This topic in our “Spreading God’s Word” blog is courtesy of Walter Chantry. If you struggle sometimes trying to understand biblical teachings about mankind’s total depravity, then you may be edified by this posting. For those with a firm grip around this aspect of biblical teaching, then this may serve as an apologetic posting concerning free will. In either case, we’d like to hear your thoughts about it. Please let us know.
Courtesy of Walter Chantry
Most people say that they believe in “free will”. But do you have any idea what that means? I believe you will find that there is a great deal of superstition involved on this subject. Whether they realize it or not, these people are saluting the will of man as the grand power of the human soul, a power that is completely free to direct our lives. But from what is it free? And what is its power?
When we look at what the Scripture has to say, we can see the myths behind this idea of free will:
The circumstantial freedom myth
No one denies that man has a will — that is, a faculty of choosing what he wishes to say, do, and think. But have you ever reflected on the pitiful weakness of your will? Though you have the ability to make a decision, you do not have the power to carry out your purpose. Our will may devise a course of action, but it has no power to execute its intention.
Joseph’s brothers hated him. They sold him to be a slave. But God used their actions to make him a ruler over themselves. They chose their course of action to harm Joseph. But God in His power directed events for Joseph’s good. He said:
But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive (Gen. 50:20).
And how many of your decisions are miserably thwarted? You may choose to be a millionaire, but God’s providence is likely to prevent it. You may decide to be a scholar, but bad health, an unstable home, or lack of finances may frustrate your will. You choose to go on vacation, but an automobile accident may send you to the hospital instead.
By saying that your will is free, we certainly do not mean that it determines the course of your life. You did not choose the sickness, sorrow, war, and poverty that have spoiled your happiness. You did not choose to have enemies. If man’s will is so potent, why not choose to live on and on? But you must die.
The major factors which shape your life have nothing to do with your will. You did not select your social status, color, intelligence, etc.
God’s sovereignty
Any sober reflection on your experience will produce the conclusion that: “A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the Lord directeth his steps” (Prov. 16:9).
Rather than extolling the human will, we ought to humbly praise the Lord whose purposes shape our lives. That’s what Jeremiah did when he was moved by the Holy Spirit to confess: O Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps (10:23).
Yes, you may choose what you want, and you may plan what you will do; but your will is not free to accomplish anything contrary to the purposes of God. Neither have you any power to reach your goals but that which God allows you. The next time you are so enamored with your own will, remember Jesus’ parable about the rich man in Luke 12:
And he (the rich man) said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? (vv. 18-20)
He was free to plan, but not free to accomplish; so it is with us.
The ethical freedom myth
Yet, freedom of the will is cited by many as an important factor in making moral decisions. Man’s will is said to be free to choose between good and evil. But again we must ask, from what is it free? And what is man’s will free to choose?
The will of man is his power to choose between alternatives. Your will does decide your actions from a number of options. You have the faculty to direct your own thoughts, words, and deeds. An outside force does not form your decisions. No man is compelled to act contrary to his will, or forced to say what he does not wish. Your will guides your actions.
Nevertheless, this does not mean that the power to decide is free from all influence. You make choices based on your understanding, your feelings, your likes and dislikes, and your appetites. In other words, your will is not free from yourself! Your own basic character determines your choices. The will is not independent of your nature, but the slave of it. Your choices do not shape your character, but your character guides your choices. The will is quite partial to what you know, feel, love, and desire. You always choose on the basis of your disposition, according to the condition of your heart.
It is just for this reason that your will is not free to do good. Your will is the servant of your heart, and your heart is evil.
And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually (Gen. 6:5).
There is none that doeth good, no, not one” (Rom. 3:12).
No power forces man to sin contrary to his will, but the descendents of Adam are so evil that they always choose the evil.
Your decisions are molded by your understanding, and the Bible says of all men, “And their foolish heart was darkened” (Rom 1:21). Man can only be righteous when he desires to have fellowship with God, but “There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God” (Rom 3:11).
Your appetites crave sin, and thus you cannot choose God. To choose good is contrary to human nature. If you chose to obey God, it would be the result of external compulsion. But you are free to choose, and hence your choice is enslaved to your own evil nature.
If fresh meat and tossed salad were placed before a hungry lion, he would choose the flesh. This is because his nature dictates the selection. It is just so with man. The will of man is free from outside force, but not from the bias of human nature. That bias is against God. Man’s powers of decision are free to choose whatever the human heart dictates; therefore there is no possibility of a man choosing to please God without a prior work of divine grace.
What most people mean by free will is the idea that man is by nature neutral and therefore able to choose either good or evil. This is a myth. The human will and the whole of human nature is bent to only evil continually. God asks this rhetorical question:
Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil (Jer 13:23).
It is impossible. It is contrary to nature. Thus do men desperately need the supernatural transformation of their natures, else their wills are enslaved to choosing evil.
In spite of the great praise that is given to “free will”, we have seen that man’s will is not free to choose a course contrary to God’s purposes nor free to act contrary to his own moral nature. Your will does not determine the events of your life or the circumstances of it. Ethical choices are not formed by a neutral mind but always dictated by your personality makeup.
The spiritual freedom myth
Nevertheless, many assert that human will makes the ultimate choice of spiritual life or spiritual death. They say that here the will is altogether free to choose eternal life offered in Jesus Christ or to reject it. It is said that God will give a new heart to all that choose by the power of their own free will to receive Jesus Christ.
True, receiving Jesus Christ is an act of the human will. It is often called “faith”. But how do men come to willingly receive the Lord? It is usually answered, “Out of the power of their own free will.” But how can that be?
Jesus is a Prophet. To receive Him means to believe all that He says. In John 8:41-45 Jesus made it clear that you were born of Satan. This evil father hates the truth and imparted the same bias into your heart by nature. Hence said Jesus, “Because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not.” How does the human will jump out of man to choose to believe what the human mind hates and denies?
Further, to receive Jesus means to embrace Him as a Priest — that is, to employ and depend on Him to sue out peace with God by sacrifice and intercession. But Romans 8:7 tells us that the mind with which we were born is hostile to God. How can the will escape the influence of human nature which was born with a violent enmity to God? It would be insane for the will to choose peace when every bone and drop of blood cries out for rebellion.
Then too, receiving Jesus means to welcome Him as King. It means choosing to obey His every command, to confess His right of rule, and to worship before His throne. But the human mind, emotions, and desires all cry out, “We will not have this man to reign over us” (Luke 19:14). If my whole being hates His truth, hates His rule, and hates peace with God, how can my will be responsible for receiving Jesus? How can such a sinner have faith?
By the grace of God only
It is not man’s will but God’s grace that must be thanked for giving a sinner a new heart. Unless God changes the heart, creates a new spirit of peace, truthfulness, and submission, man will not choose to receive Jesus Christ and eternal life in Him. A new heart must be given before a man can believe, or else the human will is hopelessly enslaved to evil human nature even in the matter of conversion. Jesus said, “Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again” (John 3:7). Unless you are, you will never see His kingdom.
Read John 1:12-13. It says that those who believe on Jesus have been “born, not of the will of man, but of God.” As our will is not responsible for our coming into this world, it is not responsible for the new birth. It is our Creator who must be thanked for our life, and if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature (II Cor 5:17).
Who ever chose to be created? When Lazarus rose from the dead, he then could choose to answer the call of Christ, but he could not choose to come to life. So Paul said in Ephesians 2:5:
Even when we were dead in
Most people say that they believe in “free will”. But do you have any idea what that means? I believe you will find that there is a great deal of superstition involved on this subject. Whether they realize it or not, these people are saluting the will of man as the grand power of the human soul, a power that is completely free to direct our lives. But from what is it free? And what is its power?
When we look at what the Scripture has to say, we can see the myths behind this idea of free will:
The circumstantial freedom myth
No one denies that man has a will — that is, a faculty of choosing what he wishes to say, do, and think. But have you ever reflected on the pitiful weakness of your will? Though you have the ability to make a decision, you do not have the power to carry out your purpose. Our will may devise a course of action, but it has no power to execute its intention.
Joseph’s brothers hated him. They sold him to be a slave. But God used their actions to make him a ruler over themselves. They chose their course of action to harm Joseph. But God in His power directed events for Joseph’s good. He said:
But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive (Gen. 50:20).
And how many of your decisions are miserably thwarted? You may choose to be a millionaire, but God’s providence is likely to prevent it. You may decide to be a scholar, but bad health, an unstable home, or lack of finances may frustrate your will. You choose to go on vacation, but an automobile accident may send you to the hospital instead.
By saying that your will is free, we certainly do not mean that it determines the course of your life. You did not choose the sickness, sorrow, war, and poverty that have spoiled your happiness. You did not choose to have enemies. If man’s will is so potent, why not choose to live on and on? But you must die.
The major factors which shape your life have nothing to do with your will. You did not select your social status, color, intelligence, etc.
God’s sovereignty
Any sober reflection on your experience will produce the conclusion that: “A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the Lord directeth his steps” (Prov. 16:9).
Rather than extolling the human will, we ought to humbly praise the Lord whose purposes shape our lives. That’s what Jeremiah did when he was moved by the Holy Spirit to confess: O Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps (10:23).
Yes, you may choose what you want, and you may plan what you will do; but your will is not free to accomplish anything contrary to the purposes of God. Neither have you any power to reach your goals but that which God allows you. The next time you are so enamored with your own will, remember Jesus’ parable about the rich man in Luke 12:
And he (the rich man) said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? (vv. 18-20)
He was free to plan, but not free to accomplish; so it is with us.
The ethical freedom myth
Yet, freedom of the will is cited by many as an important factor in making moral decisions. Man’s will is said to be free to choose between good and evil. But again we must ask, from what is it free? And what is man’s will free to choose?
The will of man is his power to choose between alternatives. Your will does decide your actions from a number of options. You have the faculty to direct your own thoughts, words, and deeds. An outside force does not form your decisions. No man is compelled to act contrary to his will, or forced to say what he does not wish. Your will guides your actions.
Nevertheless, this does not mean that the power to decide is free from all influence. You make choices based on your understanding, your feelings, your likes and dislikes, and your appetites. In other words, your will is not free from yourself! Your own basic character determines your choices. The will is not independent of your nature, but the slave of it. Your choices do not shape your character, but your character guides your choices. The will is quite partial to what you know, feel, love, and desire. You always choose on the basis of your disposition, according to the condition of your heart.
It is just for this reason that your will is not free to do good. Your will is the servant of your heart, and your heart is evil.
And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually (Gen. 6:5).
There is none that doeth good, no, not one” (Rom. 3:12).
No power forces man to sin contrary to his will, but the descendents of Adam are so evil that they always choose the evil.
Your decisions are molded by your understanding, and the Bible says of all men, “And their foolish heart was darkened” (Rom 1:21). Man can only be righteous when he desires to have fellowship with God, but “There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God” (Rom 3:11).
Your appetites crave sin, and thus you cannot choose God. To choose good is contrary to human nature. If you chose to obey God, it would be the result of external compulsion. But you are free to choose, and hence your choice is enslaved to your own evil nature.
If fresh meat and tossed salad were placed before a hungry lion, he would choose the flesh. This is because his nature dictates the selection. It is just so with man. The will of man is free from outside force, but not from the bias of human nature. That bias is against God. Man’s powers of decision are free to choose whatever the human heart dictates; therefore there is no possibility of a man choosing to please God without a prior work of divine grace.
What most people mean by free will is the idea that man is by nature neutral and therefore able to choose either good or evil. This is a myth. The human will and the whole of human nature is bent to only evil continually. God asks this rhetorical question:
Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil (Jer 13:23).
It is impossible. It is contrary to nature. Thus do men desperately need the supernatural transformation of their natures, else their wills are enslaved to choosing evil.
In spite of the great praise that is given to “free will”, we have seen that man’s will is not free to choose a course contrary to God’s purposes nor free to act contrary to his own moral nature. Your will does not determine the events of your life or the circumstances of it. Ethical choices are not formed by a neutral mind but always dictated by your personality makeup.
The spiritual freedom myth
Nevertheless, many assert that human will makes the ultimate choice of spiritual life or spiritual death. They say that here the will is altogether free to choose eternal life offered in Jesus Christ or to reject it. It is said that God will give a new heart to all that choose by the power of their own free will to receive Jesus Christ.
True, receiving Jesus Christ is an act of the human will. It is often called “faith”. But how do men come to willingly receive the Lord? It is usually answered, “Out of the power of their own free will.” But how can that be?
Jesus is a Prophet. To receive Him means to believe all that He says. In John 8:41-45 Jesus made it clear that you were born of Satan. This evil father hates the truth and imparted the same bias into your heart by nature. Hence said Jesus, “Because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not.” How does the human will jump out of man to choose to believe what the human mind hates and denies?
Further, to receive Jesus means to embrace Him as a Priest — that is, to employ and depend on Him to sue out peace with God by sacrifice and intercession. But Romans 8:7 tells us that the mind with which we were born is hostile to God. How can the will escape the influence of human nature which was born with a violent enmity to God? It would be insane for the will to choose peace when every bone and drop of blood cries out for rebellion.
Then too, receiving Jesus means to welcome Him as King. It means choosing to obey His every command, to confess His right of rule, and to worship before His throne. But the human mind, emotions, and desires all cry out, “We will not have this man to reign over us” (Luke 19:14). If my whole being hates His truth, hates His rule, and hates peace with God, how can my will be responsible for receiving Jesus? How can such a sinner have faith?
By the grace of God only
It is not man’s will but God’s grace that must be thanked for giving a sinner a new heart. Unless God changes the heart, creates a new spirit of peace, truthfulness, and submission, man will not choose to receive Jesus Christ and eternal life in Him. A new heart must be given before a man can believe, or else the human will is hopelessly enslaved to evil human nature even in the matter of conversion. Jesus said, “Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again” (John 3:7). Unless you are, you will never see His kingdom.
Read John 1:12-13. It says that those who believe on Jesus have been “born, not of the will of man, but of God.” As our will is not responsible for our coming into this world, it is not responsible for the new birth. It is our Creator who must be thanked for our life, and if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature (II Cor 5:17).
Who ever chose to be created? When Lazarus rose from the dead, he then could choose to answer the call of Christ, but he could not choose to come to life. So Paul said in Ephesians 2:5:
Even when we were dead in sins, (God) hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved).
Faith is the first act of a will made new by the Holy Spirit. Receiving Christ is an act of man just as breathing is, but God must first give life.
No wonder Martin Luther wrote a book entitled The Bondage of the Will, which he considered one of his most important treatises. In it he said:
The will is in the chains of an evil human nature. You who extol the free will as a great force are clinging to a root of pride. Man, as fallen in sin, is utterly helpless and hopeless. The will of man offers no hope. It was the will choosing the forbidden fruit that brought us into misery. The powerful grace of God alone offers deliverance. sins, (God) hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved).
Faith is the first act of a will made new by the Holy Spirit. Receiving Christ is an act of man just as breathing is, but God must first give life.
No wonder Martin Luther wrote a book entitled The Bondage of the Will, which he considered one of his most important treatises. In it he said:
The will is in the chains of an evil human nature. You who extol the free will as a great force are clinging to a root of pride. Man, as fallen in sin, is utterly helpless and hopeless. The will of man offers no hope. It was the will choosing the forbidden fruit that brought us into misery. The powerful grace of God alone offers deliverance.
I don’t think social status, color, or intelligence are major factors in my life. The major factor in my life is my compliance with the will of God. My spirituality, which is based upon the the choices I make in reaction to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
On God’s sovereignty, I agree with most of this part. But, does our will not allow us to reject Christ?
So humans, the offspring of God, are evil by nature, unable to do good? what about Paul’s description of the Gentiles in Romans 2, for example:
14 For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves:
15 aWhich shew the work of the blaw written in their hearts…
Can Romans 3:12 really apply to all men at all times everywhere? I think we need a word analysis here similar to the “all” posting. I have spent a fair amount of time in my career in communist China. I can assure you that most of the people with whom I interracted knew nothing of Christ. The cultrual revolution and the ensuing years of communist rule saw to that. Yet, I saw much good being done. I realize that I should not judge, but I did see much Christlike behavior.
Including additional verses from John 1:
9 That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.
11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
So, all men that came into the world have the light of Christ, and can therefor distinguish between good and evil and choose. Those that do, receive more and are then born in the spirit, which is not born of the will of the flesh, nor the will of man, but of God.
What did the blood of Christ purchase?
Gorilladad wrote, “I have spent a fair amount of time in my career in communist China. I can assure you that most of the people with whom I interracted knew nothing of Christ…Yet, I saw much good being done. I realize that I should not judge, but I did see much Christlike behavior.”
Matt 7:11 — If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?
As measured by the world’s standards, of course unregenerate sinners can do good things. But this doesn’t mean their actions are good in God’s sight.
Isaiah 64:6 — But we are all as an unclean [thing], and all our righteousnesses [are] as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.
In a nutshell, that sums up total depravity.
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Will & Gorilladad — I admit my sinking ship analogy has more holes in it than a slice of Swiss cheese. What I was trying to convey was the fact that only those whom the Father is effectually calling would ever even want to beseech God for salvation.
If we believe we contribute anything at all toward our salvation (such as accepting Christ or having some spark of innate goodness in and of oursleves before we’re saved), then our salvation is 99% grace PLUS a little bit of our own effort added in. And that is a salvation of works. That kind of salvation is a dead salvation. A rhetorical question: what role did we play in our physical birth? It’s the same with our spiritual rebirth.
Matt 7:22 — Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
Many people want a type of salvation — the “name it & claim it” varieties; the health & wealth gospels; etc. But there’s only one type according to Scripture: the one that rends families from each other like a two-edged sword; the one that requires self-denial; the one that requires us to take up our own cross and follow Christ; the one in which we must die to the world in order to live to Christ. And only those whom the Father is drawing will ever come to God on those terms. In fact, natural man would never want a salvation based upon those terms — it’s foolishness.
Matt 7:14 — Because strait [is] the gate, and narrow [is] the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
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Thanks to everyone for contributing.
Thank you Jeff & Cindy and I love your analogy between our physical birth and spiritual rebirth. It clears up alot for me.
Jeff and Cindy,
Too much focus on election can lead to HYPER CALVNISM. Family Radio now has a tract on their web site which reads “HOPE YOU ARE SAVED”. This can lead to people becoming fatalists and not caring if they are saved or not, because it is ALL UP TO GOD TO ELECT US. This is dangerous. I know people who were from the NETHERLAND REFORMED CHURCH. They teach that you can not know if you are saved!!! So each member must beg and cry out to God and HOPE they are one of God’ elect and HOPE they are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. While we are in this body on earth, we can not see who is in the Lambs Book of Life, and therefore can we ever know we are saved? This is very dangerous, we are NOT GOD. We simply must trust God’d promise that “WHOSEVER believes in him, should not perish (in hell forever) but have eternal life. God says in 1 John that the SPIRIT witnesees with our SPIRIT that we are saved. Unfortunately some teachers quench the Spirit, and constantly say “THE BIBLE ONLY”. We are to worship God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, in the Spirit, we are not to worship the OLD KING JAMES BIBLE. The Word of God teaches us about God, so we can worship him. Some teachers never talk about the Holy Spirit, and when they do, they blaspheme the Holy Spirit, by saying all Churches, and people (with the Holy Spirit), are of SATAN. Very dangerous teachings indeed similiar to the Pharisees, who study the Bible, and miss the Bible’s message. God promised that ANYONE in the ENTIRE world who believes in the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior in their heart, and confesses with their mouth, and has the Holy Spirit in them, IS SAVED. Election and total depravity are definitely taught in the Bible, but we as humans must leave that in God’s Hand, and we must live the Christian Life and Obey Christ by fellowshipping with other believers in a Church of Jesus Christ, and we must fulfill the command of Jesus to go out in all the world and preach the SIMPLE GOSPEL MESSAGE of grace and truth and love.
God Bless,
Jim B.
Jim,
Thanks for bringing up the Holy Ghost. When I first started posting replies here, I mentioned the quandry I had with all the different churches and associated interpretations of the Bible out there, how does one know what is true? How does one even know the Bible is true? I believe that the Holy Ghost is the answer to that. The Holy Ghost testifies of Christ (John 15:26) and “will guide you unto all truth”, John 16:13. I think there is no way to understand what is in the Bible except through the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Jeff and Cindy,
With regard to Matt 7:22, if we include a couple of verses before:
20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
21 ¶ Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
Christ was at first referring to those that actually do the will of the Father when he said “by their fruits ye shall know them.” Then he spoke of those that merely say that they have performed many good works in his name. These are the ones that he then says that “I never knew you”.
Happy Easter everyone!
God Bless us today as we fellowhsip with other believers in the Church of Jesus Christ, and celebrate his resurrection from the dead to give us eternal life and save us from eternal damnation in a conscious state of torment in Hell Fire forever. Here are some verses to bless us.
1 Corinthians 15:
12 Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. 14 And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. 15 Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up—if in fact the dead do not rise. 16 For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. 17 And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! 18 Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.
20 But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead.
Daniel 12
2) Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to EVERLASTING life, others to shame and EVERLASTING contempt. 3 Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever.
Matthew 25
31″When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
34″Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world
41″Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
46″Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
God Bless You thrugh the Lord Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit of Love and Truth and Grace and Simplicity and Peace.
Have a Blessed Easter,
Jim B
Feel free to email me,
jimbbbbb@gmail.com
God bless all on this Easter as we praise Him this day for the sacrifice of His Son Jesus Christ.