Any christian who thinks his salvation solely depends on exercising his freewill and makes the right choice in his response to the message of the Gospel knows very little about the God of the Bible. It is better for him to revolutionize his understanding of the Scripture. My conviction is that theological terms like "Calvinism", "Arminianism", "Reformed-view" and "Nonreformed-view" have no Scriptural basis. They originated from man's ideas and only serves to divide christianity.
Christians must try to understand and acknowledge that God is the Initiator of all things and all things begin with God. Our salvation and calling depend on God's choice. Any decision which we make (such as reponse to the "altar-call" or "sinner's prayer") is merely a response to the choice and decision which God has already made (for individual person) before He created the world. If we fail to exercise our freewill to accept God's calling for salvation then we will not be saved.
To those who are in doubt of this truth, I suggest they study Romans 8:28,29,30 carefully. God's plan for all who are saved now or in times to come, follow this divine order - His foreknowledge, His predestination, His calling, His justification and His glorification. The fact that there are so many different views, indicates that not many preachers or Bible teachers are capable of fully understanding the sovereignty of God.
I think the above Scripture is very clear. If God in his foreknowledge, has predistined a person to be saved, then the rest of the of the process of salvation follows until that person is glorified with Him. On the other hand, if He has not predestined that person to be saved, then he will not be saved - no evangelical effort can bring this person to his knees before God.
I am not saying evangelical or mission works are not necessary. The Gospel needs to be preached because it is the power of God unto salvation (Romans 1:16). What I say is, only those who are chosen (predestined and called) by God will have their hearts (spirits) quicken by the message of the Cross and accept the salvation of God. The natural instinct of an unsaved person in the lost condition will not exercise his freewill to choose God. His natural instinct is to run away from God. We must always preach the Gospel and leave the salvation of souls to God - Salvation belongs to the Lord! Nevertheless, the basis of our salvation is the foreknowledge of God. He knows from eternity whether anyone will response to His call for salvation or not.
Let us look at God's specific calling for individual believers.
"(For it is He - God) Who delivered and saved us and called us with a calling in itself holy and leading to holiness - that is, to a life of consecration, a vocation of holiness; (He did it) not because of anything of merit that we have done, but because of and to further His own purpose and grace (unmerited favor) which was given us in Christ Jesus before the World began - eternal ages ago" (1 Tim. 1:9, The amplified Bible).
The above speaks of the following:
1. The main purpose of our salvation is to fulfill our calling decided by God before the world began. In other words, we cannot separate our salvation from our calling - being called is part of our salvation. It is never the intention of God to save us and let us sit in the pews every Sunday until we breathe our last breath!
2. Our calling which is the sovereign choice of God is holy, leading to holiness in a life of consecration through sanctification. We Cannot do as we please but set apart to do God's will. If we think we are called and our calling is not holy and leading to holiness then we are not in the will of God, and this "calling" does not come from God.
3. Our calling do not depend on our works. This means it has nothing to do with our education (secular or seminary), our talent, our effort, our ability or our social status. Our calling is by grace alone. It is God's specific gift for us individually. Furthermore, if we follow His calling faithfully then we will succeed:
"He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it" (1 Thess. 5:24).
4. Our calling is God's choice and God has worked out His calling for us before time began.
Paul said God created and called us in Christ to do good works:
"For we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them" (Ephesians 2:10).
In other words, if we think we are called and the result of this calling is not to do good work then we can be sure that this "calling" does not come from God.
The result of obeying the calling of God
I believe one of the most misquoted and misunderstood passages of Scripture is:
"And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose" (Romans 8:28, NKJV, emphasis added).
The are two conditions to fulfill if we desire "all things work together for good" in our walk with God.
1. We must love God.
2. We must faithfully follow the calling of God according to His will and purpose.
In other words, a christian who loves God and faithfully follows the calling of God, whatever happens to him and in whatever circumstances, God will be faithful to him and all things will work together for good so that God's purpose will be accomplished.
This important spiritual truth is worked out in the calling of the apostle Paul.
Paul's calling is revealed in 2 Tim. 1:11,12. He was called to be a preacher, and apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles.
Also, according to Galatians 2:7, God had committed to Paul the responsibility of bringing the Gospel to the "uncircumcised" - the whole Gentile world. God's purpose was to establish a centre in the city of Rome for the purpose of spreading the Gospel to the whole through the channels of commerce and social intercourse. God chose Paul, in a special calling to travel to Rome for this purpose. Read Acts 27 and 28.
Because of the significance of Paul's journey to Rome, he encountered tremendous spiritual opposition from Satan on his journey there. Paul was travelling on a freight ship as a prisoner in chains. He suffered storm and shipwreck and later bitten by a viper. But God preserved him for His purpose.
I believe the secret of Paul's victory over satan and his opposing forces is explained in 2 Tim 1:12:
"For this reason (called to preach to the Gentile) I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day" (emphasis added).
Paul was committed to obey God's calling to the very end!
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