ELECTION and Predestination, C. H. Cayce In 1942, just three years before he died, Elder Claud Cayce wrote and published a series of twelve articles on election and predestination. Those articles go to make up this book. It was one of his last and best writings on the subject. Except for adding subheads, every word is exactly as he wrote it. I would not dare try to improve on his work. hlh
[July 2, 1942] These two subjects are very closely connected, or interwoven with each other. The doctrine that God did, before time, make choice of, or elect, a portion of the human race, and predestinate their salvation, is and has been a distinctive doctrine of the church all along the line.
The Primitive Baptists hold to this doctrine. Baptists believed and preached this doctrine before John Calvin was born. But Calvin, one of the great Reformers, did advocate that doctrine. He went further with his teaching, however, on that line than the Baptists did. The old Westminster Confession of Faith (the Presbyterian Confession by John Calvin) said:
By the decree of God, for the manifestation of His glory, some men and angels are predestinated unto everlasting life, and others foreordained to everlasting death.
We quote this from the “Constitution of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America, Containing the Confession of Faith,” etc., published in 1822.
When the Baptists met together to frame the London Confession in 1689 they copied the Presbyterian Confession as far as they could conscientiously do so. The way they put this down in the London Confession reads this way:
By the decree of God, for the manifestation of His glory, some men and angels are predestinated or foreordained to eternal life, through Jesus Christ to the praise of His glorious grace; others being left to act in their sin to their just condemnation to the praise of His glorious justice.
Notice the difference in the reading in this matter. The Baptists did not believe in the doctrine of unconditional reprobation—or that some of the race were foreordained to everlasting death.
God’s predestination or foreordination has never injured anyone. When God made choice of some He did nothing to the others. They are simply left where they are by reason of sin and transgression. The Lord simply passes them by, so far as this matter is concerned. Yet, in nature all are alike. All are sinners, and God is, or was, under no obligation to do anything for any of the race. What He has done, and does do, and will do, is all a matter of grace—a stoop of mercy.
In His mercy, and by His grace, He made choice of some of the race, and predestinated their salvation —predestinated that they should be conformed to the image of His Son. In this we find that election and predestination are joined closely together—that is, if this doctrine be true. What we here have in mind to do is to candidly investigate this doctrine, especially from a Bible standpoint. If this doctrine be true, then it follows that the Primitive Baptists are right in the principles which they hold to. If it is not true, then they are altogether and entirely wrong. And if they are wrong, we wonder, who, or what people, are right?
The people who contend that there is something which the sinner has to do in order to become a child of God or in order to be born again, differ as to what and how much the sinner has to do. If we go to them to find out from them what one must do in order to have eternal life, we find a perfect Babel. It seems reasonable to us that if they are right in their contention that there is something for the sinner to do in order to obtain eternal life, then they might be able to agree as to what it is the sinner must do in order to that end.
It seems reasonable to us to conclude that if the sinner must obey one command required in the Bible in order that he obtain eternal life, then he must obey every command laid down in the Book. If he must obey one of the commands in order to that end, then he must obey each and every one of those commands in order that the end be reached. So it seems to us.
Another inconsistency which we have seen in some who hold that the sinner must do something in order to obtain eternal life is this: Some of them teach that the sinner can and must “get salvation,” and then claim that after he gets it he cannot lose it.
It has always seemed reasonable to us to conclude that if a man can get a thing, he can lose it after he gets it. What a man can get, he can also lose. It seems inconsistent to teach that a person has to do something in order to obtain a thing and then to deny that he has something to do in order to keep that thing.
Surely, if a man has to exert himself to get a thing, he would have to exert himself in order to keep that thing after he got it. It seems logical to us that if a person has to perform a condition in order to obtain salvation, he would have some sort of condition to perform in order to keep that salvation.
Hence, it is inconsistent to teach that sinners have to perform certain stipulated conditions in order to obtain eternal life, and then to teach the final preservation of the saints, and that it is impossible for a child of God to fall away and be finally lost.
This makes the salvation of the sinner conditional upon his part before he is born again, or in order to be born again, and then makes his final salvation in heaven after regeneration to be unconditional on his part. It seems to us that if one is conditional the other is also conditional; or, if one is unconditional on the part of the person, so is the other.
Not one of these inconsistencies are encountered in the doctrine of personal and unconditional election of sinners to be saved in glory. We have had in mind for several days to write a little article on the doctrine of election and predestination. As we began the writing these matters came into our mind, and this article is now long enough for one issue of the paper. So we stop here with the promise to try to look into the subject more directly in next issue.
[July 16, 1942] In our last issue (July 2) we promised to try to write more on this subject for this issue. In order to an intelligent investigation of the subject it is well to first see what the word election means, and what the word elect means, and what the word elector means. We will take the last word first.
Elector is one who elects, or has the right of choice. If persons of Adam’s race were chosen to eternal life, or chosen to be made children of God, or to be conformed to the image of Christ, we may ask, Who did the choosing? Who did the electing?
If such choice was made, then someone must have made the choice; someone must have done the electing, or the choosing. They either did the choosing themselves, or some other party must have done it. If they did the choosing, then they themselves would be the elector. If they constitute the elector, then they must have existed before the electing was done.
Elect, as an adjective, means chosen; taken by preference from among two or more. Theologically it means chosen as the object of mercy or divine favor; set apart to eternal life. An adjective is a descriptive word. If the word elect is used any place in the Bible to describe any person or persons, it is there used as an adjective.
If the Bible speaks of any person, or persons, as the elect of God, as a descriptive term, the word is there used as an adjective, and it means that they were chosen as the objects of mercy or divine favor; it means that they were set apart to eternal life.
Elect, as a noun, means one chosen or set apart. Theologically, one elect;—now only as collective; as, “Shall not God avenge His own elect?”—Luke xviii. 7.
Elect, as a transitive verb, means to select; to determine by choice; to decide upon; to choose; to select or take for an office by vote.
Theologically, it means to designate, or choose, or select, as an object of mercy or favor. Election is the act of choosing; choice; selection. Theologically, it means divine choice; especially, as one of the “five points” of Calvinism; predestination of individuals as objects of mercy and salvation; also, those elected.
The foregoing definitions are taken from Webster’s International Dictionary, which is conceded to be authority on the meaning of words in the English language. The dictionary gives the meaning of words according to their accepted use in the language.
This being true, we are aware of the fact that such definitions as we find in our dictionaries are not always the same as the words meant in the original languages in which the Bible was written.
The Old Testament was written in Hebrew, and the New Testament was written in Greek. Those languages are dead languages, and have undergone no change since the Bible was written.
The English language is not a dead language, and is undergoing changes all the time. Some words are going out of use, and others are being coined, and some words are used today in a different sense than they were years ago.
As an example of this, take Webster’s definition of baptize. He gives it as from the Greek word “baptizo, to dip in water,” and then defines the word baptize as “to dip or immerse in water, or to pour or sprinkle water upon,” etc. This shows that the meaning of the original word in Greek was to dip in water, which is to bury or immerse; but in later years some have engaged in sprinkling or pouring water upon a person and called it baptism.
But what the word meant in the Greek language when the New Testament was written is just what the word means in that language today. This all being true, it is well that we look into the original language now and see what the words elect and election mean in that language.
Let it be remembered that what the words meant when the New Testament was written is what they mean now. That language, or the meaning of words in that language, has undergone no change in all these centuries.
In every place in the New Testament where we find words elect, elected, or election, the word is translated from a word which means “to pick out; to choose, select; to choose out as the recipients of special favor and privilege; chosen out, selected; chosen as a recipient of special privilege; elect; specially beloved; possessed of prime excellence; exalted; choice; precious; the act of choosing out, election; election to privilege by divine grace; the aggregate of those who are chosen, the elect.”
These definitions are given in Bagster’s Analytical Greek Lexicon. We have not taken space to divide up and give each different ending and case of the word, for they all sum up to the same thing. Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance gives the meaning as “to select; make choice, choose, choose out, chosen.” Liddell & Scott Unabridged Greek Lexicon gives the meaning thus: “To pick or single out, to pick out for one’s self, choose out.”
In Thayer’s Lexicon we find this, in defining the original word: “To pick or choose out for one’s self; * * * so that the ground of the choice lies in Christ and His merits. * * * Eph. i. 4.”
It seems that we have here produced sufficient testimony as to the meaning of the words; and if one will not believe, from the evidence here produced, neither would he believe, though one rose from the dead.
The doctrine that God has made choice of a certain, or special, people, without regard to their works, or special fitness, may be repugnant to human nature, and contrary to the exalted opinion one may have of self; but that is no argument or evidence that it is not the truth.
Let us next look into the meaning of the word predestinate. Webster defines the word as an adjective thus: (From Latin praedestinatus, perfect participle of praedestinare, to predestine; prae, before; destinare, to determine.) Predestinated; predestined; foreordained; fated; theologically, foreordained by God’s decree or eternal purpose.”
As a transitive verb he defines it thus: “To predetermine or foreordain; to predestine; theologically, to appoint or ordain beforehand by divine purpose or decree; to pre-elect.”
The word in our English is translated from the Greek word pro-or-id-zo, which means “to limit in advance, predetermine; determine before; ordain, predestinate.” The word is from pro, “in front of, prior to; above, ago, before, or ever;” and horidzo, “to mark out or bound, to appoint, decree, specify; declare, determine, limit, ordain.”
These definitions are taken from Strong’s Concordance, and we find the same in the other Lexicons which we have before us, as Bagster’s, Thayer’s and Liddell & Scott’s. This is sufficient as to the meaning of the word.
With these facts before us, do we need to refer to the Scriptures and quote what we find recorded therein in order to prove the doctrine we maintain in this matter? If you would read for yourself, and keep these definitions in mind, it seems to us that no argument would be needed to convince one that the doctrine is taught in the Bible. But we do not wish to let the matter go at that. But we have written enough for this issue already, and will promise to write more on the question for the next issue.
[August 6, 1942] In our last issue (July 16) we promised to write some more on this subject. So we will try to comply with that promise. There are so many passages in God’s Word treating upon this matter that we hardly know which passage to introduce first. Suppose we start by reading the following:
Knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God. For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance; as ye know what manner of men we were among you for your sake.—I Thessalonians i. 4, 5.
Please bear in mind that the beloved Apostle Paul penned this language by inspiration of God—that he was moved by the Holy Spirit to pen the language in the original which is translated as above. Paul said, “Knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God.”
If he did not know it, then he was moved by the Holy Spirit to say he knew what he did not know. If he was not moved by the Holy Spirit to say he knew what he did not know, then he did know their election of God.
Remember, too, that the Thessalonians were not apostles. It has been said by some that the Lord did choose or elect the apostles, but not others. But the Thessalonians were not apostles, and Paul said he knew their election of God. Their election was of God.
As it was of God, then it was not of themselves. God is the one who did the choosing or electing; hence their election was of God. Since Paul knew their election was of God, then he knew that the doctrine of election was the truth.
As we said in a previous article, this doctrine may not suit our carnality, or the doctrines of men, but Paul knew it was the truth. If it was the truth then, it is the truth now. Principles are eternal and never change.
How did Paul know their election of God? He tells us how he knew it: “For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance.” The gospel comes to unregenerate persons in word only; it does not come to them in power; nor does it come to them in much assurance.
The unregenerate man may hear the words uttered by the minister as he proclaims the riches of God’s grace, and as he tells of God’s work in the salvation of poor lost sinners, but it is an idle tale to such persons. True gospel preaching is foolishness to them.
“The preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness.”—1 Cor. i. 18.
The gospel comes to such persons in word only. But to the Thessalonians the gospel did not come in word only, but also in power. They not only heard the words; but there was a power in it to them. This was a sure evidence to the apostle that they were of the elect of God.
They were not the elect of God because the gospel came to them in power; but the fact that the gospel came to them in power was proof to the inspired apostle that they were the elect of God.
This same inspired man said, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.”—Rom. i. 16.
Please take notice of the fact that Paul did not say “it is the power of God in order to salvation” —but unto salvation.
How under heaven could the gospel of Christ be the power of God unto salvation if salvation did not already exist in the person before the gospel got there? How can one thing be unto another thing if the other thing is not already in existence?
The gospel is the “power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth.” It is not the power of God unto salvation to one who is not a believer. A believer is one who has already been born of God.
“Even to them that believe on His name: which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”— John i. 12, 13.
Those who now believe, in the present, were born of God, in the past.
So the gospel coming to one in power proves that such a one was born of God before the gospel thus came to him; and one who has been born of God was chosen of God before he was born of God. Being born of God and the gospel coming to him with power is inspired proof of the fact that such a one was embraced in the election of God.
The gospel does not bring assurance to those who have not been born of God, or who are not of the elect of God. But it does bring much assurance to some. To whom does it come with much assurance ? It comes with much assurance to those who are of the elect of God, and who have been born into the heavenly family.
If the gospel has come to you with much assurance, it is an infallible proof, according to the inspired apostle, that you are embraced in the number of God’s elect. The same which was said to the Thessalonians by the inspired apostle in our text may just as truly be said to you.
“Knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God. For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance.”
The eternal God, in His mercy and grace, made choice of you, elected you to salvation though Jesus Christ our Lord; and the apostle has said that he knew this fact, and knew it to be a fact.
Well, we have only brought out one leading text in this article, but we feel that we have taken enough space for this time, and will stop for the present, with the promise that we will try to write more on this subject for the next issue.
[August 20, 1942] In our last issue we promised to try to write some more on this subject for this issue. We will try to fulfill that promise. In this article we will call attention, first, to Psalm cxxxix. 15, 16:
My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.
In this language David was representing the Saviour speaking; he was impersonating the Lord Jesus. His substance is the same as His members; that is, the members of His body. These members of His body, His substance, are those He gave Himself for. They go to make up the number for whom He gave Himself.
“Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave Himself for it; that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that He might present it to Himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.” Eph. v. 25-27.
The washing of water by the word is the washing, or cleansing, by the power of His speech.
“It is the Spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.”—John vi. 63.
The Father saw every member of Christ’s mystical body, though the number is beyond the power of man to enumerate. It is an innumerable company, which no man can number.
He saw them before any of them existed. They were not hid from Him. The father saw them when they were yet unperfect, when they were not completed, or when they did not yet exist. All these members of His body, the finally saved, those who shall finally live with Him in glory, were written in God’s book “when as yet there was none of them.”
This was before they had existence. As it was before they had existence, it was too soon for them to do something in order to be written in that book. And as it was before they had existence, then they did not always exist—that is, they did not always have being.
As they were written in that book before they had existence, or “when as yet there was none of them,” it follows, as a necessary conclusion, that God made choice of them before they existed, even before time, and wrote them in His book. That is, it is necessarily true that God made choice of them whom He did write in His book. They were fashioned in His mind and in His choice before they were brought into existence, before the foundations of the earth were laid.
This text being true, it follows that the doctrine of salvation wholly by the grace and mercy of God, without any works of any creature, is true. They being written in God’s book before there were any of them in existence, God making choice of them and writing them in that book, it follows that even this was of His mercy and grace; and they are finally brought home to glory by His grace. This is all of grace, from first to last. It is grace upon grace.
“Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord; and the people whom He hath chosen for His own inheritance.”— Psalm xxxiii. 12.
That nation whose God is the Lord is that people whom He hath chosen for His own inheritance. If a person is embraced in the inheritance of the Lord it is because God has chosen that person.
If God has not chosen a people for His own inheritance, then the Lord has no inheritance. All those people who go to make up the inheritance of the Lord are those people He hath chosen for His inheritance.
Does the Lord want all His inheritance? If not, why not? And will not the Lord get all His inheritance? If not, why not? And if the Lord does not get His inheritance, who will get it? If Satan is able to get a part of the Lord’s inheritance, could he not get all of it if he wanted to? If not, why not?
If Satan gets a part of the Lord’s inheritance, and does not get all of that inheritance, and the Lord gets only a part of His inheritance, does it not follow that the Lord gets only that part which Satan would not have? Would it not be true, then, that those who are finally saved are saved by the grace of Satan, and not by the grace of God? If not, why not?
The Lord has chosen a people for His own inheritance; and Jesus redeemed them by His blood, and sends His Holy Spirit into their hearts and thereby regenerates them, brings them into divine relationship with Himself; and they are preserved in Jesus Christ, and kept by the power of God unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time. Hence, they will all be finally landed on the shores of eternal bliss, and will be glorified and will live with Him in all the ceaseless ages of eternity.
“Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and causest to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts: we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple.”—Psalm lxv. 4.
The reason why any poor sinner has ever approached the Lord, or ever will approach Him, is because God had made choice of that sinner, and caused him to approach unto Him. No one is perfectly satisfied in this world of sorrow and turmoil. We may have a moment of satisfaction here, but it is only for a moment, and even then it is not perfect satisfaction. But the glorious day is coming when some will be perfectly satisfied. Who will be finally perfectly satisfied? Those whom the Lord has chosen and caused to approach unto Him.
If we object to the doctrine of God’s choice, we object to the very principle upon which a poor sinner ever approaches the Lord, and upon which any poor sinner will ever reach heaven and be satisfied.
Those who approach the Lord, and who will finally reach heaven and be satisfied, are those whom the Lord has chosen and caused to approach unto Him.
If you have ever approached the Lord, at the foot-stool of His mercy, realizing your need of His mercy and grace, and have implored His mercy from a feeling sense of your need, it is because God had made choice of you and caused you to approach unto Him. And all such persons shall be satisfied with the goodness of His house, the house not made with hands, and which is eternal in the heavens.
You will be satisfied, after this poor wearisome life is over, with His holy temple. You will be prepared and qualified and capacitated to live with Him in glory, and you shall be satisfied. Surely, that will be enough.
Well, we are not through with this subject, and will try, the Lord willing, to write more for the next issue. May the Lord’s richest blessings rest upon you. Remember us in prayer.
[September 3, 1942] We promised again in our last issue to try to write some more on this subject for this issue. We will try to do as promised.
The last text we used in our last article was Psalm lxv. 4, which reads as follows:
“Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and causest to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts: we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple.”
We also used this text: “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord; and the people whom He hath chosen for His own inheritance.”—Psalm xxxiii. 12.
We wish to refer to these passages again because it has been argued by some that it is not persons, abstractly, that God made choice of, but that He chose character and not persons: thus teaching that one must be of such and such character in order to be embraced in the election.
For instance, it has been argued that one must be a believer in order to be embraced in the election; that God chose only such as become believers; that the choice is, or was, based on the fact of them becoming believers; thus contending that it was not persons, as such, that He chose, but such and such characters. Let us here call attention to the fact that David said, in Psalm xxxiii. 12,
“Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord; and the people whom He hath chosen for His own inheritance.'”
A nation is composed of people; people, not character, make up and compose a nation. That nation whose God is the Lord is a blessed nation. And David, most emphatically, says the people are blessed whom the Lord hath chosen for His own inheritance.
If David told the truth, and he did, then God chose people; and people are persons of Adam’s sinful race. Hence, God made choice of sinners of Adam’s race for His inheritance. And in Psalm lxv. 4 he said,
“Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and causest to approach unto thee.”
It is the man which God chooses, and not character, and then He causes that man whom He has chosen to approach unto Him. If one approaches unto Him in repentance and faith, or in faith and repentance, it is because God had made choice of him and caused him to thus approach unto Him.
It was not the faith and repentance which God had made choice of, nor because of the faith and repentance, that God made the choice; but God chose the man, and then caused the man to approach unto Him.
The choice was first, the man was chosen, and the faith and repentance were some of the ends to be reached as a result of the choice and the Lord causing the one chosen to thus approach unto Him.
Hence, the faith, or belief, and repentance are evidences—inspired evidences—that the person was chosen of God. If one approaches the Lord, it is because God had made choice of that person and caused him to approach. God made choice of him first, and then, after the choice, caused him to approach unto Him.
No poor sinner has ever yet approached the Lord, or ever will approach unto Him, upon any other principle other than that the Lord had made choice of him and caused him to approach unto Him. If any poor sinner ever has approached the Lord, or ever will approach unto Him, upon any other principle than this, then it was not necessary for the Lord to make the choice and cause the person to approach unto Him; and if it was not necessary, then the Lord has done an unnecessary thing.
A thing done which was not necessary to be done is a thing by which no good is accomplished. But good is accomplished by that which the Lord has done and does do. It is good for the Lord to possess His inheritance. Hence, it was not an unnecessary thing for God to choose sinners of Adam’s race and cause them to approach unto Him; and, as a result of the choice which God has made, and the work which He does in causing poor sinners to approach unto Him, He will have all His inheritance, and will bring all of them home to glory; and they shall be satisfied.
This is consoling to poor sinners of Adam’s race who have been given to see and to realize their lost condition by reason of sin—that, notwithstanding their deplorable condition, God made choice of them and caused them to approach unto Him, and will finally bring them off more than conquerors through Him that loved them and gave Himself for them.
Let us here quote Luke xviii. 1-8:
And He spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint; saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man: and there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary. And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man; yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me. And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith. And shall not God avenge His own elect, which cry day and night unto Him, though He bear long with them? I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man conieth, shall He find faith on the earth?
In this Scripture we have the lesson taught us that the unjust judge avenged the widow who cried unto him. It was not done by him as an act of mercy, or because he feared God or regarded man; but it was because he might be wearied by her continual coming to him.
But this is not the reason why God will avenge His own elect. God is not an unjust judge, nor is He unmerciful. He is both just and merciful. He will avenge His own elect because He loves them, and hath mercy on them; and He will avenge them speedily.
“Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.”— Rom. xii. 19.
Here is language uttered by the blessed Son of God Himself. In it He tells us that God has an elect. As God has an elect. He made choice of them; He did the electing or choosing, and they are His own. How may they be distinguished from others who are not of His elect? They cry unto Him day and night.
They do not cry unto Him in order to become elect, or in order to be elected. If so, they cry before they are elected; and if they cry before they are elected, then some cry unto Him who are not yet elected. And if some cry unto Him who are not yet elected, then the Saviour made a wrong statement when He declared that His elect cry unto Him day and night. Those who cry unto Him are those who have already been elected, already chosen. God had made choice of them, and now they cry unto Him.
Have you been brought to cry unto the Lord? If so, the Saviour here describes you as one of the elect of God, and assures you that the same one who has chosen you will care for you and protect you, and that He will avenge your adversary. He will preserve and keep you, because He loves you with an everlasting love, and He changes not.
“I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.”— Malachi iii. 6.
Blessed and glorious promises and assurances are these which the Lord, in His love and mercy, hath given for the comfort, consolation and encouragement of His little ones here in this low ground of sorrow. Dark clouds are hanging over the world today; but God will take care of you, dear children, His elect, the objects of His love and choice. We often wonder if we are embraced in that number. These things here have been of some comfort and consolation to us along life’s rugged way, and we feel today to be willing to risk it, and to rely on His precious promises. May the Lord bless you, and comfort your hearts in this dark and cloudy day, is our prayer.
We will try to continue the subject in our next issue.
[September 17, 1942] We promised again to try to write some more on the above subject; so we will try to write a few more lines on the same. This time we will begin by quoting Deuteronomy vii. 6, 7, 8:
For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God: the Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto Himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth. The Lord did not set His love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people: but because the Lord loved you, and because He would keep the oath which He had sworn unto your fathers, hath the Lord brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh King of Egypt.
Here we have the plain statement that the Lord had chosen Israel to be a special people unto Himself. He set His love upon them, and chose them, not because they were more in number than other people. Neither did He choose them because they were a good people, or better than other people.
Deut. ix. 6: “Understand therefore, that the Lord thy God giveth thee not this good land to possess it for thy righteousness ; for thou art a stiffnecked people.”
The Lord did not choose them because they were better than other people.
True, this choice was not unto eternal life, but they were chosen by Him as a special nation, and He set His love upon them as a nation. But national Israel were a typical people, and typified spiritual Israel. Abraham was chosen of the Lord, and was the father of this great nation.
God promised him that He would make of him a great nation, and promised him an heir. Isaac was the premised heir.
“Now, we, brethren, as Isaac was,, are the children of promise.”—Gal. iv. 28.
Ishmael was not the child of promise. He was born after the flesh. His mother was a type of the old covenant given on Mount Sinai. Sarah was a type of the covenant of grace; so, in the type, Isaac represented the children of the covenant, the children of God, the children of promise.
“And if ye be Christ’s, then ye are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”—Gal. iii. 29.
So was Jacob a promised child, and was a type of the Lord’s children. The Lord made a promise concerning Jacob before He was born, and even before he was born God said He loved him.
“The Lord’s portion is His people; Jacob is the lot of His inheritance.”—Deut. xxxii. 9.
The Lord chose Jacob, to bestow the blessing upon him, and passed Esau by, and did not love Esau. He did Esau no harm, but simply left him alone. He was under no obligation to bless either Esau or Jacob; but He saw fit to bestow mercy and grace upon Jacob, and bestowed the blessing upon him. God loved Jacob and chose him before he was born to bestow the blessing upon him. Jacob’s name was changed to Israel.
“And God said unto him. Thy name is Jacob: thy name shall not be called any more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name.”—Genesis xxxv. 10.
Israel, as a nation, were God’s chosen nation, and were a type of spiritual Israel, God’s chosen people.
God did not choose national Israel because they were good, or because they did good, nor because they made choice of Him. This choice was without any condition on the part of Israel, and without any good in them causing Him to choose them.
But He made choice of them that they be a peculiar people unto Him. This being true, the Lord made choice of His spiritual Israel without any good in them causing Him to make the choice. The choice was made without any reference to good in them. He did not choose them because they were better than other folks, but of His own will and good pleasure. It was just because it was His will thus to do; it seemed good in His sight.
If sinners in nature were left to themselves not one would ever choose the Lord. One would necessarily be compelled to first think upon the Lord in order to choose Him. David says,
“The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts.”—Psalm x. 4.
If the Lord had not chosen the sinner, and after the choice, and according to that choice, given the sinner a new heart and a new life, that sinner would never have even one good thought about the Lord; for while he is yet in that wicked state God is not in his thoughts. It follows, then, as a necessary fact and conclusion, that the sinner must be changed first in order that he have one right thought of the Lord.
It is the Lord’s work to give the sinner a new heart; and as it is His work to do this, He certainly has chosen to do that work when He does it; and if He has chosen to do that work. He has, most assuredly, chosen the ones in whom He does the work. If you are Christ’s then you are a child of promise. God the Father promised you to His Son; He gave you to His Son.
“I will declare the decree: the Lord hath said unto me. Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I will give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.”—Psalm ii. 7, 8.
The Father gave some to the Son. But this was before we had existence. So you were given to Him before you had existence. The Son chose those whom He asked for, and the Father chose those whom He gave to the Son. The choice of the Father and the Son were the same. And the Son has left this statement on record for our consolation and comfort and assurance:
“And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which He hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.”—John vi. 39.
Paul’s hope of living with God in the glory world was based alone on the promise of God and His power and faithfulness to perform and to fulfill His promise.
“In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began.”— Titus i. 2.
From this we see very clearly that Paul’s hope was based alone on the promise of that God who cannot lie.
We also learn from this that God promised eternal life before the world began. He did not bestow or impart eternal life to anyone before the world began, but He made the promise before the world began, and eternal life was the thing promised. As He made this promise, persons who did not yet exist must have been embraced in the promise.
He either promised eternal life to all the race of Adam, or to a part of the race, or to none of the race. If He made the promise to none of the race, then none of the race will receive eternal life. But either some of the race or all of the race will receive eternal life. If all the race receive eternal life, then Universalism may be the truth. The Universalist says there is no such thing as an eternal hell, or place of eternal punishment.
If there is no such place as that, then the Lord Jesus did not save a single one of all the race of Adam from anything at all; and so His death was all in vain, and He accomplished absolutely nothing by His suffering and death.
This virtually denies that He was the Son of God, and to deny that He was the Son of God is to virtually deny the Bible being the truth; and to deny the Bible being the truth is to virtually deny the very existence of God.
But some of the race receive eternal life. As God cannot lie, and as He promised eternal life before the ages of time began, then all who were embraced in the promise will receive eternal life. He promised eternal life to all those who were given to the Son. It must be true, then, that He made choice of those who were embraced in the promise.
If your hope of heaven is based alone on the promise of God, and His faithfulness and power to perform what He promised—based alone on the work of the infinite Jehovah God, and not on any worth, or merit, or righteousness of your own— not even your thinking on His name, nor on your choice, nor your acceptance of Him, or anything under heaven that you have done, or can do, or may do— just as Paul’s hope was based alone on the Lord, then you are a child of promise, and God made choice of you before you ever had existence; and He has brought you into divine relationship with Himself by the work of the Holy Spirit, the third Person in the Holy Trinity; and the Lord Jesus will raise you up at the last day in His own image and likeness; and eternal joy and bliss will be yours.
May His richest blessings rest upon you, is our humble prayer.
[October 1, 1942] We promised again in our last issue to try to write some more for this issue on the subject of election and predestination. We will now try to comply with that promise. This time we will call attention to Ephesians i. 1-5:
“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: grace be to you and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. 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.”
In this language we find Paul embraced, and the saints at Ephesus are embraced, and all the faithful in Christ Jesus are embraced. The expression, “Faithful in Christ Jesus,” means all those who are full of faith in Christ Jesus. That includes all who are full of faith in Christ Jesus in every age and every clime, in all the habitable parts of the world.
The word our embraces Paul, the writer, and the saints at Ephesus and all those who are full of faith in Christ Jesus. It embraces the writer and those he was writing to—all the persons addressed.
God is our Father; and the Lord Jesus Christ is ours. It is our Lord Jesus Christ. Paul’s language means that “He is mine, and He is yours.”
Then the word us embraces the same people, the same number—no more, and no less. He “hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.”
Has He done this according to what we have done? Has He done this according to, or in harmony with, or in consequence of, some good thing done by us ? No. What, then, is it according to? “According as He hath chosen us in Him.”
The pronoun Him refers to Christ; “according as He hath chosen us in Christ.” He hath chosen in Christ the Apostle Paul, the saints at Ephesus, and all those who are full of faith in Christ Jesus.
Did He choose them in Christ because they first made choice of Him? No. They did not exist before the foundation of the world, and they would have to be in existence before they could make choice of anything. He made choice of them before they had existence, for He made that choice “before the foundation of the world.”
Before the foundation of the world was laid He made that choice. The expression, “before the foundation of the world,“ literally means “before the ages of time began.” Before time was, before time began. He made choice of them. The choice was in Christ, for He chose them in Christ; and He did this before the ages of time began.
God did not save people before the ages of time began; but persons who did not then exist were chosen in Christ before time was. The Father had a definite purpose in view in making this choice. What was that purpose? Was it to give them an opportunity to become children of God? Was it to give them an opportunity to be saved, or to become holy and without blame by doing His commandments? No; that was not the object of the choice.
What was it, then? It was “that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love.” He chose them to be holy, and not because they were holy, or because they would be blameless by their doing. The end of His choice was that they be made holy and without blame, and not that He chose them because they became holy and without blame.
The choice was first, and they are made holy and without blame before Him as a result of that choice. To say that they were chosen in Him as a result of, or because of, them becoming holy and without blame reverses the order and puts the effect for the cause, and the cause for the effect.
God’s choice is the cause; and the effect of that cause is that they are made to be holy and without blame before Him in love. It is because God loved them, and not because of something in them. There is no cause of God’s love, as here brought out, outside of Himself. The cause is all within and of Himself. Certainly, language could not be any plainer that God made choice of persons of Adam’s race; and that this choice was made before the ages of time began.
We remember being in conversation years ago with a man who denied the doctrine of election. We read these verses to him, and when we read the fifth verse we read it this way: “Having predestinated us unto the apostleship by Jesus Christ to Himself.” He interrupted us to say, “There it is; you see He did not predestinate that people should be saved; but He predestinated to make some apostles.”
Well, you know, we had to laugh right in his face. Then we read the text just as it is in the Book, and as quoted above:
“Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself.”
The apostle here plainly tells us that some were predestinated unto the adoption of children. How many were predestinated unto the adoption of children? All those who were chosen in Christ before time began. God determined beforehand that all the chosen ones should be adopted and brought into His heavenly family.
He predestinated them unto the adoption of children. Those who are made to be His children, those who are finally brought into His heavenly family, were chosen in Christ to that end, and the choice and purpose existed before time began. They are brought into divine relationship with Him, and will be adopted into His family in heaven, as a result of His choice and predestination.
God does not save sinners by accident; but He saves them on purpose, and according to His choice. God purposed to save the sinner that He does save, and the purpose was before the saving was done. God intended to save the sinner before He does the saving.
It was God’s purpose and intention to save every sinner that He does save. If any are saved who were not embraced in God’s choice, and that God did not purpose to save, then some must be saved that God did not choose to save, and that He did not intend to save. If any are saved that God did not choose and intend to save, then God does not save them. And if God does not save them, please tell us who does save them?
God has a place to put all those whom He saves—and that place is called heaven. Where will those be placed that God does not save? Some other place will have to be fixed up for them, because the place God has fixed will be filled with those that He saves.
Where is your faith fixed? Are you depending on societies, churches, preachers, or some other human being for your salvation? Do you expect to get to heaven by and because of what you do, or can do, or expect to do? If so, is your faith in Christ? If your faith is in Christ, then your dependence is all in Him; your whole trust and confidence is in Him; you are depending alone upon Him and upon what He has done, and is doing, and upon what He has promised to do, for your home in heaven—that place where His people will finally be landed.
And if your faith and hope and trust and confidence are all in Him, then it is true that you were embraced in God’s choice. God made choice of you before time began, and predestinated you unto adoption of a child. You will be taken home to live with Him in eternal glory, when all the trials and conflicts of life are over. You will live with Him in that world where sorrows and trials can never be. There will be no wars there. There will be no sin there.
He wept that we might weep;
Each sin demands a tear:
In heaven alone no sin is found,
And there’s no weeping there.
There’ll be no sorrow there;
There’ll be no sorrow there;
In heaven above, where all is love.
There’ll be no sorrow there.
The Lord willing, we will try to write some more on this subject for next issue. May the Lord’s richest blessings rest upon you, is our humble prayer.
[October 15, 1942] In our last issue we again promised to try to write more on the above subject. So we will try to carry out the promise.
We will here call attention to what Paul said in Romans ix. 7-16:
Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children; but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called. That is. They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God but the children of the promise are counted for the seed. For this is the word of promise, At this time will I come, and Sarah shall have a son. And not only this; but when Rebecca also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac; (for the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of Him that calleth;) it was said unto her. The elder shall serve the younger. As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid. For He saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.
Here is text enough for more than we will be able to write for this issue. The first thing we wish to call attention to is the fact that Isaac was a promised child, and that he was born contrary to nature. Abraham was old and Sarah was past the age of child-bearing. But God made promise that at a certain time He would come and that Sarah should have a son. That son was Isaac.
Ishmael was born of Hagar, and Ishmael was not the promised heir. He was born after the flesh. His mother was a type of the law covenant, and he was not to be heir with the child of the free woman. Isaac was a child of promise; and so is every child of God a child of promise.
“Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise.”— Galatians iv. 28.
Turn to the book and read the chapter, especially from verse 21 to the end of the chapter.
“And if ye be Christ’s then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”—Gal. iii. 29.
This is a clear and positive demonstration of the choice and purpose of God. The efforts of Sarah and her handmaid did not result in the birth of the promised child; but resulted in the birth of a mocker. Even so to this day—the efforts of all the societies in the world and the works of men do not result in the spiritual birth of one into the heavenly family. God comes, as He did then, in the power and might of His Holy Spirit, and the promised child is born into the heavenly family; and Jerusalem which is above, and is free, is the mother.
This Jerusalem is the covenant which is everlasting, and is ordered in all things and sure. They were embraced in that covenant before they had existence, “when as yet there was none of them.” Here is the doctrine of election, God’s choice, and God’s purpose clearly demonstrated.
Then the apostle refers to Rebecca, the wife of Isaac. To Rebecca and Isaac two boys were born, and they were twins. It seems that Paul was not satisfied to demonstrate and show forth the doctrine of God’s sovereign choice and His predestination by the use of Isaac and Ishmael, so he now brings out two more boys —twin boys, who had the same father and the same mother. Though they were twins, yet Esau was born first.
Under the law the family blessing was always to go to and be bestowed upon the elder, or the oldest boy. But God had not so chosen in this case. Before the boys were born the Lord told their mother that “the elder shall serve the younger.” The word elder literally means the greater and the word younger literally means the lesser. Here is a promise of God concerning these boys before they were born.
God made choice of the lesser, or the younger— Jacob— that he should serve the greater, or the elder—Esau. Here is a display of God’s choice in the matter; and it was not the law by which it was manifested or done, but it was a display of His mercy and grace and His sovereign choice.
God loved Jacob and bestowed the blessing upon him. God hated Esau, He did not love Esau, and passed him by and bestowed the blessing upon Jacob. This was not done because Jacob had done good and Esau had done bad, for it was before they were born, and neither of them had done any good or evil.
“For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of Him that calleth.”— Verse 11.
Here the apostle positively and unequivocally declared that in this is the doctrine of election and God’s purpose or predestination set forth. Why try to “wrest” this to try to make it teach something else? When and if one does that, is it not a clear demonstration of the fact that he is not satisfied with the teaching of God’s Book?
Years ago a lady said to us, “I do not believe that doctrine; I do not care if it is in the Bible.” Why not be candid about the matter, and do as that lady did, just say positively that you do not believe the Bible?
God made choice of Jacob, and Jacob was a type of all God’s people.
“When the Most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when He separated the sons of Adam, He set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel. For the Lord’s portion is His people; Jacob is the lot of His inheritance.”— Deuteronomy xxxii. 8, 9.
Jacob, then, represented the Lord’s portion, the Lord’s people, the Lord’s inheritance. God loved Jacob before he was born; and He loved His people before they existed. He loved them from everlasting, and will love them to everlasting. His love is eternal. He loved them from eternity, and made choice of them, and purposed to save them in eternal glory; to deliver them from the curse of the law—to save them from their sins.
Just where the Lord found Jacob is where He finds all His people—in a desert land, and in the waste howling wilderness. And as He did with Jacob, so He does with each one of them. “He led him about, He instructed him. He kept him as the apple of His eye.”
Is there unrighteousness with God because He does all this? Some people think so; for some will tell us that if God thus makes choice of one and saves that one without conditions upon his part, and does not give all the others a chance, that He is unjust. We have even heard some say that if He does this He is meaner than the devil.
But the inspired apostle did not thus view the matter. He asks the question, in anticipation of what some say about the matter, even in this so-called enlightened day, “What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God?”
Then He answers the question in positive language, “God forbid.” It is God’s sovereign prerogative to make choice of a poor sinner and deliver that sinner from eternal destruction from His presence—from eternal suffering in an endless torment. Hence:
“He saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.”
In His declaration to Moses He declared His sovereign choice of sinners and His purpose to save them. He saves whom He wills to save. He has compassion on whom He wills to have compassion. He has mercy on whom He wills to have mercy. And it is alone the mercy of God by which a poor sinner is saved, and not what the sinner does. And God bestows that mercy upon whom He wills to bestow it.
He has made choice of them, and saves them according to that choice and purpose. He made choice of them, and predestinated to save them. Hence He bestows His mercy upon those He has chosen and predestinated to save. Hence the salvation of the sinner is:
“not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.”
The unregenerate sinner has a will, but his will is wrong; he runs, but he runs in the wrong way. The will the sinner has, and the running which he does, has nothing under heaven to do with his salvation. “It is of God that sheweth mercy.” His salvation is all of God, and not partly of God and partly of his own will or work, or running. Have you learned and felt this truth in your own heart? If you have, you have been taught of God. God was your teacher in bringing you to know this great truth. And if God has been your teacher, then you are a child of God; for the prophet said,
“And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children.”— Isaiah liv. 13.
Everlasting peace is yours beyond this world of turmoil and war.
So by experience I do know
There’s nothing good that I can do;
I cannot satisfy the law,
Nor hope, nor comfort from it draw.
My nature is so prone to sin,
Which makes my doing so unclean,
That when I count up all the cost,
If not free grace, then I am lost.
[November 5, 1942] Again in our last issue we promised to try to write more on the above subject. So we will try again to comply with the promise. This time we will start our little article by calling attention to Zechariah xiii. 1, which reads as follows:
In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness.
The word shall is used in different ways or senses. Sometimes it is used in the sense of prophecy— simply telling beforehand what will come to pass at some time in the future. Sometimes it is used in the sense of a mere statement of fact. Sometimes it is used in the sense of a command, or in the giving of a command. Sometimes it is used in the sense of determination; it carries with it the idea of determination on the part of the speaker.
Let us look, for a few minutes, at Daniel xii. 10:
“Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly; and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.”
In this text the word shall is used in the first place in the sense of determination—”many shall be purified, and made white, and tried.” This is not something which they do themselves. It is something to be done by another, and done for and to them. They “shall be purified, and made white.”
The Lord determined that they should be thus made—made pure; they “shall be purified.” Poor sinners are made pure by the work of the Lord.
God the Holy Spirit makes the application of the blood of Christ to them, and thus they are purified and made white. The Lord determined to do this; and He chose those for and to whom this would be done. He chose those whom He would purify from their sins, and make white in the blood of the Lamb.
The next clause says; “but the wicked shall do wickedly.” They do not do wickedly because God determined that they should; but they do wickedly because it is their nature to do wickedly. Hence, that is simply a statement of a fact. It was that way when the language was written; it was that way before the language was written; and it is that way yet, and it will continue to be that way.
The wicked have always done wickedly because it was their nature to do wickedly; and they will always do wickedly, because it is their nature to do that way.
The next clause says: “and none of the wicked shall understand.” Why is it that none of the wicked shall understand? The Saviour answers that question for us very plainly. In John viii. 43 He said to some wicked Jews:
“Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word.”
The reason why the wicked shall not understand is because they cannot hear His word—they cannot understand it. “None of the wicked shall understand” because they cannot understand. Something must be done for the sinner which he cannot do for himself in order that he be able to understand—he must be changed first, in order that he understand.
In our text at the beginning of this article the Lord declares that in a certain day a fountain shall be opened. This carries with it the idea that the Lord had determined the fountain to be opened, or that it should be opened. He was going to see to it that this would come to pass; He was going to bring it to pass.
This certainly carries with it the idea that the Lord determined this beforehand. That is God’s predestination. Not only did He determine that this fountain should be opened, but He determined that a certain end should be reached— a certain thing should be accomplished by, and as a result of, the opening of this fountain.
Note, carefully, that the text says “in that day.” This signifies a certain day, a fixed day—not “in those days,” but “in that day.” The Lord determined to do this, or that it should be done, in a certain day. The day was fixed, or determined, as well as the thing to be done was determined. The Lord determined that this should be done at a determined time—in a certain day.
“In that day there shall be a fountain opened.”
The Lord determined to do what He does, and determined the time that He will do it. When the Lord does a thing, it is but the fulfilling, or bringing to pass, what He determined beforehand to do; and He does it at the time He determined to do it.
He never gets behind with His work, nor does He get ahead with His work. He always does His work on time, and at the right time. It is always at the right time for the thing to be accomplished which He determined to be accomplished.
The Lord did not say, in this text, that the fountain should be opened for the benefit of all mankind, or that all mankind might have access to it. Neither did He say that it would be free for all who would accept it; but it:
“shall be opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.”
The fountain is opened to these special people. It was not to be opened to the Amorites, the Hittites, the Jebusites, or the Perizzites, or the Hivites— but to the Israelites; the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
The Lord made choice of those to whom the fountain should be opened. The fountain was not to be opened a part of the way, and they to come the rest of the way—but the fountain was to be opened to them; it was to reach them, and to benefit them. It was to do something for them and to them, or in them.
The fountain was not to be opened in order that there might be sin and uncleanness; but to take away sin and uncleanness.
“The blood of Jesus cleanseth us from all sin.”
It is not baptism that takes away sin, or that cleanses from sin; but it is the blood of Jesus which does that.
A fountain is self-sustaining. It requires no power outside of itself to sustain it. A fountain is self-purifying. Place poison in the fountainhead of a stream, and the fountain will remove and carry the poison away itself. No power outside of itself is needed in order that the poison be removed.
All the sins of the chosen people of God were laid on Jesus.
“The Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”—Isaiah liii. 6.
But the fountain has carried all those sins away into the land of forgetfulness, and the Lord has said:
“and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.”—Hebrews viii. 12.
When the blessed Redeemer hung on Calvary’s cross and bowed His head and gave up the ghost, and poured out His blood on Calvary’s hill, the fountain was opened. It is self-sustaining. It needs not the help of men or angels in order that it be sustained; nor does it need the help of men or angels to make it sufficient to carry sins away into the land of forgetfulness.
“For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.”— Matthew xxvi. 28.
The blood of Jesus is sufficient to remit sins; hence baptism is not necessary in order to the remission of sins. This fountain was opened to, and for the benefit of, all spiritual Israel, the chosen of God; and He predestinated their salvation; He predestinated that all their sins and iniquities should be taken away by the efficacy of this fountain, and that they should all finally be brought home to glory, to live with Him in that glory world. He predestinated that they should be glorified.
There is a fountain filled with blood
Drawn from Immanuel’s veins,
And sinners plunged into that flood,
Lose all their guilty stains.
The dying thief rejoiced to see
That fountain in his day;
I hope that blood was shed for me,
And washed my sins away.
Dear dying Lamb! Thy precious blood
Shall never lose its power.
Till all the ransomed church of God
Are saved to sin no more.
E’er since by faith I saw the stream
Thy flowing wounds supply.
Redeeming love has been my theme.
And shall be till I die.
When this poor, lisping, stammering tongue Lies silent in the grave.
Then in a nobler, sweeter song
I’ll sing thy power to save.
We will try to write some more for next issue on this subject, the Lord willing. May His rich blessings rest upon you, and may these articles be blessed to the good of the readers. Please remember us in prayer.
[November 19, 1942] Again we will try to write a few lines on the above subject, according to the promise we made in the last issue of THE PRIMITIVE BAPTIST. This time we wish to call attention to Romans viii. 28-33, which reads as follows:
And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He did foreknow. He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He did predestinate, them He also called: and whom He called, them He also justified: and whom He justified, them He also glorified. What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth.
Before taking up a line of thought in connection with the subject of election and predestination, we wish to say a few words concerning another matter contained in the Scripture above quoted. We wish to say a few things concerning the words all things in the text.
Here is a real need of rightly dividing the word of truth, as the Apostle Paul taught Timothy, in 2 Tim. ii. 15, where he said,
“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
To rightly divide is to rightly apply—apply each Scripture where it belongs. To quote a text and apply it where the Lord did not put it is to wrongly divide the word of truth. To put it where it belongs, and apply it to what the Lord has applied it, is to rightly divide it.
He did not say to divide truth from error. That will take care of itself when the truth is rightly divided, or rightly applied. Everything taught in the Bible is truth. The Bible is the truth.
But every truth in the Bible belongs just where God has placed it. Let us illustrate this fact in this way:
In 2 Tim. i. 9 the apostle said:
“Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began.”
Here the apostle tells us, emphatically, that this is a saving which is not according to our works. Our works, whether good or bad, do not have a thing in the whole wide world to do with this saving. The things which we do, or the things which we may leave undone, do not have a thing in the world to do with this saving. This is a saving which is not according to what we do.
Can we rightly divide the word of truth by saying there is no saving at all that what we do has nothing to do with? Let us see what the same apostle has said in 1 Tim. iv. 16:
“Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.”
In this text the apostle tells Timothy he would save himself and them that hear him by doing this. Here is a saving, then, which this minister was to accomplish by doing what the Lord here commanded him to do, or by doing that which he was instructed to do.
Timothy would not save himself in heaven by doing this. He would not make himself to become a child of God by doing this. It was too late for him to save himself in the sense of being regenerated by doing this, for he was already a child of God and a called minister of Jesus Christ.
He had already been born from above; and hence it was too late for him to do this in order to be born again. But it was not too late for him to save himself from false doctrine, or from the doctrines and commandments of men, by doing this. It was necessary that he do this in order to save himself from false doctrines, or from the doctrines and commandments of men.
By doing this, he would not only save himself from these things, but he would save them that hear him. The word hear, as it is used in this text, means to take heed, or to observe the teaching. It does not simply mean to hear the vocal sound of your preaching, but to take heed to it. This means to understand and then to observe the teaching.
The unregenerate cannot understand gospel preaching, or gospel teaching.
“Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word.”—John viii. 43.
Jesus said this to some wicked unregenerated Jews.
In verse 47 He said,
“He that is of God heareth God’s words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God.”
One must first be of God in order to be able to hear God’s words, or to hear the gospel.
“We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us.”—1 John iv. 6.
Those who really hear the gospel preaching are already of God; and the true minister is to save such persons, as well as himself from false doctrines, from the doctrines and commandments of men. This matter is very important for the benefit, instruction, and comfort of the Lord’s humble poor, as they are pilgrims and strangers here; but this does not have a thing in the world to do with them reaching heaven, or with their happiness in the glory world.
One time when we were in discussion with a gentleman he asked, “What in the world do you preach for? Why do you spend so much time in that work, and so much labor in that line? You say that no one is saved as a result of the preaching you do; then what do you preach for, if it is not to save somebody?”
We replied that we do try to, and expect to save some folks, by our preaching, the Lord helping us. He then wanted to know what we expected to save them from. We replied by saying, “We expect to save some from the heresy which you teach.”
We are sure that by the Lord’s help many of His little children have been saved from heresy here in the world by the preaching which has been done by the Lord’s true ministers. Here is a plain distinction which shows clearly the necessity of rightly dividing the word of truth.
We need to apply the word saved where it belongs where and when we find it in God’s blessed Book. The same thing is true regarding other things taught therein.
Suppose we apply the expression all things, as found in our text, to everything that exists in the world. If we do that, we are sure we would not be rightly dividing the word of truth. Will it do to say that God and Satan are working together?
We were told, once, of a preacher who said, “God cannot lie; but He raised up a nasty little devil to do His lying for Him.”
God did not raise Pharaoh up to lie, but to show His power in him, and that His name might be declared throughout all the earth. If that preacher told the truth, then God wanted some lying done, but was ashamed to do it Himself, so He “raised up a nasty little devil” to do that for Him.
The only job the devil has, according to that, is what God raised him up to do, and what God wanted him to do—the things the Lord is ashamed to do Himself. So, according to that, they must be working together.
Perhaps, according to that, they went into partnership, and are working harmoniously together, and God is as well pleased with the devil and his work as He was, or is, with the work of His dear Son. This may be true, but we confess that we have not so understood God’s Book to teach.
Satan has been working, from the first account we have of him, contrary to God; and he is doing that yet.
Again, we are told of two things which do not work together:
“For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.—Gal. v. 17.
Here are two things which are contrary the one to the other. As they are contrary the one to the other, they are not working together. They are working contrary to each other. Here is wherein there is a warfare going on in the child of grace.
That one who has been born of God, or from above, still is in possession of that old sinful nature, the flesh, and he is also in possession of the Spirit; and these are contrary the one to the other. From hence arises the warfare within; and this is a warfare that will never cease while they live here in the world.
These two things are contrary the one to the other. It has always been that way, and always will be that way, here in this world. They do not work together. One influences and leads in one direction, and the other leads and influences in the opposite direction.
We cannot rightly divide the word of truth by applying the expression in our text, all things, to these two things which are contrary the one to the other. The all things in our text, then, does not mean all things numerically, but it applies to the all things under consideration— to the all things which the Lord will give us, as expressed in verse 32, which the apostle says, or teaches, that the Lord will give us.
We have now just reached the text, or the part of the text, bearing directly upon the subject, but we have written enough for this time; so we will try to continue the matter in our next issue. Perhaps we have written enough on this subject. Unless our readers desire that we continue the subject further, we may try to conclude with our next article. May the Lord bless our readers. Please remember us in prayer.
[December 3, 1942] In our last issue we promised to write again on the above subject. We did not get through with writing on Romans viii. 28-33. In order that the reader may have the text before him we will here quote the language again:
And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He did predestinate, them He also called: and whom He called, them He also justified: and whom He justified, them He also glorified. What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifiefh. And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.”
Those who love God are those who are the called according to His purpose. They do not call themselves. They are called by another, and God is the one who does that calling.
“Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner; but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God; who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began.”—2 Tim. i. 8, 9.
God does this calling, and He does it according to His purpose. He does not call a poor sinner out of death into life, or out of nature’s darkness into His marvelous light, by accident. He does that on purpose. He purposed to do the calling before He does it. If and when a sinner is called with this holy calling, God does that according to His own purpose and grace. It is a fulfilment of His purpose. It is but God doing what He purposed, or intended, to do.
Those who are thus called by the Lord of glory, by the Holy Spirit’s work, are thereby brought to love God; and the all things the apostle is talking about in our text work together for their good. The Father will, with Christ, give to these same persons the all things which work together for their good.
“How shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?”
This last statement is in the form of a question, and is the strongest way of saying that “He will with Him also freely give us all things.”
Here is God’s purpose, plainly stated by the apostle. To purpose to do a thing is to predestinate to do that thing. Remember that predestinate means to determine beforehand. To determine a thing beforehand is to purpose a thing before it is done.
As those who are called according to His purpose, and God does the calling, then God purposed to call those who are called. As some of the race are called, and some of the race are not called, it follows that God made choice of those He does call. Here is election and predestination; and no one can dispute it without disputing the plain and positive and emphatic statements of the Word of God.
And if this part of the Bible is not the truth, who can tell whether any of it be true or not?
“For whom He did foreknow.” There is a sense in which God foreknew and does foreknow all things— everything that has ever yet existed, or that will ever exist; everything that has ever yet transpired, or that ever will transpire—but here is a particular sense in which He did foreknow some that He did not foreknow others.
The apostle did not say “what He did foreknow” — but “whom He did foreknow.” He foreknew that every person would exist that ever has existed or that ever will exist. But these were foreknown in His everlasting covenant of grace, and the others were not. They were embraced in the covenant, and thus foreknown. He made choice of them and gave them to the Son in the covenant.
“For whom He did foreknow. He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son.”
Those who love God are those who have been called; those who have been called, and who love God, are those He foreknew in the covenant; they are those whom He chose and embraced in the covenant; and those He foreknew He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son. He determined beforehand that these same people should be conformed to the image of His Son. He predestinated that somebody should be conformed to the image of Jesus; and He calls every one that He predestinated.
Every person that He predestinated to be conformed to the image of Jesus, He also calls out of nature’s darkness into His marvelous light.
“Whom He called, them He also justified.” How did the Lord justify them?
“Much more then, being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.”—Rom. v. 9.
They are justified by the blood of Christ. Who are justified by the blood of Christ? Those for whom that blood was shed; and He shed His blood for every one the Father predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son.
And every one that is justified by His blood shall be saved from wrath through Him.
What is the final end to be accomplished through all this? “Whom He justified, them He also glorified.” The final glorification of each one whom He foreknew in the covenant is the end to be reached.
He predestinated just as many to be conformed to the image of His Son as He did foreknow; and He calls just as many as He predestinated; and He justified as many as are called; and as many as were justified will be finally glorified.
There will be just as many in the number glorified in the final windup as were in the first thing mentioned. There will be no increase in the number, nor will there be any decrease. Sure enough, “what shall we then say to these things?”
What do you say, dear reader? Do you object to being conformed to the image of Jesus? Do you object to being glorified and qualified to live with God in glory? Do you love God? If you love the Lord, it is because God made choice of you before time was, and embraced you in His covenant—knew you beforehand in the covenant—and predestinated that you should be conformed to the image of His Son; and Jesus died for you on Calvary’s cross, and justified you by His blood; and the Holy Spirit has called you out of nature’s darkness into divine relationship with Him, and thus brought you to love Him; and as certain as God lives you shall live also; and you shall live in a glorified state beyond this vale of tears.
You shall live with Him where there are no wars, no bloodshed, no sorrow, no pain, no sickness, no sin, and no death. There will be no dark seasons there. Loved ones will not be called away to war. There will be no night there.
“If God be for us, who can be against us?” If God be for you in foreknowledge, in predestination, in calling, in justification, and in the final end of it all, your glorification, then who can be against you?
Satan, with all his emissaries, can never be able to drag you down to eternal night. The Lord will, with His Son, freely give you all things necessary to your final glorification, and you will see Him as He is, and be like Him.
Since the Father delivered up His Son for you, how shall He not with Him also freely give you all things necessary to your final glorification and your eternal happiness beyond this life? These people the Father delivered up His Son for are His elect. “Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect?”
God has an elect people—they are people— folks— sinners of Adam’s fallen race! they are persons; not some imaginary, invisible, intangible something; but tangible human beings. They are God’s elect; He chose them; He embraced them by choice before the world was, before they had existence; He foreknew them as His in the covenant; He predestinated them unto the adoption of sons; He justified them by the blood of Jesus; He calls them out of a state of death in sin to a state of life in Christ; they are preserved in Christ Jesus; He will see to it that they are all finally glorified.
Since it is God that justifies them, who can lay any thing to their charge? Who can condemn one that God justifies? If one be condemned that God justifies, then the case must be appealed from God’s high court in heaven to a higher court than His.
Is there a higher court to which the case of one the Lord justifies can be appealed ? Since God’s court is the highest court, then there can be no appeal taken. And as no appeal can be taken to another, or to a higher court, then their justification is an eternal or everlasting justification—it will never be any other way only that they stand justified before the Three-One God—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
It is God that justifieth. God does this. God is the supreme Judge in His court, and His court is the Supreme Court. God Himself, through what His Son has done for you, justifies you; He absolves you and makes you free from all guilt. Your guilt has been removed through what Jesus has done for you.
“Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.”—Rom. iv, 7.
The righteousness of Jesus is imputed to you and covers all your sins, and thus you are made pure in the sight of the Father. As your sins are covered, put out of His sight. He declares you innocent. The righteousness of Jesus is yours and in His righteousness you are innocent; and you stand justified in the sight of God. Well might the poet say:
Let me, my Saviour and my God,
On sovereign grace rely;
And own ’tis free, because bestowed
On one so vile as I.
Election! ’tis a word divine;
For, Lord, I plainly see,
Had not thy choice prevented mine,
I ne’er had chosen thee.
For perseverance, strength I’ve none,
But would on this depend,
That Jesus, having loved His own,
Will love them to the end.
Empty and bare I come to thee
For righteousness divine;
O! may thy glorious merits be
By imputation mine.
Free grace alone can wipe the tears
From my lamenting eyes.
And raise my soul, from guilty fears.
To joy that never dies.
Free grace can death itself outbrave.
And take the sting away;
Can sinners to the utmost save.
And give them victory.
We beg the Lord’s richest blessings to rest upon you; and may He bless what we have written to the comfort of His poor and afflicted children who ma’y read the same, is our humble prayer. We beg an interest in your petitions at the throne of mercy. We do not promise now to write more on this subject for the present. That depends upon the way we may feel impressed to write when the time comes.
[December 17, 1942] In our last issue we did not promise to write more on the above subject, but that our doing so would depend upon the way we felt impressed when the time came to write. We have had so many requests to continue the subject that we have decided to write a little more on the same. This time we will call attention to the following language:
Paul, a servant of Gcd, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God’s elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness; in hope of eternal life, which Gcd, that cannot lie, promised before the world began; but hath in due time manifested His word through preaching, which is committed unto me according to the commandment of God our Saviour.—Titus i. 1, 2, 3.
Here we have it that Paul was a servant of God. He served the true and living God. He was a loving servant. He was not this by nature, or while in an unregenerate state. While in an unregenerate state he thought he should do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth, which things he has told us he also did. But the Lord, in His rich mercy and grace, arrested this poor sinner and changed him from a persecuting Saul to a praying Paul. The Lord made him a prisoner;
“Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner.”—2 Tim. 1. 8.
While it is true that he was a prisoner, he was brought to love his Captor. He was brought into divine relationship with God, and thus brought to love the Lord. Hence he was made to be a willing prisoner.
“Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power.” —Psalm cx. 2.
God’s power was manifested in turning this man from his evil way, and made him to become a willing servant.
Paul was not only a servant of God, but he was an apostle of Jesus Christ. There were already twelve apostles—one for each of the twelve tribes; but this man was made to be an apostle to the Gentiles. He was our apostle. God had a people among the Gentiles, as well as among the Jews, and in the person of this man the Gentiles had representation in the office of the apostleship.
In the work of an apostle to the Gentiles the Lord had a work for an educated man to do; and He knew where to find the man, and He was able to call him and to put him into the ministry. He was able to make him a minister. He did not need the aid or assistance of any man or set of men to make this man an able minister.
He did not need the aid of some theological school to give him the finishing touches. When the Lord has a work for an educated man to do, He knows where to find the man, and He is still able to call the man and to put him into the ministry.
“For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called; but God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; and base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: that no flesh should glory in His presence.”—1 Cor. i. 26-29.
This was according to the faith of God’s elect. God had an elect; His elect were, and are His chosen people. As they were God’s elect. God did the electing, or the choosing. They were chosen in Christ before the ages of time began; see Ephesians i. 4. They were chosen before they did either good or evil.
As the choice was made before they did either good or evil, it necessarily follows that the election was unconditional upon their part. They were chosen too soon for them to do good in order to be elected; but they were the elect of God.
God cannot lie, and He promised eternal life. As He promised eternal life, persons must have been embraced in the promise. Persons were embraced in the promise before they had existence, for the promise was made before the world began. The phrase, before the world began, literally means before the ages of time. Before time began the Lord made promise of eternal life. He promised eternal life to all the race, or to a part of the race, or to none of the race.
If He promised eternal life at all, as the apostle says He did, then He must have promised eternal life to a part of the race or to all the race. If He promised eternal life to all the race, then all the race will receive eternal life. If all the race receive eternal life, then the doctrine of election is not true, and God does not have an elect.
To elect one is to choose that one and leave others. As God has an elect, then He chose them. They were embraced in His choice. Then as God has an elect, He did not promise eternal life to all the race, but He did promise eternal life to some of the race, and they were His elect who were embraced in the promise.
As God cannot lie, it follows that every one will receive eternal life who was embraced in the promise; or eternal life will be imparted to every person who was embraced in the promise; every person who was embraced in His election or choice will receive eternal life.
Certainly God did not promise eternal life without any intention of fulfilling the promise. He certainly intended to fulfill the promise when He made the promise. If He made the promise without an intention of fulfilling it, then He would be guilty of double dealing. As He cannot be guilty of double dealing, because He cannot lie, then when He made the promise, His intention was to fulfill it. It was God’s purpose to do what He promised. He predestinated to do what He promised—give eternal life to each one embraced in the promise. As He does not change (see Malachi iii. 6), then He will not decide later to do some other way than the way He promised.
Paul’s hope of life eternal was based alone on the promise of God and His power and will to fulfill the promise. Was his hope well grounded? Upon what is your hope based? Is your hope of eternal life, your hope of living with God in glory, based upon your good deeds ? Is it based upon the good things you have done, or may do, or can do? If so, your hope is not based upon the same thing Paul’s hope was based upon. Is your hope of heaven and eternal glory based alone upon the promise of God, and His power and will to fulfill that promise? Is it based alone upon the Lord, and what He has done and what He has promised to do for poor sinners?
If so, then your hope has the same foundation the apostle’s hope had. Was Paul a child of God? Yes, most assuredly. If Paul was a child of God, and your hope is based upon the same thing his hope was based upon, then so are you a child of God, and you were embraced in His election; you are one of the objects of His sovereign choice, and you will be given to live with Him in eternal glory.
May He give you more and sweeter assurance of your acceptance with Him, especially in these dark and gloomy times, is our humble prayer.