Predestination versus Free Will
By Michael
A. H. Back
"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
PREDESTINED to be conformed to the likeness of His son, that He might
be the firstborn among many brothers. And those He PREDESTINED, He
also called; those He called, He justified; those He justified, He
also glorified." Romans 8:28-30
The question of "Free
will versus predestination" is a long-standing
conflict in Christianity.
One side, traditionally
so branch of the Calvinists, says that the scriptures clearly state
that God predestines our fate, and thus, the ultimate destiny of each
individual is predestined by God. Some are predestined for glory,
some for wrath. Some have been predestined for salvation, and some
for damnation.
The other side insists
that this cannot be true, as it would negate free will, and if there
is no free will, then there is no justice in condemning those who go
down the path of evil, since they had no choice. They were
predestined by God to be evil. It is unjust for the same God who
predestined them to be evil to condemn them for a decision HE made
that they could not resist.
And as defined here,
underlying disagreement stems from the fact that
these two positions are
mutually exclusive.
And this is the source of
the error. They are NOT mutually exclusive. Primarily because the
word translated "predestine" does NOT mean what the
Calvinists claim it does.
The truth is that we have
complete and total free will . . . AND God has predestined all of us
to be like Christ.
The reason that sounds
contradictory is that we THINK "predestine" means that what
"HAPPENS" has been determined in advance, and once
something is "predestined," there is "no choice"
(no free will): it WILL happen, whether we like it or not.
While that IS what
"predestination" means in English, that is NOT what the
word means in the Bible.
The word translated
"predestine" and "pre-ordain" literally means
"to plan, determine or ordain in advance." It does NOT mean
that what was ordained or planned in advance will automatically
HAPPEN like it was planned. It might, but whether or not it does is
not a part of the meaning of this word.
God has a plan for each
believer's life. That plan was made long before any of us actually
existed. However, we have free will, so we can choose NOT to follow
the plan God has for our lives.
Notice that scripture
only talks about God "predestining" believers. Because
God has a plan and a
purpose that only believers can tap into, and fulfill. If you are not
a believer, you cannot tap into that purpose, the one that God
planned for you in advance.
So the Bible never says
that what will HAPPEN in our lives has been set in advance. It merely
says that for believers, God has a wonderful purpose, one that was
set up in advance. And if we yield to His will, we can actually LIVE
that purpose.
Sometimes God makes sure
that what he has "PREPLANNED" happens exactly like He plans
it to (such as end time events, prophetic messages, etc.). God does
take a hand in the history of our planet to ensure that it will
eventually return to Him. As a race, you can see what God has planned
for us in Revelation. As individuals, however, God does not often
"force" His plan for our lives upon us.
In fact, in scripture,
most personal prophecies are conditional ("IF you do such and
such, THEN such and such will happen."). There are a couple
examples in which God intervened in an individual's life and made
SURE His plan happened (Mary, Paul, etc.). But even they had the
option to reject God's plan.
It is important to note
that God never sets up a "general principle" that says each
person's life has been 'determined' in advance, and their lives
cannot deviate from that plan. That is NOT what the Greek word
translated "predestine" means.
God "desires"
for all men to become saved. For those that do, God has a wonderful
plan for their lives. They now have access to that plan. Those that
do not become saved do not get to see God's purpose for their lives,
and will live lives that are largely meaningless and pointless,
because they MISSED what God had predestined for them.
It is really that simple,
and as far as I can tell, not all that controversial once you
understand what it is talking about.
"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
PREDESTINED to be conformed to the likeness of His son, that He might
be the firstborn among many brothers. And those He PREDESTINED, He
also called; those He called, He justified; those He justified, He
also glorified." Romans 8:28-30
Where you see
"PREDESTINED" you can substitute the words "set up a
plan in advance." I don't think the fact that God planned in
advance for us to become like His son is all that controversial.
"No, we speak of
God's secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God
DESTINED for our glory before time began."
I Corinthians 2:7
Here we see that there is
a secret wisdom that has been hidden, and that God planned in advance
to give to us, and that will change and glorify us. And this plan was
made before time began.
"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 to be adopted as His sons through
Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will . .Ephesians 1:4-5
God planned in advance
for us to be adopted as His sons.
NOTICE: It does NOT say
that he planned in advance for others to NOT become His sons, which
is how this "pre-determination" argument usually runs. The
Bible never says that ANYWHERE.
That plan was for all of
mankind. Those that become believers now have access to that plan,
and to the purpose God has for their lives. Those that do not become
believers missed out - because of their free will choice NOT to do
what God "pre-ordained" (pre-planned) for them to do.
They will MISS God's
purpose for their lives.
Don't miss God's plan for
YOUR life.
