“And if it seem evil
unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the
gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the
gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we
will serve the LORD.” Joshua 24:15
It always makes me angry when people abuse and misuse the
scriptures to prove a lie. Please understand there is not one single scripture
in the entire word of God that tells us to choose Jesus Christ as our Saviour, not
one. This scripture has been falsely used repeatedly as a salvation
scripture and it simply is not. All scriptures must be used in the context in
which the Holy Spirit inspired the writes or not at all. To misuse a scripture
out of context is making the scriptures speak a lie, and the word of God, like
its author, does not lie. The context here is about choosing between serving false
gods and the God of all gods. It is not even in reference to salvation and has
nothing to say about salvation. The context is in verse 14 “Now therefore fear
the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods
which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and
serve ye the LORD.” Therefore, the proper context is, are you going to
serve me or the false gods your fathers served? God was not talking to lost
sinners, they cannot serve God. The Lord
goes on to say but if you are going to serve me “…fear the LORD, and serve him
in sincerity and in truth…” You cannot properly serve God any other way then in
truth. But if one is going to lie about the context of this scripture then that
does nothing to serve the Lord in truth. Jesus said in John 4:24 “God is a
Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”
But the reality is most of those Arminian Preacher cannot even tell you what
truth is. If they do not know God’s plan of salvation then how can they lead
others to true and pure salvation. How can they speak the truth and lead their
churches in a spiritual service if they have not even learned the context and
truth of the scriptures? The truth is that God saved sinners, we have nothing
to do with salvation, no decision, no choice, no prayer, no baptism, no works,
no anything else. All of these are Arminian lies taking the scriptures out of
context in order to make-up false doctrine. Look what Jesus Christ Himself said
about salvation, “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent
me draw him... John 6:44 now go look up in the Strong’s Concordance the
word “draw” and you will see it means to “drag”. Now, I did not say it means “against
our will”, no not at all, Paul said He makes us willing. “For it is God
which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” Philippians
2:13 it is not in us to do good to God, He puts that will there. Folks, it
matters not what men say about the scriptures, it matters not how smart they
are, it matters not how holy they may appear, the truth is it is either truth
or a lie. There is not in between, there is not half-truth and half-lie, because
with God only the absolute truth will do. The only choice that was made about
salvation was God’s choice before the world began. As Paul said in 2 Timothy
1:7-11 “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of
love, and of a sound mind. (8) Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony
of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of
the gospel according to the power of God; (9) Who hath saved us, and called
us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose
and grace, which was given us in Christ
Jesus before the world began, (10) But is now made manifest by the
appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath
brought life and immortality to light through the gospel: (11) Whereunto I am
appointed a preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles.” The truth
is folks, there is no choosing salvation, unless God has chosen you and called
you with a Holy Calling to come to Jesus Christ and be washed in the sin
cleansing blood.
