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SEEK HIM, FOR HE IS LORD!

by linzy bruno
9/15/2023 / Bible Studies

In God’s Word, He makes it clear that He calls His people to Himself. The means of which He uses vary greatly; not everyone experiences a life-changing event, but all that He foreknew would believe on Jesus, He called before time began, as we read in 2Timothy 1:8-9:

“Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God, who 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 given to us in Christ Jesus before time began,”

Christianity is the only ‘religion’ whose God seeks and calls His people with a holy calling. He reveals Himself through His Creation, the perfection of His Word and through personal experiences with His people, as we read in Psalm 19. Then, we who are saved are to seek His Face in everything, for He is LORD. This is not in accordance with Calvinism however, as John Calvin created his own doctrine out of verses like the aforementioned one. Others in which Calvin sited to denounce free will as the pivotal component to salvation are those using terms like: “election” the “predestination,” in passages such as Ephesians 1:4-6,1Peter 1:1-2, Acts 13:48 and this verse in Romans:

“because those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.” (Romans 8:30)

This interpretation that God’s appointment to salvation is unconditional uses the argument that it’s not about us, but God. However, although no one can argue that point, this concept seems to completely omit the True principle on which salvation does hinge: our God-given free will. If God were to simply place His seal on people without considering their free wills, wouldn’t that mean that some will ultimately be appointed to a heavenly eternity regardless of their beliefs? Wouldn’t that make it quite likely that He would be letting unbelievers into His Kingdom; something we KNOW He does NOT do? This flawed idea is not in accordance with God’s Word, as Calvin took the basic principle of God’s Omniscience and twisted that into a complicated concept in which many a Christian has come to doubt his or her own salvation, and have nullified Jesus’ Command to spread the Gospel message to every creature. See Matthew 9:13 and 28:16-20.

Additionally to this point, Jesus own Words also emphasize the role of free will for all people, as we read in Luke 5:32:

“I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him, and will dine with him, and him with Me.” (Revelation 3:20)

“But as many as received him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe on his name:” (John 1:12)

But man has NO saving power of himself, all we are called to is to choose life:

“Which were born, not of blood, nor of he will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” (John 1:13)

“I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live;” (Deuteronomy 30:19)

Moreover, if Calvin’s doctrine were true, would God really deem it necessary to repeatedly remind us that we are to seek Him? And, with our free wills of course. If we are unconditionally reconciled unto Him no matter our free wills, why would He insist that believer ‘seek’ Him in a multitude of Scriptures? (the following being only a few):

“And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:13)

“Blessed are those who keep His testimonies, Who seek Him with the whole heart!” (Psalm 119:2)

“Oh God, You are my God; Early will I seek You; My soul thirst for You; My flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land Where there is no water.” (Psalm 63:1)

“For whoever calls upon the name of the LORD shall be saved.” (Romans 10:13)

“But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” (Hebrews 11:6)

Furthermore, the following passages depict the life and death nature of seeking the LORD:

“As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a loyal heart and with a willing mind; for the LORD searches all hearts and understands all the intend of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will cast you off forever.” (1Chronicles 28:9)

“And he went out to meet Asa, and said to him: “Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin. The LORD is with you while you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you.”(2Chronicles 15:2)

AND, Psalm 37:4 acts as another case-in-point that we use our free wills to come to God for a satisfying and meaningful relationship with Him:

“I sought the LORD, and He heard me, And delivered me from all my fears.” (Psalm 34:4)

“Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.” (Jeremiah 29:12)

“Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.” (Jeremiah 33:3)

And further to this end, the Lord God instructs Amos that without Him, he cannot live:

“For thus says the LORD to the house of Israel: “Seek Me and live;” (Amos 5:4)

Also noteworthy are those Scriptures that depict seeking the LORD in relation to salvation:

“The LORD is near to all who all upon Him, To all who call upon Him in truth.” (Psalm 145:18)

“And it shall come to pass That whoever calls on the name of the LORD Shall be saved,” (Acts 2:21)

Moreover, the Son of Man came to seek the lost for salvation:

“for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” (Luke 19:10)

It doesn’t seem that Jesus would need to do this if the cooperation of man with God wasn’t necessary for salvation, as the Calvinists’ doctrine touts. This is surely not in accordance with the Truth, as God’s Word is clear: the Lord God searches our hearts and reviews our ways and practices:

“O LORD, You have searched me and known me. You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thoughts afar off.” (Psalm 139:1-2

He chooses whoever He calls and forsakes whoever He rejects, in accordance with His foreknowledge, His Omniscient nature of knowing ALL, in which to arrive at said conclusions for each man, as we read in Romans 9:21-33

And something else that is clear in His Word; we love Him because He first loved us and called us to Himself:

“Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings of the gospel according to the power of God, who 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 given to us in Christ Jesus before time began.” (2Timothy 1:8-9)

“God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” (1Corinthians 1:9)

God used Saul, through his testimony toward salvation, as the perfect example of His Call. Furthermore, He called Saul in the most dramatic way, perhaps the most dramatic of any other figure in His Word. He was persecuting Christians even to the point of death, but Jesus called out his name, put a blind curse on him, which subsequently led him to salvation and to go on to change his name to Paul: the Apostle and to write most of the New Testament. See Isaiah 65:1 and Acts 9:1-31.

Moreover, there is a sense of urgency for mankind to seek Him. According to Isaiah 55:6, we need to seek Him ‘while He is near;’ in reference to the end of the Church Age:

“Seek the LORD while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near.”

Ultimately, God will destroy the wicked and Satan himself, as we read in 2Thessalonians 2:8:

“And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His Coming.”

There is a parallel verse in Revelation regarding this monumental event: Armageddon, as we read in Revelation 16:16-19.

“God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” (1Corinthians 1:9)

“having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,” (Ephesians 1:5)

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Linzy is a certified Bible Counsellor, with countless republications on her viewers blogs, Bible Studies, Ezines and the like. Her portfolio includes, non-fiction articles, short stories for all ages, and Christian poetry.

Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com-CHRISTIAN WRITERS

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