In our study of discernment, of how to make the right decisions in the midst of the spiritual warfare that rages around us, this week we looked at discerning theological systems. Here is the questions we looked at:
Question: [following a lesson taught] “God knows who is going to be saved and who isn’t. So were some people selected for salvation or predestined for salvation and others weren’t? And as one person commented ‘then why are we going out and evangelizing?’ And another said “she has a problem with predestination’ ”.
Based on this question, we broke it down into these questions:
•Does God’s foreknowledge equal determinism?
•What does predestination teach?
•What is salvation?
•How should we respond in terms of evangelism?
Check out the notes below to see how the Bible responds to the above concerns. As always, God’s view of predestination, salvation, and our responsibilities in evangelism is far more challenging than we first assume. In addition we were reminded that though theological systems can be helpful in organizing Biblical truth, all systems are man-made constructs. If we find ourselves looking for Bible verses to support a system, or deciding whether we want to follow a Biblical command because of a system—that is an incorrect approach.
God’s Word, the Bible, is our infallible guide for salvation and how to live day-by-day. Following it is a challenge worthy of our time and best efforts.
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