Those
who obey Christ are added to the elect church and thereby become the
elect of God. This puts the merit in a Holy God rather than a
random-sample God.
See total Document here.
Calvinism in the
Church
- # 1: David Lawrence of David Lipscomb on predestinaion
Number One.
- # 2: A Look at Galatians 3 on
PREDESTINATION to a
system of FAITH like Abraham who was justified because he obeyed
all of God's commands and decrees.
- #3: David Lawrence: Predestination Acts 11:8 and 2 Timothy
2
"The Pastor of Hermas (AD 160) was one of the
most popular books, if not the most popular book, in the Christian
Church during the second, third, and fourth centuries. It occupied a
position analogous in some respects to that of Bunyan's Pilgrim's
Progress in modern times; and critics have frequently compared the
two works."
This excerpt is the shepherd's understanding
of election which is not Calvinistic predestination. Those who
believe, repent, confess and are baptized become "stones" in the
tower of the "lady" who is the church. The church has been the elect
goal of God to build a body of faithful believers as the only remnant
of an earth doomed to be consumed in fire. The total
document is here.
1:1 VISION ONE. AGAINST FILTHY AND PROUD THOUGHTS, AND THE CARELESSNESS
OF HERMAS IN CHASTISING HIS SONS
First Words
As we enter the story, the shepherd has slipped
a bit and watched a bathing beauty. However, a Spirit (dream) took him,
and bore him away through a pathless tract, through which no man
could pass. He is told by a righteous lady that he was taken up not
to be convicted but to remind him that he was part of the elect.
Elect is the church and not the predestinated. He is told
that:
God, Who dwelleth in the heavens,
and created out of nothing the things which are, and increased and
multiplied them
for His holy Church's
sake, is wroth with thee, for that thou
didst sin against me'.
While then, his purposes are righteous, his
reputation stands stedfast in the heavens, and he finds the Lord
easily
propitiated in all that he does. However, those that entertain evil
purposes in their hearts, bring upon
themselves death and captivity,
especially they that
claim for themselves this present world, and
boast in its riches, and cleave
not to the good things that are to come.
Their souls shall rue it, seeing that they have
no hope, but have abandoned
themselves and their life.
AS soon as she had spoken these words the
heavens were shut and while wondering what to do the shepherd saw
before him a great white
chair of snow-white wool and there came
an aged lady in glistening raiment, having a book in her hands. The
shepherd was weaping and is reminded that he did have wicked
thoughts. The danger was that an "evil and mad purpose can overtake a
devout spirit that hath been already approved.
That is, one of the elect or church
members can still be overtaken by sin.
The shepherd is warned not to neglect teaching
his family
For as the smith hammering his work
conquers the task which he wills, so also doth righteous discourse repeated daily conquer all
evil.
Cease not therefore to reprove thy
children;
for I know that if they shall
repent with all their heart, they shall
be written
in the books of life with the saints'.
After these words had ceased, she saith unto
the shepherd, `Wilt thou listen to me as I read'? Then say I, `Yes,
lady'. She saith to me, `Be attentive, and hear the glories of God'.
I listened with attention and with wonder to that which I had no
power to remember; for all the words were terrible, such as man
cannot bear.
These were her first words and warned that
God's purpose of establishing the church as His elect could be lost.
They were not good words to the shepherd.
Why was this so important?
The lady would tell him some 'last words' so
that the shepherd concluded that: "The last words however I
remembered, for they were suitable for us and gentle. Then the lady
explained God's election. She shows that obedience is important because to obey
makes us part of the elect just as a plant which grows is part of
God's elect plan for trees.
The evil live on and prosper but God's purpose
was to provide for His people or His church. The shepherd hears the
words which show that God's eternal purpose, his predestination, was
for the church:
"Behold, the God of Hosts, Who by
His invisible and mighty power and by His great wisdom created the world,
and by His glorious purpose clothed His
creation with comeliness, and by His strong word fixed the heaven, and
founded the earth upon the waters and by His own wisdom and
providence formed His Holy
Church, which also He
blessed-behold,
He removeth the heavens and the
mountains and the hills and the seas, and all things are made level
for His elect,
However, God's promise and election is based upon
people's
obedience:
"that He may fulfil to them the
promise
which He promised with great glory and rejoicing, if so be that they shall
keep the ordinances of
God, which they received, with great
faith'.
When the lady had finished reading and arose
from her chair, there came four young men, and they took away the
chair, and departed towards the East. Then she calleth the shepherd
to her, and touched his breast, and saith to him, `Did my reading
please thee?`
And I say unto her, `Lady, these
last
words
please me, but the former were difficult and
hard'.
The first
words, to the non-elect, were to "those
that claim for themselves this present
world, and boast in its riches, and
cleave
not to the
good things that are to come."
Then the lady replied to Hermas:
........... These last words are for the righteous,
........... but the former are for the
heathen
and the rebellious'.
While she was still speaking to him, two men
appeared, and took her by the arms, and they departed, whither the
chair also had gone towards the East.
When the shepherd failed to chastise his
talkative wife
The spirit (vision) took him again and the
"aged lady" talked again. Hermas remembers that he had been reminded
about his sins one year ago. The lady began to talk to him and again
began reading to him. She asked him:
And she saith to me, `Canst thou report these
things to the elect of God'? I say unto her, `Lady, I cannot recollect so
much; but give me the little
book, that I may copy it'. `Take it',
saith she, `and be sure and return it to me'.
He took it, and retiring to a certain spot in
the country he copied it letter for letter because he could not make
out the syllables. When he had finished the letters of the book,
suddenly the book was snatched out of his hand; Then after fifteen
days, when he had fasted and entreated the Lord earnestly, the
knowledge of the writing was revealed to me. And this is what was
written:
They have betrayed their parents
through great wickedness, yea, they have got the name of betrayers of
parents, and yet they did not profit by their betrayal;
In fact, it said that all the saints that have
sinned unto this day, if they repent with their whole heart, and
remove double-mindedness from their heart.
For the Master sware by His own
glory, as concerning His elect;
that if, now that this day has
been set as a limit, sin shall hereafter be committed, they shall not find salvation;
Who is this Aged Lady?
The shepherd of Hermas continues to repeat:
"The Lord is nigh unto them that turn unto Him, as it is written in Eldad
and Modat, who prophesied to the people in the wilderness." Now,
brethren, a revelation was made unto me in my sleep by a youth of
exceeding fair form,
who said to me, `Whom thinkest thou
the aged woman, from whom thou receivedst the book, to be'?
........... I say, `The Sibyl'.
........... ...........
Thou art wrong', saith be, `she is
not'.
........... Who then is she'?
........... ...........
I say.
........... The Church', saith he.
I said unto him, `Wherefore then is she aged'?
`Because', saith he, `she was created
before all things; therefore is she
aged; and for her sake the world was framed'. And afterwards I
saw a vision in my house.
The aged woman came, and asked me, if I had
already given the book to the elders.
I said that I had not given it.
`Thou hast done well', she said, `for I have words to add.
When then I shall have finished all the words, it shall be made known
by thy means to all the elect.
In the third vision, the revelation of the
church (elect) is made known.
The church is built of perfect, white stones
which is the apostles, prophets, elders and deacons.
The wall of the
city had twelve
foundations, and on
them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. Re.21:14
Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into
practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.
Mt.7:24
The rain came down, the streams
rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not
fall, because it had its foundation on the rock Mt.7:25
Then, there are lost stones which are
not beyond
redemption:
The Lost Stones
`But those whom they
rejected
and threw away, who are they'?
`These have sinned, and desire to repent,
therefore they were not cast to a great
distance from the tower, because they
will be useful for the building, if they repent.
They then that shall repent, if they
repent, will be strong in the faith, if they repent now while the
tower is building.
But if the building shall be
finished, they have no more any place, but shall be castaways.
Christ is building this tower or church one
stone at a time. When the last stone is in place the end will
come.
The Non-Elect
But wouldst thou know about them
that are broken in
pieces, and cast away far from the
tower?
........... These are the sons of wickedness was absent from
them.
Therefore they have not salvation, for they are
not useful for building by reason
of their
wickednesses.
Therefore they were broken up and thrown far
away by reason of the wrath of the Lord, for they excited Him to
wrath.
But the rest whom thou hast seen lying in great
numbers, not going to the building, of these they that are
mildewed
are they that knew the truth, but did not abide in it, nor cleave to
the saints.
The Elect are Baptized
There are many types of "stones" but they
crumble and fall away under the test.
But they that fall into the fire
and are burned, these are they that finally rebelled from the
living God, and it no more entered into their hearts to repent by
reason of the lusts of their wantonness and of the wickednesses which
they wrought.
But the others, which fall near the
waters and yet cannot roll into the water,
wouldest thou know who are they?
These are they that heard the word,
and would be baptized unto the name of the Lord.
Then, when
they call to their remembrance the purity of the truth, they
change their minds, and go back again after their evil desires'.
Around the tower or church are seven
ladies:
The "fruit of the Spirit" or the "fruit of
Christ" is like the seven spirits which would rest upon God as
Messiah listed in Isaiah 11:1f. They are the spirits or mental
dispositions of those who love the truth more than they love the
things of the physical world:
The first of them, the woman with
the strong hands, is called Faith; through her are
saved the elect of God. And the second, that is girded about and
looketh like a man, is called Continence; she is the
daughter of Faith.
Whosoever then shall follow her, becometh happy
in his life, for he shall refrain from all evil deeds, believing
that, if he refrain from every evil desire, he shall inherit eternal
life'.
`And the others, lady, who be
they'?
`They are daughters one of the other.
The name of the one is Simplicity, of the next,
knowledge,
of the next, Guilelessness, of the
next, Reverence, of the next, Love.
What can we conclude about the views written
perhaps by the grandchildren of a man who knew Paul?
We understand that the church is in the eternal
purpose of God. The church is the elect. The creation
and the provision of all things to make this earth operate were
created for the sole purpose of God collecting believers or "stones"
to build up the "tower."
Those who obey the commands of Christ are
"added to the church." These are the children or stones which
the Father has given the
Son. They are the elect.
However, even the believers are in constant
danger and can fling themselves away from the "tower" and be
lost.
The elect are the baptized believers who have,
in this analogy, had the "fires put out" by just "rolling into the
water." Not strictly Scriptural but a good figurative explanation of
our passive acceptance of grace so that He will add us to the
"tower."
The elect or predestinated bring forth fruit.
They are part of God's predestination because those who believe have
chosen the tough discipline of the kingdom rather than believing but
deciding that the world is more fun than the church, the elect lady
of God.
Comments from Scripture:
A: The Bible indicates that
before the creation of the world, the church was already in the
mind of God (Ephesians 3:6-11). Its
establishment was foretold by the prophets of the Old Testament
(Isaiah 2:1-4). In all of its activities, the church is to glorify
God (Ephesians 3:21). Our mission, like that of our Savior, is to
seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10).
We become the elect when we become children:
THE elder unto the
elect
lady and her
children, whom I love in the truth; and not I
only, but also all they that have known the truth; 2 John 1:1
For the
truths sake, which dwelleth in us, and shall be with us for ever. 2 John
1:2
I rejoiced greatly that I found
of thy children walking in truth, as we
have received a
commandment from the
Father. 2 John 1:4
And now I beseech thee,
lady, not as though I wrote a new
commandment unto thee, but that which we had from the beginning, that
we love one another. 2 John 1:5
And this is love,
that we walk after his
commandments. This is
the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should
walk in it. 2 John 1:6
The central command is "love."
However, the loss of love is obvious when people diminish or pervert
any specific teaching of Christ such as God coming in the flesh:
For many deceivers are entered into the world, who
confess not that Jesus
Christ is come in the
flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. 2 John 1:7
Look to yourselves, that we
lose
not those things
which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward. 2 John 1:8
Anyone who
runs
ahead and does not
continue in the teaching
of Christ does not have
God; whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father and the
Son. 2 John 1:9NIV
Those who are the elect have
the Father and the Son because they continue in the teachings of
Father and Son.
So, love is the
motive but the external fact is teaching something Christ has not
taught.
Of those who have rejected the
elected purpose of God for the church:
Their teaching will
spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, 2 Tim.
2:17
who have
wandered away from the
truth. They say that
the resurrection has already taken place, and they destroy the faith
of some. 2 Tim. 2:18
Those who have spread gangrene
by rejecting everything except the "core gospel" should understand
that the teachings OF
Christ are those things which He taught. The teachings
about Christ have little value if we
repudiate the teachings of
Christ and those He empowered with His Spirit.
Therefore, teaching that the
resurrection has taken place is a false doctrine and a false
gospel:
Nevertheless,
God's solid
foundation stands firm,
sealed with this inscription:
"The Lord knows
those who are his,"
and,
"Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away (repent) from wickedness." 2Ti.2:19
In a large house there are
articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some
are for noble purposes and some for ignoble. 2 Tim. 2:20
If a
man cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an instrument
for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to
do any good work 2 Tim. 2:21
When one accepts Christ and
repents they have come into a relationship with God. That is, faith
has bridged the barrier without which one cannot see God or His
kingdom or "tower." However, the "repented of sins" must be forgiven. There is only one way defined by
Scripture outside of Christ's personal touch.
Paul defines the
elect as those who confess, repent
and are cleansed. According to Jesus and Peter, this cleansing
happens in the mind of God when we submit to Him in baptism:
Then Peter said
unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of
Jesus Christ for the remission of
sins, and ye shall
receive the gift of the
Holy Ghost. Ac.2:38
The "Tower" of the elect is
the church:
Hear another
parable: There was a certain householder, which planted a vineyard, and hedged
it round about, and digged a winepress in it, and built a
tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went
into a far country: Mt.21:33
You know the rest of the story.
Paul used the building analogy when he said:
if I am delayed,
you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God's
household, which is the church
of the living God, the pillar
and foundation of the truth. 1Ti.3:15
And Paul laid the one
foundation which had been laid. He was not the foundation but the
stone builder:
By the grace God
has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone
else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds.
1Co.3:10
The command of Christ was for
us to take up our cross and follow Him. His message is that if
you think that you can
build a tower and cannot pay for it with your own life then perhaps
you should build upon the church of Christ of which He is the
Foundation and finisher:
For which of you,
intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and
counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? Luke
14:28
Lest haply, after
he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that
behold it begin to mock him, Luke 14:29
Saying, This man
began to build, and was not able to finish. Luke 14:30
The Shepherd of Hermas warns of
those who would attempt to restructure or build a new church rather than simply and humbly
picking up their tiny cross and following Jesus.
He warns against those who
believe that they are predestinated to be added to the church because of some random
sampling plan of God.
The truth is that the
church was house or tower of elected and the
total object of the creation of all things. Those who believe, repent
and just simply "roll into the water" like a round stone are added to
the church or the elect. They become living stones:
If so be ye have
tasted that the Lord is gracious. 1 Peter 2:3
To whom coming, as
unto a living
stone, disallowed
indeed of men,
but chosen (elect) of God, and precious, 1 Peter 2:4
Ye also, as
lively
stones, are built up a
spiritual house,
an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 2:5
The priests had to be
totally washed in order to be able to serve.
A "house" cannot be physical,
literal or institutional and at the same time "spiritual." Sacrifices
cannot be singing and playing instruments to please the human senses
and at the same time be in the "spirit" or mind. One cannot stoop to
following a human priest or mediator and at the same time be a
spiritual priest in the elect body of the elect Savior in the elect
"house" where our citizenship is in heaven.
Wherefore also it
is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a
chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be
confounded. 1 Peter 2:6
Unto you therefore
which believe
he is precious:
but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same
is made the head of the
corner, 1 Peter 2:7
In this verse, believe is set
opposite disobedient. Therefore, a believer is one who has become
obedient to the will of the Elect.
The chief cornerstone often
protruded outside the
wall of the physical
structure. If you were careless turning a corner, the stone would
cause you to be smashed on the stone foundation. Therefore, using
human reasoning to resist obedience causes the Elect Head to
become:
...a stone of
stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble
at the
word,
........... being disobedient: whereunto also they
were appointed. 1 Peter 2:8
These people were
not predestinated or elected to be
disobedient. Rather, "being disobedient is parenthetic: those who are
disobedient stumble because it is the punishment for disobedience.
The LIV reads
And the Scriptures
also say, "He is the Stone that some will stumble over, and the Rock
that will make them fall." They will stumble
........... because they will not listen to God's
Word nor obey it,
........... and so this
punishment must
follow-that they will
fall. 1 Peter 2:8
The church as the elect
puts the merit in Christ. Obedience puts us into the church which
bestows election.
The individuals as the elect before they are saved puts the merit on
the person however loudly they pretend to be passive.
Not yet proof-read
Kenneth
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