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NASB | Revelation 21:27 and nothing unclean, and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Revelation 21:27 and nothing that defiles or profanes or is unwashed will ever enter it, nor anyone who practices abominations [detestable, morally repugnant things] and lying, but only those [will be admitted] whose names have been written in the Lamb's Book of Life. [Dan 12:1] |
Bible Question:
Hey Tim, I wanted to ask some questions about the Arminian view. I will be focusing my comments on Romans 8:29-30. I want to clarify some definitions according to this view: Foreknowledge (v29) - GOD knowing before hand who would be justified before Him through accepting Jesus Christ (believer’s acceptance) and who would be damned based upon their rejection of Jesus Christ. Correct? Called (v30) - Divine Call unto Salvation? (Strong’s #2564) I know that the word is used in Matthew 22:14 as ‘invited,’ but in Paul’s writing, how is this word defined? Do you believe this ‘call’ is revocable, as used in 8:29-30? I have always been bent toward freewill, and I probably always will be, but what I don’t understand is, if GOD foreknew who would choose Him of their own freewill, why did He ‘call’(2564) them(us)? And, if #2564 as Paul uses it is a ‘Divine Call’ unto Salvation, wouldn’t the fact that GOD ‘called’ all He foreknew still lead us to the conclusion of Eternal Security? GOD foreknows who will remain faithful to the end, but He only ‘calls’ those who do finish the course. So, wouldn’t the folks who fall short not be ‘Genuine Christians’ because they were never ‘called’ by GOD? As I’ve mentioned before, I am an Election/Responsibility person. As I understand it, this view fully recognizes man’s responsibility considering the unlimited atonement of Christ and the clear teaching that ‘whosoever will’ can be saved. This view completely rejects the idea of GOD predetermining some to hell, if someone goes to hell s/he holds the blame. However, this view also recognizes the Sovereignty of GOD in the Election of the saints (personal and corporate). How these two truths come together is beyond our realm of comprehension, but they are both clearly taught in Scripture (according to this view:-). |
Bible Answer: Greetings Charis! You have asked some great and indepth questions here. I do not approach the Romans the way that most Arminians do, but I will try to lay out my understanding of Romans in general (Part One) and then address your specific questions (Part Two). I believe that Paul was not writing a compendium of his theology in Romans, but specifically dealing with the issue of why the Jewish people were not accepting Christ, and why Paul was the apostle to the Gentiles. After all, the Messiah was a covenant promise to the nation of Israel. If Christ is the Messiah, why weren't the people of Israel coming to Him in faith? Were God's promises to Israel false? If God's promises did not hold true for Israel, then what assurance could Gentiles have that God would be true to them? Had God rejected Israel in extending the Gospel to the Gentiles? The great scholar F. F. Bruce once said of this situation, "..it was a paradox, not to say a scandal, that the very nation which had been specially prepared by God for this time of fulfillment, the nation which could glory in so many unique privileges of divine grace (including above all the messianic hope), the nation into which in due course the Messiah had been born, should have failed to recognize him when he came, while men and women of other nations, which had never enjoyed such privileges, embraced the gospel eagerly the first time they heard it. How could this be harmonized with God's choice of Israel and his declared purpose of blessing the world through Israel?" (Quoted from Beasley-Murray, G. R. "The Righteousness of God in the History of Israel and the Nation: Romans 9-11". Review and Expositor 73. April 1976, pp. 437-438.) These questions lead to what I believe is the thesis of Romans: "I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile." (Romans 1:16) This phrase or a variation of it is repeated in: Rom. 2:9, 2:10, 3:9, 3:29, and 10:12. I believe Romans 1-11, in particular, is an attempt to answer the question of the relationship between the Gentiles and Israel within God's plan of salvation. With this in mind, I would roughly outline Romans in the following way. I. Introduction and thesis: Romans 1:1-18. II. Gentiles and God's wrath: Romans 1:19-32. III. Jews and God's wrath: Romans 2:1-29. IV. All under God's wrath: Romans 3:1-20. V. The Gift of Salvation: Romans 3:21-31. VI. Salvation through Faith: Romans 4:1-8:39. VII. God's Plan for Israel: Romans 9:1-11:36 VIII. Concluding Remarks to the church: Romans 12:1-16:27. This is only a very broad outline. The main point that I am making is simply this: Election cannot be understood outside of the context of the relationship between Israel and the Gentiles in salvation. Every great "Election" passages deals with this issue in it's context. Cont. in Part II Your Brother in Christ, Tim Moran |