" Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles had occurred in Tyre and Sidon which occurred in you, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.
(So, it is plain here that the Lord knew that if He had done such miracles in these places, they would have repented. Yet, He didn't do any there. If He had truly wanted them to be saved, He would have given them the same "chance" He gave Chorazin and Bethsaida. But He didn't, because that was not His plan.)
At that time Jesus declared, "I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children."
( If God willed every individual to be saved, He would not hide things from anyone.)
27"All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.
(If He willed to reveal Him to everyone, this would be meaningless.)
11Jesus answered them, "To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted.
(God doesn't grant everyone to know these things. If He desired all to be saved, He would.)
14"For many are called, but few are chosen."
(This refers to the general call. We are to preach the gospel to everyone, but only some receive the effectual call from God, and they are the elect. God calls everyone to repent, but only the chosen will do so.)
28for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.
(Notice He doesn't say His blood is poured out for every single individual. It was only for those who are His.)
11And He was saying to them, "To you has been given the mystery of the kingdom of God, but those who are outside get everything in parables,
12so that WHILE SEEING, THEY MAY SEE AND NOT PERCEIVE, AND WHILE HEARING, THEY MAY HEAR AND NOT UNDERSTAND, OTHERWISE THEY MIGHT RETURN AND BE FORGIVEN."
(You always hear that Jesus spoke in parables so that people could understand better. This is the exact opposite of what He Himself said was His reason. He spoke in parables so that only those chosen would understand. While He was here, He Himself explained the parables to His disciples. The Holy Spirit now reveals these things to His people.)
20"Unless the Lord had shortened those days, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect, whom He chose, He shortened the days.
(Couldn't be any clearer. HE chose.)
10And He said, "To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is in parables, so that SEEING THEY MAY NOT SEE, AND HEARING THEY MAY NOT UNDERSTAND.
(Same as above. The parables were so that none could understand but those to whom He chose to reveal things.)
21At that very time He rejoiced greatly in the Holy Spirit, and said, "I praise You, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants. Yes, Father, for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight.
22"All things have been handed over to Me by My Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him."
(Again, God hides things from those not chosen, and the Son only reveals things to whom He wills.)
7now, will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them?
(Another reference to the elect, or called out and chosen.)
12But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name,
13who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
(Very clear. It is only by the will of God that any are born again. Not by the will of man.)
27John answered and said, "A man can receive nothing unless it has been given him from heaven.
(Self explanatory.)
36"But I said to you that you have seen Me, and yet do not believe.
37"All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out.
38"For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.
39"This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day.
(Jesus said that ALL that the Father gives Him WILL come to Him, and these same people will be raised up on the last day. If the Father gives all people to Jesus, and they make the choice, then all would come to Jesus and be saved. They obviously do not. Those who do not come to Him, therefore, were not given to Him by the Father.)
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.
45"It is written in the prophets, 'AND THEY SHALL ALL BE TAUGHT OF GOD.' Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father, comes to Me.
(If God draws everyone, the first part of this would be meaningless. Those drawn are raised up on the last day, so all cannot be drawn.)
64"But there are some of you who do not believe " For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who it was that would betray Him.
65And He was saying, "For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father."
(If it was granted that everyone could come to Him, this again, would be meaningless.)
47"He who is of God hears the words of God; for this reason you do not hear them, because you are not of God."
(He did not say that they were not of God because they did not hear, but that they did not hear because they were not of God. Being of God comes before the ability to hear.)
2And His disciples asked Him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?"
3Jesus answered, "It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him.
(Yes, God makes people to be born blind, deaf, etc., for His own glory.)
14"I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me,
15even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.
16"I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice; and they will become one flock with one shepherd.
(The sheep already belong to the Shepherd. No one chooses to become a sheep. Jesus says His sheep WILL hear His voice. Not that those who hear His voice will become His sheep. Also, notice that He plainly states that His life is laid down for the sheep, not the goats.)
26"But you do not believe because you are not of My sheep.
27"My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me;
28and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.
29"My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand.
(Again, being a sheep comes before believing and hearing. Not the other way around.)
39For this reason they could not believe, for Isaiah said again,
40"HE HAS BLINDED THEIR EYES AND HE HARDENED THEIR HEART, SO THAT THEY WOULD NOT SEE WITH THEIR EYES AND PERCEIVE WITH THEIR HEART, AND BE CONVERTED AND I HEAL THEM."
(God does blind some to the truth for His own purposes and glory. If He wanted every single individual to be saved, He would not do this.)
18"I do not speak of all of you I know the ones I have chosen; but it is that the Scripture may be fulfilled, 'HE WHO EATS MY BREAD HAS LIFTED UP HIS HEEL AGAINST ME.'
(He knows whom He has chosen. Even if we don't.)
16"You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you.
(The plainest statement about who chooses whom, straight from Jesus Himself.)
2even as You gave Him authority over all flesh, that to all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life.
(God gives Jesus some, not all.)
6"I have manifested Your name to the men whom You gave Me out of the world; they were Yours and You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word.
(The men did not become God's, and then He gave them to Christ. They already WERE God's.)
9"I ask on their behalf; I do not ask on behalf of the world, but of those whom You have given Me; for they are Yours;
10and all things that are Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine; and I have been glorified in them.
11"I am no longer in the world; and yet they themselves are in the world, and I come to You Holy Father, keep them in Your name, the name which You have given Me, that they may be one even as We are.
(If Jesus would not even pray for the world, why would He die for it, meaning every single individual? Also, God is the One who keeps us. We do not keep ourselves in His Name.)
24"Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.
(Another reference to some being given to Christ.)
46 Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart,
47 praising God and having favor with all the people And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.
(Notice it does not say they were adding themselves to the assembly, but that THE LORD was adding them.)
27"For truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel,
28to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose predestined to occur.
(God predestined that these men would do this evil thing that accomplished His purpose perfectly. Not that they did anything against their will, because in our sinful estate, we all would love to do the very same thing, were it not for His changing our hearts by grace.)
15But the Lord said to him, "Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel;
(A reference to Paul being chosen. And when you read Paul's account, you can plainly see he was NOT a seeker. He was on His way to kill some more Christians, and Jesus chose him and appointed him and Paul obeyed. Notice also that Jesus did not ask Paul if he wanted Him to come into his heart. He simply said this is who I am, and this is what you are gonna do. Just as He did when he called the 12.)
13"And he reported to us how he had seen the angel standing in his house, and saying, 'Send to Joppa and have Simon, who is also called Peter, brought here;
14and he will speak words to you by which you will be saved, you and all your household.'
(He didn't say "might" be saved if you want to.)
8When they heard this, they quieted down and glorified God, saying, "Well then, God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that leads to life."
(A very clear statement that even repentance itself is a gift granted by God. It is not a choice we make on our own.)
48When the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord; and as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed.
(Not as many as believed were appointed to life, but as many as were appointed believed!)
9and He made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith.
(God gives the faith that does the cleansing.)
6They passed through the Phrygian and Galatian region, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia;
7and after they came to Mysia, they were trying to go into Bithynia, and the Spirit of Jesus did not permit them;
(The Lord had specific people in mind who would hear His gospel, and prevented others from hearing it. This is why the Western world for the most part was where Christianity spread, while the East was left to their Eastern religions.)
14A woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple fabrics, a worshiper of God, was listening; and the Lord opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul.
(The Lord opened her heart, or she would have never responded. If He opened everyone's hearts, they would all respond, just as Lazarus did from the tomb.)
9And the Lord said to Paul in the night by a vision, "Do not be afraid any longer, but go on speaking and do not be silent;
10for I am with you, and no man will attack you in order to harm you, for I have many people in this city."
(He was not saying there were a bunch of Christians in that place, because there were not. But rather, that He had many of His elect in that place that needed to hear to gospel and be saved. He ordained that His elect would be saved by the hearing of His Word, and He was telling Paul to get out there and preach it to bring them in.)
14"And he said, 'The God of our fathers has appointed you to know His will and to see the Righteous One and to hear an utterance from His mouth.
(God appointed Paul. He did not give him a choice, although He did change his heart so that he would choose exactly what God had appointed him to choose.)
5through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for His name's sake,
6among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ;
7to all who are beloved of God in Rome, called as saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
(References to the called, and His calling. If all were called and given a choice, it would not even make sense to call anyone "called.")
18For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,
19because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them.
20For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.
21For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
(This is saying that everyone, whether they have heard the gospel or not, is still without excuse. It is a hard saying, but this is what the Bible says. All deserve God's wrath, and He has made His existence plain in creation, so that those who do not even hear the gospel are still responsible to believe. He is perfectly justified in sending those who don't to hell. There are many who will say, "If election is true, then when we get to the judgment seat, those who were not of the elect will have an excuse." This passage plainly refutes that. All are without excuse. God chooses to save some who are just as without excuse and just as sinful as everybody else. He is perfectly just in doing so.)
9What then? Are we better than they? Not at all; for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin;
10as it is written,
"THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE;
11THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS,
THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD;
12ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS;
THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD,
THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE."
13"THEIR THROAT IS AN OPEN GRAVE,
WITH THEIR TONGUES THEY KEEP DECEIVING,"
"THE POISON OF ASPS IS UNDER THEIR LIPS";
14"WHOSE MOUTH IS FULL OF CURSING AND BITTERNESS";
15"THEIR FEET ARE SWIFT TO SHED BLOOD,
16DESTRUCTION AND MISERY ARE IN THEIR PATHS,
17AND THE PATH OF PEACE THEY HAVE NOT KNOWN."
18"THERE IS NO FEAR OF GOD BEFORE THEIR EYES."
(Total depravity. The Bible tells us that there are NONE who seek after God. The seeker-sensitive movement must cut this passage out of their Bible. There are no seekers. We are all equally depraved sinners. God, in His mercy and for His own glory, has chosen to save some of us anyway.)
23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
24being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;
(Same as above. All are sinners. His grace is undeserved kindness given to those who deserve hell.)
28And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.
29For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren;
30and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.
(Again, only some are called and predestined to eternal life. If you follow the chain, you see it is the same people at the beginning and the end. those He called will in the end be glorified. If all were called, all would be glorified. Also, foreknew does not mean He knew who would choose Him. If it did, then all the places where it says He chose us would simply be stupid and unnecessary. It would make His choosing us mean nothing. It does not say "those He foreknew something about." It says He foreknew THEM. He knew us before the foundation of the world. He loved us then as well.)
33Who will bring a charge against God's elect? God is the one who justifies;
(God's elect can not be charged.)
38For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,
39nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
(For those who think we can give up our salvation, this plainly says otherwise, unless we are not included in created things.)
10And not only this, but there was Rebekah also, when she had conceived twins by one man, our father Isaac;
11for though the twins were not yet born and had not done anything good or bad, so that God's purpose according to His choice would stand, not because of works but because of Him who calls,
(This is speaking of individuals, not of nations, as some would insist. Both boys were Abraham's descendants, but God only chose one. And this, before they were even born. It plainly says it is God's choice, and Him who calls.)
12it was said to her, "THE OLDER WILL SERVE THE YOUNGER."
13Just as it is written, "JACOB I LOVED, BUT ESAU I HATED."
(Yes, hated means hated. Not loved less. Psalms tells us that God hates all the workers of iniquity. This would include all that He has not saved by His grace.)
14What shall we say then? There is no injustice with God, is there? May it never be!
(Paul anticipated the exact same reactions we still get today when we speak of election and God's sovereignty. He knew there would be those who would say "But this makes God unfair! It makes Him a monster!")
15For He says to Moses, "I WILL HAVE MERCY ON WHOM I HAVE MERCY, AND I WILL HAVE COMPASSION ON WHOM I HAVE COMPASSION."
(God told Moses basicly that it was His business whom He chose to have mercy and compassion on.)
16So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy.
(Again, it has nothing to do with man's "free will." Nor on any works. But only on God's mercy toward those He has chosen to have mercy upon.)
17For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, "FOR THIS VERY PURPOSE I RAISED YOU UP, TO DEMONSTRATE MY POWER IN YOU, AND THAT MY NAME MIGHT BE PROCLAIMED THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE EARTH."
(God raised Pharaoh up to his position for the very purpose of doing exactly what He did. Destroying him and glorifying His own Name in the process. You will sometimes read in children's books that the Lord plagued the Egyptians in hopes that they would see His power and turn from their evil, because He loved them just as much as the Israelites. NOWHERE does the Bible say this! His intention from the very beginning was that Pharaoh would not listen, and He would perform the plagues and destroy him and deliver the Israelites. Just to show His power. Read Exodus to see it even more clearly.)
18So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires.
(Exodus plainly states that God hardened Pharaoh's heart. Yes, his heart was already hardened, just as every single person's is who is a descendant of Adam. But God hardened it even more so that he could not do any differently than what God had already planned.)
19You will say to me then, "Why does He still find fault? For who resists His will?"
(Again, Paul anticipates reactions. People will say, "If we didn't have a choice, then He would be unfair and we would have a case against Him if we weren't chosen." This plainly shows that no one does resist His will. Notice Paul doesn't answer by saying that this is wrong, and that people do resist His will.)
20On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers back to God? The thing molded will not say to the molder, "Why did you make me like this," will it?
(And here is the answer to those objections. God does what He wants, and no man can accuse Him. He is God, and whatever He does is right and just, because He is the One doing it. He could have created a whole world for the purpose of torturing us and then casting us all into hell, and been perfectly justified in doing so. He is the creater and can do whatever He wishes with His creation. But thankfully, He is not like that, and has chosen to save some of us undeserving worms from His wrath. Whatever He does, He is God. Will you serve Him? If so, be assured that it is only because He has made you able to do so. Natural man rebels strongly against this God.)
21Or does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for common use?
(For us to question His choosing of only some to save is no different than a pot talking back to the potter and objecting to what it has been made to be.)
22What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction?
(God is using those who are condemned to show us who are saved His power and what exactly we are saved from. If there were none lost, how would we know how grateful we should be to Him for saving us?)
23And He did so to make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory,
(We were prepared before the foundation of the world to receive His mercy and be brought into glory.)
24even us, whom He also called, not from among Jews only, but also from among Gentiles.
(He has called people from every tongue and tribe and nation. He has called them FROM AMONG the rest. If He called everyone, again, this would make no sense.)
5In the same way then, there has also come to be at the present time a remnant according to God's gracious choice.
6But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace.
7What then? What Israel is seeking, it has not obtained, but those who were chosen obtained it, and the rest were hardened;
8just as it is written,
"GOD GAVE THEM A SPIRIT OF STUPOR,
EYES TO SEE NOT AND EARS TO HEAR NOT,
DOWN TO THIS VERY DAY."
(The Bible tells us again and again that God chooses whom He will have mercy on and whom He will harden. It is according to HIS CHOICE that these things happen.)
1Paul, called as an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother,
2To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling, with all who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours:
(You will never see Paul saying his calling had anything to do with his own will, but always that it is by the will of God. The saints were set aside (sanctified) by calling. God does not call out everybody, otherwise, calling out would be meaningless.)
so that you are not lacking in any gift, awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ,
8who will also confirm you to the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
(It is Christ who keeps us till the end! Perseverance and preservation of the saints.)
23but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness,
24but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
(If God called everybody, then Christ would be the power and wisdom of God to everybody, according to this.)
26For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble;
27but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong,
28and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are,
29so that no man may boast before God.
30But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption,
31so that, just as it is written, "LET HIM WHO BOASTS, BOAST IN THE LORD."
(God has chosen! It can not get any clearer! Those who would say that He chose us because he foresaw something in us would have to still agree that He did indeed choose some and leave others. However, not based upon whether they would choose Him or not. But based upon the fact that they fit into these categories: foolish,weak,base,despised. By HIS DOING, we are in Christ! NOT by our own doing and choice.)
6I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth.
7So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth.
(God sovereignly causes the growth.)
1Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the church of God which is at Corinth with all the saints who are throughout Achaia:
(Same as above. Paul always acknowledges that it is by God's will that he is what he is. Not his own.)
15But when God, who had set me apart even from my mother's womb and called me through His grace, was pleased
16to reveal His Son in me so that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with flesh and blood,
(God had set Paul apart from before he was born, and called him at just the moment in time that He was pleased to do so.)
1Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are at Ephesus and who are faithful in Christ Jesus:
4just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him In love
5He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will,
6to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.
(We were chosen and predestined to be His before the foundation of the world, before we had ever done anything good or bad, or even existed.)
11also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will,
1And you were dead in your trespasses and sins,
(Dead people can do nothing, not even choose. The Bible makes it plain that the natural man is unable to even see or hear the things of God. God must give him new birth and make him alive before he can do anything.)
4But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,
5even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),
(God does all the work. He made us alive while we were dead. Not after we believed. A dead man cannot believe.)
8For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;
9not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.
(Faith itself is a gift from God.)
25Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her,
26so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word,
27that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.
(Jesus gave Himself for the Church, all who would be saved. Not for every individual in the world.)
6For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.
(It was God who began the work in us, and He who will complete it.)
Philippians 2;12,13
12So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling;
13for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.
(God causes us to have the will to do His will. And He does so for His good pleasure.)
1Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
(Paul, as always, gives God full credit.)
13When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions,
14having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.
(HE made us alive WHEN we were still dead. Not after we chose Him. Dead men cannot choose God.)
4knowing, brethren beloved by God, His choice of you
(Couldn't be plainer.)
1Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, according to the promise of life in Christ Jesus
8Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me His prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God,
9who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity,
10but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel,
11for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle and a teacher.
24The Lord's bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged,
25with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth,
26and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.
(It is GOD who grants repentance that leads to knowledge of the truth. We do not repent first, and then God decides to save us. HE GRANTS us that very repentance that is the first step in our salvation.)
1Paul, a bond-servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the faith of those chosen of God and the knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness
11For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men,
(This is a good example verse for those who insist that the word "all" always means all men without exception. The word "all" almost always means "all kinds," as it does here. If it means all without exception, then this verse is saying that all men without exception have received salvation through God's grace. We know this is not true.)
5He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit,
6whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior,
7so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
(We are justified by His grace. Had He given grace to all, then all would be justified.)
18In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits among His creatures.
(His will. Not ours.)
5Listen, my beloved brethren: did not God choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?
(What sense would this make if God doesn't do the choosing? It would say, instead, "Isn't it the poor of this world who choose God?")
14Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.
15Instead, you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that."
16But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil.
(This plainly shows us that we do nothing unless it is the Lord's will. And it is arrogance to boast that we do. This would include boasting that we choose to believe in Him of our own free will.)
1The elder to the chosen lady and her children, whom I love in truth; and not only I, but also all who know the truth,
13The children of your chosen sister greet you.
1Jude, a bond-servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, To those who are the called, beloved in God the Father, and kept for Jesus Christ:
8All who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain.
8"The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to come up out of the abyss and go to destruction. And those who dwell on the earth, whose name has not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, will wonder when they see the beast, that he was and is not and will come.
