Matt 13:14” In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:"'You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving’’
The theory of determination or determinism which suggests that our belief in God has been predetermined runs contrary to the principles of the Christian faith and portrays God as unjust . It is the same when one says God’s favour is not fair. And very often those who preach this doctrine quote the aforementioned scripture.
The belief in determinism is against man's right to choose. In mark 11: 23-24 the scriptures says”.. whatsoever you desire when you pray…”…if determinism was the case , we should not have desires and not be held accountable for our actions and decisions since they have all been predetermined .
Going by this theory, some persons were never given the opportunity by God to believe in the gospel because of Isaiah's prophecies. If that were the case, God will be unjust to judge the sinner since He alone determines human actions and it will be considered an infringement on our rights to choose.
When the bible speaks of predestination as in Ephesians 1:5 “ He predestined us to be adopted as sons…” the word 'predestined' is a Greek aorist verb ( having an external viewpoint) and in this case , it serves as a figure of speech meaning : to ordain or determine before. It means to make a prior arrangement. An example, every nation builds prisons as a prior arrangement for those who will violate the law. That does not mean that there are some citizens who are born prison worthy.Most prisoners are simply paying the price for the wrong choices they made. Choices come with consequences.
God has given us equal opportunity to be saved and no one has ever been denied the opportunity to accept the gift of salvation (Ti. 2:11). It is our belief system that determines how God deals with us.In Mark 6:5 the bible says that "he (Jesus) could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them." It is evident that the reason Jesus could not do any mighty work was not because He was incapable, but because He chose not to use His influence against a person's choice. God respects our right to choose. It is what makes Him a judge in human affairs. He would not force a miracle upon you except you are willing and ready. Most people are willing but not ready. Likewise, the unbelievers do not believe because of their choice to reject Jesus. They could not believe because they chose not to believe. Believing in Christ requires humility and selflessness and most persons are not willing to pay the price. Unbelief is selfishness or self-preservation mostly because we want to be in control so we can take the glory for our success. People want to worship God by their terms. That is known as religion.God hates religion because it promotes hate and hypocrisy.
. "They stumbled at the stumbling stone" (Rom. 9:32), which is Jesus. God did not predestine them to this fate. Isaiah saw that very few would receive the truth in the gospels (Isa. 53:1) about the Messiah, and therefore would be kept from the knowledge of salvation because they rejected Him in whom all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are found (Col. 2:3). This is what Isaiah prophesied, and it is evident today . You are not destined to fail in marriage,ministry, business and health . You are blessed and programmed to succeed.
Prayer : Heavenly Father forgive me for my sins against you, I believe Jesus Christ died and was raised again for my salvation, I recieve him as lord and saviour and receive grace now, receive grace to turn my failures into overwhelming success in Jesus name.. Amen
By Rev.Michael Benson Ajayi Titus 1:12 -14 "One of themselves, even a prophet of their own, said, The Cretians are alway liars, evil beasts, slow bellies. This witness is true. Wherefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith; Not giving heed to Jewish fables, and commandments of men, that turn from the truth." The church in Crete was in disarray and the apostle assigned Titus to go and put things in order . On investigation it was discovered the church suffered from a vicious cycle of evil family patterns. They were not enjoying the fruits of the salvation experience . An example of evil family patterns is that of King David who defiled Uriah's wife ,murdered him and his son Absalom murdered his brother Amnon (2Sam13) dethroned him and defiled his concubines openly (2Samuel16). His son Amnon defiled his sister Tamar (2Sam.13) and so on yet David was the anointed of the Lord....
By Rev Michael Benson Ajayi "Even some men from your own group will rise up and distort the truth in order to draw a following."Acts 20:30 NLT "An angry person starts fights; a hot-tempered person commits all kinds of sin." Proverbs 29:22 NLTBible Disunity is defined as : disagreement and conflict within a group. It is the greatest hindrance to the promotion of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Disunity creates an avenue for Satan to promote sin. The causes of disunity are not farfetched ,they include : Unhealthy Crave for power or self- promotion. Whenever there is an unhealthy pursuit of influence in a family or group it results in resistance. Self-promotion gives birth to unfair practices and injustices. In Numbers 12: 1-15 Moses' sister Miriam and Aaron rebelled against him desiring to rule by force and in Numbers 16 :1-35 Korah led an insurrection against Moses desiring to be part of leadership. In both cases ,God wa...
By Rev. Michael Benson Ajayi " Be careful then, dear brothers and sisters. Make sure that your own hearts are not evil and unbelieving, turning you away from the living God." Hebrews 3:12 NLTBible ' Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!”John 20:27 NLTBible Faith is the guarantee of the manifestation an unseen reality . It is the reason behind the hope we have in God and the fulfilment of his promises. It is the substance ( title deed) of things hoped for ,the evidence of things not seen (Hebrew 11:1) .The Bible warns against not having faith in God. Lack of faith is equal to calling God a liar and untrustworthy. This type of reasoning turns us into enemy's of God. The gospel is so much under attack by the activities of faithless religionists . They plan to replace the holy scripture with humanistic dogma. The danger in this is the relative...