In “Predestination and Miracles,” we saw that Jesus said Christians are chosen so that they may bear fruit, and the fruit refers to performing miracles in his name — even greater miracles than Jesus himself performed. This is Jesus’ doctrine of predestination. It is futile to say, “Predestined! Predestined! Predestined!” and not ask, “Predestined for what?” Jesus said that those who have faith are predestined for miracles. This cannot be ripped out of his doctrine of predestination. The extensive speech in John 14-16 is headlined by Jesus’ decree of miracle ministry for all those who believe in him, and if we compare this with the rest of the Gospels, it is as if he takes more time talking about predestination for miracle ministry and spiritual endowments and praying for “what you will” than he did about predestination for eternal life. But this is not a competition. Eternal life begins now. For more than 1500 years, however, Christians have exchanged the paradigm-shifting promise for a pot of orthodox porridge. Jesus handed to the people of faith a miracle mantle that could shake all three realms, but like the worthless servant in one of his parables, Christians have buried it. They have abandoned divine treasure for human excrement, smearing it all over their church history, their creeds, their children, saying, “Behold, this is the God who led you out of Egypt!” Then they chase after those who run from the stench and scream, “Eat it! Eat it!”

Just as much as it refers to the fact of the decree of God, predestination refers to the content of the decree of God, that God has chosen his people to receive eternal life and divine power. Yet the zealous proponents of the doctrine of predestination reject much of what predestination intends to accomplish in the people of faith. This is ironic because the doctrine is supposed to acknowledge the supremacy of God, but the theologians have taken it upon themselves to dictate how God is permitted to exercise this supremacy, and at what periods and through whom, even though their conclusions contradict the word of God. Predestination, therefore, became a doctrine on the sovereignty of the theologians. God is not deceived — we will reap what we sow. Unbelief will meet a violent end. It is the way of destruction, if not at our own hands, then at the hand of divine wrath. If we cannot have that which is of faith, then let us have nothing at all. Defund the theologians and disband the seminaries. Defund the pastors and disband the churches. Phinehas saved Israel from the plague when he took up a spear and pierced through the sinners among them, but Christians are too “Christ-like” to riot against cessationism and other anti-faith cults in their midst. Christ charged the temple and made his whip fly and the tables scatter. Meanwhile we are so in love with our fifty points of this-ism, three hundred Latin slogans for that-ology, and twenty thousand articles of the Interplanetary Confession of Faith, and we are spraying water on everybody or drenching them in tubs, and slinging tiny crackers and grape juice in every direction, but we will not lift a finger to overturn those who anointed themselves to be leaders and teachers among us and who openly spread anti-faith propaganda against the one who call Lord. What a peaceful people we are! What Christ-like gentleness and tolerance! The self-righteousness of unbelief and the eagerness to remain under oppression is, to say the least, curious.

People would say to me, “For certain I see you are completely correct about this, and that person is wrong. But should you have called him that? Should have you said it this way? Isn’t it a bit too harsh?” Well! Since he is the one who is wrong, since he is the one who has contradicted Jesus himself, and since he is the false teacher who deceives people, then why don’t you take your stupid face and tell him that he is wrong and settle with him before you complain to me about how I state the truth about it? Since you have so much time to tell me how I should do my job, why don’t you tell that other person how to do his first? And why don’t you do your job, if you claim to be a believer? Stand up for the truth. Why don’t you talk to him first, since even you admit he is the one who is wrong? Huh? Incredible! If you are going to nitpick, if you are going to complain, first do it to the one who is actually wrong. Why don’t you nitpick the false teacher? Why don’t you complain to the people who follow the false doctrines? I demonstrate someone’s error, speaking with biblical rhetoric that effectively gains your attention and alarms you to the gravity of the situation, and the first one you complain to is me? Meanwhile you will not lift a finger against those who are in error. Should I thank you? Or are you still missing the point? You are Satan’s trained monkey. Your natural instinct is not faith, not obedience, but religious propriety. You want to feel good about yourself by becoming involved in the situation, but you will not stand up to those who are in error. No wonder Christians are weak. No wonder they cannot overcome the slightest unbelief or the slightest error in doctrine. Just a bunch of useless idiots. Jesus called such people “worthless.” If you can see that I am correct, you should be helping me, not wasting my time with foolish nonsense. If you don’t like the way I do it, then do it the way you like. Dress up like a doll and talk in baby voices if you want. Use finger puppets and put on a show if you want. Act like an effeminate pervert if you want. Just do it. But do it to that other person who needs to hear it.

Someone wished to publish a version of “Predestination and Miracles” and asked if he should do it alongside any comments I may have made on James 4:3 in order to preempt a possible objection from the cessationist cults. The verse says, “You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.” This is so irrelevant to the thrust of “Predestination and Miracles” that of course the two should not be associated by force. The suggestion is so arbitrary I wondered if I ought to share my response at all. However, since James 4:3 has been exploited by religionists to hinder faith and prayer in general, my comments should be useful as a corrective to the common abuse. Still, this should not be released together with “Predestination and Miracles,” because an objection based on James 4:3 against what Jesus said would be so farfetched as to become a distraction from his teaching on the matter. If the two are to be read in the same sitting for some reason, then my comments on James 4 should be read before my comments on John 14-15, and not the other way around.

Here is my answer:

But why would I address James 4:3 along with Jesus’ teaching there in John 14-15? And why would anyone want to publish both together? Jesus declared that his followers would work miracles in his name as the natural fruit of their discipleship (John 14-15). On this topic of miracles, the reason he offered for failure was unbelief (Matthew 17:20). James himself, when he wrote about prayer by disciples in a different context, also offered unbelief as the reason for failure (James 1:6-7).

Now either you have not read James 4 (except for verse 3!) or your audience must be grotesquely spiritual. Let me explain. Open the Bible to James 4 and cover up verse 3. Read anything you want in chapter 4 except verse 3. Do you see it? James is talking about people who would scheme and even murder to get what they want (v. 2). He is talking about people who are jealous of what others have, and would wage war to take it for themselves (v. 2). He is talking about people who would be friends with the world in such a context (v. 4). These are verses right before and right after verse 3. Did you read them? If anyone challenges what I wrote in “Predestination and Miracles” — if anyone challenges Jesus — on the basis of verse 3, then they did not read verse 2 and 4, and the other verses in James 4. If James 4 is applied in conjunction with John 14-15, then this would mean that we are referring to people who would scheme and even commit murder, so that they could heal the sick and cast out demons. It would mean that these people would become jealous and even wage war to take tongues and prophecies from other people so that they could have these things for themselves. In fact, if James 4 is applied to John 14-15, it would mean that the world — even the unbelievers, even those who hate Jesus Christ — would want to work signs and wonders in the name of Jesus, so that these disciples who are super zealous for the ministry of miracles would wish to befriend them.

This is why the question makes no sense. Christians who would lie and scheme and cheat to receive spiritual power from heaven? People who would commit murder to participate in the miracle ministry of Jesus? Disciples who would wage war to gain spiritual gifts? Non-Christians who want to see God heal the sick and cast out demons in the name of Jesus? I suppose I do not know of anything like this kind of spiritual zeal in all of human history. And these must be the most spiritual kind of non-Christians the world has ever known. I was frustrated by the question, because either you have not understood what Jesus said, or you did not read James 4 yourself. Otherwise, I was just envious that you address an audience so zealous and spiritual that it is utterly grotesque.

To attain results in the supernatural ministry and lifestyle that Jesus promised, there is no need to murder, to cheat, to war, or to partner with sinners. We only need some faith. Let us not confuse the issue by explaining failure even before we begin to declare Jesus’ promise of success, or permit the impression that James 4 is relevant to John 14-15, that is, unless you are indeed addressing such ultra-spiritual people the likes of which we have never dared hope to exist. Most important of all, do not allow this to become just another debate with absolutely nobody on either side who would actually do what Jesus commanded. This is the result of many debates. People on both sides feel good that they have done something, when they have done nothing.

God has said that we will receive what we ask from him, but Christians search all over the Bible for snippets of texts that they can distort and use against him, to spin out long lists of reasons why they will not receive. Then they call this orthodoxy and declare that it is all “for the glory of God.” But Jesus said that God is glorified when our prayers are answered – prayers for miracles: “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.” Are we making excuses for God, or for ourselves? God does not need our excuses, because he will indeed fulfill his word. But Jesus said that he will answer “whoever believes in me,” and that is the problem. When someone does not believe but wishes to claim that he believes, he makes excuses. However, if the excuses are not true, then they are just lies. And these lies make up much of what Christians think about prayer.

James 4:3 is often taken out of context to explain unanswered prayer, but not only does this abuse hinder faith, it also ignores the point of the passage. James is speaking against people who are so in love with the world and so eager to satisfy their lusts that they would scheme, fight, oppress, and even commit murder to make it happen. Are there such people in the world? Of course! He makes a relevant point about a manifestation of the sinful human heart. It is a betrayal of the word of God to forget about the point of this whole passage in order to wrest one verse out of it and distort its meaning to explain failure in prayer. What is it that Christians wish to hide? Do they want to suppress the lesson in this text, so that it would not uncover their murderous lusts? If you would not cheat, steal, and kill to get what you want – if you would rather be without what you desire than to commit murder to obtain it – then verse 3 does not apply. The verse cannot be used to discuss prayer in general. If you wish to explain failure in prayer, then return to the true reason, the reason in the word of God that you detest – it is the lack of faith. This reason hurts people’s religious pride even more than calling them murderers, and they hate it. This is why they prefer any other reason than this.