ArchivedIs John 3:16 actually an invitation open to all?Well, without going into a dissertation on the topic (which, believe me, I'm not at all qualified to do anyway!), election basically entails the idea that God has determined before the foundation of the world whom He will draw to Himself and whom He will not. Added to that this verse:
I can see how you might come to that conclusion, and in fact, there are many people who hold to Calvinistic teachings that do not do any kind of evangelizing for the very reason that you are thinking: Why "waste" our time evangelizing if they are either guaranteed to be saved eventually or they have no chance of being saved anyway? Well, I think the answer to that is pretty easy. First of all, we don't know who the elect are - only God knows. So we have to evangelize everyone, knowing that some are not elect and will not be saved, but also knowing that some are elect and that we might have the privilege of being the one that God uses in that person's life to bring them to Himself. Secondly, God's method for getting people saved nowadays is people. So, if nobody evangelized, nobody would get saved. Before everyone jumps on me, let me clarify. I know that salvation is the work solely of the Holy Spirit - that's not what I'm saying here. I'm saying that people do not get saved unless there is some sort of preaching that they hear. I'm basically echoing Romans 10:14 - "How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? " Thirdly, election does not nullify the Great Commission. Even if I did think that evangelism was completely worthless, I've still been commanded by God to evangelize, so I need to do it regardless of what I think about it. Hope that answers some of your question! |
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