Posted on by Junrey J. Moncada

THE BIBLICAL DOCTRINE OF GOD’S EFFECTUAL LOVE : Modern Distortion of God’s Love.

(Translated from Cebuano tract since 2013)

Junrey J Moncada

Pastor of Berea Baptist Church, Sabang, Caburan Big, Jose Abad Santos, Davao Occidental, Philippines



INTRODUCTION:
One of the greatest theological distortions of our time is the redefinition of the love of God.
Today, “God loves you” is preached as if it means:
God is trying
God is hoping
God is offering
God is waiting
God may ultimately fail
A love that desires salvation but cannot secure it. A love that gives the Son yet leaves multitudes under wrath. A love that bleeds at the cross but watches helplessly as sinners perish.
That is not the love revealed in Scripture.
That is a weakened, sentimentalized version—shaped more by modern emotion than by biblical revelation.
As the Cebuano treatise “Ang Epekto sa Gugma sa Dios” rightly asks:
“Can it be that God’s love is only in word and not in deed? Far from it! And can it also be that God’s love has no purpose and result/effect because it depends on whether man will also love God?”
The answer is clear: God’s love accomplishes what it intends.


I. GOD’S LOVE DRAWS—IT DOES NOT BEG

The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.
— Jeremiah 31:3


Because He loved—therefore He drew.
The drawing is the result of the loving. God’s love is causative, not reactive. It accomplishes what it intends.
An everlasting love that fails eternally is not everlasting love—it is frustrated desire.

“This text shows that God draws those He loves, not because of man’s own effort, for man absolutely cannot come to Christ unless he is drawn by God. ‘NO ONE CAN COME to Me unless he is drawn by the Father who sent Me…’ (John 6:44)”
God’s love is effective, not ineffective. It does not merely make salvation possible—it secures it.


II. GOD’S LOVE IS POURED—NOT MERELY PROPOSED

And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.
— Romans 5:5


Poured out.
Not suggested. Not presented. Not made available pending human permission.
Poured into the heart by the Spirit of God.
And this poured-out love results in justification and reconciliation (Rom. 5:9–10). The chapter does not end in uncertainty—it ends in salvation from wrath.
Now if all people in this world were loved and died for by Christ, then all people would surely be saved!”
The logic is inescapable:
If Christ died for someone, that death accomplishes salvation.
If God loves someone with saving love, that person will be saved.
The cross is not a failed offer—it is a finished work.


III. GOD DIRECTS THE HEART

And the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, and into the patient waiting for Christ.
— 2 Thessalonians 3:5

This language does not suggest mere assistance, but divine direction. The heart is not portrayed as autonomously steering itself toward God, nor as standing in neutral independence, waiting for human choice to decide. Rather, the Lord Himself actively directs the heart into His love.
This destroys the notion of autonomous free will in matters of salvation. If the Lord must direct the heart, it follows that the heart, left to itself, would not move toward God.

The direction is not hypothetical but effectual, God does not merely point the way; He brings the heart into it. His sovereignty governs not only the external call of the gospel, but the internal movement of the soul.
Thus, the love of God is not dependent upon the sinner’s initiative, but the sinner’s response is the result of God’s sovereign direction. The heart does not generate love for God from its own natural power; it is brought into that love by divine operation. This confirms that salvation rests not upon human neutrality or self-determination, but upon the sovereign and effective grace of God, who directs, inclines, and secures the hearts of His people.


IV. GOD’S LOVE PRODUCES THE RESPONSE

We love him, because he first loved us.
— 1 John 4:19


His love is the cause. Ours is the effect.
The modern view reverses this—making human acceptance the decisive factor. Scripture does not.
God’s love creates the response it demands.

“If all people were loved by God, all people would have also love God, but the Bible reveals that not all people love God (John 5:42). This is because they were not loved by God either, because if they were loved by God, then they would also love God according to this passage!”
The implications are clear:
If God loves you with saving love, you will love Him in return.
The fact that many do not love God proves they are not the objects of His saving love.
God’s love is not universal—it is particular and effective.


V. GOD’S LOVE IS THE CAUSE OF SALVATION

But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
— Ephesians 2:4-5

“These texts show that the great LOVE of God is the cause of our salvation. Even when we were dead in sin, He made us alive together with Christ, and this is called grace to the undeserving or love for the unlovely.”
The sequence is critical:
God loved us
While we were dead in sin
He made us alive
We are saved by grace
This is not conditional love. This is not God waiting for dead sinners to respond. This is resurrection love—love that brings life to the dead.

“Now if we apply these texts to all people, then it would also become that all people would be saved and made alive in Christ, and that would mean no one would perish in the lake of fire in hell—Cain, Pharaoh, Herod, the Man of sin and all who rejects Christ even satanists, would be saved if that were so? But far from it! Because God has mercy on whom He wills to have mercy and hardens whom He wills to harden (Romans 9:16-18).”
The conclusion is unavoidable:
God’s saving love is particular, not universal.
If God loved all in the same saving way, all would be saved.
Since all are not saved, God’s love must be discriminating and effectual.

* Dr. Flowers has objection  by citing Matt. 5:44″Love your Enimies”-

This objection needed right attention to adress, so we answer-
“If God’s command to love enemies means He must love them in exactly the same way He loves His own people, then would God also be obligated to save His own arch-enemy—Satan? Such a conclusion is absurd and exposes the false assumption behind the argument.
Loving one’s enemies does not mean granting them the same love, favor, or saving grace reserved for one’s own family. If a man’s family were murdered, his refusal to take revenge against the murderer could be called a form of love—yet no rational person would conclude that he loves the murderer in the same way he loves his murdered family. Justice, mercy, and love operate in different ways according to relationship and purpose.
Therefore, God is not a hypocrite for commanding love toward enemies while reserving His saving love for His people. There is a clear distinction between showing benevolence toward enemies and bestowing covenantal, redeeming love upon His elect. Confusing these categories creates contradiction where none exists.”


VI. GOD’S LOVE IS THE CAUSE OF ELECTION

According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
— Ephesians 1:4-5

“This verse declares that God through His Love chose us to become His adopted children. And this choosing by God brings man TO LIVE holy and blameless lives, and not because they were already serving and holy beforehand to be chosen.”
The order is crucial:
God loved
God chose
Therefore we become holy
Not:
We became holy
Therefore God chose us
God’s love precedes and produces holiness—it does not respond to it.


VII. GOD’S LOVE REMOVES SIN

“To Him who loved us and has freed us from our sins by His blood.”- -Revelation 1:5

“If we reflect on this passage and apply it to all people, then all people would truly be freed from sin and would surely be saved, but still many will be judged to punishment, dying in their own sins (John 8:21,24, Rev. 20:15, Matthew 25:41).”
The argument is airtight:
If God’s love frees from sin, then those He loves are freed.
If all were freed from sin, none would perish.
Since many perish, not all are loved with saving love.


VIII. NOTHING CAN SEPARATE GOD’S LOVED ONES FROM HIM

Romans 8:35-39
“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? …I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

“This passage testifies to the effect of God’s love upon those He has loved; that absolutely nothing can separate those loved by God. Now if we allow that all people are loved by God, this would result in no one being separated from God’s hand, meaning no one would go to hell.”
The logic is inescapable:
If God loves you with the love described in Romans 8, nothing can separate you.
If all were loved this way, none would be lost.
Since many are lost, this love is not universal.
“Because those loved by God will absolutely not be destroyed by Him, but if His loved ones err, what they will experience is only discipline, like a father who loves his children, and not destruction (1 Cor. 11:32, Heb. 12:6-11, Prov. 3:12).”
God’s love disciplines—it does not damn.


IX. JOHN 3:16 IS NOT A FAILED OFFER

John 3:16 is often quoted as if it proves universal, resistible love:
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son…”
Yes—He gave.
But why did He give?
Paul answers (Romans 5:9):
“Having now been justified by His blood, much more shall we be saved from wrath through Him.”
The giving of the Son secures justification.
Justification secures salvation from wrath.
The cross is not a sentimental gesture. It is a substitutionary accomplishment.
If Christ’s blood justifies, those justified will be saved.
The love that gave the Son is the love that saves from wrath.

“Many truly believe that all people are loved by God because of their misunderstanding of John 3:16, also because of the word WORLD written there. But they need to understand that in the Bible there are different uses of the word WORLD that don’t mean all people without exception. “
The lists biblical uses of  term “world”:
The people of Jerusalem who met Christ (John 12:19)
The world of the ungodly in Noah’s time (2 Peter 2:5)
The world of sin (James 3:6; 1 John 2:15-17)
The world that is not God’s (John 15:19; John 17:9,14) and The world that will be damn (1Corinthian 11:32)


“Because of these proofs, we can understand that the World mentioned in John 3:16 is the world of believers who are loved by God.”
John 3:16 does not teach universal love that fails.
It teaches particular love that saves.


X. THE REAL ISSUE

The real issue is this:
Do we believe God’s love merely makes salvation possible?
Or do we believe God’s love actually saves?
The Bible presents a love that:
Draws (Jeremiah 31:3)
Pours (Romans 5:5)
Directs (2 Thessalonians 3:5)
Produces (1 John 4:19)
Justifies (Romans 5:9)
Saves from wrath (Romans 5:9-10)
Elects (Ephesians 1:4-5)
Frees from sin (Revelation 1:5)
Makes alive (Ephesians 2:4-5)
Never loses its object (Romans 8:35-39)
A love that leaves its object eternally condemned is not the love described in Jeremiah 31, Romans 5, Ephesians 2, or 1 John 4.
To preach a love that tries but does not secure is to diminish the power of the cross.


CONCLUSION:

THE CHALLENGE

“Now, friend, have you experienced God’s love operating in your life? If you are still doubting your salvation, this is proof that you have not truly experienced God’s love yet. Repent of your sins and believe in the Good News, that Christ became man, suffered, died, and rose again so that you might be saved (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). There is no other salvation except in Christ alone (John 14:6; Acts 4:10-12). Christ says, ‘he who comes to Me I will by no means cast out’ (John 6:37). In Christ there is assurance‼”
Final Word:
God’s love is not frustrated.
God’s love is not uncertain.
God’s love does not fail.
It accomplishes redemption.
To those who have experienced the effectual call of God, who have been drawn by the Father, who have had God’s love poured into their hearts, who have been made alive when they were dead—there is assurance in Christ.
Not because of the strength of your faith, but because of the power of God’s love.
A love that secures what it seeks.
A love that saves whom it loves.
A love that cannot fail.

Posted on by Junrey J. Moncada

Electing Grace

Understanding God’s Sovereign Choice in the Salvation of Man
By Junrey J. Moncada
Berea Baptist Church • Sabang Caburan Big, Jose Abad Santos, Davao Occidental

Text:
“Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the Election of Grace.” — Romans 11:5

Introduction


Romans 11 occupies a important place in Paul’s theological argument, addressing the role of Israel in God’s unfolding plan of salvation. Far from abandoning His people, Paul insists that God’s promises remain steadfast and sure. At the heart of this chapter lies a doctrine both profound and humbling: the electing grace of God. This article explores Romans 11:5 through five key truths, offering a contextual and expository overview that illuminates what Scripture teaches about divine election and its transforming implications for the life of every believer.

I. Divine Foreknowledge


Paul opens his argument in Romans 11:2 with a striking declaration: “God hath not cast away His people which He foreknew.” The Greek word translated “foreknew” is proginoskō, meaning to know beforehand. This concept forms the very foundation upon which the doctrine of election is built, as affirmed in 1 Peter 1:2: “Elect according to the foreknowledge of God.”
A common misreading of divine foreknowledge, particularly among advocates of libertarian free will, reduces it to mere advance knowledge of a person’s future choices. Under this view, God simply looks ahead in time, sees who will choose Him, and elects them on that basis. Scripture, however, presents a richer and more personal understanding.
What Biblical Foreknowledge Actually Means
Biblical divine foreknowledge is not foreknowledge of a person’s decision but foreknowledge of the person himself. As Romans 11:2 plainly states, God foreknew His people — not their actions. This is powerfully illustrated by passages such as 2 Timothy 2:19, Amos 3:2, and Jeremiah 1:5, where God’s knowing is an intimate, relational act. In Genesis 4:1, Adam “knew” his wife — a depth of knowing that speaks of union and love, not mere intellectual information.
Divine foreknowledge is therefore the eternal, omniscient knowledge of God by which He determines His eternal purposes in all of creation (Acts 15:18; Isaiah 46:9–10; Ephesians 1:10–11). It is not passive observation but active, purposeful love — as seen in Jeremiah 31:3, Ephesians 1:4, and 1 John 4:19. Choice and action flow from this foreknowledge as fruit from a root, not as causes that compel God’s decision.

II. The Reserved People


In Romans 11:4, Paul recalls God’s word to Elijah: “I have reserved to myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” This sovereign reservation—God setting aside a specific number of people for Himself—reveals a foundational truth about human nature and divine necessity.
Left entirely to themselves, human beings will naturally turn away from God. Scripture is unambiguous on this point. John 3:19 tells us that men love darkness rather than light. John 5:40 declares that sinners will not come to Christ. John 8:34 describes mankind as enslaved to sin. This is the doctrine of total depravity: that apart from divine intervention, no one would seek God or submit to Him.
It is precisely because of this condition that God’s sovereign act of reservation becomes necessary. He sets apart an exact number of people to follow and serve Him (Psalm 4:3; 65:4; Isaiah 43:7). This reservation has a twofold purpose: that they would believe and follow Christ (1 Thessalonians 1:4–5; Acts 13:48) and that they would live lives of holiness (Ephesians 1:4; Colossians 3:12). The reserved people exist to glorify the God who chose them.

III. The Election of Grace


Romans 11:5 speaks of “a remnant according to the election of grace.” This phrase is theologically loaded and deserves careful unpacking. Grace is the unmerited favor of God extended toward sinners who are spiritually dead and entirely unworthy of His blessing (Ephesians 2:1–5). It is a gift, freely given, with no contribution expected or accepted from the recipient.
Paul makes this tension explicit in Romans 11:6: “And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace.” Grace and works are mutually exclusive in the realm of salvation. You cannot have both. Similarly, Titus 3:5 affirms that God “saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy.”
Because election is of grace, it is therefore unconditional. God’s choice to save is not based on any foreseen merit, virtue, or faith in the individual. Romans 9:11 makes this plain: election stands “not because of works but because of him who calls.” Second Timothy 1:9 speaks of a grace “given to us in Christ Jesus before the ages began.” Election is rooted in the eternal will and pleasure of God alone (Ephesians 1:10–11; 2:8–10).

IV. Acknowledging God’s Grace


The proper response to the doctrine of election is not pride, passivity, or despair—it is humility, gratitude, and worship. Paul himself is a living testimony to this: “But by the grace of God I am what I am” (1 Corinthians 15:10). The doctrine of election does not diminish human responsibility; it demolishes human boasting.
To know that we contribute nothing to our salvation but sin, and yet that God sovereignly chose us before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 2:3–5; 1 Timothy 1:12–16), is cause for profound wonder. It strips away every pretension of self-sufficiency and leaves the believer standing in speechless gratitude before a God of staggering mercy.
This awareness of grace ought to be the primary engine of a believer’s life of thanksgiving (Psalm 26:7–8; 2 Corinthians 4:15; 2 Thessalonians 2:13). The elect do not give thanks because salvation was easy or because they deserved it—they give thanks precisely because it was entirely undeserved, entirely from God, and entirely for His glory.

V. Addressing Common Misrepresentations


The doctrine of election has faced persistent objections throughout church history. Each deserves a careful and biblical response.

  1. “This Is a New or Invented Doctrine”
    The election of grace is not a Reformation novelty—it runs through both the Old and New Testaments. Nor is it absent from the earliest Christian writings. Clement of Rome (c. AD 30–100), in his Epistle to the Corinthians, expressed concern that “the number of God’s elect might be saved with mercy and a good conscience.” Ignatius of Antioch (c. AD 30–107), writing to the Ephesians, described the church as “predestinated before the beginning of time” and “elected through the true passion by the will of the Father.” The doctrine is as old as Christianity itself.
  2. “Election Makes God Partial or Biased”
    Partiality, as condemned in Romans 2:11 and James 2:2–5, involves favoritism based on a person’s external condition—wealth, status, or appearance. Election, by contrast, is unconditional and does not depend on any disposition or quality found in the chosen individual. God does not elect the morally superior or the religiously devoted. He elects according to His own sovereign will and mercy, which is the very opposite of partiality.
  3. “Election Is Unjust”
    Justice demands that every person receive what they deserve. Before God, all have sinned (Psalm 14:2; Ecclesiastes 7:20), and the just wage of sin is death (Romans 6:23). Strict justice, applied universally, would result in the condemnation of all humanity. Election is not an act of justice—it is an act of mercy. God is not obligated to save anyone, and yet in His love He chooses to save some. That He does not save all reflects His justice; that He saves any at all reflects His grace (Romans 9:16; Jeremiah 31:3; 1 John 4:19).
  4. “Election Undermines the Great Commission”
    On the contrary, the certainty of election is one of the strongest motivations for gospel proclamation. Paul, writing in 2 Timothy 2:10, declares: “I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus.” The knowledge that God has a people among every tribe and tongue who will respond to the gospel gives the evangelist confident hope. The missionary does not preach wondering whether God can save—he preaches knowing that God will.
  5. “Election Nullifies True Faith and Service”
    This objection mistakes the relationship between election and response. John 6:37 records Jesus’ promise: “All that the Father gives me will come to me.” Coming to Christ in faith is not negated by election—it is produced by it. Acts 13:48 confirms: “As many as were appointed to eternal life believed.” Election is not the enemy of genuine faith; it is its sovereign source.
  6. “Election Implies Double Predestination”
    The biblical doctrine of election is a single election unto salvation, not a symmetrical election to damnation. There is no decree by which God actively destines particular souls to hell in the same manner that He actively saves His elect. Rather, those not chosen are simply left in the condition that belongs to all of fallen humanity by nature—under the dominion of sin (John 8:34) and loving darkness rather than light (John 3:19). As Christ Himself said in John 15:19: “I have chosen you out of the world.” The choosing is God’s sovereign act; the remaining in the world reflects humanity’s natural, sinful condition.

Conclusion
The election of grace is not a cold, abstract theological proposition. It is the warm heart of the gospel—the announcement that God, who owed nothing to anyone, chose in His eternal love to redeem a people for His own glory. From divine foreknowledge to the reservation of His people, from the unconditional nature of grace to the humility it produces, this doctrine calls every believer to marvel, to worship, and to proclaim.
To understand election is not to sit in complacent security, but to stand in awed gratitude—and to go, with holy urgency, bearing the news that God saves sinners. Not because they deserve it. Not because they chose it first. But because He, in sovereign and undeserved grace, chose them.

Published by Berea Baptist Church • bereabaptistvoice.org • Davao Occidental, Philippines

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Posted on by Junrey J. Moncada

The Things that are Impossible for God : God the Author of Sin?

Bro. Junrey J. Moncada
Pastor- Berea Baptist Church, Caburan Big, Jose Abad Santos, Davao Occidental Philippines

Our topic is an eyebrow-raising one because we know that nothing is impossible for God; He can do whatever He wants as long as it pleases Him (Psa. 115:3), yet we still affirm, as far as the Scriptures show, that there are certain things God will not and cannot do despite being the Supreme Being over all creation. To move further, what are these things that are impossible for God to do? Let us find out here.


I. Let Us Establish That God Is God and Nothing Is Impossible for Him.


A. God is omnipotent — Almighty God – Gen. 17:1; Matt. 19:26; Isa. 45:18; Rev. 19:6


B. God is omnipresent — He is present everywhere – Psa. 139:7–10; Jer. 23:23–24


C. God is omniscient – Acts 15:18; Heb. 4:13; Psa. 139:1–6; Matt. 10:29–30; Prov. 15:3


D. God is Sovereign — He has set all things in order according to the counsel of His own will. Psa. 115:3; Isa. 44:6–7; 46:9–10; Eph. 1:11
God’s sovereignty extends to:

  1. Governing the nations – Judges 8:22–23; Psa. 22:28; 47:2; Dan. 4:17, 32–35; Rom. 13:1
  2. Turning the hearts of men in order to fulfill His eternal purpose – Prov. 21:1; Rev. 17:17
  3. Bringing sickness and healing in all manner of sickness – Deut. 28:61; 29:22; cf. Deut. 7:15; Matt. 4:23; 10:11
  4. Bringing calamities, like what happened to Egypt in the days of Moses – Isa. 47:7; Jonah 1:4
  5. Bringing death and giving life – Deut. 32:39–40; 1 Sam. 2:6; Psa. 102:19–20; 104:29
  6. Making poor and making rich – 1 Sam. 2:7

II. Though Nothing Is Impossible for God, He Is God and Is Not Like Man.


A. He Cannot Lie – Num. 23:19; Rom. 3:4; Tit. 1:2; Heb. 6:17–18

* The arch-enemy of God, who is Satan, is the father of lies (John 8:44) — the total opposite of Christ, who is the Truth (John 14:6), the God of truth (Isa. 65:16; Deut. 32:4), and whose truth endures forever (Psa. 117:2).).

B. That He will change – Mal. 3:6; Psa. 89:34; James 1:17

Arthur Pink gave his profound understanding of the immutability of God. He said:
“God is immutable in His essence. His nature and being are infinite, and so subject to no mutations. There never was a time when He was not; there never will come a time when He shall cease to be. God has neither evolved, grown, nor improved. All that He is today, He has ever been, and ever will be. ‘I am the Lord, I change not’ (Mal. 3:6) is His own unqualified affirmation. He cannot change for the better, for He is already perfect; and being perfect, He cannot change for the worse. Altogether unaffected by anything outside Himself, improvement or deterioration is impossible. He is perpetually the same. He only can say, ‘I am that I am’ (Ex. 3:14). He is altogether uninfluenced by the flight of time. There is no wrinkle upon the brow of eternity. Therefore His power can never diminish nor His glory ever fade.”
(The Attributes of God by A. W. Pink, p. 22)


The immutability of God is also a comfort to those who obtained salvation through Christ alone. Why? Because God cannot change His affection toward those who are the objects of His mercy and love (Rom. 8:31–39; 9:18, 23; Psa. 103:17). The solid foundation of our assurance of salvation is the immutability of God (Heb. 6:17–19). Salvation given by God is not something He gives and then takes back — that would mock God’s immutability. We have received our full salvation from God, which cannot be taken back by Him, because His mercies endure forever (Psa. 118:1; Phil. 1:6). Christ said, “I should lose nothing” (John 6:37–39).
All of God’s creatures are mutable and capable of change; God alone is immutable. Lucifer, the perfect being in beauty and wisdom, has changed into Satan. Adam, the perfect human who was created directly by God, has changed from being holy and communing with God to being separate from God, falling into sin, from holiness into corruption. The whole creation that God made, of which He said all things are indeed good, has now become ruined and changed because of sin, is subject to restoration, and shall be gathered together in the fullness of time in Christ (Eph. 1:10).

C. That He can tempt anyone to sin –

Apostle James stated:

James 1:13-16
[13]Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:
[14]But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.
[15]Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.
[16]Do not err, my beloved brethren.

It is Satan who has been the tempter from the beginning (Gen. 3:1–5; Matt. 4:1). Those who misrepresent Calvinism, and the Doctrines of Grace allege that God is the author of sin. No! No one teaches that, not even Calvin himself. God is not the author of sin.

The existence of sin is part of God’s eternal purpose; however, that cannot point to God as the author of sin. Yes, it is God’s predetermined purpose — He who works all things after the counsel of His own will (Eph. 1:11) — He ordained to allow/permit the existence of sin in order for the Covenant of Redemption to come to its full completion. Christ said, “It is finished.”
Christ was foreordained before the foundation of the world to die on the cross for the redemption of God’s people (1 Pet. 1:18–20). We understand that this foreordaining purpose of God was determined from eternity past, before all things were created, before angels were created, since God alone existed in the beginning and all created beings came into existence after His act of creation.


Now, the fall of Satan was included in that eternal purpose of redemption. God knew the heart of Satan; He knew that the sin of pride was growing within him. God never created sin; however, sin was found and first came into existence in the perfect created being who was Hellel/Lucifer. He willfully and freely chose to rebel against God as his pride grew. “Sin was found in thee” (Ezek. 28:14–17; Isa. 14:12–14). If the existence of sin were not part of God’s eternal purpose of redemption, then by His omniscience God would have restrained Satan, by His omnipresence He would have rebuked Satan, and by His omnipotence He would have stopped and changed Satan. To deny that God determined to permit the very existence of sin, I tell you, would violate the very essential attributes of God — His omniscience, omnipresence, and omnipotence.


Nevertheless, God ordained that sin should come to pass so that His holiness might be manifested. God’s laws are the manifestation of His holiness and perfection, and by the violation of His laws His holiness shines all the brighter. God knew that Satan had entered His beautiful Garden of Eden; God omnisciently knew and omnipresently perceived that Satan was tempting Eve. So why did He not stop Satan’s wickedness? As I provided the answer above, Christ was foreordained to suffer and die before the creation of all things. The Apostle Paul stated:

Ephesians 3:11-According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord:

Ephesians 1:9-11
[9]Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:
[10]That in the dispensation of the fullness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:[11]In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:

Objection:

Someone had told me that believing the Sovereignty of God that is intricately and meticulously working all things would be a clear implications that God is the author of all sinfulness and wickedness since the beginning of time and in all the history.

Answer:

It is undeniably true that God is working all things after the counsel of His own will however freewill advocates could glimpse the surface of God’s working merely on positive events they have negated sins as part of God’s eternal purposed.

Alright, let us elaborate this in a brief manner to convey to our readers mind that God whose in charge in the human history could not be the author of sin neither in any instances since the beginning of time.

The truth is that every individual after the fall of Adam into sin human being never lose its will, however it is not in the same concept of libertarians that could be extended beyond the fallen sinful condition of man, biblically speaking the will of a sinful being is enslave of sin (John 8:34), free to fulfill the sinful desires but incapable of any holiness acceptable by God not unless by Divine regeneration. Ephesians 2:1-5 clearly stated:

1 • And you hath he quickened, who were DEAD in trespasses and sins;
2 • Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: [noticed that man who is being dead in sins is walking in sinfulness and in accordance to satan’s will]
3 • Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. [ the desire of a man who is dead in sins is only to fulfill the desire of sinful flesh being as children of wrath]
4 • But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
5 • Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) [it is only by Divine subjective Love some sinners are regenerated from deadness of sin that they may live together with Christ and be in Heaven] 6 • And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: [ Emphasis mine: JJM]

Now my point is that when man commits sin, God never give impulse, commands, tempts, nor authored the intention, desire, or enactment of sin. God is simply letting man to fulfill his own sinful will and lusts.

Psalms 81:12
So I GAVE THEM UP unto their own hearts’ lust: and they walked in their own counsels.

Romans 1:26
For this cause God GAVE THEM UP unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature.

2 Thessalonians 2:10-12
[10]And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because THEY RECEIVED NOT the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
[11]And FOR THIS CAUSE God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
[12]That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

When God determined to Permit man’s own sinful lust that is, on the other hand, the exact fulfillment of His eternal purpose.

We may cite as an example the predetermined suffering and death of Christ. God did determine that the worst sin, the worst crime ever committed by man  even the killing of His only begotten Son would come to pass. It cannot be denied that this predetermined purpose was not accidental; it was an apparent and deliberate purpose of God beforehand that Christ should be killed by the hands of wicked men. However, God the Father never tempted those wicked men into killing His only begotten Son — otherwise, those crucifiers would not be accountable for their sins, and God would be the one ultimately accountable for this death. God forbid such thinking! God permitted the evil intentions of those men to come to pass, which was in accordance with His determined purpose and foreknowledge.

Acts 2:23
Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain.

Acts 4:27-28
[27]For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together,
[28]For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done.

Prior to the time of His death, Christ said, “My time has not yet come” (John 7:8). Many men intended to kill Christ, but no one touched Him to harm Him because it was not yet the appointed time (John 7:30; 8:20). He even knew when His time was drawing near (Matthew 26:18; John 17:1).

Here we see that God’s working is not like a string attached to everything, or like a remote control forcing every action — as the false accusations and misrepresentations promoted by libertarian free will advocates against Calvinistic thinking on God’s sovereignty would suggest. Rather, it is the times and seasons in which every purpose takes place, as God revealed to King Solomon:

Ecclesiastes 3:1,11,14
[1]To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
[11]He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.
[14]I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him.

In the Calvinistic understanding of the will of a man fallen into sin, the will has never been destroyed or extinguished, but it is influenced by its enslavement to sin. Even though the will is under sin, it is not capable of surpassing God’s eternal purpose or taking God by surprise – as if God would say, “That was not included in My plan.” The Scriptures reveal that man has many plans, but God’s eternal plan shall always come to pass:

Psalms 33:10-11
[10]The LORD bringeth the counsel of the heathen to nought: he maketh the devices of the people of none effect.
[11]The counsel of the LORD standeth for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations.

Proverbs 19:21
[21]There are many devices in a man’s heart; nevertheless the counsel of the LORD, that shall stand.

Proverbs 16:9,33
[9]A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps.
[33]The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the LORD.

James 4:13-15
[13]Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain:
[14]Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.
[15]For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.

Creatures will cannot be equal to or above to the Almighty and Sovereign will of God, because if it were, man would be equally or more sovereign than God, and man would thwart and change the purpose of God written in the scriptures. The fact is that God can use man’s evil intentions and desires to turn their wicked hearts to bring God’s predetermined plan into existence.

Genesis 50:20
But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.

Psalms 105:25
He turned their heart to hate his people, to deal subtilly with his servants.

Proverbs 21:1
The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.

If you have questions you can freely ask and we’ll try to answer that as far as scriptures reveal. God bless.

Posted on by Junrey J. Moncada

Sure Foundation of Our Assurance of Salvation

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Sure Foundation of Our Assurance of Salvation 
Bro. Junrey J. Moncada
Pastor- Berea Baptist Church, Caburan Big, Jose Abad Santos, Davao Occidental Philippines

Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul. (KJV Hebrews 10:38-39)

Professing Christians nowadays are more modernistic in ways of worship. They’re appealing to modern theology that mislead them to know the true God of the scriptures. There are more professing Christians today are having no security about their salvation, the most popular practices today is that they just being pinpointed, prayed, and proclaimed by a preacher that they are saved after raising their hand and following after the preacher’s “repeat after me prayer”, the so called the “sinner’s prayer”. After all of that the person hasn’t truly experienced what is being saved! Unsure if he/she is truly saved at all. Not saved but deceived!

They are some folks also who opposes the truth of Eternal security of God’s children, the OSAS (Once Saved Always Saved). They said that every child of God loses salvation, that simply says; that in our daily living salvation maybe given or taken by God anytime depended on our works of obedience to Him, that on this day you maybe a child of God and then the next day a child of the devil. That is heresy resulted of having no firm foundation from the scriptures but only handpicking few verses, quoting out of context and makes it contradict to the other scriptures. But there is no contradiction in the scriptures, the real problem is their lacking of understanding about the nature of the true God of the scriptures and the understanding of the the scriptural salvation.

Now I give you a brief notes on the Four Fundamental Truths about the Doctrine of Eternal Security, others called it OSAS, while we called it “Preservation and Perseverance of the Saved”.

So why there is Sure Foundation of Our Assurance of Salvation? Just follow our study below.

1- God is the source of our salvation from beginning until the coming of Christ.

Romans 8:28-30
[28]And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
[29]For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
[30]Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified. ( The unbreakable chain of salvation)

Philippians 1:5-6
[5]For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now;
[6]Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.

Hebrews 12:2
Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Jonah 2:9
But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the LORD.

Psalms 74:12
For God is my King of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth.

👉Yes anyone may or can lose their salvation because at first their salvation does not depend on God but depended on their own selves like the Jews mentioned by Paul in Galatians 5:1-4
[1]Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.
[2]Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing.
[3]For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law.
[4]Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.

👉Regeneration is the work of God to the sinner and that is the beginning of being saved. This cannot be proclaimed by any man but this is to be experience and already experienced to every child of God.

2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

Titus 3:5
Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost.

Ezekiel 36:26-27
[26]A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
[27]And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.

Jeremiah 24:7
And I will give them an heart to know me, that I am the LORD: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart.

John 3:3
Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

👉Regeneration or being Born in the Spirit is the indwelling presence of the Spirit of God that bear witness to our spirit that we are a true child of God.

Romans 8:14-16
[14]For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
[15]For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
[16]The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.

👉Even though a child of God may commit sins in the flesh but the seed of the Holy Spirit can never sins before God.

1 John 3:9 -Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.

Romans 8:10-And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.

👉Thus the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit is forever within to every child of God, working all that pleases God.

John 14:16-17
[16]And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
[17]Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

Philippians 2:13
[13]For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

2- The God of the scriptures is an unchangeable God

Job 23:13
[13]But he is in one mind, and who can turn him? and what his soul desireth, even that he doeth.

Malachi 3:6
For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.

Psalms 89:34
My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips.

James 1:17
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

👉God never changes His affection towards those whom He had showed His mercy

Romans 9:16,18,23-24
[16]So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.
[18]Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.
[23]And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory,
[24]Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?

Psalms 103:17
But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children’s children.

👉Yes the God of the scriptures is an immutable God that is worthy to be trust. A God who has no eternal Purposed and plans but suddenly changes His mind depended on the actions of his creatures is not the true God but a false god who is undermined by the outcome of human will (Eph. 1:9-11; 3:11). But we trusted on the only true God, an immutable that never change, that is why we always have a living hope on our eternal dwelling with Him.

Psalms 36:7
How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings.

Titus 1:1-2
[1]Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God’s elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness;
[2]In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began.

Hebrews 6:17-19
[17]Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath:
[18]That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:
[19]Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which entereth into that within the veil.

Yes, salvation can never be give and take to the true God who is impossible to change!

3- God who is the one who preserves His children from falling into condemnation

* No condemnation anymore to every believer of Christ/ child of God.

John 5:24
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.

John 3:17-18
[17]For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
[18]He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

Romans 8:1
There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

* Every saved person is preserved by God, the main reason why a child of God persevere unto the end.

Jeremiah 32:40
And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me.

Jude 1:1,24
[1]Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called:
[24]Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy.

Psalms 40:11-12
[11]Withhold not thou thy tender mercies from me, O LORD: let thy lovingkindness and thy truth continually preserve me.
[12]For innumerable evils have compassed me about: mine iniquities have taken hold upon me, so that I am not able to look up; they are more than the hairs of mine head: therefore my heart faileth me.

John 10:28-29
[28]And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
[29]My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.

* When a child of God commits sin, God deals His child of course as a loving Father but not as Judge.

Liken to our earthly father that when we trespass against them, though they reproved us, chastised us, but our relationship as a child to our father and a father to a child can never ever change even if turn the world upside down.

Hebrews 12:6-11
[6]For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
[7]If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?
[8]But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.
[9]Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?
[10]For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.
[11]Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.

1 Corinthians 11:32
But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.

Isaiah 49:15-16
[15]Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee.
[16]Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.

✔️Yes, every child of God is preserved by God until the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ!

1 Thessalonians 5:23-24
[23]And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
[24]Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.

4- God’s Loving kindness towards His children never ends.

Psalms 103:17
But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children’s children.

Jeremiah 31:3
The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.

1 John 4:19
We love him, because He first loved us.

* None can separates us from the Love of God

Romans 8:33-39
[33]Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth.
[34]Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.
[35]Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
[36]As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
[37]Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
[38]For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
[39]Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

5- Objections

There are texts used by those who are against to this Eternal Security of God’s elect and we need to address this, as to what do they mean.

1- Matthew 24:13
“But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.”

> this verse refers to the salvation from the general calamity, persecution, false teachings and corrupt men as shown in the whole context of this chapter. Apparently this is not Salvation from the penalty of sin and condemnation from the wrath of God because that work belongs to Christ (Jn.14:6; Rom.5:8-11).

Through the course of our study we learned that only child of God will endure to the end because God preserve them from fallen into condemnation.

2- Hebrews 6:4-6
[4]For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost,
[5]And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come,
[6]If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.

These verses doesn’t mean that salvation may lose to those who truly been partakers of the Holy Spirit. Take the key word “IMPOSSIBLE”, then noticed the conjunction” IF”, that’s implicit about supposition. However IF THey shall fall away, there’s no chance or time for them to be saved again and repent for their sin, there’s no way Christ will be crucified again for them. Therefore these verses never sided to those who denied the eternal security of the children of God.

We’ll try to find other objections against our study so this to be continue.. God bless 🙏