Called Of God Or We Choose God?
Question : The issue we see in many Scripture is, it seems that God decided whom He wanted to save as this is the way it seems to read, and in other Scriptures it seems to say that all men are responsible for their own salvation. The ‘called’ of God, example Romans 1:6, "among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ" is something that suggests the former. In the same Chapter of Rom 1:16 it says, "the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes," which suggests the later point. Then what about Romans 8:29-30? Does God saves the one who He has called already to save or we choose to get saved by our own will?
Answer : It is a marvelous mystery of God to understand the preaching of the word of God through which God saves people,...the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations, but has now been manifested to His saints through the proclamation of the gospel (Col 1:26). God sends a messenger of His usually a human or even a angel or even a vision or a dream with the gospel content to make people understand His love for them, and to make them accept themselves as sinners in need of the Savior Jesus which qualifies them to be written in the Book of life of which according to God in His mind is already having a original in which their names are already written in it (Acts 10:4-5, 19-22; 9:3-9; 22:7-9, 14; 26:13-19; Rom 10:14-15; 1 Cor 1:21; 2 Cor 5:20; Rev 13:8). In the city of Corinth and its surrounding area when Paul was discouraged because of not having much result in specific Jews not accepting the Gospel but Gentiles ready to receive him, God spoke to him personally saying He had still many people to whom Gospel should be preached in order for them to be saved (Acts 18:9-10), which shows that God saves whom He already knew will be saved. God sends angelic ministry to the areas in the earth where people are marked for salvation, who are expected to receive the gospel of salvation and then saves them when the time comes for them to believe and receive the gospel by faith (Heb 1:14).
This marvelous mystery of God to chose people before the foundation of the world to save them in Christ Jesus and make them the Bride of Christ which is explained and quoted in part in all the various verses of the Bible individually, one at a time, can be summed up as a whole in the solid chunk of verses in a single place mainly in Rom 8:29-30 (1 Peter 1:20; Eph 1:4; 5:32).
Rom 8:29-30 says, " 29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30 Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified."
The following terms if we catch hold of, then we can certainly identify that certain terms were used individually at certain places to reveal a part of the whole and not the whole itself,
1) God Foreknew — It is a term that describes that God knew by His omniscience who are all the people He will save through faith even from before the foundation of the world (Rev 17:8). To this Almighty omniscient God, nothing of human reactions or doings ever surprises Him because He knows the end from the beginning and even has foretold to us all that we might believe Him and receive Him as the God who created the whole universe with His purpose (Isa 46:10; 48:5; 45:18; John 16:1, 4, 33; 13:19; 14:29). In other words, before the first man Adam breathed (Gen 2:7; Rom 5:12), God knew to the day of the destruction of this present earth through fire, who are all going to be saved from their sins through accepting His invitation to be saved (2 Peter 3:10, 12).
2) God Predestined — It is to determine (an outcome or course of events) in advance by divine will. This is a term that God not only knows what is going to happen at the end, but how He is going to fulfill His already prepared plan which He will keep working on the right set-time to fulfill it His way (Isa 48:3). The Bible says that Christ came in to the world to fulfill God's plan of salvation, not one minute before or after God's set time, but exactly at God's appointed time of predestination (Gal 4:4). We all receive God's salvation in the day He has chosen to visit us and in the same way God saves others (1 Peter 2:12; 2 Cor 6:1-2). God agreed beforehand to forgive all of our sins and prepared the point of time in which we will receive His salvation event through believing Jesus and become conformed to His image thereafter as a brethren to Him.
3) God Called — We are called to salvation on the day God intervened to touch us in this finite time and space where we receive Him (Matt 22:14). Those who choose God's salvation are those who are called and chosen (Rev 17:14). In other words, the saved believers were able to choose God's way when they were called, because they have been chosen by God beforehand to take a positive choice to receive God's salvation by being drawn by His Love which He showed towards them in Christ Jesus (Eph 1:4; 1 John 4:19). The day someone receives God's salvation is the day God calls Him.
4) God Justified — This word 'justified' emphasizes that the day we believed and received Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior to be sealed by the Holy Spirit as a guarantee of salvation until the day of our resurrection (Rom 10:9-10, 11-13; 1 Cor 12:3; Eph 1:13-14), we were forgiven of all our past, present and future sins by God having declared us as innocent of all charges because Jesus paid the ransom for us in full (Heb 10:17-18; Eph 5:32; John 19:30; 1 Tim 2:6). In other words, we are made clean forever from our sins by God 'just as if we have never sinned' at all. God sees us free of all condemnation for our sins once we are saved (Rom 8:1).
5) God Glorified — God chooses to see us from the day we were saved to the day we will die on this earth in a determined way like we will be on the day we will stand rewarded by God in His Kingdom, with the Glory and the Power for all our works done by us through His Grace (2 Peter 3:14-15; 2 Tim 2:12; 1 Cor 14:41, 43; 3:11, 14).
If we keep these above concepts in our mind collectively, we will not be confused when Scripture speaks about these concept individually as though it is the only one, as it can't be when all have been done equally by God for us and He has made sure that we will receive all the benefits of it in the days to come.
Much Blessings....
Answer : It is a marvelous mystery of God to understand the preaching of the word of God through which God saves people,...the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations, but has now been manifested to His saints through the proclamation of the gospel (Col 1:26). God sends a messenger of His usually a human or even a angel or even a vision or a dream with the gospel content to make people understand His love for them, and to make them accept themselves as sinners in need of the Savior Jesus which qualifies them to be written in the Book of life of which according to God in His mind is already having a original in which their names are already written in it (Acts 10:4-5, 19-22; 9:3-9; 22:7-9, 14; 26:13-19; Rom 10:14-15; 1 Cor 1:21; 2 Cor 5:20; Rev 13:8). In the city of Corinth and its surrounding area when Paul was discouraged because of not having much result in specific Jews not accepting the Gospel but Gentiles ready to receive him, God spoke to him personally saying He had still many people to whom Gospel should be preached in order for them to be saved (Acts 18:9-10), which shows that God saves whom He already knew will be saved. God sends angelic ministry to the areas in the earth where people are marked for salvation, who are expected to receive the gospel of salvation and then saves them when the time comes for them to believe and receive the gospel by faith (Heb 1:14).
This marvelous mystery of God to chose people before the foundation of the world to save them in Christ Jesus and make them the Bride of Christ which is explained and quoted in part in all the various verses of the Bible individually, one at a time, can be summed up as a whole in the solid chunk of verses in a single place mainly in Rom 8:29-30 (1 Peter 1:20; Eph 1:4; 5:32).
Rom 8:29-30 says, " 29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30 Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified."
The following terms if we catch hold of, then we can certainly identify that certain terms were used individually at certain places to reveal a part of the whole and not the whole itself,
1) God Foreknew — It is a term that describes that God knew by His omniscience who are all the people He will save through faith even from before the foundation of the world (Rev 17:8). To this Almighty omniscient God, nothing of human reactions or doings ever surprises Him because He knows the end from the beginning and even has foretold to us all that we might believe Him and receive Him as the God who created the whole universe with His purpose (Isa 46:10; 48:5; 45:18; John 16:1, 4, 33; 13:19; 14:29). In other words, before the first man Adam breathed (Gen 2:7; Rom 5:12), God knew to the day of the destruction of this present earth through fire, who are all going to be saved from their sins through accepting His invitation to be saved (2 Peter 3:10, 12).
2) God Predestined — It is to determine (an outcome or course of events) in advance by divine will. This is a term that God not only knows what is going to happen at the end, but how He is going to fulfill His already prepared plan which He will keep working on the right set-time to fulfill it His way (Isa 48:3). The Bible says that Christ came in to the world to fulfill God's plan of salvation, not one minute before or after God's set time, but exactly at God's appointed time of predestination (Gal 4:4). We all receive God's salvation in the day He has chosen to visit us and in the same way God saves others (1 Peter 2:12; 2 Cor 6:1-2). God agreed beforehand to forgive all of our sins and prepared the point of time in which we will receive His salvation event through believing Jesus and become conformed to His image thereafter as a brethren to Him.
3) God Called — We are called to salvation on the day God intervened to touch us in this finite time and space where we receive Him (Matt 22:14). Those who choose God's salvation are those who are called and chosen (Rev 17:14). In other words, the saved believers were able to choose God's way when they were called, because they have been chosen by God beforehand to take a positive choice to receive God's salvation by being drawn by His Love which He showed towards them in Christ Jesus (Eph 1:4; 1 John 4:19). The day someone receives God's salvation is the day God calls Him.
4) God Justified — This word 'justified' emphasizes that the day we believed and received Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior to be sealed by the Holy Spirit as a guarantee of salvation until the day of our resurrection (Rom 10:9-10, 11-13; 1 Cor 12:3; Eph 1:13-14), we were forgiven of all our past, present and future sins by God having declared us as innocent of all charges because Jesus paid the ransom for us in full (Heb 10:17-18; Eph 5:32; John 19:30; 1 Tim 2:6). In other words, we are made clean forever from our sins by God 'just as if we have never sinned' at all. God sees us free of all condemnation for our sins once we are saved (Rom 8:1).
5) God Glorified — God chooses to see us from the day we were saved to the day we will die on this earth in a determined way like we will be on the day we will stand rewarded by God in His Kingdom, with the Glory and the Power for all our works done by us through His Grace (2 Peter 3:14-15; 2 Tim 2:12; 1 Cor 14:41, 43; 3:11, 14).
If we keep these above concepts in our mind collectively, we will not be confused when Scripture speaks about these concept individually as though it is the only one, as it can't be when all have been done equally by God for us and He has made sure that we will receive all the benefits of it in the days to come.
Much Blessings....
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