"Salvation is of the LORD." -Jonah 2:9

"He hath CHOSEN US IN HIM before the foundation of the world." - E phesians 1:4 [ KJ V] So the apostles wrote and preached, to comfort and establish their brethren in the faith of Christ, in the love of God, and in the sanctification of the Spirit unto all true holiness. The election of sinners, by God the Father in Christ Jesus, from all eternity, is the foundation from which all faith and hope spring . If this truth is rejected, the atonement of Jesus is made precarious, the work of the Spirit uncertain, salvation doubtful, faith void, the promise of none effect, and the hope of eternal life is made to depend on the will and power of weak and vile sinners, instead of the grace and truth of God. But in every age, men of corrupt minds, destitute of the truth, have opposed God's sovereign grace, everlasting love, and eternal purposes. God hath suffered it, "that they which are approved may be made manifest among you" (I Cor inthians 11:19 ) . H...

Nothing in all the world is more foolish, more debasing to humanity, more dishonoring to God, and more assuredly condemning to the souls of men and women than idolatry. Without question, idolatry takes many forms , from the worship of false gods, to the use of images in the worship of God (Ex odus 32:4-5) , to the making of imaginary images and pictures of angels, saints, or Jesus (Ex odus 20:4) , to the placing of spiritual value upon religious relics (II Kings 18:4) , to the wearing of crosses for jewelry, to covetousness. However, the most subtle and abominable form of idolatry in the world is that which Paul calls "WILL WORSHIP" , the worship of one's self, attributing to self the work of God (see Col ossians 2:23) . All who attribute salvation, in whole or in part, to the will, work, or worth of man are idolaters. They worship themselves. Any who believe that the determining factor in salvation is the will of man, the work of man, or the worth of man ...