Prior Book | Prior Chapter | Prior Verse | Next Verse | Next Chapter | Next Book | Viewing NASB and Amplified 2015 | |
NASB | Matthew 24:14 "This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Matthew 24:14 "This good news of the kingdom [the gospel] will be preached throughout the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end [of the age] will come. |
Subject: Every NATION or every PERSON? |
Bible Note: Hi John, I would say that God is glorified in everything He does. I did read Piper's article. He gave a succinct presentation of this view, which, in my opinion, does not account for many Scriptures. As the ones you have quoted, there are many many Scriptures we can quote regarding election. But there are a number of other Scriptures that this view of election does not accomodate. And so I will maintain that a theology that does not accomodate all relevant passages cannot be a full and correct representation. One simple example is this: Luke 13:34 "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, just as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not have it! This passage declares the will of God, what God wants, to gather the children of Jerusalem together as a hen gathers her chicks. It also tells us that this does not happen, and why it doesn't happen. Because the children of Jerusalem "would not have it". Piper writes: "Since not all people are saved we must choose whether we believe (with the Arminians) that God's will to save all people is restrained by his commitment to human self-determination or whether we believe (with the Calvinists) that God's will to save all people is restrained by his commitment to the glorification of his sovereign grace" This is central to what Jeff and I were discussing yesterday. But in this passage in Luke, it seems very clear that God has restrained His will due to a commitment to human self-determinism - "but you would not." Piper states that God does not in fact do this, and yet the Scriptures show that in fact He does. Throughout the Bible, God appeals to man to choose Him, an absolutely meaningless appeal if man's choice is not involved with his salvation. Please do not mis-understand me. I believe everything in the Bible, including election. I do not claim to understand how these things all work together. I simply know that any answer we give to these questions must harmonize will all portions of Scripture, and not just with our list of proof-texts. I have not yet heard an answer that does. This forum has grappled with this question fruitlessly. As has the church for centuries. If you are comfortable with the answer you have found, praise the Lord! I rejoice in our salvation, and I give the glory to God! If my choice had something to do with it, He gave to me the ability to choose. Love in Christ, Mark |