Subject: Hebrews 6:6 explained |
Bible Note: Greetings John! It is good to hear from you! This still doesn't answer the questions I raised before, but I will provide a couple of possible responses. 1) I don't personally hold to the 'elect based upon God's foreknowledge of our choice' camp. But, they can make a strong case. The verb only appears 5 times in the New Testament and one can make a case that the emphasis is upon prior knowledge. There isn't any Scripture which supports defining the word as 'pre-chosen'. 2) Robert Shank makes the case in his book, "Elect in the Son" that election is primarily corporate, not individual. Thus, one can make the case that the Rom. 8 passage deals with God's purpose for the group, not primarily for individuals. 3) Finally, this verb in only used twice in Romans (8:29 and 11:2). In Rom. 11:2, the phrase is clearly a reference to physical Israel. I would make the case that it refers to the same group in Rom. 8:29. This fits the context since Rom. 9-11 deals with the whole theme of the salvation of Israel. What Rom. 8:29 does not do though is explain away all of the passages where God says 'all, world, everyone, whosoever, ect....'. Well, my alarm just went off, so I have to get ready for work. Your Brother in Christ, Tim Moran |