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01/13/2023

As Iron Sharpens Iron, So One Man Sharpens Another
Proverbs 27:17

This Scriptural truth has been misinterpreted and improperly applied so widely as to create great confusion, damage, even destruction, in the lives of many thousands, probably even millions of people.

It is a simile, “a figure of speech comparing two unlike things, often introduced by *like* or *as* (as in lips like roses).” Similarly, iron and men are different things, but there is a sense in which they may be compared. To properly understand the comparison its individual elements must be viewed properly.

Iron is an inanimate metal. Two pieces of metal alone cannot sharpen anything. Two pieces of metal that have already been shaped into forms having an edge may be used to sharpen their edges by scraping them together at an angle. The metal cannot do this by itself. Neither piece can affect the other in any way. There must be a craftsman to bring them into contact, and with sufficient skill to make them useful one to the other. And, sharpening is not done by blunt blows across the edge.

Coming to the other half of the simile, two persons may interact with each other in such a way as to sharpen each other. The problem arises when it is assumed that the sharpening is accomplished by pedological instruction, one person assuming that it is incumbent upon him/herself to sharpen the other, by instructions, criticisms, complaints, demands, commands etc. When this proves insufficient to create the desired edge, the honing may become outright abusive, manipulative, coercive.

All of this does not fit with the first half of the simile. One piece of metal has no capacity whatever to sharpen another. Only the craftsman has. Ill-informed persons cannot sharpen another. Only the Craftsman can. When one person assumes the role of the Holy Spirit, trying to order his/her own reality by trying to order another’s reality, it always spells trouble.

Withering

Much has been written in the last thirty years or so, about spiritual abuse. I cannot recall hearing or reading about withering in the context of spiritual abuse. Whatever may be out there, and in any case, I don’t assume that what I’m about to write is original or cutting edge. But neither is it wholly without merit.

When one between two equals elevates him/herself above the other, they are no longer equal. There is a superior and an inferior. Withering is a probable outcome for both, apart from the entrance of another party able to help restore balance.

If the inferior has sufficient resources (inner and/or external) he/she may not wither. Apart from that, if the inferior accepts the redefinition of the relationship, he/she, to one degree or another, will wither.

A withering look is one calculated to draw down initiative, diminish capacity, check creativity, control speech and or behavior. The Inferior, the recipient, controlled by the Superior by such means, gradually becomes less and less empowered to act and think for him/herself. They wither.

The Superior is in a constant struggle to assure self-superiority by imposition of those same means on the Inferior. Whenever his/her intentions, expectations, demands, commands etc. are not met, he/she will experience frustration, loss of dignity, fragility of power, increasing dissatisfaction etc. The Superior may resort to increased forms of control, but that will always, in the end, continue as an increasingly vicious circle. So they also wither.

None of this is good. It isn’t Life as God intends for his people. And, none of it sharpens a person.

If you think someone needs sharpening, think first about your own edge. And don’t assume that you are the person God intends to use to sharpen another. And if it is His will to use you to sharpen another, remember, let Him do the sharpening. Let your action be to point to Jesus, to uphold Him, follow and model Him. He’ll “take it from there.”

02/22/2021

The news about Ravi Zacharias’ fall was appalling. The offenses of which he was guilty are apparently substantiated and reprehensible. It is appropriate to condemn them. But I am very saddened to see Christian brothers venturing into unwarranted speculations about Ravi Zacharias’ eternal soul and destiny.

“Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand” (Rom. 14:4). As He did with David, whose fall and sins were easily as egregious as Ravi’s.

“Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work. If any man’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire” (1 Cor. 3:12-15).

It is one thing to justifiably condemn the man’s sins. Condemning the man himself, and all of his works, is another thing. The verses above suggest it is at least premature to render a verdict on his soul and eternity destiny.

“Therefore do not go on passing judgment before the time, but wait until the Lord comes who will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of men’s hearts; and then each man’s praise will come to him from God” (1 Cor. 4:5).

We need not wallow in Ravi’s mud. We’ve got enough of our own. Instead, let us take heed, lest we fall also. And let us show compassion and pray for Ravi’s victims, and for all his family, and yes, for even Ravi himself. Having passed death’s door, it is too late for him to change his destiny. But it is too early for us to say what that destiny is.

02/24/2020

2020 Think About Eternity Winter Greetings...

09/16/2018

There is absolutely no parity whatever between our worth and even one drop of His blood. Christ's atoning work on the cross imputed worth to us, demonstrating and vindicating God's own great worth.

03/03/2018

Personal Evangelism - Part 11

Previously: “So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy” (Rom. 9:16). One cannot will oneself to salvation any more than one can run (work) oneself to salvation. Attempting to do, or to use, anything of oneself as an essential means of salvation, is an insult to both the Giver of salvation and the gift itself. His gift itself is sufficient to save, and includes the faith to believe on (trust in) the blood and righteousness of Jesus alone for salvation. Such saving faith is possessed by no man naturally, but is a gift from God (John 6:29; Acts 13:48; Phil. 2:29).

“So then, He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires” (Rom. 9:18). God alone (no other god) saves, and God saves alone (without our help). God alone chooses—independent of any contingency other than his own sovereign will, plan, and purpose—who He will save. Those so chosen, He loves without reserve.

NC: Do you ever find yourself without words?

C: What do you mean? Have I been long-winded, talking too long?

NC: No, no. You’re fine, and I’m not being funny here. But really, do you ever find yourself truly without words? Because that’s how I feel like right now. When I consider all that you’ve been saying—all that God has done, all of it for his glory, and how that is a good thing and the only way it could be, and how it assures us of full and permanent salvation—well, I just feel overwhelmed with the awesomeness of God, and left speechless over his goodness and greatness.

C: Yes, I do often experience that same feeling. And you and I are not alone in that. I don’t know if you realize it or not, but the guy who wrote down a lot of the concepts we’ve been discussing—the Apostle Paul—appears to have felt something like that same holy awe himself, while he was writing Rom. 11:33–36. In fact, when Paul burst out with that doxology it was not at all unrelated to what we have been looking at in Romans chapters eight and nine. It was a kind of responsive summation and conclusion to a long section including more than three chapters.

“Oh, the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!” he said. “How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who became His counselor? Or who has first given to Him that it might be paid back to him again? For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.”

NC. So he wasn’t just giving teaching about God and God’s plan. He was worshiping God as he wrote, in what he wrote.

C. You are exactly right! That’s the very essence of worship—ascribing to God all His own great worth. One cannot worship God in complete ignorance of Him. The more one gains accurate understanding of God and His great worth, the more possible it is to truly and deeply worship God. Naturally, that does not mean simply reciting off a litany of attributes with no comprehension or heart acknowledgment, no appropriate appreciation, of their truth.

NC. I think that’s why I had no idea of what it was to worship, before I met you. I had no understanding of who God really is and all He has done. I did feel gratitude, but it was limited by little understanding. As long as I believed that all God had done for me would not, and could not, fully save me by itself— that after all was said and done, in the end, my salvation/exaltation depended upon me, my effort and righteousness, as much as upon God’s—then gratitude was fleeting. And I certainly had no real awe of God while believing that I was of the same species as God, and that with sufficient time and effort I could be and do exactly as He.

C: Mmm… I hear you. I’m sure such a situation would pretty well preclude true worship. And we have both touched on something very, even extremely, important. Despite having grown so much spiritually it would still be reasonable to say you are still a baby Christian, or at least a very young one. So, since I regard you as my brother and friend, I think it is important to warn you about something. Do you mind?

NC: Not at all. Go ahead.

C: You just mentioned “Awe.” One can often hear the word awesome applied to God. But we hear it equally applied to pop and sports stars, favorite foods, amusement park rides, and a great many other things decidedly not actually awesome, much less divine. And genuine awe of God has become a very rare, almost nonexistent, factor in modern life. And, sadly, even in the Church. Awe is the missing element in the worship found in today’s Church.

Jesus said, “…true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:23–4).

For Jesus, spirit and truth were equally essential to true worship. But for many people, truth just doesn’t count for much these days. Exposition of God’s word is not part of worship. Rather, it is something endured between “worship” and the closing prayer. Eagerly paying attention to and valuing God’s Word simply isn’t seen as “worship.”

Instead, “worship” in many modern churches is a segment of time spent enjoying an altered state of consciousness, induced not so much by the Spirit as by music. Music can be a great aid to worship when it includes deep truths from the Word of God. But without the Word, or with only bare snippets of it repeated over and over like a Hindu mantra, the resulting state of consciousness produced by music is not worship, but a cheap substitute—mere euphoria.

And that euphoria actually works against people understanding and receiving the Word. People must “come down” from “worship” and can then barely endure the Word. They will check their timepiece more often during the sermon than during all the rest of day.

The truth is, the Spirit, and being in the Spirit, is not euphoria, and vice versa. And euphoria is not awe. Music by itself can create euphoria, but it cannot create awe by itself apart from the Word. If David is believed, music certainly may legitimately be connected to worship. It can serve and adorn real worship. But worship itself is nevertheless independent of music. “They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe…” (Acts 2:42–3).

So my warning to you is simple. In worship, the Spirit and truth always go together, work together; no Word—no Spirit, or worse, bogus spirit. Music can only serve and adorn worship. Euphoria is the devil’s counterfeit to awe. The Spirit applying the Word creates understanding that results in awe. No awe, no genuine worship. Do not be deceived and accept no substitutes.

NC: I have to say, I never have thought about all that before. But it makes sense, and I believe you. Thank you.

C: You’re welcome. And thank you for listening, and for receiving it. And for the record, if I may just add one thing more—just as Jesus said, “There is none good but God,” likewise, there is none truly awesome but God.

[Mutual smiles and a high-five]

C: All right! So… do we have time for further discussion together?

NC: Definitely!

C: Great! We have seen a plethora of Scriptural evidence showing that God saves completely, and does so completely by himself. We have seen all the things done by converts attendant to being saved are works of God in them. Even the faith to trust in Christ is not of themselves, but a gift of God. When it happens, when they experience trusting Christ for salvation, it cannot be attributed to themselves, but is something granted to them.

A very huge number of people considering themselves Christians reject this teaching of Scripture. They may describe God as “Almighty,” but they cannot accept that God is absolutely sovereign over salvation. They will own that God’s hand is indispensable in and for salvation. But they still cannot relinquish the idea that something of themselves is equally indispensable.

Nothing of all that God does for them can or will save them, without their say so. In the end, the deciding factor in salvation is not God’s sovereign will, but their own sovereign will. They think faith originates in man, is innate to man, is a power over which they exercise their own sovereign will, and can direct it or put it in whoever or whatever they choose, whenever and wherever they choose.” They haven’t understood what we read a few moments ago: “For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things.”

With this kind of mindset, evangelistic service and preaching is replaced by evangelistic strategy, aimed to push people to make “decisions.” When we hear reports of what we hope are conversions, they usually are referred to as “decisions.” When, for whatever reason, they make their choice, looking back they often say, “Salvation is God’s gift to me. My faith is my gift to God.” Again, I suppose they never read or understood what we read a few moments ago: “…who has first given to Him that it might be paid back to him again?”

All of this is part of a man centered, man driven “other gospel” grounded mostly in Grecian philosophical ideas about “freedom,” in which the only true freedom is absolute, unfettered by any restraints of any kind. Those ideas are usually presented as the only alternative to a view of the world where humans are mere automatons. But there is a tertium quid.

Standing athwart those ideas are the Scriptures, wherein humans have a very wide range of freedom, within certain restraints. God alone has absolute freedom, and can interfere, at will, at any time, with the freedom He normally grants to humanity. Such interference is not limited to outward circumstance. God can “mess with your mind” if necessary to accomplish his purposes.

The rebellious human will rises up against the very idea, shrieking. Only one reason why. It doesn’t trust God. If you really trust God, always trusting He is always good, you can live with any restraints He puts on you, and any tribulation you may suffer. But if you love comfort more than God, then you are not trusting Him and rebellion is probably waiting in the wings.

To be continued…

03/03/2018

Personal Evangelism - Part 10

Previously: C. Given the biblical usage of the word, it is well within the bounds of its connotation and reasonable interpretation to take foreknew in Rom. 8:29 as knowing intimately, or having special regard for (and obviously in this case, a loving regard) in advance. In short―those whom He lovingly chose in advance. There is no need, or room, to introduce extra ideas (like faith) not part of the word foreknew in order understand and make sense out of the passage.

NC: So you’re saying the word foreknew as used in Rom. 8:29 legitimately encompasses the ideas of loving and choosing in advance.

C: Yes, exactly. You could say they are built into the word. Not that those ideas are meant to be expressed at every instance or use of the word. But the biblical usage of the word can, and often does, legitimately include those concepts.

NC: So why not faith? Why couldn’t faith likewise be built in or included in the meaning of foreknew?

C. Well, for starters, it just isn’t. That is, foreknow or foreknowledge has never been used to signify or even imply faith, nor has faith ever been used to signify or imply foreknow or foreknowledge. Simply put, the words are totally unrelated, etymologically. So, “would have faith” is simply not in any way signified by or encompassed in foreknow or foreknow-ledge. To introduce the phrase, “would have faith” into the biblical text would be dishonest―it just isn’t there. To include the idea, as a matter “interpretation,” would be egregious eisegesis― “reading into the text,” introducing or supplying information that just isn’t there.

This particular text has been mishandled this way by uncounted thousands, perhaps even millions of persons. Obviously, it is a very persistent error. But faulty interpretation and error it is. And there is yet more that ought to be said about it.

Please notice that all throughout vv. 28–30 the actor is God, and what He does, and is doing, to and for, the objects of His affection. Those persons are consistently spoken of in the passive voice, not as actors, but as ones being acted upon.

So, “would have faith” is not only not sustainable as the meaning, or included in the meaning, of foreknew. It’s introduction also completely shifts the focus off what God is doing to and for the objects of His affection, onto what man may or may not do regarding God. It thus would run counter to the point and whole flow of the passage. And it would introduce uncertainty into what Paul was clearly aiming to make certain― assurance of salvation by God according to His purpose, and by His action, alone. Such assurance is the whole concern of the rest of Romans chapter 8. But making man’s will a variable anywhere in the equation of salvation renders everything uncertain, and assurance impossible.

NC: You know, I think I’m beginning to get the big picture on this passage. It seems to me that the key points here for correctly interpreting it are that 1) from the point in the text of, “those who love God,” all the way through to those who are “also glorified,” we’re looking progressively, at every step of the way, just one single group of people.

And that 2) “those who love God” is not a qualifier by which entry into this group is made, but simply an indicator of who God has put into this group. And 3) their inclusion in this group cannot be based in their love of and for God, since they are all sinners whose love is necessarily imperfect, up to that point when they are glorified.

And so, 4) the basis of their inclusion into this group is not found in anything in themselves, but in God’s calling of them “according to His purpose.” Once again, the gospel is demonstrated to be not man-centered, but God-centered.

C. Agreed! I think you’ve summed it up quite well. You may be interested in having a look at some statements by Peter often mishandled in the same way. He wrote, “To those … who are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood…” (1 Pet. 1:2–3). Everything we discussed about foreknowledge in Romans 8 applies equally to 1 Pet. 1: 2–3.) It is not simply God passively knowing about, but God actively choosing, persons, for a particular end decreed and caused by God.

Peter also wrote, “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance” (2 Pet. 3:9). The last phrase of this verse, and especially the words any and all, are taken by many persons to mean that God’s wish is for each and every member of the human race not to perish, but for every one of them to come to repentance.

That idea flies in the face of the fact, as we’ve noted several times in our discussions, that God does whatever He wants in heaven and on earth, nothing frustrates His will, and all His will and purposes will be accomplished. If the words any, and all, in this verse have a universal scope, as thought by some, then God would be a very frustrated and weak God indeed.

This is where we see the importance of taking things in proper context. It is obvious these words must have a less than universal scope. The scope is focused by you in v. 9, and by its antecedent, beloved, in v. 8. Beloved, any, and all, in vv. 8–9 refer not to all mankind, but to the believers, all the persons within the delimited group chosen and called in advance by God.

God is not frustrated or impotent to implement a desire or will for every human being to ever live to be brought to repentance and saved. No, that never was His desire or will, and this verse certainly does not teach that―nor does any other. But He does have such a desire or will toward His elect. He most assuredly will bring them to repentance and save all His beloved, all those chosen according to His divine purpose. His patiently waiting for all of them assures us of it being certainly and fully accomplished.

NC. Mmm… I just love that. What a great and almighty God! I love Him, and I rejoice that my love for Him is actively being caused by Him, even now, by His working in my heart moment by moment. Because it is His work, I have the joyful prospect of loving Him forever with all sin cleansed and purified out of my heart. Come Lord Jesus!

C. I’m rejoicing together with you, dear brother. Hallelujah! I really don’t want to move from this moment. But what we have been discussing has put me in mind of another passage in Romans.

NC. Go for it!

C. As I said earlier, assurance of salvation is the whole concern of Romans chapter 8:28–39. In the following chapter Paul continues to pursue that theme, played out against the backdrop of early church controversies over works righteousness vs. free grace, and the status of Jew vs. Gentile in salvation. His perspective shows how those things fit into God’s scheme of things, His grand eternal plan for the ages.

I believe that eternal plan of God is focused upon the full disclosure and glorification of God. Jesus is the foremost, clearest, and fully complete revelation of God we have in this life in this world. The only reliable knowledge we have of Him is what is found in the Bible. And while the Bible is focused upon Christ, it contains a great deal more information about God and His working in the world.

The current estrangement of the Jews and the conversion of the Gentiles are all a part of God’s plan. And their histories reveal one of the greatest aspects of God’s character—His free and sovereign grace. As much as we may wish there were another way, neither we or the angels would have ever known or understood grace, apart from sin. But sin requires judgment, which would have required elimination of all sinners.

God could have eliminated the problem of sin in this world immediately by eliminating the first two sinners, or, any time since then. In a display of His great power, He could have obliterated the race. Instead, He “endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, and He did so to make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory” (v. 22–23).

The whole race was under a just condemnation, from which there was no possibility of escape by their own effort. In His free and sovereign grace, God chose to save some of them from condemnation and deliver them to glory. The rest were left to their just deserts. Those He chose to save were shown mercy―spared from what they deserved, and grace―given what they didn’t deserve.

Incredibly, many people who want salvation still refuse it. And the very thing for which they reject it is the very essential nature of it―that it is an entirely free gift. Virtually every conceivable means has been employed to try to pay their own way, or pay partially, by trying to tie their own efforts or qualities to God’s as mutually essential means for receiving/achieving salvation. They will often even offer sacrifices of some kind. Every sacrifice but one. They will not sacrifice their own ego. They will not let go of trusting in themselves. They refuse to trust in Christ entirely alone. And that is why they hate/ignore Romans 9 so much.

In Romans 9 God uses the history of Israel and the gentiles to teach (at least) two essential truths about salvation. First is that God is totally sovereign over it, and accomplishes it by His own power alone, for His own glory, not ours. Second, because of the above, salvation is not based upon one’s lineage, or anything we can do, or anything we possess, whether material or spiritual.

God chose Abraham out of the world. Then He chose Isaac over Ishmael (v. 7–9), and Jacob over Esau (v. 10–13). In the choice of Jacob over Esau, God specifically stipulates that the choice had nothing to do with anything they had done or would do, but was for the purpose of demonstrating God’s sovereignty over salvation, as seen in v. 10, “…so that God’s purpose according to His choice would stand, not because of works but because of Him who calls.”

The same lesson is reinforced by the case of Moses and Pharaoh in vv. 15–18. “…So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy.… So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires.” One cannot will himself to salvation any more than he can run (work) himself to salvation. Attempting to do, or use, anything of oneself as an essential means of salvation, is an insult to both the Giver of salvation and the gift itself. God alone (no other god) saves, and God saves alone (without our help).
To be continued…

11/07/2017

Personal Evangelism Part 9

C. So, have I convinced you yet that once God causes you to be born again, you will never ever lose your salvation?

NC. Well, no, not really.

C. What!? I can’t believe you! I thought you had been tracking with me all the way through. What part did you not understand?

NC. Oh, I understood it all. But you did not convince me of anything. The Word of God, all the scripture we’ve gone through together, that convinced me.

C. (Phew) You had me going there for a minute. Now I just want to shout “Hallelujah!” And you’re right, the scriptures are convicting to those who will actually study them. The Holy Spirit breathed them out causing them to be written and preserved. They are “the things of the spirit,” of which the Spirit says, “A natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised (1 Cor. 2:14).
Ultimately, no natural man is ever convinced of them to truly believe or trust in them until God works a miracle in their heart and causes them to be born again. I cannot tell what is in any man’s heart with absolute certainty, but the evidence appears, to me at least, that God has done that to you at some point since we started having these discussions. I believe you have become a Christian.

NC. It’s interesting you would say that. I thought I was a Christian before, when we first started out. Eventually, I began to think I was not. It wasn’t something I wanted to face or admit. But I knew it in my heart, and I felt a kind of cold fear, and a sense of loss. I knew I wanted something very badly that I didn’t have.
You remember when you asked if I was a Mormon? And when you said there was something that had its hooks in me. I knew it in an instant that that was true. I still didn’t want to fully admit it to myself. But I did start praying that God would deliver me from it, and that He would make believe the truth.
I had thought I believed in Jesus all my life. But I also knew I had never truly, fully, trusted Him to save me. When we talked about who He truly was, I knew I had been following a false Christ. I wanted to believe in the real, true, Jesus. So, I starting praying that God would make me believe in the true Jesus. One morning I woke up kind of suddenly. I didn’t know why, but I just felt a kind of sense of excitement and expectancy—about what, I had no clue.
Later at breakfast I was musing over what I was feeling, and I spoke out loud, “I feel like a new man today.” And then, “Thank you, Jesus!” Suddenly, as I heard my own voice thanking Jesus, a burst of dawning washed over me, flooded into me. I really was thankful to Jesus, the real Jesus, and, I was consciously aware of trusting Him to save me!
Then the flood starting coming out of me, out of my eyes. I felt a sadness that I had wasted so much time coming to Him. But I also felt an unspeakable joy that somehow I had finally come to Him, and that He had and would save me, by and for Himself, forever.

C. Why didn’t you tell me about all this? I can hardly believe you never did! Were you ever going to?

NC. Of course—and I have been wanting to, for quite a while now. But though it all felt rather dramatic to me, I suppose I was worried maybe other people would not believe me, or worse, not even notice. I’ve been feeling like a new man ever since, and I feel like the Scriptures have been flooding me with knowledge and understanding in a new way. It’s like it’s not only that I am a new man, but like I’m living in a whole different world.
“He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son” Col. 1:13). But rather than tell other people I had changed, or rather, been changed, I wanted confirmation that others could see the change in me without being told. Today, I think you’ve given me that confirmation, and with that, now I also feel like I’m ready to tell anybody and everybody.

C. I guess I’ve been a little slow on the uptake. I mean, I had been thinking for some time that maybe you had been born again. But today it seemed like the evidence just clicked for me. Your first answer starting out today gave me enough of a blow to send my head reeling. Maybe that made your second answer stand out enough to get my attention and realize the import of what has been happening in your heart. I think the evidence was there, has been there for some time. But like I said, I can be slow. Glad I finally “got it.”
By the way, you know I’ve been keeping notes of our conversations. In them I labeled myself as “C,” for Christian, and yourself as “NC,” for non-Christian. I’m going to keep the labels, just to help keep track of who is speaking. But for the record, when I write NC now, I’m thinking “new Christian.”

NC. Well, I’m glad to hear that!

C. I presume we can go on conversing on gospel themes?

NC. Absolutely.

C. Great, because there is another passage related to what we saw in John that I think you will like, that I wanted to share with you. It is in Romans 8.
28 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.
29 For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the first-born among many brethren;
30 and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.
So, for whom does God cause all things to work together for good?

NC. Those who love God, and who are called according to God’s purpose.

C. Is God’s so working for them the result of their loving Him?

NC. No, I don’t think so. That would be a form of salvation by works, wouldn’t it?

C. You’re right. So, what is the actual basis of His working on their behalf?

NC. His calling them according to His purpose?

C. Exactly. Not everyone has the same purpose in the plans God. “The Lord has made everything for its own purpose, Even the wicked for the day of evil” (Prov. 16:4). His plan for Pharaoh was for him to make God famous, by being humbled to the dust, making him an example of God’s great power in judgement of the wicked.
There is nothing else in scripture on God’s eternal plan or purpose for Pharaoh’s life, nothing to say God had a purpose to save him (that evidently somehow went wrong) or to say that Pharaoh ever had even the opportunity to be saved.
“The counsel of the Lord stands forever, The plans of His heart from generation to generation” (Ps. 33:11). “The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever” (Isa. 40:8). “…‘My purpose will be established, And I will accomplish all My good pleasure’” (Isa. 46:10). “So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it” Isa. 55:11).
So God had, and has, a plan and purpose in eternity, according to which He causes all things to work together for good for those who love him. “Those who love Him” is not a qualifier, but simply an indicator, of who is in this plan. And God is not frustrated in His plans by anyone’s lack of faith or lack of love for Him. They did not have those qualities before He saved them. But He has chosen people for salvation, and He will most certainly save them and bring it to pass.
Now in v. 29 we’re told God “foreknew” certain people.

NC. What do you mean, “certain people?” Doesn’t God know everything and everybody that ever lived or will live? Wouldn’t that mean that He foreknew everybody?

C. To answer your questions, I have to say, Yes, and, No. Yes, He does know about everything and everybody that ever lived or will live. And He does know all of that before He created even one of us. But, No, I said He foreknew only certain people because the text goes on to identify those foreknown, as those “predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren.” That description certainly doesn’t fit every person. Those foreknown and those so predestined are clearly a definable group, and necessarily less than all mankind.

NC. I have to agree with you because it’s clearly taught in the Scripture here. But if that’s the case, then the meaning of the word foreknew must be something more, or different than, merely knowing about in advance,” which could apply to everyone.

C. Agreed. The problem we are facing in this passage is that the persons foreknown, predestined, called, justified, and glorified are clearly identified in each succeeding group as exactly the same persons in each other group. It is the same persons at every step of the way, all the way through to the end. Not only are there none lost, but there is not the remotest hint of any being added in anywhere along the way. All those foreknown, and only those, end up glorified.

NC. This seems the same to me as what we saw in John 6.

C. Well, you’re exactly right there. That’s why I wanted to show it to you; they are related. So when it comes to the use of foreknew in this passage, there must be a legitimate meaning that does not include all persons, ending up in the false doctrine of universal salvation.
I’m sure you know that most words have both denotation(s) and connotation(s). The most basic sense, denotation or definition of foreknow is know(ing) about in advance. But there are also connotations to it, and uses for it, that can go beyond that basic definition. And it is there that we find the solution to our conundrum over God’s knowledge about everybody, and His foreknowledge and ultimate salvation of only certain persons.
First, we must be very careful to not load the word, under the guise of connotation, with ideas additional to, unwarranted by, and unsustainable by, the basic definition. For example, it would be highly improper to introduce into the text, or our interpretation of it, “foreknew would have faith.”
Those last three words are completely foreign to the definition of foreknew itself, and utterly unsustainable as a legitimate inclusion under interpretation. They introduce a completely new idea, external to the text, not found in either the word itself, or anywhere in the context.
Sadly, this is quite commonly done, solely to support preconceived notions about freedom, free-will, autonomy, self-determination, and individual human sovereignty. However, there is a legitimate connotation to foreknew sustainable by the basic meaning, and its use in scripture. To know someone, biblically, usually implies relationship and/or intimacy of some kind.
For example, in the OT: “Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived” (Gen. 4:1). “Cain knew his wife and she conceived” (Gen. 4:17). Lot says, “I have two daughters who have not known any man…” (Gen. 19:8). “God saw the sons of Israel, and God knew them” (Ex. 2:25). “O Lord, you have searched me and known me!” (Ps.139:1). “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations” (Jer. 1:5). “…you know no God but me, and besides me there is no savior. It was I who knew you in the wilderness…” (Hos. 13:4-5). “You only have I known of all the families of the earth…” (Amos 3:2).
In the NT: “And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me…” (Mat. 7:23). “But if anyone loves God, he is known by God (1 Cor. 8:3; There is no connection between the two parts of this verse if the word know means nothing more than know about). “…The Lord knows those who are his…” (2 Tim. 2:19).
Given the biblical usage of the word, it is well within the bounds of its connotation and reasonable interpretation to take foreknew in Rom. 8:29 as knowing intimately, or having special regard for (and obviously in this case, a loving regard) in advance. By implication—those whom He lovingly chose in advance. There is no need, or room, to introduce extra ideas (like faith) not part of the word foreknew in order understand and make sense out of the passage.

To be continued…

Think About Eternity - This Side of Eternity

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