February 2, 2022
1 Peter 1:1b NIV
To God’s elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia,
CONSIDER THIS
Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ.
It may take us the rest of the week to get through verse 1 so buckle in.
To God’s elect . . .
Who is this? For starters this is a little word that divides people. Some believe “the elect” are all the people God foreknew and predestined for eternal salvation from before the beginning of time. This also means those who are not in “the elect” are predestined by God for eternal damnation from before the beginning of time. It’s a doctrine called “double election predestination.” And let me tell you, some of the smartest people in the room believe this. They have their evidence. As an example:
29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. (Romans 8:29-30)
Now, if we wanted to talk about how to read the Bible better, we would ask this question. Do we read the whole of the Bible through the lens of a few verses? Or do we read the verses through the lense of the whole Bible? IMHO, the double election predestinarians tend to read the whole of the Bible through the lenses of a few verses. I am learning to read the few verses through the lense of the whole. (It’s more complex than that but you get the point).
So who are the elect? At the risk of oversimplification, as I read Scripture, the elect are those who have elected to follow Jesus. This is the first miracle of the gospel. Through the atoning work of Jesus Christ, the grace of God has freed the will of the human race to elect to follow him or not. It is the grace that paves the way—even before we have the first idea of who God might even be. The fancy word for this is prevenient grace. The doctrine gets labeled as “free will.” In reality, it is “freed” will.
So let me ask you, are you part of the elect? Have you decided to follow Jesus? If so, then yes, you are included in the salutation of Peter’s letter. This letter is for you too.
And per chance there is someone out there reading who has perhaps not met or made up their mind on Jesus yet, here’s as close to a hand delivered invitation as I can muster today.
Something tells me Peter, the fisherman, was not a double election predestinarian. He believed anyone and everyone could be caught up in the net of Jesus. We will get to it in due course, but we have him on record as saying,
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. 2 Peter 3:9
To God’s elect . . .
Peter, the seasoned apostle, knew everyone would not elect Jesus with the vote of their life. Something tells me because he knew everyone could, he would never give up on anyone. He would keep on casting the net. Otherwise, what’s the point of fishing?
(By the way, if you are a double election predestinarian looking for a debate, don’t bother writing me, because you are predestined to lose. lol)
THE PRAYER
Jesus, you are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God. Thank you for choosing us; for choosing me. And thank you for the grace given that freed my will to even be able to choose you. Thank you that you thought about me long before I ever thought about you. Thank you for catching me in the net of your amazing grace. Thank you for letting me be part of God’s elect and for opening the door to anyone and everyone who will elect you with the vote of their life. I want to learn to fish with that kind of net. I am thankful today. Praying in Jesus’ name, Amen.
THE QUESTION
What do you make of this notion of a “freed” will?
P.S. First Word. Last Word. God’s Word. (Volume 2) Reserve your copy today!
For the Awakening,
J.D. Walt
Sower-in-Chief
seedbed.com
15 Responses
As a “1 point Calvinist “ (lol), I’m in a agreement with you about the term “freed will” as apposed to “free will”. Adam and Eve possessed “free will” only prior to the fall. I believe that without prevenient grace no one could choose to follow Jesus. Spiritually dead folks aren’t free to choose to respond to God’s call because the dead can’t hear it.
I am not sure which Scriptures you read, but “choosing Jesus” is not supported by Scripture. There is not one example; including Paul who chose Christ., If your name is not written in the Lamb’s Book of Life (Revelation 13:7-8), you can choose until your knees break, your choosing means nothing. You do not get to tell God that you want your name included in the book. I suggest you read John 6:65 and then explain your folly of choosing Christ. God does not react or answer to man. There are only three reasons Christians believe in free will; 1) because they want to believe it; ( strong delusion) 2) because they heard it in church; 3) because their god is an imagination between their ears instead of a revelation from the pages of Scripture. You are the same people who believe you will be raptured without inner washing and declared justification, and that the mark of the beast is a radio chip or a bar code. You can choose Christ all you want; He is NOT in any way obligated to accept your choice as evidenced in the Parable of the Rich, Young, Ruler. You need to learn the difference between self denial and self esteem and which one God hates.
Are you seriously going to attempt to debate that God does not call us all to choose to repent and believe in Him. I admit that it does sound strange;the way this short article explains elect but I must contend with what you said concerning choosing to place your faith in Christ. Jesus blessed so many people and said many times “because of your faith” I will do this or “I have not seen faith like this in all the land” ect…God clearly calls us to believe in Him. In the Old Testament God said “choose” this day whom you will serve;whether the gods of your ancestors ect (you probably know the rest or can look it up).. point is simply that both are true that He chooses us AND we choose Him. He is totally responsible for His children’s salvation and get all the glory. We do not earn or merit His Love. It is freely given and anything that is given does not need to be accepted UNLESS one is attracted or “pulled in” or touched…there are so many things you and I do not understand so let’s just accept that we both do not know exactly how this works. However,consider 1Timothy 4:10
You are incorrect. 1 Timothy 4:10 says that He is Savior of all (wait for it……) ESPECIALLY those who BELIEVE!! Look,it’s simple,the boot either fits or not!! If someone doesn’t respond to God that is their decision and God is not obligated to chase after that person if they “harden themselves.” Either way,we both agree that Jesus is the Only Way so amen to that!! God bless you 👊❤️👊🙏
Let’s not forget 1 Corinthians 12:25-27. We are one body and we are to stick together and not divide over these or bicker! It’s ok to learn from one another though and have an honest “open” (nice and respectful) debate but we can’t treat eachother like “outcasts” simply because one person sees God’s mysterious ways differently. No one fully can comprehend or reconcile God’s Sovereignty and man’s responsibility! God bless all of us in Jesus’ Name. Love you guys!!
If an individual does not have the choice to follow Christ or not, but is “predestined” to either follow Him or not, why should anyone be a missionary? If they are destined to be saved, we play no part in sharing the Gospel because God “elected them”. If they are destined to be damned, why should we care? That is all up to God. This is the end result of double predestination logic.
I elect to cast my vote for the phrase “freed will.” Jesus invites “whosever will” to come to Him and to receive a new heart that is freed from bondage to darkness and empowered to choose who it will serve. Paul states that we are predestined by the foreknowledge of God. God being timeless, knows the end from the beginning (like when we watch a move that we’ve seen before). Foreknowledge doesn’t cause us (or the actors in a movie) to act a certain way, but it does give God the ability to know our choices before we make them. He elects and predestines by knowing the result of our individual “freed will” before we’re ever born.
“Spiritually dead folks aren’t free to choose to respond to God’s call because the dead can’t hear it.“
Then, how can we be saved? We were all dead before we heard God’s call. I believe in prevenient grace.
Am I missing something here?
Yes, look at the sentence immediately preceding that statement. We’re in perfect agreement.
You’re absolutely right. God said “ whosoever will “
🙏 amen
Spiritual deadness means spiritual separation. It does not mean that you cannot RESPOND to God’s Holy Spirit calling. Jesus said He would send His Spirit to convict the world of sin,righteousness and judgement. “Of sin because they do not believe in Me,Righteousness because I go to the Father and Judgement because the ruler of this world has been judged…” How else can someone be judged without being accountable or culpable?? More specifically,HOW can someone be responsible and not able to respond at the same time??? The whole point is that God is giving all mankind plenty of “time to repent!” Consider 1 Timothy 4:10 (which is VERY SPECIFIC AND CLEAR) and remember famous John 3:16.
Election simply means that you have been chosen. Considering the omniscience of God, He knows the outcome of all things before they come to pass therefore there are no coincidences or surprises when it comes to salvation or anything else for that matter. I’ve pondered the mystery of election and realized that certain beings are considered elect through the grace and foreknowledge of God and others will repent and be saved after hearing the gospel of the elect. Certain spirits are sent to earth to teach and to prepare others to attain holiness hence obtain salvation. The elect have been with God from the beginning and will consequently return to the heavenly realm. These spirits might go astray but cannot be lost. The elect will be in heaven with God and Jesus but the rest of the fruit of salvation will live on a new earth forever.
Thank You for this explanation.
Jesus says “No one can come to God unless the father draws him”. It does seem to suggest in no uncertain terms that it is God who does the drawing not man who does the choosing. It’s a conundrum which I know Almighty God finds simple but as a mere mortal I find myself shuffling from one stance to the other.
However, one day I will know. Until that day I pray I will continue to tell others about my faith in Jesus. God bless.