Jesus told his disciples, and by extension all Followers of Jesus Christ, "You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit." ~ John 15:16
When
we think that salvation is our choosing, we misunderstand WHO does the
choosing. Do you really believe that God leaves something as important
as salvation up to puny man to decide for himself? As it is written:
A man’s heart plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps.
~ Proverbs 16:9
All throughout the Scriptures, God does the choosing. Adam, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob/Israel, Moses, the prophets. and apostles were
chosen and given the means to accomplish the will of God. Even Satan
and Judas were chosen for their specific jobs in God's overall plan of
redemption of all mankind.
What
happens if God does not choose you? Not to worry, Your Loving,
Merciful, Forgiving Father has you covered. Every human being who has
ever lived will be resurrected from the grave (mistranslated 'hell'). ~ John 5:28-29
The
purpose of Renew Your Strength Bible Study Group is to get people to
think about what they believe and why they believe it, not debate who's right or wrong.
Over the years, as Renew Your Strength has continued to
grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, we have
recognized that some of the things we once held as true, in fact, are
not; and therefore we will not “cast in stone” a statement of our
beliefs. We reserve the right to be wrong and to repent of such error
when we discover it.
To
learn the revealed truth of God we must know and understand the true
meaning of the words God inspired to be written. Use Strong's
Concordance to check the original word before it was translated. Do your own research, make up your own mind, rely on the Holy Spirit to guide you.
