PREDESTINATION

By David J. Riggs

Intro.
   A. One of the basic doctrines of Calvinism is the predestination  
      or foreordination of individuals to reward and punishment.
      1. The idea is that God, before the earth was formed, with no
         regard to the will of man, predestinated certain people to
         eternal life and others to eternal damnation.
   B. The great proof texts of the Calvinist for this doctrine are:  
      Eph. 1:4-5,11; Rom 8:29-30; Acts 13:48
      1. The conclusion drawn from these passages by John Calvin,
         and by Augustine centuries before him, that God arbitrarily
         elected certain individuals to salvation and condemned all
         others is entirely wrong.
      2. Definitely a type of predestination is taught in the verses,
         but not the Calvinistic kind.
         a. The King James Version uses the word "predestinate" in
            Eph. 1:5,11 and Rom. 8:29-30. The ASV uses the word
            "foreordain." They mean essentially the same, "To set
            out beforehand, to ordain before."
   C. Before we enter into an explanation of the proof texts, we need
      to set forth some basic divine principles that must guide our
      understanding of the foreordination passages.

I. GOD GIVES MAN THE FREEDOM OF CHOICE.
   A. God gave Adam and Eve the freedom of choice. Gen. 2:16-17
      1. The choice was plain: obey and live or disobey and die.
      2. They chose through their own will and the tempting of Satan
         to disobey.
      3. Who is willing to say that since God foreknew the outcome,
         He forced or foreordained Adam and Eve to sin? James
         1:13-14
   B. We, too, are given a choice. Joshua said, -- Joshua 24:15.
      1. Men likewise today need to make a choice as to which God
         they will serve--whether the god of wealth, pleasure,
         popularity, worldly wisdom, or the one true God.
      2. Mary chose that good part which shall not be taken away.
         Luke 10:42
      3. The Psalmist said -- Psalm 119:30.

II. GOD IS NOT A RESPECTER OF PERSONS.
   A. 2 Chron. 19:7; 1 Pet. 1:17
   B. Why then did God bestow special favor on some?
      1. God had respect to Able . Gen. 4:4-5 Were Cain and Able
         predestinated to good or evil? No, Able acted by faith. Heb.
         11:4
      2. Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Gen. 6:8 The next
         verse shows why.
   C. God has respect for the character of man, not the person of    
      man.
      1. God has respect unto the humble. Psalm 138:6
      2. Those who fear Him and work righteousness are accepted.
         Acts 10:34-35
      3. Those who obey the truth will be rewarded. Rom. 2:6-11
   D. God has not exempted anyone from the opportunity to obtain
      eternal life. 1 Tim. 2:4; 2 Pet. 3:9
      1. God does not show respect to anyone separate and apart
         from their actions.

III. SALVATION IS NOT WHOLLY DEPENDENT ON GOD.
   A. The origin of salvation is utterly dependent on God. Eph.      
      2:4-10
      1. There was nothing that man did that caused God to plan to
         give His grace. Titus 3:5
   B. The reception of salvation is dependent on man.
      1. The reception of salvation comes through meeting the
         conditions that God provided through His grace.
   C. Some think that the grace of God and works are incompatible.
      1. On the contrary, salvation is by both grace and works.
         a. Suppose a particular rich man tells a young friend that
            he will give him a million dollars if he would name his
            first child after him. If and when the young man meets
            the conditions, will he have actually earned the million
            dollars? No , it was a gift; he simply received it by
            meeting the conditions. So it is with the grace of God.
   D. God placed on man the responsibility of obtaining the salvation
      which He foreordained or predestinated.
      1. God foreordained the gospel. 1 Cor. 2:7-8; 2 Tim. 1:9-10
         Man must obey the gospel to receive the benefits of it. 1   
         Pet. 4:17
      2. God predestinated that Christ should die for man. 1 Pet.
         1:19-20; Rev. 13:8 Man must obey Christ to receive His
         blessings. Heb. 5:9
      3. God foreordained that redemption would be in Christ (Eph.
         1:4-7), but man must put on Christ. Gal. 3:26-27
      4. The church was predestinated (Eph. 3:9-11), but one must
         be baptized into the church to be part of it. 1 Cor. 12:13
   E. Salvation most assuredly comes through the call and grace of
      God, but this call and grace is extended through the gospel. 2
      Thess. 2:14; Titus 2:11-12
      1. Nowhere does the Bible teach that God condemns or saves
         someone against his will or apart from his will; rather, it
         takes an exercise of his will.

IV. THE GREAT PROOF TEXTS EXAMINED.
   A. Eph. 1:4-5,11.
      1. The Calvinists say this teaches that certain individuals are
         predestinated and others are not. They claim that if one    
         were not of those predestinated, he is eternally damned and 
         there is nothing he can do about it.
      2. However, it is a particular group of class of people that   
         God chose before He made the world. It is those "in him,"   
         that is, those "in Christ."
         a. Verse 4a -- Paul and the others were part of that class
            which God chose before the foundation of the world.
            Those "in Christ" (this class or group) are the
            predestinated ones.
         b. Verse 4b -- The kind of life they should live was
            predestinated.
         c. Verse 5 -- The adoption was predestinated.
         d. Verse 11 -- We are the heirs of eternal life because we
            are of that predestinated group.
      3. A school teacher on the fist day of class told his students 
         that some would pass and some would fail the course they    
         were about to take. He then described the things necessary  
         for one to be of those who would pass. At the end of the    
         school year, just as the teacher had said, some passed and  
         some failed. Since the teacher predestinated the outcome    
         before he began, it did not mean that he caused each        
         individual to either pass or fail and there was nothing they
         could do about it.
         a. Likewise, God predestinated before He made the world
            that He would choose those "in Christ." Now it is up to
            us to be of those in Christ.
   B. Rom. 8:29-30
      1. This passage is a statement of God's entire purpose.
         a. God has often spoken of things that were not as though
            they were. Rom. 4:17
         b. God is speaking of His entire plan in this fashion.
         c. Those whom He foreknew are the ones He
            predestinated. The ones He predestinated are the ones
            He called. The ones He called are the ones He justified
            and the ones He justified are the ones that He will
            eventually glorify.
         d. Again, it is the class or group which He foreknew,
            predestinated, called, etc., and not a random selection  
            of certain individuals.
         e. This class that He predestinated constituted the called  
            or the elect.
            (1) Some misunderstand the thought of the "elect."
                They think that if one is not of the "elect," he is  
                just out of luck, is eternally damned, and there's   
                nothing he can do about it.
            (2) It is not an arbitrary election, but an election upon
                certain conditions.
            (3) The election is through sanctification of the Spirit
                unto obedience. 1 Pet. 1:2
      2. Some get confused on the thought that God foreknows. The
         fact that God foreknows in no wise means that He causes them
         to happen.
         a. He foreknew the fall of man and made preparation for it,
            but did not cause Adam and Eve to sin.
         b. He foreknew that Christ would need to die for man, but
            did not kill Christ or cause Him to die.
         c. He purposed and planned the church before the world,
            yet did not force some into it and bar others from it.
         d. He foretold of one to betray Jesus (Zech. 11:12-13), but
            didn't make Judas betray the Lord. Judas himself
            allowed Satan to enter his heart. Luke 22:3
         e. Some think that since God knows, there is nothing they
            can do. God knows that some are foolish enough to
            accept the Calvinistic doctrine of predestination.
            (1) The thing that will cause them to be lost is not
                because God foreknew, but because they were
                foolish enough to accept it.
   C. Acts 13:48
      1. He does not say in this verse that as many as were ordained
         to eternal life were given eternal life apart from their own
         will.
      2. Belief is made a condition. Thus, as many as were
         predestinated, put on Christ, or met the conditions.
      3. The class--"in Christ"--are the ones ordained to eternal    
         life.
      4. The verse can be arranged in this fashion: "As many as
         believed became part of those who were ordained to eternal
         life."

Concl.
   A. There are certain important divine principles that must guide  
      our understanding of the predestination passages.
      1. God created man with choice-making ability.
      2. God is no respecter of persons but of the character of man.
      3. The origin of salvation come solely through the grace of
         God. 
         a. The reception of salvation comes through meeting the
            conditions which God provided through His grace.
   B. The predestination of God deals not with specified individuals,
      but with a particular group of individuals--those "in Christ."
      1. Anyone can be part of that group. Rev. 22:17
   C. These conditions must be met to receive the benefits of God's
      grace: hear (Rom. 10:17), believe (Heb. 11:6), repent (Acts
      2:38), confess (Rom. 10:9), be baptized (1 Pet. 3:21), and     
      endure to the end (Matt. 24:12-13).