Predestined to salvation, but resistible grace.
Posted 30th September 2009 at 01:24 PM by Tangible
There is ample evidence in scripture, and little dispute, that God has elected and predestined those to to be saved whom he has given the ability to believe in Christ's complete payment, once and for all, for all their sins on the cross. Here are a few of the scripture references to that effect.
There are, however, those who claim that the bible also teaches that God has predestined others to damnation, in effect creating them solely for destruction.
There is scant evidence, if any true evidence at all, that God has predestined anyone to damnation. Below I will show how several supposed double-predestination proof texts would more properly be interpreted.
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Passage: 2 Thessalonians 2 (ESV Bible Online)
God sends them a strong delusion ... in order that all may be condemned?
The proof texts often cited are verses 11-13.
What is often left out is what immediately precedes these verses and places them in their proper context.
So we see that the people being condemned, when we look at the whole passage, are those who have refused God's love and salvation.
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Passage: Jude (ESV Bible Online)
Designated for this condemnation?
The proof text often cited is verse 4.
Within this very verse is one refutation: "[who] deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ." Who is doing the denying? They are.
If we skip down a bit, we can also see several other indications that it is not God who has created them for condemnation, but themselves who have rejected God's grace.
8 Yet in like manner these people also, relying on their dreams, defile the flesh, reject authority, and blaspheme the glorious ones.
They reject the authority of those who preach the true Gospel, preferring to follow their own human desires.
10 But these people blaspheme all that they do not understand, and they are destroyed by all that they, like unreasoning animals, understand instinctively.
Here again, we see that they are refusing to be led by the Spirit, but choose to be led by the flesh, their own unregenerate instincts.
16 These are grumblers, malcontents, following their own sinful desires; they are loud-mouthed boasters, showing favoritism to gain advantage.
They have chosen to reject God in favor of their own sinful desires.
_______________________________________________________________
Passage: romans 9 (ESV Bible Online)
And now the sine qua non of double predestination.
Honestly speaking, if you're going to teach double predestination, this would seem to be arguably the best evidence, at least if you only look here.
One key to unlocking this passage lies in the very next verses.
22 What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction,23 in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory - 24 even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles?
The fact that God has endured with much patience vessels of wrath indicates that God has not made them for wrath, for if so, why must he endure them with patience? They have chosen their own wicked path and so made themselves to be objects of God's wrath. Who has prepared the vessels of wrath for destruction? Not God, but they themselves.
We also must consider the entirety of Scripture and what God tells us in other passages concerning this topic.
God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked. Passage: ez 33:11 (ESV Bible Online)
He does not wish that any should perish. Passage: 2 pet 3:9 (ESV Bible Online)
God desires that all should be saved. Passage: 1 Timothy 2:3-4 (ESV Bible Online)
Paul even uses this same kind of "vessel" language in 2 Timothy to indicate that even vessels designated for dishonorable use may be sanctified and set apart as holy.
21 Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.
Why does God then harden some?
The reason God hardens some is because of their steadfast refusal to yield to his call and be graciously reconciled to him, not because he has created souls only for the purpose of condemning them to hell.
God condemns the lost because of his justice, due to the fact that men have rejected him and given themselves wholeheartedly to their own sinful desires.
Passage: Romans 1:18-32 (ESV Bible Online)
"21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools,"
"25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, ..."
"32 Though they know God's decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them."
So God, in his justice, hardens them and gives them over to their own willful rejection of his grace and mercy, and to the consequences of their own choices.
24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves,
26 For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions.
28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.
Does it actually say that God will condemn whoever he wants?
Another interesting aspect of this passage in Romans 9 is the fact that although Paul states in several places that God will save whom he will save, he never actually states that God will condemn those whom he will condemn. God only hardens those whom he wills, due to their rejection of him.
Paul writes:
15 For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” ... 18 So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.
Paul does NOT write:
15 For he says to Moses, “I will NOT have mercy on whom I WILL NOT have mercy, and I will NOT have compassion on whom WILL NOT I have compassion.” ... 18 So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he CONDEMNS whomever he wills.
So what about verse 16?
16 So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.
Is this saying that our will or exertion has no effect on whether we will be condemned? No. We must ask what does "it" refer to? Let's look at the context.
14 What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God's part? By no means! 15 For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” 16 So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.
The "it" here refers to God's mercy and compassion. You can even replace the "it" with its antecedent and it still makes sense.
16 So then [on whom I have mercy (and) on whom I have compassion] depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.
This is starting to sound more familiar now - something similar to this?
Eph 2: 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
So, we see that although God predestines the elect to salvation, his desire is that all would be saved, and does not and has not created anyone for the purpose of condemning them to Hell.
This view is also supported by Jesus' own teachings in the Parable of the Vine and the Parable of the Sower.
God saves us by his grace, and we have no part in our own salvation. God justly condemns those who reject his grace, and they bear total responsibility for their condemnation.
There are, however, those who claim that the bible also teaches that God has predestined others to damnation, in effect creating them solely for destruction.
There is scant evidence, if any true evidence at all, that God has predestined anyone to damnation. Below I will show how several supposed double-predestination proof texts would more properly be interpreted.
__________________________________________________________
Passage: 2 Thessalonians 2 (ESV Bible Online)
God sends them a strong delusion ... in order that all may be condemned?
The proof texts often cited are verses 11-13.
Quote:
11 Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, 12 in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. 13 But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth.
Quote:
9 The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, 10 and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.
______________________________________________________________
Passage: Jude (ESV Bible Online)
Designated for this condemnation?
The proof text often cited is verse 4.
Quote:
4 For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.
If we skip down a bit, we can also see several other indications that it is not God who has created them for condemnation, but themselves who have rejected God's grace.
8 Yet in like manner these people also, relying on their dreams, defile the flesh, reject authority, and blaspheme the glorious ones.
They reject the authority of those who preach the true Gospel, preferring to follow their own human desires.
10 But these people blaspheme all that they do not understand, and they are destroyed by all that they, like unreasoning animals, understand instinctively.
Here again, we see that they are refusing to be led by the Spirit, but choose to be led by the flesh, their own unregenerate instincts.
16 These are grumblers, malcontents, following their own sinful desires; they are loud-mouthed boasters, showing favoritism to gain advantage.
They have chosen to reject God in favor of their own sinful desires.
_______________________________________________________________
Passage: romans 9 (ESV Bible Online)
And now the sine qua non of double predestination.
Quote:
Romans 9:11-21
11 though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad—in order that God's purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls— 12 she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” 13 As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”
14 What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God's part? By no means! 15 For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” 16 So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. 17 For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” 18 So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.
19 You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?” 20 But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?” 21 Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use?
11 though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad—in order that God's purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls— 12 she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” 13 As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”
14 What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God's part? By no means! 15 For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” 16 So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. 17 For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” 18 So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.
19 You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?” 20 But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?” 21 Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use?
One key to unlocking this passage lies in the very next verses.
22 What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction,23 in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory - 24 even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles?
The fact that God has endured with much patience vessels of wrath indicates that God has not made them for wrath, for if so, why must he endure them with patience? They have chosen their own wicked path and so made themselves to be objects of God's wrath. Who has prepared the vessels of wrath for destruction? Not God, but they themselves.
We also must consider the entirety of Scripture and what God tells us in other passages concerning this topic.
God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked. Passage: ez 33:11 (ESV Bible Online)
He does not wish that any should perish. Passage: 2 pet 3:9 (ESV Bible Online)
God desires that all should be saved. Passage: 1 Timothy 2:3-4 (ESV Bible Online)
Paul even uses this same kind of "vessel" language in 2 Timothy to indicate that even vessels designated for dishonorable use may be sanctified and set apart as holy.
21 Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.
Why does God then harden some?
The reason God hardens some is because of their steadfast refusal to yield to his call and be graciously reconciled to him, not because he has created souls only for the purpose of condemning them to hell.
God condemns the lost because of his justice, due to the fact that men have rejected him and given themselves wholeheartedly to their own sinful desires.
Passage: Romans 1:18-32 (ESV Bible Online)
"21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools,"
"25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, ..."
"32 Though they know God's decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them."
So God, in his justice, hardens them and gives them over to their own willful rejection of his grace and mercy, and to the consequences of their own choices.
24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves,
26 For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions.
28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.
Does it actually say that God will condemn whoever he wants?
Another interesting aspect of this passage in Romans 9 is the fact that although Paul states in several places that God will save whom he will save, he never actually states that God will condemn those whom he will condemn. God only hardens those whom he wills, due to their rejection of him.
Paul writes:
15 For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” ... 18 So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.
Paul does NOT write:
15 For he says to Moses, “I will NOT have mercy on whom I WILL NOT have mercy, and I will NOT have compassion on whom WILL NOT I have compassion.” ... 18 So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he CONDEMNS whomever he wills.
So what about verse 16?
16 So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.
Is this saying that our will or exertion has no effect on whether we will be condemned? No. We must ask what does "it" refer to? Let's look at the context.
14 What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God's part? By no means! 15 For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” 16 So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.
The "it" here refers to God's mercy and compassion. You can even replace the "it" with its antecedent and it still makes sense.
16 So then [on whom I have mercy (and) on whom I have compassion] depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.
This is starting to sound more familiar now - something similar to this?
Eph 2: 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
So, we see that although God predestines the elect to salvation, his desire is that all would be saved, and does not and has not created anyone for the purpose of condemning them to Hell.
This view is also supported by Jesus' own teachings in the Parable of the Vine and the Parable of the Sower.
God saves us by his grace, and we have no part in our own salvation. God justly condemns those who reject his grace, and they bear total responsibility for their condemnation.
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Recent Blog Entries by Tangible
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- Predestined to salvation, but resistible grace. (30th September 2009)
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