--Critical Perspectives
from the Word of God
The apostles taught that entering the New Covenant, and thereby becoming part of the Church, was not a matter of absolute free choice, but that each individual had to encounter God in his or her own order. To be converted one had to receive an invitation in the form of an irrevocable personal calling (Romans 11:29) directly from God the Father (John 6:44, 65). It was a heavenly calling (Hebrews 3:1) of setting apart (I Thessalonians 4:7) for a holy purpose (II Timothy 1:9). Once an individual received such a calling, that person became capable of real repentance and fully accountable for furthering his or her own relationship with God.
In early Christian understanding God’s calling included an enabling of each individual to understand God’s plan and truth. Only those with their minds supernaturally opened by God the Father through this calling could understand God’s truth, plan of salvation, and way of life. Those not so enabled could not understand these matters. This was certain no matter how sincere nor how hard they tried, nor how vehemently they desired to understand. This was due to no real error of their own because Satan, the adversary, had blinded all humanity from perceiving, and thereby comprehending, God’s truth (II Corinthians 4:3-4; 3:14-15). This meant that arguing nonbelievers into Christianity was of limited value. Absent a personal "calling," conversion was impossible.
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Page last updated: 02/05/01 05:27 AM.