The Need for Control and Why Biblical Election is Odious

Part Four

This is the final issue in this series.  The objective of the series is to look at the way God created life.  In this last issue I will endeavor to answer the question of why God created the world the way He did.

When God gave man a will, He gave him the ability to believe anything he wants to believe.  Belief is not a function of the mind, although the mind is involved.  The Bible teaches that belief is a function of the will.  “…and with all wicked deception for those who are to perish, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.  Therefore God sends upon them a strong delusion, to make them believe what is false.”[1]   When God senses that a person does not love the truth, He sends a “strong delusion” encouraging him to believe a lie.

If you were God, you would want the same thing He wants.  You would want to elect and control.  In part, this is what it means that God created you in His image.  The Savior did not want a relationship with an inanimate thing.  He wanted what people want in marriage: He wanted people to want a relationship with Him, to love Him and become one with Him.

People naturally want to be God, and they are angry because God got there first.  If the Bible is correct, there are two things you will never be able to do:

1 – You will never be able to elect and control the most important things in life.  As Jesus said, “A man can only receive what God gives him.”[2] God has never given man the ability to elect and control the essentials.

2 – You cannot cease to exist.  Many are counting on ceasing to exist when they die.  They believe that they came from nothing and will return to nothing.  Because no one knows the future, I cannot be certain that this premise is false.  All I can prove is that the Bible says it is false.  You are an eternal being, for good or for bad.

We know very little about what hell will be like.  It may be that hell is eternally living with this realization that you cannot elect and control and you cannot cease to exist.  Such people will live in perpetual anger and frustration.

What You Can Elect

You can elect to try the impossible and wrestle control over as many areas of life as you can.  You can seek to manipulate, control, and use others to meet your own goals.  You can live a narcissistic, self-centered life if you choose.  Realizing that this is the choice of most, God brings perpetual pain and opposition to distract man from trying to accomplish this.  My parents lived through World War I, followed by the Great Depression, followed by World War II.  They lacked the time and energy to seek self-fulfillment, self-actualization, etc.

Or you can, as an act of your will, submit to Christ as His slave.  The only kind of slaves He accepts are those who truly want to be His slaves.  You do God no favor by being His slave; He does you the favor of allowing you to be His slave.  For sure, you cannot serve God on your terms.  He will not accept such service.

God gave you a will, and with this will you must decide what you want.  This you can elect and control.

Grateful for His salvation,

[1] 2 Thessalonians 2:10-11

[2] John 3:27