or
PREDESTINATION?
by
Bernie Koerselman
Table
of Contents
Predestination and Foreknowledge Defined
Predestination Issues Which Conflict With Scripture
Terms Associated with Predestination and Foreknowledge
Scriptures Which Define Predestination and Foreknowledge
God Raises Up Some People For Special Purposes
“Chosen” As Used In New Testament Scriptures
Contemporaries of Jesus and Apostles As Chosen
Part III: Conflicts or Harmony With Scriptures and Doctrines
Be Conformed to the Likeness of Jesus
Loss of Salvation (Hebrews 6:4-6)
Warnings Against Sin Leading to Damnation
As we look at Predestination vs. Foreknowledge, we are
looking at diametrically different views of Scripture.
We might say this is a watershed issue.
Those who adopt a view that God predestined before the creation of the
world those who would be saved and those who would be damned will take a view
very different from those who believe Scripture teaches that God foreknows those
who will accept the Gospel, who will have a saving faith, and who will receive
Jesus as their Lord!
As we begin, we must establish some rules of
interpretation. The three rules of
interpretation of Scripture that I deem to be of utmost importance are:
q
ALWAYS let Scripture interpret Scripture.
In law we saw that the interpretation must come from within the four
corners of the document. Outside extrinsic evidence is not allowed.
Scripture is God’s Word. It
is ALWAYS capable of interpreting itself. The
legal phrase is: Let the writing
speak for itself.
q
ALWAYS interpret Scripture in a way that is consistent throughout.
Is God incapable of expressing himself?
Of course not. Is God
consistent? His word says he changes not.
q
NEVER take a phrase from Scripture out of context, or out of the
meaning of the sentence itself, and claim that is a truth from God.
As we look at the issues presented here, we will look at
what Scripture says, how it is often misinterpreted, how consistent (or
inconsistent) the interpretation is with other Scripture, and what the effect of
one interpretation or the other would be on the Kingdom of God.
We will also see how a bad root will affect subsequent fruit.
We will see how a serious misinterpretation of Scripture will lead to one
bad doctrine after another, all tending to impact on whether or not the people
who hold to such views will be saved.
Finally, please do not be discouraged by the idea that this
is difficult. Studies have shown
that Scripture has been written at the sixth grade level. Yes! The sixth
grade! That means all of us should
be able to understand God’s word. Isn’t
that what he wants? Of course.
God is patient with us, not
wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance
(2 Peter 3:8).
Predestination is a term that has been popularized from
Calvinism. It holds that because
God is sovereign, he determined (predestined) before the foundations of the
earth who would be saved and who would be damned.
The doctrine did not originate from Calvin, but rather from Augustine in
the third century. It was advocated
by Luther and popularized by Calvin.
Foreknowlege is an attribute of God who is outside time and
space and who has the ability to know the beginning from the end.
God can foreknow who will be saved.
This view believes that God does not predetermine (predestine) who will
be saved, but rather foreknows who will be saved.
As we will see, there is a huge difference in the beliefs of those who hold to one or the other of these two beliefs. For many it may be a watershed difference. To believe the wrong way may cause that person to end up in a place very different from what they hoped – the difference could be between heaven or hell.
Likely most readers will agree that Scripture calls the
followers of Jesus to be righteous (Matthew 5:20, James 1:20, 1 Peter 3:12, 1
John 3:7), holy (Luke 3:34, John 6:68, Acts 3:14, Acts 4:27,30 – of Jesus;
Luke 9:26 – of angels; Acts 3:21 – prophets; Romans 12:1 – all believers)
, and obedient to the will of God (Matthew 7:21) and the teachings and commands
of Jesus (Matthew 28:20).
I was only 10-12 years old, attending both a Presbyterian
and Reformed Church, taking the advanced catechism of both churches, when I
concluded that if the doctrine of predestination was true, then whatever I did
or didn’t do meant nothing. If
God had predestined me by name to be saved before the foundations of the earth,
then I would be saved because he is the sovereign God, whether or not I wanted
to be saved, whether or not I was righteous, whether or not I was holy, or even
whether or not I believed.
Naturally I learned of irresistible grace (both churches
were Calvinistic in their teachings) that would cause a person to be saved whom
God had predestined to salvation, whether or not he desired to be saved.
It does not take a mental giant to realize that the doctrine of
predestination takes away all responsibility from man.
Man has no reason to do anything in particular with respect to his
salvation. He just has to wait
around to see whether God will irresistibly save him.
If he doesn’t, he must be one of those predestined to be damned.
If God does irresistibly save him, then it is not his doing, nor is
continuing or persevering in the faith.
It also naturally follows that there is really no reason to
have “church.” Why should
anyone bother to attend church or meet with other Christians? No one can cause anyone to be saved that God has not
predestined to be saved. Though it
is possible to be instrumental in helping save someone that God had predestined
to be saved, it is not important that we do so, as God would simply have saved
that person some other way.
In the same reasoning, it is utterly foolish to have
foreign missions or any kind of outreach to our nation or community.
We will accomplish NOTHING that God has not already predestined, i.e., we
can help save no one that God has not already predestined to be saved.
And those that are predestined to be saved will be saved, with or without
our help and effort.
The Scripture has no application to those who are
predestined to be saved and none to those who are predestined to hell.
If a person predestined to damnation kept every law and precept and
followed every teaching of Scripture exactly as written, he would still be
damned to hell because God is sovereign and has predestined him to hell before
the foundations of the earth. On
the other hand, all the teachings and commands and warnings of Scripture are
meaningless to those predestined to be saved.
They will be saved whether or not they keep such teachings and commands
and whether or not they take heed to the warnings of Scripture.
Also, Jesus’ sacrificial death and resurrection are also
meaningless. Salvation is not
really dependent upon Jesus’ atoning death. Salvation is really only dependent
on being predestined to be saved. If
you are not predestined to be saved, you cannot be, no matter how much you want
to, no matter how much you believe in the atoning death and sacrifice of Jesus
for the forgiveness of sins and seek to follow him as your Lord.
However, Calvinists recognize that many do seem to start
well, with all the earmarks of having been saved (predestined to salvation).
Yet, something happens and they fall away.
Naturally this is not possible (in the Calvinist’s point of view) if
someone has been predestined to salvation.
Thus they had to explain the phenomenon of those who begin as apparent
believers but later fall away. They
did this through what they called “evanescent grace.”
Evanescent grace is that grace given to those who are really damned, but
which allows them to believe they are saved and to act as though they are saved.
At some later time, according to his will (or whim), God withdraws his
(evanescent) grace and damns them.
The above is true. Naturally, that does not sound good, and is utterly inconsistent with Scripture, so the Calvinists came up with other doctrines to try to soften what is said above. But the essence of what is related above remains true, notwithstanding all the peripheral arguments advanced. Naturally some Calvinists say that the person predestined to salvation will persevere to the end, and will accept and have faith in the Lord Jesus and in his sacrificial death for the remission of sins. But it obviously is not the critical question, is it? The critical question remains whether or not the person is predestined to salvation or damnation.
Predestine or predestined are two terms that
derive from the term Predestination. These
terms are found in Scripture. We
will examine what God has predestined.
Chose or chosen are two terms which also are
used by those who claim predestination is how people have been determined who
will be saved.
Elect is used in Scripture of those who are chosen. It is also used by those advocating the doctrine of predestination to refer to those that God has predestined to be saved.
One of the primary rules by which everyone should determine
the truths of Scripture is to let Scripture define Scripture.
Elect and chosen are defined in 1 Peter
1:1-2:
Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
To God’s elect, strangers
in the world, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and
Bithynia, 2 who have
been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father,
through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and
sprinkling by his blood:
Grace and peace be yours in abundance.[1]
We see from the foregoing Scripture,
that the elect are those who have been chosen.
It is clear from the passage that the two terms are related.
What is critical in this passage is that it clearly defines how the elect
are chosen: according to the foreknowledge
of God the Father.
If you would understand Scripture
correctly, it is essential you fix this point firmly in your mind.
The passage does not say the elect who have been chosen were predestined
to be the elect and the chosen. No,
it says the elect were chosen according to the foreknowledge
of God the Father. Whenever we
see the terms elect and chosen in the future, we can add the parenthetical
phrase (according to the foreknowledge of God the Father) to make the passage
abundantly clear and to remind ourselves of the correct meaning.
Thus, all instances in the New Testament writings
where the words "elect" and "chosen" are used, we know that
this refers to those elected or chosen according to the foreknowledge
of God the Father. The reverse
is also true. Those God foreknows
will be saved are the elect and the chosen.
Predestined (as used in
Scripture) is defined in Romans 8:29:
And
we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who
have been called according to his purpose. 29
For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed
to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those he predestined, he also called;
those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified (Romans
8:28-30).
What does the term predestined
mean in vs. 29? It means that God predestined
a qualification for all those God foreknew as the elect and
the chosen. The predestined
qualification is that they MUST BE conformed to the likeness of his Son.
This is a qualification pre-determined or predestined by God for all
those who will be saved. We
also know from vs. 28 that two additional characteristics of the elect and the
chosen that God foreknew are that they love him and have been called according
to his purpose.
Let’s now look at passages which speak of predestine, elect, or chosen, and see how they read when they are interpreted according to the above scriptures.
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus
by the will of God,
To the saints in Ephesus, the
faithful in Christ Jesus:
2 Grace
and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
3 Praise
be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the
heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4
For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and
blameless in his sight. In love 5
he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in
accordance with his pleasure and will— 6
to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the
One he loves. 7 In him
we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance
with the riches of God’s grace 8
that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. 9
And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good
pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, 10
to be put into effect when the times will have reached their
fulfillment—to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one
head, even Christ.
11 In
him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him
who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, 12
in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the
praise of his glory. 13
And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the
gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a
seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14
who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of
those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory (Ephesians
1:1-14).
The above scripture in bold print are those areas that we
will look at most closely, as they contain the key words we’re examining in
this study.
To
the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus
(Ephesians
1:1).
This
portion of vs. 1 was included as it is always important to see to whom the
letter was written. In verses 4 and
5 we see the term “us”. Now we
know “us” means the saints, the faithful in Christ Jesus.
For he chose
us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight
(Ephesians
1:4)
We know immediately how “chose” is to be interpreted
from 1 Peter 1:2, don’t we? We
can add the parenthetical phrase (according to the foreknowledge of God the
Father) after “chose us in him”so the sentence could read:
For he chose us in him (according to the foreknowledge of God the
Father) before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.
The phrase which has caused problems is “before the
creation of the world.” That is
actually a parenthetical phrase simply telling when the event took place.
Parenthetical phrases are not necessary to the primary meaning of the
sentence. The primary meaning is:
For he chose us in him to be holy and blameless in his sight.
That is the point Paul is making. He
told us when by adding “before the creation of the world.”
Perhaps the primary meaning of the sentence would have been clearer had
the parenthetical phrase been first, i.e., “Before the creation of the world,
he chose us in him to be holy and blameless in his sight.”
That is an exact parallel in meaning to the passage, but lessens the
difficulties that have been caused by careless reading on the part of
those who misinterpret it.
Some have chosen to seek the meaning from just a portion of
the sentence: “For he chose us in
him before the creation of the world.” They
put a period after “world” and treat it as an independent sentence.
As we have seen, that is not the purpose nor meaning of the sentence,
though a truth could still be ascertained, i.e.:
“For he chose us in him (according to the foreknowledge of God the
Father) before the creation of the world.”
That now is a true statement and is Scripture defined by Scripture.
However, it is NOT the meaning of that sentence.
I believe Paul was trying to emphasize to his readers that
those God chose in him are to be holy and blameless in his sight.
That is further supported as we go back to one of our defining Scriptures
– Romans 8:29. There we see that
those God foreknew he predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son.
Jesus was holy and blameless. Those
God foreknew (chose) are to be holy and blameless, conformed to the likeness of
Jesus. You can see how seamlessly
the two Scriptures work together. They
mean the same thing. Paul is using
different terms to state the same message.
Likewise, note the end of Romans 8:28, “called according
to his purpose.” What is God’s
purpose? It is answered in the next
verse – to be conformed to the likeness of his Son.
It is also answered in Ephesians 1:4 – to be holy and blameless in his
sight.
In
love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in
accordance with his pleasure and will (Ephesians 1:5).
Here again you can see how easily this can be
misinterpreted. But remember that
Romans 8:29 defines what we were predestined to do: “to be conformed to the likeness of his Son that he might
be the first of many brothers.” Suddenly
we see the exact parallel. If we
are to be brothers of Jesus, we must be adopted as the sons of God.
It is important to include the remainder of the sentence, as it makes the
parallel complete: “in accordance with his pleasure and will.”
Remember that Romans 8:28 said, “called according to his purpose”?
His purpose (Romans 8:28) and
pleasure and will (Ephesians 1:5) are that
we be conformed to the likeness of his Son (Romans
8:29) and be holy and blameless in his sight (Ephesians
1:4).
11 In
him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the
plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will,
12 in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for
the praise of his glory (Ephesians
1:11-12).
Again, if you had nothing but this Scripture to be your
guide, you might come to a wrong conclusion as to its meaning.
But now let’s add the parenthetical phrases of the Scriptures which
define the terms:
11
In him we were also chosen (according to the foreknowledge of
God the Father [1 Peter 1:2]), having been predestined (to be
conformed to the likeness of his Son [Romans 8:29] and to be holy and
blameless in his sight [Ephesians 1:4]) according to the plan of him who
works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, 12
in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the
praise of his glory (Ephesians
1:11-12, with parenthetical phrases included).
Now there is neither difficulty nor
ambiguity is there? It is all
beautifully consistent, just as we would expect Scripture to be.
It is more perfectly consistent as we examine the last phrase “for the
praise of his glory.” How will we
be for the praise of his glory? When
we are conformed to the likeness of his Son and are holy and blameless in his
sight.
Let’s look at all other occasions when the terms chose, chosen, elect, predestine, and foreknew appear to see if Scripture continues to be perfectly consistent and whether it can always be interpreted in a perfectly consistent manner.
Paul told the
Colossians:
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved,
clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience (Colossians
3:12).
Paul is simply urging God’s chosen people (chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father) to fulfill the teachings and commands of Jesus and to do the will of God which will both be true of those who will be saved. He is also instructing them how to be conformed to the likeness of Jesus. All the qualities enumerated there are the qualities present and displayed in the life of Jesus.
Paul is writing to
the Thessalonian Church which he describes in his introduction as:
To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus
Christ.
For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, 5
because our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power,
with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction (1
Thessalonians 1:4-5).
Here
Paul says evidence of the Thessalonians being chosen (according to the
foreknowledge of God the Father) is in part, at least, from what accompanied the
Gospel as it was presented to them. It
came with power, with the Holy Spirit, and with deep conviction on the part of
the Thessalonians.
ALL
those things would be expected from people who would receive the Gospel, just as
God the Father foreknew they would.
Again Paul is
speaking to the Thessalonian church:
But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord,
because from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the
sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth (2
Thessalonians 2:13).
Again we find the
meaning is consistent. Rephrased, .
. . from the beginning God chose you (according to the foreknowledge
of God the Father) to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and
through belief in the truth. That
is the description of how we are to be saved – through the sanctifying work of
the Spirit and through a saving faith – belief in the truth.
This time Paul is writing to Titus:
Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ for the faith of
God’s elect and the knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness—(Titus
1:1).
Again, let’s rephrase this:
. . . for the faith of God’s elect (chosen according to the foreknowledge
of God the Father) and the knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness.
Here we find both elements, i.e., those who are foreknown by God to be among the saved will have a saving faith. Paul says he is a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ for the faith of God’s elect. Also we have found that the purpose is that God’s elect be conformed to the likeness of Jesus, that they be holy and blameless in his sight, and that they be for the praise of his glory. And, as expected, Paul says his secondary purpose is to give the knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness. How wonderfully consistent is God’s word.
Several times during his letter to the Romans, Paul uses
the terms the chosen, the elect, election, and predestine.
We’ll quickly examine each of them in light of the definitions
Scripture has already given us:
I ask then: Did God reject his people? By no means! I am an Israelite
myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin. 2
God did not reject his people, whom he foreknew. Don’t you know
what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah—how he appealed to God
against Israel: 3 “Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down
your altars; I am the only one left, and they are trying to kill me”? 4
And what was God’s answer to him? “I have reserved for myself seven
thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” 5
So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. 6 And if by grace, then it is no longer by works; if it
were, grace would no longer be grace. So
too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace.
God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes so that they could not see and
ears so that they could not hear, to this very day (Romans
11:1-8).
This
is a wonderful passage that explains itself.
In verse 2 Paul explains God did not reject his people, whom he foreknew.
Verse 5 declares there is a remnant chosen by grace.
Those are “his” people, whom he foreknew (as explained
by scripture in verse 2). Likewise
in the 6th verse, Paul declares again there is a remnant chosen
by grace – “his” people, whom he foreknew.
We have already
seen from earlier in the chapter that Paul spoke of God’s people whom God
foreknew. Read the following with
that in mind:
As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies on your account; but
as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the
patriarchs, 29 for God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable (Romans
11:28-29).
Let’s restate it with the
definition of 1 Peter 1:1-2 included:
As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies on your account; but
as far as election is concerned (being chosen according to the
foreknowledge of God the Father), they are loved on account of the
patriarchs, 29 for God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable (Romans
11:28-29).
When we use Scripture to explain Scripture it becomes so easy to understand. The foreknowledge of 1 Peter 1:2 is the same foreknowledge as began this chapter in verse 2. There is no predestination of those who will be saved. It is by God’s foreknowledge that there are the chosen and the elect.
Let's look next at one of the most interesting uses of the
term “election.” We’ll begin
with the text that contains the story of Esau and Jacob, as Paul related it:
In other words, it is not the natural children who
are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as
Abraham’s offspring. For this was how the promise was stated:
"At the appointed time I will return, and Sarah will have a
son."
Not only that, but Rebekah’s children had one and the same father, our father
Isaac. Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad
— in order that God’s purpose in election might stand: not by works
but by him who calls — she was told, "The older will serve the
younger." Just as it is written: "Jacob I loved, but Esau I
hated."
It does not, therefore, depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s
mercy. For the Scripture says to Pharaoh: "I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might
display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the
earth." Therefore God
has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to
harden.
One of you will say to me: "Then why does God still blame us? For who
resists his will?" But who are you, O man, to talk back to God?
"Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like
this?’" Does not the potter have the right to make out of the
same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use?
What if God, choosing to show his wrath and make
his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath — prepared
for destruction? What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known
to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory — even us,
whom he also called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles? (Romans
9:8-24).
The portion in bold print is the part most often misinterpreted. A casual reading may indeed infer that God predestined hatred toward Essau and love toward Jacob. Scripture often requires more than a casual reading in order to mine the gold of its truths. It is so in this case. A casual reading can lead to false doctrine. Let's take a closer look.
What is God’s election (as used by Paul in Romans 9:11)?
Is it something he predestined before the foundations of the earth that would be
required of men without regard for their will? Or is it the result of his
foreknowledge?
Yet, before the twins were born or
had done anything good or bad—in order that God’s purpose in election
might stand: not by works but by him who calls—she was told,
"The older will serve the younger" (Romans
9:11).
Let’s try to understand this now in terms of what we’ve
already learned, as Scripture has defined itself. Election, we’ve seen, refers to the choosing of
God’s people, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father (1
Peter 1:2).
Let’s examine God’s purpose in election by
looking again at Romans 8:28-29:
And we know that in all things God works for the
good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the
likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers (Romans
8:28-29).
What is God's purpose – his "purpose in election"?
Isn’t it that we be conformed to the likeness of his Son that he might be the
firstborn among many brothers (Romans 8:29),
that we be holy and blameless in his sight (Ephesians
1:4), and be for the praise of his glory
(Ephesians 1:12)? More simply stated, God’s purpose in
election for those chosen (elected [according to the foreknowledge of God
the Father]) is to be like Jesus (1 John 2:6).
Perhaps that is the thrust of the parable Jesus told of the
wedding guests:
"But when the king came in to
see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes.
‘Friend,’ he asked, ‘how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’
The man was speechless" (Matthew 22:11-12). The man was not conformed
to the likeness of the Son – not dressed in wedding clothes. He was
dishonoring to his host, coming to a wedding without wedding clothes, and
disobedient to the requirement or custom that wedding clothes be worn to a
wedding. What was his punishment? Jesus told us: "Then
the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside,
into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
For many are invited, but few are
chosen.” (Matthew
22:13).
But Jesus makes one more point at the end of the parable.
Many are invited but few are chosen.
And isn’t that what we see all around us in Christendom?
We have all manner of outreaches and evangelistic campaigns.
Many are invited. But few
are chosen to be among the elect (according to the foreknowledge of God the
Father) because few fulfill God’s purpose in election – to be conformed to
the likeness of God’s Son, to be holy and blameless in his sight, for the
praise of his glory!
If that is God’s purpose, then Paul’s passage about Essau and Jacob becomes totally understandable. Two boys – twins – were born. Jacob would have faith in God; Essau went his own way in rebellion to God. Why would God say that one he loved; the other he hated?
Just as it is written: "Jacob I loved, but Esau I
hated" (Romans 9:13). From that
come two very different interpretations.
The 1st interpretation is the one chosen by Calvinists:
Before the foundations of the earth God determined that he would love Jacob and
hate Essau. He is the sovereign God – he has the right to determine on
whom he will have mercy and on whom he will have compassion.
The 2nd interpretation, consistent with our definition of
elect and chosen (the passage above at 1 Peter 1:1-2), is based on the
fact that God looked ahead with perfect foreknowledge. He saw that
Jacob, who began as a sly, devious person, would grow into a man who feared God,
who wrestled with God and required a blessing from him. Of him God said,
"I loved Jacob."
God also looked ahead through foreknowledge and saw Essau who spurned his birthright – the God-given rights of the firstborn – by selling it to Jacob for a pot of stew. Essau’s god, at that moment, was his stomach. God saw Essau would never honor him, just as he did not honor his birthright. Looking ahead, even before the twins were born, God said, "I hated Essau."
Predestined? Would
God be unjust to hate Essau after he had damned him before the creation of the
world, even though Essau was not yet born, before Essau could do anything to
honor or dishonor God? It would
seem unjust, by any standard we could choose to apply, even though the
Calvinists say God has every right to do so as he is the Sovereign God.
Foreknowledge.
Yet, if God, through his foreknowledge, saw that Essau would be
rebellious and reject him, it is both reasonable and just that before Essau was
born God could say, “I hated Essau.” God
can even use the past tense as he says that as he is outside the time dimension.
The future is as the past to him.
How does Paul answer the question, “Is God unjust?”
What then shall we say? Is
God unjust? Not at all! For he says to Moses, "I will have
mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have
compassion" (Romans 9:14-15.
The same is stated at Exodus 33:19 in the Old Testament).
Paul quoted Exodus 33:19, but its context there is very
different than in Romans where Paul discusses Essau and Jacob. Paul used
God’s statement at Exodus 33:19 as a truth that could be applied anywhere.
Is this verse saying that God, who is sovereign, is a just
God even though he makes arbitrary judgments about who will be saved and
predestines those who will be damned to an eternity in hell before the
foundations of the earth, before any man had any choice in following Christ or
rejecting him? That would seem to be the interpretation of the Calvinists.
Or has the sovereign God, who is a just God, predestined conditions
(qualifications) for those who would be saved and foreknows those who will
choose to fulfill his conditions for salvation?
God will have compassion on whom he will and not be unjust because
of what his Word says. God always acts in a manner consistent with his
Word. What does his Word say?
Let's examine some passages:
1. God’s Word says all who believe in God’s Son will have eternal life (John 3:16).
2. God’s Word says salvation is by grace, through faith (Ephesians 2:8).
3.
God’s Word says he has predestined that all who will be
saved must be conformed to the likeness of his Son (Romans
8:29).
4. God’s Word says, "Not everyone who calls me ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the Kingdom of heaven but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 7:21).
5. God’s Word says without holiness no one will see the Lord (Hebrews 12:14).
6. God’s Word says, "For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:20).
7.
God’s Word says, “Whoever believes in the Son
has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life,
for God’s wrath remains on him" (John
3:36).
8.
“Whoever
acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in
heaven. 33 But whoever
disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven”
(Matthew 10:32).
9.
“For whoever
wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me
will find it” (Matthew
12:25).
10.
“In the same way, any
of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my
disciple” (Matthew
14:33).
11.
“And anyone who
does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my
disciple” (Matthew
14:27).
As in the few instances shown above, God’s Word sets
forth criteria for his mercy and compassion: For example, he will have
compassion and mercy on whoever believes in the Son; he will not have compassion
and mercy on those who reject his Son. The same is true of the other
criteria listed above.
Is this an arbitrary, unfair judgment made before the
foundations of the earth, before any man could receive or reject God’s son?
No! Instead God is perfectly just. He set up criteria in his Word so
all men could know how to be saved.
Peter expressed God’s desire: He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation (2 Peter 3:15). Paul wrote the same message to Timothy: "This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth" (1 Timothy 2:3). Jesus taught the same message: “God is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost” (Matthew 18:12). Each of those quotations show God's heart of compassion, having given his son as a ransom so that all men could be freed from slavery to sin and have eternal life, just the opposite of arbitrarily damning some and giving eternal life to others.
A parallel teaching is found in the Old Testament.
Moses, on God’s behalf, warned the people of God’s wrath if they did not
obey him:
Do not follow other gods, the gods
of the peoples around you; for the LORD your God, who is among you, is a
jealous God and his anger will burn against you, and he will destroy you from
the face of the land (Deuteronomy 6:14-15).
Then Moses related God’s criteria for receiving his
compassion and mercy:
Be sure to keep the commands of
the LORD your God and the stipulations and decrees he has given you. Do
what is right and good in the LORD’s sight, so that it may go well with you
and you may go in and take over the good land that the LORD promised on oath to
your forefathers, thrusting out all your enemies before you, as the LORD said (Deut.
6:17-19).
There is an even more extensive listing of blessings and
curses in Deuteronomy 28, which God said would come upon the people if they did
not obey and keep his commandments. Still another exhortation was given by
Moses at Deuteronomy 30:15-18:
See, I set before you today life
and prosperity, death and destruction. For I command you today to love the
LORD your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws;
then you will live and increase, and the LORD your God will bless you in the
land you are entering to possess.
But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient, and if you are drawn away
to bow down to other gods and worship them, I declare to you this day that you
will certainly be destroyed. You will not live long in the land you are crossing
the Jordan to enter and possess.
Not once did God say, or suggest, that the fate of the
children of Israel was fixed before the foundations of the earth. Instead
he urged them to be obedient, to diligently follow his commandments so they
could live and prosper. He warned them of his grievous anger, wrath,
and punishment if they would not. He stated the criterion for
receiving his compassion and mercy – obedience to his commands.
The same is true for the New Testament believer.
Jesus did not say or anywhere suggest that man’s fate was fixed by God
before the creation of the world. Instead,
he also used the criteria of obedience:
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom
of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven”
(Matthew 7:21).
Just as God warned the children of Israel repeatedly, so
the message of the necessity of obedience to believers is repeated often in the
New Testament. “He (Jesus)
became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him” (Hebrews
5:9). Paul said, “Through
him and for his name’s sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people
from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith” (Romans
1:5). Paul warned, “He
will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of
our Lord Jesus” (2
Thessalonians 1:8). The Apostle John said,
We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. 4
The man who says, “I know him,” but does not do what he
commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5
But if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete
in him. This is how we know we are in him: 6
Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did
(1 John 2:3-6).
Note that John’s last statement is
again a parallel to Romans 8:29, that God predestined that all true believers
must be conformed to the likeness of Jesus.
John used the terms, “must walk as Jesus did.”
As you see, God determined (predestined) standards – qualifications – which those who would be saved must meet. ALL those who choose to meet those standards will enjoy eternal life. Those who reject them will not. It is each man’s choice – not God’s predestined will – that determines whether his eternal destiny is heaven or hell.
The following statement, standing on its own out of
context, could seem to support the Calvinist position that everything to do with
salvation is the work of God and that man plays no part in it.
It does not, therefore, depend on
man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy (Romans
9:16).
Let’s consider first the portion of Paul’s statement
that it does not depend on man’s desire or effort. In what appears
nearly an opposite of Paul’s statement, Peter said: "So then, dear
friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be
found spotless, blameless and at peace with him" (1
Peter 3:14).
Peter has just said, "Make every effort." Paul said, "It
does not depend on man’s desire or effort . . ." Is this a contradiction?
Are the writers talking about the same thing?
Consider again Ephesians 2:8: For it is by grace you have been saved,
through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.
Because the Word of God is always true without contradiction and (I believe)
without tension, there must be a way to reconcile positions that seem contrary
to one another. In light of that starting assumption, let's examine Paul's
statement that it does not depend on man's desire or effort, but on God's mercy.
Paul is discussing the grace of God. As to obtaining salvation
by man’s effort or desire, it does not depend on that. It depends
on God’s mercy. It is God’s grace expressed in mercy. If not for
God’s unmerited favor – grace, having mercy on us, we could not be saved.
"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still
sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). Thus salvation does not depend on
man’s desire or effort. It depends upon God’s mercy.
Peter is discussing the elements of faith – salvation through
faith – that requires much more than mental assent. The person with
a saving faith must live out the life of Christ Jesus in his own life – he
must walk as Jesus did (1 John 2:6) –
and be conformed to the likeness of Jesus (Romans
8:29).
Did Peter say salvation is all of God and man has no part in it?
Just the opposite. He told his readers to "make every effort."
Peter’s statement is consistent with the teaching of Jesus about salvation
when he said, "Make every effort to enter through the narrow door,
because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to" (Luke
13:24). Reversing the argument, apparently
castigating Jews who saw no need to make an effort to gain the Kingdom and the
approval of God, Jesus said, "How can you believe if you accept praise from
one another, yet make no effort to obtain the praise that comes from the
only God?" (John 5:44).
If Paul were saying that no effort should be made in working out one’s
faith, he obviously would never suggest that effort should be exerted.
Instead his exhortations are the opposite. He told the Romans:
"Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to
mutual edification" (Romans 14:19).
And to the Ephesians he said, "Make every effort to keep the unity
of the Spirit through the bond of peace" (Ephesians
4:3).
To the Philippians he told of the balance – man’s effort and God’s work of
salvation: "Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always
obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue
to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who
works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose" (Philippians
2:12-13). Remember the purpose
stated in Romans 8:28-29 – that those God foreknew would be saved would be
conformed to the likeness of his Son, and (Ephesians 1:4) to be holy and blameless.
The writer to the Hebrews exhorted, "Let us, therefore, make every
effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their
example of disobedience" (Hebrews 4:11). He urged again, "Make every effort
to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see
the Lord" (Hebrews 12:14).
Peter, in still another epistle wrote regarding salvation and the Christian
life:
For this very reason, make
every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and
to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to
perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to
brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing
measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your
knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if anyone does not have them, he
is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past
sins (1 Peter 1:5-9).
But what about when Paul rebuked the Galatians, "Are
you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to
attain your goal by human effort?" (Galatians
3:3). Surely that must support the Calvinist interpretation that
human effort by a person is wrong, that all elements of salvation come only
from God. But no, that is not what Paul is speaking against here.
Paul is castigating the Galatians for following the Judaizers who tried to put
the Gentile Christians under the yoke of the Jewish Law. The Judaizers
were saying, "Yes, Jesus died on the cross for your sins, but in addition
to the forgiveness gained by the cross, you must also follow the Old Testament
laws." According to the Judaizers, justification was not by faith
alone, but also by following the Law. Of that position Paul warned,
"As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching
to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!”
(Galatians 1:9).
Look quickly at 1 Peter 5:9, above. According to the Calvinist position, if one is predestined to eternal life and heaven, his sins – both past and future – are already forgiven. Is that what Peter said? No, he said a person has been cleansed from his past sins. Scripture exhorts us to confess our sins to God and he is faithful and just to forgive them and purify us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).
No Scripture says or suggests anyone is forgiven his future
sins in advance. Jesus taught that
each time we pray we should ask for forgiveness of sins:
“Forgive us
our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And lead us
not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’ 14
For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly
Father will also forgive you. 15
But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive
your sins” (Matthew
6:12-15).
We are to constantly seek forgiveness of sin whenever we sin. We are NOT forgiven our sin in advance. The warning that all should be concerned about: If we do not forgive others, our sins will not be forgiven by God. Jesus died so our sins could be forgiven. There will be no salvation for anyone whose sins are not forgiven.
Isn’t there a conflict when Scripture speaks of God’s
desire that "all men" come to repentance, that God wants all men to be
saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth, and God hardening Pharaoh’s
heart? If God hardens a person’s heart, isn’t he arbitrarily
preventing him from coming to a saving knowledge of the truth?
I believe the key to understanding Scripture is to understand there cannot
be conflict or tension in a correct understanding of Scripture. It is
easy to find conflict or tension between doctrines (from a superficial
point-of-view). But that does not mean there is a correct interpretation
of doctrines when that happens. All doctrine must be understood and
explained by Scripture itself, not by human explanations.
Judas, who betrayed Jesus, is an example of one who was
called by Jesus, but who ultimately betrayed his master. The betrayal was
foretold in Scripture. The amount paid was foretold. Was this
predestined? If so, we have a cruel God who would call someone through his
Son only to damn him because it was a predestined plan that Judas must betray
Jesus and be damned.
No, God could foresee the heart of Pharaoh and of
Judas. Even though Judas walked with Jesus, heard the same teaching as the
other disciples, went out two by two and experienced the power of the Spirit as
they cast out demons and performed miracles, nevertheless Judas remained a
thief in his heart – stealing from the purse which he held as treasurer
for the disciples. He was never conformed to the likeness of the
Son of God. God knew this through his infinite foreknowledge.
God did not arbitrarily damn Judas. Judas chose a path that damned
him. God used this son of perdition to fulfill his purpose, knowing in
advance through foreknowledge the choices that Judas would make.
So with Pharaoh. Did God arbitrarily damn Pharaoh? Not at all. Through his foreknowledge, he could see the choices Pharaoh would make – that he would never honor the true and living God. So God used him to fulfill his purposes – to gain honor and glory for himself – as he released Israel from bondage in Egypt. He hardened Pharaoh’s heart so that he would not let the people go until God had performed all the miracles he wanted to do there, to let his people know that he was the one and only God who had all power and authority and that Israel could trust him to deliver them.
Is there a way to reconcile without tension the special
purpose for which God has (and does) raise up people to fulfill his purposes?
I believe there is.
First, I believe God has a special purpose for each
person’s life. That is easily seen from Ephesians 2:10: "For
we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which
God prepared in advance for us to do." Thus, in a general sense,
each person already has a God-directed life available to him if he
will submit to the Lordship of Jesus Christ and be obedient to his teachings and
commands.
There are many specific examples related in Scripture for
us to see special plans God has had for people. John the Baptist is one
such person. He was to be a Nazarite – neither to have fermented drink
nor to cut his hair. Paul was another example. The Lord Jesus came
upon him powerfully to reveal his will to Paul. God’s dialogue with
Jeremiah powerfully illustrates this point:
"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
before you were born I set you apart;
I appointed you as a prophet to the nations" (Jeremiah 1:5).
Were all these people predestined to do and be what
they became? Or did God have a plan for their life and did God through
foreknowledge know each of these would be faithful and fulfill his plan for
them? I believe it is the latter.
How many has God appointed as his witnesses to the nations who have not gone, who have rebelled, and who have refused to do what God determined in advance for them to do? Likely there are multitudes. Likely multitudes have not been reached because those God appointed were unfaithful. He appointed; they refused. We saw that example in Jonah though after being thoroughly disciplined Jonah relented and preached to Ninevah. How many may be disciplined by God but do not recognize their problems come from God as his rod of discipline and do not turn and follow him in obedience?
The following paragraph also begs to be misinterpreted.
If it stood alone, without the rest of the New Testament teachings and Paul’s
other writings, the Calvinist position could be advanced from this. But,
alas, such an interpretation is contrary to the clear teachings of other
scriptures.
One of you will say to me: "Then why does God still blame us? For who resists his will?" But who are you, O man, to talk back to God?
"Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’"
Does not the potter have the right
to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some
for common use? (Romans 9:19-21).
In this passage is Paul asking, "Then why does
God still blame us?" No, he is putting words in the mouth of one of
his detractors. It is as though the detractor had assumed the Calvinist
position. Without agreeing or disagreeing, Paul set him straight saying no
man has the right to talk back to God. God, as the potter, has the right
to make us any way he sees fit, some for noble purposes and some for common use.
Paul tells his detractor God’s truth in the next
paragraph:
What if God, choosing to show his
wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of
his wrath — prepared for destruction? What if he did this to make the
riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in
advance for glory — even us, whom he also called, not only from the Jews but
also from the Gentiles? (Romans 9:22-24).
Paul advances the truth of the gospel in the form of
questions. What if . . . and what if . . .? But standing alone
this paragraph also can be easily misinterpreted. It could be claimed that
God would choose to show his wrath and make his power known by condemning most
of mankind to perdition before the foundation of the earth, and just the
opposite for those he predestined would be saved.
But, again, that would be opposite and contrary to the
clear teachings of the rest of Scripture. Instead the above passage
correlates perfectly with the teachings of Jesus in Matthew 5:44-45:
"But I tell you: Love your enemies and
pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in
heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain
on the righteous and the unrighteous."
God shows his great patience with evil people, giving them
sun and rain, just as he does with those who are good.
Likewise Jesus told the parable of the wheat and the tares
(weeds):
"The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.
"The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’
"‘An enemy did this,’ he replied.
"The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’
"‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn’" (Matthew 13:24-30).
In the parable, as in the passage at Romans 9:22-24, God
chose to show great patience, letting the weeds grow together with the
wheat though they were prepared for destruction – because they were evil.
But the objects of his mercy he prepared in advance for glory. Here again we see the application of Philippians 2:13: "It is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose." How does God prepare the objects of his mercy in advance for glory? By working in them to will and to act according to his good purpose! And what is that purpose? That each person who will be saved be conformed to the likeness of his Son and be holy and blameless (prepared in advance for glory) that he might be the firstborn of many brothers.
Jesus was describing the terrible times of the last days.
20 If the Lord had
not cut short those days, no one would survive. But for the sake of the elect,
whom he has chosen, he has shortened them” (Mark
13:20).
Did you notice the terms elect
and chosen are the same two terms defined by Peter at 1 Peter 1:1-2?
The sentence can be restated with Peter’s definition to read:
“But for the sake of the elect, whom he has chosen
(according to the foreknowledge of God the Father), he has shortened them.”
There are several
uses of chosen. Surprisingly, often
the term is used with reference to Jesus.
In perusing the following Scriptures, note how you can add
the definition provided by Peter to each of the Scriptures.
There is no exception. Just
add, “according to the foreknowledge of God the Father,” and the
meaning will be retained and made obvious, without contradiction.
For example, in the following Scripture:
. . . . the Chosen One (according to the foreknowledge of God the
Father). In those Scriptures where
God the Father is speaking, it would be more appropriate to rephrase to the
first person, “according to my foreknowledge.”
35 The people stood
watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, “He saved others; let
him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One” (Luke
23:35)
18 “Here
is my servant whom I have chosen, the one I love, in whom I delight; I
will put my Spirit on him, and he will proclaim justice to the nations (Matthew 12:18).
35 A voice came
from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to
him” (Luke
9:35).
20 He was chosen
before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your
sake (1 Peter
1:20).
As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by
men but chosen by God and precious to him— (1
Peter 2:4).
6 For
in Scripture it says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and
precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to
shame” (1
Peter 2:6).
An appropriate
question is whether even Jesus was predestined or whether the definition of 1
Peter 1:1-2 applies equally well to Jesus.
That answer is given by another Scripture:
22 “Men of
Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by
miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you
yourselves know. 23 This
man was handed over to you by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge;
and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the
cross. 24 But God raised
him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was
impossible for death to keep its hold on him (Acts 2:22-24).
According to God
Jesus’ betrayal and arrest was by God’s purpose but by his foreknowledge,
not something he predestined Jesus to do. That
would raise the possibility that Jesus didn’t have to obey and could have
frustrated God’s plan and purpose for salvation.
Note the proof of that by what Jesus said:
53 Do you think I
cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than
twelve legions of angels? 54 But
how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this
way?” (Matthew
26:52).
Did Jesus learn
anything from his time on earth, his betrayal, trial, and crucifixion?
We might ask what could the Son of God learn?
The writer to the Hebrews said otherwise:
8 Although he was a
son, he learned obedience from what he suffered 9
and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all
who obey him (Hebrews 5:8).
There seems to be
no valid use of the term predestination with respect to the predestined actions
and/or ultimate destiny of any person. Predestination
seems to be used solely to define criteria God established before the
foundations of the earth for those who would be saved.
70 Then Jesus
replied, “Have I not chosen you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a
devil!” (John
6:70).
“I am not referring to all of you; I know those I have chosen”
(John 13:18).
In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do
and to teach 2 until the
day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit
to the apostles he had chosen (Acts
1:1-2).
23 So they proposed
two men: Joseph called Barsabbas
(also known as Justus) and Matthias. 24 Then they prayed, “Lord, you know everyone’s
heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen 25 to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas
left to go where he belongs.” (Acts
1:23-25).
15 But the Lord
said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name
before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. 16
I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”
(Acts
9:15).
14 “Then he said:
‘The God of our fathers has chosen you to know his will and to see the
Righteous One and to hear words from his mouth. (Acts 22:14).
41 He was not seen
by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen—by us
who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead (Acts
10:41).
13 Greet Rufus, chosen
in the Lord, and his mother, who has been a mother to me, too (Romans
16:13).
13 She who is in
Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you her greetings, and so does
my son Mark (1
Peter 5:13).
To the chosen lady and her children, whom I love in the
truth—and not I only, but also all who know the truth— 2
because of the truth, which lives in us and will be with us forever (2
John 1-2).
13 The children of
your chosen sister send their greetings (2 John 13).
7 And will not God
bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and
night? Will he keep putting them off? (Luke 18:7).
“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. 19
If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you
do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world (John 15:18).
33 Who will bring
any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies (Acts
8:33).
5 So too, at the
present time there is a remnant chosen by grace
(Romans 11:5).
12 Therefore, as God’s
chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion,
kindness, humility, gentleness and patience (Colossians
3:12).
5 Listen, my dear
brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world
to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him?
(James 2:5).
9 But you are a
chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God,
that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his
wonderful light (1 Peter 2:9).
14 They will make
war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will overcome them because he is Lord of
lords and King of kings—and with him will be his called, chosen and
faithful followers.” (Revelation
17:14).
Always
“chosen” is according to the foreknowledge of God the Father (1
Peter 1:1-2).
Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
To God’s elect, strangers in the world, scattered throughout
Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, 2 who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge
of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience
to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood (1 Peter 1:1-2 – the definition of elect and
chosen).
22 If those days
had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect
those days will be shortened. 23
At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or,
‘There he is!’ do not believe it. 24
For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs
and miracles to deceive even the elect—if that were possible (Matthew
24:22-24).
31 And he will send
his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from
the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other (Matthew
24:31).
20 If the Lord had
not cut short those days, no one would survive. But for the sake of the elect,
whom he has chosen, he has shortened them (Mark 13:20).
22 For false
Christs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and miracles to deceive
the elect—if that were possible (Mark 13:22).
27 And he will send
his angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the
earth to the ends of the heavens (Mark 13:26).
7 What then? What
Israel sought so earnestly it did not obtain, but the elect did (Romans
11:7).
Note the following
very strange language by Paul:
Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that
they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory. (2 Timothy 2:10).
How could he endure
everything for the elect that they too may obtain salvation?
Either Paul is wrong or the Doctrine of Predestination is wrong.
According to that doctrine, the elect have salvation and will be
saved, no matter what. According to
that doctrine, there is nothing Paul could do which could or would affect the
salvation of the elect. A similar
but slightly less overt statement by Paul follows:
Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ for the faith of
God’s elect and the knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness (Titus
1:1)
If predestination is true,
how could Paul be a servant and apostle for the faith of God’s elect – those
who are already predestined to be saved? They
don’t need Paul for their faith. They
are already predestined to salvation. Just another example of why the Doctrine of Predestination
cannot be true.
As we’ve discussed earlier, either predestination or
foreknowledge should be in conflict with other doctrines of Scripture.
The other should be in harmony with them.
That should be another primary way to verify that we have a correct
interpretation of Scripture. In the
following paragraphs, we will look at some basic doctrines and scriptures and
see whether predestination and foreknowledge are in conflict or harmony with
them.
So that each section does not have to repeat the known
assertion, let us establish what we mean by each subsequent heading of
Predestination and Foreknowledge. Please
do not assume that all people who believe in one position or another do so
exactly as I have stated below. I
believe the section on Predestination conforms generally with Calvinistic
teachings on that subject. On the
subject of Foreknowledge, that conforms to my understanding and belief.
Predestination refers to the belief that before the
foundations of the world God predestined each individual who would be saved and
who would not. As the sovereign
God, he made a determination according to his own counsel and wisdom.
He predestined to save some; he predestined to damn all others to hell.
Foreknowledge refers to the belief that the Scriptures teach that God through his foreknowledge knows who will fulfill his criteria for salvation, who will receive his Son as their Lord, who will be faithful to the end, who will be conformed to the likeness of his Son, and who will be holy and blameless in his sight and thus knows such people will be saved, calling them the chosen and the elect. Foreknowledge includes believing that we must exercise our wills to receive Jesus as our Lord, we must accept the gift of God’s atonement through the sacrifice of Jesus for his sins, and we must do the will of God by obeying the teaching and commands of the Lord Jesus.
Scriptures:
36 You need to persevere
so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has
promised (Hebrews
10:35).
“Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow
cold, 13 but he who
stands firm to the end will be saved”
(Matthew
24:7).
12 Blessed is the
man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he
will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him (James
1:12).
Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you,
which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2
By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached
to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain (1
Corinthians 15:1-2).
21 Once you were
alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior.
22 But now he has
reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in
his sight, without blemish and free from accusation— 23
if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the
hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has
been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have
become a servant (Colossians
1:21-23).
Predestination: Conflict.
Scripture says it is only those who persevere to the end who will be
saved. But can that be true of
those predestined to salvation? They
will be saved, regardless of whether they persevere or not.
Or is it claimed that it is God’s responsibility to keep them faithful
to the end? What if they do not
persevere in the faith? Must we
always claim that those who fall away were never saved even though throughout
many years they were among the most faithful believers?
Foreknowledge: Harmony. Scripture proclaims we must be faithful to the end. It is those who persevere to the end, and those only, that God foreknows as part of the elect, those chosen through the foreknowledge of God the Father. They know that God’s foreknowledge of their salvation depends upon how they finish, not how they begin.
Scriptures:
14 For if you
forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive
you. 15 But if you do
not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins”
(Matthew
6:14-15).
The story of the servant of whom much had been forgiven, who then was
unwilling to forgive his fellow servant of a tiny debt, concludes in this way:
32 “Then
the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I
canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33
Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on
you?’ 34 In anger his
master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should
pay back all he owed. 35 “This
is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your
brother from your heart” (Matthew
18: 21-35).
Jesus said God reinstated the debt first forgiven and turned that
servant over to the torturers until he should repay all – an impossible task.
Then Jesus applied it to us, that though we were once forgiven by God, he
will reinstate the debt once forgiven and will require us to make payment for
our own sins, rather than the forgiveness available in Christ Jesus our Lord,
though his atonement on the cross.
Predestination: Conflict.
Jesus was speaking to his followers.
They were the ones he commanded to forgive and warned what would happen
if they would not forgive. How can
this passage have any meaning for those who claim God predestined them to be
saved? Are they, mysteriously,
unable to not forgive so the passage will not apply to them?
Or, if they fail to forgive, does the passage not apply to them because
they are predestined to be saved? This
cannot apply to the damned, so who does it apply to? Or is it of no effect to anyone, just a gratuitous teaching
without application? Grave conflict
ensues as Scripture has to be disregarded in its plain meaning in order to fit
the presuppositions of the doctrine of predestination.
Foreknowledge: Harmony. It is expected that we must fulfill the requirements Jesus laid down in order to take advantage of his promises. We can be forgiven and receive the grace of the atonement of Jesus in payment for our sins IF we have a saving faith and, according to Jesus, forgive others. We are to be conformed to the likeness of Jesus (Romans 8:29). We know Jesus looked down from the cross and asked the Father to forgive those who crucified him. We must do no less. There is harmony, not conflict. God’s elect are those God foreknows will forgive and have a saving faith.
Scriptures:
Multiple scriptures require those
who would be saved to receive Jesus as their Lord (see
Romans 10:9-10, 13, 14:9; Acts 16:31, Acts 20:21; 2 Corinthians 4:5; 1 Peter
3:15; Colossians 2:6-7; Acts 10:36, 5:14, 9:42, 11:21, 16:15, 18:8).
Predestination: Conflict.
Suppose a person who believes in predestination also believes that
believers must receive Jesus as their Lord.
In their view, what happens to those people who fall away, who no longer
live with Jesus as their Lord? They
apparently must view such a person as one who was never a believer and who had
really never received Jesus as their Lord, even though there may have been much
evidence that such a person initially lived under the Lordship of Jesus.
What of those who claim to be predestined to salvation but have never
received Jesus as their Lord? Or,
do all those predestined to salvation somehow supernaturally receive Jesus as
their Lord and somehow supernaturally continue throughout their lives to honor
him as their Lord?
Foreknowledge: Harmony. These know that all who would be saved must receive Jesus as their Lord and know they must continue to have and confess Jesus as their Lord if they would be saved.
Scriptures:
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will
enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who
is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21).
15 “If you love me, you will obey
what I command. . . 21 Whoever has my commands and obeys
them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my
Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him. . . . If anyone loves
me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will
come to him and make our home with him. 24 He who does not love me will not obey my
teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who
sent me” (John 14:15, 21, 23-24).
Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what
he suffered 9 and, once
made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey
him (Hebrews 5:9).
8 He will punish those who do not know
God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9
They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the
presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power (2 Thessalonians 1:8-9).
To God’s elect, strangers in the world,
scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, 2
who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God
the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience
to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood (1 Peter 1:1-2).
Predestination: Conflict.
Is it necessary for a person to obey who is predestined to salvation? If so, why? Isn’t
the person predestined to salvation? Then
why any requirements at all, if there are?
What if such a person is not obedient?
Jesus says he will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
But does that not apply to the predestined person who is disobedient?
Are predestined persons automatically, supernaturally obedient to the
teachings and commands of Jesus, whether they like it or not, without any effort
or discipline on their part? Do
those predestined to salvation somehow supernaturally know the teachings and
commands of Jesus which they are to obey? If
not, how do they obey? Is God
responsible for their obedience, if they are to be obedient?
Foreknowledge: Harmony. The elect and those chosen through the foreknowledge of God the Father to salvation are those God foreknew would be obedient, would do his will, will be conformed to the likeness of Jesus, and will seek to be holy and blameless in his sight. Further, they are foreknown to persist and persevere in obedience to Jesus as their Lord to the end.
Scriptures:
25 God presented
him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this
to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins
committed beforehand unpunished— 26
he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just
and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus (Romans 3:25-26).
17 For this reason
he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become
a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement
for the sins of the people (Hebrews 2:17).
But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away
with sin by the sacrifice of himself (Hebrews 9:26).
2 He is the atoning
sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the
whole world (1
John 2:2).
Predestination: Potential
conflict. Almost assuredly most
who advocate the doctrine of Predestination accept the doctrine of Atonement
through Jesus’ death on the cross. If one thinks about it carefully though, the salvation of the
persons who accepts predestination as true need not depend on atonement through
the cross of Christ Jesus, but rather depends on being predestined by God to be
saved before the foundations of the world.
Foreknowledge: Harmony.
Scripture teaches that salvation itself depends upon the atonement
provided by Jesus upon the cross. Man
cannot save himself. He cannot
atone for his own sins. He must
rely upon the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross.
We must all depend on Jesus’ sacrificial death to provide the just
punishment for our sins so that we can be saved and so that we can be holy and
blameless and free from accusation before the throne of God (Colossians
1:21-22).
Scriptures:
37 “Anyone who
loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves
his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; 38
and anyone who does not
take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me”
(Matthew
10:37-38).
24 Then Jesus said
to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take
up his cross and follow me” (Matthew
16:24).
34 Then he called
the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “If anyone would come
after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me”
(Mark 8:34).
23 Then he said to
them all: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up
his cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9:23).
“And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot
be my disciple” (Luke
14:27).
Predestinations: Conflict.
If the doctrine of Predestination is true, will we be saved if we do not
carry our cross? Jesus commanded us
to do so; he said we cannot be his disciple unless we do.
We are to take up our cross daily and follow Jesus. If we are predestined to be saved, does it really matter if
we do not fulfill this command? Of
course not. We will be saved
anyway.
Foreknowledge: Harmony. Those holding to the foreknowledge of God know they must obey the teachings and commands of Jesus. When Jesus says, “And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:27), it means we cannot be his disciple unless we carry our cross and follow him. God’s foreknowledge of our salvation includes his foreknowledge of whether we obeyed and carried our cross and followed him.
Scriptures:
For those God foreknew he also predestined
to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn
among many brothers (Romans 8:29).
6 Whoever claims to
live in him must walk as Jesus did (1 John 2:6).
22 You were taught,
with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being
corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24
and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true
righteousness and holiness (Ephesians
4:22-24).
16 “For
who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?”
But we have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16).
12 I
tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing”
(John 14:12).
Be imitators of
God, therefore, as dearly
loved children 2 and live
a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a
fragrant offering and sacrifice to God
(Ephesians
5:1-2).
Predestination: Conflict.
Is the predestined person simply gifted with true righteousness and
holiness, with the mind of Christ, doing what Jesus did, living a life of love,
conformed to the likeness of Jesus? It
seems not. Scripture is rife with
warnings about falling away, about being caught up in sin, and about loving the
world. If the person predestined to
salvation is gifted with all these requirements (listed above), then those
passages of Scripture which warn of dire consequences – including loss of
salvation are meaningless. Further,
as to the person who is predestined to damnation, they are also meaningless.
How could God warn a person already predestined to hell?
Or are these warnings only to give God an excuse to damn that person?
Foreknowledge: Harmony.
As shown in the partial
list above, there are multiple teachings and commands for us to be like Jesus.
Romans 8:29 is the most forceful, saying that being conformed to the
likeness of Jesus is something God predestined for all would be saved.
That simply means that all who will be saved must be conformed to the
likeness of Jesus. God predestined
it.
It is those God foreknew (as the elect and the
chosen – 1 Peter 1:1-2) that God
predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son.
Very simply, if we would be saved, we know it is a requirement that we
must be conformed to the likeness of Jesus.
One would think that every Christian would immerse himself in the
teachings and commands of Jesus in order to be fully obedient to him, and to be
conformed to his likeness. Jesus
taught us in the Beatitudes what it is like to be a member of God’s Kingdom.
The Beatitudes are the Kingdom principles.
Jesus lived them out perfectly when he was on earth.
John said it more simply, but just as forcefully, when he said “Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did” (1 John 2:6).
Scriptures:
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2
He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every
branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.
. . . 5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains
in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do
nothing. 6 If anyone
does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and
withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned” (John
15:1-2, 5-6).
And now,
dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be
confident and unashamed before him at his coming (1 John 2:28).
Predestination: Conflict.
The passages speak of those who are in Jesus – “in me” – and then
contrasts those who remain in him from those who do not remain in him.
Those who remain in him will bear much fruit. Those who were in him but who do not remain in him are cut
off, thrown into the fire, and burned. All
spoken of in this paragraph were at one time “in Jesus.”
But some bore no fruit. They
were cut off. They were lost and condemned.
But this cannot happen under the teachings of the Doctrine of
Predestination. One you have been
predestined to salvation nothing can change your status.
Who then does this refer to? Is
this a warning for the damned who are damned anyway?
Why warn those who have no possibility of salvation because they are
predestined to damnation?
Foreknowledge: Harmony. It is only those who remain in him that bear much fruit. God knows those who will remain in Jesus and bear much fruit. God foreknows them as the elect and those chosen for salvation through his foreknowledge. Everyone who does not bear fruit should carefully examine his life to see whether he truly has a saving faith.
Scriptures:
33 In the same way,
any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple” (Luke
14:33).
Predestination: Conflict.
Do all those who are predestined to salvation before the foundation of
the world automatically give up everything they have to become disciples of
Jesus? Or, is salvation possible
without becoming a disciple of Jesus? Or
are those predestined to salvation exempt from the teachings and commands of
Jesus? If so, to whom do they
apply? Surely they don’t apply to
those who are predestined to damnation. There
is grave conflict!
Foreknowledge: Harmony. God foreknows those who will give up everything they have to be disciples of Jesus. These are the same who seek to love the Lord their God with all their heart, all their soul, and all their strength. They also have the mind of Christ and are conformed to the likeness of Jesus. These are called the elect and the chosen – those chosen by the foreknowledge of God the Father.
Scriptures:
4 It is impossible
for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who
have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and
the powers of the coming age, 6
if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to
their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him
to public disgrace (Hebrews
6:4-6).
Predestination: Conflict.
According to the doctrine of predestination, those predestined to be
saved cannot fall away because they are predestined to salvation.
If that is so, these verses are either not divinely inspired or
gratuitously and foolishly inserted because they are without application.
They cannot apply to those predestined to salvation, but neither can they
apply to those predestined to damnation as they were never saved in the first
instance, so they could not fall away. Thus
the warning of Scripture is in open conflict with the Doctrine of
Predestination. The passage of
Scripture is useless, meaningless, and without application to anyone.
Foreknowledge: Harmony. God foreknows those who will come to faith and those who will fall away. The elect and the chosen are those who persist and persevere to the end. Those who have been enlightened, have tasted the heavenly gift and goodness of the word of God, and have shared in the Holy Spirit apparently have no ability to return, perhaps because God will no longer draw them. They have insulted the Spirit of grace and thrown away their opportunity to be saved. This too God foreknows.
Scriptures:
26 If we deliberately
keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no
sacrifice for sins is left, 27
but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will
consume the enemies of God (Hebrews 10:26-27).
Predestination: Conflict.
The doctrine of predestination conflicts terribly with the warnings in
Scripture. The above passage surely
does not pertain to the person who has been predestined to damnation (according
to the doctrine) and cannot pertain (according to the doctrine) to those who are
predestined to be saved. So who
does it apply to?
Foreknowledge: Harmony. God’s foreknowledge knows those who will choose to deliberately keep on sinning. They will be judged and damned. But God warns those who are his children so they will not deliberately keep on sinning and so need not be judged and condemned. God desires that all should come to repentance and be saved. He warns his children so they may be and remain pure and holy and blameless in his sight.
Scriptures:
9 Do you not know
that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived:
Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes
nor homosexual offenders 10 nor
thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will
inherit the kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 6:9-10).
19 The acts of the
sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20
idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish
ambition, dissensions, factions 21
and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before,
that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God (Galatians 5:19-21).
For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such
a man is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. 6
Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things
God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient (Ephesians
5:5-6).
8 But the cowardly,
the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who
practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—their place will be in the
fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death” (Revelation
21:8).
Predestination: Conflict.
Are the above passages warnings for believers?
Most would say they are. But
how can they be warnings for those who are already predestined to salvation
before the foundations of the world? Surely
they can’t be warnings for unbelievers predestined to damnation.
What happens to the person who was a believer – for whom Jesus was
Lord, who backslides into sin and becomes sexually immoral or an idolater or an
adulterer? Was this man never saved and among those predestined to
damnation? Are those predestined to
salvation automatically, supernaturally free from all of the above sins that
would deny salvation? If so, why
are the warnings in Scripture?
Foreknowledge: Harmony. The warnings are there to deter God’s people from falling back into the world, to cause them to persevere, to seek to be conformed to the likeness of Jesus, to be holy and blameless in God’s eyes. These are the ones who God foreknows will be saved and he warns them to flee from ungodliness so they may be saved.
Scriptures:
“For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of
the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the
kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:20).
Predestination: Conflict.
Again the question remains. Can
those predestined to salvation not have that righteousness?
If they don’t Jesus says they will certainly not enter the kingdom of
heaven. But this is a warning.
To whom? Do those who are
predestined automatically somehow have that righteousness?
If they do, what is the purpose of our churches?
Why are there exhortations about living the Christian life.
Surely the person predestined to salvation will have whatever
righteousness is necessary for salvation. Those
predestined to damnation will not have that righteousness, and even if they are
righteous have been predestined to damnation so it has accomplished nothing.
Jesus’ statement as a warning is gratuitous, meaningless, and has no
application to anyone.
Foreknowledge: Harmony. Part and parcel of the requirements for salvation is a saving faith that is displayed through obedience and righteousness. It is the evidence of a saving faith. We expect to have to be righteous. Jesus was righteous and we are to be conformed to his likeness. Over and over Scripture emphasizes that Jesus’ disciples are to be righteous and holy.
Scriptures:
14 Make every
effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness
no one will see the Lord (Hebrews 12:14).
15 But just as he
who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16 for it is
written: “Be holy, because I am holy” (1 Peter 1:15-16).
Predestination: Conflict.
Are those predestined to salvation automatically holy?
What if they are not? Does
that negate this Scripture? Or are
they saved anyway, just because they are predestined to be saved?
If they are, we are back to the question of why we have church services
in which holiness and righteousness are preached, to the extent that they are.
Again and again, the doctrine of predestination tends to negate the
teachings and commands of Scripture. If
the doctrine is correct, then Scripture is wrong or useless or without
application in the lives of those predestined to be saved.
Foreknowledge: Harmony. One of Scripture’s many emphases is that God’s people are to be holy – “Be holy as I am holy.” The elect and chosen according to the foreknowledge of God are those who are holy – who are conformed to the likeness of Jesus (who was holy).
Scriptures:
26 Then Christ
would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But now he
has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with
sin by the sacrifice of himself (Hebrews 9:26).
10 And by that
will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once
for all (Hebrews 10:10).
18 For Christ died
for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring
you to God. (1 Peter 3:18).
Predestination: Conflict.
The concept of predestination is incompatible with the teaching that
Jesus died for all. How
could he have died for those who have been predestined for damnation?
The Calvinists therefore created the doctrine, contrary to Scripture,
that Jesus died only for the elect. Again
the doctrine of predestination is in direct conflict with Scripture.
Foreknowledge: Harmony. Again there is perfect harmony with God knowing who will be saved through his foreknowledge. Jesus died for all, just as stated in Scripture. His sacrifice is effective for all who will come to a saving faith, just as stated in Scripture. There is no conflict.
Scriptures:
Jesus said: "Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to" (Luke 13:24).
Peter said: "So then,
dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to
be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him" (1
Peter 3:14).
Predestination: Conflict.
Predestination is based on God determining before the foundations of
the earth that a certain person, by name, will be saved.
Why then would anyone make any effort to be saved?
It is God’s responsibility and his predestination, none of which can be
over-ridden by man or man’s efforts. On
the other side of that coin, if man made every effort possible to be saved (to
enter that narrow door – as Jesus said), he could not be saved if he is
predestined to damnation. There is
irreducible conflict between the scriptures above and the doctrine of
predestination.
Foreknowledge: Harmony. Naturally there is no conflict, but only harmony, with the doctrine of God’s foreknowledge. God foreknows who will make every effort to enter through the narrow door, who will make every effort to be found spotless, blameless, and at peace with him. Note how the latter conforms perfectly to God’s purposes – to be conformed to the likeness of Jesus (Romans 8:29) and to be holy and blameless in his sight (Ephesians 1:5).
Scriptures:
3 This is good, and
pleases God our Savior, 4 who
wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth (1
Timothy 2:3-4).
9 The Lord is not
slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with
you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to
repentance (2
Peter 3:9).
Predestination: Conflict.
The argument made by those who claim salvation is only for those whom
God predestined to be saved is that God is sovereign and because of his
sovereignty he decrees – predestines – who will be saved and who will be
damned, and he did so before the foundations of the earth.
However the scriptures above show that God wants all men to be
saved and come to a knowledge of the truth.
Further, 2 Peter 3:9 says God doesn’t want anyone to perish.
How can that be when he has predestined most to be damned before the
foundations of the world? Does he want something different than what he has
predestined? Is the sovereign God
incapable of doing that which he wants? How
grossly the doctrine of predestination maligns both the Scriptures and the
nature of God!
Foreknowledge: Harmony. As expected, the above scriptures are in perfect harmony with God’s foreknowledge of those who are the elect – those chosen to salvation according to the foreknowledge of God the Father. Indeed God wants all men to be saved. He doesn’t want anyone to perish. The Gospel is freely available to all who will receive it and submit to its requirement of having a saving faith. God foreknows all those who will receive Jesus as their Lord and thus have their sins atoned for by his sacrificial death on their behalf. He also foreknows those who will reject his gift of salvation and be damned.
Scriptures:
19 Therefore go
and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father
and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded
you” (Matthew
28:19-20).
15 He said to them,
“Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. 16
Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not
believe will be condemned” (Mark
16:15-16).
Predestination: Conflict.
Why would anyone go into all the world to preach the good news and go
and make disciples of all nations? Aren’t
all those who are predestined to be saved going to be saved?
If they are, then it is unnecessary for anyone to go to them.
God will – indeed he must – see to their salvation if he has
predestined it. Likewise, why
should anyone bother to make disciples? Isn’t
that really up to God to do with those he has predestined to salvation whatever
he wants? And if those predestined to salvation disobey these commands,
it really doesn’t matter as they will be saved anyway. Certainly these commands have no application to those who are
predestined to damnation. As with
virtually all of the teachings and commands of Jesus, these commands are negated
– are in conflict with – the doctrine of predestination.
Foreknowledge: Harmony. As you can instantly see, God’s foreknowledge of those who will be saved in no way conflicts with these scriptures but is in complete harmony with them. God who desires all to be saved wants his people to go and tell the good news to all creation. Because only those who are disciples of the Lord Jesus will be saved, he wants us to go and make disciples of all nations. Once again, there is perfect harmony between God’s foreknowledge and the Scripture.
Contrary to what Calvinism says, God does not
arbitrarily save nor damn. He has set forth the criteria for salvation
in his Word for all to see, study, know, and obey. Those who receive
God's Son as their Lord are the objects of his love, compassion, and mercy.
Those who disobey, who reject his Son’s lordship over them,
remain the objects of his wrath.
Through his foreknowledge, God foreknows who will be saved.
God has predestined criteria for all who will be saved.
They are to be conformed to the likeness of God’s Son, the Lord Jesus (Romans 8:29), they are to be holy and blameless in his sight (Ephesians
1:4), and will be for the praise of his glory (Ephesians
1:12).
God’s word is without conflict or tension when handled
correctly (2
Timothy 2:15).
As we have seen, Scripture is in harmony with the interpretation that God
has foreknowledge of those who will be saved – the chosen and the elect (1
Peter 1:1-2).
On the other hand, as we have seen, the Doctrine of Predestination does
violence to many of the fundamental doctrines and teachings of Scripture.
I trust this paper has proven the Doctrine of Predestination to be a
false doctrine.
God has given man a free will. Man can accept God’s gift of salvation and bow the knee to Jesus as his Lord, or he can reject God’s gift and live in enmity toward God, rejecting Jesus as his Lord. God desires that all will be saved, but warns that most will be lost. My prayer is that those who read this paper will not be lost because they continued to believe and rely upon the Doctrine of Predestination. Instead, may they reject such all such doctrines and return to Scripture as their source of teaching and truth. May they work out their salvation with fear and trembling and may they be conformed to the likeness of Jesus, that he may be the first of many brothers, for the praise and glory of God.