Does God Only Enable the Elect to Believe and the Rest is Up to Them? (Part 3) - Joh 3:16
Submitted by Pastor Chad Wagner on Sunday, October 25, 2020.The outline is attached below.
V. This goes with John 3:16 and also with election verses. 1. I meant that my idea was not in contradiction with Joh 3:16 and election verses. 2. In actuality, my idea was not taught by either Joh 3:16 or the election verses. 3. Joh 3:16 is not a formula that a sinner follows to get eternal life like most people think. 4. For God so loved the world. A. Who is the world whom God loved? B. The "world" in Joh 3:16 is not the entire human race. C. The world doesn't always mean the entire human race in scripture (Luk 2:1). i. World n. - The inhabitants of the earth, or a section of them. ii. Does God love all the inhabitants of the earth, or only a section of them? a. If it can be shown from the scripture that God hates anyone, then that necessarily means that He doesn't love everyone, which means that the world that He loves is only a section of the inhabitants of the earth. b. Love v. - 1. a. trans. With personal obj. or one capable of personification: To bear love to; to entertain a great affection or regard for; to hold dear. c. Hate v. - 1. trans. To hold in very strong dislike; to detest; to bear malice to. The opposite of to love. iii. God hates sinners (workers of iniquity) (Psa 5:4-5). a. God hates the wicked (Psa 11:5). b. God not only hates wicked people who have rejected Him, He hates all sinners from the womb whom He didn't elect to save (Rom 9:11-13). c. Since hate is the opposite of love, God cannot both love the entire human race and hate many of them at the same time. d. Therefore, the world whom God loved is a section of the human race. iv. Whom does God love? a. God loves His elect whom He chose before the foundation of the world (Eph 1:4; Rom 8:28-39; Jer 31:3). b. Therefore, the world whom God loved is the world of His elect which is a section of the human race out of every nation and people: "the world" distributively, not collectively (Rev 5:9; Rev 7:9; Rev 13:16 c/w Rev 20:4). 5. Whosoever believeth in him: who can believe in Christ? A. All men are born dead in sin (Rom 5:12; Eph 2:1). B. In this condition they can't hear (Joh 8:43, 47), understand (Rom 3:10-11), nor believe the gospel (1Co 2:14). C. Only those which are saved can believe the preaching of the cross (1Co 1:18). i. If a person believes in Christ, it's only because he had already passed from death unto life prior to hearing it (Joh 5:24; 1Jo 5:1; 1Jo 4:15). ii. Therefore, whosoever believes in Jesus Christ shows the evidence that they shall not perish, but have eternal life. D. The verse doesn't say that whosoever believeth gets, acquires, attains, or earns everlasting life. E. It says that he has it. i. Eternal life comes prior to believing (Joh 5:24). ii. Believing is the evidence that one has eternal life. iii. All that believe in Christ are justified (not get justified) (Act 13:39). F. Those who looked upon the serpent which Moses lifted up in the wilderness were saved from death (Joh 3:14 c/w Num 21:8-9). i. Looking upon the serpent was only beneficial to those who were alive, not to those who were already dead. ii. In similar fashion, because Christ was lifted up and died on the cross, those who believe on Him shall not perish because they are passed from death unto life. iii. Just as Israel later turned the brass serpent into an idol (2Ki 18:4), so likewise people today have made their faith in Christ an idol which they think saves them. 6. It was God giving His Son, not their belief in Him, which saved the world of God's elect and gave them eternal life (Joh 6:37-39; Rom 5:6-10; Rom 5:19; Rom 8:3; 2Co 5:21; Gal 4:4-5; 1Pe 2:24). 7. What does our belief accomplish? A. Our belief doesn't get us eternal life since only those who are saved and have eternal life can believe. B. Those that believe the gospel are those whom God ordained to eternal life (Act 13:48). C. Our belief identifies us as part of the world whom God loved and for whom He gave His Son to die. D. Our belief in Christ is the evidence and assurance that we are of the elect whom God gave to Christ and sent Him to die for (Joh 17:2-4). 8. Joh 3:16 is not a formula to follow to get eternal life, but is rather a wonderful promise to those who believe in Christ that God loves them, gave His Son for them, and saved them eternally so that they shall not perish, but have everlasting life. 9. If we believe in the Son of God, we have the assurance that we have eternal life.