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NASB | Luke 14:16 But He said to him, "A man was giving a big dinner, and he invited many; |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Luke 14:16 But Jesus said to him, "A man was giving a big dinner, and he invited many guests; |
Subject: Can man refuse God's invitation? |
Bible Note: (Continued) 14 For many are called, but few chosen. If you have a NASB with references, check out the reference for ‘called' (Or invited). The word ‘chosen' is the word Peter uses to describe the ‘elect' in 1 Pt. 1:1-2 and 2:4,9. This word's (1588 Strong's) definition is, 1) picked out, chosen 1a) chosen by God, 1a1) to obtain salvation through Christ 1a1a) Christians are called "chosen or elect" of God 1a2) the Messiah in called "elect", as appointed by God to the most exalted office conceivable 1a3) choice, select, i.e. the best of its kind or class, excellence preeminent: applied to certain individual Christians (Strongs). Paul uses a slight variation of this word (see 1586 Strong's), 1) to pick out, choose, to pick or choose out for one's self 1a) choosing one out of many, i.e. Jesus choosing his disciples 1b) choosing one for an office 1c) of God choosing whom he judged fit to receive his favors and separated from the rest of mankind to be peculiarly his own and to be attended continually by his gracious oversight 1c1) i.e. the Israelites 1d) of God the Father choosing Christians, as those whom he set apart from the irreligious multitude as dear unto himself, and whom he has rendered, through faith in Christ, citizens in the Messianic kingdom: (#Jas 2:5) so that the ground of the choice lies in Christ and his merits only. (Strong's) You can see that they are both considered words that could mean ‘the elect' but 1588 seems to convey the message a bit better. Jesus says, ‘Many are called (invited), few are chosen.' Dare I interpret that to mean, many (all, see vs 9 and 10, ‘and as many as ye shall find, invite to the marriage feast' and ‘servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found') are invited but only those who accept the cleansing that comes from the blood of Jesus Christ (wedding garments) are chosen? By the way, these are Strong's definitions not my own, so if he seems to agree with you on the definition of these words that should fuel your argument. I'm not saying I disagree, but I am saying there is more here than any one doctrine can understand or explain. And to ignore that, in my opinion, is a great misinterpretation of scripture. By the by, I could accuse you of the same charge with which you have accused me on 1 Pt. 1:17-21. When people hear the word ‘believe' they assume the person believing is choosing to do so. If you chose to believe something, that means you must have an option to, or in our case hope if you believe it. The only way we as ‘believers' can have saving faith is that Christ Jesus died on the cross, thereby giving us a pathway to redemption and eternal life. This is the only thing that gives us hope, the sacrifice of Christ, so that sacrifice could be interpreted, honestly, to represent an invitation; however, with the presumption of election, ‘believe' means, "what a person does because GOD made them want to do it" now I suggest that this truly is reading things into the text. I certainly do not want to offend you or insult you with this response, and if it is too forward, I apologize. I am hoping to show you that there is more to this issue than meets the eye. I have three ‘Pro-election' Bibles in my home; Scofield, Ryrie, and Believer's (Baptist) and none of them have any defense against this text. The reason I refuse to take sides on this issue (although, I find myself falling on one side or the other often) is because it forces you to interpret certain passages in an illogical manner! Now, GOD may not have given me the wisdom to discern this truth, but He did give me reason, common sense, and the Holy Spirit to interpret His word, and I refuse to ignore the talents He has given me to make up for wisdom I can not discern. I will be happy to verify anything you may have questions about, dealing with this answer, and if I have misrepresented anything, please let me know and I will do my best to rectify the situation. But, I am not going to continue this argument because it truly is never-ending, and I believe it's one of those ‘genealogies' that Paul talks about that do not profit us. I do not think you're wrong! I just don't know that you're completely right. GOD bless! |