Collectively Speaking (1 of 2)

Years ago, there were a lot of things that didn’t make much sense until my eyes were opened to the biblical teaching on God using means. Questions such as, “Why do we even bother to evangelize if the Elect will eventually be saved anyway?” suddenly became all clear.

Then I wrestled with the doctrine of Eternal Security, trying to understand how warning passages fit into all this. Warnings are one of the means God uses to keep His people in the race (cf. Jeremiah 32:40), but still, I wasn’t fully satisfied with such an answer when it came to passages that seemed to be directly addressing or talking about true believers. In my mapping out of Soteriology, I came to realize that there are instances where the author is speaking collectively.

God uses means, and Scripture sometimes addresses the Church as a whole, these are the two keys that once understood and accepted as biblical truth will advance your understanding when it comes to a lot of the difficult passages.

The question is: Is it true that Scripture often speaks collectively? The answer is yes, but first understand why…

A Mixed Multitude

To understand why, we need to awaken to the fact that the visible Church, a community of faith, is made up of a mixed multitude. Not everyone who “says” “Lord, Lord” truly belongs to Him, and it’s important to get this right if one is to understand Apostasy, Eternal Security, and the calling of the Gospel, inviting everyone to come. Only God alone knows the heart of those that profess faith in Him (John 2:23-25; 2 Timothy 2:19).

For example, in Matthew 15:8-9,

This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

Christ exposed the true nature of the Scribes and Pharisees, revealing their spiritual state despite their Abrahamic heritage. He also showed the one obstacle preventing the rich young ruler from truly following Him. Despite having many followers, Jesus’ teachings led some to abandon Him at a crucial point (John 6:66). As you can see, we’re not just dealing with deceivers but the self-deceived (2 Timothy 3:13). Many seek Christ for misguided reasons, without genuine, saving-faith.

The Scripture speaks a certain way, which might seem harsh to us, to expose and bring the hidden things of the heart to the surface. Jesus knew that this gentile woman had the faith (cf. John 2:24-25, 6:64), but He said what He said to test her and to show others her genuine faith and what it looks like,

“It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.” And she said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.” —Matthew 15:26-27

Real beggars persistently ask and knock, while impostors walk away. Christ’s exposure prevents false assurance and reveals true faith. Our understanding of God’s holiness and trials helps discern genuine devotion.

There’s no way of knowing until Christ exposes our heart through the trials and testings He brings into our lives. The Israelites thought they had the heart to obey. This is why if we examine the statements of those who abandon their faith, a clear pattern emerges. They often express disbelief in a loving God who would punish sin, despite having been in the faith for years. Upon discovering the truth about a righteous God, some may protest, exclaiming, “I’ll never worship a God like that!” Well then, what God have you been worshiping all this time? These are people who have worshipped an idol for most of their lives, and upon learning about the true God, they reject the true God and depart from the faith. It's not that they knew the true God and then departed from Him; no, the truth is that they worshipped what they thought to be the true God.

“And you shall remember that the LORD your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.”
—Deuteronomy 8:2

A mixed multitude exists, and things are not what they appear. Consider Hebrews 11:29,

By faith THEY passed through the Red Sea as by dry land, whereas the EGYPTIANS, attempting to do so, were drowned.

The “they” there refers to the Israelites. It speaks collectively as a whole (to contrast it with the Egyptians), because not all of them had saving-faith, not to mention that in that “they,” there were also Egyptians. It’s where we get the idea of a mixed multitude (Exodus 12:38). Some Egyptians that joined the Israelites in departing from Egypt probably had saving-faith, and some just joined for self-preservation! So it’s not true that every single Egyptian “attempting to do so, were drowned.” And it’s not true that every single Israelite passed through because of saving-faith.

Another example is the 12 Apostles Christ chose. One was a devil all along. Once you understand this, you’ll understand 2 Peter 2, and why Scripture speaks about or to false converts as if they’re real Christians.

To be continued…