ARE WE CALLED?
"And you also are among those who are called to belong to Jesus Christ."
Romans 1:6
Are we called to be saved, or is it a choice that we make? There is some doubt on this subject that I was not aware of until recently. It centers around predestination. I know that God uses us for His puposes, but I believe that it is His wish that we would all be saved. So the question then is: Why doesn't He just save us all from sin and make us all good boys and girls?
We have talked about the choice made to sin against God by Adam and Eve, and how we are created in the image of God, with the choice to abide with Him or go our own way. But we also know that there are those that God has set aside for His purposes. Take Pharaoh, in the book of Exodus, his heart was "hardened" by God so that the might of the Lord could be shown.
There was alot going on before this verse, the Lord's chosen were being treated very badly while being held captive as slaves, they were in misery. There were orders to kill males as they were born because Pharaoh felt that there were too many Jews. They were not permited to go out and worship the Lord. But there is a point where Pharaoh may have let Israel go but his heart was hardened by God so that the Lord could complete His promise. Did Pharaoh have a choice? Or was he living with the results of the choices he made?
I am told that there are two verses that people use to show that we are chosen to be saved, that we as Christians don't have the choice to be. Now I have been writing all of this out of the NIV, so I don't know how it reads in the KJV. Maybe it reads more convincing towards the arguement that the choice to be saved-to be a Christian-is God's alone. Here's what I have:
Here's the deal: Am I going to take these two verses, make them mean what I want them to mean in order to believe we are "doomed" to be what we are? The answer for me is "no". As I read these verses, I do not see them as that we are predestined to be Christians or not to be. Take the Hebrews 12 verse, "the author and perfecter of our faith" means to me: the creator of, and best example of Christianity as a faith. That is what I see when I read this verse. It never occurred to me that it could be seen as my faith in God and salvation was created by God. And the Ephesians 2 verse, it sounds to me as Paul is talking about grace being "the gift of God". I know that we cannot earn grace, it is the gift from God. Salvation, as I have pointed out in other pages, we have because of our belief in Jesus and our wish to do His will. Look at what he said in Ephesians 1:
I do believe that we are called to do things for God. And He can use us even if we are not faithful Christians. I also believe that God knew me before I came from my mother's womb. I'm am not sure if He knew I would be His, and that really does not matter one way or the other to me. I know that He wants me to be with Him (Luke 15:7,10)-He wants all of us to enter into the kingdom of heaven. I would like very much to see that the "narrow door" (Luke 13:24-30) would have to be widened because of all the souls coming through, I'm sure that God would want it to be this way too. But we do have our freewill, we must choose to be His children, God made us this way. We have been made in His image, but chose to fall away from His will and follow our own wills. If we were like robots, doing everything we were programed to do, how would this glorify God? It must be our choice to follow.
The bible is full of people that were used by God for His puposes. He chose them. But as far as salvation goes, we must choose to be saved. But then the choice to give grace and mercy is the Lord's.
One thing that I have is trust in God that He is doing what has to be done for the good of the people of this world. He owes me nothing-yet does so much for me. I don't have to worry about my basic needs because the Lord takes care of them for me. I know that there are those in the world that don't have even this. I am blessed. I don't have wealth but I have everything I need. If I were to lose what I do have, I would still have the day that I will meet Jesus and eat with Him at His table. I would not trade that for anything. The Word is with me, in my heart and mind. I will not lose this. I may lose my mind but not my salvation, a gift I will not exchange.
Are we to question the Lord's decisions?
What does that say to you? Does it sound like it has been decided for you? Or is it up to you, your belief in God? Remember the question I asked, why doesn't God just save us from all sin and make us all good boys and girls? He has. But we have the choice to accept this gift or not. We can be clean of all of the sins we have committed, we can all be good in the sight of God. We must choose Him above the gods of this world. I'm talking about money, power, sex, drugs, and the acceptance of other people. He must be above everything in our lives-the Most High. Does God rate this? What do you think? If you are in need, where will you turn? Who can best see your true need and give you what it is that you need the most?
I know that God knows my name. He knew me before I was born. The Jews have a story about a place in heaven called the "Guff" (the spelling may not be right). It is a room in the Lord's mansion where all the souls yet to be born are. I liked this story when I first heard it. Also, God sees the future as if it was the present. If this is so, He knows who is going to be saved and who is not going to be saved. If you put these two things together, then He has known which souls in the "Guff" are going to be saved from the beginning of creation. But would that mean that He has decided the fate of those souls-even if both these things are true? You see, even when I do my best to put it in a way to make it His choice alone who is saved, I still come up with a very good question.
My salvation rests on a loving God that would show me, a vile sinner, mercy. This belief comes from what I have read in the bible. The bible tells me that if I believe that Jesus came here to save me from my sin, that there is nothing I could do on my own to earn His grace-it being a gift to those who believe-I am saved. I'm going to put my faith in Him. It is my choice to do so-even if He knew I would beforehand. Am I chosen? Some are, this is sure. Paul was chosen for God's pupose. He was doing alot of work to destroy the church, the Way, and anyone who was a part of this new order. And he was called to serve:
Doesn't sound too good, does it? Again like with Pharaoh, here was a man that was doing some great harm to God's people, and he was going to be used by God as a "chosen instrument" for His purpose. Let's follow the story:
ACTS 9:17-22 "Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, 'Brother Saul, the Lord-Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here-has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.' Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul's eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, and after taking some food, he regained his strength. Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus. At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. All those who heard him were astonished and asked, 'Isn't he the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among those that call on this name? And hasn't he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priest?' Yet Saul grew more and more powerful and baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus in the Christ."
Paul (Saul) went on to be a major leader of the Church. He preached throughout the Roman empire. He wrote letters to the churches, and to the others that were working to spread the Good News, they became books of the New Testament. Commissioned to serve God, though he did have to suffer, his calling becoming his choice. God did not waste any part of Paul, his background, his training, his citizenship, or his mind.
Paul is quoted throughout these pages, he talked about things that I go through daily. He was a man, but he was led by the Spirit of God. He talked about temptations of this world and how his flesh could not fight them, his only weapon was his faith that God would strengthen him and continue to use him for the good of those that were in the Body of Christ. He also brought many to God, and his words-being guided by the Holy Spirit-continue to bring people to God to this day. He is someone that I want to be like: used by God effectively. Mostly I think he was just plain able to get out of the way and let God take over.
I hope that I was able to make some sense here, I often feel that what I'm saying only makes sense to me. I have done alot of study about choice on these pages because I want it to be known that it is up to us to make that effort, to knock. What we can be sure of is that when we knock the door will be opened to us. I hear alot about "be careful for what you pray for, you might just get it." To me that sounds like you are asking for a fish and getting a snake. This has not been my experience. Like I have said, I may not understand the answer, but I know that it will be what is best for me-coming from a loving God who wants the best for me. I don't pray for money now, but have done so in the past. I pray for the safty of those around me and that they will come to know the Lord in the way that I do. I say prayers for those I don't know but have heard of, it is because I know that my prayer can help those people. I am thankful because of what Jesus has done for me: my salvation, my recovery, and how He is working in my life every day. Where I live I see many that don't have the Lord, and their chances are less than "...less than average." It is to my shame as well, for if I was doing what I should be doing they may know the Lord.
ABOUT MJMJACK~fantasy
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