Soli Deo Gloria: For the Glory of God Alone

The Messenger, October 28, 2010

The Frozen Chosen?

By DEON BARNES
Special to The Messenger
The Presbyterian Church in America, as well as other Bible believing denominations, teaches and subscribes to the Biblical doctrine of predestination.  Through this doctrine, Scripture teaches that God chose a portion of the human race, granted them pardon from the curse of sin, and will allow them passage into His presence at the close of the age (Rom. 8:28-29; Eph. 1; Rev. 13:7b-8).  The importance here is to note that God is the one doing the choosing, not man.
Opponents of Reformed Theology assert that if Christians have already been chosen by God, evangelism becomes obsolete and pointless.  They continue by noting that Christianity without an aspect of evangelism obviously contradicts Christ’s command to evangelize.  However, this distorted view of Reformed Theology and Biblical doctrines is the result of a deep-rooted misunderstanding of God and His ordained will.  
To gain a proper understanding of how predestination relates to evangelism, we must first answer a few questions.  What is the Christian’s principle weapon against Satan?  The answer: the Word of God (Heb. 4:12).  Next, how does one come to be a Christian?  As stated before, Scripture teaches that God chose that person before the beginning of time.
But the real question being asked when posing this question is when did that person manifest this choosing and begin their walk of faith?  The answer: at some point in that person’s life, he heard the Word of God.  Since God does not speak audibly to His people in this day and age, this occurred either through hearing the Word preached or through hearing the Gospel from a lay person.  This is the planting of the seed, the beginning of a regenerated person’s life.  
D. James Kennedy (1930-2007) served as senior pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., for over 40 years, and was the founder of Evangelism Explosion. Dr. Kennedy understood this initial process of regeneration well, in conjunction with predestination. Although God has chosen who will gain entrance into His kingdom, God uses weak, insignificant man to bring this choosing into existence through speaking and spreading His Word.  Since we are mutable and incapable of foreseeing the future, we do not know who the chosen are. Therefore, we speak, or at least we are supposed to speak, the Word to every person we meet.
Speaking of Christ’s command to evangelize, D. James Kennedy stated, “The thrust of His (Christ’s) teaching is summed up in the great commission (Matt. 28:18-20), where Jesus commands His followers to go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature.  The first and most obvious principle, then, is that the Church is a body under orders by Christ to share the Gospel with the whole world.”
It should be a refreshing and rewarding feeling to know that somewhere out there — in your work place, in your neighborhood, amongst your family and friends — there are those chosen by God Himself to benefit from His riches and glory. And you, in all your feebleness and misguided ways have been destined to be a part of this regenerating process, simply by speaking the Word of God to another human being and watching the Holy Spirit grow the planted seed.
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Editor’s note: Deon Barnes serves as a ruling elder of Grace Community Church (PCA) in Troy and is a candidate for the ministry in Covenant Presbytery.

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