Author: Jefferson Vann

Jefferson Vann is pastor of Piney Grove Advent Christian Church in Delco, North Carolina.

ACST 50: The Sacrifice

As the Messiah, Jesus came to give up his life by crucifixion in order to rescue us from Satan’s grasp.[1] It was necessary that Christ be put to death to accomplish salvation. The question as to why this was necessary, and just exactly how his death saves anyone belongs to the locus of soteriology, and particularly the doctrine of the atonement.

the concept of atonement

Some explain the concept of atonement by saying that sin separates us from God, and what Jesus did on the cross caused us to be at-one with him again. Atonement is at-one-ment. This is fairly accurate, but it fails to really answer the above questions of why and how that is true. To get to those answers, readers must look to the Old Testament.

There is a formula that is repeated almost verbatim twelve times in the books of Leviticus and Numbers. It goes something like this: “the sinner shall offer the sacrifice to the LORD, and the priest shall make atonement for him, and he will be forgiven.”[2] This formula reveals four parties involved in the practice of atonement as described in the Mosaic law:

  • First, there was the offended party – the LORD himself. If God could not be affected by our actions, the atonement would not be necessary. But his righteousness is deeply affected by our acts of unrighteousness.
  • Second, there was the offending party – the sinner. Whether those sins were deliberate or done out of ignorance was not the point. The point was that something had been done or left undone that offended God’s holiness.
  • Third, there was the innocent sacrifice. A highly valuable animal was killed in order to reconcile the two above parties – to make them one again. There was a price to pay to restore the relationship between the sinner and his God. There was a price for forgiveness.
  • Fourth, there was the qualified priest. Priests serve as mediators between the two parties. The priest has responsibilities toward both parties. He represents them. He follows the rules set by the offended party (God) that will allow him (God) to forgive the offenses. The priest does not forgive the sins, but he does make it possible for God to do so. The Mosaic law provided for means for priests to be cleansed, so that they could qualify to serve in this vital function for their brothers and sisters.

Why?

The Bible teaches that Jesus Christ was offered up on the cross once and for all to bear all the world’s sins.[3] The Mosaic ritual of atonement was an analogy pointing to this great event. It taught us that an individual’s sins are – first and foremost – committed against God himself. To really understand the need for the cross, we must look at the problem of sin from God’s perspective.

It is entirely human to speculate about other scenarios where the problem of sin could be dealt with in other manners. But those who think of such things must realize that their own concepts of fairness and justice (and even mercy and grace) are products of their limited knowledge and experience. God is the only one who is the truly offended party, so only he can decide on the proper remedy for the offense. Only he knows what can reconcile him to a sinner permanently.

The best that the theologian can do in answering “why the cross?” is to see the correlations between the analogy and the event it predicted. So, it helps to recognize these correlations.

1. The cross was a God-thing. It was the destiny that Jesus was born to, the destination he was driven to. The Via Dolorosa was the path that God had ordained for Jesus to take from the very beginning. Jesus said that when he would be lifted up onto the cross that it would draw all people to himself.[4] He could not pray for God to rescue him from that hour of trial, because it was the purpose for which he had come.[5]

2. Jesus took sin upon himself at the cross, and bore the full punishment for it. Paul told the Corinthians that “for our sake (God) made (Christ) to be sin who knew no sin.”[6] Jesus took the place of every sinner who ever lived and suffered as our representative. When the Father looked down at his own Son on the cross he saw not the sinners, but their sacrifice.

3. The Son of God on the cross was the most precious and valuable sacrifice ever offered. If there were ever a man or woman who was completely sinless from the womb, and who lived a life exemplary beyond measure, then that person would have qualified for the cross. But humanity never produced such a saint. So, God in his grace stepped forward and provided the sacrifice himself. God became flesh,[7] so that he could sacrifice his own flesh.[8]

4. As fully human and completely sinless, Christ also qualified to offer himself.[9] He served both as sacrifice and as priest.[10] He “offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins”[11] – which was himself. The offering was accepted, and need never be repeated. Christ, “by a single offering … has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.”[12]

How?

Through time, people have speculated as to how Christ’s death atoned for the sins of others.[13] Some have even misinterpreted Scripture itself and held to ideas which fail to represent what it says about the cross.

For example, the Bible speaks of Christ’s death as a ransom paid.[14] Some have concluded that Christ had to die as payment to Satan to purchase back believers from the hell they deserved. This work has already shown that the only thing God owes Satan is destruction in hell.[15]

The Bible presents Christ as the example for believers to follow.[16] Some have included that Christ’s death on the cross is the ultimate example that believers should follow in obedience to God’s will, no matter what. But a careful examination of all the example texts will show that nowhere is the believer called on to die in the same way that Christ did. We are take up our crosses and follow him.

The real message of the cross is that by dying for us, Christ did something that we needed, but that we could not do for ourselves. Peter says “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.”[17] Christ’s death on the cross made our sanctification possible. It was more than an example. Without Christ’s death, no one could ever follow his example.

Substitutionary Atonement

In a very real sense, Christ took our place on the cross. Humanity rightly deserved to die, and to die horribly for sinful thoughts, rebellion against God, and as a consequence of our actions. Enter Jesus. The Prophet Isaiah explained what the cross would be 700 years before it happened. He put it this way:

“Surely he has borne our griefs and carried

our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken,

smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was

wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed

for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement

that brought us peace, and with his stripes we

are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray;

we have turned—every one—to his own way;

and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us

all” (Isaiah 53:4-6 ESV).

God lovingly provided a solution to humanity’s sin problem by sending his only Son to suffer and die in our place. This is what theologians call substitutionary atonement. It is the only definition of atonement that matches the Old Testament examples.

In the end, both questions (why the cross? and how the cross?) cannot be fully answered. We must simply accept that this is the way that God has chosen by his grace to deal with our sin problem without destroying us. Christ became our atoning sacrifice.

[1] see chapter 36.

[2] Leviticus 4:20, 26, 31, 35; 5:10, 13, 16, 18: 6:7; 19:22; Numbers 15:25, 28.

[3] Romans 6:10; Hebrews 9:28.

[4] John 12:32.

[5] John 12:27.

[6] 2 Corinthians 5:21.

[7] John 1:14.

[8] John 10:18.

[9] Hebrews 7:27.

[10] Hebrews 3:1, 14, 15; 5:5, 6, 10; 6:20; 7:3, 24, 26-28.

[11] Hebrews 10:12.

[12] Hebrews 10:14.

[13] For a more complete treatment of false theories of the atonement, see the Moody Handbook of Theology (Chicago: Moody Bible Institute, 1989).

[14] Matthew 20:28; Mark 10:45; 1 Timothy 2:6; 1 Peter 1:18; Revelation 5:9.

[15] see chapter 44.

[16] John 13:15; 1 Timothy 1:16; 1 Peter 2:21.

[17] 1 Peter 2:24.

Examining Romans 2:6-8

 

“(God) will render to each one according to his works: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury” (Romans 2:6-8 ESV).

two questions

Like all of Scripture, Paul’s writings can lend themselves to a variety of interpretations, and this text is no exception. Two questions present themselves to the inquisitive reader of Romans 2:6-8.

  • First, there is the works question: is Paul teaching salvation by works here? If so, he would seem to be contradicting what he has written elsewhere, especially in Romans.
  • The second question might not be so obvious as the first, but it bears asking: What kind of judgment is Paul talking about? In other words, what is the nature of the divine wrath that Paul is alluding to? That is the wrath question.

the works question

Paul’s argument throughout the book of Romans is that works do not justify anyone – that is, no one is going to be declared righteous before God on the basis of works that he or she has done or will do.

  • “For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight” (3:20).
  • “For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law” (3:28).
  • “But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace” (11:6).

Paul makes similar points in Galatians:

  • “yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified” (2:16).
  • “Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith?” (3:2).
  • “For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them”” (3:10).

So, why does Paul begin his argument in Romans by putting works in a good light, insisting that God is going to award works of well-doing and obedience to the truth? Why does Paul say that works will lead to blessing when he later says that those who rely on works are under a curse?

the context of Romans 2

Part of the answer to questions like that is that Paul is addressing a certain audience in Romans 2, an audience who will understand the meaning of his words in a particular way. He had set up his argument in chapter one by referring to godless and ignorant pagans who suppress what little truth they know, and exchange that truth for a lie, leading to both idolatry and immorality. He concludes that God is storing up his wrath against them.

In chapter 2, Paul turns to the wiser, smug, Jewish part of his audience. He asks them this question: “Do you suppose … that you will escape the judgment of God?”.[1] They probably did. They probably felt that since their sin lives were less conspicuous than those of their Gentile neighbors, God would overlook them. After all, they were not guilty of such blatant idolatry and immorality as is common among the Gentiles.

But Paul’s message to those who were less sinful (or less openly sinful) was that they are going to be judged as well. No one will escape judgment because no one is sinless. But this God of judgment is also a God of grace. He has chosen to save some in spite of their sinfulness.

God will save the repentant

Looking down upon others who are caught in destructive lifestyles and behaviors is not an attribute of someone who is going to be saved. Paul tells the self-righteous Jews of Rome that in passing judgment upon others they are condemning themselves. He tells them that the fact that they are not experiencing some of the unpleasant consequences of blatant sin is due to God’s kindness and forbearance and patience.[2] But these outwardly good people are actually storing up wrath for themselves for judgment day.[3] Their good works will not save them on that day.

There are two reasons for this. First, all sin is repugnant to God, and he sees all sin. He is not blind to the sins of respectable people. He shows no partiality.[4] Second, those who are not blatantly godless or decadent will sin, and those sins will be found out among the rest of the planet. Paul tells these judgmental Jews that their sins are causing his name to be blasphemed among the Gentiles.[5]

Paul urges these who are self-satisfied with their almost righteousness to repent of their sins. He tells them that God’s patience is meant to lead them to repentance. He pleads for them not to rely on their good works to save them.

Repentance is the beginning of the process that the Holy Spirit works in the lives of those who will be ultimately saved. The author of Hebrews listed two things that are foundational to every Christian life: “repentance from dead works and … faith toward God.”[6] The act of repenting from one’s sins takes salvation out of the “me” camp and puts it into the “God” camp. It is acknowledgment that one’s attempt to live the perfect life did not work. Thus, it is a plea for mercy and grace. The “patience in well-doing” by which the believer seeks “glory honor and immortality” does not even begin until after repentance. To suggest that someone can become saved and do actual good works without repenting is like suggesting that someone can live without being born.

the wrath question

For those who do not repent and begin a life of seeking “glory, honor and immortality”, God’s “wrath and fury” await. Like grace and repentance, this final punishment will be meted out to everyone regardless of ethnic or national pedigree. It will come to “every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek.”[7]

What is the nature of this wrath? We know that God’s wrath is currently being revealed against the ungodly.[8] The destructive and abusive lifestyles of those who do not know God are killing them regularly. The consequences of their choice to suppress the truth and obey unrighteousness destroys them, either gradually or suddenly. But for some, God’s wrath does not seem to lead to such consequences. For them, God’s wrath is being stored up until judgment day, when it will be revealed all at once.[9]

The book of Revelation describes that event this way:

Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them.

“And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done.

And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done.

Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.

And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:12-15).

This vision of divine judgment was revealed to John on Patmos. It is written in a different genre than Paul’s description of wrath and fury in Romans 2, but there can be no doubt that it describes the same future event. Comparing both texts reveals the following similarities.

1. Both descriptions are of judgment meted out by God.

2. Both depictions include all humanity.

3. Both descriptions include a division of humanity into two groups: one will suffer wrath while the other will receive life.

4. Both descriptions have the same basis for judgment: the evil works done in this life.

5. Both descriptions portray a specific event in the future. Paul calls it “the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.”[10] John sees that it will take place at the end of the age, just before the creation of a “new heaven and a new earth.”[11]

There is no indication in either of these passages of this judgment taking place in the intermediate state (the time between death and the resurrection). Although Paul says that wrath and fury awaits the wicked, he does not say that this judgment will take place when the wicked man dies. Instead, he speaks of an event in the future when God’s wrath will be poured out on all the wicked together, at the same time. He sees the same thing that John sees.

Likewise, John describes an event that takes place at the end of the age, not a process that goes on from a person’s death onward. He sees all the dead together in the same place, and then judgment begins. All the wicked are judged “according to what they had done.”[12] This allows for judgment that properly addresses each person’s sin. The notion that people will be tormented during the intermediate state as punishment for their sins is not supported by either of these texts.

the end of judgment

John sees this judgment coming to a completion, an end. He says of the wicked “they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done.”[13] The very next verse says … “Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.”[14] The symbol is the lake of fire, a large body of fire that does what fire does: it destroys. The reality that the symbol portrays is not a process but an event: the second death. Once that event is over, God is free to recreate, which he does by making a new heaven and earth. The first heaven and earth (together with the lake of fire) had passed away.[15]

Paul’s description of judgment in Romans 2 shows the same result. After an appropriate time of receiving God’s wrath and fury for their sins, all of the wicked are said to “perish.”[16] Thus Paul divides the world into two groups: those “who are being saved” and “those who are perishing.”[17] Paul teaches that all of Christ’s enemies will be destroyed, then the “last enemy to be destroyed is death” itself.[18] Paul gives no place or time for a final punishment that does not end.

the purpose of God’s wrath

Paul’s argument in Romans is that all humanity stands under the judgment of God because of sin, thus all need a Savor. He calls for the ignorant Gentile to repent and turn to God. He calls for the self-righteous Jew to repent and turn to God. He warns that a hell of just punishment awaits both.

The wrath and fury of God can be called just for two reasons: it appropriately deals with the rebellion and sins of each individual who will be punished, and will appropriately deal with the blot of sin in the universe as a whole. Once the lake of fire has burned up the last trace of rebellion in the universe, God will be free to accomplish the purpose for which his wrath was devised: granting life to his redeemed for all eternity.

That is why Paul, eager to share the good news of eternal life with the Romans, had to preface his gospel with the bad news about hell. God has a plan for eternal peace and righteousness. In order for that plan to come about, there must first be wrath and fury poured out upon those who do not repent.

both sides of the story

We seek to win our neighbors to Christ. We want them to know the joy of living with him and for him. We want them to be saved for all eternity. But we are often reluctant to talk to them about the consequences if they reject God’s offer. We do not want to be branded as a “fire and brimstone” kind of Christian. Paul in Romans 2 shows how to appropriately tell both sides of the story of God’s salvation. Our neighbors might not be interested in being saved until we can explain to them what they need to be saved from.

[1] Romans 2:3.

[2] Romans 2:4.

[3] Romans 2:5.

[4] Romans 2:11.

[5] Romans 2:24.

[6] Hebrews 6:1. Both terms figure into Paul’s introduction to salvation in Romans (1:5, 8, 12, 17; 2:4).

[7] Romans 2:9.

[8] Romans 1:18.

[9] Romans 2:5.

[10] Romans 2:5.

[11] Revelation 21:1.

[12] Revelation 20:13.

[13] Revelation 20:13.

[14] Revelation 20:14.

[15] Revelation 21:1.

[16] Romans 2:12.

[17] 1 Corinthians 1:18; 2 Corinthians 2:15; 4:3; 2 Thessalonians 2:10.

[18] 1 Corinthians 15:26.

ACST 49: The Chooser

The issue of personal salvation involves a number of questions. The temptation will be to narrowly define the issue so that only certain questions are studied – particularly if the student is tied to a certain theological tradition. Those with inclinations toward the Reformed or Wesleyan-Arminian tradition will be most interested in the “who” question. The Reformers emphasized that God is sovereign in the saving process, tracing salvation from its starting point in election. Arminians emphasize human freedom to respond to God.

In this work, while human responsibility is taught, God’s sovereignty in salvation trumps it. Salvation is described as a work of all three persons of the Trinity. The Father chooses, not at all based on the foreseen worthiness of the objects of his choice, but entirely by his grace. The Son sacrificed himself on the cross to atone for the sins of the world potentially, and especially for those who will respond to his atonement in faith.[1] The Holy Spirit applies that atonement to the lives of believers, transforming and regenerating those who are predestined to it.[2]

Equally important to the “who” question, salvation is also a “what.” It is important to nail down just exactly what it means to be saved, and what it means to be unsaved. For that reason, this work delves into questions as to what a saved individual does and does not do. There are traits in a person’s life that serve as indicators of salvation. These include a changed mind (repentance),[3] a redirected mouth (testifying to the gospel)[4] and a life of confidence in God and his future (faith).[5] These “what” questions are not entirely separated from the “who” question. This is where the human responsibility comes in. These indications of the transformed life are also obligations for individual believers. They are also a matched set. We can portray all the confidence in the world that we are saved, but if that confidence is not accompanied by a transformed mind, and a gospel-oriented testimony and life, then our salvation is still in question.

The Choice

A good starting point to help us begin studying the “who” question of salvation is Paul’s salutation in his letter to the Ephesians:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing

in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him

before the foundation of the world, that we should be

holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined

us for adoption through Jesus Christ, according to the

purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace,

with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. 7 In him we

have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our

trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8 which

he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight 9 making

known to us the mystery of his will, according to his

purpose, which he set forth in Christ 10 as a plan for the

fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven

and things on earth. 11 In him we have obtained an

inheritance, having been predestined according to the

purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel

of his will, 12 so that we who were the first to hope in

Christ might be to the praise of his glory. 13 In him you

also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your

salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the

promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our

inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the

praise of his glory.[6]

It is quite clear from this text that Paul is describing a connection between himself and the Ephesians. That connection is the fact that he is a saved individual and he is addressing saved individuals. Notice how Paul describes salvation as a blessing that all the saved have been blessed with by God the Father (3,6). That blessing originated in God’s choice in the past, affects the believer’s status in the present, and will lead to ultimate salvation (glorification) in the future.

 

vs.

past

present

future

3

God has blessed us

with every spiritual blessing

A choice that God made in the past has affected the atmosphere in which we walk today. We experience some of the material blessings that go along with our allegiance to the LORD. But we experience all of the spiritual blessings. The material blessings may come and go during this life, but the spiritual blessings are permanent. Our future will include an immeasurable supply of both material and spiritual blessings. In fact, there will be no difference between the two. Presently, our Savior warns us to place our priority on seeking God’s kingdom and his righteousness (spiritual blessings), and challenges us to trust God for the things that we need.[7] He has a plan and purpose for our lives, and, for now, the spiritual blessings are all we need to accomplish that purpose.

 

vs.

past

present

future

4

God chose us

that we should be holy and blameless before him

God’s choice was not merely a rescue from death or disaster. He had a purpose, and that purpose included our becoming like him. We are to (and will) reflect his holiness and blamelessness. Without that choice made by God in the past, humanity had no hope of ascending to God’s level. Babel taught us that we cannot build ourselves up to heaven’s height from the ground up. The work had to be done from the top down. God destroyed Babel not because he actually feared that man would reach perfection without him, but because he knew that man would ever incline himself toward that futile attempt. As long as Babel existed, God’s plan of grace would always be our second choice.

 

vs.

past

present

future

5

God predestined us

according to the purpose of his will

for adoption

Again, the choice of God in eternity past is being highlighted. No one becomes a son of God by his or her own choice. The choice is an adoption. Children may seek adoption. They may ask for it. But the parents are the ones who adopt. The child’s status does not change unless the potential parent chooses to become an actual one. Paul and the Ephesians celebrated their mutual status as adopted children of God not because of their own works, but because of works done for them in eternity past.

But, along with that appreciation for the grace of adoption comes an expected change in behavior and lifestyle that reflects the new status as sons. So, Paul would challenge these same Ephesian Christians with the words: “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”[8] It was “through the church (that) the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.”[9] Paul challenged the Ephesian believers to “put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.”[10] Their choices must reflect the same intent as God’s saving choice. That is how they show that an adoption has taken place.

 

vs.

past

present

future

6

God has blessed us with

his glorious grace

that we might praise him

for his glorious grace

Our praise of God is a reflection on what he has done for us that we did not deserve. Grace is God’s choice in eternity past that has resulted in our worship in the present. Grace is more that just the fact that God has made salvation possible. We worship God for something that he did. His choice is the grounds for our praise. His blessing is the reason for our worship. He is the divine Chooser, and we are the human choice. He chose us. It was a choice based on his grace. So, now we praise him for that grace.

 

vs.

past

present

future

7

God has blessed us with

his glorious grace

that we might have redemption

that we might have forgiveness

God’s sovereign choice to save us has also redeemed us from the slavery associated with sin. We are free in the present not to sin. We have also been forgiven for all our past sins. Our status has changed. The bondage which was our inheritance from Adam has been replaced because God has blessed us with grace. A slave is in no condition to demand release. A condemned man can seek forgiveness, but he has no ability to make someone forgive him.

 

vs.

past

present

future

11

having been predestined

In him we have obtained an inheritance

God’s sovereign choice to save us has given us a present inheritance. We have hope for the future because of what he has done for us in the past. That hope is a present tense reality. It assures of a future even though we do not deserve one. It is not at all evident what that inheritance will entail. Were we to get even a small glimpse of what we will be throughout eternity, it would overwhelm us. Faith takes the challenges of each day with confidence that even if there is failure today, there will eventually be eternal (permanent) victory. God has predestined it.

 

vs.

past

present

future

13-14

you were sealed with the

promised Holy Spirit

who is the guarantee of our

inheritance

until we acquire possession of it

The Holy Spirit’s involvement in the lives of believers links God’s sovereign choice in the past with our eternal inheritance. His presence within us is our guarantee that the forces that war within and seek to undo our deliverance will not ultimately win. Even when we face temporary setbacks and times of fear and failure – He assures us that these are only temporary. Our guarantee is more than simply knowing that we have been chosen. Along with that election, God has also predestined us to ultimately win. Along with that predestination, he has provided a living guarantee within us, his Holy Spirit.

The who behind it all is God, who has chosen us of his own free will eternity past. This was Paul’s basis for the connection he felt with the Ephesian Christians. This was the reason for Paul’s confidence that they would triumph over the problems that they faced. The more we know about who is behind our salvation, the more confident we can be. For that reason, it is helpful to review some of those key texts in scripture that affirm God’s initial choice, which the Bible calls his election.

“Am I not permitted to do what I want with what

belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am

generous?” (Matthew 20:15 NET).

Jesus told a story about day laborers, hired to work in a vineyard. It is important not to abuse the stories that Jesus told by making them “walk on all fours” – that is, making them say more than they were intended to say. So, it is important to establish that the reason Jesus told this story was to illustrate God’s sovereign choice in saving people. The act of working in the vineyard was not what Jesus was emphasizing. It was the choice of the owner to decide who works, and how much each is paid. The fact that the owner chooses to pay each worker the same indicates that the payment is a result of grace, not was is deserved. So, eternal salvation is the issue.

God’s sovereign choice is seen in the fact that the owner of the vineyard asks the question “Am I not permitted to do what I want with what belongs to me?” – a question that we must all consider when debating this issue of election. Often election is rejected on the grounds that it does not seem fair for God to decide who gets paid long before the work is done. But that is the picture we see here. Of course, there is also human choice involved. The workers were not coerced into their toil. Each was willing to work. But the point of Jesus’ parable did not relate to that. His objective was to defend the free will of the owner, not the workers.

“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent

me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last

day”(John 6:44 ESV).

Jesus had been explaining that he was the bread, the manna sent from heaven: he was the solution to the spiritual hunger in all of us. Yet God did not send manna to everyone, only to the Israelites. Likewise, as the new era of salvation dawns, not everyone will come to Christ and be saved. The door to salvation opens wider when Christ is revealed, but it does not open for everyone. Those who come to Christ are drawn to him by the Father. It is these who have been drawn (the elect) who will be raised up to eternal life on the last day.

To further stretch the manna analogy, the Father’s drawing is like giving us an appetite for the bread of life. We might think that we have complete control over our destiny, but our control (our free will – if you will) is limited to the fact that we are free to choose what we want. But who controls our wants? Jesus speaks here of the Father drawing us to Christ. The fact that we wanted to be saved suggests that this drawing had taken place.

“So you see, God chooses to show mercy to some,

and he chooses to harden the hearts of others

so they refuse to listen. 19 Well then, you might

say, “Why does God blame people for not responding?

Haven’t they simply done what he makes them do?”

20 No, don’t say that. Who are you, a mere human

being, to argue with God? Should the thing that

was created say to the one who created it, “Why

have you made me like this?” 21 When a potter

makes jars out of clay, doesn’t he have a right

to use the same lump of clay to make one jar

for decoration and another to throw garbage

into?” (Romans 9:18-21 NLT).

This text deals with another possible objection to election on the grounds that it is not fair. The issue here is the opposite of that which Jesus dealt in his story of the vineyard. It has to do with the perceived unfairness of God judging those who do not believe. If salvation is based on God’s electing grace, why would he punish those whom he chooses not to elect?

If Paul had merely wanted to say “You misunderstand, God chooses fairly based on the obedience he sees in our future” he could have said that. Instead, he uses this potter and clay analogy, which suggests that salvation is entirely the result of God’s electing grace. Paul argued that we are the results of God’s artistic choice. He decides which jar gets used for which purpose. The choice is entirely his.

When it comes to the issue of fairness, we seem to forget that our very existence in the first place is not fair. When our ancestors rejected God’s way in Eden, he should have destroyed our species entirely. That would have been fair, because we violated his prohibition, and the penalty was death. We deserve non-existence. But God in his grace gives us life. He also, by his grace, has chosen to redeem some of us through the substitutionary death of Christ.

Our real problem with election is with that word some. It seems entirely unfair that God would only choose some as recipients of his grace. There is even a significant movement within Christianity which suggests that all will eventually be saved. Rob Bell’s book Love Wins explains how he and others can come to such a conclusion. [11] He argues that God has to win ultimately, and that means that eventually all those suffering in hell will repent, and so all will be saved. Of course, the problem is that hell is the second death. Those thrown into the lake of fire will suffer, but even hell will end. It will be emptied not by people repenting, but by their being destroyed.

Paul’s argument in Romans 9 is that God is fair in destroying and discarding those whom he chooses not to save. God is right in creating the jar destined to be used to hold garbage. His glory is not diminished because everyone does not become an eternal masterpiece. That is fair because both the decorative art and the garbage pail are creations of the same artist.

“All inhabitants of the earth will worship

the beast– all whose names have not been

written in the book of life belonging to the

Lamb that was slain from the creation of

the world” (Revelation 13:8 NIV).

The picture of the elect that presents itself in Revelation 13 is that of a book with people’s names written in it. It is a registry, a divine database. There may or may not be an actual book. The point is that salvation is limited. If John saw a book with names in it, he perhaps saw your name or mine. This was thousands of years before we were born, yet the record of the saved was there – and complete at that time. It is comforting to think of one’s name being written there, but what about those whose names are missing. Is it unfair for God to do that? No, because those whose names are not written in the book of life will worship the beast. No one will die in hell who does not deserve death because of his or her own sins. There is fairness in God’s judgment.

The Starting Point

God’s sovereign choice in election is the logical starting point in discussing salvation. Yet many get so hung up on that issue that they can scarcely go any further. The Bible has so much more to say about the process of salvation. In order to understand salvation, one needs to accept the fact that by grace he has been saved, and then ask more questions. It is to these further questions that this study will now turn.

[1] see chapter 50. The Sacrifice.

[2] see chapter 51. The Regenerator.

[3] see chapter 52. The Change.

[4] see chapter 53. The Testimony.

[5] see chapter 54. The Life.

[6] Ephesians 1:3-14.

[7] Matthew 6:33.

[8] Ephesians 2:10.

[9] Ephesians 3:10.

[10] Ephesians 4:22-24.

[11] Rob Bell, LOVE WINS: A Book About Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived. (Robert H. Bell, Jr. Trust, 2011).