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“Preaching the same truth since before Kentucky was a state.”

Volume 39, No. 4 January 2008

ELECTION AND PREDESTINATION

By: C. D. Cole
God’s purposes are the rules by ness of his empire to pardon a part of accept life as they are in their refusal?
which He acts; the Bible contains the them, while its safety demands that The spectators again answer, ‘They
rules by which we are required to act. some of them shall perish, resolves to are.’ ‘Can more be reasonably ex-
None ever have; none ever will act vindicate his justice, while he displays pected of me?’ ‘Nothing more,’ is
according to these rules, and find his mercy. Let us suppose the king to heard from every tongue. Thus far all
themselves barred out of heaven by be a prophet. (Some kings have been have fared alike, in his offers and en-
any decree of the Almighty. Decrees prophets.) He therefore sees before- treaties. Thus far all have refused his
affect none of us until they are exe- hand how each prisoner will act. He mercy and spurned his grace. Will he
cuted. They are never executed upon determines upon his own course, and leave them all to die? Then how will
the impenitent, until they have refused with thousands of his subjects proceed he make his mercy known among his
all the free calls and invitations of the
to the prison. The subjects? How display
gospel. They are free, therefore, in doors are unbarred, the his pardoning power?
their refusal they are equally as free to
chains knocked off, Does one of my readers The thousands gathered
accept. There is nothing to hinder theirand the prince ad- sincerely desire to be saved there stand in breathless
acceptance of life, in the wide uni- dresses them in lan- on God’s terms? Lord love anxiety and await the
verse, but their own stubborn wills. guage like this: you, my friend, He has an issue.
God invites “the ends of the earth,” to ‘Unhappy men I have eternal purpose to save you,
look unto Him and be saved. That in- put it in your power to or you would never have We will now sup-
vitation is sincere. Not one of Adam’s be free. No bolt or such a desire. pose that the king has the
race ever accepted it who was after- shackle confines you power, with a touch, to
wards told that he was not in the cove- to your cell. If you melt them into contrition.
nant, that the eternal purpose did not will now approach me, He reaches forth his hand
include him. The call is to all, and confess your crimes, ask for forgive- and lays it on half the
none that come are turned empty away. ness, and submit to my government, I number. At once they fall on their
If the sinner is lost, therefore, it is his
will not only pardon you but make you knees and implore his mercy. He
fault and not the fault of the purpose my sons.’ ’We cannot;’ they say. grants them the pardon they ask and
that left him free. ‘What hinders?’ asks the prince, ‘The adopts them as his sons. This last act
door is open, the chains no longer bind was as free as their refusal. They will-
I purpose now to illustrate this your limbs.’ ‘We humble ourselves at ingly submitted. The king’s knowl-
whole subject with a borrowed alle- your feet and confess ourselves crimi- edge of what they would do, did not,
gory, which is none the worse for hav- nals deserving death! We ask pardon could not influence them in what they
ing done service half a century ago. at your hands! Never! We prefer to did. His resolution to save some of
“Suppose a number of the subjects of die!’ Now the prince turns beggar and them, formed before he left the palace,
an earthly prince have committed high entreats them with tears and strong influenced his action, but not theirs in
treason, are under sentence of death, crying, ‘Turn ye, turn ye, for why will refusing his mercy. What injustice
and in prison, await the day of execu- ye die?’ They still refuse. He then was done to those he left to perish? He
tion. No justice is done them if they appeals to the spectators: ‘Do I cause was under no obligation to any of
are all left to perish. But the prince, the death of these unhappy men?’ All them. He compelled none of them to
willing to make his mercy known, and answer, ‘No!’ Are they not as free to die. Justice, and the safety of his king-
seeing that it will promote the happi- dom, forbid that he should forcibly
 PAGE 2 V O LU ME 3 9, NO . 4

reclaim them all. The happiness of his we received. But God asks, “Is it not relation to any part of the circle, that it
subjects and the display of his mercy, lawful for me to do what I will with does to every other part. And so it is,
required that he should pardon a part mine own?” If He injures none of His that while creatures lie along that cir-
of them, and they themselves forced subjects in blessing a part of them, cle, in succession, as they relate to
him to choose between them and the what injustice will you charge Him each other, yet their relation to deity,
vessels of his mercy. He must dis- with? Reason exempts from every who fills the center and side circumfer-
criminate or leave them all to die. Was charge. ence of all eternity alike, is the same in
there anything wrong in what he did at every period. His eternal now, stands
the prison? I think my readers will all I will now proceed to another view equally opposite to every period of
agree that there was not. Then what of this subject. So far I have discussed time, and eternity, if I may speak of
wrong was there in the purpose to do it from a purely human standpoint. We periods in eternity.
what he did. Though the purpose was can scarcely comprehend the idea of an
formed while he was yet in the palace, eternal “present.” With us, the past, Let us now notice some of the ob-
could it be wrong to determine before- the present, and the future are three jections urged against this doctrine.
hand to do a right thing?” distinct periods; with God, it is all pre- One of these is usually stated in this
sent. This idea seems to be intended in language: “What is the use of prayer,
This supposed case, apparently II Peter 3:8, “…one day is with the or efforts of any kind, if all is fixed
represents the subject under discus- LORD as a thousand years, and a from eternity?” Such an objection may
sion. Mankind had sinned, and was thousand years as one day.” The lie with force against the heathen doc-
under sentence of death. Jesus died to flight of years is nothing to infinity. trine of fatality; a fixed necessity in
open the prison doors. He offers salva- He is as happy, as great, as infinite in things themselves, independent of the
tion to all, but all refuse His pardoning one day, as in a thousand years. One controlling power and will of God.
love. He must elect the vessels of day, aye one moment, concentrates But it can have no weight against the
mercy, or leave them all to inevitable whole eternities in Him. With men doctrine of election, including the de-
ruin. It is their own fault that this di- there is indeed a before, a present, and cree. This objection is based on the
vine interposition is necessary. They hereafter. With us there is succession crude notion that predestination is an
all have it in their power (so far as of events. Not so with God. He fills old promise, resolution, or determina-
natural ability is requisite) to live. eternity past and future, as we fill im- tion upon the part of the Almighty that
They ought to comply with Jehovah’s mensity in the present moment. All to so ties His hands, that He cannot save
terms of their own accord, but they Him is one eternal now! a sinner, even though He may wish to
will not. Not one of Adam’s race will do so. But I think I have clearly shown
do it. All refuse until they die, unless With Him the existence of His that the eternal purpose of God, is His
they are subdued by power and love creatures, was as early as His decree to present purpose. Let me ask the objec-
divine. Is it wicked for imagination to create; with Him the execution of His tor if God will save any man who sin-
picture high archangels looking with design, and His purpose to execute cerely asks and trusts Him? Oh, who
mournful expectation upon the scene? them, are in the same moment. Hence will say, No? I assure you, the predes-
Eternal wisdom pleads with men! Jesus was to Him Revelation 13:8, as a tinarians don’t live that will. If, then,
“The Mighty God” entreats a worm! “…Lamb slain from the foundation God has a mind to save him when he
But men disrespect his love! Worms of the world.” God’s eternal purpose prays, and God is the same the day he
despise His grace! Justice demands is, therefore, simply His present pur- prays that He always was, did He not
that all shall die. The good of God’s pose, always existing, and always the always mind to save him? And what is
vast empire forbids that they shall all same. Could we familiarize our minds that but predestination? And what ob-
be pardoned. Some must be pardoned with this mode of the being of God, it jection have you to it? You don’t ob-
in order to make His mercy known. would be easy for us to understand ject, I hope, to God’s saving a soul;
Not one, of all the race, will choose how that which is predestination to us, then why object to His intention to do
eternal life. Now, God elects between is only a present purpose with Him, it. Does the sinner sincerely pray?
them; Romans 9:20 “…who art thou and that of necessity, what is a present why dear reader, that prayer was un-
that repliest against God?...” Has He purpose with an unchanging God, is an derstood as well “in the beginning” as
not a right to do what He does in the eternal purpose. I would not attempt to it is today. Does one of my readers
case? Has He injured those He left? illustrate the mode of God’s existence. sincerely desire to be saved on God’s
Do you say the favored ones were as This cannot be done. But I think I can terms? Lord love you, my friend, He
undeserving as the rest? True, they illustrate my idea on that point, so that has an eternal purpose to save you, or
were. None of us deserved the mercy each reader may fully understand it. you would never have such a desire.
The center of a circle bears the same
 V O LU ME 3 9 , NO . 4
There is another objection raised
against this doctrine that I wish to no-
tice. It is this, God invites all men to
be saved, but if He has elected only a
part and the “rest are blinded,” His
invitations are insincere. This objec-
tion can have no weight unless it can
be shown that the decree to save some
and let others alone, causes the rejec-
tion of the invitation. This cannot be
done. The sinner rejects offered mercy
of his own free will, uninfluenced by
anything that God has done; influenced
by Satan, not by decrees. And here I
may as well state that while events do
not succeed each other in point of time,
in the mind of God they do succeed
each other in point of logic. All is one
eternal now with Jehovah; and hence,
so far as time is concerned every event,
the decree and the execution alike are
in the same moment. But logically this
is not so. The sinner’s rejection of
mercy, precedes the decree to let them
alone in every logical sense. No man
is sent to hell until he sins, aye, fails to
accept the provisions of grace and it
was thus, the whole transaction lay in
the eternal mind, “in the beginning.”
Let me illustrate: you take hold of
a spoke in a wheel and it moves in the
same moment, but logically the spoke
you take hold of moves first, for if it
does not move neither will the rest; it “Even so, Father, for so it seemed
moves all the others. So in a logical good in thy sight.” Pride asks, Am I
PAGE 3
sense the sinner’s rejection of Christ to have no honour, no credit for all
precedes the decree to leave him to I’ve done, “to win the prize?” Election
perish. answers,
Again, this objection with equal “Grace first contrived the way
force against the foreknowledge of To save rebellious man;
God. If a decree to let the sinner And all the steps did grace display
alone, to pursue his own course, proves Which drew the wondrous plan.
the invitation insincere, the foreknowl- Grace all the works shall crown,
edge of his willful rejection of Christ, Through everlasting days;
would prove them equally insincere;
It lays in heaven the topmost stone
and yet there are but few who stand on
And well deserves the praise.”
the atheistic ground that “God doesn’t
know everything.” His sincerity stands
alike unimpeached by His omniscience Thus pride is humbled by it. And
and His purpose. now temptation, trials, and troubles
I will now make some improve- come in like a flood, and the Christian
ment of this subject and close my re- wonders if he will ever get to heaven.
marks. The doctrine of election is one Error says, “You may fall from grace,
of peculiar interest to the Christian. and go to hell at last.” But God an-
With this doctrine he goes down to the swers in this doctrine, Your name was
bottom in Isaiah 12:3, to “…draw wa- written in the Lamb’s book of life be-
ter out of the wells of salvation.” No fore the world began.
one realizes as the Christian does his How can you be lost? John 6:37,
own unworthiness. He often asks in “All that the Father giveth me shall
deep humility, come to me;…” I Peter 1:5, “Who
“Why was I made to hear his voice, are kept by the power of God…unto
And enter while there’s room; salvation…” an error is put to shame,
and the tried heart is stayed on Jesus.
Whilst others make a wretched choice
The doctrine honours God and hum-
And rather Starve than come?” bles men. Father, I thank thee for
electing grace!
Election answers, Matthew 11:26,
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