In Depth Explanation of the Doctrines of Grace

1
in depth Explanationof theDoctrines of Grace
27 May 2012 Mark V. Eberhard Ruling Elder Adult
Sunday School Concord Presbyterian Church (PCA)
2
Doctrines of Grace (TULIP)

• Total Depravity
• Unconditional Election
• Limited Atonement
• Irresistible Grace
• Perseverance of the Saints
• Also known as the Five Points of CalvinismAs a
  result of the Synod of Dort in 1610, TULIP was
  the counter of the five articles (or Five Points
  of Arminianism) published by the followers of
  James Arminius that were at variance with the
  Bible.

3
Total Depravity Defined

• Total depravity (also called absolute inability,
  radical corruption, total corruption, or
  Augustinianism) is a theological doctrine that
  derives from the Augustinian concept of original
  sin. It is the teaching that, as a consequence
  of the Fall of Man, every person born into the
  world is enslaved to the service of sin and,
  apart from the efficacious grace of God, is
  utterly unable to choose to follow God or choose
  to accept salvation as it is offered.
• Augustine of Hippo or Bishop of Hippo, modern
  day Algeria, St. Augustine, lived 354-430 A.D.

4
Total Depravity (Def Cont.)

• The doctrine of Total Depravity briefly states
  that because of the fall, man is unable of
  himself to savingly believe the Gospel. The
  sinner is dead, blind and deaf to the things of
  God his heart is deceitful and desperately
  corrupt. His will is not free it is in bondage
  to his evil nature therefore, he will not -
  indeed he cannot - choose good over evil in the
  spiritual realm.

5
Total Depravity (Def Cont.)

• Consequently it takes much more than the Spirit's
  assistance to bring a sinner to Christ -- it
  takes regeneration, by which the Spirit makes the
  sinner alive and gives him a new nature. Faith is
  not something man contributes to salvation but is
  itself a part of God's gift of salvation it is
  God's gift to the sinner, not the sinner's gift
  to God.

6
Total Depravity (More Define)

• Total depravity is the fallen state of man as a
  result of original sin. The doctrine of total
  depravity asserts that people are by nature not
  inclined or even able to love God wholly with
  heart, mind, and strength, but rather all are
  inclined by nature to serve their own will and
  desires and to reject the rule of God.

7
Scriptural Support

• Genesis 65, 821
• Numbers 1537-39
• 1 Kings 846
• Job 1514-16
• Psalm 141-3, 515, 9411, 1303
• Proverbs 423, 209
• Ecclesiastes 720, 811
• Isaiah 65, 536, 646
• Jeremiah 1014, 1323, 179
• Matthew 711, 1519
• Mark 1018
• Luke 1710
• John 224, 336, 644, 155, 16
• Acts 316, 1614
• Romans 118-216, 39-20, 23, 512, 718-20, 87
• 1 Corinthians 214, 123
• 2 Corinthians 35, 43, 113
• Ephesians 21-6, 417-19
• Colossians 213

8
Free and Uncoerced

• Even though free and uncoerced, the fallen will
  has no desire for anything except to indulge the
  evil tendencies of the heart. As long as a person
  is inclined only to evil, he chooses only evil.
  Fallen humanity loves darkness and hates light.
  So whenever a person is confronted with a choice
  between darkness and light, he chooses darkness.
  He chooses what is attractive to him, what his
  free will desires.

9
John 319-20

• John 319-20 says
• "This is the judgment, that the Light has come
  into the world, and men loved the darkness rather
  than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For
  everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does
  not come to the Light for fear that his deeds
  will be exposed."

10
Choosing Your Own Inclination

• A person always chooses according to his
  inclination. Every member of the human race is
  bonded to choose what he loves. Where is the
  bondage in choosing what we want? The bondage
  comes in the result of the sin he loves, the
  consequences of which he does not like.

11
Own Inclination (cont.)

• In sin, we may get what we want, but we do not
  want what we get. The sinner wants to live
  forever. He wants joy, love, peace, but only on
  his terms rather than God's. The sinner seeks
  these things, yet hates righteousness.

12
Zechariah 13

• Zechariah 13 says "Therefore say to them, Thus
  says the LORD of hosts, "Return to Me," declares
  the LORD of hosts, "that I may return to you,"
  says the LORD of hosts.'"

13
Martin Luther

• Commenting on this verse, the great reformer
  Martin Luther said, "It is not in your power to
  turn to God.
• If you think that it is in your power to turn to
  God you have missed the whole Reformation and
  don't understand total depravity.

14
Martin Luther (cont.)

• It is not in your power to turn to God. You are a
  sinner, you're dead, you're eaten up with
  corruption. Every free choice of yours is evil
  and not good. So how can we turn to Him who is
  light, righteousness, holy and good?"

15
Total Depravity (Sproul)

• Total depravity does not mean, however, that
  people are as evil as possible. R.C. Sproul
  quotes
• The Bible teaches the total depravity of the
  human race. Total depravity means radical
  corruption. We must be careful to note the
  difference between total depravity and utter
  depravity. To be utterly depraved is to be as
  wicked as one could possibly be.

16
Total Depravity (Sproul)

• Hitler was extremely depraved, but he could have
  been worse than he was. I am sinner. Yet I could
  sin more often and more severely than I actually
  do. I am not utterly depraved, but I am totally
  depraved. For total depravity means that I and
  everyone else are depraved or corrupt in the
  totality of our being.

17
Total Depravity (Palmer)

• We are, as Edwin H. Palmer puts it, not as
  intensively evil as possible but we are as
  extensively evil as possible. For example, while
  we as individuals may lie and cheat, this does
  not mean that we will go as far as murder.
• We are incapable of a truly good act of our own
  selves. Any good deeds we do (outside of Christ)
  is merely a "relative" good deed. A truly good
  deed is done for the glory of God unbelievers
  are incapable of this.
• The supreme point following from these three We
  are unable of ourselves to turn to Christ to be
  saved.

18
Scriptural Support of Total Depravity

• John 644 No man can come to me, except the
  Father which hath sent me draw him and I will
  raise him up at the last day.
• We will begin, therefore, with the verse that
  clearly does teach total depravity. Palmer
  Palm.5P, 16 tells us, "Here is total depravity
  man cannot choose Jesus. He cannot even take the
  first step to go to Jesus, unless the Father
  draws him."
• This is indeed total depravity, but there is a
  factor involved that looks to shift the matter
  back to individual choice. Jesus goes on to say
  in John 1232, "And I, if I be lifted up from the
  earth, will draw all men unto me.

19
More Total Depravity Scripture

• The Greek word behind "draw" in the two verses is
  the same. Note the connotation that this word can
  have
• Acts 1619 And when her masters saw that the
  hope of their gains was gone, they caught Paul
  and Silas, and drew them into the marketplace
  unto the rulers...
• James 26 But ye have despised the poor. Do
  not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the
  judgment seats?
• This word has the connotation of being brought
  somewhere by force if needed, and against the
  wishes of the "draw-ee." This verse does indeed
  teach the doctrine clearly.

20
Total Depravity (More)

• Even religion and philanthropy are wicked to God
  to the extent that these originate from a human
  imagination, passion, and will, and are not done
  to the glory of God. Therefore, in Reformed
  theology, if God is to save anyone He must
  predestine, call, or elect individuals to
  salvation since fallen man does not want to, and
  is indeed incapable of choosing God.

21
We Are All Sinners

• Since all of us are sinners, we have a duty to
  return to God, but we are unable to do so. We
  simply do not have the ability. Because we are
  responsible for our sins before God and are
  commanded by Him to return to Him in repentance
  does not mean that we have the natural ability to
  do so.

22
John 1236

• Jesus said in John 1236, "'While you have the
  Light, believe in the Light, so that you may
  become sons of Light.' These things Jesus spoke,
  and He went away and hid Himself from them."
  Jesus said "believe in the Light." Most believers
  today would say that because Christ commands us
  to believe, we must have an innate ability to
  believe.

23
Not Scriptural

• But Scripture does not support this view.
  Consider the following verses
• "But though He had performed so many signs before
  them, yet they were not believing in Him. This
  was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet
  which he spoke 'LORD, WHO HAS BELIEVED OUR
  REPORT? AND TO WHOM HAS THE ARM OF THE LORD BEEN
  REVEALED?'

24
John 1237-41

• For this reason they could not believe, for
  Isaiah said again, HE HAS BLINDED THEIR EYES AND
  HE HARDENED THEIR HEART, SO THAT THEY WOULD NOT
  SEE WITH THEIR EYES AND PERCEIVE WITH THEIR
  HEART, AND BE CONVERTED AND I HEAL THEM.' These
  things Isaiah said because he saw His glory, and
  he spoke of Him." (John 1237-41)

25
Cannot See, Understand, or Come

• The people described in this passage did not
  believe because they could not. Scripture clearly
  teaches that there are some things a lost person
  cannot do
• Cannot see - until he first be born again. (John
  33)
• Cannot understand - until he first be given a new
  nature. (1 Corinthians 214)
• Cannot come - until he first be effectually
  called by the Father. (John 644-45)

26
John 644-45

• Jesus said in John 644-45, "No one can come to
  Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him and I
  will raise him up on the last day. It is written
  in the prophets, 'AND THEY SHALL ALL BE TAUGHT OF
  GOD.' Everyone who has heard and learned from the
  Father, comes to Me."

27
New Birth (Regeneration)

• According to the words of Jesus, a sinner
  absolutely cannot come to Christ until God first
  does something in that sinner's nature. That
  "something" is what the Bible calls the new birth
  (regeneration), and it is the exclusive work of
  God the Holy Spirit. A person has as much to do
  with being regenerated as he had with being born!
  In other words, no human being has any part
  whatsoever in regeneration.

28
John 1143

• A good illustration of this important point can
  be found in John 11
• "When He Jesus had said these things, He cried
  out with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth.'"
  (John 1143)

29
Lazarus

• Did Lazarus have the ability in himself to obey
  that command? Of course not, since Lazarus was
  dead! He had no ability at all. Unsaved,
  unregenerate people have a duty to believe the
  gospel, but lack the ability. Why does God
  command us to do what He knows we cannot do? To
  show us how depraved we are, to show us the depth
  of our utter sinfulness and rebellion against
  Him.

30
For We Cannot

• When God commands us to return and promises that
  if we do He will return to us, we will not do it,
  for we cannot. Before regeneration we are in
  bondage to what our sinful nature innately loves,
  that which is darkness and evil. In this state we
  reject what we hate, that which is light and
  goodness and of God. We should be able to turn to
  God, but cannot because of our inherited sinful
  nature that came as a result of Adam's sin in the
  Garden of Eden.

31
Romans 512

• In Romans 512, Paul goes into this idea more
  completely. He says, "Therefore, just as through
  one man sin entered into the world, and death
  through sin, and so death spread to all men,
  because all sinned". Paul had now finished his
  description of how God has revealed and applied
  to humans His provided righteousness on the basis
  of the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ received
  by faith.

32
Romans 512 (cont)

• One thing remains to be done to present the
  contrastive parallelism between the work of Jesus
  Christ (and its results in justification and
  reconciliation) and the work of another man, Adam
  (and its results of sin and death). Paul began by
  saying, "Therefore" (lit., "because of this" cf.
  416 NIV), and started his comparison. But he
  became concerned by other matters and did not
  return to the comparison until 515.

33
Romans 512 (cont)

• Paul explained that "sin" (in Greek, "the sin")
  "entered into" (in Greek, "eisethen") the world
  through one man and, in accord with God's
  warning (cf. Gen. 216-17), death (in Greek, "the
  death") through sin. God's penalty for sin was
  both spiritual and physical death (Romans 623,
  713), and Adam and Eve and their descendants
  experienced both. But physical death, being an
  outward, visible experience, is in view in
  512-21.

34
Romans 512 (cont)

• Paul concluded, "And in this way death ("the
  death") came to all men. "Literally "passed or
  went through" or "spread through." Eisethen,
  "entered into" (the first clause in the verse)
  means that sin went in the world's front door (by
  means of Adam's sin) and "diel", "went through,"
  means that death penetrated the entire human
  race, like a vapor permeating all the rooms of a
  house. The reason death spread to all, Paul
  explained, is that all sinned.

35
One Act of Adam's Sin

• The Greek past (aorist) tense occurs in all three
  verbs in this verse. So the entire human race is
  viewed as having sinned in the one act of Adam's
  sin (i.e., "all have sinned," also the Greek past
  tense, in 323). Two ways of explaining this
  participation of the human race in the sin of
  Adam have been presented by theologians -- the
  "federal headship" of Adam over the race and the
  "natural or seminal headship" of Adam.

36
Federal Headship

• (Some say that people merely imitated Adam, that
  he gave the human race a bad example. But that
  does not do justice to 512.)
• The federal headship view considers Adam, the
  first man, as the representative of the human
  race that generated from him. As the
  representative of all humanity, Adam's act of sin
  was considered by God to be the act of all people
  and his penalty of death was judicially made the
  penalty of everybody.

37
Federal Headship (cont)

• The natural headship view, on the other hand,
  recognizes that the entire human race was
  seminally and physical in Adam, the first man. As
  a result, God considered all people as
  participating in the act of sin which Adam
  committed and as receiving the penalty he
  received.

38
Federal Headship (cont)

• The natural headship view, on the other hand,
  recognizes that the entire human race was
  seminally and physical in Adam, the first man. As
  a result, God considered all people as
  participating in the act of sin which Adam
  committed and as receiving the penalty he
  received. Even adherents of the federal headship
  view must admit that Adam is the natural head of
  the human race physically the issue is the
  relationship spiritually.

39
Headship in Hebrews 79-10

• Biblical evidence supports the natural headship
  of Adam. When presenting the superiority of
  Melchizedek's priesthood to Aaron's, the author
  of Hebrews argued that Levi, the head of the
  priestly tribe, "who collects the 10th, paid the
  10th through Abraham, because when Melchizedek
  met Abraham, Levi was still in the body of his
  ancestor". (Hebrews 79-10)

40
Federal or Natural Headship

• Whether one accepts the "federal headship" view,
  or the "natural headship" view, it still remains
  that all of mankind is in need of a Savior by
  virtue of Adam's sin.

41
Gods Sovereignty

• The very fact that God commands sinners to do
  that which they are utterly unable to do shows
  how totally depraved they are apart from the
  regeneration of the Holy Spirit. And if salvation
  is going to come at all, it must be applied
  sovereignly. This overthrows self-confidence and
  convinces sinners that their salvation is
  altogether out of their hands, leaving them the
  only remaining alternative, that is, total
  dependence on the glorious grace of a sovereign
  Savior.

42
Romans 310-12

• Romans 310-12 says
• "As it is written, THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT
  EVEN ONE THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS, THERE IS
  NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE,
  TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS THERE IS NONE
  WHO DOES GOOD, THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE.'"

43
How Serious is Sin?

• Many people will admit they are sinners, but not
  many will admit sin is so serious that no one can
  be considered righteous or essentially good. They
  point to unbelievers who do good deeds every day,
  obeying the law, providing for their families,
  giving to the needy, etc. Is Paul using hyperbole
  here? Is he exaggerating to make his point? No,
  he is not. This is God's judgment on fallen
  humanity. What is the standard for righteousness,
  the standard by which we shall all be judged?
  God's law.

44
Good Deeds Measured

• In biblical categories a good deed is measured in
  two parts, outward conformity and motivation. We
  look at outward appearance but God reads the
  heart. For a work to be considered good it must
  not only conform outwardly to the law of God, but
  it must be motivated inwardly by a sincere love
  for God. From this perspective it is easy to see
  that no one does good.

45
Our Best Works Tainted

• Our best works are tainted by our less than pure
  motives. Renowned British preacher Charles H.
  Spurgeon once said,
• "Our best performances are so stained with sin,
  that it is hard to know whether they are good
  works or bad works." This is a true statement.
  God demands perfection, and we do not perfectly
  do what God commands ever.

46
Romans 311

• Romans 311 says, "THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS,
  THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD".
• Do you believe that? Have you ever heard someone
  say, "I am not a Christian but I am searching"?
  Well, the fact of the matter is that God is not
  hiding. In the Garden of Eden who hid? God? No.
  Adam and Eve hid from God. He was looking for
  them.

47
Luke 1910

• In Luke 1910 Jesus says, "For the Son of Man has
  come to seek and to save that which was lost."
• This passage shows that Jesus is the one seeking
  and saving. Sinners do not seek God. They might
  seek after the benefits that God can give them,
  but they do not seek God Himself.

48
Romans 318

• Romans 318 says "THERE IS NO FEAR OF GOD BEFORE
  THEIR EYES."
• Men have no fear of the holiness and justice of
  God.

49
Ephesians 21-6

• Ephesians 21-6 says "And you were dead in your
  trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked
  according to the course of this world, according
  to the prince of the power of the air, of the
  spirit that is now working in the sons of
  disobedience. Among them we too all formerly
  lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the
  desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by
  nature children of wrath, even as the rest.

50
Ephesians 21-6 (cont)

• But God, being rich in mercy, because of His
  great love with which He loved us, even when we
  were dead in our transgressions, made us alive
  together with Christ (by grace you have been
  saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us
  with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,"

51
Dead in Trespasses Sins

• This passage teaches that we were dead in
  "trespasses and sins" and in "transgressions".
  Dead people do not and cannot make themselves
  come alive. It is God who makes us alive from
  spiritual death. Consider this non-Reformed
  analogy
• A mortally ill man must take the medicine of the
  gospel to live. The man must make the choice he
  must take the medicine. (To Be Continued)

52
Mortally Ill or Dead?

• The problem with this analogy, however, is that
  the Bible does not speak of people as being
  mortally ill. It speaks of them as being dead.
  There is a significance difference between being
  mortally ill and being dead.
• Genesis 217 says "but from the tree of the
  knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for
  in the day that you eat from it you will surely
  die."

53
Romans 623

• Did Adam die when he ate the forbidden fruit?
  When did he die? He lived physically another 930
  years, but he died spiritually the day that he
  ate it. Humanity's problem is a spiritual
  problem. Humanity is spiritually dead, separated
  from God.
• Romans 623 says "For the wages of sin is death,
  but the free gift of God is eternal life in
  Christ Jesus our Lord."

54
Ephesians 25

• What kind of death is referred to in this
  passage? Physical death or spiritual death? It
  refers to spiritual death.
• Ephesians 25 says we were dead in our sins.
  Sinners are not mortally ill, they are
  spiritually dead. There is not one ounce of
  spiritual life in them.

55
1 Corinthians 214-15

• 1 Corinthians 214-15 says "But a natural man
  does not accept the things of the Spirit of God,
  for they are foolishness to him and he cannot
  understand them, because they are spiritually
  appraised. But he who is spiritual appraises all
  things, yet he himself is appraised by no one."
• Natural man is dead and totally unreceptive to
  the gospel. He must first be given life before he
  can understand the gospel.

56
Romans 87-9

• Romans 87-9 says "The mind set on the flesh is
  hostile toward God for it does not subject
  itself to the law of God, for it is not even able
  to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot
  please God.
• However, you are not in the flesh but in the
  Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in
  you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of
  Christ, he does not belong to Him."

57
1 John 51

• There is nothing good in the flesh, therefore it
  can do nothing good. A man cannot believe the
  gospel until God gives him life. The teaching of
  Scripture is that regeneration precedes faith.
• We must have life before we can believe. The
  Scriptures clearly show that faith is the
  evidence of and not the cause of regeneration. 1
  John 51 says "Whoever believes that Jesus is
  the Christ is born of God, and whoever loves the
  Father loves the child born of Him."

58
A Dead Man Comes Alive

• Suppose a man who had been dead for many years
  greeted you on the street one day. Would you
  conclude that the man had gotten tired of being
  dead and decided to ask a great doctor to perform
  a miracle and give him life?
• I am sure you would instead, exclaim in
  amazement, "Man, what happened to you? Who
  brought you back to life?"

59
A Dead Man Comes Alive (cont)

• You would see he was alive because he was walking
  and breathing, but you would know these were
  evidences of a miracle having been performed on
  him from without and not the results of his own
  power of will. In like manner, when a spiritually
  dead man begins to perform spiritual acts such as
  placing faith in Jesus Christ alone for
  salvation, loving Him, and seeking to live a life
  pleasing to Him, that shows that the miracle of
  the new birth has taken place.

60
Spiritual Insensitivity

• Spiritual death brings an insensitivity to the
  things of God. It is a spiritual slavery, the
  prisoners of which are helplessly, hopelessly
  dead. This is what Total Depravity is. It does
  not mean, as many have misunderstood, that the
  unregenerate man is as bad as he can possibly be.
  It means that the man is as bad off as he can
  possibly be.

61
God's Sovereign Intervention

• Salvation does not lie in the exercise of a man's
  so-called free will. It is due to man's own
  corrupt will that he is separated from God. We
  are all destined for eternal condemnation unless
  God gives us spiritual life and inclines our
  wills toward Jesus Christ. We must have a Savior
  who is mighty enough to rescue us from ourselves.
  Clearly, God must do something. We are hopelessly
  lost without God's sovereign intervention.

62
What is Unconditional Election?

• Because of humanity's total depravity, God of
  necessity, in eternity past, chose certain people
  to be saved. There was nothing inherently better
  or different about the chosen people which caused
  God to choose them. God was totally free in His
  decision to show grace and mercy to some sinners
  who deserved nothing but His wrath. This is, in
  essence, the doctrine of Unconditional Election.

63
Unconditional Election Defined

• Unconditional election is the Calvinist teaching
  that before God created the world, he chose to
  save some people based solely on His purposes and
  apart from an individual's free will. The
  counter-view is conditional election, the belief
  that God chooses, for eternal salvation, those
  whom He foresees will have faith in Christ
  (emphasizing the importance of a person's free
  will).

64
Unconditional Election Defined (cont)

• Unconditional election is drawn from the
  doctrines of salvation adopted by Augustine of
  Hippo, was first codified in the Belgic
  Confession (1561), re-affirmed in the Canons of
  Dort (1619), which arose from the Quinquarticular
  Controversy, and is represented in the various
  Reformed confessions such as the Westminster
  Standards (1646). It is one of the five points of
  Calvinism and is often linked with predestination.

65
Belgic Confession

• The Belgic Confession (1561) became the basis of
  a counter to the Arminian controversy that arose
  in the following century. The text was revised
  again at the Synod of Dort in 1618-19, was
  included in the Canons of Dort (1619), , and
  adopted as one of the doctrinal standards to
  which all office-bearers in the Reformed churches
  were required to subscribe. This revision was
  drafted in the French language .
• The Belgic Confession consists of 37 articles
  which deal with the doctrines of God, Scripture,
  humanity, sin, Christ, salvation, the Church, and
  the end times.

66
The Quinquarticular Controversy

• The Quinquarticular Controversy is a term used to
  refer to the purely theological
  Calvinist-Arminian clashes of the period 1609 to
  1618, a time in which the debate had serious
  political overtones in the Netherlands. This
  controversy is the one that was addressed by the
  Dutch Reformed churches at the Synod of Dort in
  16181619, a meeting to which Protestant
  representatives from Reformed churches in other
  countries were invited. Quinquarticular (i.e.
  "having to do with five points") refers to points
  of contention raised by the Arminian party in its
  publication of five articles of Remonstrance in
  1610.

67
Quinquarticular Controversy (cont)

• These were rejected by the Synod in the Canons of
  Dort, the essence of which is commonly referred
  to as the Five Points of Calvinism.
• The Controversy marked the transformation of the
  Arminian movement into a separate, persecuted
  church organization in the Netherlands. For
  Arminians, it was the start of full persecution
  after the imposition of an edict, while for
  Calvinists it resulted in the settling in clear
  points of doctrine that were initiated by John
  Calvin and clarified by Theodore Beza. For
  Lutherans the controversies saw the ending of any
  possibility of unification with the Calvinists.

68
Scriptural Support

• Deuteronomy 76-10, 15, 95, 294
• Psalm 654
• Isaiah 454
• Mark 1320
• John 113, 644, 65, 1516, 172
• Acts 239, 91-18, 1117, 1614, 1827
• Romans 828-30, 910-26, 1020, 115
• Ephesians 11-11
• 1 Corinthians 11

• 2 Corinthians 46
• Philippians 129
• 1 Thessalonians 12-4
• 2 Thessalonians 213
• 2 Timothy 19, 210, 19, 25
• Titus 35
• Hebrews 915
• James 118
• Jude 1

69
Mystery Only Known to God

• The basis of God's election is a mystery only
  known to God. We may not understand how it can be
  that He is able to elect some while passing by
  others. But rest assured, everything that God has
  decided to do is perfect and righteous because He
  makes no mistakes. Some say that this paints a
  picture of a God that is capricious and unjust.
  But this view overlooks the fact that if all
  humanity received what is just from God, then all
  would be condemned to eternal death in hell. God
  is under no obligation to save anyone. His shows
  mercy by choosing to save some condemned to
  death.

70
All Stand Guilty Before God

• God's election is necessary because of the total
  depravity of human nature. Every son and daughter
  of Adam is an ungodly sinner an enemy of God.
  None of us have within our nature the desire to
  choose good and reject evil. All stand guilty
  before God, deserving of His wrath.
• But God, in His infinite wisdom and grace chose
  to elect certain rebellious sinners to be saved.
  Once He elected these sinners to be saved, He
  then predestined them to be saved.

71
Election vs. Predestine

• To elect means to choose to predestine means to
  decide the outcome beforehand. The difference
  between election and predestination is similar to
  the difference between choice and power. A man
  could elect another to be saved, but he would not
  have the power to carry out the results of his
  choice. In contrast, not only has God made the
  choice, but He has the power to carry out that
  choice.
• Election and predestination are two different
  activities of God, but they are inseparable
  activities. When God elects, He also predestines
  when He decides something should happen, He sees
  to it that it will happen.

72
God's Sovereign Choice

• Election is God's sovereign choice unto
  salvation. The sinner is chosen to be saved but
  is not yet saved. The elect person remains an
  ungodly sinner until the Father draws him to the
  Son through regeneration. So the choice of the
  person's salvation is made in eternity past, but
  the actual salvation occurs within the lifetime
  of the person. This is important because it
  reminds us that we cannot sit back and allow
  election to run its course. Sinners must still be
  evangelized and witnessed to, and the Holy Spirit
  must still convert them.

73
God Has Chosen the Means

• God has not only determined those who will be
  saved, but has also chosen the means. Regenerate
  men are saved by grace through faith. (Ephesians
  28) "Faith comes from hearing, and hearing by
  the word of Christ." (Romans 1017) The gospel
  "is the power of God for salvation to everyone
  who believes." (Romans 116-17) The gospel must
  be preached, first of all, because God commanded
  believers to do so (Matthew 2819-20), and
  secondly, because it is the means by which God
  saves His elect.

74
His Foreknowledge

• Some people say that God elected people to
  salvation on the basis of His foreknowledge. They
  define God's foreknowledge as His ability to
  read, or predict, the future. In this view God,
  using His foreknowledge, knew who would choose to
  place their faith in Jesus Christ, and elected
  these people to salvation. Faith is the cause of
  election, rather than the result.

75
Must Have Faith From God

• This view assumes that human beings have within
  themselves the ability to have faith in Jesus
  Christ without God causing that faith. But due to
  the total depravity of humanity we know that no
  one is capable of any good thought or action,
  including faith. Faith is a gift from God.
  (Ephesians 28) If God had not foreordained to
  give the gift of faith to a person, that person
  would never come to faith in God.

76
Romans 829

• There is an important problem with this view of
  God's foreknowledge
• The Bible does not teach that God foresees faith.
  Romans 829 says, "For those whom He foreknew, He
  also predestined to become conformed to the image
  of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn
  among many brethren." "Those whom He foreknew "
  indicates that God foreknows people, not their
  actions.

77
Ephesians 13-14

• Ephesians 13-14 is perhaps the best place in
  that describes the nature of election.
• Verse four says "He chose us in Him before the
  foundation of the world, that we would be holy
  and blameless before Him." God chose us in Christ
  before the creation of the world. He chose us
  before we were created, before Adam was created.
  In fact, He chose us before the world was
  created. We were elected to be saved before we
  ever had done anything good or bad, before we had
  the opportunity to choose or reject God.

78
Ephesians 13-14 (cont)

• He chose us to be holy and blameless in His
  sight. Some people say that He chose us because
  He knew that we would be holy and blameless. But
  this verse tells us that our being holy and
  blameless is a result of His choice, not the
  cause of His choice.
• Verses five and six say "He predestined us to
  adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself,
  according to the kind intention of His will, to
  the praise of the glory of His grace, which He
  freely bestowed on us in the Beloved." Having
  chosen us, He also predestined us. His choice and
  predestination are in accordance with His
  pleasure and will.

79
John 113

• John 113 says that the saved are "born, not of
  blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the
  will of man, but of God." The source of election
  is God's good pleasure. Salvation is determined
  by God's will, not man's will. The realization of
  our election by God should humble us. It excludes
  all self-accreditation, since we had absolutely
  nothing to do with determining our own salvation.
  It should lead us to praise His glorious grace.

80
Gods Sovereignty (Sproul)

• When we speak of divine sovereignty we are
  speaking about Gods authority and about Gods
  power. As sovereign, God is the supreme authority
  of heaven and earth. All other authority is
  lesser authority. Any other authority that exists
  in the universe is derived from and dependent
  upon Gods authority. All other forms of
  authority exist either by Gods command or by
  Gods permission.

81
Gods Authority (Sproul)

• The word authority contains within itself the
  word author. God is the author of all things over
  which he has authority. He created the universe.
  He owns the universe. His ownership gives him
  certain rights. He may do with his universe what
  is pleasing to his holy will.
• Likewise, all power in the universe flows from
  the power of God. All power in this universe is
  subordinate to him. Even Satan is powerless
  without Gods sovereign permission to act.

82
God vs. Satan (Sproul)

• Christianity is not dualism. We do not believe in
  two ultimate equal powers locked in an eternal
  struggle for supremacy. If Satan were equal to
  God, we would have no confidence, no hope of good
  triumphing over evil. We would be destined to an
  eternal standoff between two equal and opposing
  forces.
• Satan is a creature. He is evil to be sure, but
  even his evil is subject to the sovereignty of
  God, as is our own evil. Gods authority is
  ultimate his power is omnipotent. He is
  sovereign.

83
Not Just a Calvinistic View

• Chapter III of the Westminster Confession
• God, from all eternity, did, by the most wise and
  holy counsel of His own will, freely, and
  unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass.
• The idea that God foreordains whatever comes to
  pass is not an idea unique to Calvinism. It isnt
  even unique to Christianity. It is simply a tenet
  of theisma necessary tenet of theism.

84
Not Just a Calvinistic View (cont)

• That God in some sense foreordains whatever comes
  to pass is a necessary result of his sovereignty.
  In itself it does not plead for Calvinism. It
  only declares that God is absolutely sovereign
  over his creation. God can foreordain things in
  different ways. But everything that happens must
  at least happen by his permission. If he permits
  something, then he must decide to allow it. If He
  decides to allow something, then in a sense he is
  foreordaining it.

85
Sovereign Over All Creation

• Who, among Christians, would argue that God could
  not stop something in this world from happening?
  If God so desires, he has the power to stop the
  whole world. To say that God foreordains all that
  comes to pass is simply to say that God is
  sovereign over his entire creation. If something
  could come to pass apart from his sovereign
  permission, then that which came to pass would
  frustrate his sovereignty.

86
Sovereign Over All Creation (cont)

• If God refused to permit something to happen and
  it happened anyway, then whatever caused it to
  happen would have more authority and power than
  God himself. If there is any part of creation
  outside of Gods sovereignty, then God is simply
  not sovereign. If God is not sovereign, then God
  is not God.

87
Sproul on Limited Sovereignty

• If there is one single molecule in this universe
  running around loose, totally free of Gods
  sovereignty, then we have no guarantee that a
  single promise of God will ever be fulfilled.
  Perhaps that one maverick molecule will lay waste
  all the grand and glorious plans that God has
  made and promised to us. If a grain of sand in
  the kidney of Oliver Cromwell changed the course
  of English history, so our maverick molecule
  could change the course of all redemption
  history. Maybe that one molecule will be the
  thing that prevents Christ from returning.

88
No Sovereignty, No God

• Without sovereignty God cannot be God. If we
  reject divine sovereignty then we must embrace
  atheism. This is the problem we all face. We must
  hold tightly to Gods sovereignty. Yet we must do
  it in such a way so as not to violate human
  freedom.

89
WCF on Sovereignty Complete

• Lets review the entire statement from the WCF
• God, from all eternity, did by the most wise and
  holy counsel of His own will, freely, and
  unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass yet
  so, as thereby neither is God the author of sin,
  nor is violence offered to the will of the
  creatures nor is the liberty or contingency of
  second causes taken away, but rather established.
  
• Note that, while it affirms Gods sovereignty
  over all things, the Confession also asserts that
  God does not do evil or violate human freedom.
  Human freedom and evil are under Gods
  sovereignty.

90
Grace is Gods Unmerited Favor

• Grace is the unmerited favor of God. The
  doctrines of election and predestination should
  drive home the point that God's favor is totally
  unearned by us. It is solely God's free choice to
  elect or not elect, not ours. God's grace
  emphasizes the fact that salvation is not the
  result of human endeavor.

91
Ephesians 111

• Verse eleven says that "we have obtained an
  inheritance, having been predestined according to
  His purpose who works all things after the
  counsel of His will." We are made heirs in Christ
  because God made it so. We have been predestined
  to this by God. God's plan is not determined by
  our will, but by God's will. It is very clear
  from Ephesians 1 that God has freely chosen
  certain sinners to be saved and that He made
  this choice before the foundation of the world.
  But Ephesians 1 is not the only place that
  teaches this truth. It is taught in many other
  passages as well.

92
More Scriptural Examples

• "For many are called, but few are chosen."
  (Matthew 2214)
• "Unless the Lord had shortened those days, no
  life would have been saved but for the sake of
  the elect, whom He chose, He shortened the days."
  (Mark 1320)
• "Will not God bring about justice for His elect
  who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay
  long over them?" (Luke 187)
• "And He was saying, 'For this reason I have said
  to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has
  been granted him from the Father.'" (John 665)
• "When the Gentiles heard this, they began
  rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord
  and as many as had been appointed to eternal life
  believed." (Acts 1348)

93
Romans 829-30

• "For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined
  to become conformed to the image of His Son, so
  that He would be the firstborn among many
  brethren and these whom He predestined, He also
  called and these whom He called, He also
  justified and these whom He justified, He also
  glorified." (Romans 829-30)

94
Romans 911-12, 117

• "For though the twins were not yet born and had
  not done anything good or bad, so that God's
  purpose according to His choice would stand, not
  because of works but because of Him who calls, it
  was said to her, 'THE OLDER WILL SERVE THE
  YOUNGER.'" (Romans 911-12)
• "What then? What Israel is seeking, it has not
  obtained, but those who were chosen obtained it,
  and the rest were hardened" (Romans 117)

95
1 Corinthians 127-29

• "But God has chosen the foolish things of the
  world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the
  weak things of the world to shame the things
  which are strong, and the base things of the
  world and the despised God has chosen, the things
  that are not, so that He may nullify the things
  that are, so that no man may boast before God."
  (1 Corinthians 127-29)

96
God Has Chosen You for His Own Purpose

• "But we should always give thanks to God for you,
  brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has
  chosen you from the beginning for salvation
  through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in
  the truth." (2 Thessalonians 213)
• "Who has saved us and called us with a holy
  calling, not according to our works, but
  according to His own purpose and grace which was
  granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity," (2
  Timothy 19)

97
Chosen By the Foreknowledge of God

• "For this reason I endure all things for the sake
  of those who are chosen, so that they also may
  obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus and
  with it eternal glory." (2 Timothy 210)
• "Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who
  reside as aliens, scattered throughout Pontus,
  Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, who are
  chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the
  Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to
  obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His
  blood May grace and peace be yours in the
  fullest measure." (1 Peter 11-2)

98
1 Peter 39-10

• "Not returning evil for evil or insult for
  insult, but giving a blessing instead for you
  were called for the very purpose that you might
  inherit a blessing. For, 'THE ONE WHO DESIRES
  LIFE, TO LOVE AND SEE GOOD DAYS, MUST KEEP HIS
  TONGUE FROM EVIL AND HIS LIPS FROM SPEAKING
  DECEIT.'" (1 Peter 39-10)

99
Election in Conclusion

• Election is a free and gracious gift of the Lord.
  A person is saved only because God chose that
  person to be His child. You are born again to
  newness of life, not according to your will, but
  according to God's will. Your heart should be
  overflowing with humility, praise, and
  thanksgiving to God for your salvation. Not even
  in the least bit can you claim any credit for
  your salvation. Apart from the elective and
  regenerative intervention of God, salvation would
  be impossible. We would be justly and eternally
  condemned for our sins.

100
Quote from R.C. Sproul

• On Predestination/Election
• The combination was too much for me. Gerstner,
  Edwards, the New Testament professor, and above
  all the Apostle Paul, were too formidable a team
  for me to withstand. The ninth chapter of Romans
  was the clincher. I simply could find no way to
  avoid the Apostles teaching in that chapter.
  Reluctantly, I sighed and surrendered, but with
  my head, not my heart. OK, I believe this stuff,
  but I dont have to like it!

101
What is Limited Atonement?

• Limited atonement (or definite atonement or
  particular redemption) is a doctrine accepted in
  some Christian theological traditions. It is
  particularly associated with the Reformed
  tradition and is one of the five points of
  Calvinism. The doctrine states that Jesus
  Christ's substitutionary atonement on the cross
  is specifically designed for the elect only. Some
  find this too hard and have tried to say it is
  only efficacious for those who are predestined
  unto salvation and its primary benefits are not
  given to all of humanity but rather just
  believers. It is sufficient for the salvation of
  all, but efficient only for the elect.

102
Limited Atonement Historically

• The doctrine of the limited scope (or extent) of
  the atonement is intimately tied up with the
  doctrine of the nature of the atonement. It also
  has much to do with the general Calvinist view of
  predestination. Calvinists advocate the
  satisfaction theory of the atonement, which
  developed in the writings of Anselm of Canterbury
  and Thomas Aquinas. In brief, the Calvinistic
  refinement of this theory, known as penal
  substitution, states that the atonement of Christ
  pays the penalty incurred by the sins of menthat
  is, Christ receives the wrath of God for sins and
  thereby cancels the judgment they had incurred.

103
More on Limited Atonement

• The doctrine of Limited Atonement (or Particular
  Redemption) is probably the most controversial of
  the doctrines of grace and most difficult to
  accept by many believers. Limited Atonement
  states that Christ's redeeming work was intended
  to save the elect only, and actually secured
  salvation for them. His death was the
  substitutionary endurance of the penalty of sin
  in the place of certain specified sinners.

104
Limited Atonement (cont)

• In addition to putting away the sins of His
  people, Christ's redemption secured everything
  necessary for their salvation including faith
  which unites them to Him. The gift of faith is
  infallibly applied by the Spirit to all for whom
  Christ died, therefore guaranteeing their
  salvation.

105
Scriptural Support

• Exodus 421, 144, 8, 17
• Deuteronomy 230, 94-7, 294
• Joshua 1119
• 1 Samuel 225, 314
• 2 Samuel 1714
• Psalm 10525
• Proverbs 158, 26, 289
• Isaiah 5311
• Jeremiah 247
• Matthew 121, 1125-27, 1310-15, 44-46, 1513,
  2028, 2214, 2422
• Luke 815, 1323, 1942
• John 521, 637, 44, 65, 842-47, 1011, 14,
  26-28, 1149-53, 1237-41, 131, 18, 1516, 172,
  6, 9, 189, 37

• Acts 239, 1348, 1827, 199
• Romans 910-26, 115-10
• 1 Corinthians 118-31, 214
• 2 Corinthians 214-16, 43
• Galatians 13
• Ephesians 21-10
• Colossians 213
• 2 Thessalonians 29-14
• 2 Timothy 220, 25
• Titus 214
• Hebrews 13, 14, 29, 16 (cp. Galatians 329,
  428-31), 928
• 1 Peter 28
• 2 Peter 27
• 1 John 46
• Jude 1, 14
• Revelation 138, 178, 15-18, 2127.

106
Purpose of Christ

• The first thing to consider is the purpose of
  Christ's death. Hebrews 109 says that Jesus came
  to do the will of the Father. So it follows that
  the purpose of His death was to accomplish the
  Father's will. But what was the Father's will in
  the death of Christ? It was shown from Scripture
  in the preceding point of the Doctrine of
  Unconditional Election that it was the purpose of
  the Father to choose some for salvation, not make
  salvation a potential for all based on the
  exercise of free will, which is totally corrupted
  and depraved by sin.

107
Purpose of Christ (cont.)

• If, then, Christ came to fulfill the purpose of
  the Father and it was not the purpose of the
  Father to elect some to salvation rather than
  all then it logically follows that it was not
  the purpose of Christ to die for all men.

108
Isaiah 53 10-12

• In the covenant of grace, the Father chose a
  people, Christ promised to die for them, and the
  Spirit pledged Himself to apply salvation to
  their hearts. In Isaiah 5310-12 it says
• "But the LORD was pleased to crush Him, putting
  Him to grief if He would render Himself as a
  guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He
  will prolong His days, and the good pleasure of
  the LORD will prosper in His hand.

109
Isaiah 53 10-12 (cont.)

• As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will
  see it and be satisfied by His knowledge the
  Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many,
  As He will bear their iniquities. Therefore, I
  will allot Him a portion with the great, and He
  will divide the booty with the strong because He
  poured out Himself to death, and was numbered
  with the transgressors yet He Himself bore the
  sin of many, and interceded for the
  transgressors."

110
Christ Foresaw

• Christ foresaw the suffering and agony that He
  would have to endure, and yet, He was content
  with it, for He realized that by His death,
  everyone for whom He died would be redeemed from
  sin. Now if Christ died for all men, and some for
  whom He died ended up going to hell anyway, then
  Christ could not have foreseen the suffering and
  agony of His soul and been satisfied.

111
Limited in Purpose, Not in Value

• He would have been disappointed because His
  efforts would not have been sufficient to save
  everyone for whom He died. Therefore, the
  atonement Christ made for the sins of His people
  was limited in purpose not in its value, but in
  its purpose, for it was designed for the elect of
  God.

112
Matthew 121

• The second point to consider is that the purpose
  of the death of Christ was to save His people
  from their sins. That is clearly stated for us in
  Matthew 121
• "She will bear a Son and you shall call His name
  Jesus, for He will save His people from their
  sins."
• This passage did not say that He would save the
  whole world, nor did it say that He should try to
  save His people but that He would save His
  people from their sins.

113
Luke 1910

• If that was the prophecy given concerning the
  birth of Jesus Christ and the purpose for which
  He came, we must surely know that which was
  determined by the Father was fulfilled by His
  faithful Son. Luke 1910 supports this point
• "For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save
  that which was lost."
• If that then was His purpose He accomplished
  that very thing.

114
Romans 828-30

• Thirdly, the purpose of Jesus' death was to bring
  the elect to glory. Romans 828-30 says
• "And we know that God causes all things to work
  together for good to those who love God, to those
  who are called according to His purpose. For
  those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to
  become conformed to the image of His Son, so that
  He would be the firstborn among many brethren
  and these whom He predestined, He also called
  and these whom He called, He also justified and
  these whom He justified, He also glorified."

115
John 172,9

• In John 17 is the prayer of intercession made by
  the Lord Jesus. In verse 2 He prayed, "Even as
  You gave Him authority over all flesh, that to
  all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal
  life." Note that eternal life was not for all
  men, but those that were given to Him by the
  Father.
• In verse 9 He continues "I ask on their behalf
  I do not ask on behalf of the world, but of those
  whom You have given Me for they are Yours".

116
Accomplished Everything He Intended

• It would not be reasonable that Christ would
  limit His prayers to those given to Him by the
  Father, and at the same time die for all men,
  knowing very well that many would not be saved.
  He prayed for those for whom He died, and He died
  for those given Him by the Father. His purpose
  then was not to save the entire human race, for
  if that had been His purpose He would have
  accomplished it. Christ is the Almighty and
  accomplishes everything He intends to do. It was
  His purpose to save only the elect of God, and
  His purpose was fulfilled.

117
John 1010-11, 28

• Christ died for His sheep, and because of this
  none can be lost. In John 1010-11 He said,
• "The thief comes only to steal and kill and
  destroy I came that they may have life, and have
  it abundantly. I am the good shepherd the good
  shepherd lays down His life for the sheep."
• And in verse 28 He continues
• "I give eternal life to them, and they will never
  perish and no one will snatch them out of My
  hand."

118
John 1028 Hebrews 1012

• Notice that He does not offer them eternal life
  in John 1028 . Jesus died for the sheep, and He
  gives eternal life to everyone for whom He died.
  Christ did not come to attempt to save men He
  came to redeem His people.
• He purged their sins and then sat down on the
  right hand of His Father. (Hebrews 1012)

119
John 316

• As was stated at the beginning, there are many
  who find this doctrine hard to accept and so
  object to it. Nonetheless it is truth that is
  taught in the Word of God. There are many
  objections that are raised, and this class will
  only deal with some of the main ones. One of the
  first things objectors usually refer to is the
  use of the word "world" in the Scriptures, and
  the first passage that is always read is John
  316
• "For God so loved the world, that He gave His
  only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him
  shall not perish, but have eternal life."

120
John 316 (cont.)

• John 316 simply states that the design of God's
  love, that all who believe in Christ should be
  saved by Him. These believers in their
  unregenerate state are scattered abroad among the
  Gentiles as well as among the Jews, and so are
  fitly described by the word "world." Of course,
  there are those who reject this explanation. They
  may look to Acts 1118 for support
• "When they heard this, they quieted down and
  glorified God, saying, 'Well then, God has
  granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that
  leads to life."

121
John 316 (cont.)

• But does this mean that every Gentile has been
  granted repentance, and that every Gentile will
  be saved? Of course not. What this passage shows
  is that repentance has been granted to the
  Gentiles it simply means that all those of God's
  elect among the Gentiles shall be given
  repentance unto salvation. The Jews are not the
  only ones to be granted this gift. Jews as well
  as Gentiles have been given repentance, and so it
  is the same in John 316. It does not have
  reference to every person in the world, but it
  has reference to men of all nations.

122
Revelation 59

• A passage that illustrates this point well is
  found in Revelation 59
• "And they sang a new song, saying, 'Worthy are
  You to take the book and to break its seals for
  You were slain, and purchased for God with Your
  blood men from every tribe and tongue and people
  and nation.'"

123
Revelation 59 (cont)

• This helps us to understand, in this context,
  what is meant by the use of the word "world". It
  means people of every tribe, tongue, and people
  that Christ's death was not restricted to the
  Jews, but that it was for members of the entire
  human race scattered throughout the earth.

124
Did Christ Die for the World?

• There are several other examples. In John 77 the
  word "world" is used to distinguish unbelievers
  from believers. In John 129 the word "world" is
  used of a special people. Romans 1115 uses it to
  distinguish Gentiles from Jews, and thus so in
  passages such as John 316 and 127, 1 John 21
  and 2 -- it is used of all the elect of God.
  Hebrews 29 says, "But we do see Him who was made
  for a little while lower than the angels, namely,
  Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned
  with glory and honor, so that by the grace of God
  He might taste death for everyone."

125
Hebrews 210-12

• At this point someone may say, "This is
  Scriptural proof that Christ died for all men."
  But the context will explain what it means. "For
  it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things,
  and through whom are all things, in bringing many
  sons to glory, to perfect the author of their
  salvation through sufferings. For both He who
  sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all
  from one Father for which reason He is not
  ashamed to call them brethren, saying,

126
Hebrews 210-12 (cont)

• 'I WILL PROCLAIM YOUR NAME TO MY BRETHREN, IN THE
  MIDST OF THE CONGREGATION I WILL SING YOUR
  PRAISE.'" (Hebrews 210-12)
• When read in context it can be seen that the
  passage has reference to sons it has reference
  to the church it has reference to the brethren
  it has reference to those who are the children of
  God. So this passage could be understood to say
  that "Christ has experienced death for every
  son," for every one that was given to Him by the
  Father.

127
2 Peter 21

• What about 2 Peter 21?
• "But false prophets also arose among the people,
  just as there will also be false teachers among
  you, who will secretly introduce destructive
  heresies, even denying the Master who bought
  them, bringing swift destruction upon
  themselves."
• It must be made clear that these false teachers
  are unsaved.

128
2 Peter 222, Jude 19, Romans 89

• They are compared to dogs and pigs, not to sheep
  (2 Peter 222).
• Such people are described in Jude 19 "devoid of
  the Spirit." If a person does not have the Spirit
  of God within, he is not a child of God (Romans
  89).
• He may appear to be saved and even become a
  member or an officer in the church, but
  eventually, in one way or another, he will deny
  the Lord.