(1.)Genesis 20:2, “Now Abraham said of Sarah his wife, "She is my sister." And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah.  3 But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, "Indeed you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man's wife."  4 But Abimelech had not come near her; and he said, "Lord, will You slay a righteous nation also?  5 "Did he not say to me, 'She is my sister'? And she, even she herself said, 'He is my brother.' In the integrity of my heart and innocence of my hands I have done this."  6 And God said to him in a dream, "Yes, I know that you did this in the integrity of your heart. For I also withheld you from sinning against Me; therefore I did not let you touch her.”

In this story within Genesis the King of Egypt took this beautiful woman Sarah and was going to sleep with Her as Kings did in those days. The kind was going to do this because Abraham told the King that Sarah was not his wife but his sister. But the King did not sleep with Sarah even though he took Sarah to His house, why? “I withheld you from sinning against Me: therefore I did not let you touch her”, said God to the King in a dream. The only thing stopping the King from sleeping with Sarah was the Kings command. Nothing stood in his way except his heart. This is what God meant when saying “I withheld you from sinning.” God did not send an angel and put a sword to the Kings throat nor did God use some human or physical means to stop the King. God, for that day’s time, moved the Kings heart away from wanting to sleep with Sarah that night.  So here is an example of God working in a person to specifically not to choose a specific choice and God proved He was able to do this and still not take away the persons human will.

            (2.)Ezra 1:1, “Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit (heart) of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying, 2 Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: All the kingdoms of the earth the LORD God of heaven has given me. And He has commanded me to build Him a house at Jerusalem which is in Judah 3 Who is among you of all His people? May his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem which is in Judah, and build the house of the LORD God of Israel.”

            At this point in Israel’s history they are still in captivity in Babylon. The King of Persia is now in control of the Kingdom which Babylon once controlled. Through the prophet Jeremiah God had infallibly promised that He would release Israel from captivity after 70 years, which was foretold, (Jer. 25:11-12, 29:10, also Dan. 9:2) that God would bring back his children to Jerusalem. And it is here God is said to have “stirred up the spirit (meaning his heart)”, to write a very specific proclamation. Notice God does not just merely move the Kings heart or spirit to some vague direction, but is causing the king to chose and do something very specific.

             One observation to make is that God “Works” the future to His decrees, not merely uses. Some might think God knew the king of Persia would let Israel go, and so prophesied through Jeremiah that after seventy years of captivity Israel would be set free. But that is not the case, which we have here. God did not “use” a choice which He foreseen the King making, but God “caused” the King of Persia to make a specific choice. The Lord stirred the “spirit of Cyrus King of Persia, so that he made proclamation.” Ephesians 1:11, “ being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will.” Again in Jeremiah and Ezekiel the honor given to saints to why they will be able to walk in godliness, in part now and completely in Heaven, is not given to free will nor is it given to good using or allow, but, Ezekiel 36:27 "I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.” The Covenant of Grace in Christ’s Blood mentioned here in Ezekiel, which ensures that the saints will walk in godliness, is by God’s Holy Spirit directly working in them, by causing them to walk in His ways, not merely use or allow.  For the king of Persia to make a specific proclamation to let Israel go so they can rebuild its temple is a very specific free will choice. But it is God’s stirring the Kings heart, which is given the credit for this action, not the Kings own choice or initiative.

      “God decrees all things, and even all sins. Acts 2:23. “Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death;” Acts 4:28 "To do whatever Your hand and Your purpose determined before to be done. If the thing meant, be only that Christ’s sufferings should come to pass by some means or other; I answer, they could not come to pass but by sin. For contempt and disgrace was one thing he was to suffer. Even the free actions of men are subject to God’s disposal. Proverbs 21:1 The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD, Like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes.” See Jeremiah 52:3, “For because of the anger of the LORD this happened in Jerusalem and Judah, till He finally cast them out from His presence. Then Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.” The not complying with the terms of the covenant of grace is decreed, 1 Peter 2:8, "A stone of stumbling And a rock of offense." They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed.” What man determines, never comes to pass, unless God determines it, Lamentations 3:37, “Who is he who speaks and it comes to pass, When the Lord has not commanded it?” By commanding is here meant willing; and God is elsewhere said to speak, and it was done; to command, and it stood fast. God determines the limits of men’s lives. This is exceeding evident. Job 7:1, "Is there not a time of hard service for man on earth? Are not his days also like the days of a hired man?” Days of a hireling signify an appointed, certain, limited time; as Isaiah 16:14 and 21:16. If the limits of men’s lives are determined, men’s free actions must be determined, and even their sins; for their lives often depend on such acts. See also Job 14:5. “(Jonathan Edwards, “Concerning the Divine Decrees in General.”)

Today people say words as God; uses our situations or choices, our leaders exhorts us to allow God in our lives, therefore God does not control or predestines our destinies but guides our destines within our choices and places. This is odd for when I read my scriptures I read vastly different words; God decrees and appoints the future, He cause, stirs, sends and moves the sons of man make certain choices, He predestines and ordains the future of man and therefore creates and designs all future as He first designed it from the beginning of time. And the Glory is seen in God’s wisdom, in that He can do all this and at the time design it so that men are making choices which they want and therefore accountable for these choices. I say Glory of God’s wisdom because the apostle Paul after 11 chapters of theology including 3 on God’s election, predestination and mans responsibility, ends with this doxology: “Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out… For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen”, Romans 11:33,36. (See also Romans 16:27)

(3.) Proverbs 16:1, “The preparations of the heart belong to man, But the answer of the tongue is from the LORD.”

NAU John 11:51, “But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, "You know nothing at all, nor do you take into account that it is expedient for you that one man die for the people, and that the whole nation not perish." Now he did not say this on his own initiative, but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation.”

This is amazing to think for Caiaphas was not a believer, but a hater of Jesus Christ, plotting to kill Him. Then you have this stunning statement, “he did not say this on his own initiative.” Or if say it directly from the Greek, “He did not say this from himself.” All will say that to choose to speak words is an act of the free- will right? If is true then how can the scriptures say Caiaphas did NOT speak this words “from himself.” There are only two conclusions you can take from this. 1. Is that God took away his free-will and accountability. 2. That God is able to cause or make a human directly speak specific words and at the same time in His infinite design and wisdom not take way their choice and responsibility and or diminish any of the value of that choice. Now I do not claim to know how all this reality is true but I affirm position two as what is taught from the scriptures.

The Scripture itself supposes that there are some things in the Scripture that men may not be able to reconcile with God’s moral perfections. See Romans 9:19, “You will say to me then, "Why does He still find fault? For who has resisted His will?" And the apostle doth not answer the objection, by showing us how to reconcile it with the moral perfections of God, but by representing the arrogance of quarrelling with revealed doctrine under such a pretence, and not considering the infinite distance between God and us.  “But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God?” And God answered Job after the same manner. God rebuked him for darkening counsel by words without knowledge, and answered him, only by declaring and manifesting to him the infinite distance between God and him; so letting him know, that it became him humbly to submit to God, and acknowledge his justice even in those things that were difficult to his reason; and that without solving his difficulties any other way than by making him sensible of the weakness of his own understanding. (Jonathan Edwards, “Concerning the Divine Decrees in General and Election in particular”)

Part: 2

What is more loving?

The people who oppose this clear teaching of scripture often times say to me that the height of God’s love is shown in that He gives people a choice. Which, at surface value I am able to understand why many people think this way. But as we have just investigated this type of answer does not carry much weight.  We learned when God works in us to make a particular choice it does not degrade the value or authentic-ness of the choice we make. Just as Edwards said earlier, “God will order it so that the saints and angels in heaven never will sin, and does it therefore follow that their liberty is destroyed, and that they are not free, but forced in their actions? Does it follow that they are turned into machines and blocks.” This is because Ezekiel 36:27 "I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.” The Covenant of Grace in Christ’s Blood which is mentioned here in Ezekiel, is that promise which causes the saints to walk in godliness, by God’s Holy Spirit directly working in them, by causing them to walk in His ways.

So I plainly ask; is it truly a revealing of God’s love that He ultimately leaves the choice of salvation (etc..) to us? I answer by saying No, this does not show God’s love but if it were true would diminish God’s love! For if God is a God of love wanting His children to truly be with Him in heaven, how be it -as my opponents of this doctrine say -, that God ultimately leaves people to themselves to believe (while lost in sin) in Christ, when God could have caused or made them believe, without diminishing the value or responsibility of this choice? If God is love, why would God leave us helpless as we were enslaved by sin and by the devil, to believe in Christ, when God could have caused us to believe without diminishing the worth or preciousness of this choice in any way? The answer is: it would not be love.  The persons who place too much on human, so called autonomous free will, are guilty of actually lessening the value and Glory of God’s love. Thus it is the Calvinist and not Armenians who are to be crediting for magnifying the brightness and beauty of God’s love and kindness to its highest peak as revealed in Scripture. 

Therefore it is a most loving and merciful act for the Almighty God to come to earth. For Him to go out of His way by condescending to earth, living among sin without sinning, dinning with sinners and prostitutes, touching lepers and outcast, being ridiculed, dieing a horrific death on a cross and then finally rising on the third day, so that He might send the promised Holy Spirit to “cause” or make us chose life and so causing or making us to live in endless joy and delight beholding His beauty. God so loved us that He caused His wicked undeserving enemies to choose Him and so causing them to enjoy infinite joy and delight in His presence. God so loved us (sinners without hope crippled by sin) that He predestined us to be in Heaven with Him forever eating at His table partaking of and in His fullness and happiness. 2 Samuel 9:1-12, “Now David said, "Is there still anyone who is left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan's sake?"… David said to (Mephibosheth – Jonathans last living Son), "Do not fear, for I will surely show you kindness for Jonathan your father's sake… Then Mephibosheth bowed himself, and said, "What is your servant, that you should look upon such a dead dog as I?" So Mephibosheth ate at David's table, like one of the king's sons.”  This was a “type” or foreshadow for how the Almighty Just God would deal with sin-crippled sinners in Christ. For Christ sake we are forgiven our sin. So much so much so that our sins are not only for given but taken out or removed as if we never did them. John 1:29, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” What could be more loving than this for God in His LOVE to predestine the children He created to be with Him, and for none of them to fall through the cracks of free-will or the clinch of the devil and sin?

 God is infinitely wise and so He designed a means of completely saving people by taking away their sins and also their sin crippled free wills so that the people He loved would infallibly be with Him forever. What a loving God we serve! John 6:39, "This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day.” Thus we know God did not predestine all to be saved because if He did then God failed in bringing some people home whom He truly wanted in Heaven with Him, but is can’t be because, “Love never fails” (1 Corinthians 13:8), our Jesus Christ never fails. Which is why the promise of the Holy Spirit causing us to walk after God was given, because we were slaves to sin and only if God caused us to walk after Him would we ever do so. Please note this causing us to walk after God is the power of the Holy Spirit to cause us to want, desire and enjoy supremely God, overcoming all other desires which war for our choices.

I know some might be asking; why did God not save everybody, if He could have caused the whole world to choose without diminishing the freeness or value of this choice? To that I bring you to part 3.

Part: 3

Why are not all people saved?

Romans 9:1-8, “I tell the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit, that I have great sorrow and continual grief in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my countrymen according to the flesh, who are Israelites, to whom pertain the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service of God, and the promises; of whom are the fathers and from whom, according to the flesh, Christ came, who is over all, the eternally blessed God. Amen.

 But it is not that the word of God has taken no effect. For they are not all Israel who are of Israel, nor are they all children because they are the seed of Abraham; but, "In Isaac your seed shall be called.” That is, those who are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God; but the children of the promise are counted as the seed.”

Here in the beginning of Romans 9 we see Paul is anguished over the reality that many of His countrymen are not saved and wishes he could do more about it, “ I have great sorrow and continual grief in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my countrymen.” But then Paul answers a rhetorical question, which he suspected his readers to ask, “If God is so Great and Christ’s Gospel so powerful and loving then why are not more people being saved, what is going on here, why are not God’s chosen people being saved, is God a loser, is God lacking, what is the cause for all of this?” Here is how Paul answers this question in verse 6, “But it is not that the word of God has taken no effect. For they are not all Israel who are of Israel, nor are they all children because they are the seed of Abraham.” Paul answers by first saying, this is NOT to credited toward God for having any kind of lack or deficiency for, “ it is not that the word of God has taken no effect.” Paul explains not every person physically born from Abraham is an Israelite, but instead a true Israelite is the person who was part or the original promise given by God early in the earths history, “For they are not all Israel who are of Israel, nor are they all children because they are the seed of Abraham; but, "In Isaac your seed shall be called.” That is, those who are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God; but the children of the promise are counted as the seed.” The phrase “In Isaac your seed shall called” was a direct quote of actual words spoken from God to Abraham, promising that He will bless him. What Paul is pointing out is that God’s promise is not to “every” physical Israelite, but to the people within and from Israel that God will “call” to be His very own son and daughter, this was the meaning of the promise, according to Paul. Now in the next few verses Paul gives a direct example of some specific individual persons to give the most practical example of what this means in real life.

Romans 9:9-13,“For this is the word of promise: "At this time I will come and Sarah shall have a son." And not only this, but when Rebecca also had conceived by one man, even by our father Isaac

(for the children not yet being born, nor having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works but of Him who calls), it was said to her, "The older shall serve the younger."

As it is written, "Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated."

           Here Paul explains that in Isaac God would call the people He wanted to bless and save. But then Paul brings in the problem of Jacob and Esau who were twins born to Isaac, yet one was chosen by God and the other not! How can this be? God’s promise was too Isaac but yet from his twin boy’s only one of them followed after God, as he should have, while the other did not. Why? If I asked this question to people today most would reply, “the twins have a choice, that is the reason to why one was more blessed and the other not.” To that I reply, but this is not the answer which scripture gives! Surely something has gone array in understanding of many who do not answer the same way God answers in the Scriptures.

            Now let us together ask Paul why one twins followed after God, and therefore loved by God and the other twin did not follow after God and thus was hated by God. Remember it was their father Isaac and his father Abraham who God gave the eternal promise to.  “For the children not yet being born, nor having done any good or evil…Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated.” Paul’s answer why one of the twins turned out to be the object of God’s direct good promise and the other not being so, is because God Himself in His free will choose to hate one twin and love the other. God made the second born the recipient of His promise and blessing, “that the purpose of God according to election [choice] might stand.” God chose the second born twin, according to Paul in Romans 9:11, merely so that God’s free choice or free will might be the ultimate reason why this twin was blessed and the other hated. God desired to make known this was not by man’s free will. This is most clear in the words, “purpose of God…might stand.” The word for “stand” used in our text more literally means in the Greek too “abide or remain.” God wanted His free choice to remain as reality over all things which might come against it, including devils, events, and all human plans, sins and free will, God desired that His choice would abide just as He intended it to be from before the dawn of time. This is self-evident because Jacob was the second born and therefore not deserving to inherit the blessing. This is why the verse speaks in this way, “that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works but of Him who calls.” Paul’s explanation for why God chose to love the second-born twin and hate the first-born was for 2 reasons. 1.) So that God’s free will choice will “stand or remain” no mater what else happens, and 2.) so that in His choosing the second-born it would be known to all that no one should boast to any good produce by these acts because they were clearly the free will choices of God’s and not mans, man should be silent and only boast in God.

             To make this point even the more oblivious the Apostle makes the statement, “for the children not yet being born, nor having done any good or evil…Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated.”  Paul makes it explicitly clear that the Almighty God did not choose to love and hate one twin based on what the twins have previously chose in their free will, for it says, “not having done any good or evil.” This whole passage is about the freeness of God’s Sovereign choices without nothing (especially human free will) or no one influencing Him in any of His free choices. God is free to choose what He wants, so much so that God, according to Paul, has the freedom to choose to hate a person and love a person before they are born and having done any good or evil by their choices. God is the only Being to have this type of absolute, sovereign and complete Creator freedom and will always be the only One to have this freedom. This Sovereign freedom is God’s right and privilege.

After this Paul then gives two other specific examples of particular people, Moses and Pharaoh. The Scriptures explain that God showed love and mercy on Moses and while on the other hand God hated and killed Pharaoh. Why you might ask? Paul’s replies by saying; it is God’s freedom of choice to choose to have mercy on one person, while on the other side of the coin harden another person no mater what the person as done (To see the force of this read verse 20-21 where Paul teaches that even though we have a soul and a will, God as Creator still has the same right to do whatever He wishes to us just as if we had no soul or free will just like as a clay pot). This is proven by Paul’s words verse 16, “So then it does not depend on the man who wills (NAU).” Again remember Paul’s question to which he is giving an answer for; if the Gospel of Christ was promised and if God is so great then why are not everybody being saved? In verse 16 it spells it out in plain grammar, “it does not depend on man who wills (free will).”  (NLT) Romans 9:16, “So receiving God's promise (this promise is salvation: remember Paul is answering why are so many people are not saved) is not up to us. We can't get it by choosing it or working hard for it. God will show mercy to anyone he chooses.”

 This is simply amazing for me to think about, for this the complete opposite of the vast majority of people I hear when they give their answerer this question. They always say the reason is because man has a choice and so it depends on man’s free will, but how may that be for, “it does not depend on man who wills (free will).” That was the answer Paul gave. The reason everybody is not being saved is credited to God’s free will. It is credited to God who chooses and calls whom He wishes in mercy, which He promised to Abraham and Isaac. Therefore we may also answer the other question posed by Paul. If God and His Gospel are so great and so many people are not being saved then God must be a failure. But this is not the case because just as God chose to hate Esau before Esau was born not have done anything, so God has also chosen to hate and not save these other Israelites (and Gentiles) who are not being saved. All the others who are being saved were saved because God in His free choice chose to save them and so sent His Son to die for them.

The scriptures portray God as, well as God, therefore when Paul in Romans 9 replies to the question why are so many people not being saved answers the question by crediting the result to God’s free choice not man. Lastly I would note that Paul lives what he preaches. For earlier we saw that Paul tells us that God chose the second-born twin to love, but hate the second born twin before they had made any moral free will choices. He explains this was the simple fact of 1.) That God’s own desires and choices would be done without fail, and 2.) that all boasting should be given to God because all good produced was by His Sovereign and free choices. Which is why Paul during both doxologies at the end of Chapter 11 and 16 in Romans has this to say after reflecting on we have just discussed along with the rest of the Great works of God in our salvation; Romans 11:36,16:27, “For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever… to God, alone wise, be glory through Jesus Christ forever. Amen.” Paul teaches us not to boast in anything except God, and so he does just that by praising God for being infinitely wise, that “all things” (that is especially all good things), are “through” and “of” Him. Do you see you God as Glorious because He desires that His free choices stand? Do you see the wisdom in God’s design that He can make it so that not one plan or person being saved is ever frustrated? Do you admire God’s wisdom that He is able to cause us to make Godly (in the case of the saints) free will choices just which He predestinated by His Holy Spirit without fail and in this not diminish the value, preciousness, freeness or responsibility of that choice in any way?

Romans 9:22, “What if God, wanting to show His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction… that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had prepared beforehand for glory”

Before I leave this I would not feel right without giving what Paul gives as the greatest or most ultimate reason why the world is as it is. How can God be righteous and the world still be in the condition as it is. These two (22-23) verses are the explanation of God, the Scriptures and the apostle Paul for why the world is as it is, whether you accept it or not.  Why is there so much pain and evil in the world? Why are there places in the world, which have strong pockets of mercy and not others? Why are not more people being saved? Why is the world they way it is.

According the book of Romans and Bible the most ultimate reason for why the world is as it is with all the evil and mercy is this. It displays the Glory of God best in that manner. Earlier we discussed the fact that it is God’s sovereign and free choice, which causes the world and all life to be as it is, even why one person is saved and not the other. We also briefly talked about that this is God’s right and privilege as creator to do this. Now we have just answered WHY God Almighty uses these rights or why does God make these free choices. Answer, because God above all things has pleasure first INFINITELY in Himself, His Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. God above all things enjoys Himself and delights in Himself. God infinitely (I use that word as strongly as I can) loves Himself above all things, even above angels and men. But this is the greatest news for us who love and admire this great God. For this God has designed it in such a way that the act of Him lavishing and covering us, who are in Christ Jesus, with His love, joy, peace, comfort, happiness and pleasure, is the very act Glorifying Himself.

            It is God’s privilege to create the universe for whatever purpose He most wants. This is His right. It is God’s privilege to create the entire spiritual and physical universe to fulfill His desire of communicating His Glory and create creatures to enjoy Him through it; and thus delighting in God the creatures re-communicate or reflect this Glory back to the Source, so that as a wheel turns in one common direction so does all things in life turn as a common soul toward the direction of God’s Glory and majesty. God has boundless and inexhaustible understanding and wisdom (Psalm 147:5). Therefore out of this infinite wisdom God has decided and chose that it is best for His Wrath and Mercy be displayed as they are in this world, in order that His Glory be most completely displayed and enjoyed. This is why the world is the way it is, with all the evil and hardships, it best displays the Glory of God, it was God’s design. Whether it be by “wrath” or whether it be by “mercy”, it was done this way by God, “that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy.” Whether you choose to buy this or not, this is God’s answer. Or do you dislike this answer by God and would rather join our first parents Adam and Eve and try to make yourself God because you do not like the way the Almighty is running the show?