On Sunday June 16th I was preparing for a Sunday school
lesson later that morning and was reviewing numerous verses on election and
fatalism. Perhaps my blog post on May 30th
was still on my mind. Regardless, this
subject has been upon my mind a lot lately.
When I prepare for a Sunday school lesson, I begin thinking about the
subject a week or more before the class, and on the morning of, I begin
gathering the relevant passages, and review them. One of the most interesting passages was that
of the Parable of the Talents found in both Matthew & Luke (Matt. 25:14-30;
Luke 19:11-27). But before we get to the
parable, let's consider what we do know about our God and election.
God made his choice of us long before creation and even
before sin (Ephesians 1:3-5). The remedy
for sin, Christ on the cross (1 Peter 1:20), was determined at this time also. Never let the thought enter your mind that
God sent his Son as "plan b"! Not only did He plan a remedy, but he did so
at great expense to himself, out of an extreme grace!
Some notable verses are listed here for you to ponder:
Prov. 16:9
"A man’s heart plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps."
Prov. 16:33
"The lot is cast into the lap, But its every decision is from the
Lord."
Matt. 22:14
“For many are called, but few are chosen.”
2 Thes.
2:13b "God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification
by the Spirit and belief in the truth"
Acts 18:9-10
"Now the Lord spoke to Paul in the night by a vision, 'Do not be afraid,
but speak, and do not keep silent; for I am with you, and no one will attack
you to hurt you; for I have many people in this city.'"
As for the intent of this post - it is not to debate
election at any rate - but rather to explain it plainly and particularly. So often it ends up frequently twisted into
religious fatalism. The word election in
the original is really just a word that means choice. Yet in light of God doing the choosing, it
bears more thought. You and I do change
our mind. And for good cause, too! Many times we find that we made a mistake, we
goofed and make a mid-stream correction.
Often when we chose something ahead of time, we have to back up and
alter our choice which was based upon a faulty or inadequate decision
process. But to say such of God, takes
away part of His essential deity! For if
God, who by definition as God is perfect, were to change, he'd be less than
perfect, and no longer God! Therefore we
must protect, as it were, our definition and understanding of Him as perfect
and unchangeable, since it bears on His essential character.
But consider what that means when we think of Him, before
the foundation of the world, choosing a man, choosing a plan, establishing his
will before he even begins to work it out!
If this really is God we are talking about, what an assurance it gives
to us! Jesus Christ, the same yesterday,
today & forever! (Heb. 13:8)
Yet we do still have a problem...
What about the objection that God is cold and unloving in
his choices? At one level we really do
not have to even answer this, for God defines good. If, in our opinion, we chafe at His choice,
the matter is really with our own opinion.
We have to bear in mind that this is God and he is NOT a man. And the definition of His perfection and
essential deity come under scrutiny for us to question Him so. Nevertheless - if we do, with a bit of
reverence, we may discover something of His other characteristics that bear
strongly on the question.
And why not embrace fatalism - since indeed, if God HAS
chosen already, and our end is determined after all, what hope do we have? Should we all just "Eat drink & be
merry, for tomorrow, we die"?!
Here is where we will look at the parable of the talents (or
minas). I will quote the part of the
parable that bears upon the argument here:
Matt. 25:24 “Then he who had received the
one talent came and said, ‘Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you
have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25 And I was afraid, and went and hid your
talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.’
26 “But his lord answered and said
to him, ‘You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not
sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. 27 So you ought to have deposited my money
with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with
interest. 28 Therefore take the talent
from him, and give it to him who has ten talents.
29 ‘For to everyone who has, more
will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even
what he has will be taken away. 30 And
cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping
and gnashing of teeth.’
Please note the attitude that the man with one talent had
toward his lord. He says, "I knew
you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you
have not scattered seed. And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the
ground. Look, there you have what is yours." It is as though he was slapping in the face,
his lord! One would say that someone
with that attitude would clearly be out of line! And look plainly at the very phrase, "I
knew you to be a hard man". If so,
he clearly did not honor his lord, not with his attitude, nor with his actions,
as his lord showed saying, "So you ought to have deposited my money with
the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with
interest."
I find it interesting that the lord in this parable is
depicted as a good and honorable man by the first two servants, and they received
a reward for their efforts. Whereas the
servant who had no respect toward his lord, received a reward equal to his lack
of respect. And if we begin to have a
hard attitude like this man toward our Lord, we should expect no less from
Him.
Remember, that this is the One who has willingly, while we
were still sinners, sent His Son to die for us (Rom. 5:8). His Son willingly went to the cross out of
love for us. He left us His Word that we
might be able to gain a heart of wisdom and walk in freedom from sin’s penalty,
as we have been delivered. And for us to
call him a hard lord, is a slap in the face of all that He has done for
us. And what would you do, if you had
done that much for someone, despite their active hatred of you, and you had
loved someone so much that you would (in a sense) overlook those offenses and
offer to them a truly loving and gracious offer of friendship, and they spat in your face?!
We have nothing to offer to this gracious Lord, but he
offers to us Christ - which is everything!
How ought we to respond but in gratitude! Job lost much in his trials, yet never did he
accuse God of unrighteousness. Who are
we to put our defense before the Lord, "I knew you to be a hard man" Instead let us resolve to beg for forgiveness
of Him. For He has said in John 6:37, "
All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will
by no means cast out." Here
is not fatalism, but a trusting of the One who is Good and is Loving. Look at 1 Peter 5:6-7, "Therefore humble yourselves
under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all
your care upon Him, for He cares for you."
When I was 16 years old at my very 1st job, I had a brutal
job to do. It was a landscaping job and
we were raking dirt, moving boulders, laying down rotten granite paths,
etc. On this one day it was particularly
hot and we were sweating fiercely! One
of the managers had left and returned from town with something like four 6-packs
of soda of varying types. As he was passing
them out, he offered me a Mountain Dew, and I requested a Pepsi. "Beggars can't be choosers!" It was like a slap in the face. I wasn't begging? My pride began to well up within and I felt
the hot flash of blood to my face. But I
was, fortunately, not foolish enough to act upon such a visceral response. Instead I backed away and popped the can and
drank. Strangely, that was the BEST
Mountain Dew I ever drank!
But isn't that curious, Beggars
can't be choosers. God is the chooser
- we are the beggars. But take heart my
friends, we serve a gracious and kind God.
He is hard to those who treat him contemptuously, but for those who
humble themselves and consider all that He has done for us, unworthy as we are,
He cares for us! He will by no means
cast us aside!
Thank you Father for such Love! Amen.
