Beyond the Walls with Jeremy Thomas

NT Framework - 2 Views on Election

• Jeremy Thomas • Season 6 • Episode 149

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All who the Father gives the Son, the Son will keep secure; but who does God give to the Son?

More information about Beyond the Walls, including additional resources can be found at www.beyondthewalls-ministry.com 

This series included graphics to illustrate what is being taught, if you would like to watch the teachings you can do so on Rumble (https://rumble.com/user/SpokaneBibleChurch) or on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtV_KhFVZ_waBcnuywiRKIyEcDkiujRqP).

Jeremy Thomas is the pastor at Spokane Bible Church in Spokane, Washington and a professor at Chafer Theological Seminary. He has been teaching the Bible for over 20 years, always seeking to present its truths in a clear and understandable manner. 

SPEAKER_00:

Welcome to Beyond the Walls with Jeremy Thomas and our series on the New Testament framework. Today, a smaller bite-sized piece from the larger lesson. We hope you enjoy it.

SPEAKER_02:

And as we do this, I'll give their interpretation and then I will give you basically a counterview or interpretation of the passage. There's a lot going on here, a lot more than some verses. Okay. This is not all about just a few verses. There's a lot in their theology that is going on as well that begins all the way back in Genesis. So probably don't have time for all that, but if you want to know about all that, you can take my dispensationalism course and I'll talk all about it, and it'll explain a lot of things.

SPEAKER_01:

But Matthew 1, 21, which reads, She will bear a son.

SPEAKER_02:

And you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. They will say, see, note that it says his people. He's not going to save all people, he's just going to save his people. His people are, quote unquote, the elect. So why did Jesus come? He came to save the elect. How would we, or how would I respond to this? Well, I would respond to this first of all by saying that his people in the context are the Jewish people.

SPEAKER_01:

It is Israel that is in view by his people, not the elect.

SPEAKER_02:

That is the elect of both Jews and Gentiles, as they would say. But rather, he came to save his people Israel. Now, why would I say this? Why would I limit it to Israel? Well, if you turn to Matthew 10, verse 5, in the early part of his ministry, you'll notice that he says something related directly to this idea that he only came for Israel. And you say, well, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. He came to save all people. No, that's incorrect sequentially. It's correct theologically, it's incorrect sequentially. What do I mean? I mean that he came with the intent and his mission to restore Israel to her kingdom. But in the plan of God, it is of course known that Israel would reject this offer of their kingdom and their king. And as a historical consequence, he would open the floodgates of salvation to Gentiles. So we have to understand there's this plan that has a sequential outworking. And it starts with him coming for Israel and his deliverance and salvation of Israel from Gentile powers and a restoration of their kingdom. To the rejection and consequent, of course, what he does on the cross is for all people. So Matthew 10, 5, these twelve Jesus sent out after instructing them, saying, Do not go in the way of the Gentiles. Do not what? Don't go to any Gentiles. He says, Do not enter any city of the Samaritans, but rather go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as you preach, or as you go, preach, saying the kingdom of heaven is at hand. And then the demonstrations that the kingdom is at hand are the healings and so forth, the demonstrated kingdom conditions coming on earth, which would remove sickness, you know, people would be resurrected, and so forth and so on. In other words, mainly you can see here the mission of Christ, as well as John the Baptist and the twelve, was to go only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, so that they may have an opportunity to respond positively to their Messiah, accept him as their king, in which case, theoretically, the kingdom would come. But of course, we know that didn't happen. In fact, this chapter, chapter 11 and chapter 12, describe what we call the informal rejection of the king, where they reject him and commit the quote-unquote unpardonable sin. So, at any rate, Matthew 1.21, even though it does say he came to die for his people or to save his people, that people in that context is Israel. It's not, quote unquote, this idea of the elect, which is brought in. By the way, just as an aside, but not too much of an aside, is Israel God's elect nation?

SPEAKER_01:

Yes. Are there believers and unbelievers in Israel?

SPEAKER_02:

Are the believers and unbelievers a part of elect Israel? Yes. So just because you are a member of Israel doesn't mean you're elect unto salvation. You're elect as a nation for a specific covenant purpose to play in the plan of God. You're playing a certain role in the plan of God. That's what they were elect to, not to salvation. Otherwise, every Jew would have been saved. And that's not true because the Old Testament talks about the remnant and the non-remnant, right? The remnant was the believing element in Israel, the non-remnant was the unbelieving element. Okay, so Matthew 1.21. Now they'll turn also to John 6.37. And uh I was taught Greek by a five-point Calvinist named S. Lewis Johnson, who had been at Dallas Theological Seminary long, long, many, many, many years ago. Um he's gone on to be with the Lord now. Um he's a very good Greek Greek teacher. I loved sitting under S. Lewis Johnson and listening to him. At the time I was four-point Calvinist just saying no. So it's not like I'm un I'm unfamiliar with these positions. Um I held them for several years. But this was one of his central passages that he used. John 6, 37. All that the Father gives me will come to me, and the one who comes to me I will certainly not cast out. So they'd say, well, see, this is the idea that the Father gives a certain number of people to the Son, and those are, quote unquote, the elect. Right? For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me. This is the will of him who sent me, that all of all that he's given me, there it is, they would say, the elect again, I lose nothing but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in him will have eternal life, and I myself will raise him up on the last day. And they might also read verse 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. How do we answer this? Uh verse 44. No one can come, see? Uh nobody who's not elect is going to come. Only those the Father draws, and the Father draws only the elect. This is the way that they explain this passage. Um what's the counterview to this?

SPEAKER_01:

Well, verse 40. Who are the ones in verse 40 who the Father gives the Son? Everyone who beholds the Son and believes.

SPEAKER_02:

Now, this word beholds, we don't use behold in English. I've been trying to, I want to get a hold of the NASB translators and say, hey, can you stop putting that in the translation? Nobody stands at the door and says, Behold, I am home. But this word, this word means to give sustained attention to something. To give sustained attention to something. So when it says everyone who gives sustained attention to the sun, that means they're contemplating the sun. They're considering the sun and his offer of salvation. And then believes, of course, in him will have eternal life. So those are the ones who the Father gives the Son. They're the ones who behold the Son and believe in Him. As John 6 45 says, this one usually gets left out of the out of the discussion when Calvinists speak. 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.

SPEAKER_01:

Everyone who has what? Heard. How does faith come? By hearing.

SPEAKER_02:

That's what he's talking about, right? Everyone who hears and learns, I mean, you do have to learn things as an unbeliever. Can you learn anything as an unbeliever? Well, sure you can. You can sit there and learn, you know, what Jesus Christ did for you on the cross and how he rose again. This is not that complicated. They're propositions that people make all the time. It's a propositional statement, it can be understood. He died, he rose. And uh that can be explained a little bit further, but the point is you can hear that message, you can learn the meaning of that message, and as it says, those are the ones who come to him. See, a person does have to give sustained attention to it. They have to contemplate it, they have to consider it. And as they do that, what is it saying? These come to him. These are the ones that the Father's drawing as they're hearing, as they're hearing, okay, giving attention to it. He's drawing them. And they come.

unknown:

Okay.

SPEAKER_02:

Someone who doesn't give it any attention, they're not going to come. They're not going to believe. They're writing you off, right? They're not going to pay attention.

SPEAKER_00:

Thank you for joining us on Beyond the Walls with Jeremy Thomas. If you would like to see the visuals that went along with today's sermon, you can find those on Rumble and on YouTube under Spokane Bible Church. That is where Jeremy is the pastor and teacher. We hope you found today's lesson productive and useful in growing closer to God and walking more obediently with Him. If you found this podcast to be useful and helpful, then please consider rating us in your favorite podcast app. And until next time, we hope you have a blessed and wonderful day.