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"Predestination," The Gospel Messenger vol.7 no.11 (1885)
“FOR OF A TRUTH against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou
hast annointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles,
and the people of Israel were gathered together, for to do
whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be
done.” — Acts iv, 27, 28. The above certainly witnesses that the
crucifixion of Christ was predetermined and that characters spoken
of were gathered together for that purpose. Upon that event
was hinged the salvation of all the Lord’s people. Nor was it less
certain that the characters that did, should crucify Christ, but
still I cannot see in such things that God had predestinated the
wickedness of those who crucified him. If I should determine
the death of a dog by delivering him to a lion, though my decree
might be irreversible, yet it had no influence upon the
disposition of the lion to destroy the dog.
So the crucifiers of Christ, as manifest enemies to him, needed
no influence from God’s decree to incline them to the deed, nor
did they receive any influence from that source. It was but for God to lift off of them his restraint, and they, with “wicked hands,” crucifed him, as the scriptures avow. It has previously been shown
to the satisfaction of some people, that whatsoever God purposes
he also performs. His purpose in the matter under consideration
was that Christ should be crucified, and hence he delivered him to
characters who were eager to do it. But this doesn’t prove that the
eagerness to crucify Christ was a fruit of God’s decree. No, in fact
it could not be, as it was wicked, declared so to be, then how could
a holy decree be the origin of it? |
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