Predestination
is a problem. Well not really; not for
God, not for the Christian’s eternal destiny, but it is problematic for people
who attempt to fully explain the doctrine of election. Due to our finite minds and our limited
understanding of the full mysteries of God, predestination has within it
several problems that we just cannot reconcile.
What we should acknowledge is that the debate about predestination is
really concerning at what point to declare, “it’s a mystery of God”. Even the church fathers of history that most
influenced modern thoughts of predestination eventually ‘tapped out’. The doctrine of predestination reminds us of
God’s great love for us, that He would extend saving grace to those who are in
opposition to Him, and it serves as a motivation for us to respond to Him in
holy obedience. Still, this issue
belongs for me in the realm of secondary doctrine (as I discussed in my earlier
paper to you). My understanding of
election sometimes underlines and informs the things I say, but I would never
coerce someone to believe this doctrine in the same way that I do.
The doctrine
of predestination (or election or predetermination, as I will use them interchangeably)
represents God’s sovereign determinations in regards to who will be saved from
sin and death and inherit eternal reward, and who will suffer eternal punishment. The doctrine of predestination has taken many
forms throughout history, and it is still among the most hotly-debated
doctrines in the church, especially within Protestantism. Polarizing viewpoints on divine sovereignty
and human freedom have led the conversation, while some moderate views have
sought to mediate the differing positions. In an effort to keep this overview both simple
and brief, I will attempt to provide basic descriptions of the key components
of the doctrine of predestination, and then I will include URL addresses to
articles that may be helpful to your further study.
Foreknowledge and Predestination
“When are
the tickets to heaven and hell passed out?
OR better, when is our final destination entered into the computer of
the celestial travel agent? Are our
seats already reserved so that we just [pick them up] or do we still have time
to decide where we would like to go?”
-Ted Peters
Romans 8:29
says “For those whom he foreknew he
also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that
he might be the firstborn among many brothers”. The
point of this text is to make known God’s plans to conform some people to
Christ’s image, and in the process, it has led many to believe that God’s
predestination is based upon His
foreknowledge. Put simply, God looked
into the future, and based on what choices He saw people make, He either
predestined some to salvation and looked over others (single predestination) or
predestined some to salvation and some to hell (double-predestination). The issues I take with this view are that it
implies that the causation and power of salvation lies within man, not within
God, and it also seems to offend God’s immutable nature. The Scriptures declare that we are saved only
by the grace of God and not by any thing we have done.[1] The Bible also says the Lord is a God who
cannot change[2],
not even a little.[3]
If predestination came after (is founded
upon) God’s knowing of future events, then God would be merely responding to
human decision, making humans the force of change.
I would submit instead that God’s predestination is not ‘based’ upon
His foreknowledge, but rather that it is ‘in accordance’ with His
foreknowledge.[4] This means that the two ideas expressed in
Romans 8:29 happen together in the timelessness of God in eternity before
creation,[5]
and that at no point is God bound by His creation.[6]
In the book Predestination and Free Will, Norman Geisler put it this way, “God knowingly determined and determinately
knew from all eternity everything that would come to pass...” and he goes
on to write, “…including all free acts. Hence, there are truly free actions, and God
determined they would be such. God then
is totally sovereign in the sense of actually determining what occurs, and yet
humans are completely…responsible for what they choose.” His first line describes how God’s
predetermining decrees and His foreknowing are coordinated and unified efforts,
while the next lines point us towards what human responsibilities are really
given.
Predestination
and Free Will
Many have
thought that the concepts of divine sovereignty and human responsibility are
completely incompatible and mutually exclusive. This tension may be the strongest contribution to the controversy and misunderstanding of the election debate. And rightly so, as the Scriptures are
emphatically clear that both, God is in control of all things, and yet there is
a moral human responsibility for which we are accountable. To demonstrate this paradox, let me offer a
few examples from scripture:
1) In Peter’s sermon found in Acts 2:23, he boldly pronounced:
“this Jesus,
delivered up according to the
definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you
crucified and killed by the hands of
lawless men.” It was the religious leaders
who engineered Jesus’ death, the angry mob who escalated their cause,
and
some soldiers who nailed Him to the cross, but all who took part were
working
out “the definite plan and
foreknowledge of God”.
2) It is recorded that Jesus, Himself, declared in John
6:37: “All
that the Father
gives me will come to me, and whoever
comes to me I will never cast out.” Here
we see that both, the effectual call to salvation is the work of the
Father, and
also that there is a human element displayed in coming to Jesus (or
submitting to
the call of God).
3) In Acts 13:48, Luke records the ministry of Paul and Barnabas, and that “the
Gentiles
began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as
were appointed to eternal life
believed.” Five verses later (in 14:1), Luke
writes:
“Now at Iconium they (Paul and
Barnabas) entered together into the Jewish
synagogue and spoke in such a way
that a great number of both Jews and Greeks
believed.”
Here, the author exposes again this paradox; were people converted
because they were predestined and called by God or because they chose
to
respond to the effective words of missionaries? Certainly, Jesus had already
made it clear that human salvation is no surprise to God, in fact much
more, in
John 6:44 “No one can come to
[Jesus] unless the Father who sent [Jesus] draws
(or calls) him.”
Yet at the same time, He accentuated that the response to this
calling is not necessarily restricted to any place or particular
time.
In each of these
passages, we must ask, “Is it God who is in control? Or are people ultimately
responsible for coming to God?” and the answer in each case, seems to be “Yes
to both.” What seems clear is that God’s
sovereignty does not demand that His predetermining and human free will must be
in contradiction…in other words, predestination does not nullify free will.
We can see this principle demonstrated in light of the three
dimensions to God’s sovereignty. First, in
His prescriptive will, God commands
specific action for people. This
prescription is always good, because God Himself is good,[7]
and the things He demands of people are good for His glory and also best for
man.[8] In His permissive
will, God allows for people to do things that are not good and not for His
glory. God’s permission to make some
free decisions (even to reject God) allows for a human element, and yet it does
not detract from God’s providential will. For, in spite human disobedience God does not
allow for His sovereign purposes to be frustrated.[9]
Nothing can move outside of God’s providential
will, even our choices, because God determined everything in accordance with His foreknowledge. The story of Joseph and his brothers from
Genesis provide a great example of these three dimensions of God’s sovereign will.
God’s prescriptive will had certainly forbid the house of Israel from
hatred without cause, and yet God permitted Joseph’s own brothers to kidnap and
sell him into slavery. God’s permissive
will also allowed for Joseph then to experience injustice at the hands of
Potiphar and be thrown into jail.
Nevertheless in Genesis 50:20, after Joseph had risen into the 2nd
most prominent position in all of Egypt[10],
upon encountering his brothers, he said to them, “As for you, you meant evil against me, but
God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive,
as they are today.”[11]
In other words, God decreed all of
the unjust experiences that Joseph encountered; His sovereign plan for
protecting people (and most especially Israel) permitted these human acts of
evil, and they would not detract from God’s providence.
Another example of this trifold aspect of God’s sovereignty is seen
earlier in the line of Abraham. God prescribed
to Abraham to go out from his home and He would make of him a holy nation.[12] Abraham and Sarah attempted to take their
destiny into their own hands by having a child through their servant, Hagar.[13] God permitted the choices that Abraham,
Sarah, and Hagar made that resulted in the birth of Ishmael, but only through
His divine provision of Isaac would God bring about His sovereign plan. In the continuation of this story, we find
Isaac is the predestined line by which God would fulfill His purpose, and the
Lord, though God displays common grace upon him, will not redeem Ishmael.
It is in these pictures of the working out of God’s sovereignty that
we find that His decree and His desire do not
always match. The Lord desires that all
would obediently glorify Himself, and yet He decrees (in accordance with His
foreknowledge) that the elect would be called out for His glory. This now is the groundwork for a doctrine
describing God’s work of predestining some to salvation.
Predestination and Free-Will
Metaphors
Consider
God’s predestining work like the work of a construction architect. Every house that is built begins with a plan,
or blueprint, according to a fore-thought of what the completed work will look
like. During construction, workers make
measurements, cut boards, lay drywall…build the house. And if their construction is like mine, there
are plenty of mis-measurements and more than a few re-dos. God, who in His perfect foreknowledge as the
Master Architect, would not have His house built incorrectly, accounted for
every mistake His workers would make during construction…He planned for them;
there are no 2nd trips to Home Depot, and the house will be finished
according to His perfect blueprint.
Consider
free-will like being a slave, chained to the deck of a slave ship, whose task
and purpose is to “row, row, row”. You
surely do have a choice of free-will.
You may choose not to row. That
would be an unwise choice, and would lead to beatings, punishments, and death.
Some Resources
vThe first section of this article provides a brief history of the
movements within this doctrine:
vCertainly there have been a wide
range of diverse views throughout history, but John Calvin’s view and Jacobus
Arminius’ view have created the 2 most agreed upon theological camps. Here is a comparison chart of the major
points of each of their views:
vOver the past 10-15 years there has
been a new-reformed, or new-Calvinistic movement, that is seeking to uplift the
original doctrine of predestination as taught by John Calvin. Here is a great article that describes this
effort and it’s potential implications for future evangelicals:
vSouthern Baptist leaders recently met
for a summit to settle what should be
agreed upon in regards to predestination.
Here is an article outlining the findings of the Southern Baptist
Gathering of 2013.
