GUEST” SCOTT ROBERTS, elder/pastor, Bayfair Baptist Church (Ontario)

It’s an age-old debate and people on all sides get heated up over it. The issue contains two truths revealed in the Bible:

1) Before time, God in His mercy and grace has chosen and determined those whom He will save through Christ.

2) Man is responsible for receiving or rejecting Christ.

Scripture teaches both, sometimes side by side. Consider John 1:12-13:

Verse 12: “as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name.” There’s man’s responsibility.

The very next verse, verse 13: “who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” There’s God’s sovereignty.

While God’s thoughts are higher than our thoughts, He put these parallel truths in Scripture to better understand salvation and to give Him glory.

Helping us to do that is our guest, Scott Roberts. Scott is an elder and pastor of Bayfair Baptist Church in Ontario, Canada, and the author of the men’s ministry book, Warrior Disciple, along with New in Christ: A Simple Guide for New Christians.

Scott wrote a recently column titled, “Election and Predestination: Did God Choose Us, or Did We Choose Him?” that brings clarity to this important oft-discussed issue.