The Doctrine of Unlimited Predestination Examined, Part
III
(Continued from Last Issue)
Since this article first appeared in THE PRIMITIVE
BAPTIST LIGHT, I have received a question from a distant
state asking if I did not think that God knew these
folks would offer their sons and daughters in idol
worship, to which I reply: Certainly I think He knew it.
But did He predestinate it? That “He did not." As I have
pointed out foreknowledge and predestination are not the
same things. He knew they would do it because He knew
the nature of the people and knew about their
temptations and knew the mitigating circumstances. But
that is not saying that He predestinated it. He knew it
would happen because He knew why it would happen.
Also in this connection, what I wrote
about the church bells ringing, I wrote yesterday. This
morning they chimed at exactly eight o’clock just as I
said they would. I knew they would, but I did not
predestinate it. I did not even care whether they chimed
or not. I knew they would chime because I knew why they
would chime.
Again from the book of Jeremiah I
should like to copy as follows: “At what instant I
shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a
kingdom, to pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy
it; If that nation, against whom I have pronounced, turn
from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I
thought to do unto them. And at what instant I shall
speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to
build and to plant it; If it do evil in my sight, that
it obey not my voice, then I will repent of the good,
wherewith I said I would benefit them.” Jer.
18:7-10.
Here we see a law concerning nations
and kingdoms that if they, having done evil, turn from
the evil which He purposes doing them: on the contrary,
if they persist in disobedience, they will suffer the
consequences, even to extermination. Hence,
circumstances have never varied in God’s dealing with
men. This could not be true if He had unconditionally
and eternally predestinated everything that comes to
pass.
By the way, while on this unworthy
theme, when God drove Adam from the Garden of Eden, He
did so, as the scripture says, “Lest he put forth his
hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and
live forever.” Now I wonder if God had predestinated
for Adam to take of the tree of life, and eat, ands live
forever? According to the “unlimited predestination of
all things” theory, if God had not predestinated it He
could not have done it, so, if that be the case, it was
useless for God to drive him out, seeing as how he could
not have taken of the tree of life and eaten and lived
forever, had God not predestinated for him to.
On the other hand, if God did
predestinate for him to put forth his hand and take of
the tree of life, and eat, and live forever, then when
He drove him out He defeated His own predestination. If
God did predestinate for Adam to put forth his hand and
take of the tree of life and eat, and live forever, that
predestination has never come to pass, and since Adam
has been dead for thousands of years, I feel safe in
assuming that it never will. Dispose of this proposition
who may I affirm that the advocates of the absolute and
unlimited predestination of all things never can.
At this point I am reminded of the
“Absolute” defender with whom I was once in
correspondence. This brother was criticizing me for
being elected to the office of County Judge, saying, in
effect, that the office of a Minister is more important
than political office, and that ministers should stay
out of politics. Now all this may or may not be true, I
do not profess to know. But what becomes of the theory?
According to the theory, I was elected
County Judge because God did, before time began,
absolutely, eternally and unconditionally predestinate
me to that end, and it could not be otherwise. Also, the
folks who voted for me did so because God predestinated
for them to and they could not do otherwise. All this, I
remind you, is according to the theory, and not
according to the Bible. The office of a minister is of
course the highest and most important on earth. As to
whether or not ministers should hold public office, as I
said, I do not profess to know.
I do believe, however, that when
opportunity affords, the political condition of the
country having in many instances fallen to the low level
which it has, we need humble, honest and God fearing men
in positions of public leadership to set good examples
before the people and to help guide their feet into the
way of peace. For that reason alone, I try to serve. And
to that end I desire the prayers of God’s people.
But now, let us turn back to the
predestination: if God predestinated for me to be
elected to office, then I suppose that is the way it had
to be. Make no mistake about it, gentle reader, the
unlimited predestination will never admit that anything
that God predestinated can fail to come to pass, nor
will he admit that anything can come to pass unless God
did predestinate it. Why should the defender of
unlimited predestination find fault with my being
elected to public office? According to the theory,
because he couldn’t help it.
If God predestinated everything, then
He predestinated for him to find fault with me for doing
what God predestinated for me to do. This is just one of
the absurdities to which this false doctrine reduces
itself when examined. The truth of the matter is I
announced as a candidate for the County Judge once and
then withdrew. Two years later I announced again and
finished the race. I explained this to the great
defender and called his attention to the fact that I
could either run or not run as I chose, and therefore he
could not tell for certain whether God predestinated for
me to run or not.
I asked him to explain this and then harmonize his
explanation with his theory. He evidently is still
laboring with it because over two years have passed and
such an explanation has as yet not been forthcoming.
Thus we dispose of the unlimited predestination of all
things, and to the question, “has God already mapped out
our life,” we answer, “No.”
Copied from a booklet by Elder Glen
Williams. To be continued with “THE DOCTRINE OF FREE
AGENCY EXAMINED” in the next issue of the “Glad
Tidings.”
Men
as Trees
In the eighth chapter of
the book of Mark, a short narrative seems to have been
inserted as an afterthought. We know that is not really
the case, but five verses of scripture are not joined
with anything that precedes or follows them. The
subject, city and setting before these verses are
different, and the theme and location of the verses
following do not seem to match. The odd placement
causes us to draw closer to the account in study. Even
a casual reading of Mark 8 will show how these verses
stand out.
Preachers tell us in the
rules of scripture study, we must always be careful with
context. We must know the setting and the subject. We
must know who is speaking and to whom the comments are
directed. As the saying goes, the entire Bible is not
written to you, but it is written for you.
Our setting is Bethsaida.
Historians believe this was where the 5000 were fed.
Phillip, Andrew and Peter were from ‘the house of the
fisherman.” Off these shores Christ walked on water,
yet He pronounces: Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto
thee,
Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in
you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have
repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.
(Mat 11:21)
Let’s look at
these five verses in Mark.
Mar 8:22 And he cometh
to
Bethsaida; and they bring a blind man unto him, and
besought him to touch him.
:23 And he took the
blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town; and
when he had spit on his eyes, and put his hands upon
him, he asked him if he saw ought.
:24 And he looked up,
and said, I see men as trees, walking.
:25 After that he put
[his] hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up:
and he was restored, and saw every man clearly.
:26 And he sent him
away to his house, saying, Neither go into the town, nor
tell [it] to any in the town.
Jesus was no stranger to
giving sight to the blind. There is a much detailed
scenario in the 9th chapter of John, where
the disciples ask whether it was the blind man or his
parents’ sin that caused the condition.
The situation in Mark is
different in many ways. One is privacy. The unnamed
benefactor of Christ’s mercy is told not to tell of his
sight recovery to any in the town. In John, the blind
man is brought immediately to the Pharisees to be
questioned.
The second and most
notable distinction is the man detailed in John was born
blind. Our subject in Mark 8:22 is one who had previous
sight and lost it. This may well be the key to our
understanding of the scripture.
Common sense tells us
that even a person born blind would be able to recognize
men when first receiving his sight. But a tree one
could only know by touch. Further, to visualize a
stationary item walking would require both previous
memory and some imagination. Can you see that? If a
person at his first ever sight viewed a tree at a
distance standing, he might be able to say – yes, I
believe that’s probably what I’ve touched before and
been told was a tree. But to see men as trees, walking
– that description tells us he had been an earlier owner
of vision.
Men have developed many
rules and tests they apply to the interpretation of
scriptures. I recently heard an able man proclaim it is
important to determine what “we should first know.”
That’s good advice. Others say we should examine every
Old Testament setting closely to find Christ or the
church.
I have two tests I like
to apply to consideration of scripture. One is the
inescapable conclusion. When I have reached a barricade
or end in study that tells me a word, phrase, verse,
etc. can mean nothing else, I work backward, testing
that against the scriptures.
The pen behind
the Sherlock Holmes novels describes it thusly:
"When you have eliminated
the impossible, that which remains, however improbable,
must be the truth."
~ Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930)
The second – and best
test for an application of scripture – in my mind is
this: When you have arrived at your conclusion, Does
it honor God or man? If it honors man, there is no
doubt the application is incorrect. Now,
granted, it is possible that your perception of a
scripture can honor God and still be the wrong
application, yet in such a case, it probably does the
scripture no harm.
Mark 8:23
And he took the blind man by the hand, and led him out
of the town; and when he had spit on his eyes, and put
his hands upon him, he asked him if he saw ought.
No public display this
time. Commentaries tell us Jesus had found many
doubters in this town before. Was this just another
tiresome test by the Jewish rulers to catch Him
performing a miracle on the Sabbath, or an attempt to
make Jesus say without equivocation He was the Messiah –
that they might condemn him?
Out of town.
But not far. The town was certainly small, and Jesus
and the blind man did not go completely out of the sight
of all men. After all, the blind man would soon be able
to see men. And the witness who would relate the
details to the gospel writer would be fairly close-by.
Why did Jesus take the
man out of town? As I prayed and studied and read and
re-read, I believe the Lord opened my eyes to some of
the symbolism.
How sweet to be led out
of a terrible condition leaning on the arm of Jesus!
While we were all spiritually blind at one time, we had
to be led to where we could see things a little clearer,
and our state dictated that none but the Lord could
escort us out.
But even more, here’s the
end of the law. Our schoolmaster has brought us to
Christ. Jesus takes one who had previously seen and
leads them from their blindness, away from the town
without repentance, from law into grace. (Consider the
Jews, who had the oracles of God, the Ten Commandments,
and the law. The Jews, who, over time perverted all that
God had given them until they were themselves the blind
leading the blind.)
:24 And he
looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking.
That describes the Jewish
people of the day. Men, walking about, seeking
righteousness but not finding it. They had no root!
Trees without root cannot take on water and have no
life. They have no nourishment, and they cannot bear
fruit. They had forsaken the good ground in which their
heavenly Father had planted them.
Rom 10:3 For
they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going
about to establish their own righteousness, have not
submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.
Mat 3:9 And
think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to
[our] father: for I say unto you, that God is able of
these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.
:10 And now also the
axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every
tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down,
and cast into the fire.
Only a tree that has been
cut down or up-rooted can be away from its earthly
moorings.
Mark 8 :25
After that he put [his] hands again upon his eyes, and
made him look up: and he was restored, and saw every man
clearly.
He was restored. I
submit the word restored as final proof the man
once had sight. And made him look up. For so
long the Jews had looked unto themselves or to the law
for salvation.
Look up. Before we are
aware of our new birth, sometime after the Spirit of God
has made us a new creature, we discover in ourselves a
condemnation. We dare not even look unto a Just and
Holy God. The knowledge and weight of our sin holds us
down to the very earth, where we are mere worms in His
sight. But when the grace of God has touched our heart
and soul and we are made to look up, the weighty chains
of sin’s bondage is cast off our neck and we can
thereafter look up and continue to do so. At some
point, every one of God’s children will look up to the
Father.
And saw every man
clearly. When
you can see every man clearly, you can see yourself as
well. You can see your condition of total depravity,
your sinful nature, your need of a redeemer. You can
see the law clearly as well. For the nation of Israel,
the law was often cloudy and unclear. We have the
benefit of looking back and seeing the intent and
purpose of God in the law. Those closest to it, if
you’ll pardon the expression, couldn’t always see the
forest for the trees.
8:26 And he
sent him away to his house, saying, Neither go into the
town, nor tell [it] to any in the town.
You cannot go back the
way you came. The old law service holds nothing for you
now. It has served its purpose and has been fulfilled
in Christ. Neither go into the town, nor tell it to
any in the town. Will they be persuaded by recovery
of sight to a blind man? Neither will they be
persuaded, though one rose from the dead. And for
us today, the same advice. Psa 40:2 He brought me
up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay,
and set my feet upon a rock, [and] established my
goings.
I’ll leave you with one
final thought before you research the five verses for
yourself – and even if you don’t care for the analysis,
it falls safely within our established standards. I am
not a master of English, but in this final verse, I know
the pronoun ‘he’ is referring to Christ. While I may be
wrong grammatically, it does no harm to the scripture to
suggest “his house” is also referring to the Church.
And he sent him away to his house. That fits.
Brother Royce Ellis
The Conflict Between the Bible and Evolution- Ancient
Languages
Part 3- Conclusion
In
the previous articles we took the time to consider
first, that evolution is in fact a religion, based upon
faith and NOT science. It is a fact that His creation is
designed so that no matter the position you take:
creation or evolution, you will come face to face with
God. We then followed up by taking a look at the false
assumptions that are made in an attempt to prove these
false assumptions. Now I would like to consider just a
few of the blaring conflicts that are found between the
Bible and evolution. You will remember also that I said
that we, as God’s people ought not to subject God’s
word, the Bible to science, but rather we are to subject
science to the Scriptures. The real question is whom do
we believe; God and His word, or do we believe the “oppositions
of science falsely so called: which some professing have
erred concerning the faith?” (1 Tim 6:20-21). As we
have moved in this study it has become perfectly obvious
to us that EVOLUTION SCIENCE is not a science, and
cannot and will not be subject to the truth of God’s
word, and cannot be nor will it ever be able to be
placed under the scientific method of OBSERVATION
and EXPERIMENT, and the MAKING and TESTING of IDEAS that
need to be proven right or wrong.
In
his book, “The Collapse of Evolution,” by Scott
Huse, who lists 24 glaring contrasts between what the
Bible tells us and that of evolutionary thinking:
1.
Bible:
That God is the Creator of all things (Gen. 1).
Evolution:
That God is NOT the Creator, and that natural chance
processes can account for the existence of all things.
2.
Bible:
That God created the world and all creation was created
in six LITERAL days (Gen 1).
Evolution:
That the world and all creation evolved over the eons.
3.
Bible:
That God finished with His creation (Gen. 1).
Evolution:
That the creative processes are still continuing today.
4.
Bible:
That God created the oceans before the land (Gen. 1:2).
Evolution:
That the land came before the oceans.
5.
Bible:
That God created the atmosphere between two hydrospheres
(Gen. 1:7).
Evolution:
That there is one single atmosphere and hydrosphere.
6.
Bible:
That God brought forth life first on dry land (Gen.
1:11).
Evolution:
That life began in the oceans.
7.
Bible:
That God’s first created life was land plants (Gen.
1:11).
Evolution:
That marine life evolved first.
8. Bible: That God created the
earth before the sun and the stars (Gen. 1:14-19).
Evolution:
That the sun and stars came before the earth.
9.
Bible:
That God created fruit trees came before fishes (Gen.
1:11).
Evolution:
That fish came before fruit trees.
10.
Bible:
That God created stars were made on the fourth day (Gen.
1:16).
Evolution:
That stars evolved and are still evolving at various
times.
11.
Bible:
That God created all the birds and fish on the fifth day
(Gen. 1:20-21).
Evolution:
That fish evolved hundreds of millions of years before
birds appeared.
12.
Bible:
That God created birds before insects (Gen. 1:20-21).
Evolution:
That insects came before birds.
13.
Bible:
That God created whales before reptiles (Gen. 1:20-31).
Evolution:
That reptiles came before whales.
14.
Bible:
That God created birds before reptiles (Gen. 1:20-31).
Evolution:
That reptiles came before birds.
15.
Bible:
That God created man before there was rain (Gen. 2:5).
Evolution:
That rain came before man.
16.
Bible:
That God created man before woman (Gen. 2:21-22).
Evolution:
That woman came before man (by genetics).
17.
Bible:
That God created Light before He created the sun (Gen.
1:3-19).
Evolution:
That the sun came before there was any light.
18.
Bible:
That God created plants before He created the sun (Gen.
Evolution:
That the sun came before any plants.
19. Bible:
That God created abundance and verity of marine life all
at once (Gen 1:20-21).
Evolution: That marine life
gradually developed from a primitive blob.
20. Bible: That God created
Man’s body from the dust of the earth (Gen. 2:7).
Evolution:
That man evolved from monkeys.
21.
Bible:
That God gave man dominion over all other organisms
(Gen. 1:28).
Evolution:
That most organisms were extinct before man existed.
22.
Bible:
That God created man originally as a vegetarian (Gen.
1:29).
Evolution:
That man was originally a meat eater.
23. Bible: That
God created fixed and distinct kinds of plants and
animals
(Gen. :11,12,
21-25; 1 Cor. 15:38-39).
Evolution:
That all life forms are in a state of flux and are
continuing to evolve.
24.
Bible:
That Man’s sin is the cause of death (Rom. 5:12).
Evolution:
That struggle and death existed long before man evolved.
Do we see a pattern here?
Notice the complete lack of anything that has to do with
God? An evolutionist can be heard to say, “I am far
minded. I leave God out of everything.” And in addition
to these specific direct contradictions, we can see that
there are glaring differences of general godless
atheistic evolution and scriptural truth. Our
Lord Jesus Christ said, “A good tree cannot bring
forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth
good fruit,” Matt. 7:18, The evil fruit on the tree
of evolution has proven to be anti-God and
anti-Christian in all of its systems of belief and
practice. This is the fruit of Adolph Hitler’s Nazism
and Carl Marx’s communism. In society, in general it has
brought on apostasy, atheism, secular humanism and
liberalism, along with ethical relativism, which has
spread throughout our society like a deadly cancer!
According to evolution,
man is only ONE of the MANY other animals that has
evolved and is only a product of a vague purposeless
process; therefore, he is conveniently freed from all
moral obligations and responsibilities. After all, “HE
IS ONLY AN ACCIDENT OF NATURE, AN INTELLIGENT ANIMAL AT
BEST.”
So which is it, evolution
or creation, chance or God the Creator? Look at Scott
Huse’s list, look at number 16 for example; the Bible
says that God created man before He created the woman.
Evolution blatantly declares that the woman is
genetically before the man. Clearly evolution says that
there is no such thing as God! The two views are
mutually exclusive to one another. We either must
believe the Bible as God’s truth, or we believe the
speculations of men. Will we bow ourselves, and our
children to “science falsely so called,”(1 Tim
6:20), or will we bow down to the Great Creator God of
all creation? Let us as God’s people choose God’s Word
and not the speculations of evil men. You cannot be an
evolutionist and at the same time believe the Bible as
it is written. The plain truth of scripture is that “God
created!”
When we consider
evolution, and say that it is false speculation, we are
talking about MACROEVOLUTION. And what scientists call
MICROEVOLUTION, obviously does occur. But what is the
difference between MACROEVOLUTION and MICROEVOLUTION?
First, MACROEVOLUTION means start with one cell and end
up with man. MICROEVOLUTION basically is the genetic
variety within certain kinds of organisms. For example,
people are all different all over the world, even though
we all came from the same parents; Adam and Eve. We all,
each and every one of us look different and distinctly
unique from one another. This is MICROEVOLUTION or
adaptation, with genetic variation. This is what
confuses the evolutionist. MICROEVOLUTION accounts for
different kinds of plants and animals. For example we
find popcorn, sweet corn, and field corn; hound dogs,
poodles, collies and German Shepherds. However, does
this prove evolution is true? No, not at all, it proves
that there are different variations within plants and
animals, such as corn and dogs.
Let us consider a brief
study of primitive languages, in Gen. 11:1-9, we find
the account of the Tower of Babel, and see where God, the
Creator, separates all of the different races:
“And the whole earth
was of one language, and of one speech. And it came to
pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a
plain in the
land of Shinar; and they
dwelt there. And they said one to another, Go to, let us
make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick
for stone, and slime had they for mortar. And they said,
Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may
reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be
scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth. And
the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which
the children of men builded.
And the LORD said,
Behold, the people is one, and they have all one
language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing
will be restrained from them, which they have imagined
to do. Go to, let us go down, and there confound their
language, that they may not understand one another's
speech.
So the LORD scattered
them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth:
and they left off to build the city. Therefore is the
name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there
confound the language of all the earth: and from thence
did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all
the earth.”
In the beginning everyone
spoke the same language, isn’t it interesting that we
are told these all spoke the same language? One single
tongue? Otherwise how could all of these people
undertake such a building project? Listen to what God
said about them: “the people is one, and they have
all one language; and this they begin to do: and now
nothing will be restrained from them, which they have
imagined to do.” And yet evolutionists wants us to
believe that ancient caveman’s language were no more
then simple grunts? However, the scriptures prove that
the further we go back the more complex that language
is. This fact flies in the face of evolution theory.
Nevertheless, linguists
tell us that just the opposite is true as they study
languages they find that the further that they go back
the more complex the language becomes. In other words
the “more primitive” the language is, the more complex
it becomes.
If evolution was true and
man gradually evolved from a more primitive creature,
then their language ought to get simpler the older and
further back that we look. Then we ought to find
prehistoric man communicating first in simple grunts;
then later with simple syllables; going on to
multi-syllables like “ba-na-na;” then we ought to began
to find evidence of more complex sentence structure as
we come forward through time. But, this is simply not
the case. In fact, such early languages like the
language of early Sumeria are so complex that there are
only a few scholars who are able to decipher it.
The Bible tells us how
all of the races and languages came about, as well as
where the complex “primitive” came from. God, in one
single instant created each language fully mature.
Evolution cannot offer us any good explanation for why
these early languages were so complex.
Did you know that
linguistic researchers have searched for one “primitive”
mother language, that they call, Proto-Indo-European? In
the November 5th, 1990 issue of the U.S. News and World Report, page 62, two linguistic
experts from
Russia named Thomas Gamrelidze and Vyacheslav Ivanov
traced it to an area called Anatolia, which is now part
of Turkey, and they tell us that it spread throughout
“Europe and the sub-continent.” The Bible says, “And
the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth
day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat,”
(Gen. 8:4) in TURKEY! Isn’t it wonderful to know that
“true science” traces language back to exactly that
particular place on the earth? The scriptures tell us
so, and the linguist’s all agree!
These ungodly people are
described in Romans 1:19-23, “Because that which may
be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath showed
it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the
creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood
by the things that are made, even his eternal power and
Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Because that,
when they knew God, they glorified him not as God,
neither were thankful; but became vain in their
imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And
changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image
made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and
fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.” They have
examined the creation and, in sinful rebellion, have
willingly chosen to believe a lie!
In closing let me say
that God will prevail! He has ALREADY won the victory!
It may seem that evolution is winning, but they are only
winning a few skirmishes, but let us not forget that the
Lord will have the last word.
The Creator God tells us
how everything will end in Philippians 2:10-11, “That
at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in
heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ
is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” May God
bless us to continue in the faith, to walk the strait “gate,
and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life,” for
there are “few there be that find it.” May God
bless us to seek to understand and to teach our children
the TRUTH, as it is in God’s word, the scriptures.
Elder Thomas McDonald
