what the plants were that they did not plant. The crops that they did not plant they uprooted up and burned them; for these plants had not been sown by them.
In the same way God has planted a garden as well. He knows who are His whom He has planted and they whom He has not planted. Just as Jesus said in the verses quoted above.
– For another good explanation of how God plants and what he does at harvest time, read the Parable of the Weeds found in Mathew 13: 24-30.
How about you, which one are you – a good plant or bad? Here is how you can tell.
If you can do as these verses say, and say it from a changed heart, then as these verse claim you will have been found to be a good plant…
Rom 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
Rom 10:10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Rom 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
My prayer for you is that you can do as these verses say and are able to do so right now. Call upon Jesus and proclaim Him to be Lord, and find you to have been saved by Him all along.
Born Again By God’s Will – Not Man’s
In the Gospel of John chapter three, Jesus tells a Jewish religious leader that unless one is born again by the Spirit of God not only will he “not” see the Kingdom of God but he will also “not” enter into the Kingdom of God.
The Religious leader is surprised and asks how this can happen? Jesus responds by saying that as the wind blows where it wishes – from where it comes and where it goes – so is everyone born of the Spirit of God – The Holy Spirit chooses whom He wills and we know not why.
So many people believe that man has the power to choose whether or not to be “born again”, and that he can do so whenever he wants. Not so says the Bible.
In the first chapter of the Gospel of John many people will use verse 12 to back up their claim of man’s ability to choose to be saved or not but, they never follow up with verse 13 which explains how this – being born again – happens. Here are the two verses as they read:
Joh 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
Joh 1:13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
You see, verse 12 without verse 13 is meaningless. Yes, verse 12 says that man can receive Jesus and to believe on Him, but verse 13 tells us that He must first be born again in order to be able to so do. And this act of being born again is “not” done by man’s own choosing (by man’s will) but that it is done by the will of God.
As the wind blows in the freedom it has, to come and go as it pleases, so is everyone born of the Spirit of God.
When Jesus came to the tomb of Lazarus and yelled, “Lazarus, come forth!” Was he able to say, “Yes, I will come forth.” No, God first had to put life into him, in a sense – make him born again, before he could respond. Life always comes before response in a dead person; even in one who is spiritually dead.
In our sin nature that we all have, we are all spiritually dead to God. That is why Jesus told the religious leader that we must be born again or we will not be able to enter Heaven when our life here on earth is finished.
How about you? Have you really been born again and, if you are, was it by your will that you chose to do so, or was it by God’s will who chose you to be born again?
As for me, it was by God’s will that I am born again. He chose me, I did not choose Him .
The Gospel Is Not An Emotional Message
I am sure you have either seen, heard or been witness to a worship service where the minister gives a fervent appeal to come forward and “accept” Jesus as Savior.
There is the usual emotional music designed to pull at the heart strings and the pleading of the leader saying that Jesus is just waiting for someone to come to Him.
You know, none of that is biblical. You will not find anywhere in the Scriptures someone zealously appealing to people to “accept” Jesus as Savior. It just did not happen.
Repentance is the first and most important step that one needs to take before believing the Gospel. For if you will not repent, believing the Gospel will not save you. To repent means not only to have a change of heart as to the sinful life you are living, but also to turn your will over to Jesus to no longer do what you want in order to do the will of God.
Now here is where we find an excellent biblical example of being instructed in the best way of sharing the Gospel message. In 2nd Timothy 2: 24, 25 the Apostle Paul writes the following:
24 And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient,
25 In meekness instructing those who are in opposition; if God perhaps will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;
In these verses there are no instructions on bringing an emotional message or of pleading with the ones to whom you are speaking. We are to be calm and gentle in telling others about Jesus, and why it is important for them to repent and believe the Gospel.
No pleading needs to be done. No music to tug on the heart strings. No cries of Jesus waiting for someone to come forward and “accept” him as Savior. Just you being yourself and telling others about Jesus, trusting in God as to their response.
As Paul told Timothy, “Perhaps God will give them repentance… “
A Simple Example Of Election Salvation
I was looking out of my office window one afternoon and I became fascinated by this man who was standing in the middle of the sidewalk trying to hand out a drink of water to any and everyone who went by him.
No one was interested and they all kept walking by him as if he really was not there. However, every so often someone would look up at and walk slowly over to him. I could see them talking and then the person would take the water, break out in a big grin and drink the rest of it. They would hug and the person went on their way with a grin as big as the Cheshire Cat ever had.
What in the world was going on? Why would everyone walk by except for an occasional seemingly interested person? Ummm, I wondered.
Then I was shaken back to reality when the boss walked in and gave me some more work to do. I finished the afternoon, forgetting about that man with the water.
At quitting time I walked outside and boy was it hot. I then remembered about the man with the water. Was he still there handing out his water, and should I, would I dare, stop and try some. I looked and, yes, he was still there.
As I started down the street I began to feel a little uneasy just thinking about taking something that looked like water from someone I didn’t know. I then decided that no matter how hot it was I was not going to take the water. In fact, I was not even going to look over at him; just walk on by.
The sidewalk was crowded and I stayed to the outside, next to the street, so that I would not even walk close to him.
I was looking down and trying to think about anything except water when I heard, “Glenn!”
That was my name. Who was it that was calling my name? I looked around and suddenly saw this man with the water looking my way with an interesting grin on his face. “Yes,” he said. “That was me, Glenn. I was calling your name. I was calling you.”
I slowly walked over to him and he said, “Would you not like to have a cool and refreshing drink of water on such a day as this?”
At this point a drink of water sounded great. “I sure do,” I said. “How much is it?” His answer was quite a surprise. “This water costs nothing. It is a gift just for you and for those to whom my father has chosen for me with which to share.” “You are one of those who are on his list.”
I took the glass and drank some of the water. Man, it tasted better than any water I ever had. I quickly found myself drinking the rest from the glass, and just like that, my thirst was gone. Not only that, but I found myself wanting to spend time with this man.
I have never been separated from Jesus since I took that drink. That is some water.
Of course this is just a story, a simple example of how “Election Salvation” works. What I do want to get across to you, the reason for this story, is that unless Jesus calls you by name to come drink of the water that He has to offer, like everyone else who walked by, you too will walk by.
You will always refuse, of your own free (but enslaved) will not to accept the offer of salvation from Jesus.
Only those who are on God’s list, that He created before the foundation of the world, will Jesus call. In fact, in John 6:44, Jesus basically said that “no one can come to me except that the Father who sent me draws them to me, and all whom He gives me will come to me.”
So, let me challenge you. Would you like a drink of the water that Jesus offers? Keep listening for you just might hear your name being called.
Election Salvation is simple. You only need to be called and so be saved. Is that “your” name I hear Jesus calling?
Riff's Christian Journal 