Elect

Dr. Couch, the doctrine of election is an awesome truth. What does the word "elect" mean? ANSWER:  The Hebrew word for "elect" is Bah' Char and means "elect" or "chosen."    (A) In a corporate sense the nation of Israel is chosen even though individually the Jews have sinned in that they have not accepted their own promised Messiah. God's promises still remain—the Jews will someday turn to Christ and be back in the good graces of the Lord once more. The Jewish people are "chosen" through the Abrahamic covenant (Psa. 105:8-11). The Abrahamic covenant was confirmed "to Jacob for an everlasting covenant, saying, "To you I will give the land of Canaan as the portion of your inheritance." Notice that the giving of the land is the sign of that covenant. It belongs to the Jews as a perpetual inheritance. The foolish covenant guys (allegorists) try to say that the land no longer belongs to the Jewish people. They have not read their Bible!    God's chosen ones, with a shout of joy" were given "the lands of the nations, that they might take possession of the fruit of the peoples' labor. … Praise the Lord!" (vv. 42-45). As the "chosen ones" they will someday receive prosperity (106:5).    (B) There are two classes of the angelic host. There are those who are joined to the devil; they belong to him (Matt. 25:41). They were cast forth from heaven when he fell. But there are those who did not leave their position with the Lord. They are the "holy" angels (Luke 9:26), and the elect or chosen angels (1 Tim. 5:21).  Then there are the believers who are the elect of the Lord. "... just as He chose us ..." (Eph. 1:4). The Greek word here is eklego which means "to out call." Or, "to call out." We can call this word also "to elect." This election took place before "the casting down of the world," or "before the foundation of the world" (v. 4). The result of this calling would make us "holy and blameless" because we are now placed into the holy Son of God—this is our new position! This includes also His predestination which means "to before encircle," or "to put a fence around." The word is "pro-orizo" in Greek.The word of God is so clear and makes such sense when we let it just speak to us! It is not complicated!    Thanks for asking.    Dr. Mal Couch (12/10)

Inclusivism and Preaching Christ

Dr. Couch, I believe Romans 10:13-14 indicates pagans are lost, so then we should preach Christ to them, right? Otherwise, why not let them be saved by some other way. What do you think of inclusivism? ANSWER:  These verses are looking at the lost from the earthly perspective. And yes, they cannot be saved without accepting Christ, and they cannot hear of Him without a "preacher" ("proclaimer"). This does not negate the doctrine of absolute predestination and election. These verses in Romans are giving us the subjective or the human perspective. If you want to fully understand the doctrine of predestination you need to study Ephesians 1:3-14. Read it carefully and slowly. Notice that "belief" is not mentioned because Paul is taking us up to heaven to observe the Divine perspective on salvation.    Remember my little saying, God is absolutely 100% sovereign and man is 100% responsible. I really cannot understand this but this is what the Bible proclaims from Genesis to Revelation. Paul points out in Romans 1 that men are responsible for seeing God in nature, but even with that revelation, they still refuse to come to Him. Paul is not suggesting that they can be saved by seeing God in nature but his point is that they do not even go past that revelation. They still refuse to believe in Him no matter how great or small the knowledge they have of Him.    Paul's conclusion on the subject is important: He writes "There is none righteous, not even one; there is none who understands, there is none who seeks after God; all have turned aside, together they have become useless; there is none who does good, thee is not even one" (Rom. 3:10-12). This comes under the heading of  Total Depravity! In some ways 1 Corinthians 2:14 is even stronger. "The natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for these things are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually understandable." Thus mankind is really cut off from God and does not wish to seek Him!    I am not sure what you mean by inclusivism. Please explain.    Thanks for asking.    Dr. Mal Couch

Prayer and Presdestination and God's Sovereignty

Dr. Couch, thank you for your great ministry and help. Could you please discuss the meaning and purpose of prayer when dealing with the predestination and sovereignty of God. 

 

    It is hard for us human beings to reconcile that we are responsible creatures and that God is sovereign! Notice I did not say “free.” I do not see free will in Scripture. However we are 100% responsible, and God is 100% sovereign. That is irreconcilable! 

    I would answer in this way:

1. We are commanded to pray. “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thess. 5:17).
2. God ordains the ends but also the means to those ends. "It is God who works in you to the willing and the doing of His good pleasure" (Phil. 2:13).
3. Christ said that part of our prayer should be to the Father: "Thy will be done..." (Matt. 6:10).

    While we are not puppets the Lord is still in charge of His own history! I highly recommend Arthur Pink’s book The Sovereignty of God. He has an outstanding chapter on the subject of prayer and God’s sovereignty! May I suggest you read James 4:13-16. Boy, does that tell us “Who is in charge!” 

    Thanks for asking.

    Dr. Mal Couch

Does the Reformed Doctrine of Predestination Differ from the Islamic View of Predestination?

Dr. Couch, does the Reformed doctrine of predestination differ from the Islamic view of predestination? And what about Islamic fatalism? 

 

    The doctrine of predestination did not begin with the Reformed movement. It may have been further explained and fleshed out, but it was a doctrine of the church well before Augustine. Augustine taught it along with the sovereignty of God. Many Catholic divines of the Middle Ages, who I believe could have been born again, also expounded on it.

    Muslims get their views of the absolute sovereignty of God from both the Old and New Testaments. (Is it not strange that the Muslims believe this but many Evangelical Christians do not!) 

    Remember that the Koran is a blender full of truths and half-truths from our Bible. Islamic fatalism is different from the sovereignty of God in the Bible, in that our Scriptures speak of a plan that has distinct purposes in it. Salvation to the Muslim is very capricious and uncertain. It is based on works and an uncertain hope that Allah will be capriciously gracious—though they will never know they will get to heaven until passing through the judgment for their works. Our Bible gives absolute certainty of salvation by faith in Christ. This would be foreign to the Muslim. While some Muslim sects have animal sacrifices they are not as an expatiation for taking care of the sin issue that separates man from God. only Christianity really addresses the issue of human sin and the love of God for the sinner. 

    Our Bible tells us that the Holy Spirit "intercedes for the [Christian] saints according to the will of God" (Rom. 8:27) and that God "causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose" (v. 28). This kind of language is foreign to the Muslim. 

    By the way, some years ago I asked an Iranian engineer to tell me of any prophecies that were in the Koran. He looked puzzled and could not answer. I told him that this was one of the big differences between Islam and Christianity. Our Bible has thousands of prophecies with about half that have already come to pass. He could not name one from the Koran! 

    Thanks for asking.

    Dr. Mal Couch