Lawlessness
and Predestination!
Sin is the result of lawlessness! Sin corrupts predestination!
What is
lawlessness? Generally speaking it is not keeping the law: driving 45 in a 40
MPH zone is lawlessness; taking something that does not belong to you and that
you do not have permission to take is lawlessness; telling a little white lie
is lawlessness; Lawlessness is simply disobedience. Here is the scary part, in
Matthew 7:21-23 JESUS is talking to believers who have been doing mighty
miracles, but He says they practice lawlessness and cannot enter into His
Kingdom. How are prophesying in His Name, casting out demons in His Name and
doing wonders in His Name lawlessness? He answers that in verses 24-29 (24, 26)
“Therefore whoever hears these saying of Mine, and does them, I will liken him
to a wise man who built his house on a Rock…But everyone who hears these
sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his
house on the sand (world):”
GOD gave The
Law to Israel through Moses, not to control the people but to guide the people
into being Light and Salt to the nations of the world. GOD called Abraham to be
obedient and he was. Not, that he didn’t make mistakes, because he did, but he
always repented and returned to obeying GOD. That is what The Law was supposed
to do for Israel, be a guide on how to live obediently to GOD so that the world
could see and know Him as Israel was supposed to. That is what the Church is
supposed to be doing today, be Light and Salt to the world through our
obedience to GOD so that the nations can see and know Him as we are supposed
to.
Our obedience is outlined in His Word and directed by His
SPIRIT.
So is
lawlessness not sin itself? Yes it is, but it leads to greater sin. Let’s take
Abraham (when he was still called Abram) for example, during a famine in the
land of Canaan, the promised land that GOD called Abraham to, Abraham took his
people and herds to Egypt where there was no famine. Since the Bible does not
tell us that Abraham asked GOD nor that GOD told Abraham to go to Egypt I
believe that going to Egypt was an act of lawlessness because at this point in
his life Abraham did not have full trust (faith) in GOD, actually this was just
one of the experiences that would bring him to the place of fully trusting GOD
with his life, his son Isaac and possessions. {This is a key lesson for us.}
So he packs
up and goes to Egypt based on his knowledge of the situation and fearing the
long term effects of the drought on his people and possessions. This leads to
another fear that affects his thinking, that the Egyptians will kill him
because of Sarah’s (she was still called Sarai) beauty, so he has her join him
in a lie; that she is his sister not that she is his wife. This leads to the
Pharaoh taking Sarah into his harem to become his wife. But, GOD intervened and
revealed to Pharaoh through plagues that Sarah was Abraham’s wife so that the
Pharaoh returned Sarah to Abraham and commanded him to leave Egypt. (Genesis
11:27-12:20) {He did not learn the first time but repeated this sin, Genesis 20}
So Abraham’s
act of lawlessness led to greater sins in that he lied and convinced his wife
to also lie. This could have led to terrible events that could have changed the
course of GOD’s call and purpose for Abraham and his descendants. Since the Law
was not yet given how is Abraham’s act of going to Egypt lawless? Because, GOD
had not told him to go to Egypt and Abraham had not asked permission to go.
What causes
lawlessness? Vanity, pride; “I don’t have to live like others are required or
expected to.” “I’m special and the same rules don’t apply to me that apply to
everyone else.” Also rebellion; “I know I’m not supposed to, but I don’t care.”
“I can do what I want, I’m not hurting anyone.” Finally fear and lack of trust
in GOD; “GOD! What will people think if I do that?” or “If I say that?” “If I
give that how will I live?” “How can I go there or do that? How will I live?”
Predestination is that call and gift every person conceived
is given by GOD while in their mother’s womb.
There are
some in the Church who believe that predestination means that some are born to
be saved and have no choice, they will be saved; and that some are born to be
condemned to hell and they have no choice, they will be condemned. If that were
true then GOD would not have said things like John 3:16-21, “For GOD so Loved the world that He gave
His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes
in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For GOD did not send His
Son onto the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name
of the only begotten Son of GOD. And this is the condemnation, that the Light
has come into the world, and men loved
darkness rather than Light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the
Light and does not come to the Light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But, he who does the truth comes to the
Light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in
GOD.” This passage is the explanation of John 1:1-18, “In the beginning was the
WORD, and the WORD was with GOD, and the WORD was GOD. He was in the beginning
with GOD. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made
that was made. In Him was Life, and the Life was the Light of men. And the
Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend (Or overcome) it…That was true Light which
gives Light to every man coming into the
world. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own and His own did not receive Him. But
as many as received Him, to them He gave the right (authority) to become children
of GOD, to those who believe in His
Name: who were born, not of blood, nor
of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of GOD. And the Word
became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His Glory, the Glory as of the
only begotten of the Father, full of Grace and Truth…And of His fullness we have all received, and Grace for
grace. For the Law was given through Moses, but Grace and Truth came through
JESUS CHRIST. No one has seen GOD at anytime. The only begotten Son, who is in
the bosom of the Father, He has declared
Him.” This is confirmed by JESUS, “JESUS said to him, ‘I Am the Way, the
Truth, and the Life. No one comes to
the Father except through Me.’” “And
this is eternal Life, that they know You,
the only True GOD and JESUS CHRIST whom You
sent.” John 14:6 & 17:3 As stated above we are all born with call for
the Kingdom of GOD, but we are also born with a heart of sin and not all of us
will answer the call.
GOD does
know everything! There is nothing hidden from Him! He knows our every thought, He
knows every word before we speak it, He knows every choice we can and will make!
But it is our choice to think, speak and do! We can do it in obedience to GOD
led by His SPIRIT and Word or we can chose to do what we want based on
whatever. We can do both! We can be a born again believer and do the work of
GOD’s Kingdom in the earth according to our own will. I know, I have! John Paul
Jackson once asked about why GOD let Barak Obama be elected President said GOD
told him, “The person I ordained to be President in 2008 was aborted by their
mother.” We do have free will and our choices do make a difference! Obedience
is a choice that we must make every day!
But it appears that some are called to salvation no matter
what and some are called to condemnation no matter what.
Called to
salvation no matter what: Adam, Eve, Cain, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses,
Samson, Saul (first king of Israel), David, Elijah, Cyrus, John the Baptist, Peter,
Andrew, James, John, Nathaniel, Phillip, Matthew, Simon, Bartholomew, Thomas,
James Thaddaeus, Paul and many more.
Called to
condemnation no matter what: Nimrod, Esau, Pharaoh (to Moses), Ahab, Jezebel, Herod
(who saw JESUS), Pilate and many more.
What is the difference between these two groups? Their
decisions!
The Bible
tells us that Adam and Eve were kicked out of the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3);
the Bible tells us that Cain murdered his brother (Genesis 4:1-15); The Bible
tells us that Enoch walked with GOD and GOD took him (Genesis 5:23-24); the
Bible tells us that Noah obeyed GOD (Genesis 6:8, 22, 9:1, Hebrews 11:7); the
Bible tells us that Nimrod was a mighty hunter before the LORD (we always hear
that Nimrod was evil and the leader of the building of the Tower of Babel but
that is not what the Bible says, (Genesis 10:8-12, 11:1-9, 1 Chronicles 1:10); the
Bible tells us that Abraham obeyed GOD and was His friend (Genesis 12:1-9,
22:1-19, Hebrews 11:8-12, 17-19, James 2 :23); the Bible tells us that Isaac
fulfilled his call even though he sinned like his father (Genesis 26:1-11, 27:1-40,
Hebrews 11:20); the Bible tells us that GOD loved Jacob but hated Esau (Genesis
25:21-34,26:34-35, Malachi 1:2-3); the Bible tells us that GOD raised up
Pharaoh (to Moses) to show His Glory (Exodus 9:13-17); the Bible tells us that
Moses fulfilled his call but sin kept him from entering the promised land (Deuteronomy
34, John 1:17, Hebrews 3:2, 5, 8:5, 11:23-29); the Bible tells us that Samson
was a Nazarite but that he lived by his own desire (Judges 13-16); the Bible
tells us that GOD sent a troubling spirit to plague King Saul (1 Samuel
13:13-14, 1 Kings 16:14); the Bible tells us that King David was a man after
GOD’s heart but he was not allowed to build His temple (1 Samuel 13:14, 1
Chronicles 22:1-9, Acts 13:21-23); the Bible tells us that Elijah was a bold
servant of GOD yet he feared Jezebel but GOD took him (1 Kings 17-19, 2 Kings
2:1-13); the Bible tells us that GOD sent King Ahab to his death in battle (1
Kings 22); the Bible tells us that GOD sent Jehu to kill Queen Jezebel (2 Kings
9); the Bible tells us that Cyrus was prophesied by Isaiah and fulfilled his
call (Isaiah 44:28-45:7, 2 Chronicles 36:22-23, Ezra 1); the Bible tells us
that John the Baptist fulfilled his call and was beheaded (Matthew 11:7-15, Luke
1:5-25, 57-80, 3:1-22, Mark 6:-29); the Bible tells us that the Twelve Apostles
were chosen by JESUS, even Judas who betrayed Him (Matthew 27:3-10, John 6:70-71,
13:18, 15:15-17, 17:6-19, Acts 1:15-20); the Bible tells us that Pilate gave in
to the will of the people, historically we know that the rest of his life was a
failure by the world’s standards (Matthew 27:1-2, 11-26); the Bible tells us
that GOD killed Herod for his pride (Acts 12); the Bible tells us that Saul of
Tarsus (Paul) persecuted JESUS’ Church until He met JESUS! (Acts 7:57-8:2, 9:1-30)
GOD does kill people and He will judge all humanity who
reject Him! (Revelation 19-22)
Do not confuse
calling and gifting with purpose every Christian has the same purpose: “Hear, O
Israel: The LORD our GOD, the LORD is One! You shall love the LORD your GOD
with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your strength.” “This is
the first and great commandment. And the second is like it, ‘You shall love
your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the
Prophets.” “And JESUS came and spoke to them saying, ‘All authority has been
given to Me in Heaven and on the earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all
the nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the
HOLY SPIRIT, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and
lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen.’” (Leviticus 19:18,
Deuteronomy 6:4-5, Matthew 22:34-40, 28:16-20, Mark 12:28-34, 16:14-18, Luke
10:25-37, 24:45-48) Our purpose is to know GOD, to love GOD, to glorify GOD and
make Him known. Our call and gift is how we do that every day and everywhere all
the time. We are all called to fulfill the purpose of the Church in every
aspect of our life! We all have a call based on our gift that allows us to
fulfill the purpose of the Church! Very few of us are called to the fivefold
ministry but we all have a call to minister from GOD and our gift is how we do
that. As we fulfill the purpose of GOD we will come into our call; our ministry
is to love GOD and reveal JESUS to everyone we can through our daily life. That
is what the Ten Commandments are all about; how we interact with GOD and other
people. Remember JESUS said there is no greater love than a true friend; the
one who lays down his life for you. Remember the parable of the Good Samaritan;
our neighbor is anyone in need any where we are, at all times. Remember
Solomon’s admonition, to be a friend you must be friendly. Our call and gift
work together; if you are gifted as a mechanic than your call is to use that
skill to make JESUS known to others; if you are gifted as an athlete than you
are called to use that skill to make JESUS known to others; etc. Our gift and
call are not any more or any less important than anyone else’s; they are the
tools GOD gives us to fulfill our purpose of loving GOD and making Him known. Study
Proverbs 17:17, 18:24, Ecclesiastes 4:9-12, Matthew 20:16, Luke 10:25-37, John
15:9-17, Romans 8:28-30, 11:29, 1 Corinthians 1:26-31, 7:17-24, Philippians
2:5-16 and 2 Peter 1:5-11.
What have we
learned? GOD loves every person ever conceived and has a plan for our salvation
from eternal judgment: JESUS CHRIST! The purpose of the Church is to love GOD
and reveal Him to the world. GOD has a call and gift for every person ever
conceived to do the work of His Kingdom in the earth and in Eternity, but not everyone follows theirs. GOD
will judge those who reject Him and His Salvation for eternity and He gives
life eternal and rewards those who call on JESUS and obey Him!
The key
lesson is Matthew 7:21-29, we can find out our call and gift from GOD, but if
we are not obedient to His will (what, when, where, and how) then it is wood,
hay and stubble not gold, silver and jewels; it may be death not life! Study
Romans 5 and 1 Corinthians 3.
