In Acts 13:48 in the ESV translation it states: And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed(italics mine) to eternal life believed. The context of Acts 13:13-48 describes the preaching of the Gospel to the people of Antioch by Paul and Barnabus. The passage details that when Paul and Barnabus first entered Antioch, they entered the synagoge on the Sabbath day, and Paul preached the Gospel, beginning with the earliest days of Israel's history declaring the activity of God in bringing about His purpose for His people, Israel. Paul rehearses the work of God in the people of Israel's life right up to the story of Jesus and His resurrection. Those who heard the Gospel begged Paul and Barnabus to come back and preach again at the next Sabbath. The text states that the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. In verse 45, though the text states that when the Jews saw the crowds, they were moved with jealousy and began to contradict what was spoken by Paul. So Paul and Barnabus boldly spoke to them that it was necessary that the word of God be spoken to the Jews first, but since they refused the Gospel, they would go to the Gentiles and preach the Gospel. And that is how the text arrives at Acts 13:48 describing the rejoicing of the Gentiles and their glorifying of the word of the Lord. The last part of the verse states: as many as were appointed (italics mine) to eternal life believed.
The word appoint is defined, in Merriam-Webster's online dictionary, to mean, to fix or to set officially or to name officially. This part of our text in Acts 13:48 serves to establish and communicate the doctrine of election. The doctrine of election, simply stated is the sovereign choice of God, based on His right as the Creator God, to choose or elect who will believe in the Gospel and who will not. In Ephesians 1:11 in the New Internation Version, it states: "In him we were also chosen (italics mine), having been predestinated according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will," further attests to the same right of God to choose who will believe and who will not. Another verse giving even more weight to the absolute need for God to make it possible for a person to believe is John 6:65, where Jesus is teaching his disciples states: ... "that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father."(ESV)
I hope this post helps to stimulate the reader, to search the scriptures for themselves, and to see if what is written by this author on the doctrine of election, or to be said another way, the doctrine of the Lord's choosing, is true.
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Isn't what you are stating in line with Calvinist thinking. I had a friend in the Navy who told me once that all are predestined if they will be saved or not, so don't worry about it. I never could grasp that thinking. Even if it is pre-determined, how would anyone know? To me its a philosophy that doesn't have much usefulness. Its like, yes, God knows who is going to win the basketball game next Saturday, so you don't need to play hard to win. Unless I have a time machine what does it matter to me that Christ already knows if I will be saved or not. Kevin B.
ReplyDeleteYes, Kevin B., in one since you are right, the fact that God knows who is going to be saved, is the sole determiner of who will be saved, and monergistically acts in the superintending of the soul to bring us to salvation, does not change our responsibility one iota in believing Him, receiving Him, and obeying Him. Yes, this is classically and traditionaly called Calvinism or the Reformed theological paradigm of God's sovereignty. But, Calvin did not invent this doctrine, nor any of the great theologians who believed in predestination before him, or any of the great theologians who believed it after him. Plainly speaking, the doctrine is woven into the biblical narative from Genesis to Revelation. So, knowing God knows better than we do on what we need to know, and what we do not need to know, He(God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit) inspired the writers of the books of the bible in such a way, that the doctrine of sovereign choice, or predestination can be found over and over in the pages of the bible. God's sovereignty is an attribute that must not be dimenished in any way by our modern culture. He is absolutely in charge of His creation. No detail is absent of His superintendance. This doctrine is hard to swallow for us who are so inculcated with the sovereignty of the individual, within American and Western culture, that is almost seems paradoxical to us, and has no possibility of being true.
ReplyDeleteHow does free will enter the equation? Or does it? KB
ReplyDeletePlease read the blog post "Willing to Believe".
ReplyDeleteAbout "free will"... An interesting challenge is to find places in the Scripture that state emphatically that we have freedom of the will in a way that removes God's sovereignty. What I see in the Word (as an overall theme) is that we are either "slaves to sin" or "slaves to Christ." Admitting that the concept of being called a slave is distasteful, especially in this era where the very word "slave" is often used as a discussion breaker, the Bible still takes us to that place.
ReplyDeletePerhaps the better question would be, "To what extent do we have freedom of will?"
love it!!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeletefree will?????????? no such thing. Our will is inclined to sin and will always look out for self
ReplyDelete