About Lexington Primitive Baptist Church
|
|
What we believe: |
|
Election & Predestination
We believe that God, in His wisdom, foresaw the ruined condition of mankind in sin, and made provision for the salvation of a portion of humanity before the world began. He purposed to save them by sending His Son to die for their sins upon the cross. This purpose, or agreement within the Trinity, is called the everlasting covenant. Election and predestination are two parts of that covenant. Election means that God chose, or selected, a people out of the human family for His own glory. He did not choose every person to be saved, for that would negate the very meaning of the term “election.” But He did choose a vast multitude, a people out of every nation, kindred, language, and family (Rev. 5:9). He did not choose them because they were better than someone else, for all were sinners. He made His choice based upon His own right to do as He pleases, because He is God. He chose those whom He loved, and prearranged their final destiny. This predetermination of the final destiny of the elect is predestination. Predestination means that God made all of the necessary plans and provisions for the final salvation of all His people, and decreed that every last one of them, without the loss of one, will one day be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ, living forever with Him in heaven. Because man is totally depraved and incapable of saving himself, had God not made these provisions, every human being would have been lost for eternity. Can you see how the Doctrine of Grace takes salvation out of man’s hands and puts it into God’s hands? Though this is not a popular doctrine, we cannot afford to compromise here. The alternative substitutes a man-centered message for a God-centered one (Eph. 1:4; Rom. 9:11-16; 2 Tim. 1:9). |