“Then shall the king say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world....Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels” — Matthew 25:34, 41
Image Credit: Luis Alves via Unsplash
Here in the parable of the sheep and goats we find the doctrines of election and reprobation hidden in plain sight. The King of glory says to righteous, Come, ye blessed of my Father, because salvation belongeth unto the Lord. [1]By GRACE are ye saved.[2]And this blessing was determined from the eternal purpose and mind of God before the heavens and earth were created. Ephesians 1:4 reads “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.
But notice what He does not say to those on the left. He does not say, “Depart from me ye cursed of my Father.” God does not force anyone to sin or originate sin in Himself. Instead, he simply gives us over to our own reprobate minds.[3] The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked[4]. God does not need to act upon us in order for us to sin[5]. Salvation is of the Lord, damnation is of men. Ephesians 2:1-3 and 2nd Corinthians 5:14-17 are further proof of man’s total depravity, which includes those elected to salvation. “And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins.” “…we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead.”
In case you need more evidence: There is none righteous, no, not one. There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God[6].
I confess that I struggled with these doctrines when I was new to Christianity. I once thought that because verse 41 of Matthew 25 says that hell was prepared for the devil and his angels that must mean that hell is somehow not designed for man and that God desires only for the salvation of all men who foolishly reject His generosity. But the sad fact is that the testimony of scripture concludes that without the regeneration of the Holy Spirit you are a servant of Satan by default. For as in Adam all die[7]Paul writes to the Corinthian church.
Our first parents and original covenant head worshipped Satan by obeying his command to eat the fruit. Whoever you believe, whomever you obey, that is your god. If your covenant head is Adam, then your god is Satan who is called the god of this world,[8] who blinds the minds of unbelievers so that the gospel does not take root. The word angel, while generally referring to supernatural beings, has in its most general meaning the idea of a “messenger.” If you are not bringing the gospel of peace you are indeed susceptible to communicating every kind of lie, making you indeed an angel of the devil.
“But beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak.” Heb 6:10
Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it. 1st Thessalonians 5:24
Scripture References: [1] Ps 3:8 [2] Eph 2:5, 8 [3] Rom 1:28 [4] Jer 17:9 [5] Jam 1:13 [6] Rom 3:10-11 [7] 1st Cor 15:22 [8] 2nd Cor 4:4
Comments