A Questioning Faith:

A Questioning Faith: What does Paul mean by “predestination”?

John Calvin Speaks “God has once for all determined, both whom he would admit to salvation, and whom he would condemn to destruction. We affirm that this counsel, as far as concerns the elect, is founded on his gratuitous mercy, totally irrespective of human merit…” The Institutes of the Christian Religion

Predestination Calvinist Style “By decree of God, for the manifestation of his glory, some men and angels are predestinated unto everlasting life, and others fore-ordained to everlasting death. These angels and men, thus predestinated and fore-ordained, are particularly and unchangeably designed; and their number is so certain and definite that it cannot be either increased or diminished.” Westminster Confession of Faith

Possible Responses God forbid! “I would rather be a Turk, a Deist, yea an atheist than believe the horrible decree of predestination.” John Wesley

Right on! “God alone is wise enough to determine what shall become of his creation, God does what he wills.” John Alsup

My head hurts, can we talk about something else!!

Action Plan • Definition of predestination • Brief survey of theological discussion • Focus on Paul • Affirmations

Definition “a divine predetermination of human destiny in conformity with an eternal plan”

1. Double Predestination • In God’s sovereign foreknowledge, he determines those who will be saved and those who will be damned. • TULIP says it best

TULIP Confession • Total Depravity • Unconditional election • Limited atonement • Irresistible grace • Perseverance of the saints

Pros • God’s sovereign freedom and power • Salvation by grace alone • Serious understanding of God’s justice and mercy “So then God has mercy on whomever he chooses, and he hardens the heart of whomever he chooses.” Romans 9:18

Cons • Misrepresents God’s graciousness • No interactive God- all is predetermined • No human freedom “For God has imprisoned all in disobedience so that he may be merciful to all.” Romans 11:32

2. Universalism • In God’s sovereign grace and mercy, all will be reconciled to God and saved

Pros • Reflects biblical witness of God’s desire • Sovereignty of God preserved- God’s power overcomes all sin • Salvation by grace alone “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God.” Ephesians 2:8

Cons • God’s judgment is ignored • No relational responsibilities in covenant between God and humanity “What then are we to say? Should we continue in sin in order that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin go on living in it?” Romans 6:1-2

3. Pelagianism • God has set his eternal laws • Those who obey them will be saved • Those who disobey them will be condemned

Pros • Now this makes some sense • Human responsibility maintained • God’s justice is upheld “Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed me, not only in my presence, but much more now in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” Philippians 2:12

Cons • No sense of the power of sin • No grace, only works “…but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind, making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?” Romans 7:23-24

4. Semi-Pelagianism • We are sinners in need of God’s grace • Grace is offered to us • We must accept that grace • If so, God will chose us

Pros • Saving power is from God, not us • Saving grace is open to all • Freedom to chose God “…because if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:9

Cons • Overestimates our freedom to love, trust and depend on God • Final determination is in our hands not God’s • Is my decision truly enough? “But God proved his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us…But more than that, we even boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.” Romans 5:8,11

What about Paul? • Theme 1- God is faithful to his promises “Who can separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril or sword?...No in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” Romans 8:35,37

Theme #2- God’s election is about salvation “…God has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him…” Ephesians 1:9-10

Theme #3- Predestination is all about God’s desire to save “But God who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together in Christ – by grace you have been saved…” Ephesians 2:4-5

“What prompts Paul to harken back again and again to the divine purpose is not an abstract predestinariansim or reference back to God’s decrees as the final cause in the chain of events, but the designation of sovereign, divine grace, as the sole motive of his work of redemption in history.” Herman Ridderbos

Final Affirmations • God’s grace is the basis of our election, not anything superior about us. • God’s grace is the Reason for our election, it is also the Assurance. There is no need for anxiety • To be elect is to be a part of God’s community of faith • Election/predestination is both a gift and a task

“The good news of predestination, in other words, carries with it an warning: Be careful if you want to be one of God’s elect insiders. • It will make your life harder, not easier. • It will not give you everything you want; it will demand everything you have.

It will not put you on the side of the powerful and righteous of the world but on the side of the powerless and undeserving sinners. • The privilege it brings is not that of enjoying material and spiritual blessings denied others; it is the privilege of living in self-giving love for them.” Shirley Gutherie

A Questioning Faith: