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Speaker1: [00:00:01.44] Well, hello, everybody, welcome back. So glad you’ve joined us on Penny Thomas and I’m joined again with my great friend Beatty Carmichael for this next session of Get Seller’s Calling You. Beatty is the CEO of Master Grabber, the creator of Agent Dominator and one of the top marketing experts in the real estate field. Beatty, as always, it’s a pleasure, super excited that you’re with me again today. What do you have for our listeners?
Speaker2: [00:00:35.03] Well, I’m excited as well. And we’re going to do today is another radical faith call for those who are joining in new on our podcast episode on the Get Cellar’s Calling You podcast, because we actually have to. But to get callers calling you is for real estate agents. And the podcast is a marketing podcast. And then we alternate with a what we call radical faith. Radical faith has nothing to do with real estate. Marketing has everything to do with living your life as a Christian, which permeates everything you do even as a real estate agent. So if you are not interested in Christian related topics, you can skip this episode and come back for the next one. And if you are interested, then hold on. This is going to be a great episode and I encourage you to listen in Howzat.
Speaker1: [00:01:26.33] That sounds great.
Speaker2: [00:01:27.98] All right, so let me kind of catch us up, we’ve been talking on the topic, by the way, if you are new to this podcast and you do have interest in Christian topics, please don’t start this podcast on this session. Go back to session number one, because it builds and there’s a lot that we’re going to do kind of today is a wrap up with last time was a wrap up as well, but it kind of went a little long. So today we’re wrapping up the wrap up, OK, and hopefully we’ll wrap it all up. But if you missed all the other stuff, then this isn’t going to make as big of a make as much sense. So please go to the other stuff first. So basically, we’ve been talking about salvation and technically justification, OK, for we have been called, we have been justified and we will be glorified. OK, so we’ve been talking about this justification or what we call the humanist Christian, these term salvation. And does this come through Man’s free will of choosing Christ or does it come from God’s choice or let’s call it God’s sovereign will of choosing us? That’s kind of been the big question. We’ve been looking at scriptures from beginning to end in saying what do the scriptures say about this? And I want to give kind of a high level overview of what I’ll call the path of salvation at a real big not a 30000 foot elevation, but at a outerspace elevation where we see the whole world in one quick snapshot.
Speaker2: [00:03:09.32] So man was created by God in God’s own image. And and we see this in Genesis two seven. Well, first we see it in Genesis one, let us make man in our own image, OK, so God creates man. But here’s what’s interesting. Genesis two seven tells us essentially by inference that the image that man holds of God is not man’s body, but man spirit. And it reads like this. Genesis two seven says, Then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground. But the men of dust from the ground were still lifeless and then it said, and God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and the man became a living creature. This is reminiscent. Do you remember the the prophecy of the dead bones in Ezekiel, where God says to Ezekiel prophesied to these dead bones come alive. And it says, and all the bones rattle together. And they came bone to bone and tendons and muscles were formed and flesh was formed. But yet it said. But they had no life and in God cells is Profaci Ozona man, and say to those who say to the wind, to the breast, to the spirit, come from the forests of the Earth and breathe life into the slain. And the life was breathed into them. Then they rose up an exceedingly great army.
Speaker1: [00:04:47.65] So we see one of my favorite passages. I love that scripture.
Speaker2: [00:04:51.79] It is one of my favorite tunes, one of the promises that the Lord has given me many years back. And it was just a really touched me supernaturally on that. So that’s essentially what we’re seeing here in Genesis two seven that the body was formed out of the dust and it wasn’t a body that was in man’s image, in God’s image. It was the spirit. If I were to say, what is the image of God, what would you tell me? How would you describe the image of God?
Speaker1: [00:05:23.53] Oh, well. Holly. Yes, without sin.
Speaker2: [00:05:30.46] Yes, completely, I mean, interested
Speaker1: [00:05:33.76] In if I’m thinking of a physical image, I think of men because they were created in his image,
Speaker2: [00:05:40.49] We can’t think of it because is God physical or spirit?
Speaker1: [00:05:44.85] No, he’s his spirit.
Speaker2: [00:05:46.81] Ok, so the image has to be in this in a spirit image and not a physical image. Does that make sense? Yeah. Yeah, OK. And so that’s what Genesis two seven is telling us. God formed Man Out of the Dust. And then he breathes life into him, and at that point, he became a living being, as a living being, he was made in the image of God. But what’s living in him is the spirit of God that breathe life into him, not the vessel that was built out of dust. Does that make sense?
Speaker1: [00:06:24.60] Yeah, it is.
Speaker2: [00:06:26.56] So when we say that man was made in God’s image, it’s not the physical. It’s the spiritual that’s in God’s image. And the image that he was made in was wholly pure without sin. All of those attributes of God that creates the image of God. And so when man was made. He was named Adam. And then God made for Adam, a helper out of Adam’s side. To be a part of Adam and call and Adam called her name Eve, and God calls both of them by the label of man, he says, let us make man in our image, male and female. We will make him. OK, so man as a whole is talking about the weather is male and female there were made in the image, but it’s the spiritual image, not the physical. And then something happened. So we have Adam and Eve. Let’s just focus on Adam, because that’s really how the Bible talks about it, as is were of Adam, not of Eve, essentially. And there’s some reasons for that. We’re not going to go into that, but has to do with leadership and and and imagery and shadowy of of God, the father, Christ, the son, those things. So we see that that Adam was made in God’s image. He was made in God’s image, but then something happened. He ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and what entered man at that point, since
Speaker1: [00:08:21.09] Sin
Speaker2: [00:08:23.24] Is sin, the image of God.
Speaker1: [00:08:27.79] No, all
Speaker2: [00:08:28.99] Right, did sin enter only into the physical vessel or did it enter into the spiritual as well?
Speaker1: [00:08:42.42] Hmm, that’s a good question.
Speaker2: [00:08:44.75] It’s a hard question. Let me let me let me give you my hypothesis. When it says that Adam died, was that a spiritual death is talking about or a physical death? When it when it said when sin entered the world, death came into the world, right? Yes, is that talking about a spiritual death or is that tolkin? I know that they’re both occur, but what do you think is the driving force? Is it a spiritual death to talking about or a physical death?
Speaker1: [00:09:22.93] A driving force would be a spiritual death, separation from God.
Speaker2: [00:09:27.40] I think so, too. So that means that sin had to have entered into the spiritual side of man. For him to have spiritual death to send brings death, right. Yes, if the spiritual side of man is no longer wholly pure and senseless, but it’s now rotten and evil and full of sin is rotten, evil and full of sin, the image of God, no. OK, would it be safe to say then as we follow this along, that man was created in God’s image, holy, pure and sinless. And then he lost God’s image. When Sin entered him and in Adam, we are no longer in the image of God because we are now full of sin, not full of holiness and righteousness. Yes, OK, so now we have the problem man was made in God’s image. We could claim, though, the Bible never uses the word free, so I want to be sensitive about that, but we could claim that we had Adam originally had a will that was different than ours. Because it was in the image of God, but then that image was lost, whatever, quote unquote will that Adam had was lost because now our will is enslaved to send because we’re now slaves of sin. So then Christ comes the second Adam. The first album was made in the image of God and lost the image, the second atom, was it made in the image of God. Yes, Christ was Christ holy, sinless and pure. Yes. OK, so Chris was made in the image of God. Still a vessel of the dust breathed in by the spirit of life, but carries the image of God and Christ. Came says, to restore that which was lost. What was lost?
Speaker1: [00:11:48.92] Ah, ah, ah, finless. Image of God.
Speaker2: [00:11:54.09] That’s right, finless image of God. And therefore, all the benefits of the fellowship there, so then it says that Christ makes a blood covenant with man. So at the Last Supper before he’s crucified, he says this is the blood. Of the New Covenant, this is my blood of the new covenant. Drink. OK, so let’s talk briefly about a blood covenant, if we can go back in scripture and talk about a little bit, but generally speaking, a blood covenant says that all of mine is yours and all of yours is mine. A real simple understanding of a blood covenant. A blood covenant is the strongest covenant you can make in in a human sense. So you have two Indian tribes. One is agricultural, the other are warriors. And so those two tribes make a blood covenant with each other. With the blood covenant says is if the warrior tribe is ever hungry, they can go into the agriculture tribe and freely receive anything that the agriculture tribe has to meet their needs. Conversely, if the agriculture tribe is being attacked by any other tribe or any other issue, they can freely call on the warrior tribe and say, come defend us. In other words, what’s mine is yours and what’s yours is mine. Does that make sense?
Speaker1: [00:13:32.14] Yeah, it does. That’s OK.
Speaker2: [00:13:34.24] So Jesus gave a blood covenant to man. Before. Death. Resurrection and believing in Jesus. The blood covenant was made to restore, so then he goes on the cross and what happens on the cross?
Speaker1: [00:13:57.90] He restores us back to what our original design was supposed to be almost paid for our sins
Speaker2: [00:14:07.11] On the cross, he took our sins upon him. That’s a transaction from the blood covenant and a blood covenant, all of mine is yours, all of yours is mine. So he’s making a way for his righteousness to be imputed to us through the blood covenant. And then at the point of our salvation where we repent and believe his righteousness is now imputed to us. Through the full transaction of the blood covenant is now complete. We are now born again in the spirit and in the spirit. We now have been restored the image of God. From which man was originally made and lost and through the transaction of Christ and the blood covenant, it’s restored back to us. Does that make sense? Do you see that big picture now?
Speaker1: [00:15:04.31] Yes. Yeah, I do.
Speaker2: [00:15:05.88] Ok, what’s also interesting in all of this is everything was accomplished by God other than losing it, OK? There’s and what we’ve been looking at through all of these passages, through all these sessions is the micro part that plays a big role of the big part of this great big picture. What I want to do today is I want to finalize and I want to go through Roman, say tonight we’re going to go through just a couple of parts of Romans eight, and then we’re going to go through probably the first two thirds of Romans nine. And I want to show you what. Rather than pulling out individual verses, I now want to show you the entire passages and start to illuminate these passages in light of everything we’ve talked about thus far. So you ready? I am OK, so let’s first turn to Romans eight and I’m going to read through verses 18 through 30. OK, now in the ESV, it labels this section as the future glory. OK, so I’m just going to read and comment as we go along for I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us for the creation weights with eager longing for the revealing of the sentiment. By the way, I want to give you a picture of what’s going on.
Speaker2: [00:16:38.69] Do you remember when Jesus came in? It’s called a triumphal entry. He’s riding on a donkey coming into Jerusalem. Everyone’s waving palm branches saying Hosanna to the to the highest. And they’re praising Jesus, all the little children doing it. And you remember the Jews come up and say, tell them to be quiet. You remember that so far. Yes. Jesus, Jesus says. If they are silent, the Stones themselves will proclaim my glory years later that we read that and which we typically kind of read it kind of figuratively saying, oh yeah, well, that just means that everything’s going to glorify it. I want you to see this in a different light. For those people who have experience going to heaven, they come back and they tell about it. There’s a common thread behind almost every one story, and that is everything from the blades of grass to the trees to the mountains, they resonate God’s glory. They actually had this humming of God’s glory. That’s what we’re seeing here. I believe it says that all creation wait with eager longing, the creation waits. Then it’s because creation is alive. And we see this a little bit further. First to says for the creation was subjected to futility. Not willingly, because but because of him, he subjected it to so creation was subjected to futility, who subjected the creation to futility.
Speaker1: [00:18:22.09] What does it say, God?
Speaker2: [00:18:24.01] Yeah, yeah, because of him, we know that’s God, because of him who subjected it. So we see that futility is now being brought upon creation by an act of God. We don’t understand why, but we’re starting to see more and hope so. Brought it to futility and hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the freedom of the glory of the sons of glory, of the children of God. So now that we have this, the decay of creation is awaiting the revealing of the glory of God, of glory, of the children of God, for we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. So this is now expressing that creation has feelings, it has emotions, it’s groaning, it’s waiting in the pain of childbirth and not only the creation, but we ourselves. Who are we? We ourselves, who have the first fruits of the spirit. So we think the believers are the first fruits of the spirits, are we grown inwardly as we wait eagerly for the adoption as sons, the redemption of our body? So full adoption occurs at the resurrection, which occurs at the end of the age of mankind. OK, so that’s going to start a new age. We get resurrected bodies in the glory of Christ as Christ is, and we at that point are fully cochairs with Christ of all of creation.
Speaker2: [00:20:08.81] Okay, bigger than we can really understand. But that’s what this is for in this how we were saved. Now hope that is seen as not hope for who hopes for this scene, what he sees. But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience and then verse 26. Likewise, the spirit helps us in our weakness, for we do not know what to pray for as we ought. But the spirit himself. Interspeech intercede for us with Groening’s too deep for words, and he searches the hearts, knows what is the mind of the spirit. Because the spirit intercedes for the Saints according to the will of God. So what this is now saying is that until we receive the resurrected bodies and the full adoption, we have the spirit granted to us to help us through these tough times. And the spirit is going to pray specifically according to God’s will. It’s going to intercede on our behalf, specifically according to God’s will. That’s what this is saying, interceding for the Saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good. For those who are called according to his purpose, so we can now connect a couple of days. We know that for those who love God, who love God, those who are called according to his purpose.
Speaker2: [00:21:41.89] The calling is of God, not of man, so we love God because by an act of God’s will, he called us according to his purpose and therefore all things that happen in our life we know will ultimately work out for good. And we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose, for those now, it connects another dot for those four calls, according to his purpose, said for those he for new. OK, when the Bible talks about knowing. Especially as it relates to on the spiritual side of things, it’s typically focused around an intimate knowledge. So we have Adam knew his wife Eve, and she conceived we have Jesus saying no one knows the son except the father, and no one knows the father except the son, which is a very intimate knowing. It’s not just a knowledge of it’s an intimacy. And then Jesus completes that says and no one knows the father. Accept anyone to whom the sun chooses to reveal him, so it says that Jesus chooses to give that intimate knowledge of the father to man to any individual man here. It says that for whom? God for new. So this is an intimate I believe this is how this is is is is being written, it’s an intimate knowing ahead of time someone it’s God for knowing with this level of intimacy and for those whom he for knew, he also predestined.
Speaker2: [00:23:35.88] OK. To be conformed to the image of his son, the image of his son is in the image of God. Right. Yes, yes, if we have to be conformed into the image of God, it means we do not have God’s image now. Know generally, OK, right. But we see that because God formed man in God’s image. And the image is spiritual is the image of holiness, purity, senselessness, all those attributes, righteousness, then man lost that image through sin. Jesus came back carrying God’s image, did a blood covenant with us, that we could have his image, and here it says that God, those who may for new my understanding, those whom he deeply and intimately loved individually ahead of time, he predestined. He predetermined. That they would be conformed back into the image of God because they don’t have it now in order. Why is he doing that in order that he, the son, might be the firstborn among many brothers? So. So God says. The son I want you to be, the firstborn, the preeminent son among many brothers. I’m going to Forno and predestined these people to be conformed to your image that now they can be your brothers.
Speaker2: [00:25:16.14] OK, that’s essentially and then it says and those whom he predestined, those whom he predetermined ahead of time he called. Those whom he called. He also justified this is what we talked about last time, that, you know, when Jesus calls, he says, I call my sheep by their name and they hear me and they follow me. And if we follow Jesus, it means that we do repent and believe and only upon repentance and believing that we received justification. And that’s kind of what I believe this is saying. Those whom he called, he also justified. Those whom he justified. He also glorified. So now we’re going to skip to Romans nine, verse one. OK, here’s what’s interesting. Now the word of God is the only thing that’s absolutely true. Different translations translate to the best of their ability exactly what the Greek text, because most translations are out of the Greek, the Greek Texas-San, many translations will put headers on different sections to give you an easy reference of what is the topic of this section. What’s interesting is both the ESV and the NIV. When you get to Romans nine, the header is God’s sovereign choice. So they’re saying that this whole section is about God’s sovereign choice. I would like to suggest that and I’m going to show this further, if God has a sovereign choice.
Speaker2: [00:27:01.43] Men cannot also have a free will because of free will says it operates outside of God’s influence. We already know instinctively that men can’t have a free will because we say we pray to God. Lord, open his eyes, open his heart, open his ears, that he may hear the gospel and repent and believe. And therefore we ultimately know it’s really up to God to cause it to happen. So we realize that man has a will and man has to make a choice. I think we label that choice erroneously by calling it free, but it doesn’t negate the fact that man still has to make an act of his will. But when we start to look here, I want to show you. What I believe the scriptures are saying in light of what we’ve talked about recently, so watch this. So Romans nine one, so this is Paul speaking through the spirit of Christ, so what’s happening is sometimes Paul is giving his own personal feelings and other times he’s giving very clearly God’s truth. So you said I am speaking the truth and Christ, I’m not lying. My conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. Let me ask you a question. Why do you think Paul has great sorrow and unceasing anguish in his heart? Any idea?
Speaker1: [00:28:35.89] Maybe just he sees the decision and the people around him and the fact that they’re far from God.
Speaker2: [00:28:43.39] Yeah, I think it goes a little bit deeper. It’s tied to that. I want you to as we read this, I want you to look at it through this lens and see if this lens makes sense. All right. I’m going to ask you to sew the lens that most people read this and as they look through the lens of man has complete freedom of choice, of which way he chooses. He gets to choose life by choosing Christ or reject life and choose death by rejecting Christ. And if it was all about man’s choosing. Then I think what Paul would be writing through this section is going to be focused on, I’m going to, you know, work their hardest to really persuade because it’s up to me to persuade them to really see God’s truth and to make that make the right choice. And so my anguish and my sorrow is I’m insufficient to really persuading them. That would be I’ll call it the freewill approach. But if we take the God’s sovereignty approach, then what’s going to come out is he’s going to say. That I’m in deep sorrow and great anguish for my fellow brothers because. They are completely lost and we’re going to start to see this, I think, as we go through and I want you to look at it through that lens and see if that lens makes the scriptures make more sense. So he says, I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart, for I could wish that I myself were akehurst and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh.
Speaker2: [00:30:37.48] So what he’s saying is I’m a part of the Jewish nation. And so many of these brothers are going to be are cut off from Kreiss, I wish I could be cut off in place of them. I wish, if possible, I could take their place and take their punishment upon myself. Do you see? What? Do you see that? Oh, yeah, OK. And then he goes on and says they are Israelites. And to them, to Israel belong the adoption, the glory, the covenant, the giving of the law, the worship and the promise. Are the promises you remember we talked last time or two and I said. Does it strike you interesting that all of God’s laws, all of God’s promises and even the Ten Commandments and even the command to worship God were only given to the nation of Israel and to none of the other nations? All of the other nations were judged by their deeds because they did not worship God, because his truth is written in the heavens and in their hearts, but he gave the command to worship only to that group that he chose. That’s what Paul is saying here. The Israelites to them belong all of this.
Speaker2: [00:31:58.36] And then he continues in verse five to them, the Israelites belonged to the patriarch, the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ who is God overall blessed forever. Amen. And now he starts to move into. So he’s building this. He’s he’s setting the stage. I’m in deep sorrow, great sorrow in an unceasing anguish because my fellow Israelites. Are perishing and to the Israelites, are all of these promises and all the glory, and now he’s going to move the next stage in starting with first six, but it is not as though the word of God has failed. They’re not perishing because God’s word has failed or not, all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel. Now he starts to get into just because they’re of the flesh doesn’t mean they’re of the spirit. Just because they are of the nation of Israel doesn’t mean they’re actually of Israel. OK, so he says we’re not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, just as not all are children of God, simply because God created them. That’s essentially the same the same concept here. So not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring. But through Isaac, shall your offspring be named? You remember the birth of Isaac, was it a natural birth or a supernatural birth?
Speaker1: [00:33:42.65] I believe it was a supernatural birth.
Speaker2: [00:33:45.26] Yeah, it was a miraculous birth, they were well beyond the age of childbearing. And then Isaac comes along. Did God predetermined that Isaac would be born? Yes. Did he predetermine that the promise made to Abraham? And the nations would be blessed for Abraham and through Abraham, all the Earth would be blessed. Is that promise? Did God choose to have that promise made through Isaac? Yes, could you say that God predestined Isaac to carry that promise?
Speaker1: [00:34:30.30] Yes.
Speaker2: [00:34:31.44] And did Isaac have any choice in the matter? No, no, that’s what this is saying. It says this may set us back to say this means it’s not the children of the flesh who are children of God, but the children up to the promise are counted as offspring. For this is what the promise said about this time next year, I will return in search, shall have a son. That’s a miraculous statement, Godus, for decreeing what he has already chosen to happen. And not only so, but now Isaac marries Rebecca. OK, so now in verse 10, he starts talking about the next generation. So the first generation, he says, is by God, sovereign decree only by God’s choice, only the promise is God’s sovereign choice, where it goes and how it goes there. And then in verse 10, and not only so, but also Rebecca had conceived children by one man for Father Isaac, and though they were not yet born. And had done nothing either good or bad, meaning God did not look into the future to see which one was going to be good and which one was going to be bad and simply choose the one that was good. But in order that God’s purpose of the election might continue. You can change the word election choice and you can also to the degree sovereign will so that God’s purpose of sovereign will, sovereign choice, the purpose of the election might continue. So said I got elected.
Speaker2: [00:36:10.07] Abraham then got elected Isaac and now with Rebecca in order that God’s purpose of election might continue, not because of words, OK, nothing that Jacob or Esau did not keep in mind. God sees the beginning from the end. So there is no time with God. He’s not looking in the future to see the works of Jacob or Esau, but by the so that his purpose of election might continue not because of works, but because of his call. She Rebecca was told the older she’ll serve the younger. God chose ahead of time. Jacob’s position over Esaw, and then it says in verse 13, as it is written, Jacob, I loved but Esaw I hated. Now we can’t read this in American language because love means, oh, I love you. Hate means get out of here. I despise you. That’s not what this generally means to my understanding. It’s the same. I believe that when Jesus says, unless you hate mother and father, you cannot follow after me. Jesus isn’t telling you to hate your mother and father because that violates covenant. You know, ten commandment number five, honor your father and mother. What Jesus is saying is your love for me needs to be so strong that in comparison to your love for the parents, there’s almost as if you hate your parents because you love me so much. That, I believe, is what Paul is saying here. God chose Jacob, and therefore he said for him, I love him because I choose to bestow all of the promises through Jacob and because my love for Jacob is so much.
Speaker2: [00:38:03.28] What I do for Esau is in comparison, it’s almost as if I hate him. It’s not that he hates me. So he makes a great nation out of him. But in comparison to. Does that make sense? Yeah, it does. Okay, so then Paul comes up or I would say the Holy Spirit, the question that comes up is. Starting verse 14. Well, what shall we say then, is there injustice on God’s part? You know, God is doing all this, it has nothing to do with what man did. We’ve been raised that it’s all about works, what man does. That’s the law. It’s a law of works. And Paul is saying this mystery gets rid of all the works and has nothing to do with man’s works. What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means. For he says to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I have mercy and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion. So then it depends not on human will or exertion. Watch this guy to saying I’ll have mercy on who I want and I have compassion on who I want. And it not it has nothing to do with human will. Human will is what we would determine man’s will, what man chooses of his quote unquote free will, OK, or even of any other world.
Speaker2: [00:39:26.01] It’s not anything about man’s will or his exertion. Exertion is what he does. So it has nothing to do with man at all, it says, but on God has mercy. And then Paul backs this up through scripture for the first 17 for the scripture says to Pharaoh for this very purpose, I raised you up that I might show my power in you. God showed his power in FERO by destroying Pharaoh. So what this is saying that for this very purpose, God created Pharaoh. Simply to destroy him. And then we finished that first for this very purpose, I’ve raised you out talking about Fabro, that I might show my power in you. And that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth, so if you think back on Exodus, God introduced himself to the Israelites as their God, as the subframe God as the most powerful of all there is by destroying before their very eyes the most powerful nation on Earth at that time. Egypt totally destroy them. And God says, I did that, that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth. So it’s for God’s glory. And then verse 18 wraps it up. So then he has mercy on whomever he wills and he hardens whomever he wills. Does this indicate that man has a choice on whether man is the one that God has mercy towards or not? Yes. It does indicate that. Mm hmm. All right, where does it indicate that?
Speaker1: [00:41:28.19] Well, it says it right there in the scripture, he has mercy on whomever he will. Oh, right over here.
Speaker2: [00:41:34.94] All right. So my question is, God has mercy on whoever he chooses and hard in Survivor he chooses. But the end, the man who’s the one who receives that mercy or receives that hardening, does that man have any choice in the matter? No. No. All right. And then now we’re moving to first knighting. This is where we talked on last session. So now Paul is setting the stage. The stages. I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart, why in the world would he do that? Because the Israelites, to whom all the blessings and promises and statutes and laws and all of God’s power. Are not. Are separated from Christ. I wish I could swap places with them because my love for my own kindred is so strong, but it’s not as though the word of God has failed. And then he starts talking about God, sovereign choice of election, Abraham to Isaac, to Jacob, to Moses and the nation of Israel against Pharaoh. And now he starts to bring it in one level deeper, closer to us, and he’s now says impersonating you will say to me, then why does he still find fault? In other words, if it’s all his choice, why in the world does he find fault with people and say you are doomed to destruction because of your sins? And he responds, verse 19 B, you know, he says, you know, for you will say to me, then why does he still find fault for who can resist his will? Because that’s what this whole section prior to that is saying. God’s will stand supreme on everything that’s been going on. So who can resist as well? Verse 20. But who are you, oh, man, to answer back to God. So what happens is when we make that question, why does he still find fault, essentially what we’re doing as man is we are judging God. Because we’re saying, God, you were unfair, I judged that your actions are unfair. So I judge you. Now, obviously, that would be very dangerous to be judge and God.
Speaker1: [00:44:06.07] Sure. As we say it,
Speaker2: [00:44:07.84] We say it out of ignorance. But that’s what that’s what Paul is saying. But who are you, man, to answer back to God? Well, what is molded say to smolder. Why have you made me like this? And so now he’s going to create a metaphor, has the Potter know right over the clay to make out of the same lamp, one vessel for honor juice and another for dishonorable use? So now you he’s the metaphor. God is the potter he makes out of the same lump of clay. The lump of clay is the dust of the earth. OK, so this now goes back to he creates man out of the dust of the earth. He says he does not have the right to make the same lump of clay, one vessel that’s a body for underage use and another vessel, another body for dishonorable use. So imagine so now to put some image so out of the same lump of clay, you have a powder and he’s going to make one vessel and he’s going to pour holy oil in that vessel. And it went Holy oil is in that vessel. What does that do to the vessel?
Speaker1: [00:45:17.12] It makes the vessel holy,
Speaker2: [00:45:18.72] It makes a vessel holy on another vessel, he’s going to put dung into it. What does that do to the vessel? When you put dung in it?
Speaker1: [00:45:27.03] It makes it unclean.
Speaker2: [00:45:29.00] It makes it unclean. So we have a holy and an unholy, a clean and an unclean, not based on the vessel’s choice, but based on the owner of the vessel and how he chooses to use them. Does that make sense?
Speaker1: [00:45:45.22] It does, yeah.
Speaker2: [00:45:46.70] That’s what I believe this is talking about. Now, I was talking yesterday with a really deep, mature theologian. Christian knows this word better than I do. As he reads this, he is saying, well, that’s not really what this is saying, Beatty. He is saying that the vessels represent the flesh and the spirit because the flesh is for destruction and the spirit is for mercy. I respect that, but the fact that the vessels are both made out of the same substance. I can’t follow his logic with that because otherwise you would have a lump of clay in something else, but because the vessels are both made out of the same material, the dust of the earth, they both have to be the same structure. They must be made of the same material. And the flesh is a different material than the spirit. So I believe that this is talking about men. And when we when we back up just a few verses and it says I created FERO for destruction. Then this carries that same pattern, that one vessel is used for energy and another for dishonorable use, then verse 22, now he brings us back to God. OK, what if God now he’s asking a rhetorical question, but but a rhetorical question is actually a statement. So we’re going to read this as the question, but then I’m going to read it back as a statement. He says, What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power has endured with much patience and vessels of wrath prepared for destruction? In order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he’s probably prepared beforehand for glory, so what what I think this is saying is, is because it’s a rhetorical question, we can turn it into a statement God created, prepared for destruction, some vessels. And he prepared for mercy other vessels. Do you see that?
Speaker1: [00:47:59.65] Yeah, yeah,
Speaker2: [00:48:01.39] And this is God’s sovereign choice. The vessel doesn’t have a choice in the matter. We know the vessels most likely represent mankind based on how this is reading. And if that’s the case, then just like there’s two types of seed and the wheat and the weeds parable, just like Jesus says, there are two types of people. OK, you are of your father, the devil, only those of my father here. So we see these patterns of two separate entities. And so he says, in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy. Which he’s prepared beforehand, and who are those vessels of mercy first 24, even us whom he has called. Not even us whom we have chosen to belong to him, it says that whom he has called not from the Jews only, but also from the Gentiles, so so we start to see, I believe, this pattern of sovereignty more clearly in Romans nine as we start to look at all the things we’ve gone through beforehand. Does this make sense at all?
Speaker1: [00:49:14.40] Yeah. Yeah, it does.
Speaker2: [00:49:17.42] Now, I want one last thing we’re going to walk through. And I want you to pull out a sheet of paper, do you have a sheet of paper you can use?
Speaker1: [00:49:26.07] Ok, yes, I can get one.
Speaker2: [00:49:28.81] And for our listeners, I want you just to visualize this or if you’re in a spot to write this down, because this is now going to kind of show you what I call kind of what I what we’ve covered throughout all these passages and all of these sessions and now put it in a structure that we can kind of see visually what’s going on. Let me know when you’re ready. I want, like an. OK, great. We’re going to end up putting seven circles with arrows in between each circle and label these. So on the far right hand side, we’re going to start like Hebrews does. We’re going to go from right to left, OK? And then we’re going to turn it back around like the Greeks and go from left to right. So on the far right, draw a circle, label that circle repent.
[00:50:20.24] All right. OK.
Speaker2: [00:50:23.43] In order to have salvation, we must repent. Is that correct? Yes. OK, so now turn Romans three verses, 19 and 20. Let’s see what that says. So what I want is I want to put scripture to each one of these processes. They’re involved in the process if we use that term process of salvation, so Roman’s three, 19 through 20.
Speaker1: [00:50:50.96] Ok, so now we know that whatever the law says
Speaker2: [00:50:54.41] Speaks to the I’m sorry, I’m sorry. Revelations three 19 through 20.
Speaker1: [00:50:59.15] Sorry I gave you the wrong revelation. Three, 19 and 20 says. Let’s say to those whom I love, I approve and discipline, so be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If any one hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him and he with me.
Speaker2: [00:51:28.64] Perfect. So when he’s standing at the door, not so. This is revelations. He’s talking to the various churches. He’s talking here to a church. Is he indicating that he’s standing at the door and knocking off someone who’s part of the church body or all mankind?
Speaker1: [00:51:48.84] I feel like it would be all mankind
Speaker2: [00:51:51.03] You feel like it would be the context of this passage comes from where?
Speaker1: [00:51:58.01] Um. Well, let’s see the church I think this is the church and Letitia. It is it’s written to the church, so then that would be it would be the church then.
Speaker2: [00:52:11.81] Yeah, so so he’s speaking to the church, not all mankind. OK, then, verse 19 to those whom I love, I reproving discipline, you remember the passage that God disciplines all his children. Right, you remember what I said? OK, so God only discipline his children, so here Jesus says to those whom I love. I reproving discipline, so we know he’s speaking to his children, then he says, be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door, not give anyone hears my voice and opens the door. So this is talking about you need to be repenting. I’m at your door, at the door of my children, and I’m knocking. And I’m commanding you to be zealous and I’m commanding you to repent. Open the door. Here’s the question. Is opening the door an act of man’s will?
Speaker1: [00:53:13.47] Yes, yes.
Speaker2: [00:53:15.92] Ok, so we have an attachment, will you have to open the door when the command is given? There’s an act of the will. OK. But how do we get to the point of repentance, so draw a circle to the left and put an arrow between the left circle and repent, and we’re going to put a word on top of that arrow in just a moment. So leave just a little bit of space. And in the end, go ahead. Go ahead. So this next circle.
Speaker1: [00:53:51.19] I’m ready, OK,
Speaker2: [00:53:53.14] Label believe in Jesus. Must we believe in Jesus to be saved? Yes, OK, the passage on that act 16 31. Believe in Lord Jesus and you will be saved, you and your household. You remember that.
Speaker1: [00:54:11.48] I do, yes. All right,
Speaker2: [00:54:12.95] So now here’s the question, if you believe in Jesus. Will you be compelled to repent? Yes, OK, so under the arrow connecting believe in Jesus to repent, put the word compels. So now here’s a question, if you believe in Jesus, you are compelled to repent, then is repentance an act of your free will or an ad so they compelled will? Hmm. Can you can you resist can you resist repenting if you truly believe in Jesus?
Speaker1: [00:55:04.58] No, no.
Speaker2: [00:55:07.46] So even though it’s an act of man’s will, it is compelled and he is unable to resist it because what comes before repentance is believing and if you truly believe, you will be compelled to repent. Does that make sense? Yes. Yes. OK, now to the left of believing in Jesus. We have to ask. How do we believe in Jesus, what’s required to draw another circle with an arrow pointing to believe in Jesus? This circle label it understand? We have to understand. Before we can believe, turn around quickly. And read John eight to passages so you can put on these, understand is John 843. And Kangaroos and Hebrews 11 three read for me real quickly, John 843.
Speaker1: [00:56:07.20] All right, John 843 says. Why do you not understand what I say it is because you cannot bear to hear my word, OK?
Speaker2: [00:56:20.15] Why do you not understand? You’ve got to understand. For you to believe, does that make sense?
Speaker1: [00:56:28.63] Mm hmm.
Speaker2: [00:56:30.23] Why do you not understand? Because you cannot bear to hear my word. Now let’s pull up Hebrews 11 three.
Speaker1: [00:56:37.54] All right. Saying. All right, Hebrews 11, verse three, says, By faith, we understand that the universe was created by the word of God so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.
Speaker2: [00:56:57.96] Ok, so understanding comes by faith, by faith, we understand. And then it says essentially by faith, we understand creation is by God and everything in it, right?
Speaker1: [00:57:11.67] Mm hmm.
Speaker2: [00:57:12.65] Here’s the question. If you truly understand. Will you believe?
Speaker1: [00:57:23.81] Looking at my drawing, yes, OK.
Speaker2: [00:57:27.71] So then, right, the word compels on the arrow understanding compels believing in Jesus.
Speaker1: [00:57:41.09] All right.
Speaker2: [00:57:43.67] There you go, right. So now draw a circle to the left of understand. OK, and label this face. OK, first, let’s talk about faith for a brief moment, Hebrews 11 one.
Speaker1: [00:58:09.24] Now, faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
Speaker2: [00:58:15.13] Ok, if you have faith. Then. Is there any doubt something does not exist if you have faith in something, is there any doubt that it does not exist? No, no. So faith compels the understanding that compels the belief, right. Yes, so faith is the key to this entire path towards repentance and salvation. But now we see it in scripture broken out state by state, so we start to understand. The stages of it, because we sometimes just kind of bunch it all together, but when you break it out, it starts to make more sense. Right.
Speaker1: [00:59:00.88] That’s right.
Speaker2: [00:59:01.93] Ok, so now let’s unin the faith circle, we’re going right down to scriptures. Romans 12. Romans 12 three. And Romans, 10, 17, so what we have to ask God is. Since faith is this key, where do I get the faith? The. Do I choose to have it or is it something different because most people say you have to choose to believe. But we know you can’t choose to believe, because if you understand, you’re compelled to believe, but if you have faith, you’re compelled to understand. So it comes Bernell back to faith. We got to understand face. So Romans 12 three. What does that say?
Speaker1: [00:59:47.38] It says four by the grace given to me, I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.
Speaker2: [01:00:02.59] Oh, OK, so where does faith come from then, God? And God assigns a measure of faith, right?
Speaker1: [01:00:13.14] Uh huh.
Speaker2: [01:00:14.28] Is there anywhere that man chooses to have that faith? No, no. Now let’s look at Romans 10 17, so first that we see that God assigns it, but like with most things in God’s kingdom, there’s not just one simple, easy answer. It’s multifaceted. So let’s look at Romans, 10, 17. What does that say?
Speaker1: [01:00:38.07] So faith comes from hearing and hearing through the word of Christ.
Speaker2: [01:00:43.62] Ok, so only if I hear the word of Christ. And somehow, simultaneously, a sign by God, do I have faith, right? That’s right. And if I have faith, because it’s the absolute certainty of things not seen, it compels me to understand and that compels me to believe, which compels me to repent. So right now. Faith is the initiator of everything, so then how do we hear the words of Christ, if that’s where it comes from? How do we get there? So draw a circle to the left, a faith with an arrow, OK? And we must hear the words of God, right, in order to have faith, faith comes from hearing the words of Christ, the words have to be preached. Romans, 10 14.
Speaker1: [01:01:41.80] So hearing is going in this one, yeah,
Speaker2: [01:01:45.67] Hearing God’s word. OK.
Speaker1: [01:01:59.93] And what was the scripture reference,
Speaker2: [01:02:02.39] Romans, 10, 14.
Speaker1: [01:02:04.92] Okay, all right, it says, how then will they call on him and whom they have not believed and how are they to believe in him, of whom they have not heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?
Speaker2: [01:02:20.66] All right, so someone has to go preach for them to have the opportunity to hear, right? Mm hmm. All right, so now imagine you have a preacher out there preaching God’s word. There’s 100 people in the crowd. To all of those people. When they hear that preaching, have faith and all of them therefore compelled to understand, believe in repent.
Speaker1: [01:02:49.54] Hmm, that’s a good question.
Speaker2: [01:02:53.92] Your experience is do all people.
Speaker1: [01:02:59.07] My experiences, some people do, some people don’t.
Speaker2: [01:03:02.07] Yeah, that’s my experience, so we can start to discern that hearing faith comes from hearing hearing by the word crisis, not simply hearing it audibly in our ears because someone’s preaching it. It’s hearing in our spirit and having it really resonate and actually do something within us. Does that make sense? Yeah, absolutely. So lots of people hear the word being preached, but they don’t hear the words of God. Essentially what this what I think this is saying. So then we had to say, well, what determines whether they hear those words truly or not? Is it because they choose to hear it? They really want to hear it because they really want salvation. Or at the point that they really want salvation has something else going on, so let’s draw a circle to the left of here, God’s word.
Speaker1: [01:04:00.45] Ok, but first off, how many more circles am I going to have got in that room?
Speaker2: [01:04:06.78] Yeah, we got seven circles total on this page, so we’re on number six. So we got one more after this.
Speaker1: [01:04:12.96] A little.
Speaker2: [01:04:13.50] I’ll just cover a little, ok. OK, OK. So so in order to hear God’s word, you have to belong to God. So this is John 847. And read this in the Navy, the translations of the Navy, I think clarifies a little bit more.
Speaker1: [01:04:36.95] Ok, John. Eight forty seven, mm hmm. OK, let me put Translation’s really quick. All right, John, eight forty seven says. Whoever belongs to God cares what God says, the reason you do not here is that you do not belong to God.
Speaker2: [01:04:59.88] Ok, so this is what we talked about a few sessions that Jesus is talking to the Jews. He says, where I’m going, you cannot come. They said, well, where are you going? That we cannot come? You know, certainly. Are you going to the Gentiles? OK, that type of stuff. And Jesus says, you cannot come where I am going. Cannot because you are not a God. You love your father, the devil. And they said, we’re of Abraham. So you are the father yourself. Because if Abraham was your father, you would have recognized my works. He’s talking at a spiritual level, not the flesh. OK, this is what Paul was talking about at home at the first of Romans nine. You know, not everyone of Abraham, our children of Abraham. OK, so that’s what Jesus is talking about here. And then he says. You cannot hear my words because you are of your father, the devil, and now we wrap up here, whoever belongs to God hears the words of God. You do not hear them because you do not belong to God. So he makes a clear distinction that there is a group who belong in a group who do not. And only if you belong can you hear now they heard his words audibly, but they made no impact in their life spiritually. And so what Jesus is talking about is a spiritual truth is that makes sense.
Speaker1: [01:06:22.07] Yeah, it is.
Speaker2: [01:06:23.39] So here’s the question. If someone belongs to God, will they here spiritually? The words of God. Yes, OK, so the arrow from belongs to God to hear the words of God is compels if you belong to God. It compels you to hear God’s word. When it’s preached, if you hear God’s word, when it preach, it compels you to have faith and if you have faith, it compels you to understand. If you understand, it compels you to believe. And if you believe, it compels you to now take an act of your will, which is repentance. But it’s a compelled will, not a free will. Is this making sense of the last circle? OK, how how do you belong to God? Does man simply choose? I want to belong to God. What action do I take? Is it an act of my will? Is it an act of my efforts? Is it a human will or exertion? Or is it something different? Well, the Bible tells us this, so. And the last circle to the left of belongs to God will put the word God chooses. This is what the whole Romans nine was talking about, okay, and and on the verses, we’re going to do Ephesians one. Three to four. And revelations 13 eight, cessations one, start first with officiants one three and just read that, let’s talk about that one.
Speaker1: [01:08:07.51] Ok, effusions, one three back in the U.S..
Speaker2: [01:08:11.56] Yes, he’s great.
Speaker1: [01:08:13.47] Ok, let’s bring. Verse one or verse three,
Speaker2: [01:08:22.97] Patients one three.
Speaker1: [01:08:25.09] Ok, blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places.
Speaker2: [01:08:35.83] God has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly place is what this is saying is, OK, so you remember I think it’s Galatians. But says that the promises were given to Abraham and his seed singular said all the promises are in Christ. And his promises are yes, and in all the promises are in crisis, all of our spiritual blessings are in Christ. So it’s because of an increase that we received the blessing. Does that make sense so far? Yes, OK, now, does spiritual blessing, would that include salvation and eternal life? Yes, OK, so everything. Is first increase now. That all the spiritual blessings are in Christ reverse for.
Speaker1: [01:09:36.79] Even as he chose us and him before the foundation of the world, that we should be wholly and blameless before him,
Speaker2: [01:09:46.33] Even as he chose us and him if he chose us, do we belong to him? Yes. So we can say that God choosing compels us to belong to God. And because we belong to God, that compels us that when we hear the word of God. We will have faith. And if we have faith that compels us to understand and believe. And if we understand and believe in Jesus, it compels us. To repent, there’s only one section here that is an act of man’s will. Which one is that?
Speaker1: [01:10:31.92] Or repentance,
Speaker2: [01:10:33.35] Repentance, is there anywhere in any of these scriptures and any of this pattern where man’s will. Has any influence at all?
Speaker1: [01:10:46.00] Not that I’ve seen.
Speaker2: [01:10:47.83] Not that I’ve seen either go back to officiants one for read the, read that one more time, there’s one other section, one of the thing I want to show you on that.
Speaker1: [01:10:55.78] Ok, even as he shows us in him before the foundation of the world that we should be wholly and blameless before him
Speaker2: [01:11:04.57] Wholly and blameless, we talked about something in the beginning of this call about holy and blameless. What was that? Do you recall? Him being in the images of
Speaker1: [01:11:14.78] The vessel and then the vessel, yeah,
Speaker2: [01:11:17.27] Yeah, the image of God, God made man in his image holy and blameless. Then he became sinful and blamed. He lost God’s image the second out and comes back in. The image of God wholly and blameless, makes a blood covenant with us. Who says, I’ll take all of yours and you get all of mine. He takes his sins upon him as his transaction. Our transaction. When we believe in repent, we receive His Holiness and blameless ness because it says that God predestined us to be conformed to the image of His Son, which is holy and blameless. And here in Ephesians four says that he chose us and him before the foundation of the world, that we might be holy and blameless. Do you see all of this kind of tying together? Mm hmm. Yeah. Revelations 13, a wrap this one up with that.
Speaker1: [01:12:13.81] Ok. All right, Revelation 13 eight says. Let’s say and all who dwell on earth will worship it everyone name
Speaker2: [01:12:28.32] To worship it. This is talking about the beast in the meantime. So all who dwell on earth will worship the beast. Keep going.
Speaker1: [01:12:35.32] Everyone whose name has not been written before, the foundation of the world in the Book of Life of the Lamb who was slain.
Speaker2: [01:12:44.42] All right, so as a supporting person, not the Keevers, we see that this supports what it says back in Ephesians one. Chosen in him before the foundation of the world. Our names written in the Book of Life before the Foundation of the world. So here’s a question. If God chose us and him and that compels us to belong to God, does that is essentially predestined us to belong to God when he chooses us?
Speaker1: [01:13:19.32] Mm.
Speaker2: [01:13:21.70] If we belong to God and it compels us to here is where does that basically predestined us predetermined that we will hear his word? Yes. And if we hear his word and hearing his word. Compels us to now have faith. Does hearing his word predestined and predetermined, so we take this passage and so those passages we covered a couple of times ago or maybe just last time where he was talking about predestination and these things that we have really tough times, God can’t predestined. That doesn’t sound fair. But yet we see this passage, this process, because one thing compels another, compels another, compels another all the way down to man now acts of his own will. But it’s all been compelled because he cannot resist it if he actually believes in Jesus. So you have this mystery. It is by God, by man’s will to repent. We make the assumption that if it’s by man’s will, he has a choice. And we make the assumption if he has a choice, then it’s his freedom to choose one or the other. But that’s not what Scripture’s indicating. Scripture indicates that we change from our master of sin to our master of Christ through the action of the master, not the action of the slave. And when we get down to repentance, we’re compelled to repent by our will. Not by an exertion force of God says you do what I say, but because we believe in Jesus and once we believe, we would never not repent. And so we see this amazing mystery of human responsibility men has the responsibility, but yet throughout the whole process we see what the ESPN and I’ve call God’s sovereign choice throughout the whole matter. Are there some people who do not repent? Not not as yet, but there are people and those who do not repent, do they believe in Jesus? Truly believe, no, they don’t believe in Jesus, do they have faith? No, if they don’t have faith, did they ever belong to God? Not made by God, belong to God. Those are different.
Speaker1: [01:16:14.73] That’s tough because the very first one is that God chooses and chooses. Then you have to belong if you’re chosen.
Speaker2: [01:16:24.08] Yes, that’s right, you have to belong if you’re chosen. But does it say that God chooses all to be in Christ? When we talked on the session of being Christ, whoever is in Christ receives eternal life. Are all mankind in Christ know, OK, so we know that he doesn’t choose all mankind, he only chooses a portion of mankind. Yeah. So we come back to long before man was born. Something happened with a God sovereign choice before the foundation of the world. And that set in motion a predetermination of what starts to occur that ends with the act of our will of repentance, does this make sense and do you see that?
Speaker1: [01:17:19.44] Yeah, very interesting.
Speaker2: [01:17:22.65] If you were an advocate for someone listening. That might. Have legitimate questions on this, what legitimate questions do you think they might have? Questions of concern or questions of clarity?
Speaker1: [01:17:38.80] Um. I think maybe more concern if I were I mean, the first thing that popped in my mind is that someone might struggle with. Basically, this is all saying or that they could be interpreting this to mean that God only chooses a certain number of people to receive salvation and then he doesn’t.
Speaker2: [01:18:05.86] All right. So let’s address that. I don’t know the answer. God does say the hairs of your head are numbered. He knows every sand in the sea, so it seems like there is a finite number of things that have happened and he knows those numbers. He knows the numbers of our days. The Lamb’s Book of Life has a finite number written in it, and we know that at some point this age is going to end and there is a finite number of people who will receive eternal life. So. Just through a kind of logic and observation, I would say. There seems to be a finite number, not an infinite number. But maybe the question you’re posing that they might be asking is more, does everyone have the opportunity and does everyone have the ability?
Speaker1: [01:19:05.84] Is that well? Maybe, maybe. According to what I think it could be, I think it could be two different. Yeah, I think it could be the first question and that question then you can be both, I think, of her or your second question.
Speaker2: [01:19:27.00] Yeah. So I don’t know if there’s a number. Does it matter if there is a no or not? And if we think it matters, does it change the scriptures and the conclusions we’ve come to from the scriptures? If it doesn’t change the scriptures, it doesn’t change the validity of the truth of this, if what we’re speaking is scripturally true. And we recognize the process and we’re in complete agreement that one does compel the other. Then these questions become complexities of understanding, but not points of rejecting the truth, because we don’t have the answer. I think that’s probably where I want to say caution. OK, yeah. Like one person might say. Well. Does that mean I may not be saved if I’m not chosen? Well, technically, I would say yes, realistically, I would say if you’re worried about it, don’t worry about it, because only one who’s going to be worried about is the one who’s hearing the words of God and really wants it. You know, if you’re not of God, you totally reject it like the Jews did in John in the John passage. So. So if you resonate, if this resonates with you, God’s word resonates with you and your heart beats for wanting more of God and wanting that salvation, I can pretty much assure you that you’re on the list if we use that term.
Speaker1: [01:21:03.73] Ok, yeah.
Speaker2: [01:21:05.64] Any final questions or concerns you think the listeners might have? Before we wrap up, because we’re overtime, we need to start wrapping
Speaker1: [01:21:14.86] Up, I mean, I think the very logical next thing that I could think of would just be, OK, baby, I could hear somebody out there saying this resonates with me, but I’m not sure what to do next. How do I how do I be certain that I am going to go to heaven? What are my steps? Great.
Speaker2: [01:21:33.58] Oh, I think be certain. Believe in repent, the promise has given, if you believe in Jesus, you will be saved and and the pass to all who accept Christ go to heaven. And that teaching we talked about that the the evidence of a believing in Christ is fruit. Truthful to the best of our ability to define it, is Christ formed in you? Christ formed in you means you carry the fruit of Christ spirit, which is love and all of its attributes. And so if you see that in your life, then, yeah, you can be quite a certain you can be quite assured if you believe it is an absolute promise to go to heaven. You don’t have to worry about, quote unquote. If you are chosen, if you’re concerned about it, I can guarantee you that you probably are because the Jews were not concerned. But the other thing, you know, what do you do with this? I think here’s the important for all of this. The importance is if we understand, see if we think it’s of our if our ability to make a right decision, let’s take business. I’m in business. You know, I look at a person and their business grows.
Speaker2: [01:22:59.19] I look at my business and my business doesn’t grow. And I look at him and he makes all the right decisions and I’m making all the wrong decisions. I can be dissatisfied with me. I’ve made wrong decisions on his own. He can be prideful. Hey, I’ve made all the right decisions. What’s the problem with you? OK. And yet it says that that by faith we have been saved by grace and not as a result of works that no man should boast. It is a gift of God. OK, so what we really take from this is we see how amazing that gift is before we were ever born, before we ever even had a thought of good or bad. God says he chose us and him in Christ before the foundation of the world, and that set the stage all along, which means he says he he knew us and because he for new us, he predestined us to be conformed to his image. He loved us long before we loved him. That’s an amazing truth that really brings this whole element of grace even more because it had nothing to do with our choice. If it had something to do with our choice, then we could beat our chests.
Speaker2: [01:24:14.78] I think that’s one of the most amazing things we get out of this. The second most amazing thing is just realizing. It’s not as simple as people make it out to be, and so when someone says, oh, well, this is this is this is the answer, you know, dig a little bit deeper because God’s ways are not man’s ways and we start to see the amazing ness of God. And the more we truly understand God, the more we can truly have intimacy with our father, because you cannot have intimacy with someone that you don’t truly know. And when you look at the whole pattern from Genesis to Revelation, and I left tons and tons and tons of verses on the cutting table, if you want to use that term as we’ve gone through now, eight or nine hours of content. And we still didn’t cover everything, it shows the magnitude of how much God has placed all of this throughout scripture, he wants us to know it. It’s not it’s not one or two verses that’s a hidden secret, we’re just resistant to wanting to believe it. Because it goes against what we think God should be doing.
Speaker1: [01:25:27.89] Beatty, thank you so very much. This was such a great discussion today, just a good eye opening, as always. Good to dig into the world and just see what the Lord has to say. Very encouraging for our listeners as well. And I just want to encourage all of them. Just again, to go to the word study for yourself, ask God what he is speaking to you through the words that you’re reading in the Bible. And if you’re uncertain, then then repent, might be said, repent and believe that Jesus is your savior and you’re good. So any final thought?
Speaker2: [01:26:09.56] No, just hey, subscribe to the podcast so you get more of these and and listen to the next one. You’ll enjoy it.
Speaker1: [01:26:18.44] Absolutely. All right, guys. Well, we enjoyed it so much. And we look forward to our next discussion and we hope you all have a very blessed day. All right, bye bye bye.
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SalvationChoice
