“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: 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: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.”
-Ephesians 1:3-6
Here we see another instance of the word “predestinated.” Once again, we see that the concept of predestination is inseparable from the plan of salvation through Christ alone. If you haven't read our first message on this topic, see our post, "As Many As Were Ordained."
The elect are predestined since “before the foundation of the world” to be reconciled to God through the blood atonement of Christ, “the lamb slain from the foundation of the world. (Revelation 13:8)” We are not predestinated to work our way to heaven, to maintain our place in heaven by our works, or to be saved without first accepting the free gift of salvation through Jesus Christ. Not gonna happen my friends.
Now, God anticipating something is not the same as him forcing it to happen. On the surface one can look at this passage in Ephesians and conclude that God decided in advance who would be saved, but this is why we must read the entire Bible in order to get to know God. What does the Lord Jesus say?
“For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will. For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son: That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.” John 5:21-23
Jesus says that the Father is not judging anyone himself, he has committed all judgement to Jesus Christ, the Son of God. So how does Jesus judge? He tells us in the same chapter:
“I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgement is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.” John 5:30.
So the Father is all knowing, but does not condemn anyone. He commits the task of judgement to the Son. The Son judges based only on what he hears from us. That means that the choice to believe on the Son or not lies with the individual.
That’s great news! As long as you are breathing, it is not too late to get saved. Jesus is waiting to save you. Do not let the Devil trick you into thinking you’re too far gone as you are. Do not wait until you clean up your act in some way. Call out to Jesus first and let him guide you through the Holy Spirit.
Judge yourself worthy of life, because you are.
God loved you enough to die for you, even as you are.
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