Acts 13:48 “Now when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord. And as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed.”
The second witness quoted above, is the Holy Spirit, for it is He Who inspired Luke to write this passage of scripture. The context of this passage is that Paul and Barnabas had preached the gospel in the town of Antioch, and as a result of their preaching a number of the gentiles had been saved, for they had believed the message preached. But the terminology used by the Holy Spirit, to describe just who believed is very enlightening for us, for He tells us specifically which gentiles believed. He says that it was those who had been appointed to eternal life, which believed. In other words, because God had already appointed them to eternal life, therefore they could believe. Whereas the others present, that heard the same gospel message preached, were not appointed by God to eternal life and so they could not believe. And so, again very clearly we can see from this passage, that it is God Who decides will be saved and who won’t be saved.
2 Thessalonians 2:13-14 “But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth, (14) to which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
The third witness quoted above, is the apostle Paul. In this passage, Paul is very clear about the truth that it is God Who chose us for salvation. But Paul is also very clear in this passage, as to when it is that God chose us for salvation, for he says that God chose us from the beginning. In other words, from the beginning of creation, God decided which of us would be saved and which wouldn’t. Clearly we had no input in that decision, for we had not yet even been created. And so, again very clearly we can see from this passage, that it is God Who decides who will be saved and who won’t be saved.
Michael E.B. Maher
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