Many Christians and non-Christians alike downplay the biblical presentation of God’s wrath for the unregenerate and their final abode in hell—namely, “everlasting punishment.” The Universalists, Inclusivists, and groups such as the Seventh-Day Adventists and Jehovah’s Witnesses boldly reject the “biblical doctrine” of hell. While this doctrine can be quite difficult to comprehend and thus, accept, biblical doctrine is not determined by emotion or philosophy, but rather by the exegesis of the text. God’s Word is true regardless if one accepts or rejects it (cf. 2 Tim. 3:16).

The Nature of Hell

1. The biblical authors used many terms to describe the final abode of unregenerate, e.g., “hell,” “Hades,” “the lake of fire,” “black darkness,” “eternal punishment,” “eternal flame/fire,” “eternal destruction” (cf. Matt. 18:8; 25:46; 2 Thess. 1:9; Jude 7, 13; etc.).

2. Matthew 25:46 reads: “And these will go away into eternal [aiōnion] punishment, but the righteous into eternal [aiōnion] life.” The term “punishment” is from the Greek word, kolasin, which *recognized* lexicographers define (in first cent. Koinē Greek) as “punishment”/”chastisement” (e.g., Thayer, BDAG, et al).

3. Revelation 20:10 reads: “And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.” The word “tormented” is from the Greek word basanizō, which is defined by Thayer as “being vexed with grievous pains.” Basanizō is also used in Luke 16:23 and, as discussed below, Revelation 14:11 and 20:10. In contrast to the doctrine of Annihilationism, logically one must be awake or conscious to actually experience or (as these texts above plainly indicate) receive “punishment” and “torment” (i.e., being “vexed with grievous pains”). Annihilationism teaches that when the wicked die they are totally destroyed ceasing to exist—however, a person that does not exist cannot be punished or feel anything such as torment.

The Duration of Hell: Aiōn, Aiōnios

Eternal fire for the unregenerate is a biblical reality. Jesus said it was. It was for this reason that Jesus died (cf. Rom. 5:8-10). Those who are not imputed with the righteousness of Christ through faith in Him, will be cast out into hell where they will endure eternal punishment: “And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life” (Matt. 25:46). Here the word “eternal” (aiōnion) is used BOTH to describe the DURATION of life that believers will have and the “punishment” (kolasin) that the unregenerate will undergo—thus, the punishment is endless just as the “eternal life” is endless for believers. Commenting on this passage (viz. on the phrase, kolasin aiōnion, “eternal punishment”), renowned Greek scholar A. T. Robertson states: “[aionios] comes as near to the idea of eternal as the Greek can put it in one word.”[1] Those that deny the never-ending duration of God’s wrath (hell) do so primarily on emotional grounds (e.g., distorting the love of God) and a faulty understanding of the Greek terms aiōn (“age”) and aiōnios[2] (“eternal”/“everlasting”). The Greek word aiōnios is from the root word aiōn meaning “age.” The Universalists and others who deny the never-ending duration of hell point out that the term aiōnios does not always mean “eternal,” but can refer to a temporary or finite period of time. However, note the following details:

1. CONTEXT determines meaning. Words are defined by their context. It is a great error in hermeneutics to limit words to one meaning when they may have multiple meanings as with the majority of Greeks words—it always depends on the context. It is true that the term aiōnios can be used to indicate a temporary non-eternal state (as in Rom. 16:25). However, just because the root (aiōn) of the term aiōnios means “age” it does not mean that every time the term is used it indicates temporality. For example, Paul uses aiōnios to describe God’s eternal nature: “who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light; whom no man has seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal [aiōnion] dominion! Amen” (1 Tim. 6:16). It would be heresy to translate aiōnion here in a temporal sense making God’s dominion temporary—for His sovereignty is everlasting.

2. Lexical Support. The lexical support for aiōnios as denoting the concept of eternal/everlasting life for the believer in passages such as John 3:16; 6:47; 10:28; etc. is unquestionable. Equally, the lexical support for aiōnios as denoting the concept of eternal/everlasting damnation in passages such as Matthew 25:41, 46; 2 Thessalonians 1:9; Revelation 14:11; 21:10; etc. is indisputable. Aside from passages where aiōnios means “eternal” life (as seen above) and denoting God’s eternal nature (e.g., Rom. 16:26), Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words (1985) states: “Aiōnios is also used . . . of the judgment of God, from which there is no appeal, Heb. 6:2, and of the fire, which is one of its instruments, Matt. 18:8; 25:41; Jude 7, and which is elsewhere said to be ‘unquenchable,’ Mark 9:43. The use of aiōnios here shows that the punishment referred to in 2 Thes. 1:9, is not is not temporary, but final. . . .”

Below are brief excerpts taken from one of the most utilized and scholarly lexicons, Walter Bauer’s, A Greek English Lexicon of the New Testament (BDAG), which provides a most comprehensive analysis of aiōnios regarding the “everlasting” duration of both life and damnation (hell): “aiōn formulaically=eternal [Rev.] 14:11; 19:3; 20:10; 22:5. . . . aiōnios “without beginning or end; of God (Gen 21:33; Is 26:4). . . . Very often of God’s judgment [Jer 23:40; Da 12:2; Ps 76:6; Mt 18:8; 25:46; Mk 3:29; 2 Co 6:7; 2 Th 1:9; Jd 7]. . . . pert. to a period of unending duration, without end. . . .” (32-33). Therefore, besides the passages that clearly (from the context) denote a temporary significance (e.g., Rom. 16:25), the lexical support (e.g., Thayer; Louw and Nida; Liddell and Scott; BDAG, et al) for aiōnios as denoting eternal, endless duration is conclusive.

The New Testament Usage of the Aiōnion

Note the following examples of where aiōnios is used to denote the everlasting duration of life with the Lord for the believer:

John 6:47: “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal [aiōnion] life”; 10:28: “and I give eternal [aiōnion] life to them, and they shall never perish. . . .” (see also Acts 13:48; Rom. 2:7; 5:21; 16:26; Gal. 6:8; 1 Tim. 6:16; etc.). Now observe the following examples of where aiōnions is used to denote the everlasting punishment for the unregenerate:

Matthew 18:8: “And if your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; it is better for you to enter life crippled or lame, than having two hands or two feet, to be cast into the eternal [aiōnion] fire”; 25:46: “And these will go away into eternal [aiōnion] punishment, but the righteous into eternal [aiōnion] life”; 2 Thessalonians 1:9: “And these will pay the penalty of eternal [aiōnion] destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power” (see also Matt. 25:41; Mark 3:29; Luke 18:30; Jude 7; Rev. 14:11; 20:10 [as discussed below] where aiōnios represents eternal damnation).

Does the phrase “forever and ever” mean endless?

The phrase “forever and ever” (aiōnas tōn aiōnōn, lit., “ages of the ages”) is used to express God’s eternal significance and the everlasting “torment” for the unregenerate.

1 Timothy 1:17: “Now to the King eternal [aiōnōn], immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever [aiōnas tōn aiōnōn]. Amen.”

Revelation 5:13: “To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever [aiōnas tōn aiōnōn].”

Revelation 14:11 “And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever [aiōnas tōn aiōnōn, lit., “ages of the ages”]; and they have no rest day and night, those who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.” The double usage of the pluralized aiōnios (“ages”) is used by the author to accentuate the never-ending torment.

Revelation 20:10: “And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever [eis tous aiōnas tōn aiōnōn].” The Greek phrase eis tous aiōnas tōn aiōnōn (lit., “unto the ages of the ages”) is the strongest way to express unending duration. The fact that the words are plural in number (as with 14:11) and the double use of the article (“the”) further emphasizes the concept of never-ending duration: “The Greek takes its greatest term for time, the eon, pluralizes this, and then multiplies it by its own plural, even using articles [“the”] which make these eons the definite ones.”[3] Also, as with 14:11, the phrase “day and night” is juxtaposed with “forever and ever” stressing the fact that the “torment” is perpetual, never-ending for the objects of God wrath.

“Unquenchable Fire”

To distinctly express the everlasting suffering for the unregenerate, the biblical authors used the phrase “unquenchable fire” (Matt. 3:12; Luke 3:17; and Mark 9:43). The word translated “unquenchable” is from the Greek word asbestos. According to recognized lexicons, the term carries the meaning of “unquenchable, the eternal hell fire to punish the damned” (Enhanced Strong's Lexicon); “inextinguishable” (BDAG); “pertaining to a fire that cannot be put out” (Louw and Nida); “unquenchable, inextinguishable” (Liddell and Scott).

The evidence for the never-ending nature of hell is undeniable. Admittedly, this doctrine is difficult to discuss. However, the totality (all parts) of biblical truth must be preached. The Gospel[4] is the proclamation of the Son’s cross-work—the very basis of our justification. The Gospel is, indeed, good news, but only because of the bad news: God’s wrath continues to remain[5] on him who denies the Son. Hence, the Son was sent was to save His people from God’s wrath: “having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath of God through Him” (Rom. 5:9; cf. 1 John 2:2).

God being perfect and holy does not merely wink at open defiance against His infinite majesty and holiness. It was the cross-work of the Son that provided sinners a way of escape from the divine wrath due for sin. As Berkhof rightly notes: “When we look at the death of Christ it was not first for our salvation, but first for our damnation being born and taking away by Him.”

NOTES

[1] Robertson, Word Pictures, vol. 1.

[2] Aiōnion is the direct object (accusative case) of the adjective aiōnios (although, there is no difference in meaning).

[3] R. C. H. Lenski, The Interpretation of St. John's Revelation, 438. Also note, the same “emphatic construction” is found in Revelation 1:6; 4:9; and 5:3, where it refers to the everlasting worship of God.

[4] The “Gospel” is from the Greek term euaggelion (eu = “good” and angelion = “announcement”) from which we get our word evangelist/evangelism. Thus, an “evangelist” is one who proclaims the good news.

[5] In John 3:36, the term “abides” (NASB) is from the Greek word menei. The verb is active and in the present tense indicating that the wrath of God is a continuous reality for those who deny the Son (cf. 1 John 5:12).

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Unconditional Election

Scripture teaches that because of the Fall of Adam (original sin), man has lost his ability to make spiritually good choices. He cannot to come to Christ unless the Father draws him (cf. John 6:44, 65)—for the unregenerate man wills to do the desires of the devil (cf. John 8:44). Thus, his will is “held captive by him [the devil] to do his will” (2 Tim. 2:26). He cannot submit to or please God unless God gives him a new heart and puts a new spirit within him. It is God, not man’s self-determination, who performs spiritual circumcision on the heart. For a spiritually dead[1] man does not have the ability to make himself alive. Unregenerate man has no righteousness in him to make a spiritually good choice—he never seeks for God (cf. Rom. 3:11). Thus, only God can make a dead sinner alive. He does not have to show mercy to anyone, He has that freedom: “So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and hardens whom He desires” (Rom. 9:18). That God is not obligated to provide salvation to anyone sets forth the biblical doctrine of unconditional election. That God grants mercy and thus salvation to some and not to others is not unfair unless, of course, it was shown that God was indeed under obligation to grant salvation for every single person. This, the Bible flatly rejects (cf. Luke 10:21-22; John 5:21; esp. Rom. 9:11-23)

The doctrine of unconditional election should be viewed in light of the total depravity and inability of man. For if unregenerate man is not totally depraved and hence “able” to choose Christ, then, he would be able, while in the flesh, to make a righteous decision to believe in Christ. In that sense, man is elected conditionally; since he first loved God (i.e., the faith-act is the condition) and subsequently, God loved him back giving him the “reward” of salvation.[2] For the Arminian view of election is that before time God simply peered into the future to see who would make a “righteous choice” to choose Him. Hence, in this view, God’s election was squarely based on the “self-determination” of man—synergistic. Arminians are convinced, therefore, that “the only reasonable answer is that those God knew from eternity past would believe the gospel were predestined to blessings.”[3]

Scripture, however, rejects the Arminian notion of synergism. Because He is sovereign over all things (not all other things; cf. Eph. 1:11), salvation is completely monergistic—God’s work alone, not synergistic—the self-determination or cooperation of man and God. Most arguments put forward by contemporary leading Arminian writers[4] are philosophical and/or lacking in exegetical interaction.[5] The biblical evidence for the biblical teaching of unconditional election is as follows:

1. Jesus rejoices that the Father has hidden things from the wise and intelligent and has revealed them to infants (cf. Luke 10:21; John 12:39-41; 2 Cor. 4:4). For it was pleasing to the Father that “no one knows the Son except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him” (Luke 10:22). The Father gives life, “the Son also gives life to whom He wishes” (John 5:21).

2. God has elected a people that He has chosen[6] for salvation before the foundation of the world (cf. Deut. 10:14-15; Ps. 33:12; Rom. 8:28-30; Eph. 1:1ff.; 1 Thess. 1:4-5; 2 Thess. 2:13; Titus 1:1; James 2:5; 1 Pet. 2:8-9; Rev. 13:8).

3. The elect were born of God (regenerated) prior to believing (esp. John 1:13;[7] 1 John 5:1;[8]cf.

also Eph. 1:5, 11). “Election itself saved no one; it only marked out particular sinners for salvation.”[9] Speaking of God’s unconditional election and sovereign purpose, the apostle points to Jacob and Esau: “even before they were born or had done anything good or bad (so that God’s purpose in election [lit., “God’s purpose according to election”][10] would stand, not by works but by his calling” (Rom. 9:11 NET;[11] emphasis added).

God’s elect are chosen, not based on any foreseen goods works (such as a faith-act), but chosen by God in His sovereignty. That God’s choice was a response to a foreseen act of righteousness on the part of man is biblically vacuous. Nowhere in Scripture is man’s faith-act the basis or ground of God’s election. To assert that God merely presented a plan or possibility of salvation in which He really tries hard to save all men, but cannot because many men reject His plan utterly turns salvation into a great theory: in theory, men can be saved only if they accept the plan or offer, but if no one accepts, then, no one will be saved. Conversely, Scripture presents Jesus as infallibly saving those whom the Father gives Him.

1. Jesus infallibly, not theoretically, saves His people. Those that “had been appointed [tetagmenoi][12] to eternal life believed” (Acts 13:48; cf. Eph. 1:12).

2. The elect, the believing ones, “were born not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:13;[13] cf. 15:16). God’s choosing did not “depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy” (Rom. 9:16; cf. Exod. 33:19; Deut. 7:6-7; Rom. 11:4-6; 33-36; 2 Tim. 1:9).

Simply stated, unconditional election is God marking out particular individuals for salvation, those whom He fore-loved according to His sovereign purpose, not according to the faith-act of the individual. He predestined them to an effectual call. All of these whom He called will be declared righteous and these whom He justified will be glorified (note: it would be extraordinarily beneficial to examine a scholarly and exegetical presentation of Rom. 8:28-30; and chap. 9; e.g., John Piper, The Justification of God; John Murray, The Epistle to the Romans; etc.).

But we ought to give thanks for you always, brothers and sisters loved by the Lord, because God chose you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth (2 Thess. 2:13).

He is the one who saved us and called us with a holy calling, not based on our works but on his own purpose and grace, granted to us in Christ Jesus before time began [pro chronōn aiōniōn, lit. “before eternal times”] (2 Tim. 1:9).

NOTES

[1] Paul says that the unregenerate man is nekros (“dead”), which carries the lexical meaning of “corpse” (e.g., Acts 13:34; Rom. 10:9) that is, really dead, not really sick or terminally ill, but dead in the truest sense (e.g., Eph. 2:1-5; Col. 2:13).

[2] By definition, a “gift” is undeserved whereas a faith-act (i.e., belief) is a meritorious action deserving a reward. In Romans 4:4, Paul clearly differentiates these two aspects (an undeserving gift vs. wages resulting from works): “Now to the one who works, his wages are not credited as a favor, but as what is due.

[3] Dave Hunt and James White, Debating Calvinism, 156. Once Hunt viewed the straightforward exegesis of Romans 8:29-30 (viz. the golden chain of redemption) provided by White, all Hunt could say in response was, “such attempts are completely without foundation” (ibid., 157). Hunts provided absolutely no exegetical interaction—only denials and philosophical assertions. These kinds of non-exegetical responses are very typical among Arminians. Further, After painfully examining Norman Geisler’s book, Chosen but Free, I objectively concluded that “Geisler leaps out of his area and swims in unfamiliar waters in his treatment of Reformed Theology” (cited from my theological endorsement in White, Potter’s Freedom, 348).

[4] E.g., Norman Geisler, Clark Pinnock, Dave Hunt.

[5] Esp. in Geisler, Chosen but Free and Hunt, What Love is This?).

[6] In Ephesians 1, all verbs that express the choosing of God’s elect (vv. 4-5, 9, 11, 13, 17, 18) have God as the subject of the choosing (and/or calling and predestining) and man as the object.

[7] See n. 13 below.

[8] 1 John 5:1 says that “Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God. . . .” The Greek reads, Pas ho pisteuōn hoti Iēsous estin ho Christos, ek tou theou gegennētai (lit., “Everyone believing that Jesus is the Christ, from the God has been born”). Note the following details: The word translated “believes” is from the present active participle pisteuōn, which indicates that the “believing” is active and ongoing. And the verb, gegennētai (lit., “has been born”) is a perfect passive indicative.

The perfect tense indicates a completed past action with continuous effects (cf. William D. Mounce, Basics of Biblical Greek Grammar, 218). Grammatically, the action the perfect tense (being “born of God”) was prior to the action of the present participle (“believing”). 1 John 2:29 uses the same verb (in the same form): “everyone also who practices righteousness is born [gegennētai, lit., “has been born”] of Him” (emphasis added). The continuous practice (due to the present participle, poiōn, lit., “practicing”) of righteousness was the result of the sinner being born of God. Just as no one can practice righteousness before being “born of God,” one cannot believe before being “born of God.” The next point to consider is that verb gegennētai is in the passive voice, not active (this is a key component regarding the meaning of the verse). Therefore, John is saying that the being born of God was not of the one believing, for the action of the verb (i.e., the being born) was done to the subject (before believing)—any acts of man are totally excluded (cf. Rom. 5:1). If John had wanted to teach that regeneration (i.e., being born of God) was the result and not the cause of faith (the Arminian assertion) he would not have used passive voice, but rather the active.

[9] David N. Steele and Curtis C. Thomas, The Five Points of Calvinism: Defined, Defended, Documented, 38.

[10] Hina hē kat’ eklogēn prothesis tou theou menē.

[11] New English Translation Bible, ed. [NT] Daniel B. Wallace.

[12] The verb here, tetagmenoi is the pluperfect passive participle of tassō. Hence, the appointing was a past action, prior to belief (due to the pluperfect tense). Hence, the reason why they believed was that they were first “appointed” (as rendered in most translations) by God to eternal life. Thus, they “belonged to” (BDAG, 991) Him prior to their belief—regeneration precedes faith.

[13] Note first that John 1:12 does not indicate as to why they receive Him and believe in His name. It is in verse 13, where the answer is found: the ones who believe in His name were born of God. Notice first that the phrase “were born” is from one Greek verb egennēthēsan, which is the aorist passive indicative of gennaō. The aorist indicates that the being born was a past event, which preceded the act of “believing in His name” (v. 12). Second, the verb is passive, which indicates that the being born of God was an act of God done to the subject—the unregenerate man. Hence, as with 1 John 5:1, the being born of God was an action in which man’s participation was completely excluded: “not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God” (emphasis added). Thus, in verse 12, the believing ones are those who first “were born,” not of blood, nor their own will or flesh, but of God alone. Nothing is said that would indicate that the being born of God was an act of man’s self-determination or independent free will. In fact, the opposite is clearly stated: not of the will of man, but of God.

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Irresistible Grace:

The Effectual Calling of God

The biblical doctrine of irresistible grace (or effectual calling) cannot be fully apprehended unless the condition of man is biblically understood.

Scripture clearly presents that unregenerate man is totally depraved due to his enslavement to sin, thus, the spiritually dead man is totally unable to make a spiritually good decision to choose Christ (esp. Rom. 8:7-8). He does not seek for God nor does he do any good in God’s sight (cf. Rom. 3:10-19). Further, Paul uses the term nekros (literately, “a corpse”)[1] to describe the condition of the unsaved/unregenerate man (cf. Eph. 2:1, 5, Col. 2:13). For if the unregenerate man is not actually spiritually dead, and only sick or very ill, then, he is certainly capable, based on his self-determination, to make a righteous decision to do a *spiritually good* deed (viz. to believe in Christ).

However, Scripture does not teach that a “faith-act” is the *cause* of one’s salvation (which would make “faith” a meritorious work), rather the cause of salvation is the sole work of the Lord, “it is by His doing,” says Paul, “that you are in Christ Jesus” (1 Cor. 1:30). The elect, then, “were born not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God”[2] (John 1:13; cf. 15:16).

Hence, God’s choosing does not “depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy” (Rom. 9:16; cf. Exod. 33:19; Deut. 7:6-7; Rom. 11:4-6; 33-36; Thess. 2:13; 2 Tim. 1:9). Therefore, the calling of God is, by necessity, effectual and irresistible. Namely, the inward call—that which guarantees the coming to Christ (cf. John 6:37-39), which is theologically distinguished from the outward call (e.g., though preaching), which can be rejected (cf. Acts 17:51; also see Matt. 22:14; and esp. 1 Cor. 1:18, 22-31).

The biblical doctrine of irresistible grace is the Holy Spirit *irresistibly* drawing sinners to Christ

The doctrine of irresistible grace explores the sovereign work of the triune God to prevail over the rebellion in man’s heart[3] and bring him to Christ. It is when the Spirit gives life (regenerates) to the dead, rebellious sinner (cf. Eph. 2:2-5); hence opening his spiritually blind eyes (cf. John 12:29-41; 2 Cor. 4:4) enabling him to come to life in Christ.[4]

The biblical data for irresistible grace is overwhelming

1. God the Holy Spirit regenerates the dead sinner, which causes him to walk in the ways of the Lord. He becomes a new species in Christ Jesus (cf. Deut. 30:6; Ezek. 36-36-37; Eph. 2:10; 2 Cor. 5:17-18).

2. The God the Holy Spirit makes the dead sinner alive (cf. John 5:21; 2 Cor. 3:6; Eph. 2:2-5; Col. 2:13).

3. Through the Spirit, the hidden things of God are revealed (cf. Matt. 13:10-11, 16; 16:15-17; John 10:3-6, 16, 26-29; Acts 5:31; 11:18; 16:14; 18:27; 1 Cor. 2:14; Eph. 1:17-18; Phil. 1:29; 2 Tim. 2:25-26): In Luke 10:21-22, Jesus rejoiced and praised the Father saying,

“You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants. Yes, Father, for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight. . . . no one knows the Son except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.”

4. God irresistibly calls, which always and effectually results in salvation (cf. Rom. 1:6-7; 8:29-30; 9:23; 1 Cor. 1:1-2, 9, 23-31; Eph. 4:4; 1 Pet. 1:15; 2:9; 5:10; Rev. 17:14).

“For God has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works [i.e., faith-acts, obedience, etc.], but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity” (2 Tim. 1:9; emphasis added).

5. God grants faith, repentance, the ability to believe, and regeneration to only the elect (cf. Eph. 2:8; 1 Cor. 12:8-9; Phil. 1:29; Acts 5:31; 16:14; 2 Pet. 1:1). Note that these *gifts* are granted to the elect—they are not mere possibilities or opportunities that can be rejected: “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me. . . . For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father” (John 6:37, 65).

The doctrine of irresistible grace is taught explicitly in Scripture. In the gospels, Jesus clearly and unambiguously taught irresistible grace especially in John 6 (cf. vv. 37-40, 44, and 65). Note the words of Christ in John 6:37-40:

“All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. “This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it[5] up on the last day. For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day” (emphasis added).

Passages such as John 6:37-40 and verse 44[6] indicates that the Father personally gives the elect to Christ—in which they all effectually come to Him. This beautiful act of the sovereign grace of God is not resisted—they all come. For Jesus says, “all that He has given [dedōken—perfect tense][7] Me I lose nothing, but raise it up at the last day.” No one is lost, no one resists; they all are raised up at the last day, Jesus’ work does not fail. “God’s saving grace and effectual calling are irresistible, not in the sense that they are never resisted, but in the sense that they are never successfully resisted.”[8]

For God has the right to effectually call and give life “to whom He wishes” (John 5:21). As John Piper biblically observes, “Those who are called have their eyes opened by the sovereign, creative power of God so that they no longer see the cross as foolishness, but as the power and wisdom of God. The effectual call is the miracle of having our blindness removed.”[9] God does what He pleases and His purpose will be established according to His sovereign will—He has that freedom:

“For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things which have not been done, Saying, ‘My purpose will be established, And I will accomplish all My good pleasure’ (Isa. 46:9-10).

Notes

[1] The term nekros has the limited lexical meaning of a “corpse” or a dead person and thus does not mean not “sick” or “ill.”

[2] Note that John 1:12 does not indicate as to why they receive Him and believe in His name. It is in verse 13, where the answer is found: the ones who believe in His name were born of God. Notice first that the phrase “were born” is from one Greek verb egennēthēsan, which is the aorist passive indicative of gennaō. The aorist indicates that the being born was a past event, which preceded the act of “believing in His name” (v. 12). Second, the verb is passive, which indicates that the being born of God was an act of God done to the subject—the unregenerate man. Hence, as with 1 John 5:1, the being born of God was an action in which man’s participation was completely excluded: “not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God” (emphasis added). Thus, in verse 12, the believing ones are those who first “were born,” not of blood, nor their own will or flesh, but of God alone. Nothing is said that would indicate that the being born of God was an act of man’s self-determination or independent free will. In fact, the opposite is clearly stated: not of the will of man, but of God.

[3] Man’s heart is by nature resistant to God; he does not seek nor desire God. His “free will” always rejects Christ. It cannot do otherwise. It is in bondage to sin—he is totally depraved, unable to come to Jesus Christ.

[4] Irresistible grace does not mean that God forces someone to come to Christ against his or her will. Rather, God, in regeneration, changes the sinner’s enslaved will (cf. 2 Tim. 2:26). Thus, the sinner, with a new heart of flesh, uses his free liberated (from sin) will to come to Christ. Everyone who receives a new heart (regeneration), that is, “drawn by the Father,” will come to Jesus Christ; Jesus loses none of them and raises them up at the last day (cf. John 6:37ff.; as discussed below). The regenerated sinner with a new heart does freely what is right, for he is made alive by the grace of God.

[5] Rather than using the masculine pronoun auton, “him,” Jesus here uses the neuter pronoun auto, “it” to describe the elect as a whole or, as F. F. Bruce says, “the sum-total.”

[6] “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.” Note that Jesus sets the condition of coming to Him: “unless the Father . . . draws him.” The verb translated “draws” is from helkō. The drawing is more than a wooing or mere encouragement, as Arminians would like to believe. Lexicographically, this word means, “to compel by an inward power, irresistible superiority” (G. C. Berkouwer, Divine Election, 47; cf. BDAG, 318). Note how the verb is used in Acts 21:30: “taking hold of Paul they dragged [eilkon] him out of the temple. . . .” (emphasis added). In James 2:6, the verb is also used in the same fashion: “Is it not the rich who oppress you and personally drag [elkousin] you into court?” The verb is used eight times in the New Testament: John 6:44; 12:32; 18:10; 21:6, 11; Acts 16:19; 21:30; and James 2:6. The force of helkō cannot be denied.

[7] The verb dedōken (“has given”) is a perfect tense, hence, a completed action in the past with continuous effects. Hence, the ones the Father gives (didōsin) to Christ are those whom He foreknew (dedōken, “has given”) before the foundation of the world (cf. Eph. 1:4).

[8] Augustus H. Strong, Systematic Theology, 793.

[9] John Piper, Pleasures of God, 142, n. 19.

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Mormonism and Black Skin

Mormons claim that they represent Jesus Christ believing that they are members of the only true Church on earth (as with virtually every non-Christian cult). However, from their origins (1830) to present-day, Mormonism has been demonstrably identified as one of the most racist groups that ever emerged: The LDS Church sees black skin as a “curse” from the Lord. Speaking of the origins of the “curse” in the so-called “preexistence,” ninth LDS President Joseph Fielding Smith explains:

There is a reason why one man is born black and with other disadvantages, while another is born white with great advantages. . . . The Negro, evidently, is receiving the reward he merits (Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, 1:61, 65-66; emphasis added).

LDS Apostle Bruce R. McConkie furthers this teaching:

Those who were less valiant in pre-existence and who thereby had certain spiritual restrictions impose on them during mortality are known to us as the negroes. Such spirits are sent to earth through the lineage of Cain, the mark put upon him for his rebellion against God, and his murder of Able being a black skin. . . . the negro are not equal with other races where the receipt of certain spiritual blessings are concern. . . . (Mormon Doctrine, 527-28; 1966 orig. ed.; changed in the current ed.; emphasis added).

Joseph Smith first president, prophet, and founder of the Mormon Church:

Had I anything to do with the negro, I would confine them by strict law to their own species, and put them on a national equalization (History of the Church, 5:218; emphasis added).

Brigham Young second president and prophet:

Shall I tell you the law of God in regard to the African race? If the white man who belongs to the chosen seed mixes his blood with the seed of Cain, the penalty, under the law of God, is death on the spot. This will always be (Journal of Discourses [hereafter JD], 10:110; emphasis added).

Note that Young stated that his sermons are as good as Scripture:

I have never yet preached a sermon and sent it out to the children of man, that they may not call Scripture (ibid., 13:95).

In 1857, Brigham Young declared that apostates (i.e., those who leave the LDS Church) would “become gray-haired, wrinkled, and black, just like the Devil (JD, 5:332).

John Taylor, third president and prophet:

after the flood we are told that the curse that had been

pronounced upon. . . . And why did it pass through the flood? Because it was necessary that the devil should have a representation upon the earth as well as God. . . . (JD, 23:304; emphasis added).

When he [Satan] destroyed the inhabitants of the antediluvian worlds, he suffered a descendant of Cain to come through the flood in order that he might be properly represented upon the earth (ibid., 336; emphasis added).

Wilford Woodruff, fourth president and prophet:

What was that mark? It was a mark of blackness. That mark rested upon Cain, and descended upon his posterity from that time until the present. Today there are millions of the descendants of Cain, through the lineage of Ham, in the world, and that mark of darkness still rest upon them (Millennial Star, 51:339; emphasis added).

In 1963, Look magazine interviewed LDS President, Joseph Fielding Smith in which he bodily stated:

I would not want you to believe that we bear any animosity toward the Negro. 'Darkies' are wonderful people, and they have their place in our church (Look magazine, October 22, 1963, 79; emphasis added).

Joseph Fielding Smith also taught that “Negroes” were inferior to other races:

but because of his [Cain] wickedness he became the father of an inferior race. A curse was place upon him and that curse has been continued through his lineage and must do so while time endures. Millions of souls have come into this world cursed with black skin and have been denied the privilege of Priesthood and the fullness of the blessings of the Gospel. These are the descendants of Cain. Moreover, they have been made to feel their inferiority and have been separated from the rest of mankind from the beginning. . . . (The Way to Perfection, 101-02; emphasis added).

Orson Pratt, LDS Apostle:

the African negroes, the idolatrous Hindoos, or any other of the fallen nations of the earth. They are not kept in reserve in order to come forth to receive such a degraded parentage [African negroes] upon the earth; no, the Lord is not such a being (JD, 1:63; emphasis added).

Mark E. Peterson, LDS Apostle:

the Lord said, ‘I will not kill Cain, but I will put a mark upon him, and that mark will be seen upon every face of every Negro, upon the face of the earth.’ And it is the decree of God that [the] mark should remain upon the seed of Cain, until the seed of Able shall be redeemed, and Cain shall not receive the Priesthood until the time of that redemption. Any man having one drop of the blood of Cain in him cannot receive the Priesthood" (Race Problems-- As They Affect the Church, address given by Mark E. Peterson at BYU; emphasis added)

If I were to marry a Negro woman and have children by her, my children would be cursed as to the Priesthood. Do I want my children cursed as to the Priesthood? If there is one drop of negro blood in my children, as I have read to you, they receive the curse. . . . We are willing that the Negro have the highest kind of education. I would be willing to let every Negro drive a Cadillac if they could afford it. I would be willing that that they have all the advantages as they can get out of life in the world. But let them enjoy these among themselves. I think the Lord segregated the Negro and who is man to change it?" (ibid.; emphasis added).

Bruce R. McConkie, LDS Apostle and prolific writer:

Negroes in this life are denied the Priesthood. . . . The gospel message of salvation is not carried affirmatively to them. Negroes are not equal with other races where the receipt of certain spiritual blessings are concerned. . . . (Mormon Doctrine, [hereafter Doctrine] 477, 527-28; 1966 orig. ed., changed in the current).

Cain was cursed with a dark skin; he became the father of the negroes, and those spirits who are not worthy to receive the priesthood are born through that lineage (ibid., 109; 1966 org. ed., changed in the current ed.; emphasis added)

Cain, Ham, and the whole negro race have been cursed with a black skin, the mark of Cain, so they can be identified as a caste apart, a people with whom the other descendants of Adam should not intermarry (ibid., 114; current ed.; emphasis added).

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LDS Scriptures

Book of Mormon (Note: many of these passages in the BOM were changed in the 1981 ed.):

1 Nephi 12:23 (prophecy of the Lamanites) “became a dark, and loathsome, and a filthy people, full of idleness and all manner of abominations” (cf, 2 Nephi 5:21).

2 Nephi 30:6 (prophecy to the Lamanites if they repented) “scales of darkness shall begin to fall . . . they shall be a white and delightsome people” (emphasis added; changed to “white and delightsome" in the 1981 ed.; cf. 3 Nephi 2:14-16).

3 Nephi 19:25, 30 (Disciples) “they were as white as the countenance . . . and behold they were white, even as Jesus” (emphasis added).

Mormon 5:15 (prophecy about the Lamanites) “shall become a dark, a filthy, and a loathsome people. . .” (emphasis added).

Pearl of Great Price

Moses 7:22 “for the seed of Cain were black and had not place among them” (emphasis added).

Abraham 1:27 “Pharaoh being of that lineage by which he could not have the right of Priesthood. . . . ” (emphasis added).

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In 1978, the LDS god changed his mind

In June 8 1978, LDS President, Spencer W. Kimball, after spending many hours in the “Upper Room” of the LDS Temple, claimed that God had removed the curse. Thus, all “worthy” black men could now receive the Melchizedek Priesthood.

Contradictions

But early LDS doctrine says that the cures will never be removed until the white people are first saved. Young asks,

How long is that race to endure the dreadful curse that is upon them? That curse will remain upon them, and they never can hold the Priesthood . . . until all the other descendants of Adam [white skin] have received the promises and enjoyed the blessings of the Priesthood and the keys thereof. . . . When the residue of the family of Adam come up and receive their blessings, then the curse will be removed. . . . (JD, 7: 290-291; emphasis added).

LDS Apostle Mark E. Peterson agrees:

And it is the decree of God that [the] mark should remain upon the seed of Cain, until the seed of Able shall be redeemed, and Cain shall not receive the Priesthood until the time of that redemption (Race Problems; emphasis added; see above).

LDS Apostle, Bruce R. McConkie also teaches that

Negroes in this life are denied the Priesthood; under no circumstances can they hold this delegation of authority. . . . (Doctrine, 477, 527-28; 1966 org. ed., changed in the current).

As observed, and with virtually all non-Christian cults, the god of Mormonism is a changing god. It changes its mind and doctrines—but the God of the Bible never changes (cf. Ps. 102:25-27; Mal. 3:6). The only color that God sees is red—the red of the blood of Jesus Christ.

For more information on this topic see our expanded article here

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Sociological Cults: Morning Star International

NOTE: As a result of this article below, Justyn Martyr, of The Bereans: Apologetics Research Ministries (www.TheBereans.net), who ironically is a member of MSI (now called “Every Nation”), wrote a short letter in response (read here). He demanded of me to produce more factual evidence to support the claims contained in the article (for he was quite unaware of the predominance of evidence that existed, which is typical among current members).

Thus, after explaining that the article was not intended to provide an exhaustive presentation, but rather basic facts, I then provided Justyn with documented official MSI teachings, which demonstrate beyond doubt the false and sociologically cultic teachings of MSI. Read it Here

At face, the term “cult” can be viewed by some as quite pejorative, to be sure. In any normal English dictionary, several different meanings to the term are provided. However, from an evangelical/theological point of view, the term “cult,” that is, “non-Christian cult” is used to signify groups that consider and call themselves “Christian,” but denies or rejects an aspect of essential biblical theology.

For instance, Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Oneness Pentecostals all reject the biblical doctrine of the Trinity; Catholics reject justification through faith alone; etc. Hence, these groups would be classified as theological non-Christian cults due to their denial of these essential doctrines (cf. John 8:24; Gal. 1:6-9).

However, there is another category of “cult” that, unfortunately, some Christian churches are regarded as. By way of doctrinal definition, this category is known as a “sociological cult.” A “sociological cult” is a group(s) that holds to essential biblical theology, but in terms of leadership and organizational construct they are sociologically abusive, promoting “elitism,” and teach a very unbiblical concept of church authority. For example, to support the false notion that water baptism is a necessity for justification, Kip McKean, founder of the sociological cult, International Church of Christ (ICC), teaches his biblically unstudied followers:

I do not know of any church, group or movement that teaches and practices what we teach as Jesus taught in Matthew 28:18-19: one must make the decision to be a disciple, then be baptized for the forgiveness of their sins to be saved and receive the Holy Spirit. When one is born again at baptism (First Principles, 34).

Hence, the ICC teaches that in order for one to have salvation, it is not faith alone, but rather: first, the candidate must become a disciple, which is a process, then assuming the candidate is worthy (i.e., a “true disciple”), then he or she must be water baptized (only in the ICC), and only then are they accepted as true Christians. Further in the ICC publication, The Disciple’s Handbook, they explain that salvation is a developmental:

we believe and expect every member of the church to be fully committed to living according to that truth. . . . To our knowledge, we are the only group that teaches the biblical principle of discipleship as a necessary part of the salvation process (120; emphasis added).

This is only one of countless false teachings that the ICC forcefully teach. Note the utter elitism that is slipped in the above statements that produce an atmosphere of fear, which then causes members to “submit” unconditionally. Thus, the ICC is both a theological cult (for denying justification through faith alone) and a sociological cult (for holding to an unbiblical view of authority and church discipleship). For more information on the ICC see: www.christiandefense.org/ICC_.htm#n1

Morning Star International (now called Every Nation)

Virtually identi