Wouldn’t it be nice if all born-again Christians thought the same things about what the Bible says vs. many differing from one another? Why is that? Since we are talking about “only” born-again believers, all of us “want” to know the truth, and since we all have the Holy Spirit in us, it seems obvious that we should all believe the same things, right? What causes the difference?

I hate to say it, but it is our sin nature. WHAT! WAIT! We don’t have a sin nature. We are born again, and all of our sins have been forgiven through Jesus paying the price for our sins – past, present and future. Yes and no. Yes, we have no sins through Jesus – SPIRITUALLY! But we STILL have sins PHYSICALLY! As long as we remain human beings, we will always have a sin nature. After becoming born again, our sin nature is now at war against our new “God-nature Holy Spirit in us.” Spiritual is “eternal,” and physical is temporary. Our desire is that our new God nature will win this battle big time in our sanctification walk with the Lord.

We all have our own biases, and it is the sin nature in us that can skew our beliefs to make many born-again believers differ from one another in what the Bible says and means. So, how do we know who is right and who is wrong? The easy answer is to research and study the Bible to see the truth, and if the truth is controversial, then it is a matter of comparing one’s beliefs to another’s beliefs to determine which side has the most “evidence” to hopefully reveal the truth. This process has been going on since the beginning, it seems.

An example of a controversial topic in the Bible is the rapture and when it occurs. Is it before the tribulation, in the middle of the tribulation, at the end, or somewhere else? We each have to determine for ourselves based on Biblical evidence that we consider the strongest to support our belief. Controversial topics are simply a debating match for the most part.

This article is going to deal with one of the largest controversies in the Bible – God’s sovereignty vs. our free will. It is Calvinism vs. Arminianism. Predestination vs. free will. The main emphasis behind these two beliefs is salvation. The “biggest” problem with the disagreement of this controversy is it makes the Bible WRONG by having an ERROR, and we KNOW the Word of God Bible has ZERO errors. The “true error” is what causes the so-called “error” in the first place. Let’s examine the so-called error between the two and then see if we can see an answer to support BOTH of them.

Let’s begin with Calvinism. What is it? Its basic belief is God’s will or sovereignty supersedes our free will, and God has already decided who will be saved and who won’t. This is referred to as predestination. They are saying that God has already decided who will be saved and who won’t. If that is true, then we don’t have free will – everyone who God rejects, He has rejected at birth, and there is nothing they can do with their supposed free will that will save them.

Arminianism is different in that it puts more emphasis on free will. “We” determine our salvation based on our free will, but we do recognize God’s sovereignty since God “is” sovereign over all things.

So, where is the so-called error in the Bible caused by these two different beliefs? Calvinists rely on the many verses in the Bible that say God is rejecting many people. Let’s look at a few:

1. John 6:37 “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away.” This makes it appear God has chosen X number of people to come to Jesus, and those people had no say so concerning God’s decision.

2. John 6:65 “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled them.” This is similar to number 1.

3. John 15:16 “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit that will last…” They get excited about this verse supporting their beliefs because Jesus is saying point blank, “You did not choose me, but I chose you,” etc. There is a plausible answer, though.

4. Acts 13:48 “When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed.” This is another very strong verse that seems to be saying God is “choosing” who will be saved.

5. Gal 15-16 – this is Paul speaking: “But when God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by His grace, was pleased to reveal His Son in me so that I might preach Him to the Gentiles…” This is another verse where Paul is saying God set him apart or chose him from birth. 2 Thes 2:13 – again, Paul speaking: “But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters loved by the Lord, because God chose you as firstfruits to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth.” This is, again, another verse showing God did the choosing of these believers. Let’s do one more. Eph 1:4 Paul speaking: “For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love, He predestined us for adoption to Sonship through Jesus Christ in accordance with His pleasure and will…” Calvinists also get excited about this verse.

Now, let’s look at Arminianism. I will not put up Arminianism verses to counter each verse that supports Calvinism. You can do a Google search and find lots of articles that show debates over the meanings of Calvinist verses vs. Arminianism verses. I will mention a couple that will do the job, though. 2 Pet 3:9 “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness; but is longsuffering to us, not willing that any should perish, but that ALL should come to repentance.” Also, John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

The controversy that causes a so-called error in the Bible is you have people saying there are verses in the Bible that show God chooses who will be saved and who won’t, and then you have verses in the Bible that say that God does not wish that ANY should perish and that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. I’m sorry, but you cannot have it both ways. It is impossible to say on one hand that it is God Himself who will do the choosing for salvation, and on the other hand, God saying that anyone who repents and chooses His Son will be saved.

So, what is the answer? How do we reconcile this to not be an error but something that supports both beliefs? Now, obviously, what I am about to say is MY OWN BELIEF as to how these might reconcile. I certainly know my belief, whether right or wrong, will not change anything, obviously, but I will share it anyway.

No way can I support Calvinism for one simple reason; it takes away our free will. That would mean that John 3:16 does not apply to us even though God’s word supposedly wants us to repent and embrace Jesus. God did not create us as robots. He wants us to LOVE, but you cannot love unless you have the “ability” NOT to love. That is called free will, and God would never take that away from us. It is our free will that brings Him joy and pleasure.

My own definition is this: God’s sovereignty is our FREE WILL under His control!

How did I end up marrying my wife? I met her at First Baptist Dallas Church in a Sunday school class. I used my own free will to decide to visit that Sunday school class many years ago. I decided to pursue her and date her and do all the things necessary for us to fall in love and get married. I did ALL of that with my “own free will.” Now, how does the “under God’s control” come into play? Even though I was “using my own free will” in all of this, God was orchestrating things behind the scenes to set everything up that would lead to us getting married. A few years ago, I wrote an article on RR entitled God’s Sovereignty Vs. Our Free Will that might help explain this a little more. Here is a link for those interested.

https://www.raptureready.com/2018/03/11/gods-sovereignty-vs-free-david-cogburn/

There is one more aspect I think is important to pay attention to when it comes to who ends up saved and who doesn’t. God obviously knows the future and who is going to be born and when they die, and if they ended up saved or not saved. God also is the only One who knows everyone’s HEART. What is the heart? It is our free will. It is our beliefs, our decisions. It is “why” we do everything that we do. It is what truly makes us who we are. This is how God knows who is sincere and who is not when they say the sinner’s prayer. The world can only look at what we say and do. Only God can look at WHY we say what we say and do what we do.

In the Bible, we see where God says that Jacob I loved and Esau I hated. God also says that He hardened Pharaoh’s heart. Why would He harden Pharaoh’s heart? Again, God, knowing the future, knows Pharaoh’s heart will never be drawn to Him; thus, He uses Pharaoh in a way to fulfill His plan. I would be surprised if God ever looked at anyone’s heart who, with their free will, would love to know Him and become His child and then to have God NOT save them. All of this is saying that God is searching for people who will fall in love with Him with their “free will,” and then He leads them in many different ways to become saved.

To me, the answer is “everyone’s heart.” When we see the Calvinist verses that show God is choosing, it’s based on their heart. When we see God using evil people to fulfill His plan, it’s based on their heart. Free will combined with the heart seems to support combining Calvinism and Arminianism together in a way that shows there are NO ERRORS in God’s word. Does this make sense? I hope so. It does to me.

Blessings and Maranatha,

David Cogburn

dcogburn789@gmail.com

 

Scripture References:

Matthew 7:21-23; Mark 9:43-48; Luke 12:13-21, 16:19-31; John 5:28-29; Acts 17:30-31; Romans 1:18-32, 3:10-18, 5:6-11; 2 Corinthians 5:10; Hebrews 9:27, 10:31; Revelation 20:11-15

There are just some things that are getting harder to find these days, such as ethical politicians, honest elections, intelligent leftists, happy liberals, competent leadership, and sound Biblical preaching on the reality and horror of hell.

All right, stop right now and get rid of the notion brewing in some of your minds that when it comes to the topic of hell, you either want to avoid or deny it because it interferes with your conception of God and how He could be loving and yet condemn someone to hell. The idea of hell might be to you as it was to the late atheist Christopher Hitchens, the product of a “sick mind” and nothing more. You might consider yourself a follower of Jesus Christ and have problems dealing with the reality of such a terrible place and the fact that it is a product of His creation.

As a minister of the Gospel, I do not want to leave you in a state of disbelief or anxiety, and I certainly do not want you to go there at the end of your life, so let us examine this topic that is for the most part forgotten or denied by most of society and, unfortunately, by many pastors and churches.

There is enough deception going on when it comes to the nature of God and how He handles the wicked. We cannot rely on private opinions, feelings, or a false sense of security in thinking that we are not so bad as to suffer the wrath of God and the day of judgment. We cannot dwell on the false hope that while people such as murderers and vile criminals certainly deserve hell, we will be spared the same punishment due to some imagined belief that our “good works,” thoughts, service, or random acts of kindness will balance out the scales of eternity in our favor.

The Bible shatters that illusion by saying that our concept of “righteousness” is like a “filthy rag” in the sight of God (Isaiah 53:6; 64:6). The Bible also says that everyone, regardless of background, nationality, education, whether malevolent or benevolent, reprobate, or religious, will face Almighty God to give an accounting of their lives (Matthew 7:21-23; Luke 12:13-21; John 5:28-29; 2 Corinthians 5:10; Hebrews 9:27).

Our convictions and beliefs are corroded with the rot of evil, and apart from the Sovereign intervention of God Almighty, we are blind and unable to confront and rebuke the obvious wrongs that are in plain sight. Our sinful nature has caused this world to careen into the storm of evil we have lived with for the past few thousand years. Our wickedness has brought about the despicable conditions that have allowed suffering and sorrow into this world.

Suffering is not “God’s problem,” as some skeptics like to proclaim, but the consequence of our disobedience, hatred, and rebellion against the guidance and grace of God. Our “free will” gave us “freedom” to go against God’s will, and the results are evident for those with eyes to see.

There is no way that the Sovereign and Holy LORD is going to let us into His heaven in the condition we find ourselves and let us not think otherwise, as if we can bypass or get around the standards of the LORD. Arrogance and pride are the bad fruit of our “choice” to rebel against Him. Let us not make our situation any worse by telling God that we “deserve” anything from Him, or that we are somehow “entitled.” The Bible says that we are totally drenched in sin and look for the quickest routes to depravity both personally and as a nation (Romans 1:18-32, 3:10-18, 23).

God does not take any joy in the death of a wicked person, and counsels both people and nations throughout the course of history to repent and turn to Him for forgiveness and restoration (Ezekiel 18:19-32). He will not, however, let us enter His presence in an unrepentant and wicked frame of mind and heart, especially after we take our final breath. Here is why the doctrine and reality of hell must be brought back into the pulpits and the hearts of all who are tired of life, sin, and despondency and want renewal. Here is why the Gospel is “good news.”

We must all face the reality of death and what happens afterward. There simply cannot be just “an end” to things and have it been left at that. Murderers, rapists, perverts, thieves, charlatans, despots, dictators, tyrants, pedophiles, occultists, and others who have committed the most heinous of crimes who were never brought to justice, much less suspected of varied evils, cannot go unpunished. Their victims must have justice.

Wrongs need to be made right, and if these deviants merely go to their graves with the satisfaction of knowing they “got away with it,” then life truly has no meaning, purpose, or sense of justification in the end. The idea of hope dies with everyone, and the living go on in despair if this is all that exists within the cold universe. If God is non-existent and there is no reward or retribution for anything, then we are products of not only random chance but empty meaning as well.

But, if God is real and He is Holy as Scripture teaches, then there must be a place of final justice as well as eternal reward. The courtroom of eternity will not excuse or look over the fact that “we did our best” or that “God will let us slide and give us a slap on the wrist as we go into heaven.” God’s righteousness will not tolerate anyone getting away with anything, and there will be no place for getting off with any kind of technicality or the appeals of slick lawyers and some kind of “plea bargain.”

The only thing we can plea for while on this side of the grave is to plea for mercy from the Lord Jesus Christ to forgive us of our sins and save us from the final judgment that will cast untold numbers into a very real hell. It is only through Jesus Christ that we have any hope of salvation, true peace, and the ability to enter God’s heaven.

Hell is a necessary part of God’s eternal plan to bring all history to a conclusion on His terms. Hell will bring Him glory and honor from those who have trusted in Him for salvation and provide the final, irrevocable, and unavoidable justice that will satisfy and comfort every person who has had to suffer and survive in an atmosphere of evil that looked to have no end.

God’s perfect love will NOT allow ANYONE who harmed His children, or have spent their lives mocking and denying Him, or who have preyed upon, molested, or abused the innocent to be spared. He will not pardon anyone who took it upon themselves to wreck the faith of others by ridicule, deception, and denial of His Word (Matthew 18:6). Anybody who relied upon themselves for redemption will be cast out of His presence (Ephesians 2:8-10).

Hell is the perfect creation of God to dispose of anyone who rejects and hates Him (Matthew 25:41). Nobody has returned from hell to dispute that fact (Luke 16:19-31), and nobody ever will until the final moment of recorded history when the Lord Jesus Christ sends the judged and sentenced wicked of all time into the Lake of Fire forever.

If hell did not exist, then the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross was for nothing. To have the unredeemed be welcomed to spend eternity with the redeemed would be a type of hell for those who placed their trust in Christ for salvation. God’s love eternally spares the righteous from having to face such a scene. Unpunished wickedness on the part of God would be a vicious cruelty for anyone who had to face their murderer, rapist, or sexual predator for eternity. God’s love is shown by casting out the unregenerate into darkness so that the righteous in Christ can walk in His light (1 John 1:7).

It is my belief that the memories of those we knew and loved who rejected Christ and went to hell will be wiped away from our minds after the Final Judgment is set and the doors to the Lake of Fire are closed forever (Revelation 21:4). For those of us who have trusted in Jesus Christ for salvation, we will be heirs of untold heavenly riches, be free forever of sin and sickness, free forever from the devil and his demons, free forever from heartache and sorrow, and we will be with our loved ones forever, and will see our LORD face to face and fellowship with Him always.

Why would you want to throw that promise away? Why would you want to reject the One True Friend you need? Why would you want to choose to walk away from grace and mercy that only He can give? As someone who has served Him for many decades, I can testify that His love never fails, His promises are true, and His peace is forever. I pray that you will come to Him for salvation today.

Donaldwhitchard@gmail.com

www.realitycityreverend.com