Acts 13:42-14:20

We had our regular Sunday afternoon participatory Bible Study at 1:30 today.These studies are in English only but a number of Koreans attend who know the language enough to follow along.This service is not to be confused with the sermon during the worship time earlier from 11:00-1PM.

Mr."M" was the speaker.I have known him for almost nine years.He has a BJU background.Today he decided to deal with an unusually long swath of Scripture, Acts 13:42-14:20.Periodically he asked if people had any questions.He had covered Acts 13:48a and said :"Does anyone have a problem with that?" I piped up and said "They might have some problems with the second part of the verse." He chuckled and proceeded to read the rest of the verse.He was using the NKJ but I'll quote from TNIV since it's handy:..."and all who were appointed for eternal life believed." Several questions were being raised before he even had time to explain the meaning.He said that he would not try to be a Calvinist nor an Arminian as he sought to explain the text.Mr."M" said basically everyone is responsible for their sins -- that's one side of things --and that God is fully responsible for anyone coming to a saving knowledge of Himself --the Lord Himself is the One who draws a given individual --the appointment or ordination was decreed in eternity past and because of that people are saved -- they have no enablement to come to Him on their own.Mr."M" didn't cite other passages related to the text.He barely had time to deal with the questions for that passage alone.Several folks came up to him afterwards and tried to follow up with more questions.

Among other things that showed me that there are many true believers who have been raised on God's Word yet mysteriously have overlooked what was right before their eyes all along.That was my case.It was about 20 years after coming to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ that I came to understand these so-called "grace passages".I should say the Lord caused me to understand.He illuminated my eyes.

I overheard one lady after the message tell the speaker:"But I've always thought that the Lord foresees who would believe and then..." He told her:"Yeah,that's what most Christians believe.But the Bible tells us differently."

Mr."M" did get through those other verses and raised some good points -- but for most of those listening Acts 13:48 took on a prominence and depth of significance that was missing in their lives before.