Have
you ever felt so strongly about a certain belief it made you who you are but
you could not fully explain it after a certain point, it took faith? As
Christians, followers of Christ Jesus, I hope we know this experience. God says
without faith it is impossible to please Him. This theme of predestination and
once saved always saved, simply put scares me on some level. At the other end
of the spectrum there is the belief that I lose my salvation every time I
disobey God’s commands. Let us agree that at the extreme ends both thought
processes are wrong. Predestination is not saying that if I’ve won God’s
lottery I can live like the devil and still go to heaven and on the other hand
it is not my works that save me and each time I sin I start over as a new
believer, how foolish! So the answer lies somewhere in the middle, no doubt.
I
do understand the process that God knows all and sees all, not just in the past
and present but also in the future and because of that He knows if I belong to
Him and in that way I am predestined but only God knows but that doesn’t mean I
don’t have anything to do with it. However, I do not agree that it is possible
to accept Jesus Christ at an early age, grow up believing in Him, having real
relationship with Him, knowing who He is, and then at the end of my life fall
away because some unimaginable tragedy has taken place only to be told that I
never belonged to God in the first place or it’s ok, I can do what I want, God
will turn a blind eye because I was saved as a child and I have the golden
ticket. This thought idea of what predestination looks like is a flawed process.
You cannot dismiss John’s revelation where God shown Him what will take place
in the end and where he listens to God address the seven churches in Asia
because they had left their first love. There is an eminent threat of falling
away and their decision to listen and obey or turn to their own selfish desires
will indeed determine what eternity will look like for them but that doesn’t
mean they never belonged to God. Revelation 2:10 God told the church, “But if
you remain faithful even when facing death, I will give you the crown of life.”
(NLT) The words “if you remain” tells us that what we do does have a part to
play in our destination. Revelation 3:3 “Go back to what you heard and believed
at first; hold to it firmly. Repent and turn to Me again. If you don’t wake up,
I will come to you suddenly, as unexpected as a thief.” Revelation 3:15 “I know
all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were
one of the other!” 16 “But since you are lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold,
I will spit you out of my mouth!”
God
tells us in Hebrews 12:6 “For the LORD disciplines those He loves, and He
punishes each one He accepts as His child.” We are told that in the Old Testament
as well – Proverbs 3:12 and again in Revelation 3:19 and because we are God’s
children let’s look at this from a parent’s perspective. As a parent are you
happiest when your children will not obey and you have to confront them before
they take the garbage out and they do it begrudgingly or when they do it without
you asking because they want to please you, because they care about the
relationship they have with you? There is something about the “want to” that
pleases God’s heart. It says God you are important to me, I love this
relationship we have, and I want to do everything I can to cause it to grow,
that’s why tithing is so important, really everything we do from reading our
Bibles to prayer and study, worship… if we have real relationship with Jesus
then it is because of the “want to”. However, if I am predestined (in human
understanding) it creates a void, in that I can do whatever I want and God will
overlook it. Predestined in this sense doesn’t grow relationship with God but
repeals me from God and the very thing that made me feel safe, in that I can’t
mess it up, causes a hollow space between my Savior and me because I cannot
respond to His marvelous love and His unquestionable grace. Without free will
how are we different than the heavenly host? The Bible tells us of one time
they were able to choose and a third of them were thrown out of heaven with
Satan.
We’ve
been stepping around this without landing on it but at the center of this
debate is Matthew 7:22-23. God never ceases to amaze me in little subtle ways.
Just six days ago I was led to this scripture and He’s been preparing me for
this talk since then. Let’s start at Matthew 7:21 and stop at verse 27.
Matthew 7:21-27 NLT "Not everyone
who calls out to Me, 'Lord! Lord!' will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those
who actually do the will of My Father in heaven will enter. (22) On judgment day many
will say to Me, 'Lord! Lord! We prophesied in Your name and cast out demons in
Your name and performed many miracles in Your name.' (23) But I will reply, 'I
never knew you. Get away from Me, you who break God's laws.' (24) "Anyone who
listens to My teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house
on solid rock. (25) Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise
and the winds beat against that house, it won't collapse because it is built on
bedrock. (26) But anyone who hears
My teaching and doesn't obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on
sand. (27) When the rains and
floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a
mighty crash."
Did
you catch that Jesus said “Anyone who listens to My teaching and follows…”?
This is a strong statement indicating that there is no golden ticket but
instead the work of my salvation is done by Christ Jesus alone yet it is how I
respond to it that determines what that means to me but the center of Christ’s
words here is in Him knowing me. Now what does that mean, after all He knows
everyone even so much so that the hairs of our heads are numbered! What Jesus
is talking about here when He says I never knew you speaks of relationship and
if it is about relationship then it is the “want to” that makes a difference. Therefore,
if I fall away and no longer have relationship with Him I no longer know Him
but I once knew Him. However, Jesus said I never knew you which points back to
the fact that He is God and because of predestination He is able to look into
the future and know the exact condition of our hearts when we will be called to
give an account of how we lived our lives and because of that He knows which
ones are His. Like wheat and tares to the human eye are indistinguishable God
knows which will produce a harvest and which will not because He is God.
Don’t
ever lose the “want to” in your relationship with Jesus, yes God has
predestined you but that does not mean you don’t have a choice. And should you
fall away His mercy is sufficient and though He will correct you it is because
of His great love and His Father’s heart that He does so but still we must
respond to receive His love. I have no answers other than to know and follow
God’s leading, like Paul told the Philippians 2:12 work out your own salvation
with hard work, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. God is in control not
man and for that I am exceedingly glad; in the end the extreme middle of the
two camps are not so far apart.
From
the book “Stop Asking Jesus Into Your Heart” by J.D. Greear
Repentance and faith are heart
postures you take toward the finished work of Christ. You might express the
beginning of that posture in a prayer. But don’t make the mistake of equating that
prayer with the posture. The sinner’s prayer is not a magic incantation or a
recipe you follow to get a salvation cake. The real stuff – the stuff that
matters – is the posture of repentance and faith behind the words you speak.
The prayer is good only insofar as it verbalizes the posture.
