Invited or Compelled?

Posted by Pavlos on December 17, 2009

[first preached at Church of England (Continuing), Wimbledon 22 May 2006]

 

Matthew 22:1-14  And Jesus answered and spake unto them again by parables, and said,  ² The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son,  ³ And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come.  ⁴ Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage.  ⁵ But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise:  ⁶ And the remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them.  ⁷ But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city.  ⁸ Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy.  ⁹ Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage.  ¹⁰ So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests.  ¹¹ And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment:  ¹² And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless.  ¹³ Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.  ¹⁴ For many are called, but few are chosen. 

 Luke 14:12-24  ¹² Then said he also to him that bade him, When thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor thy rich neighbours; lest they also bid thee again, and a recompence be made thee.  ¹³ But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind:  ¹⁴ And thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.  ¹⁵ And when one of them that sat at meat with him heard these things, he said unto him, Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God.  ¹⁶Then said he unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and bade many:  ¹⁷ And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready.  ¹⁸ And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused.  ¹⁹ And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused.  ²⁰ And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.  ²¹ So that servant came, and shewed his lord these things. Then the master of the house being angry said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind.  ²² And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room.  ²³ And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.  ²⁴ For I say unto you, That none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper.

 English is a peculiar language which is difficult to master especially at an advanced level. Here are some problems that confuse foreigners learning English.

 Worth / worthless  Value / valueless  Price / priceless

 Priceless does not mean what foreigner thinks.

 Valid / invalid  correct / incorrect       valuable / invaluable   flammable / inflammable

Invaluable and inflammable don’t mean what most foreigners think.

British English confuses Americans eg public school is an expensive fee-paying private school.  American public school is a British state school.

In God’s providence English was not used as the original inspired language of the Bible. God chose Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek. Let’s not be like some ignorant people who say, “If King James’ English is good enough for Christ and his apostles, it’s good enough for me.”

We can always benefit a little more and gain extra insight by consulting the original languages of the Bible.

In God’s sovereignty and providence, he not only chose the languages of the Bible, he also chose the elect. In fact, elect means chosen. He chose who to save.

Christ said to his disciples, John 15:16   ¹⁶ Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit.

But there is a sense in which it is applied to all believers.

Ephesians 1:3-5  ³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:  ⁴ According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:  ⁵ Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will.

Revelation 17:14  ⁴ These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.

 1 Peter 2:9  ⁹ But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: 

[Below is shown in Greek using "Bwgrkl" font. It may not appear correctly unless you have this font.]

 1 Peter 2:9  ⁹  u`mei/j de. ge,noj evklekto,n( basi,leion i`era,teuma( e;qnoj a[gion( lao.j eivj peripoi,hsin( o[pwj ta.j avreta.j evxaggei,lhte tou/ evk sko,touj u`ma/j kale,santoj eivj to. qaumasto.n auvtou/ fw/j\

 This was, of course, applied to the nation of Israel  but is now applied to the believers in Christ. In other words, the Church. Greek Ekklesia. Literally, CALLED OUT. It is two words EK out of, and KALEW, to call or invite.

 If God chose who he was going to save, what about human free will and responsibility for our own choices and actions?

 Matthew 12:36  ³⁶ But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.

 Romans 14:12   ¹² So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.

 What about passages in the Bible that apparently show that Christ died for the whole world and man freely choosing and being invited?

 Revelation 22:17   ¹⁷ And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.

 Matthew 11:28-30   ²⁸ Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  ²⁹ Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.  ³⁰ For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

John 1:9  ⁹ That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. … verse  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:

 John 3:16-17  ⁶ For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.  ¹⁷ For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

 John 12:32  ³² And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. …verse  ⁴⁶ I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness.

 1 John 2:1-2  My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:  ² And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

We need to understand and reconcile seemingly contradictory scriptures. However, we must realize that our finite minds, at present, will never fully achieve this.

God is love. He loves his creation. Nevertheless, He is a holy and righteous God who hates evil and must punish sin.

Habakkuk 1:13  ¹³ Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity.

We often think of the nations of Egypt and Assyria as enemies of God and that He hates them and enjoys punishing them. But listen to this:-

Isaiah 19:23-25  ²³ In that day shall there be a highway out of Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian shall come into Egypt, and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptians shall serve with the Assyrians.  ²⁴ In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and with Assyria, even a blessing in the midst of the land:  ²⁵ Whom the LORD of hosts shall bless, saying, Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel mine inheritance.

 Jonah 4:10 ¹⁰ Then said the LORD, Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for the which thou hast not laboured, neither madest it grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a night:  ¹¹ And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle.

 God is not a sadist who enjoys hurting people.

Ezekiel 33:11  As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?

 Jesus said in Matthew 5:43-45  ⁴³ Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.  ⁴⁴ But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;  ⁴⁵ That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

Luke 6:35-36  ³⁵ But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.  ³⁶ Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.

It is natural to love your friends and hate your enemies. What Christ commanded us to do was to love our enemies. Surely, this is a reflection on what God does. It is a reflection of his character. And we are to do likewise.

Matthew 5:48  ⁴⁸ Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

 Romans 5:8   ⁸ But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

 God loves his creation and desires to save each one. Matthew 23:37   ³⁷ O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!

1 Timothy 2:3-4  ³ For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;  ⁴ Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.

It is the duty of Christians to present the gospel to sinners and to present it in the way the Bible shows us, not with gimmicks or tricks, not in trivial or worldly ways but in biblical ways and by using the same balanced approach. Sinners should be invited to come to Christ, as in Matthew 11:28-30   ²⁸ Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  ²⁹ Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.  ³⁰ For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

But we must never forget what comes before verse 28, that is verse 27  ²⁷ All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.

When we ask people to receive Christ, we don’t need sentimental, emotional hymns and music to soften the hearts. We don’t need to ask people to raise their hands and come to the front. We must remember that it is God who is responsible for our spiritual birth. John 1:12-13  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.

We can reason with people and prove the gospel using history, archaeology and science. Isaiah 1:18-20   ¹⁸ Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.  ¹⁹ If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land:  ²⁰ But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.

Acts 17:2-4   ² And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures,  ³ Opening and alleging [showing], that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ.  ⁴ And some of them believed, and consorted with Paul and Silas; and of the devout Greeks a great multitude, and of the chief women not a few.

We need to persevere with people. Romans 10:21 – 11:1   ²¹ But to Israel he saith, All day long I have stretched forth my hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying people.  [Romans 10:21  ²¹But concerning Israel he says, "All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and obstinate people."]

We must warn as Christ did. Luke 13:5  ⁵ I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.

We should implore people to be reconciled to God as the Apostle Paul did. 2 Corinthians 5:20  ⁰ Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead [on Christ’s behalf], be ye reconciled to God.

And one other way, we must be bold enough to order people, to command them.

Acts 2:38  ³⁸ Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Peter uses the word “Repent” Acts 2:38  Metanoh,sate( which is in the imperative, 2^nd person plural. It is not “Please, I would make a polite request, if you don’t mind, I think it would be a good that you ought to repent.” It is a strong and direct command to all the people listening. The words “be baptized” are also in the imperative. But grammatically, this type of imperative, no longer exists in modern Greek, neither does it exist in English, so translations often don’t get it 100% correct. NT Greek also had a 3^rd person imperative.

Let me explain: If a sergeant said to his men, “Fire!” He is ordering the men that are listening to him to fire at the enemy. This is a second person imperative. For a third person imperative, in English, we often use the word “let”. “Let him fire.” This might be said when the person referred to is not present. Notice that when you say, “Let him fire” it just doesn’t sound as strong. It’s as though he is given permission to fire but he doesn’t have to if he is unwilling to do so.

As we saw at the beginning, English is a peculiar language. The peculiar thing here, is that when 3^rd person imperative is expressed in a negative way, it is strong and unambiguous. Eg John 14:1 Let not your heart be troubled:= Your heart must not be troubled.

Romans 6:12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body= sin must not reign in your body.

Don’t allow it. It is forbidden.

The imperative in New Testament Greek, is still as strong in 3^rd person as it is in 2^nd person, whether expressed negatively or positively. Let us use an example from the Bible which can lead to a misunderstanding if we are not careful.

Revelation 22:17  ¹⁷ And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.

The word “Come” in the first two cases is in the 2^nd person singular imperative. It is a command, an order to come. It means, “you must come”.  In the third occurrence of the word “come” i.e. “let him that is athirst come”, it is in the 3^rd person singular imperative. “He or she must come.” The one who is thirsty must come. The “water of life” is a gift. There is no need to pay. The water of life is free.

“And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.” “Let him take” is also in the 3^rd person singular imperative.

“Whosoever will” whoever has the desire, whoever wants, feels the need to drink, to quench his thirst, then “let him take” better still, he MUST take. This verse has often been misused by those who put too much emphasis on man making the decision to allow Christ to enter our heart.

Another misused verse is Revelation 3:20   ²⁰ Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

I’ve heard it said that the door has no handle on the outside, so Christ cannot come in. The handle is on the inside only, [there is a famous painting showing this]. and can only be opened by the person inside. This makes a mockery of God’s sovereignty. Jesus spoke these words to the church of Laodicea, not to unbelievers. Many in the church had backslidden and needed to repent. ¹⁹ As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. 

“Repent” is a command, it is in the imperative.

It is necessary for all sinners, believers and unbelievers, to repent. However, the lost unbeliever, in particular, is a slave to sin. He cannot repent. But he must repent. His only recourse is to look away from himself and look to Christ, the only one who can save. There is no help in himself. His only hope is to call on God for mercy. And a God of mercy will never cast out those who come to him in faith.

Ultimately, it is God who enables us to receive Christ. In the parable at the beginning, we saw in Matthew 22:14  For many are called, but few are chosen.

How do we reconcile scriptures that say Christ died only for the elect with those that say he died for the world?

God loves all His creation but the Bible teaches he has a special love for his chosen. Jeremiah 31:3  ³ The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.

We see that Christ came to die for those who he loved the most.

Matthew 1:21  ²¹ And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.

Mark 10:45  ⁴⁵ For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransome for many.

Here it says “many” not all. Yet 1 Timothy 2:6 says He “gave himself a ransome for all”.

If Christ died for all, that is, every person that has been born and will be born, this means that there will be no one in hell. Everyone is saved. This is known as “Universal Salvation”. Many verses in the Bible clearly show this doctrine is false.

Well, let’s look at how “all” is used. Mark 1:4-5  ⁴ John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.  ⁵ And there went out unto him all the land ofJudaea, and they of Jerusalem, and were all baptized of him in the river of Jordan, confessing their sins.

Does the “all” here mean every man, woman, child and newborn baby? What about “many of the Pharisees and Sadducees” who came that opposed John, the Baptist? Are they included in the “all”? Absolutely not!

One of the hardest things for the Jews and first Christians [who were Jewish] to understand and accept is that the God of Israel is also the God of all the nations. The Messiah was for all, not just for the Jews. Read Acts 10 to see what Peter’s attitude was and how Paul had to rebuke him (Gal 2:11).

Paul said in Romans 1:16 ¹⁶ For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to theGreek.

Of course, “Greek” is symbolic for the “Gentiles”. This really defines the Biblical meaning of “all”, “every one” and “world”.

The Apostle John, 2000 years ago, had a glimpse of heaven. He saw people of every nationality and language.

Revelation 5:9  ⁹ And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation.

So when the Bible speaks of Christ dying for all, or dying for the whole world, it means that He died for sinners of all nationalities, not just for Israelites.

It is my prayer, that having brought all these scriptures to our attention, we may have a better understanding of God’s Sovereignty in salvation and witness the gospel to a dying sinful world in a much bolder manner.

Let us be obedient servants as in the parable. Rather, [Luke 14:23] we must be obedient servants. We must go into the public places and not just invite but compel them to come in, that His house may be filled. 

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