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. 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. 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. Romans 8:28-30

     In the last article, we explored some objections to the Biblical principle of election and predestination. To summarize, the Bible teaches that God chose a particular people to enjoy unbroken fellowship with Him in Heaven some day (Ephesians 1:4, Romans 8:29-31). When we are in obedience to God, we also enjoy numerous daily blessings of His marvelous grace. We enjoy these blessings not because of our works but because of God’s free grace (Ephesians 2:8). Some would object to this explanation about the doctrine of election, but we ought to let the word of God be true. It is my desire to explore another misconception regarding election. Let us continue looking at the truth that Scripture reveals about this wonderful doctrine.

     Some people believe that the doctrine of election limits the number of people that will be in Heaven. I have heard people argue that people limit God’s ability when they believe that a particular number of people will be in Heaven. This is not the case in election. It is not an exclusive teaching but inclusive. Let us explore some of the scriptures pertaining to the number of God’s children.

     In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus speaks to the disciples about His return on the day of judgment. In Matthew 25:31-32 He states, “When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:” We notice that on the day of resurrection, all nations will be gathered before Him, and His sheep (representative of His elect children) will be separated from the goats (the non-elect). It can be implied from these verses that God has an elect people in all nations. His sheep inhabit every part of the earth! He has people roaming the deserts of Africa and India. His children are roaming the jungles of South America; places where the word of God has never been preached. He even has children in sinful, "civilized" areas such as San Francisco, New York City, Las Vegas--and Northwest Florida. God is not limited by man’s weakness. His sheep come from all ethnicities and cultures. Heaven is not our home because of race, but by His grace.

     In Genesis 22, Abraham was instructed by God to offer his only son Isaac as a burnt offering. Because of Abraham's faithfulness, God provided a ram for a sacrifice and Isaac was spared. Following this occasion the angel of the Lord spoke to Abraham about his seed. He said, “By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice (Genesis 22:16-18).” In this exchange we see a blessing and multiplication of the nation of Israel. In addition to a national blessing the angel of the Lord promises a blessing to the whole elect family of God (in all nations of the earth).

     The spiritual seed of Abraham is likened to the stars of heaven and the sand of the sea shore. This is not a picture of a small number of elect, but a great multitude! Have you looked up in the night sky lately? We are unable to count even the stars that we can see, and only God Himself knows how many more are outside of the range of our most powerful telescopes! Next time you visit the beaches of the Gulf Coast, scoop up a handful of sand. I dare you to try to count the grains in one handful! Now think how many handfuls are in one beach! Even more mind-boggling, consider how many beaches there are in this world! The Lord says that His people are as numerous as the sands of the seashore. So we see that this is a host no man can number. Only God knows all that are His, but we can rest assured that Heaven will not be sparsely populated. I rather think it will be bursting at the seams!

     Revelation Chapter 5 numbers the children of God as thousands of thousands. In ancient times, this represented the highest number that men could comprehend. John was blessed to see that an innumerable host will enjoy unbroken fellowship with Jesus in Heaven. One day we will be in Heaven praising the Lord forevermore. We will cry out, “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.” What a glorious day that will be!

     The doctrine of election and predestination should bring us comfort and peace. God has not placed the responsibility of eternal salvation on men, but accomplished all that was necessary to secure our home in Heaven. We are saved eternally because of the work of Jesus Christ on the cross. Those that were predestinated, are called, justified and glorified.

Thursday, April 27, 2006

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Michael Green, Jr. is pastor of Palm Chapel Primitive Baptist Church (www.palmchapel.org) in Crestview, FL. Palm Chapel meets every Sunday at 10:30am and Wednesday at 6:00pm. Pastor Green can be contacted at (850) 689-3383 or by email at pastor@palmchapel.org. Pastor Green warmly invites you to come and worship at Palm Chapel Primitive Baptist Church

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