Latest / Crosswalk / Election and Free Will — Romans 9

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Election and Free Will — Romans 9 · Crosswalk

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Jesus tells us to take up our cross and follow
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Him. You're listening to Crosswalk with Pastor
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Steve Winnery. Crosswalk is the radio ministry
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of Calvary Chapel Tri -Cities and it is our aim
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to lead you to the cross through the teaching
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of God's Word. There's going to be a pass. This
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guy's going to run 60 yards for a touchdown.
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Awesome! And then it happens. Okay? I had foreknowledge.
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Does that mean that I threw the pass? Does that
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mean that I caused the quarterback to throw the
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pass? Does that mean that I caused the receiver
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to be able to catch the pass? Does that mean
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that I gave the receiver power to run down the
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field, jockeying and jumping over people and
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that kind of stuff and get a 60 -yard touchdown?
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Does that mean any of that? All it means is I
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knew what was going to happen before it happened.
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And that's all it means. And obviously that's
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kind of a flawed illustration because it's actually
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happened in real life. But that's what you've
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got with God. God has foreknowledge and what
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he states is that when he elects people he doesn't
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do it based on foreknowledge. He does it based
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on his choice. Okay? And so again you have that.
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When you talk about limited atonement, that's
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irresistible grace. And then finally, there is
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perseverance of the saints. And that's the idea
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that once God chooses you, you can't get away.
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Got it? That's literally what it is. Once God
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chooses you, you can't get away. Is all of that
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logical? The answer to that is yes. It's all
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absolutely logical. Total depravity, God's unconditionally
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picking people. That means that if he's going
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to atone for people, he always knew it was going
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to only be the people that were going to be saved.
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And again, because God's sovereign, then you
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have irresistible grace, and then finally you
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can't get away because this is God's will. That's
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all logical. Is that biblical? And here's the
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problem. Once you get to limited atonement, it's
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absolutely unbiblical. It's absolutely unbiblical.
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And here's, we'll get to it in a second. One
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of the things that people do with this, again,
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is they take passages like this and they ignore
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other passages in the Bible. And what they're
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doing is they're falling victim to something
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that Peter talked about in his second epistle.
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And he said this. Consider that the long -suffering
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of our Lord is salvation, as also our beloved
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brother Paul. According to the wisdom given to
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him, as written to you, as also in all his epistles,
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speaking in them of these things, in which are
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some things hard to understand, which untaught
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and unstable people twist to their own destruction,
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as they do also the rest of the scriptures. And
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so one of the things that happens when people
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take doctrinal positions is they'll take one
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side of an issue and they will literally take
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off with that and ignore everything else that
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the Bible says and even try to explain away everything
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else that the Bible says about that issue. And
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that's a twisting of the scripture. I don't get
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to pick and choose which verses I want to believe
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in. I need to believe it all. You know why? Because
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it's a revelation. And we'll talk more about
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that in a minute. When you get to this next section
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here where he talks about what if God wanting
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to show his wrath and to make his power known
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endured with much long suffering the vessels
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of wrath prepared for destruction and that he
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might make known the riches of his glory on the
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vessels of mercy which he had prepared beforehand
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for glory and so on. And he goes on with this
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thing. So now you got two groups, one prepared
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for destruction and the other prepared for God's
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glory. Here's one of the things and this is called
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the double decree. when a Calvinist goes that
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direction. It's the idea that because God chose
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you, He automatically did not choose you, therefore
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you are going to salvation, you are going to
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destruction, therefore there are different levels
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of this. God decreed that you would be saved,
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God decreed that you would be damned. This is
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called superlapsarianism. Because you've been
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decreed that you're going to be saved, that leaves
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no option. but reprobation for you guys. And
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this is something that Calvin taught. He said
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this, there could be no election without its
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opposite, reprobation. He goes on in another
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passage and he says, those therefore whom God
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passes by, he reprobates, and that for no other
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cause but because he is pleased to exclude them
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from the inheritance which he predestines to
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his children. In another passage, actually it's
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in the same section, he says, many, And then
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he talks about some other issues. Admit the doctrine
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of election, but deny that anyone is reprobated.
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And then he says it's wrong since there could
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be no election without its opposite, reprobation.
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And so ultimately that's double predestination.
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Calvin taught it. Supralapsarianism focuses on
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God ordaining the fall, creating certain people
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for the sole purpose of being condemned, and
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then providing salvation. for only those whom
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he had elected. And again, that's a Calvinistic
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position. Here's the problem. They use this passage
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here. Here's the problem with using this passage.
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Number one, he says, what if? This is a proposal.
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It's not a definite. He says, what if? God, wanting
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to show his wrath and to make his power known,
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endured with much long suffering the vessels
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of wrath prepared for destruction. And again,
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that he might make known the riches of his glory
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on the vessels of mercy. Right? See the word
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prepared in verse 22? What you'll notice is it
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says prepared for destruction. And then you look
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at the end of verse 23, he says, which he had
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prepared beforehand for glory. He uses two different
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verbs in the passage. And when you see this kind
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of stuff in the Bible, and my translation is
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making it clear, not as clear as if you're reading
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it in Greek, when you read the first preparation,
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it's katertismena, and it literally means fitted,
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or ripe for destruction. The second one is proetoimasen,
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sorry about my Greek pronunciation, and that
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means believers prepared beforehand by God. And
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so when you're looking at the first group, the
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vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, these
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are ripened for destruction. It's not stating
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that God at the very beginning made these people
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to be destroyed. They are ripened for destruction.
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And when he's talking about the vessels of mercy,
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these are the ones that he prepared beforehand
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that they were going to be elect, that they were
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going to be saved. It's a different Greek word
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altogether. And when you're looking at superlapsarianism,
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Did I talk about this? That focuses on God ordaining
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the fall. Did I say this to you? I'm in second
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service, so I don't know what I said. Superlapsarianism
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focuses on God ordaining the fall, creating certain
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people for the sole purpose of being condemned,
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and then providing salvation for only those whom
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he elected. Okay? And so that's the Calvinistic
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doctrine on this issue. And here's the problem
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with this. It's not God who prepares people for
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destruction. It's sin. And he's already stated
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this in Romans that does this. This is out of
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Romans 2, 4 through 5. It says, or do you despise
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the riches of his goodness, forbearance, and
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long -suffering, not knowing that the goodness
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of God leads you to repentance? But in accordance
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with your hardness and your impenitent heart,
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you're treasuring up for yourself wrath in the
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day of wrath and revelation of the righteous
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judgment of God. And so it's sin. that hardens
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our hearts. It's sin that fits us for destruction,
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not God himself. And this is where the whole
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logic versus revelation issue comes in. When
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you're talking about salvation, when you're talking
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about the spiritual realm, when you're talking
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about the nature of God, when you're talking
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about anything that's invisible and has to do
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with our relationship with the Lord, it's all
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a revelation. All you're getting is information
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that God gives to you, and it's not something
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that you can figure out on your own. It's something
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that's been revealed to you. And God, in His
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sovereignty, can choose what He reveals. He can
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choose to reveal everything, or He can choose
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to reveal parts to you. And God, being sovereign,
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doesn't have to tell you how it works. He can
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just tell you this is how it is. And so one of
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the things that's going to happen when you're
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going through your Bible is any time that you
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get into the area of spiritual things, whether
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you're talking about the nature of God or how
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salvation works or all of these things, whenever
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you're in those areas, you're going to get paradoxes.
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So for example, how can God be three and yet
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one? And the Bible teaches that he's three and
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one. How can each member of the Godhead, the
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Bible uses that term, how can each member of
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the Godhead be fully God? How can Jesus be fully
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God and fully man? And you go through and look
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at these things, and these are things that are
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stated in doctrinal positions, and they are right,
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because the Bible teaches those things, but we
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have no explanation for this. We don't know how
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that works. You know, and people come up with,
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well, Jesus is God in Abad. No, he's not. No,
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he's not. Jesus is God come down in humanity,
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fully God, fully man, free will on his part,
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separate from the fathers. and he submits his
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will to the Father. He's not somebody who just
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got plugged into a body. And you go through and
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you start looking at all this stuff and it just
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starts blowing your mind and you're like, I don't
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understand how that can happen. Well, the reason
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you don't understand it is because God hasn't
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revealed it to you. That's why. And so there's
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a passage in Deuteronomy 29, 29 that says, the
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secret things belong to the Lord our God, but
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those things which are revealed belong to us
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and to our children forever, that we may do all
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the words of this law. I love this verse. You
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know what, you have to be smart enough to know
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that you're not smart enough. And if you're not,
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you're gonna come up with all kinds of goofy
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things like Jesus didn't die for everyone. And
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so here's some examples. These are passages,
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and this is one of the things I wanted to get
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to. This is 2 Peter 3, 9. It says, the Lord is
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not slack concerning his promise, as some count
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slackness, but is long -suffering toward us,
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not willing that any should perish, but that
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all should come to repentance. So God is not
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willing to have you be reprobate. He's willing
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that you be elect. He is not willing that you
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be reprobate. is what the Bible says. It goes
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on, this is in Ezekiel 33, 11. Say to them, as
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I live, says the Lord God, I have no pleasure
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in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked
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turn from his way and live, turn from your evil
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ways, for why should you die, O house of Israel?
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And if I have made you reprobate, that means
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zero. It means nothing. And yet it's in scripture.
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Hebrews 2 9, it says, but we see Jesus who was
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made a little lower than the angels for the suffering
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of death crowned with glory and honor that he
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by the grace of God might taste death for everyone.
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So who did Jesus die for? Everyone. You know
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what everyone means in Greek? Everyone. Okay,
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then you have John 3 16 and 17. It says for God
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so loved the world that he gave his only begotten
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son that whoever believes in him should not perish
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but have everlasting life. And then I put in
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verse 17 on purpose. For God did not send his
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son into the world to condemn the world, but
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that the world through him might be saved. Here's
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why I put that in. Because I have commentaries
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where commentators go through of the Calvinistic
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persuasion and they say that Jesus didn't die
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for everyone. Well that's what John 3 .16 says,
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he died for the world. But you see, it's not
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the real world, it's the electorate. world. And
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so Jesus only died for the elect. Okay, so let's
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just plug elect in there. And so in verse 16,
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for God so loved the elect that he gave his only
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begotten son, that whoever of the elect believes
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in him, if you're elect you can't help believing
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in him according to their doctrinal position.
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You have to. There's no whoever. All the elect
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believe that whoever of the elect believe in
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him should not perish. That's dumb too, because
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the elect are never going to perish, because
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they've been elected. Unconditional election,
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limited atonement applied only to them, irresistible
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grace, and finally perseverance of the saints.
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Parish would have everlasting life. And then
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you go to verse 17, for God did not send his
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son into the elect. That doesn't make any sense.
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He sent his son into the world to condemn the
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elect. You can't condemn the elect, but that
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the elect through him might be saved. And so
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I do that with Calvinists because it messes up
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their whole position. Okay? So Jesus died for
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the world. You know what world means in that
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passage? Yeah, it means the world. John 1 .29.
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The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him
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and said, Behold the Lamb of God who takes away
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the sin of the world. First Timothy 2 .5 and
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6. For there is one God, one mediator between
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God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself
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a ransom for all. to be testified in due time.
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You know what all means in Greek? Yeah, that's
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all. He himself is the propitiation for our sins,
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and not for ours only, but also for the whole
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world. And again, who did Jesus die for? And
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it's the whole world. Here's a good one. This
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is 2 Peter chapter 2 verse 1. There were also
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false prophets among the people, even as there
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will be false teachers among you who will secretly
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bring in destructive heresies even denying the
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Lord who bought them. When did the Lord buy false
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teachers and heretics? When did that happen?
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That happened at the cross. He died for the sin
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of the whole world, even for the sin of false
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prophets, false teachers, and heretics, even
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denying the Lord who bought them and bring on
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themselves with destruction. And so it's really
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clear in the Bible that when you're talking about
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the atonement of Christ, It's not limited. It's
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for the whole world. And people go, well, and
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you know, they start playing these games with
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the whole thing. And again, they're collapsing
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the sovereignty of God. So can God send his son
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to die for the elect? Can he? Because he's sovereign?
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Yep. Can he also send his son to die for those
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people who refuse to follow him? Can he do that?
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Yeah, because he's sovereign. He can do anything
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he's thinking pleases. And so basically, this
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is the situation with people who go to hell.
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They have a ticket to heaven that's being handed
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to them. It's already been bought and paid for.
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All they got to do is get on the stinking train.
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That's all they got to do. And what they do is
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they go, no. And it doesn't mean that the price
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wasn't paid. It doesn't mean that the ticket
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wasn't actually purchased. And it doesn't mean
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that their name was actually put on it. It doesn't
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mean those things. And so God offers salvation
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to all, and it's really clear. And so this is
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the point that I'm making. When you're talking
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about limited atonement, it's unbiblical. It's
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unbiblical, okay? I already told you it was logical.
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Okay, so all you guys, any of you guys know logic?
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Okay, so you're going through, when you have
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logic, you have a premise. Start off with a premise.
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You start making statements based on that premise
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that are logical. And so if the premise is election,
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then you can go through and you can recognize
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that the reason that God needed to elect us is
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because of our total depravity. And that if God
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is going to choose, it has to be something where
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he's doing the choosing and it's a choosing in
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actuality. It's unconditional election. And because
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it's an unconditional election and God knows
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the end from the beginning, therefore he already
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knows that he has reprobated certain people and
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therefore when Jesus dies on the cross, you must
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have limited atonement. And the atonement cannot
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be for everyone, it's only for those who are
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going to receive Christ, right? And that's logical
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and it's wrong. Okay, so if I have a logical
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progression, and I'm starting off with a premise,
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And somewhere in that progression, I'm wrong.
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What's the problem? What is the problem? Logic,
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guys. It's the premise. Your premise is incorrect.
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Your premise is incorrect. And that's, again,
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the point that I'm making. When you're talking
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about what God says about election, he tells
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us full -throated, I chose you from the foundation
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of the earth. I know who you are. I actually
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was involved in bringing you into a relationship
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with me. I'm the one who's done this for you.
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And then at the very same time, he talks about
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those who refuse to come into a relationship
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with God and say it's because of their free will.
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They refuse to come. Not because of his lack
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of choosing, it's because they refuse to come.
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And we look at that and we go, that's contradictory.
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And you know what? It is. If you have all the
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information. And again, this is the point that
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I'm making. You don't have all the information,
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obviously. Calvinists don't have all the information.
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The Armenians don't have all the information.
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That's why this position has been argued over
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since the fourth century. Nobody has all the
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information. And so if I start from the premise
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of election and I leave out free will, I'm going
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to come to a doctrinal dead end. And if I start
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with the premise of free will and I disregard
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election, I'm going to come to a doctrinal dead
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end. And as soon as you have to fight with verses
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in the Bible, you are wrong. You are just doctrinally
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wrong at that point. And so, as far as how does
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free will and election go together, I have no
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idea. I have no idea because I'm smart enough
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to know that I'm not smart enough. And neither
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are you, just to throw that one out there. Men
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are not lost because they're hardened. They're
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hardened because they're lost. And they're lost
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because they're sinners. That, again, is how
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this whole thing works. Calvinism, this is a
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quote from Philip Schaff. Calvinism emphasizes
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divine sovereignty and free grace. Arminianism
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emphasizes human responsibility. The one restricts
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the saving grace to the elect. The other extends
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it to all men on the condition of faith. Both
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are right in what they assert. Both are wrong
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in what they deny. If one important truth is
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pressed to the exclusion of another truth of
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equal importance, it becomes an error and loses
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its hold upon the conscience. The Bible gives
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us a theology which is more human than Calvinism
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and more divine than Arminianism and more Christian
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than either of them. That's a great quote because
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this is exactly what's taking place. Calvinist
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starts with election and denies free will. And
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Armenian starts with free will and effectively
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denies election. And you can't do either of those
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things. They're both wrong when they're doing
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that. And so I have to understand that God elects
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and yet I have a free will. And basically the
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way that I reconcile those two is election is
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from God's point of view and he's let me in on
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the secret. Free will is from my point of view.
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That's all I know on this side of eternity. And
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what's going to happen when I get to heaven?
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I know it now, but when I get to heaven, I'm
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going to realize that me in heaven is all about
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Jesus and nothing else. And if I ended up in
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hell, I'm going to know for sure that I'm in
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hell because of what I've done and nothing else.
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And that's what the Bible actually teaches. So
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you can go on to irresistible grace. I resist
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God's grace every single day. I did it this morning.
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I don't know what I did, but I did something.
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So anytime that I'm going against the will of
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God in my life, I'm resisting Him. And so I have
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the ability to resist Him. When you're talking
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about the perseverance of the saints, the Bible
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teaches that you need to watch yourself and make
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sure that you don't walk away from Jesus. And
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if that's not true, you know, there are things
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that I would never say if I was a full -blown
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Calvinist. And one of them is, don't fall away.
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I would never say that. Because you can't fall
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away in Calvinism. It's not a possibility. And
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so, again, when you've got the Bible saying these
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things, it's saying these things for a reason.
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And so... What we want to do is we want to be
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thorough biblicists, and that's why I was looking
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up that verse earlier, and I took so much time
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doing it. Paul, in 1 Corinthians chapter 4 verse
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6, he says, Now these things, brethren, I have
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figuratively transferred to myself and Apollos
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for your sakes, that you may learn in us not
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to think beyond what is written, that none of
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you may be puffed up on behalf of one against
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the other. You don't think beyond what's written.
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And again, it's because we have a revelation
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here. And so God has only given me certain information,
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and I need to go with it. If you said it, it's
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true. I need to go with it. Okay. Then finally,
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again, you have this whole perseverance of the
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saints thing. Go ahead and do my pickup thing,
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Jim. Got it? Okay. So here's the first one. This
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is a situation where you're right in the back
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of a pickup truck. This is Calvinism. Jesus is
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driving, you hit a bump, but the tailgate is
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up and it protects you. Got that? Do the next
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thing. Keep going. One more time. There's the
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pickup truck. You're protected. Okay, next one
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is Arminianism. You're riding in the back of
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a pickup truck, Jesus is driving, you hit a bump,
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but the tailgate is down and you're thrown out.
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Okay, that's Arminianism. Then you have biblical
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warnings. You're riding in the back of a pickup
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truck, Jesus is driving, you hit a bump, the
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tailgate is up, don't jump out. Okay, that's
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biblical warnings. And then we have Calvaryism.
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That's what I call this. You're riding along
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in a pickup truck, you hit a bump, but you're
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staying as close to Jesus as you can so you don't
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have to worry about it. You get it? Get out of
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the back of the pickup truck. Get in the cab,
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you moron. You can also look us up online at
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calvary -tricities .org. Calvary Chapel Tri -Cities
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is offering two in -person training courses for
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those seeking to serve in missions or ministry.
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The School of Missions starts with 12 weeks of
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classroom -style learning and local outreach
24:37
in the Tri -Cities, Washington, followed by a
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10 -week cross -cultural mission outreach. The
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School of Ministry, this course is 18 weeks of
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in -person learning environment, followed by
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a four -week mission trip. Find out more at calvarytrainingcenternw
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.com.