The Burning Bush Vol 9 No 2.pmd - Far Eastern Bible College

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The Burning Bush 9/2 (July 2003)
Moreover, all men deserve to die in the first place because they know
there is a God but will not glorify nor thank Him as their hearts are
darkened by their sin (Rom 1:21). God’s grace towards the equally
undeserving Elect should not be treated as unfairness to the Reprobate,
because all deserve to be condemned in any case.
According to His appointed time, the Elect will come to hear the
gospel and be saved. God will open their eyes and hearts to the gospel
and grant them understanding to accept the Saviour through special
illumination from the Holy Spirit. After accepting Jesus Christ, their
regenerate souls will then acknowledge God as the Creator and worship
Him.
It is important to know that the salvation of man is dependent wholly
on God. Man’s choice of God is not at all dependent on man’s own
wisdom or the goodness of heart. We have already shown earlier that man
will never choose God of his own accord. It is God who chooses. It is He
who determines who should be saved by His grace.
Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence
only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation
with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will
and to do of his good pleasure (Phil 2:12-13).
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the
gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast (Eph 2:8-9).
So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God
that sheweth mercy (Rom 9:16).
Salvation is of the LORD (Jon 2:9).
Having affirmed this truth, we can safely say that God sees to it that
those whom He had chosen to save would believe on Him in due time.
God would ensure that the gospel reaches them, and faith is imparted to
them. How He does it is beyond man’s understanding and scrutiny. As for
the tribesmen, He may send missionaries to preach to them and cause
them to accept the Saviour. For the mentally retarded, He may grant them
a heightened intelligence to understand. For elect babies, He may cause
the Spirit to work in them in the manner sufficient for their salvation to be
realised. Neither location inaccessibility nor lack of intelligence can
hinder God from saving whosoever He intends to save.
Concerning the question of fairness, we can now see the problem
faced by those asking this question. The reason why such a question is