PREDESTINATION?

Are we really exercising free will, or has God chosen His people beforehand? Should anybody bother to pray for “lost” souls, and should anybody bother preaching to anyone if they simply cannot come to salvation if they are not part of those God has predestined?

Tough questions, and if we took scripture on the face of certain verses, it would appear that both concepts seem to have found their way into the Bible somehow.

There are several scriptures that point to the fact that men have the option to choose:

“Anyone who chooses to do the will of God will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own” – Jesus, John 7:17

“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me” – Jesus, Mark 8:34

“Behold I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me” – Jesus, Revelation 3:20

“Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God”  – John 1:12

We could keep going. But then there’s this “problem child” scripture that seems to contradict the clear principle of accountability in free will:

“For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.

Moreover, whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.” Paul, Romans 8:29-30

Paul…good old Paul! Paul presents us with yet another concept that appears to contradict other concepts in scripture. Derek Prince warns against the method of interpreting the Bible that takes one thing that God has said to prove that He didn’t mean another thing He has said. It’s tempting, when we meet seemingly contradicting ideas such as free will vs predestination, but is there really a contradiction?

I’ve heard a school of thought that argues that God is sovereign and makes the rain to fall and the sun to shine on both the just and the unjust [Mt 5:45]. I suppose that is why the psalmist says “our God is in heaven; He does whatever He pleases” [Ps 115:3] Their argument is…no human’s moral compass is accurate enough to determine that the owner of the universe is being unfair.

Finnis Dake wastes no time on the debate. He answers the question by simply saying it is not individual conformity of men that God has foreknown and pre-destined, but His plan to justify and glorify those who are foreknown and called. Here’s how someone else puts it:

“Pre-destination is God pre-ordaining the result of our choices based on His foreknowledge, not God pre-ordaining our choices to the exclusion of free will.”

Derek Prince talks about the immense depth of God’s knowledge – he talks about how God knows the number of hairs on each head; about God’s unimpeachable attention to detail – so much so that Jesus categorically says not a single sparrow falls to the ground without the Father knowing [Mt 10:29]. That’s incredible. He casually retells a preacher’s “joke” – God takes time out to attend the sparrow’s funeral!😆

He makes the argument that total knowledge of everything gives one knowledge of the past and of the future – literally everything that will happen. Because He knows us intimately, He knows the choices we will make and does not coerce us into those choices. He gives a striking example in a story about a Christian father who wants his estate to be used for kingdom business. He has two unsaved sons at the time of his passing, and has an evangelist preach at his funeral. He has enough knowledge about both sons to know that the younger son would likely respond to the call to salvation. And right he was. He had foreknowledge, but it did not mean he made him respond to the call. And so at the time this father’s will is read, it appears that the younger son was predestined [because of his father’s knowledge of his sons] to receive the bulk of his father’s estate.

I would hear your difficulty if you still struggled to see how these interpretations solve the problem. The scripture didn’t only say God foreknew, it also said He predestined, and then He called, and then justified those He called, and then went ahead to glorify them. It sounds almost as though we’re talking about a particular set of people being taken through a specific process. I think so too. At the risk of making this post a long one (yes, Gloria and JFanks 🥴), please hear me out. Let’s ask a few important questions.

For whom He foreknew

Does God only foreknow some people? Were people who perished/will perish without receiving eternal life completely unknown to God prior to their existence? Do the scriptures about God knowing men before they were formed not apply to the unbeliever? Because to suggest that the people who eventually get justified and glorified are predetermined, it means only they must have been foreknown by God.

He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.

What’s the argument then? That God foreknew all men. And that He predestined that all men be conformed to the image of His Son. That was supposed to be the plan, at least. “I exhort that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men…For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” – 1 Timothy 2:1, 3. “And the times of this ignorance God overlooked; but now commands all men everywhere to repent” – Acts 17:30

There’s much much more of these. All to make the point that (1) all men were foreknown by God; (2) the call to repentance and the gift of salvation is made to all men.

Moreover, whom He predestined, these He also called…

Here’s where it gets sticky, because we never truly interrogate what it means to be called in relation to predestination. Does those he called simply mean those He selected? Nope.

The root word for call is klētois. Klētois literally means “to invite or to call”. Strong’s Lexicon actually says, “In the Greco-Roman world, being ‘called’ or ‘invited’ often referred to being summoned to a banquet or a special event, which was a significant social honour.”

There’s something about an invitation/call – it requires a response. Anybody remember Jesus’ story of a great man who prepared a great banquet and invited many guests who refused to show? Remember what He told the story in relation to? Yup – the kingdom of Heaven” [Mt 22].

What lies between being called and being justified and glorified is the response to that call.

“…whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.”

If He called men He foreknew, and they did not heed the call, does it not beg the question how at all they can be justified and glorified? 😅 And if a man indeed heeded the call, then would it not follow naturally that the full package becomes his own, not because he was set apart specially for salvation over some others, but because the end of they who heed the call is predetermined – justification and glorification, just like the end is predetermined for students who obtain satisfactory GPA and fulfil all other conditions – a certificate upon completion!

So…let’s answer those tough questions.

Are we really exercising free will, or has God chosen His people beforehand?

God chose all men beforehand and offers each of us the opportunity to make our life’s choices. He knows us intimately enough to know what choices we will make when we are faced with them, but that is no indication that He’s behind those choices.

Should anyone bother to pray for “lost” souls, and should anybody bother preaching to anyone if they simply cannot come to salvation if they are not part of those God has predestined to be saved?

Yes, by all means, tarry in prayer for all men, Paul says, for God desires and calls for all men to be saved. All men form part of those invited to the banquet. Spread the invitation to all who will hear!

Love,

Rad!♥️