Predestined For Hell?

Biblegems #247

Question: If God knows all things—past, present and future—before they happen, does this mean that He condemns people to hell before they are even born?

First, God is all knowing:

         Heb. 4:13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

Second, hell was created for Satan and his rebellious angels, not people, even though millions will end up there:

         Matt. 25:41  “Then he will say to those (people at the Judgment) on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.”

Think of it this way—farmlands and cities were never intended to be a place for thousands of mutilated bodies, yet millions have ended up there as the result of war.

The word “cursed” Jesus used in the verse above is the Greek word kataraomai, meaning, “doomed”. The idea is that these people standing before God on Judgment Day are beyond the point of rescue. Like the last moment before impact in a car crash, when the time to turn the wheel or apply the break is passed, collision is inevitable—it is doomed to happen.

Third, although God knows everything in advance, He allows for human free will. The apostle Peter reminds followers of Jesus how choices in life-style are theirs to make:

         1Pet. 4:3 For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do—living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry.

Some things, however, God does predetermine to take place to fulfill His purpose for creation. The apostles, for example, were specifically predestined by God for their role as apostles:

         Eph. 1:11  In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will…

God does not predetermine in advance who is going to hell because He desires that no one end up there. The time we have on this planet, individually and for the human race, is our opportunity to swerve out of its path. If our loyalties lie with living for self-interest rather than for God we will perish. If our loyalties lie with Jesus, who rescues us for life in His Kingdom, we will enjoy eternal life:

         2Pet. 3:9  The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

The entire human race is on a collision course with hell. Like children born in Hiroshima or Nagasaki before the A-bomb hit, we are born into a world doomed to destruction due to the choices of others made long before we were born. Because God sees all things, He sent His Son Jesus into the world to rescue us from certain destruction:

         John 3:16-17  For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

When Christians Sin…

Biblegems #229

Question: My understanding is that Christians do sin, and receive forgiveness when they repent; yet 1 John 3:6-10 seems to contradict this. I would like your input.

1 John 3:6-10 seems to say that Christians don’t sin, which contradicts obvious Christian experience as well as an earlier statement in the same letter that admits Christians do sin:

1John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

John was addressing some heresies plaguing the early church. There were false teachers who claimed that Christians are incapable of sin because they are “born of God.” Other false teachers claimed that God doesn’t care if Christians sin because their sins were already paid for on the cross. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, 1 John 3:1-10 corrects both of these heresies. The wording is extremely important.

1John 3:6 (KJV) says: Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him. “Abideth,” means to “remain,” or “continue.” The idea is that it is impossible for a Christian to commit sin while “remaining” or “abiding” in Jesus. That concept sounds very foreign to most of us who learned early in our Christian life that a person is either “in Christ” or not. We don’t see ourselves being in and out of Jesus—it’s an all-or-nothing deal.

The Bible, however, paints a different picture. In Galatians, Christians are strongly admonished to walk in the Spirit to avoid yielding to the sinful nature:

         Gal. 5:16  So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.

Likewise…

         Rom. 6:12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires.

And…

         Gal. 5:1 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

When John writes, “…whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him” (1Jn. 3:6b, KJV), the word translated “sinneth” is a Present Active Participle in the Greek. “Whosoever sinneth” literally translates “whoever continues to sin…” —meaning, whoever continues in a lifestyle of sin does not really know Jesus, and never has.

Verses 8-9, then, builds on that truth by explaining that genuinely saved, born-again followers of Jesus Christ can be recognized by their lifestyle. They will not continue in a sinful lifestyle (8, 9). After all, Jesus came to destroy the devil’s work (8).

1John 3:10 follows the same use of the Present Active Participle as verses 8-9. “Anyone who does not do what is right “ should be translated “Anyone who does not continue in doing right…”   Verse 10 provides the following practical application of verses 6-9. When any believer encounters a community of professing believers in Jesus Christ (a local church), a two-part test can quickly determine if that church is truly Christian:

         1) Does the church turn a blind eye to members (and leaders) who continue in a sinful lifestyle?

         2) Do the people in this church demonstrate a consistent love for one another?

Losing Our Salvation?

Biblegems #123

Question: Does Hebrews 6:4-6 teach that it is possible for us to lose our salvation?

        

 Here is the passage in question:

         Heb. 6:4-6 It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.

If we were to reduce these three verses to the very essence of the sentence, it would read this way: “It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened… if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance…” All the rest describes either what is meant by being “enlightened,” or else why “repentance” is no longer possible. But the statement of fact in this passage is that a person who “falls away” cannot be brought back to a place of repentance.

As dire and hopeless as this sounds, it is important to remember that the test as to whether someone has “fallen away” or not is whether the person is capable of repentance. Here is another way of stating the same truth: a person who can no longer repent has fallen away.

Christians fail, sin, backslide and commit all manner of un-Christ-like behavior. But God in His mercy and grace has covered our sins by the blood of His son, Jesus, on the cross.

         Eph. 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace…

That forgiveness is made a reality in our personal experience when we confess our sins and repent:

         1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

Hebrews 6:4-6 describes a person who has “fallen away”[1] to the point where he or she is no longer capable of being repentant.

But there is more. The author of Hebrews is writing as a pastor to his congregation, not as a professor explaining the fine points of theology. He says in verses 9-12 that he is “confident of better things in your case” (9), that God “will not forget your work and the love” (10), that “We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end” (11), and “do not want you to become lazy” (12).

The chapter then concludes by pointing out that God Himself has sworn an oath (17-18)—and God cannot lie—that our salvation is secured by God’s sworn promise and purpose, not by our record of success or failure:

         Heb. 6:19-20 We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf.

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[1] (Gk.: parapi÷ptw parapipto, par-ap-ip´-to; from 3844 and 4098; to fall aside, i.e. (figuratively) to apostatize: — fall away.) Strong’s Greek Dictionary of the new Testamnet)

Hired Hand Or Bond Slave?

Biblegems #13

In the parable of the prodigal son, why did the son want to be a hired hand, independent, working for pay, instead of a bond slave who recieved no pay, had no legal rights and no freedom (Luke 15:17-20)?

Bond slaves in the New Testament are symbolic of the believer’s position in Christ. We have been bought with a price and are His possession with no rights of our own, no independence, and totally under the authority of our Master. Why then, in Jesus’ parable, does the son seek a paid position in which he retains his independence?

The primary difference between a hired servant and a bond slave is, of course, that one gets paid while the other does not. It would seem on the surface that the prodigal son saw himself as deserving to get compensation for his work (if his father would even hire him), whereas in the role of a slave he could reasonably expect no more than food, shelter and the level of protection extended to any “property” owned by the father.

In New Testament times, however, when up to one out of every three persons was a slave, a bond slave was usually a permanent fixture in a family. That in itself provided a nearly guaranteed “job security” that a hired servant could only dream about. A hired servant could be let go when no longer needed, fired, have his pay withheld, etc. Not only so, but he was paid only for work actually performed, which may or may not have been sufficient to meet his needs. A bond slave, on the other hand, was fed, clothed and housed regardless of the fluctuations in workload from day to day. Slavery, in that sense, was much like a salaried position with benefits.

In addition to all this, because bond slaves were such a permanent part of the household, they were more often than not treated as family, even loved as family. Those who served with distinction and loyalty frequently received pay or bonuses to acknowledge their hard work and faithfulness. The life of a slave in many cases was much more comfortable than the hired servant who worked just as hard or harder, but received less for his trouble.

So, for the prodigal son to beg his father to take him on as a hired servant rather than a bond slave meant that he was offering himself for a position with no job security, no benefits and no sense of family or belonging. His independence would be a detriment rather than an asset.

In Jesus’ parable, the prodigal son does not see himself worthy of the privileges a bond slave has over a hired servant. He no longer hopes for any special treatment whatsoever. The depth of his repentance makes him willing to be cut off from any meaningful relationship with his family, resigned to a life of independence that will make him a slave of loneliness. Fortunately, his father’s love and mercy save the son from such a fate, providing what the son could never provide for himself. What a beautiful story of God’s saving grace!