“Pilate therefore went forth again, and said to them, Behold, I bring him forth to you, that you may know that I find no fault in him. Then came Jesus forth, wearing the crown of thorns, and the purple robe. And Pilate said to them, Behold the man! When the chief priests therefore and officers saw him, they cried out, saying, Crucify him, crucify him. Pilate said to them, Take you him, and crucify him: for I find no fault in him.” (vs4-6)
If you find no fault in Him, then why reject His counsel? Why not live as He commands? This will be the best thing for you. If there is NOTHING wrong with Christ, then BELIEVE and do His bidding. It will bring you good, He will give you power, and you will be delivered from rebellion’s misery. It is HARD for you to kick against the pricks, Christ says (Acts 9:5). We are happier, nobler, and safe from following Christ. In all things, just like you‘d tell an unbeliever, “You must believe or be damned”, we must BELIEVE as BELIEVERS or miss out on the life we COULD have had and bring misery upon ourselves. He says, “Oh that my people had hearkened unto me, and Israel had walked in my ways! I should soon have subdued their enemies, and turned my hand against their adversaries” (Ps 81:13-14). If we would hearken, then we’d get more from life (Matt 13:23). We can’t BLAME God’s sovereignty for our fruitlessness, when we DON’T repent of our sin and do His will. We must SEEK, strive, and obey. We can’t merely say, “It will come, if it is meant to be”. We don’t tell men, “Go home and wait. If you’re elect, He’ll call you. There’s nothing you can do”. No, concerning Saul of Tarsus, it was said, “Behold, he prays”, and the Lord shall hear ALL that call upon Him (Acts 9:11).
Your children, if drowning, will be saved or lost, depending ENTIRELY on God’s predestination BEFORE the world began (Acts 4:27-28). Yet, you would not say, “If they’re meant to live, they will live”. No, you’d jump into the water, you’d throw them a flotation device, etc. Therefore, why do we DISOBEY God, refuse to teach and preach what He says, and REFUSE to seek Him ourselves, simply because He is sovereign? It is lopsided and sinful thinking. It is taking part of the word and using it to distort or DENY other parts of scripture, and it can’t be done. Be diligent to the affairs of your flock, take heed to yourself and your doctrine, and all of these things teach us how to maximize the fruit in life and ministry (Prov 27:23; 1 Tim 4:15). We are not to say, “God will save the elect” and refuse to preach and teach, and neither are we to REFUSE to repent and obey in any area of life, using sovereignty and grace as EXCUSES for sin, saying, “We shall continue in sin, because grace is for sinners, and if God WANTS us to change… really wants it… (even though His word is clear)…then we will change. And, if not, well, then it was not of God.” This is wrong, erroneous, and does damage to churches and people. This is hyper-Calvinism which takes part of the word, holds to it, and then denies the other parts of GOD’S word that are JUST as vital to experience. Don’t be like this: believe, eat, receive, and take ALL of it. Christ is in all that He says.
