Dispensationalism and the Doctrine of Election
Refutation of Calvinism, Arminianism, and Covenant Theology
Chapter Twenty-One Whosoever Shall Call . . . Shall be Saved!
“11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.
13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. (Romans 10:11-13).
The contextual continuity of the epistle to the Romans demands that we see Romans chapter 10 in the light of three dominant truths already established from the earlier chapters:
1. God is universally propitiated for the sins of the whole world from the Fall to the end of time.
2. This translates into universal provision of the free gift of salvation to “whoever shall call upon the Name of the LORD.” Salvation is available to “whosoever.”
3. Although both of these two statements are true and should be universally applied, and although Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection is sufficient for the salvation of all, it is beneficial only to those who respond in faith according to God’s inspired directives of repentance from sin and “dead works,” believing the objective facts of the finished work of redemption as detailed in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, confessing Jesus as Jehovah, calling on the Name of Jesus as Jehovah to save, and receiving Jesus Christ in the indwelling of the Holy Spirit of God.
No one would have a problem following the contextual continuity of the epistle to the Romans and the categorical theological establishment of the three statements above if it were not for the presuppositions of Calvinism and Reformed Theology that are imposed upon the epistle. For them, the word “whosoever” means whosoever of the elect. For them, when God says it is His will that all come to repentance and that all are saved, it means all who are elect. For them, God’s love for the world refers to two different kinds of grace.
1. Common Grace (or Prevenient Grace) comes to all people. This is basically defined as God temporally withholding his judgment upon sinners and the reprobate (those not chosen by God to be saved) allowing them the common blessings of life (“the rain falls on the just and the unjust alike”).
2. Irresistible Grace (Efficacious Grace) comes only to the elect (those chosen by God to be saved). God regenerates the elect at some unknown time before their salvation giving them the gift of repentance and faith in the indwelling of the Person of the Holy Spirit whereby the elect sinner will not be able to resist God’s grace and will at some unknown time in his/her live place faith in Jesus Christ and, because of this special working of God in the lives of the elect person, will ultimately persevere in the Christian life proving he/she is one of God’s elect (this is not the same as the doctrine of eternal security).
These two distorted views of God’s grace flow from three other theological presuppositional aberrations of Calvinism and Reformed Theology imposed upon the interpretation of the whole Word of God.
1. Monothetism: the monothetic definition of God’s sovereignty (whatever God wills to be done must ALWAYS be done or realized)
2. Determinism (God is the ultimate cause of all things thereby controlling all events in human history and in the future. God can foretell the future, not just because of foreknowledge, because God controls and causes all events in history.)
3. Monergism (being saved is not based upon the will of an individual making a faith decision to trust Christ, but upon the sovereign will of God operating within, not upon, the elect prior to their salvation by regenerating them before salvation in order for them to believe)
In Calvin’s preface to his Institutes of the Christian Religion (second edition of 1539), we have a defining statement that really tells us why the exegesis of all Calvinists is perverted, transforming it into eisegesis. This happens because all Calvinists look at the Scriptures through the theological presuppositions of Calvin. This is clearly stated as Calvin’s purpose in writing his Institutes of the Christian Religion.
“I have endeavored to give such a summary of religion in all its parts (in the Systematic Theology laid out in his Institutes of the Christian Religion), and have digested it into such an order as may make it not difficult for anyone who is rightly acquainted with it (the Systematic Theology laid out in his Institutes of the Christian Religion) to ascertain both what he ought principally to look for in Scripture, and also to what head he ought to refer whatever is contained in it. Having thus, as it were, paved the way, I shall not feel it necessary in any Commentaries on Scripture which I may afterwards publish to enter into long discussions of doctrine or dilate on commonplaces, and will therefore always compress them. In this way the pious reader will be saved much trouble and weariness, provided he comes furnished with a knowledge of the present work (the Systematic Theology laid out in his Institutes of the Christian Religion) as an essential prerequisite.1 ” (underlining and parenthesized areas added)
What does this statement of Calvin tell us? It is a definitive reality behind most of what defines the Hermeneutics of Calvinism and Reformed Theology. Calvin made his Institutes of the Christian Religion “an essential prerequisite” to being able to properly exegete the Scriptures accurately. In doing so, he also negatively transformed the Biblical interpretation (Hermeneutics) of every Calvinist (anyone believing the theology of his Institutes of the Christian Religion) into eisegesis.
Returning to the contextual continuity of the epistle to Romans chapter 10, let us inductively examine from other Scriptures the three dominant truths we have mentioned.
1. God is universally propitiated for the sins of the whole world from the Fall to the end of time.
Most Calvinists define propitiation as the appeasement of God’s wrath upon sin, rather than the satisfaction of God’s wrath. The word appease, as used in this sense, is like eating an apple to satisfy your hunger. There is a degree of satisfaction, but it is temporary or momentary until hunger arises once again. This is the way the pagans viewed appeasing their idolatrous gods. This in no way reflects the accurate meaning of propitiation as used in the Word of God. In the Word of God there is a once for all satisfaction of God’s wrath upon sin in the death, burial, and resurrection of His sinless Son. In the sense of the Biblical usage of the word propitiation, it is clearly a term used in the sense of complete adjudication of divine sentence intent upon remission of the penalty upon the sinner by mitigating the sentence in the death of a substitute.
“20 Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin. 21 But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; 22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: 23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; 24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: 25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; 26 To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus” (Romans 3:20-26).
The word translated “remission” in Romans 3:25 is the Greek word paresis (par'-es-is), which means “passing over.” It refers to God’s passing over or covering over sin in the Old Testament sense until the coming of Messiah and the finished work of Calvary. This is the only use of this word in the New Testament books of the Bible and it refers to what was done in the Old Covenant economy. Because Calvinists and Reformed Theologians, in most part, do not understand Dispensation transitions, they do not understand the difference between the sacrifice of the Kaphar (Atonement) offering of the Mosaic Covenant, which only covered over sins, and the sacrifice of Christ, which completely, once for all, pays for and removes the penalty of sin upon the believing sinner (Rom. 6:23). Believing is the condition for a sinner to become one of the elect “in Christ.”
Clearly, the word propitiation in the Word of God is used in the context of jurisprudence. In other words, it is a word used to describe divine justice. A just Judge cannot be just if he does not require the sentence he places upon the guilty to be executed exactly as he demands. God cannot merely forgive the debt of the transgression of sin. God must satisfy the debt by taking the sentence upon Himself substitutionally by becoming a man, living a sinless life, and dying in the place of sinners. The Advocacy of Jesus before the eternal Father is pleading the case of redemption on behalf of those “born again” “by grace through faith” in His finished, vicarious work of redemption.
“1 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” (I John 2:1-2).
To take the substitutionary death of Jesus out of the context of the universal propitiation of God for the sins of the whole world from the Fall to the end of time would completely distort the intent of God in the incarnation of Christ, His sinless life, and His substitutionary death on the Cross of Calvary. As the believer’s Advocate, Jesus stands before the Father and proclaims the sinner “in Christ” to be free from condemnation (Rom. 8:1) and perfectly righteous in the Substitute. This once for all aspect of the propitiation of God is thoroughly declared and exemplified in Hebrews chapter 10.
“7 Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God. 8 Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law; 9 Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second. 10 By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. 11 And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: 12 But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; 13 From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. 14 For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified. 15 Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before, 16 This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; 17 And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. 18 Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin” (Hebrews 10:7-18).
Note: I cannot understand why anyone proclaiming himself to be a Dispensationalist, understanding Dispensation transitions, would use the theological term Atonement to describe the substitutionary death of Jesus Christ. From its Mosaic Covenant moorings in the sacrifice of the Day of Atonement, this sacrifice testified to incompleteness and yearly cried out to God for the once for all completeness of the satisfying/propitiating sacrifice of Jesus the Messiah.
2. Universal propitiation translates into universal provision of the free gift of salvation to “whoever shall call upon the Name of the LORD.” Salvation is available to “whosoever.”
To whom was the universal propitiation of God provided. Universal propitiation is nonsensical apart from the nature and scope of universal provision. On other words, although God is the One propitiated, the benefit of propitiation is for sinners (Rom. 3:36). Therefore, the very idea of limited atonement is nonsensical in light of overwhelming Scriptural evidences to the contrary.
“7 Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; thou crownedst him with glory and honour, and didst set him over the works of thy hands: 8 Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him. 9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man” (Hebrews 2:7-9).
“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. 5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; 6 Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time” (I Timothy 2:3-6).
Apart from the universal provision of salvation to “whosoever,” the universal propitiation of God does not fully define the universal love of God for fallen and lost sinners. Therefore, limited atonement distorts both the grace of God and the universal expression of that grace in the love of God for sinners.
“14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: 15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. 16 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. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” (John 3:14-18).
The fact that the universal propitiation of God is intended for universal provision of salvation to “whosoever” is exemplified by Peter’s statement in his second epistle regarding false teachers who had rejected the Gospel Jesus and were mocking the possibility of His second coming. Christ’s redemptive propitiation is sufficient and efficacious for all willing to believe “through faith” including those that denied Him.
“But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction” (II Peter 2:1).
The Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary2 says, “bought them--Even the ungodly were bought by His ‘precious blood.’ It shall be their bitterest self-reproach in hell, that, as far as Christ’s redemption was concerned, they might have been saved. The denial of His propitiatory sacrifice is included in the meaning (compare 1Jo 4:3).” Clearly, the universal propitiation of God is intended to universally provide salvation to “whosoever.”
3. Although both of the two statements are true and should be universally applied, and although Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection is sufficient for the salvation of all, it is efficacious only to those who respond in faith according to God’s inspired directives of repentance from sin and “dead works,” believing the objective facts of the finished work of redemption as detailed in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, confessing Jesus as Jehovah, calling on the Name of Jesus as Jehovah to save, and receiving Jesus Christ in the indwelling of the Holy Spirit of God.
“6 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. 8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. 10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. 11 And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement {better translated reconciliation}. 12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: 13 (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law. 14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam’s transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come. 15 But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many {sufficient for all but efficacious only to those that believe}. 16 And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification. 17 For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.) 18 Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto {availability in universal provision} justification of life. 19 For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many {sufficient for all, but efficacious only to those that believe} be made righteous” (Romans 5:6-19).
Because of their Monergism (God regenerates those He has elected to be saved before they believe), Calvinists demand that universal propitiation must therefore translate into Universalism (universal salvation). If Christ died for the sins of the whole world (rather than just for the sins of the elect) than the whole world will be saved. Of course, this is more nonsense. Clearly the Word of God necessitates a response to the universal provision. This response is the appropriation of God’s universal provision. This response is communicated by the Biblical terms believe and faith. That is why the word “many” is used in Romans 5:15 and 19. The universal propitiation of God results in the universal provision of the gift of salvation to “whosoever,” but it does not result in the universal salvation of all sinners automatically. The condition of appropriation is faith.
This very idea of universal provision to “whosoever” is an abomination to most Calvinists. Therefore, the word “whosoever” appears to be a dirty word for many in the Systematic Theological circles of Reformed Theology. This is apparent because they appear to be constantly trying to narrow its parameters of inclusion or redefine it altogether. Clearly the promises of the Abrahamic Covenant were intended to extend beyond the physical descendants of Abraham to “whosoever.” Clearly this is inclusivistic terminology, not exclusive terminology. Clearly from the context of Romans chapters 9 and 10, the Holy Spirit's inspired choice of the word “whosoever” is intended to be a summary word that connects all “born again” people from all nations of the world to the eternal promises of God within the Abrahamic Covenant. This is a truth constantly repeated in God’s progressive history with Abraham.
“1 Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: 2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed” (Genesis 12:1-3).
“13 And the LORD said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old? 14 Is any thing too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son. 15 Then Sarah denied, saying, I laughed not; for she was afraid. And he said, Nay; but thou didst laugh. 16 And the men rose up from thence, and looked toward Sodom: and Abraham went with them to bring them on the way. 17 And the LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do; 18 Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him” (Genesis 18:13-18)?
“15 And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time, 16 And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: 17 That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; 18 And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice” (Genesis 22:15-18).
“1 And there was a famine in the land, beside the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went unto Abimelech king of the Philistines unto Gerar. 2 And the LORD appeared unto him, and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of: 3 Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father; 4 And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; 5 Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws” (Genesis 26:1-5).
Obviously the intent of the word “whosoever” comes with the intent of universal application to anyone wanting to be saved. In simple words, salvation is universally available to “whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord” (Rom. 10:13). There are no Jewish boundaries or ethnic limitations upon the universal availability of God’s free gift of salvation. The only exclusion that can possibly be applied here is to those unwilling to respond to the gospel of Jesus Christ by an action of faith in repenting of sin, believing the objective facts of gospel, confessing Jesus as Jehovah, calling on the Name of Jesus to save in helpless desperation, and receiving Jesus Christ in the Person of the indwelling Holy Spirit, thereby being regenerated.
The inclusive intent of “whosoever” is also very much a part of God’s dispensational transition in the progressive unfolding of the Abrahamic Covenant from the Mosaic Covenant into the New Covenant in Christ’s Blood. This “whosoever” aspect of this transition into the New Covenant from the Mosaic Covenant was specifically revealed in the prophecy of Joel.
“28 And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: 29 And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit. 30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. 31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come. 32 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call” (Joel 2:28-32).
Undoubtedly, the primary focus of the prophecy of Joel 2:28-32 has to do with the Tribulation period (“the terrible day of the LORD”) between the Rapture of the Church and the second coming of Messiah. The message of the prophecy is not merely to Israel or national Jews living at that “terrible day,” but to all people groups, cultures, ethnicities, and/or language groups. People from any of these groups could call upon the Name of Jehovah in faith in order to be “delivered” from the terrible judgment of God upon the nations of the world. Although all nations inclusivistically would be judged, any individual from any of those nations (“whosoever”) could cry out to Jehovah in faith to be delivered.
Both the Apostle Peter in Acts 2 and the Apostle Paul in Romans 10 are quoting from the text in Joel 2 and are giving us a complimentary hermeneutic regarding how this text is to be understood through dispensational transitions. Peter’s statements in Acts chapter 2 and Paul’s statements in Romans chapter 10 give us the perimeters of explanation in how the phrase “whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered” is practically expressed through faith in Jesus Christ and the accomplishments of the objective facts of the Gospel. Although there is some clarification and explanation of what it means to “call on the name of the LORD,” the “whosoever” remains to be an inclusive term.
“14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words: 15 For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. 16 But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; 17 And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: 18 And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy: 19 And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke: 20 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come: 21 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. 22 Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know: 23 Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: 24 Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it. 25 For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved: 26 Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope: 27 Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. 28 Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance. 29 Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day. 30 Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne; 31 He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption. 32 This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. 33 Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear. 34 For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, 35 Until I make thy foes thy footstool. 36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ” (Acts 2:14-36).
We should not allow anyone to take the context of Joel chapter 2 away from the “whosoever” of either Acts chapter 2 or Romans chapter 10. Although the prophecies of Joel are only partially fulfilled (already, not yet) in the transition into the Dispensation of the Church Age, portions of those prophecies are fulfilled. In Acts chapter 2, Peter tells us that the issue of being filled with the Spirit and the miracle of speaking in tongues was a sign to the Jews of a partial fulfillment of the prophecies of Joel chapter 2.
Much like Calvinists, the Jews thought they had an exclusive claim on God’s grace. During the Dispensation of the Law and the Mosaic Covenant, we might go as far as to say the Jews did have that claim to some degree. “Salvation {in the birth, life, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus} is of the Jews” (John 4:22). This was spoken to the Samaritan woman in the context of a radical change in God’s operations within humanity.
“19 The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. 21 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. 22 Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. 23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. 24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. 25 The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things. 26 Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he” (John 4:19-26).
During the Dispensation of Law and under the Mosaic Covenant, worshipping God came through a very definitive set of God ordained rules, sacrifices, and special days. However, once the fulfillment of the Law was completed in Jesus Christ, the door into the regeneration (i.e., glorification) no longer came through the Gospel in the Law. Jesus became the Door into “the regeneration” to “whosever will.” Ever since the completion of redemption in the life, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, no one needs to become a Jewish proselyte in order to be saved. “Whosoever will” can be saved and delivered. This is the Gospel of the Church Age and the Gospel of the Kingdom.
“16 I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star. 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” (Revelation 22:16-17).
[1] As quoted by Robert Shank, Elect in the Son, A Study of the Doctrine of Election, Bethany House Publishers, Minneapolis, MN, 1970, pages 227-228
[2] Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary, Sword Searcher Software, 4.8
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