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Ms. Prata attempts to teach about the Calvinistic doctrine of Election, that Christians are chosen and predestined to be saved. She relies on a couple of go-to verses, but these verses don't teach what Calvinists say they teach.
We will explain.
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Was Ms. Prata among those who were the first to hope in Christ? Nope. This means "us" and "we" are not her.
For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters; (Romans 8:29) (Once again Ms. Prata reads herself into a passage not about her. This verse does not tell us that everyone is predestined. A few verses earlier he wrote,
But God…
I am so grateful for His grace. Now I DO want him! I am thoroughly satisfied in His election of me and the knowledge that if He didn’t choose me for eternal life, my punishment would have been just and deserved. O what a sinner I was! What a sinner I still am.
If you are presently dwelling in the in-between of knwoing (sic) you are a sinner and have appealed to God, but do not feel saved, keep praying. John Bunyan prayed for five years before he was justified. It was agony for him but he persevered until the moment of God’s timing to justify Bunyan. (What does this mean? How did Bunyan know he was justified? What does this even mean?
God chooses us. We do not choose Him.
He is not “a gentleman”. He is God and He does as He pleases. He chooses us as a graceful trophy for His glory whether we want Him to or not. In fact, none of us want Jesus before He chooses us. It is He who opens our heart and mind to His Good News. We are His enemies and we resist the confrontation of our sins in front of a Holy God every step of the way.
He slammed Saul/Paul to the ground and burst in on his day with a pointed question “Why are you persecuting Me?”. Then He struck Paul blind. Not so ‘gentlemanly’.
If Jesus came down from heaven, lived to preach endlessly in Judea, Samaria and environs, if He tirelessly taught, healed, and did miracles, if He went willingly to the cross naked and humiliated, beaten and tore apart, do you think Jesus would then leave the final piece of salvation to our sinful hearts? Hearts that are so desperately wicked and so at enmity with God that we would NEVER choose Him?
Of course not.
John 15:16, speaking to the twelve, You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you.
Yes but that’s just the 12, you say. But think on this. Did Jesus preach and teach and then see who would come follow Him? No. He is sovereign, He chose them.
He also chooses us. Ephesians 1:4-5 says,
just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons and daughters through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, (Ms. Prata needs to pay attention to Paul's use of pronouns. She needs to ask, who are the "us" and "we" Paul was talking about? Paul answers this question a few verses later:
He is not “a gentleman”. He is God and He does as He pleases. He chooses us as a graceful trophy for His glory whether we want Him to or not. In fact, none of us want Jesus before He chooses us. It is He who opens our heart and mind to His Good News. We are His enemies and we resist the confrontation of our sins in front of a Holy God every step of the way.
He slammed Saul/Paul to the ground and burst in on his day with a pointed question “Why are you persecuting Me?”. Then He struck Paul blind. Not so ‘gentlemanly’.
If Jesus came down from heaven, lived to preach endlessly in Judea, Samaria and environs, if He tirelessly taught, healed, and did miracles, if He went willingly to the cross naked and humiliated, beaten and tore apart, do you think Jesus would then leave the final piece of salvation to our sinful hearts? Hearts that are so desperately wicked and so at enmity with God that we would NEVER choose Him?
Of course not.
John 15:16, speaking to the twelve, You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you.
Yes but that’s just the 12, you say. But think on this. Did Jesus preach and teach and then see who would come follow Him? No. He is sovereign, He chose them.
He also chooses us. Ephesians 1:4-5 says,
just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons and daughters through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, (Ms. Prata needs to pay attention to Paul's use of pronouns. She needs to ask, who are the "us" and "we" Paul was talking about? Paul answers this question a few verses later:
Ep. 1:11-12 In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, 12 in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory.
Then in the very next verse Paul switches pronouns to "you." Now he is addressing his audience:
Ep. 1:13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation.
So "we" were predestined, but "you" were not included until "you" heard the Gospel. Ms. Prata should not read herself into passages not about her.)
Ro. 8:23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.
Did Ms. Prata receive the firstfruits of the Spirit? No, none of us were alive in the first century.
Then a few verses later, Paul wrote:
Ro. 8:36 As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” [Psalm 44:22]Does Ms. Prata face death all day long? No, Paul was describing the plight of the early Christians.
The early Christians were predestined, not us.)
No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day. (John 6:44) (This is a simple matter. Ms. Prata needs to ask, is the Father's drawing irresistible? The answer is no. The Father draws everyone:
No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day. (John 6:44) (This is a simple matter. Ms. Prata needs to ask, is the Father's drawing irresistible? The answer is no. The Father draws everyone:
Jn. 12:32 But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself.Unless Ms. Prata is a universalist, it ought to be clear that being drawn and being saved are two different things.)
But God…
I am so grateful for His grace. Now I DO want him! I am thoroughly satisfied in His election of me and the knowledge that if He didn’t choose me for eternal life, my punishment would have been just and deserved. O what a sinner I was! What a sinner I still am.
If you are presently dwelling in the in-between of knwoing (sic) you are a sinner and have appealed to God, but do not feel saved, keep praying. John Bunyan prayed for five years before he was justified. It was agony for him but he persevered until the moment of God’s timing to justify Bunyan. (What does this mean? How did Bunyan know he was justified? What does this even mean?
Most Christians don't use stilted terminology like this, instead noting when they were saved or born again.
Further, Bunyan's journey to faith began with a voice from heaven. Ms. Prata doesn't believe that God speaks to people.)
Spurgeon prayed and wrestled for an unspecified time before that moment in the showy primitive church in England where he was converted. Spurgeon later wrote,
There and then the cloud was gone, the darkness had rolled away, and that moment I saw the sun; and I could have risen that moment and sung with the most enthusiastic of them of the Precious Blood of Christ.”
If you feel the agony of your sin but haven’t crossed the finish line to the cross yet, take heart. The Lord gives you the agony of the bones. he gives the awareness of sin. He delivers the aroma of death to those who will smell it. If you were not named in His Book of Life, you would be at enmity with God, hating Him at all points and refusing to acknowledge your sin.
For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work among you will complete it by the day of Christ Jesus. (Philippians 1:6)
Keep praying that you are one of God’s elect. (Why? This makes no sense. If one indeed is part of the elect, what difference will it make to pray? Either you're elect our you're not.)
Spurgeon prayed and wrestled for an unspecified time before that moment in the showy primitive church in England where he was converted. Spurgeon later wrote,
There and then the cloud was gone, the darkness had rolled away, and that moment I saw the sun; and I could have risen that moment and sung with the most enthusiastic of them of the Precious Blood of Christ.”
If you feel the agony of your sin but haven’t crossed the finish line to the cross yet, take heart. The Lord gives you the agony of the bones. he gives the awareness of sin. He delivers the aroma of death to those who will smell it. If you were not named in His Book of Life, you would be at enmity with God, hating Him at all points and refusing to acknowledge your sin.
For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work among you will complete it by the day of Christ Jesus. (Philippians 1:6)
Keep praying that you are one of God’s elect. (Why? This makes no sense. If one indeed is part of the elect, what difference will it make to pray? Either you're elect our you're not.)
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