Spring 1994

Selection and Responsibility
Wade E Taylor

There are two doctrinal positions concerning our justification. The first, Calvinistic. The second, Wesleyan.

The Calvinistic view concerning justification places its emphasis on the sovereign selection of God. From this perspective, the Lord chooses whom He will, apart from any seeming faith or qualification. An example of this is the selection of Jacob, or of the Apostle Paul.

"Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated" Rom 9:13.

"And he said, Who art You, Lord? And the Lord said,
I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. It is hard for
you to kick against the goads" Acts 9:5 NKJ.

The Wesleyan view places its emphasis on the responsibility of the individual in seeking God; on personal obedience, being faithful, and on maintaining a standard of holiness. It stresses the importance of fellowship with the Lord and on the process of spiritual growth. An example of this is found in Prov 8:17, 21.

"I love them that love me; and those that seek me
early shall find me ... That I may cause those
that love me to inherit substance; and I will
fill their treasures."

There is truth in both views. Each can be considered to be a different side of one coin. Each has a part in the outworking of our redemption. To be a balanced Christian, we should understand and relate to both in our spiritual growth and development.

These two views, sovereign selection and human responsibility, can be seen as working together in harmony in the anointing of David to be King over Israel. Samuel had been told to go to the house of Jesse to anoint one of his eight sons to become the King.

First, Eliab, a tall handsome man who was outwardly perfect in every way came before Samuel, who said,

"Surely, the Lord's anointed is before Him."

But the Lord said unto Samuel, look not on his
countenance, or on the height of his stature;
because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth
not as man seeth; for man looketh on the
outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the

heart" I Sam 16:6 7.

One by one the brothers came, and in turn each was rejected by the Lord. Then David was called, approved by the Lord, and anointed by Samuel.

"And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy,
and withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly
to look to. And the Lord said, Arise, anoint him:
for this is he" I Sam 16:12.

David was sovereignly chosen by the Lord. But in Psalms 78:70 72, a picture is given as to why David had attracted the attention and favor of the Lord.

"He chose David also His servant, and took him from
the sheepfolds: from following the ewes great with
young He brought him to feed Jacob His people, and
Israel His inheritance. So he fed them according
to the integrity of his heart; and guided them by
the skillfulness of his hands."

David had qualified himself through his life experience, totally unseen by man but noticed and valued by the Lord.

In the Calvinistic view, God "elected" to reject the first seven brothers and choose David.

In the Wesleyan view, the seven were rejected because there were flaws in their makeup, and David was chosen due to the integrity of his heart and the skillfulness of his hands.

These qualities had been built into David within the sheepfolds. He refused to leave to be present for the visit of Samuel, because a mother sheep was about to give birth to a lamb. This faithfulness was known to the Lord.

There has been an outworking of this principle in my life. In 1943, while in the army, I entered a small chapel. When I was sure that no one was there, I knelt and told the Lord that I would enter the ministry if He would bring me through the war alive. In the Fall of 1945, I was discharged and hardly went to Church for the next five years.

In 1950, while attending a modernistic church service, I wondered if there was a God. I thought, in the Old Testament, God spoke and did specific things for His people. The New Testament records the miracles of Jesus and the Apostles and says Jesus will return. My next thought was, "Anyone can say all kinds of things about the past or future, but now there is nothing." I left church thinking, "probably there is no God at all."

Shortly after this, something began to stir within me and I was drawn into a Full Gospel Church where I accepted Jesus as my Saviour and Lord. From my point of view, I wandered into this Church, but from His view, He lead me there.

In 1956, having completely forgotten the promise I made to the Lord while in the army, the Lord stirred me to sell all I had and enter Bible School. After graduation, while driving south to begin a ministry in Philadelphia, the Lord caused me to turn around and go North to Pinecrest, which at that time, made no sense. I obeyed, and after arriving at Pinecrest on July 4, 1959, the Lord spoke to me. The Bible School and the Banner are the outworking of my obedience to the word I received.

There was nothing within me that deserved the Lord placing this desire within me. The Lord chooses whom He will, but we have a part in this. If we look closely, we will find there is something within those whom the Lord has drawn to Himself that turned His heart and attention towards them.

Our desire to know the Lord and our spiritual hunger can be considered from these two different points of view.

From a Calvinistic perspective, we were drawn to the Lord because He created within us a desire for Him. There was deep within us a spiritual desire and prayer that had been placed there by the Lord, which moved us towards Him without our praying any words, or even understanding what was taking place.

From a Wesleyan viewpoint, we somehow became spiritually hungry and began to seek the Lord. As we perceived His drawing presence and responded to it in cooperation and obedience, the Lord revealed Himself to us, causing us to love and serve Him even more.

This can be further understood by considering the pattern of "intervention" (Calvinistic) and "cooperation" (Wesleyan) that took place in the life of Moses.

Moses was born at a time when Pharaoh was persecuting the children of Israel. By his order, all the male babies were to be slain. The parents of Moses felt there was something special about their child. Therefore, they wove a basket and placed him in it, among the reeds in the river. His sister, Miriam, watched from a distance to see what would happen.

The daughter of Pharaoh discovered the basket. She arranged for Moses to be given back to his own mother, who was paid a wage by Pharaoh to raise the one who would deliver Israel from Egypt. This is the sovereign wisdom of God.

As Moses grew, his mother imparted within him an awareness of his calling. Then he was taken into the palace where He was educated in all the wisdom and glory of Egypt. Later, Moses, being aware of his calling, visited his brethren and saw an Israelite being abused by an Egyptian. He slew the Egyptian thinking his brethren would understand. They did not, and he fled from Egypt.

He had attempted to fulfill the calling on his life in his own strength and failed. The Lord will choose whom He will for His purposes (Intervention that requires Cooperation), but we have a part in this. Our part is to so please the Lord in the outworking of our daily tasks that He will notice and choose us (Cooperation that provokes Intervention).

After forty years had elapsed, Moses, while leading sheep towards the mountain of God, noticed a bush that burned with fire and was not consumed. As he turned aside and stood before this burning bush, God spoke to Him and established his calling as a deliverer who would lead Israel from Egypt.

"And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him
in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush:
and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned
with fire, and the bush was not consumed.

And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see
this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.

And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to
see, God called unto him out of the midst of
the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said,
Here am I" Exodus 3:2 4.

The Lord made known to Moses His intention to deliver Israel, and to use him to accomplish it. But something more was required of Moses.

"Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto
Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people
the children of Israel out of Egypt" Exodus 3:10.

This would be accomplished by a sovereign intervention of the Lord but required the cooperation of Moses.

Moses was to first come to know the Lord. Later the Lord said concerning Moses,

"And there arose not a prophet since in Israel
like unto Moses, whom the LORD knew face to
face" Deut 34:10.

The Lord's part is to place a "bush" that burns but is not consumed to the side of our path. Our part is to notice it, and turn aside. One of the reasons why this bush is not consumed in its burning is that we are so slow to turn.

The Lord has done His part. He is patiently waiting for us to do ours.