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A Review of Martin R. De
Haan's Booklet: "let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged." [Romans 3:4] NOTE: my comments are in black and the original text under examination is in bold blue print. This booklet on predestination and election "beats around the bush" - with story telling primarily - until the last few pages. It is those final pages that will be examined here since they get to the crux of the matter. In all fairness though, I wish to say that while I strongly disagree with the conclusions - the interpretations of scripture - made by Mr. DeHaan, he did make some good observations in places and brought up various passages that are major points of contention between those who have a man-centered gospel and those who have a Christ-centered Gospel. But sadly, he doesn't understand the sovereignty of God nor what Christ actually accomplished at Calvary as I point out, from scripture, below. The Foreknowledge Of God Bible scholars differ greatly in their understanding of the Greek word translated "foreknew" in Romans 8:29, "Those God foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of His Son." Perhaps they differ because they are trying to fit their translation into their man-centered free-will theology rather than looking for the right translation that agrees with the rest of what the Bible has to say about election, predestination and the sovereignty of God. Some say it simply means "to know beforehand," referring to people God eternally knew would become believers. The people who say the above need to take a good hard look at Daniel 4:35: "And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?" The idea that God merely knew who would choose Him (as if He is only a bystander in the affairs of this world) is almost laughable. It indicates that God, who created all things for His glory and His pleasure, is just sitting around watching the "clock unwind". Yet scripture says He is intimately and actively involved and in charge of what is happening and CAUSING what is happening. Romans 9:17 "For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth. 18 Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth. 19 Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will? 20 Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? 21 Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour? 22 What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: 23 And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory" Philippians 2:13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. Others say it means "chosen," that the people predestined for likeness to Jesus were unconditionally chosen from before the beginning of time. Well believe it or not, this is also what GOD says it means... If we bother to take the time to read the Bible thoroughly, we will see who does the choosing, who does the accepting: John 15:16 "Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you." John 15:19 "If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you." 2 Thes 2:13 "But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth:" Psalm 65:4 "Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and causest to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts: we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple." Acts 13:48 "And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed." Because the Greek word in question can only mean "to know beforehand" in Acts 26:5 and 2 Peter 3:17, many believe it should be translated that way elsewhere. So Romans 8:29 would mean that from eternity past God foresaw certain people as His own and predestined them to become like His Son. There is one tremendous flaw in this theory that God predestined those He foresaw some goodness in (as alluded to in the next quote below). Salvation was not based on what God FORESAW but on what Christ ACCOMPLISHED at Calvary. He went to Calvary to pay a specific penalty - ransom payment - for HIS PEOPLE: Matthew 1:21 "And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins." Mark 10:45 "For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many." But how much or how little His foreknowledge of their character, conduct or choices had to do with His choices is not revealed. This is ridiculous. God knew that NO unregenerated sinner would CHOOSE the Lordship of Christ. Why do so many not understand the meaning of Romans 3:11... Romans 3:11 "There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. 12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one." If we look at Romans 8:29 and Romans 11:2 in context, we will see plenty of evidence for election by God's sovereign grace and zero evidence for election being based on God looking into the future and seeing people accepting Christ: Romans 8:28-33 - "28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. 29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30 Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified. 31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? 32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? 33 Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth." God foreknew that there are none that seeketh after God (Romans 3:11) and knowing that, He had to select certain people from among the world He would save, if He was going to have a people for Himself. God does the electing. Sinners do no elect themselves to be saved. Romans 11:2 "God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew. Wot ye not what the scripture saith of Elias? how he maketh intercession to God against Israel, saying, 3 Lord, they have killed thy prophets, and digged down thine altars; and I am left alone, and they seek my life. 4 But what saith the answer of God unto him? I have reserved to myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal. 5 Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace. 6 And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work. 7 What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded 8 (According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear;) unto this day." Note in verse 5 above, that election is according to grace, NOT according to foreknowledge. If it was according to God's foreknowledge of our acceptance of Christ, it would be according to works and not according to grace. Note also in verse 7 that God blinded the rest. He did not intend for the rest to be saved, only His elect. Does that sound unfair? Remember, "who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him?" (1 Cor. 2:16) and also "The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil." (Prov. 16:4). If God were to be fair, everyone would end up in hell. This interpretation of the word foreknowledge leaves the mystery element in the divine election and human responsibility question without diminishing either God's absolute sovereignty or our genuine freedom. The mystery is more for those who are yet unsaved and therefore cannot understand God's plan of salvation.... 1 Corinthians 2:14 "But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." The author's use of the phrase "our genuine freedom" presupposes that man has "genuine" freedom, whatever that is. The use of such a phrase also denies what Christ said in John chapter 8: John 8:31 "Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; 32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. 33 They answered him, We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free? 34 Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant [1401] of sin." When we look at the Greek for the word "servant" in John 8:34, we see that the premise that man has freedom is a false premise... One thing we can say for sure is that all believers have been "chosen according to [in harmony with] the foreknowledge of God the Father" (1 Pet. 1:2). A true believer can also be sure of who accepts whom, who chooses whom. Also, the Greek does NOT mean, "in harmony with". It means "according to." It is a preposition, which "positions" our election in respect to God's foreknowledge. Election And You The declaration "He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world (1 Jn. 2:2)) assures us that no one has been predestinated for eternal condemnation. This verse is no assurance if we understand the passage correctly. John in his writings to the Church continually refers to "all" and the "whole world" for a reason. He is explaining that salvation is not just for the Jews. It has come to the gentiles... the whole world. This has to be the case, otherwise no one would end up in hell if their sins were atoned for. The question which must be asked is, "What is the result of Christ's death?" Christ spoke of hell and future judgment very frequently. If Christ died for all the people Mr. DeHaan talks about in the above verses, why are they going to hell? For example: Matthew 5:29 "And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell." Matthew 5:30 "And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell." Luke 12:4 "And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. 5 But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him." John 3:16-17 promises us, "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him." This is only half the story. The author conveniently left out verse 18. Christ did not come into the world to condemn the world because the world was condemned already... John 3:18 "He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." It's predestined that all who reject Christ will be judged. It is predestined that ALL will be judged. All have sinned (Romans 3:23). All are guilty (Isaiah 59:1-4). However, according to the good pleasure of God, Christ redeemed some by His blood, removing the guilt from those elect sinners and placing that guilt on Himself... Revelation 5:9 "And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation" Romans 14:10 "But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ." So at the Judgment, those whose guilt has been atoned for by Christ, will be judged not guilty, but they will be "judged" never-the-less. No one ever needs to ask, "Have I been elected?". On the contrary, we are commanded to ask, for that is part of what is referred to here: 2 Corinthians 13:5 "Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?" The proper question is, "Have I accepted Jesus' atoning death for me?" This is an irrelevant question! Jesus died for whomever he came to save. The proper question is: "Has Christ accepted me? Am I truly one of His? Has HE made me a new creature in Christ? Has HE converted me? Ephesians 1:6 "To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved." Matthew 18:3 "And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven." If you have acknowledged your sin, [if you] have believed that Jesus died for you and rose again, and [if you] have committed yourself to a life of trust in and reliance on Him, you are a member of His elect (chosen) body, the church (Rom. 10:9). This is a man-centered gospel, that depends on YOU the sinner, rather than on CHRIST the Saviour. This man-centered gospel states that YOU need to acknowledge your sin (which you can't do if you are spiritually dead). This man-centered gospel says that YOU need to believe that Jesus died for you (which you don't know if you are not saved yet - Christ did not die for you if you are not one of His elect). This man centered gospel says YOU have to commit yourself to a life of trust in Christ. The truth is, God works belief (trust) IN your heart, that Christ died for your sins, once he has converted you. The truth is, Christ has committed himself to the salvation and continuance of every real believer who has received a new heart and a new spirit from God. God has caused these to be so."... Ezekiel 36:26 "A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them." The truth is, you are a member of Christ's elect (chosen) body, the church, if and only if: 1. God chose you from before the foundation of the world: Ephesians 1:4 "According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: 5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will" 2. Christ therefore has PAID for your sins: 1 Peter 3:18 "For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust , that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit" What you do with Jesus now determines whether you will bow before Him in joy or despair, whether your destiny will be heaven or hell. Wrong. Salvation is based on what Christ did on the cross. It is what Jesus has done with you which determines where you will spend eternity. The question for you dear reader is, did He suffer and die for YOUR sins? How do you know? Do you bear the fruit and marks of a true Christian? Do you believe and preach a man-centered gospel or an entirely Christ-centered Gospel? The good news is, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved" (Acts 16:31). This is true, but in a certain way only. Those who believe in the Lord Jesus will certainly be saved. But they are not saved BECAUSE they believe. They believe because they have already become saved by a supernatural WORK OF GOD who enabled them to properly believe in Christ when He put His spirit in them... John 6:29 "Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent." God's heart is for everyone when He promises, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved" (Rom. 10:13). This is another truism in the sense of Acts 16:31 above. Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord, calls on Him because they are saved, not to become saved. They will be among the saved in glory. A dog barks because it is a dog, not to become a dog. A sheep says "baa baa" not to become a sheep but because it IS a sheep. Believers continually call on their Lord and His holy name, BECAUSE they are indwelt with His spirit and it has become their nature to call upon Him who died for them. But to say that God's heart is for everyone is to call God a liar. For it is He who said: Romans 9:15 "Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion." Psalms 5:5 "The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity. 6 Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing: the LORD will abhor the bloody and deceitful man." Psalms 11:5 "The LORD trieth the righteous: but the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth. 6 Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup." In conclusion, let me say that we need to be very wary of any and all preachers, teachers, and "Christian" ministries. Many are way off on issues as fundamental as this issue of election and predestination - this question of who is in charge of salvation, God or man? It is crucial that all true believers be like the Bereans of Acts 17:11, examining the scriptures, proving all things, testing the spirits, and earnestly contending for the faith. Ray Kane |
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