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RE: "Worthy Christians" Christians are ONLY worthy of eternal life because of what Christ has done for them, ALL humans including Christians deserve to be right now thrown into the eternal lake of fire.

Is predestination a biblical teaching? by Matt Slick 7/29/2009 Yes, predestination is biblical. Predestination is the teaching that God has, from all eternity, freely determined whatsoever shall come to pass. We find this in Ephesians 1:11 which says, “also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will.” Notice Paul teaches that predestination occurs according to the purpose of God and that God works all things after His will. The "all things" means exactly that, all things. Predestination: "God’s actions in willing something to a specific result; also called “foreordination.” Some Christian theologians, particularly in the Reformed tradition, have seen it as indicating God’s eternal decree by which all creatures are foreordained to eternal life or death. It may also be used synonymously with “election” and indicates God’s gracious initiation of salvation for those who believe in Jesus Christ."1 "The divine determination of human beings to eternal salvation or eternal damnation. The doctrine of predestination is a branch, so to speak, of the doctrine of election; God’s predestinating activity is a function of his existence as the electing God. Though expressed in the Old Testament primarily as the corporate election of the people of Israel (cf. Deut. 7:6–8), some also extend predestination to include God’s having decided in advance the events of each day in an individual’s life (e.g., Ps. 139:13–16)."2 The word predestination comes from the Greek προορίζω, "prooridzo." The word occurs six times in six verses in the New Testament. Acts 4:28, “to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose predestined to occur.” Romans 8:29-30, “For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the first-born among many brethren; 30 and whom He predestined, these He also called; and whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.” 1 Corinthians 2:7, “but we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom, which God predestined before the ages to our glory.” Ephesians 1:5, “He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will.” Ephesians 1:11, “also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will.” By looking at these verses, we can see that predestination reveals God's great sovereignty and right to do with His creation as he desires. But also we can see that predestination deals with salvation. Unfortunately, many Christians do not accept the biblical teaching on predestination. Many do not like the idea that God predestines people for salvation, but the fact is the Bible teaches it. We might say that there are two main views concerning predestination. One is the view that God has foreknowledge; that is, he knew who would choose Him, and those are the ones He predestined to salvation. The other idea is held by Calvinists who believe God sovereignly, of His own free will, predestined certain people to be saved, and His choice is not based upon looking into the future to see who would pick Him. Either way, predestination is found in the Bible, and it is a doctrine that we must accept. So, to find which view you think is most biblical, study the above list of verses in their context and see if you think that God predestines according to the expected future human choices or not.

Calvinism Arminianism comparison grid by Matt Slick 12/18/13 Calvinism and Arminianism are two main theological perspectives that deal with salvation. Calvinism is named after the teachings of the theologian John Calvin (1509-1564). Arminianism is named after the teachings of the theologian Jacobus Arminius (1559-1609). The Calvinist perspective has been summarized in TULIP: Total depravity, Unconditional election, Limited atonement, Irresistible grace, Perseverance of the saints. No corresponding acronym is widely used for the Arminian perspective. Calvinism emphasizes the sovereignty of God and God's right to choose people for salvation (Acts 13:48; 2 Thessalonians 2:13). Arminians emphasize the ability and freedom of man to choose God (Joshua 24:15). In Calvinism, God is the ultimate and deciding factor in the salvation of individuals. In Arminianism, man's response to God's grace is the deciding factor. Calvinists affirm God's sovereignty over his creation (Rom. 9:22-23), sinful man's inability to freely choose God (1 Cor. 2:14), in God's electing and predestining people to salvation (2 Thess. 2:13) which is by God's choice not man's (John 1:13; Rom. 9:16), and that the saved are eternally secure because their salvation rests in Christ's work, not man's faithfulness (John 10:27-28). Arminians affirm the sovereignty of man's will and ability to choose God, that God's predestining of people is based on his foreseen knowledge of their choices, that Jesus died for all people who ever lived, and that is possible to lose one's salvation. Calvinism and Arminianism comparison grid CALVINISM ARMINIANISM Man Total depravity. Man is completely touched/affected by sin in all that he is (in nature he is completely fallen) but is not as bad as he could be (in action, i.e., not all murder, etc.). Furthermore, this total depravity means that the unregenerate will not, of their own sinful free will, choose to receive Christ. Free Will. Man is totally affected by sin in all that he is, but with the prompting of the Holy Spirit the unbeliever is capable of freely choosing God. Election Unconditional election. God elects a person based upon nothing in that person because there is nothing in him that would make him worthy of being chosen; rather, God's election is based on what is in God. God chose us because he decided to bestow his love and grace upon us, not because we are worthy, in and of ourselves, of being saved. Conditional Election. Election to salvation is conditioned upon God's foreseen faith in the person. Atonement Limited atonement. Christ bore the sin only of the elect, not everyone who ever lived.1 Universal Atonement. Jesus bore the sin of all people, the elect and the non-elect. Regeneration Irresistible grace. The act of God making the person willing to receive him. It does not mean that a person cannot resist God's will. It means that when God moves to save/regenerate a person, the sinner cannot successfully resist God's movement and he will be regenerated. Resistible Grace. The sinner can successfully resist the grace of God and not be regenerated when God convicts that person. Security Perseverance of the saints. We are so secure in Christ that we cannot fall away. Falling From Grace. It is possible to fall away from the faith and lose one's salvation.2

It's very sad that most preachers nowadays are Pelagian, they are preaching heresy. Pelagianism by Matt Slick Pelagianism derives its name from Pelagius who lived in the 5th century A.D. and was a teacher in Rome, though he was British by birth. It is a heresy dealing with the nature of man. Pelagius, whose family name was Morgan, taught that people had the ability to fulfill the commands of God by exercising the freedom of human will apart from the grace of God. In other words, a person's free will is totally capable of choosing God and/or to do good or bad without the aid of Divine intervention. Pelagianism teaches that man's nature is basically good. Thus it denies original sin, the doctrine that we have inherited a sinful nature from Adam. He said that Adam only hurt himself when he fell, and all of his descendants were not affected by Adam's sin. Pelagius taught that a person is born with the same purity and moral abilities as Adam was when he was first made by God. He taught that people can choose God by the exercise of their free will and rational thought. God's grace, then, is merely an aid to help individuals come to Him. Pelagianism fails to understand man's nature and weakness. We are by nature sinners (Eph. 2:3; Psalm 51:5). We all have sinned because sin entered the world through Adam: "Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned" (Rom. 5:12, NIV). Furthermore, Romans 3:10-12 says, “There is none righteous, not even one; 11 There is none who understands, There is none who seeks for God; 12 All have turned aside, together they have become useless; There is none who does good, There is not even one." Therefore, we are unable to do God's will (Rom. 6:16; 7:14). We were affected by the fall of Adam--contrary to what Pelagius taught. See also Semi-Pelagianism. Pelagianism is condemned as a heresy Pelagius has been condemned by many councils throughout church history including the following: Councils of Carthage (412, 416 and 418) Council of Ephesus (431) The Council of Orange (529) Council of Trent (1546) Roman Catholic 2nd Helvetic (1561/66) 8-9. (Swiss-German Reformed) Augsburg Confession (1530) Art. 9, 18 (Lutheran) Gallican Confession (1559) Art. 10 (French Reformed) Belgic Confession (1561) Art. 15 (Lowlands, French/Dutch/German Reformed) The Anglican Articles (1571), 9. (English) Canons of Dort (1618-9), 3/4.2 (Dutch/German/French Reformed).1