predestination- does it matter?

Written by Aron Strong on January 20, 2009 – 10:51 pm -

I’ve been working through the Calvinistic thoughts of some of the Emerging Church leaders. Now, people devote entire books to this subject so the little bit I post here is hardly exhaustive. However, I’ve often wrestled with this concept and today spent some time anchoring what I’ve felt in scripture.

I’m settled on two facts that I believe are scriptural and founded on the character of God.

First, predestination is a scriptural view that those who are believers and followers of Christ are chosen by God to be so.

I’m not going to go into all the scripture that shows Jesus Christ died for our sins and provided a means for us to be reconciled to God, through forgiving our sins and making us new creations, in order that we might surrender the leadership of our lives to following and increasing the depth of our relationship with Jesus Christ through faith and action. (Wow, that was a long sentence!)

Starting with that assumption (scriptural, but phrased for those of you who may not believe this yet), here is the scriptural support for predestination:

  1. Jesus gave his life for many, not all. Matt 20:28; Matt 26:28; Rom 5:17-19
  2. We were chosen for salvation and to do good works through faith. Acts 13:48; Eph 1:3-11; 2 Thess 2:13
  3. God has the right to give grace to those he chooses. Matt 20:12; John 15:16; Rom 9:20-21

Second, since we are saved by faith, it is the act of believing and following Christ that confirms you are chosen.

This is an important concept. The point of free will was for us to freely choose to love and follow God. So how does this work together?

  1. God calls the chosen through our sharing the gospel. Rom 10:14, 17; 2 Thess 2:14
  2. God chooses us through our act of believing and accepting Jesus Christ. John 1:12; Rom 1:16; Rom 9:30
  3. Salvation is the fulfillment of God’s promise to receive any who believe. John 6:47; Rom 10:13

Conclusion- speculating about predestination is futile endeavor. The Great Commission doesn’t give us the freedom to simply trust in predestination as a means for people to come to Christ. Scripture clearly shows that through our sharing our faith and the gospel people find salvation and the wholeness both they are yearning for and that God desires for us.

My personal belief is that there is a difference between God knowing who will come to him and God pre-choosing some and condemning others to hell. And this isn’t even going into the scriptures that show that we as believers are able to influence and change God’s mind. So, praying for those we can’t imagine would come to faith is a completely worthy endeavor! I’ve seen it happen!

So, ultimately this concept changes nothing about how we are to live out our faith daily, how we are to put our faith in action and how we are to share the gospel. The Great Commandment and The Great Commission should still govern how we live our daily lives.

What are your thoughts?


Posted in growing faith |


4 Responses to “predestination- does it matter?”

  1. By Luke Mundy on Jan 20, 2009 | Reply

    Oh no! I might have to take back all the link love I gave you if you start talking about predestination! ;)

    Actually, it sounds like you’ve got a pretty balanced view of a complex issue that no one’s going to settle this side of eternity.

    There are some ideas that just aren’t comfortable for us–eternity, paradox, impossibility–that God is all too capable of handling.

  2. By Aron Strong on Jan 21, 2009 | Reply

    I know. I really debated whether or not to make this post. But it’s something that many believers wrestle with. And it’s becoming increasing prevalent in Emerging Churches so I thought I’d throw it out there.

    But still, it irritates me when people use this concept as a matter for elitism or lazy living.

    The Bible is complete and consistent, just as is God’s character and it’s important to keep that in perspective when deep theological truths (re)emerge and threaten to steal the limelight from our true calling- sharing the Gospel.

    However, I promise, this blog is not going to become a theological debate site!

    If it begins to feel stuffy in here, please scroll back to the previous post.

  3. By Eric Rata on Jan 21, 2009 | Reply

    My short answer is that the idea of predestination doesn’t fit with the heavenly Father role God has claimed since Genesis.

    I agree wholeheartedly with this statement you made:

    “…there is a difference between God knowing who will come to him and God pre-choosing some and condemning others to hell.”

    And that difference is ENORMOUS. It’s the difference between a loving Father wanting desperately to save all His children, and a fickle deity who plays with humanity for his own amusement.

  4. By Eric Rata on Jan 21, 2009 | Reply

    But that’s just my opinion. :o)

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