Predestination is one of the great hotbed topics within the Christian faith. Few topics generate as many strong feelings and create divisive attitudes more than teachings on predestination. It is often warned that unless you are in a church well defined in its beliefs on this topic, predestination is a topic that should be avoided if at all possible. However, because of the muddied waters of various beliefs people fail to see how crucial it is to understand predestination in order to understand faith and works. If you do not have a basic understanding on this biblical doctrine you will also misunderstand works and will labor for good works based on human intellect rather than working within God’s plan which alone has eternal significance. As we will see later, the Bible’s teaching on predestination has a direct influence on how we approach works and whether it is God ordained or man-centered.
Most Christians divide into one of two camps: Arminianism or Calvinism. These two belief systems have a lot in common but differ in a few key points that make them irreconcilable. Arminianism teaches that Christ’s redemption is offered to all, but Calvinism teaches that there is a limited atonement that is only offered to those chosen beforehand by God. Calvinism teaches that God’s grace is irresistible while Arminianism teaches that God initiates His call but man has the right to choose or reject salvation. There are other differences but they vary depending on the church and what source is being studied.
Through much thought and prayer, I have determined that the focus of this study is not to try to influence the reader to side with Arminianism or Calvinism, but to examine the great question that should be answered in every study of God’s word: “So what?” The “So what” question is the necessity to look at doctrine and attempt to reveal what this means to our daily Christian walk of faith. The purpose of doctrine is to teach others how to grow in their faith, mature into the image of Christ so that each person can fulfill God’s calling in their own lives. No teaching has any significance unless it is applied with the goal of fulfilling the Great Commission that Jesus gave the church. That command is to go and make disciples and teach them to obey all that has been commanded in scripture[1]. Anything that does not contribute to fulfilling this command has no eternal significance.
There are many sources that explain the beliefs of these two schools of thought; however, rather than becoming an Arminianist or Calvinist, I recommend becoming a ‘scripturist’. When you spend time in the word, the teachings of scripture begin to come together and you will see how passages throughout the Bible compliment the scriptures as a whole. I read through the scriptures ten or more times a year plus in-depth studies of a particular book of the Bible or topic. What I have found is that the first time or two through the Bible you discover a lot of new information. Each time afterward you begin to see how things compliment each other and tie together.
Each
time you go through, the more the teachings of the scriptures begin to come
alive and in doing so, many misconceptions you have been taught will begin to
be challenged. This is especially true with difficult topics like
predestination. The Arminianist will avoid passages that threaten their held
beliefs and the Calvinist avoids passages that indicate man’s choice; however,
these scriptures that appear contradictory we find to be complementary when we
begin to build them upon a firm foundation of biblical knowledge. This is why
God teaches the following from Isaiah 28:
10 For precept must be upon precept, precept
upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a
little:
There is no way to gain understanding than to consistently go through the scriptures so that God can continue to build your understanding based on what has been learned beforehand. Do not sacrifice time in the Bible to read books about the Bible or listen to messages about the Bible. While these things may have benefit, there is no way to build a complete spiritual foundation without the whole council of God. One time through will not complete the process but it must be a consistent, diligent study of God’s word. Each time you go through the scriptures, God builds your understanding of His precepts on top of the previously gained understanding of the precepts He has revealed before. Also, our minds are limited and we will quickly forget most of what we learn unless it is constantly reinforced. Once we remove the discipline of study, the precepts we have already learned will begin to fade from our memory.
Understanding what was discussed above is very significant to understanding predestination. If you rely on John Calvin’s teachings, you will miss many things that are very significant that have been taught on the topic of predestination. If you rely on the teachings of Jacobus Arminius, you will miss many things that the scriptures teach on predestination. With incomplete knowledge comes misconceptions and misunderstandings.
One of the great ‘so what’s’ of predestination is described
in Rom 8:28-31
28 And we know that all
things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called
according to his purpose. 29 For whom he did foreknow, he
also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he
might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30 Moreover whom he did
predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified:
and whom he justified, them he also glorified. 31 What shall we then
say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?
Understanding predestination builds us up in the faith. Keep in mind that faith comes by hearing the word of God[2]. The word of God reveals the plan of God and as we hear (or read) the word, our understanding of God’s plan grows as does our trust in the Lord. When we read passages such as the one above, we are edified knowing that God has a foreordained plan for our lives and because the Lord has already made the way, we can walk confidently by faith knowing that if God is for us, who can be against us. The ultimate goal of God’s foreordained plan is to conform us to the image of Jesus Christ per Romans 8:29.
How many Christians do you know that you can truly say conform completely to the image of Christ? Even the apostle Paul who wrote two-thirds of the New Testament lamented over his own inability to keep himself in the center of God’s will[3]. Like Paul, our flesh continuously wars against our minds and tries to draw us back into the flesh so we can be bound by sin. It is amazing how that I can be spiritually minded one day and feel so close to God and then realize the next day that I have drifted away without even realizing it. For brief periods of time I seek the Lord with all my heart and see Him working wonders in my life, but soon I find my life crowded with things that have no eternal value yet I allow them to distract me from the things that I know should be my priorities. So why does God’s predestined plan to conform me to the image of Christ at times seem so distant in my life? Is there anyone in history that has attained to the perfection of Christ as God stated that He predestined us to become in this life? No. The apostles who beheld Christ and were ordained by Jesus Himself had many shortcomings just as every other Christian has since that time.
We must realize what is meant by predestination as well as to understand the promises and instructions in the passage above. The promise is that He called us, predestinated our lives, justified us and glorified us. The Bible also says that we have been thoroughly equipped for every good work through His word[4]. All of this is followed up with the encouragement and promise that “If God is for us, who can be against us”.
This is all intended to encourage us that if we follow the Lord and walk in the Spirit, there is nothing that can stand in our way and nothing that can prevent us from attaining our goal of being like our Lord, Jesus Christ. So just the fact that God has foreordained our path and given us the promise that nothing can prevent us from conforming to the perfect image of Christ clues us in that these passages have more significance than just telling us that we are robots in God’s hand. Our flesh wars against our minds to distract us so that we follow other things, but we have the power through the Spirit to accomplish God’s will in our lives despite all the challenges this life throws our way.
Just think for a moment and realize the miracle of holiness. We live in a fallen world with many temptations, distractions and competing voices that try to drown out the word of God in our lives. Even when we attempt to rid our lives of temptations, we are still bombarded from every direction. I cannot drive to work without passing billboards with seductive ads. We are surrounded by a culture that dresses for seduction; we are taught from birth that success is based on materialism and worldly accomplishments. Noise and distractions fill our lives, yet we are called to listen to the still small voice of God that can only be heard by those who set time aside to listen. It truly is a miracle that we can hear His voice at all, yet none of these things can prevent the promise that if God is for us, who can be against us. God knows how to get our attention and He knows how to deliver us when we are tempted beyond our limitations.
Even
though the flesh appeals to our minds to distract us, the Lord works in our
lives to bring us back into His will. Throughout our lives we will be
distracted by the things coming into our lives, yet the Lord patiently guides
us back to the preordained path so that we can grow in the faith. The apostles
set their lives to live in the word and do the work of ministry, yet even they struggled
against the flesh and the distractions of this life. We can expect no less
struggle in our own lives. When you are walking with God and feel on top of the
world, know that in a moment you will find yourself wandering off course yet
again. Do not allow these things to become a point of frustration, but rejoice
in the power of God in your life to overcome these things. Look at the final
words of Paul on his testimony on this struggle from Rom 7:24-25
24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me
from the body of this death? 25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our
Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh
the law of sin.
After lamenting over the fact that the flesh draws him away from the things that are good, the Apostle Paul asks who will deliver him from this body that seeks to serve sin? Then he rejoices that the Lord intervenes in his life so that he can again serve God with his mind even while living in a body where sin dwells. It is no different with you and I. Even those who do not struggle with a dominating sinful habit still serve the flesh by living for self. Feeding selfish ambitions is still serving the flesh and who does not struggle with these things? We will often find ourselves giving in to the flesh in many different ways, but we can stand upon our faith in the Lord to regain a strong footing to serve God and stand firm in His word.
The preordained path of man is also explained in this
passage from Psalm 139:16
Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all
written The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not
one of them. (NASB)
I used the New American Standard version for this passage because it words this so well. The entire 139th Psalm is a wonderful passage and is well worth taking time to study. Verse 16 reveals that God has written who we were and preordained all our days before we came to being. This is very significant and goes hand in hand with the predestined call of God described in Romans 8 we read earlier. It should give us great confidence knowing that God has ordained all the circumstances that we will face throughout our lives.
One of the great challenges in the Christian life is to
trust God and stand by faith when circumstances are difficult and problems are
threatening. We have already looked at the passage that explains that all
things work together for the good of those who are called and walking in God’s
purposes. All things work for our good. It is easy to see God’s goodness in the
things that bring us comfort, but a Christian who has true faith will see God’s
hand in all things. God proves us with hardship as well as using these things
to correct our ways. Look at how God explained this to the Children of Israel
in Deuteronomy 8:2-3
2 And thou shalt remember
all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the
wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in
thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no. 3
And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna,
which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee
know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that
proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.
Anyone can obey God when He is giving them what they want.
Your faith is real when it is put to the test. Also look at the continuation of
this instruction in Deuteronomy 8:16-17
16 Who fed thee in the
wilderness with manna, which thy fathers knew not, that he might humble thee,
and that he might prove thee, to do thee good at thy latter end; 17
And thou say in thine heart, my power and the might of mine hand hath
gotten me this wealth.
If you read the preceding verses God is stating that these
trials are so that
God intentionally does not reveal to us the end of our faith
and does not show us why we are going through hardship until the end of our
time of testing. It is much easier to walk by faith when we understand that our
steps are ordered by the Lord. The Bible tells us that the steps of a good man
are ordered by the Lord and that God delights in His way[5];
therefore, we know that it brings God delight to direct each individual in the
way of His perfect will. Look also at Psalm 149:
4 For the LORD takes pleasure in His people; He will beautify the humble with salvation.
It takes humility to submit to the Lord when God is not
acting according to our desires. He is God and has the right to direct our
steps. Pride lifts us up against the Lord and challenges God’s right to prove
our hearts, but through humility we inherit God’s promises. The Bible affirms
repeatedly that God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. In this
passage we are also promised that the humble will inherit God’s salvation. This
is not only salvation from our sins, but the salvation from our troubles and
trials. God has laid the paths for our lives and we should have confidence that
everything is of His hand. It is not possible to have this confidence if we are
not seeking the Lord and walking with Him. Each day we will struggle with the
challenge of remaining on course. It is mankind’s natural tendency to drift off
course, but God is continuously leading us back to the path He has fashioned
for us before we were born. Look at Isaiah 30:
21 And thine ears shall
hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye
turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.
Even the most spiritually mature Christian will be
distracted and wander off course from God’s plan, but if we are seeking Him and
listening, we will hear His voice guiding us back to the right way. When we are
unable to hear because we are following the wrong voice, God will raise up
circumstances to chasten us or become a road block to prevent us from going too
far off course. The one who runs from God or tries to refuse to be proven will get
farther out of God’s will, but He continues to raise difficulties to show us
the vanity of our ways outside of His eternal path. God is more interested in
your eternal inheritance than your temporal ease and comfort. Not all hardship
is the result of our stubbornness, but there are times when we become stubborn
and resist; therefore, God sends more hardships to cause us to recognize the
worthlessness of life outside of God’s will. In Amos 4 God tells
We also should take care to realize that everything in our lives are from the hand of God to lead us to the right way, refine us to remove the things that hinder us, mature us in the faith, and to prove our faith so that we may inherit the true blessings of God. When we are tried, instead of saying, “Why God, why did you let this happen”, we should say, “What God are you trying to show me?” This is a very difficult perspective but “this is the victory that overcomes the world, our faith[6]”. Predestination is revealed from the scriptures and teaches us that God is working all things in our lives so that we can stand by faith. When we believe the word, we stand upon the faith God has measured to us and then our perspective will change from seeking what the world calls good to seeking what is eternally good. When we recognize good from the eternal perspective, we can be thankful and faithful even during hard times.
Look at this passage Jesus gave in His final message to His
disciples from John 14:
27 "Peace I leave with
you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not
your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
In John chapters 14 through 15 Jesus gives His final
instructions to His disciples. Jesus begins His instructions with the words, “Let not your heart be troubled”. He then
reiterates this in verse 27 as quoted above. Jesus then goes on to explain to
His disciples that He will leave them and how that they will be scattered and
persecuted, and hated by the world. Even so, they will have unity with the
brethren because of the love poured out in their hearts by the Holy Spirit[7] and that
the Holy Spirit will become their teacher and comforter.
I would like for you to
focus on the instruction of not letting our hearts be afraid for it directly
relates to our study at hand. Anyone who has received the grace of God also has
the Holy Spirit abiding in them. The Spirit of God that has been given to us
instructs us, guides us into the right way, opens our eyes to see the truths of
scripture, comforts us, transforms our lives, and daily renews our minds.
However, the voice of God can only be heard by those with a listening heart. A
good example of this can be seen in the life of the prophet Elijah. Elijah
served God with all his heart, but when the queen ordered his execution he fell
into despair. When he needed to hear from the Lord, God sent him to the
mountain as described in this passage from 1 Kings 19:11-13
11 And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount
before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind
rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the
LORD was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the
LORD was not in the earthquake: 12 And after the earthquake a
fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a
still small voice. 13 And it was so, when Elijah heard it,
that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering
in of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What
doest thou here, Elijah?
There
is a lot more to this account but this passage explains what we need to
understand for this area of study. We often look for God to reveal Himself
through big events. The church looks for something earthshaking but God chooses
to reveal Himself in the small voice that is only heard by those who are
seeking Him. We as individual Christians look for signs of God and expect Him
to sweep in with the wind to blow away our troubles, but because God doesn’t do
as we expect, many times we overlook His hand and fail to hear His voice. It would
take little faith to see God roll in like thunder to rescue us from trouble,
but it takes true faith to walk through the valley trusting that He will lead
us through our troubles. Look at this passage from John 16:
33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me
ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good
cheer; I have overcome the world.
How
can Jesus state that these troubles are destined to come upon us and that we
have been foretold of these troubles so that we might have peace? How is it that
Psalm 23 tells us that God has prepared a table for us in the presence of our
enemies? How can we relax and be at peace in a world filled with turmoil and while
we are struggling through the hardships of life? It is no coincidence that God
foretells that we will go through the valley of the shadow of death before
giving us the promise that He has prepared good for us in the valley. The
troubles are never to be our focus. When our heart is on the trials of life,
inner turmoil is always the result. Fear and doubt are normal human emotions
and as we have already discussed, when threats arise, our flesh arises with it
and wars against our minds to draw our hearts into that fear. This is why Jesus
commanded, “Do not let your heart be troubled”. We are to stand by faith and
not allow trouble to rule our hearts. Look at how the scripture addresses this
in Matthew 14:25-32
25 And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went
unto them, walking on the sea. 26 And when the disciples saw him
walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried
out for fear. 27 But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be
of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid. 28 And Peter answered him and
said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. 29 And
he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the
water, to go to Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind boisterous, he
was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. 31
And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said
unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? 32 And
when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased.
This is an interesting account and there is much truth to
glean from it. To capture the entire event, it is also necessary to read this
in Mark 6 and John 6. This event begins by Jesus instructing His disciples to
go to the other side of the
This is very significant for it serves as an example for us in our lives. One thing we must always realize is that the success of our efforts do not come from our own labors. Our labor proves our faithfulness but success and the fruit of our works belong to God alone. God does not call you to succeed – He calls for you to be faithful and obedient. The disciples never succeeded until after Jesus got in the boat and He took them to the other side. Those who measure their spiritual walk by human success will quickly get discouraged when the winds are contrary. God will put you in the position where you will struggle and your efforts will seem fruitless; however, you are not called to accomplish anything but to be faithful to His word. In His time and in His way, the Lord will produce fruit and accomplish His will.
When Jesus finally came to His disciples, Peter asked to step out of the boat to come to Jesus. We know that man has no power to walk on water, so we know that Peter understood that it was the word of the Lord that upheld him. Jesus said, “Come” and Peter stepped out. Peter walked according to the Spirit and because of the word of the Lord, the wind and waves had no power over him until he took his eyes off of Jesus. He then trusted in fear and began to doubt, the flesh took control and Peter had no power to stand. God is merciful in our weaknesses and that is why Peter was rescued. Why did he doubt? He was walking on the water, saw that God had the power to enable him to do so, yet he still let go of faith and failed.
As you grow in spiritual maturity you will experience more success in walking in the Spirit; however, do not be surprised when you fall frequently back into the fleshly way of viewing the world. This is why we are instructed to NOT let our heart be troubled. Fear will arise and you can’t prevent human emotions; however, you can prevent it from ruling your life. Temptation’s power comes from your attention. It wasn’t until Peter began to look at the wind and waves that he slipped from faith. It is perfectly understandable for the waves were fierce. Can you imagine the howling winds, the boisterous waves and how menacing they must have looked? The more Peter looked at his surroundings and his circumstances, the more powerful they looked and eventually he gave these temptations control over his mind and his heart became fearful.
This
is life in our world. Troubles will come. Jesus promised that in this world we
will have trouble but we are to encourage ourselves in Him knowing that He has
overcome the world. Sometimes troubles are life-threatening and are very
fearful; however, the scripture instructs us that our eyes must remain on the
author and finisher of our faith and this is Jesus Christ. We must fully
recognize that God alone has power over our lives and all circumstances for it
is He who has predestined these things to come into our lives. If these
hardships are ordained by God then we know there is a benefit from being
faithful through these things. It takes no faith to demand to be delivered from
the trials that test us. A man or woman of faith will follow the Lord
faithfully through trials and will cling to Him rather than demanding action
from Him. Consider the example we are given through Jesus Christ in His prayer
before His crucifixion as told in
Matthew 26:38-44
38 Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding
sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. 39 And
he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my
Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I
will, but as thou wilt. 40 And he cometh unto the disciples,
and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me
one hour? 41 Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the
spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. 42 He
went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup
may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done. 43
And he came and found them asleep again: for their eyes were heavy. 44
And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the
same words.
Jesus
took no pleasure in the cross; however, scripture informs us that Jesus endured
for the joy beyond the cross[8].
Notice the manner of His prayer. He began by asking the Father to remove Him
from this circumstance if at all possible. He did not demand, but pleaded and
acknowledged His troubles. He was strengthened through prayer. The second
prayer was different from the first in that He did not ask to be delivered but
submitted Himself to the Father by stating He was willing to drink the cup of
suffering if it must be done. This is further explained in Hebrews 5:8-9
8 Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by
the things which he suffered; 9 And being made perfect, he became
the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;
According to scripture, Jesus learned obedience but without sin and without rebellion[9]. He learned obedience by seeking the will of the Father through His sufferings and submitting to the Father’s will. We also must look to this example knowing that God has already predestined our path, trials, works and every other thing that comes into our lives. There is nothing wrong with asking God to deliver us; however, we must also be willing to say, “Your will be done”. If we must pass through the way of tribulation or suffering, let God’s will be done so that God is glorified through us and that we too can be glorified together with Him.
The promise given to us is that when we become a new
creation in Christ, now all things are of God[10]
and that those who are called into God’s purpose have the promise that all
things work together for their good[11].
If this is true, why do we doubt and why are we so little in our faith? If God
controls all things and has our days predestined as the Bible states, then we
also know that it is not possible for anything to come upon us without going
through the will of God which is for our good. No one who is walking in God’s
will can be harmed outside of God’s good will. Look at Matthew 10:29-31
29 Are not two sparrows
sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your
Father. 30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31
Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.
This passage is after Jesus foretells that we will be hated by the world and persecuted. The world will hate us, but no trouble can come upon the one who abides in Christ without going through Christ. This does not mean that God will not allow pain, but it does give us confidence that there is always good from everything God brings into our lives. The promise is that if a sparrow cannot die and fall to the earth without God’s approval, you should be confident in the fact that you have much more value than this; therefore we surely should not fear. We can walk through the fearful valley of death without allowing trouble to overtake our heart. In fact, we can have a thankful heart and rest securely in our faith even when the tribulation of life threatens us. This is only possible when our eyes are on the finish line. Once we begin to look at this life without eyes of faith, temptations, fears and doubts will blind us to the things given for our peace. The enemy’s goal is to get you to take your eyes off of Christ knowing that where your focus is, your heart and life will follow.
Eddie Snipes
Exchanged Life Outreach
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