God's calling
God calls all people to obedience. Many people in the world have a mis-conception of this calling. They feel you must have a "personal experience" or that the Lord must call you for a particular purpose. As in the case of Isaiah, this is a voluntary response. In all my studies, I can only find a few individuals who were selected by God to perform certain tasks. Outside of these few, of every thing everyone has ever done; it was done on a voluntary basis. There is only one person in the whole bible who was called to preach the Gospel. That person is the apostle Paul. Every person who fills a pulpit does so by his own compulsion or circumstances.
Isaiah 6:8 (NKJV)
Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: "Whom shall I send, And who will go for Us?" Then I said, "Here am I! Send me."
The calling of God is one of the most controversial issues in the religious realm. Many religions have their own ideas about the calling. Many people, although sincere, are lost by practicing error. God's plan of salvation was designed long before it came into existence. The problem with most of the world's religions is that man is trying to bring God closer to the masses. What they should be doing is bring the masses to God.
Human institutions of religion are trying to make service to God as convient as possible in order to keep the masses.
God's plan of salvation
God has a plan. This plan has a design. This plan has a blueprint. That plan is God's will. That design is found in the mind of God. That blueprint is found in God's word. There is a pattern that needs to be followed. There are rules that must be adhered to. All of these have to be done God's way. Not man's way. We call this plan the "plan of salvation". We usually use the format of five separate acts, although in actuallity it is only four. After hearing the Gospel (the good news concerning the Christ), we must believe that Jesus is the Son of God. We then recognize that our lives to this point have been in rebellion to God. We have sinned. We have been separated from God. We need to repent of our past lives out of sorrow that we did those things. Along with the repentance is the affirmation that we will change our lives to be compatible with God's will. After this, we make the good confession of our belief. When you think about it, the confession is not a one time statement, but a living, and continuous action. Then we must be baptized for the remission of sins. The baptism is in the pattern of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
By claiming a doctrine other than the above, is to take away from God's word. When they do this, they are claiming that the bible is wrong. If any one part of the bible is wrong, then it could not have been written by God. It is therefore useless for any purpose. Anyone who teaches a doctrine that leaves out a part of the plan of salvation, is a false teacher. Anyone who adds to this plan is a false teacher. The Bible also calls them a liar.
John 3:5-6 (NKJV)
Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. {6} "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Titus 3:5 (NKJV)
not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit,
1 Corinthians 12:13 (NKJV)
For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body; whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free; and have all been made to drink into one Spirit.
Too many religions try to eliminate baptism as being essential in the plan of salvation. The Bible offers too many verses of scripture to tolerate such a false notion. Either the Holy Spirit lied to us to tell us to do something that was unnecessary, or these people have to be shown to be false teachers. Also notice the relationship of baptism to the gift of the Holy Spirit. Notice that the people did not receive the Holy Spirit until after they had been baptized. Notice in every case of conversion in the Bible, that the people did not rejoice until after they had been baptized. And also notice that every case of conversion in the Bible includes baptism. How can anyone say that baptism is not essential to salvation?
Romans 8:9 (NKJV)
But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.
Romans 8:16-17 (NKJV)
The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, {17} and if children, then heirs; heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.
I've often said that the biggest word in the bible is "if". "If" means a certain condition must be met in order to receive something.
1 Corinthians 6:19 (NKJV)
Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?
"God now controls the Christian. The Christian must live for God (not himself).
Ephesians 1:13 (NKJV)
In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise,
We receive something because we did something. We received the promise of the Holy Spirit because we believed (and obeyed).
If you will look at the conversion of Saul in the book of Acts, you will notice that Paul did not pray the sinners prayer. Paul prayed fervently for three days and was told he needed to be baptized to wash away his sins. Any doctrine that removes the essential nature of baptism, makes the Holy Spirit a liar. Are you willing to do that?
Go the the next Section
Understanding God's Will IV
Return to the Book Page
Grow in Grace and Knowledge