Predestination: My Thoughts

This is the first of three posts that were requested by one of my readers. You know who you are :)

And we come to what seems to me to be one of the favourite debate topics among Christians: predestination. I'm going to approach this using the Two Questions framework that I wrote about a while ago.

Question 1

The first question: What should we believe about predestination?

There are various verses in the Bible that use the word 'predestined' or some other form of it. Some of these are:

For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. - Ephesians 1:4-6 (NIV)

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 image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. - Romans 8:28-30 (NIV)

If God has foreknowledge of what will happen, then He already knows who will be saved. But that doesn't mean that He has chosen some specific people to be saved and some not to be saved. We see this in this passage, which says: For those God foreknew he also predestined. We see here that his predestination of us is determined by his foreknowledge of our salvation.

And some other verses that could refer to predestination:

You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. - John 15:16 (NIV)

No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day. - John 6:44 (NIV)

When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed. - Acts 13:48 (NIV) [emphasis mine]

From these verses, it looks to me as though there is an element of God's election in salvation. And I totally agree with that. We can do nothing to save ourselves. It is only by God's grace and the faith that He gives us (Ephesians 2:8-9) that we can be saved.

But at the same time, God can't save us by Himself. Well, actually, He can, since He is all-powerful. But He has chosen to draw His people to Himself by a different means than forcing them to believe. So there is a critical element in salvation that is our repentance and faith in Christ to save us - and without that, God chooses not to save us, even though he wants to:

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. - 2 Peter 3:9 (NIV)

But remember the promise in John:

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. - John 3:16 (NIV)

It doesn't say "whoever believes in him and has also been predestined". It says "whoever believes in him".

Question 2

What about the second question? How then shall we live?

For ourselves, there is no Biblical basis (that I know of, at least) for wondering whether we are one of the elect. The Bible says,

If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. - Romans 10:9 (NIV)

There is no basis for wondering whether we are one of the elect to see if we can be saved or not.

But what about for others? One of the arguments against predestination is that it renders evangelism worthless. If God has already decided who is going to be saved, and they are going to be saved, then there is no point in evangelism.

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, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. - Matthew 28:19-20 (NIV)

I don't see any Biblical basis for questioning whether someone is one of the elect or not. Instead, we are commanded to go to the lost.

So the commands I see in the Bible are more in line with free will than with predestination. This could be used as an argument against predestination, but it is important that we do not base our beliefs off their results. If we do, then we have fallen into pragmatism - "whatever works".

Summary

So do I believe in predestination? Yes.
Do I believe in free will? Yes.
How do these two things work together? I don't know for sure.

If I could only believe in one, I would believe in free will.

What do I know? God has commanded us to go into all the world and preach the gospel to all nations, and he has promised that anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

The truth matters. We should strive to discover the truth. But when some truth is unclear, it is not an excuse to neglect other, clear truths. In this instance, searching out the truth about predestination is a good thing to do. But it is important that it not overwhelm the clear commands that God has given us.

S. D. G.

Once Saved Always Saved

Once Saved Always Saved, or Perseverance of the Saints, is an interesting topic. I'm going to post what I see in the Bible. Obviously, there are a lot of people who have a different opinion on it (and they have Bible verses that back up their position ... I think) so if you disagree, please disagree politely. I'm willing to have a civil discussion on this if you want to :)

The definition of Once Saved Always Saved is that when a person becomes a Christian, their salvation is sealed for all eternity. No matter what they do in their life after that point, they are always going to Heaven because of the decision they made at one point in their life.**

So, do I believe in Once Saved Always Saved?

No, I don't. I believe that it is possible for Christians to lose their salvation. Here's some verses that back up my position:

Mark 4:2-20 (Parable of the Sower/Seeds/Earth)

In this parable, Jesus talks about different types of people that receive the gospel and then fall away. Some reasons that they fall away include:

• Satan takes away the Word (path)
• Trouble or persecution (rocky ground)
• Worries of this life/deceitfulness of wealth/desires for other things (thistles)

I'm not going to give teaching on what each of these things are and how to avoid them in this post, since that's not my purpose here - we're discussing Once Saved Always Saved.

2 Timothy 2:11-13

This is a 'trustworthy saying' that Paul includes in his second letter to Timothy.
In it he says that if we disown Jesus, he will disown us.
If we are faithless, he remains faithful.

So what's the difference between disowning Jesus and being faithless?

The difference I see is that 'disowning' must be a conscious choice. You don't disown something by accident. You have to decide to disown it. However, you can slip into faithlessness without ever once making a conscious decision to cross the line of faithlessness, because there is no line.

So I don't believe you can 'lose' your salvation, but you can 'give it back'.

So now we come to the two questions.

First, what is the truth? What I see in the Bible is that it is theoretically possible for a believer to lose their salvation.

Second, how then shall we live? For each person individually, Once Saved Always Saved doesn't really matter to you. If you can't accidentally lose your salvation, then you don't need to worry about doing so. At any time, you will be either:

a) A believer who has a relationship with God and is 'saved', and therefore does not have to worry
b) A nonbeliever who does not have a relationship with God and does not care that they are not 'saved', and therefore does not have to worry*
or c) A nonbeliever who does not have a relationship with God but wants to have a relationship with God. In that case, we have good news for you. It's called the gospel. :)

*Well, they should worry that they are not going to Heaven when they die. But the doctrine of Once Saved Always Saved shouldn't worry them.

For those who are saved and are worried about losing their salvation:

“Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5b)

But still:

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 in order to fulfill his good purpose. (Philippians 2:12-13)

What I see in this verse is that there is a part for us to play in remaining saved, and that we are to pursue that with 'fear and trembling'. But then go back to Hebrews 13:5b again. :)

The time when Once Saved Always Saved does worry people is when they are considering friends who at one time avowed Christ, but now seem to have slipped away from the faith. In those situations, the question is 'Are they still saved?'

I don't have all the answers. I can't tell you whether that person has disowned Christ or is merely faithless. What I can say is:

Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. (2 Timothy 4:2)

But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. (1 Peter 3:15-16)

Pray for your friend. Pray for opportunities to remind them of the gospel and of the faith they once avowed. But do this with gentleness and respect. Don't force it on them, but be bold.

And in all things, to God be the glory.

S. D. G.

**A footnote. Some will say that this a straw man argument, and that I am missing the point, as it says in Romans 6:1-2: Shall we go on sinning ... By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? I agree that the doctrine of Once Saved Always Saved does not (or should not) give permission for people to do whatever they want. However, we are debating the second of the two questions at this point without discovering the truth of the first question.

The Two Questions: A Framework

I was planning some more posts for the future (some of them requested by readers ... er, a reader, singular) and I realized that this framework is applicable to many of them. So it's in its own post so that I can easily refer back to it.

When discussing an issue, there are two big questions to ask:

1. What should we believe about this issue? (or, what is truth?)
2. What should we do about this issue? (or, how then shall we live?)

It's important to ask both of these questions together. Neither of them should be separated from the other for very long.

The reason is that my actions follow my beliefs. If my beliefs are wrong, then my actions will also be wrong. If my beliefs are right, then my actions will be right.

It's unfair to expect people to act in a right way if they have wrong beliefs. If they don't have the proper grounding in what is true, then of course they won't act in a way consistent with the truth that they don't have.

That's why it's impossible to legislate right actions. A law may increase right actions, but it is very difficult to completely eliminate wrong actions. That's because making a law about something doesn't change people's beliefs about it. The reason that some people's actions do change is because of their belief that 'I should follow the law' or, at the very least, 'I will be punished if I do not follow the law'.

It also goes the other way. If my beliefs inspire my actions, then conversely, my actions should reflect my beliefs. And someone should be able to correctly identify my beliefs based on a knowledge of my actions. (Matthew 7:16)

So why is it important to ask these two questions together?

We can't just ask question 1. If we don't follow it up with question 2, then it remains nothing more than a belief. (Okay ... it will influence our actions, even if we don't realise it is. But I think it's still a good idea to clarify what our actions should be, based on our beliefs. Plus, it acts as a check on our beliefs.)

We can't just ask question 2. As I've already said, we can't come to a correct understanding of what we should do if we don't first have a correct understanding of what is true.

There are some issues where Christians (or people who call themselves Christians) disagree. I feel like applying this framework in those situations could help to allow both sides to understand each other better. Are we disagreeing about an issue because our beliefs differ? If so, then we should inspect Scripture to discover what the truth is (or whether it is an issue on which Christians can legitimately disagree). If we agree in our beliefs and it is our actions that differ, then we can affirm our common ground, stop calling each other names, and work through why we respond to the issue differently. (Which, I imagine, is probably because of other beliefs that interact with our belief about the issue.)

So, next time you are faced with an issue, stop and ask these two questions:
1. What is the truth?
2. How then shall we live?

Definitions
right: consistent with Biblical teaching and principles
wrong: not consistent with Biblical teaching and principles
belief: what you think is true
action: what you do