OK, I know I opened a BIG can of worms even approaching the concept of “predestination” in my last blog. It’s such an unpleasant concept for a lot of people, but as I read the Scriptures I must at least conclude that SCRIPTURE seems to be pretty clear on that concept.
On that same note, in Sunday School this past Sunday another interesting revelation was made, and I want to share it with you.
James 2:6 says, “But you have dishonored the poor man. Are you not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who DRAG you into the court?” The word “drag” is from the Greek word “helko”. It means to forcefully drag or pull something.
The same word is used in John 21:6. “He said to them, ‘Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.’ So they cast it, and now they were not able to HAUL it in, because of the quantity of fish.” The word “haul” is the same word “helko” in Greek.
Why is this important. Why does it matter what the Greek word is for dragging or hauling something? Because it shows a definite action of forcing something to happen that doesn’t necessarily happen on its own. It shows that the hauling or dragging of an object is not of the object’s free will, but of the decision by the person or thing doing the dragging.
This word is used only eight times in the New Testament.
The last place I want to share about this word is found in John 6:44. “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me DRAWS him. And I will raise him up on the last day.” The same word used for dragging someone to court, hauling in a load of fish, is used to describe God’s action to draw someone to Him. And if He is drawing that person, then whose decision is it? Is it man’s free will to choose, or is it God’s Sovereign will to draw that individual to Him?
So, I promised last time to share a few implications of what being chosen BY God, rather than us CHOOSING God, may mean.
The biggest implication for me is the renewed revelation and awe in what being “saved by grace” really means. Eph. 2:8 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God.” Simply put, “grace” is receiving something good I do not deserve and have not earned. When put in the context of God being the one who drew me to Him, rather than me in my brilliance having chosen Him first, grace takes on a wonderful meaning. And the hymn, Amazing Grace, takes on a new meaning as well. For me, it means, “Wow! Thank you Lord for saving me! What in the world made you choose me? But I am so thankful you did!”
A second implication is obedience. Why do we share the gospel with others if they have already been “chosen” or “not chosen”? Jesus said, “if you love Me, do my commandments” (John 14:15). Jesus commanded us to take the gospel to everyone so people may hear, and by hearing, God can open their hearts that they may believe. In other words, being saved by GRACE and not by MY choice means I should love Christ even more and passionately pursue obedience to Him in all things.
And thirdly, I believe another implication is if I did nothing to deserve my salvation, but God chose me and drew me to Him, then my assurance of salvation is that much greater. I don’t know if I can effectively put this into words, but let me try. If it was MY choice to accept Christ, then I had a part in my salvation. I worked towards that salvation by making a right decision. However, if I had a part in it, could I fall out of salvation because I make a bad decision later — maybe I fall into sin of some sort? It’s possible. But if it was not my choice, but GOD’s choice to choose me and drag me to Him, then He took me as I was, as I am, and as He knows I will be in the future, and accepts me nonetheless as I put my faith in Him. To me, that’s a lot greater assurance that I can’t lose my salvation because of a bad choice I may make in the future.
Wow. This is heavy stuff. I’ll try something a little lighter next time!
… Beatty Carmichael