Another misconception about God’s preordained plan is that man’s will is removed or is irrelevant. This assumption can only survive if we exclude all of the commandments of God. We cannot nullify the commandments and instructions of God and any doctrine that attempts to do so is false teaching. I once had a conversation with a man who was involved in a very immoral lifestyle. He claimed to be a Calvinist and stated that man had no free will. He stated that his will could not change unless God willed it. It was God’s fault that he was acting out sin and the only way to escape sin was for God to will him to quit. This statement is both blasphemous and absurd.
The Lord clarifies that we are to walk in obedience and all
of His commandments are given to us because we must submit ourselves and walk
in His ways. We have the right to turn from the truth and doing so is the will
of man usurping authority from the will of God. Let us look again at Romans 8:29-31
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?
The Lord has clearly revealed that we have been
predestinated to conform to the image of Jesus Christ. To fully conform to
Christ is the completion of full spiritual maturity. The world has yet to see a
man that has fully conformed to Christ for unlike Jesus, we have a sinful human
nature that contends with us to try to draw us away from walking in the Spirit.
When we look at the church, we see people of various levels of spiritual
maturity and most remain in the infant state. This problem has always been part
of the church and is addressed specifically by Paul in Hebrews 5:12-13
12 For when for the time ye
ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the
first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of
milk, and not of strong meat.
13 For every one that useth milk is
unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.
He is speaking to the church and those who are in Christ. These are also predestinated to conform to the image of Christ, yet they remained immature, unskilled in the word, and while they should have already matured to the level of becoming teachers, they were in need of being taught. Those who should have reached spiritual adulthood were still babies in the Spirit. The reason they ought to be teachers is because God has predestined the path, called them down the path, but they have not followed the Lord but remain worldly and soon forget the basic principles of the faith and therefore need to be taught again. The Bible clearly reveals to us the promise that since the way we are to walk has been foreordained, nothing can be against us for nothing can withstand God. Hopefully we can see that predestination does not mean that God drags unwilling children down the paths of righteousness. Instead, He walks down the path and calls us to follow.
We gain a good bit of insight on this from Proverbs. We are
told that as we trust the Lord with all our heart and do not look to our own
understanding, He will direct our paths[1].
This is also explained well in a passage I refer to often. Look at Proverbs 2:6-9
6 For the LORD giveth
wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.
7 He layeth up sound wisdom for the
righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly.
8 He keepeth the paths of judgment,
and preserveth the way of his saints.
9 Then shalt thou understand
righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yea, every good path.
The
Bible says that wisdom is the principle thing[2]
and our path begins with wisdom. We are also told that wisdom comes through the
word[3],
fearing the Lord and applying instruction to our lives[4].
Through wisdom God reveals to us every good path. The paths of life are laid
out before us and God has already established our lives, foreordained the
events of our lives and through the instructions of the word, the Lord directs
our steps so that we find the paths He has placed before us. Those who are spiritually
immature will not find these paths for they must again be taught the basics of
the word over and over again. God does not teach deep things to those who are
stuck on the milk. Look at Isaiah 28:9-10
9 Whom shall he teach knowledge?
and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from
the milk, and drawn from the breasts.
10 For precept must be upon
precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and
there a little:
The problem with most Christians is that the beginning precepts are quickly forgotten so that it is not possible to build understanding upon what has already been taught. The average Christian must be fed like a child. If you are dependent on books, broadcasts, devotionals, pastors or teachers, you are still on the milk. Babies are completely dependent on others to feed and care for them. The Bible tells us that we do not need man to teach us but the Spirit anoints us to understand and teaches us all things[5]. All are born into the faith as babes in the Spirit. The purpose of teaching and discipleship is twofold: to constantly remind the church of truth so that we don’t allow things to slip[6], and to bring others into a point of spiritual maturity so that they are walking in the Spirit and able to seek the Lord on their own.
Predestination
does not exclude us from responsibility; in fact, this teaching from scripture
instructs us that we are more accountable, for if God has provided all things
to us to the point where we have the promise that we have been predestined by
God to conform to the image of Christ, we have no way to justify our lack of
spiritual maturity. Our inability to grow into maturity comes from our
unwillingness to seek the Lord and obey His word. The Lord has given us all
things that pertain to life and godliness through Christ[7].
The instructions of the scriptures are how God has given us His understanding.
Look at Proverbs 4:10-15
10 Hear, O my son, and receive my
sayings; and the years of thy life shall be many.
11 I have taught thee in the way of
wisdom; I have led thee in right paths.
12 When thou goest, thy steps shall
not be straitened; and when thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble.
13 Take fast hold of instruction;
let her not go: keep her; for she is thy life.
14 Enter not into the path of the
wicked, and go not in the way of evil men.
15 Avoid it, pass not by it, turn
from it, and pass away.
As we receive His sayings which are the doctrines of
scripture, we will gain wisdom and God leads us down the right paths. Jesus
warned that we must take heed how we hear for whoever has, more will be given
and those who have not will have what they do have taken away[8].
This is directly referring to the word of God. We must take heed to the word of
God and apply it to our lives. This is why many hear the word week after week
and never come to the point of understanding. They must constantly be taught
again the basic principles of scripture and it continues to have little if any
effect on their personal lives. God ordains all things and then commands us to
obey. As people resist the word, God hardens the heart. Look at the example
given to us from
Jeremiah 7:26 Yet they hearkened not unto me, nor inclined
their ear, but hardened their neck: they did worse than their fathers.
Jeremiah 19:15 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of
Israel; Behold, I will bring upon this city and upon all her towns all the evil
that I have pronounced against it, because they have hardened their necks, that
they might not hear my words.
God
sent Jeremiah but said that the people would not hear His words for their
hearts were hardened. We can see throughout the Bible that when people harden
themselves to resist the word of God, the Lord hardens the people and blinds
their heart to understanding. When we harden our necks by resisting God’s
intervention in our lives, God hardens our hearts so that we cannot grow into
maturity. You cannot build your life upon new precepts until you submit
yourself to obey the basic principles God has revealed. Those who resist the
word remain stuck in their lack of wisdom. God does not foreordain the
Christian to remain spiritually immature; the scripture teaches that we were
foreordained for maturity in Christ. After Romans chapters 8 – 10 discuss the
foreordained plan of God, it concludes with the following in Romans 11:20-23
20 Well; because of unbelief they
were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear:
21 For if God spared not
the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee.
22 Behold therefore the
goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee,
goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be
cut off.
23 And they also, if they abide not
still in unbelief, shall be graffed in: for God is able to graff them in again.
The warning is that even though God has brought us into
fellowship with Christ by faith, He will not spare us if we do not continue by
faith. The Lord has called us by faith and then commanded us to obey by faith.
The scripture does not state that God forces us to remain faithful but instead
warns us that we are instructed to obey and there are consequences to those who
do not remain in His goodness. The next chapter of Romans goes on to provide
instructions for remaining in the will of God. Look at Romans 12:1-2
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present
your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your
reasonable service.
2 And be not conformed to this
world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove
what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
As
you can see, our foreordained path leads us to the promises of God and nothing
can prevent us from fulfilling God’s will when we are walking by faith. Even
after explaining our predestined path, the same portion of scripture instructs
and affirms the importance of following God’s will through obedience and
submission to God. Our lives are a living sacrifice and through renewing our
minds in the word, we are transformed daily from the world and God’s perfect
will is made clear in our lives. When we listen to the word and apply our
hearts to understanding, God leads us to the path He has laid out beforehand
and His will for our lives becomes clear.
To understand works, we need to look at how works fit into
the plan of God. Look at Ephesians 2:8-10
8 For by grace are ye
saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should
boast.
10 For we are his workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we
should walk in them.
A key principle to understanding works is given to us in verse 10 above. Most Christians approach the idea of works from a man centered perspective and end up being very busy, but never coming to an understanding of the biblical perspective on works. You will hear people say things like, “We need to get busy for God”. I have a friend who spends seven days a week at church doing work, activities, having committee meetings, etc. He is not alone for I have met many who are so busy for God that they do not have time for God.
Many years ago another pastor friend of mine came to my house and explained how burned out he felt and frustrated he was with his crowded life. He said he was so burned out he felt like giving up. I asked him to tell me what his activities were and he listed fifteen or twenty responsibilities that took up all his time. In fact, he had so many balls in the air that he was beginning to lose control and things were no longer getting done effectively. I asked what he knew God had called him to do. He was called to be an encourager and to disciple others. Those two things were his hearts desire and what God had equipped him to do. We then went down the list and nearly all the tasks had nothing to do with his calling. I explained that anything on his list that did not fulfill and prevented him from fulfilling his calling should be dropped. He was concerned that if he dropped a task that it wouldn’t get done; however, if God does not raise someone up to do the work, it does not need to be done.
We cannot burden members of the church with tasks that interfere with their God-given calling. We cannot take on tasks that God has not called us to do. God does not reward us for how busy we are, but whether we are faithful and obedient to the works He has foreordained us to do. We spend our lives so crowded that we are not able to accomplish the things that have eternal significance. Getting busy for God has absolutely no eternal significance as we will soon see from scripture. If there are not enough workers in the church, the problem is a lack of spiritual maturity. Your extra work cannot make up for someone else’s refusal to answer their calling. Your busyness will never compensate for the lack of maturity of another. In fact, when we think that we must save the church by our efforts, we are showing a lack of maturity on our part for we are looking to ourselves rather than praying for laborers to be sent by God[9]. Burn out is the result of people taking on responsibilities that God has not called them to do.
We must first look after our own spiritual condition so that we grow and become Christ-like. While growing through our own discipleship we are better equipped to disciple others to assist them into growing in their own spiritual maturity. A lack of desire for the work of God shows a lack of spiritual growth. As you grow in Christ, the Lord will raise up within you the desire to do the things you are being called to do. If someone has no desire to serve, they are not spiritually ready to serve and the focus should be on discipleship, not manipulating those who are unmotivated.
People are afraid of works because they fear that God will
call them to do what they do not want to do. I once had a man tell me that he
was afraid to surrender to God because he might be called to
The Bible makes it clear that we are all responsible for
answering the calling God has prepared for our own lives. We have been bought
with a price[10] and
giving ourselves to God is our reasonable service[11].
When we come to Christ, we are laying down our lives and taking up a new life
in Christ where everything is now of God and for God[12].
We don’t have a right to refuse to obey God nor do we have a right to live in
ungodliness. Our works are our reasonable service but not our reward. Look at Luke 17:7-10
7 But which of you,
having a servant plowing or feeding cattle, will say unto him by and by, when
he is come from the field, Go and sit down to meat?
8 And will not rather say unto him,
Make ready wherewith I may sup, and gird thyself, and serve me, till I have
eaten and drunken; and afterward thou shalt eat and drink?
9 Doth he thank that servant
because he did the things that were commanded him? I trow not.
10 So likewise ye, when ye shall
have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable
servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.
Jesus’ teaching on works is completely contrary to what the average person thinks of works. Jesus compares our works to a servant. This word is from the Greek word ‘doulos’ which means slave. This is the same word used to describe Onesimus in the book of Philemon. Onesimus was a slave that ran away, met Paul and was led to Christ. Paul sent him back with a letter to Philemon. Philemon was also a believer and he set Onesimus free to serve with Paul in the ministry[13].
In the Bible, slavery is different than what we think of in our modern era. In the 1700s and 1800s, innocent people were forced into bondage, but this is not what the Bible teaches concerning slavery. When someone could not pay their debt, they were put into slavery and their labor paid their debt. The works of their labor were not for their profit, but to compensate for their inability to pay their obligations. It was like bankruptcy, but instead of putting the loss on the creditor, the one in debt bore the penalty with their own freedom.
Jesus points to this as an example of works. When we work,
we should not think that we have done God a service. We can never work enough
so that the Lord owes us repayment. We are not owed a reward because of our
works or service to God; we owe the Lord our entire lives for a debt we can
never repay. He saved us from the debt of our sin by His grace and we are
rewarded by His grace not for our merits. The scriptures tell us that God is
the Rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. Busyness often prevents
Christians from serving God. The church praises those who work the hardest but
God rewards those who allow Him to work through them by surrendering their
lives. If we are too busy to have time to diligently seek Him by studying the
word and separating ourselves for prayer, our labors mean nothing. If we serve
out of obligation or we have a murmuring attitude, though required, our labors
do not please God and are not rewarded. Any parent should understand this.
Which pleases us, the child who does what is instructed but complains the whole
time, or the child who does it with a good attitude? Look at 1 Corinthians 9:16-17
16 For though I preach
the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe
is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!
17 For if I do this thing
willingly, I have a reward: but if against my will, a dispensation of the
gospel is committed unto me.
Notice
that the reward is for our willingness to submit ourselves to the work of God –
not for the labor itself. It is faith and an attitude of thankfulness that
pleases the Lord. Those who seek God with all their heart will always have the
right attitude. Even with a bad attitude, our responsibility remains. We are
told, woe to us if we do not do what we have been sent to do. Jesus affirmed
this in Luke 12:47-48
47 And that servant, which knew his
lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his
will, shall be beaten with many stripes.
48 But he that knew not, and did
commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For
unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men
have committed much, of him they will ask the more.
This is the warning Paul was speaking of. We are required to
do what we have been called to do. If we are growing in the faith, we will
desire to serve God and delight ourselves in doing His will. There is nothing
more satisfying and fulfilling than to know you are walking with the Lord and
serving as He has called you to do. Even without an eternal reward, the peace
of God in the heart of those who submit to Him is worth any sacrifice we have
to make. The true reward is knowing God[14]
for He is our exceedingly great reward[15].
Everything else is just icing on the cake. There is no reward outside of an
abiding relationship with Jesus Christ. Look at Proverbs 15:
8 The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD: but the prayer of the upright is his delight.
Eddie Snipes
Exchanged Life Outreach
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Return to the Bible Studies Page
[1] Proverbs 3:5-6
[2] Proverbs 4:7
[3] Proverbs 1:3, Proverbs 2:1, Proverbs 19:20
[4] Proverbs 9:10, Proverbs 15:33
[5] 1 John 2:27, John 14:26
[6] 1 Peter 1:12-15, Hebrews 2:1
[7] 2 Peter 1:3
[8] Luke 8:18
[9] Matthew 9:38
[10] 1 Corinthians 6:20
[11] Romans 12:1
[12] 2 Corinthians 5:17, Romans 6:13
[13] Colossians 4:9, 18
[14] Jeremiah 9:24
[15] Genesis 15:1