Hi everyone!
My question is, if the Bible teaches that there are elect believers and people were predestined and all that good stuff, why is it necessary to go out into the world and preach the Gospel?
Thanks a bunch!
EDIT: I'm not even sure about predestination anyway. It kind of scares me to be honest.
Predestination was applied to the individual by John Calvin in order to put qualifications on what is called 'cheap grace' as described by Martin Luther. He read Romans 9 as saying that each person was already chosen for either eternal bliss in heaven with God, or eternal damnation in hell with Satan and his angels, before that person had even been born. Each individual's actions as he journayed through his lifetime would identify him as either one of the blessed or one of the cursed.
However, this reading of Romans 9 is in error. In fact, the passage in which Romans ( is located is one of the longest passages in Scripture, because it starts at Romans 9:1 and continues until Romans 11:32. And it is not intended to apply to individuals, but is instead St. Paul's exokanation as to why the Jews
as a nation had not accepted Jesus Christ as the Son of God and the longed-for messiah.
At that time religion was not a matter of an individual's choosing which god or goddess he/she would worship. Instead, each city had its own patron god or goddess which the entire population of that city worshipped in unison. There were various events organized and celebrated to honor whatever god or goddess they had chosen to worship. And if another city conquered them, then their patron god or goddess would be cast aside in favor of whatever deity the city that conquered them worshipped. The only exception to this in that time was the city of Rome itself, which was a melting pot of different religions. But even there the god all citizens of Rome were to identify as the CEO of all the deities was Jupiter. Those who sacrificed to him, even if their religion was different from orthodox roman paganism, were left alone. Those who refused, died.
Yet Christian missionaries were among them preaching that Jesus Christ was to be worshipped rather than their own deities. They were trying to comprehend the reason why that should be done when their deity had an entire city honoring it, but Jesus' own people as a nation had rejected him. Judea wanted a messiah who carried a sword, fought against their enemies, and conquered those enemies, resulting in its complete independence from any other nation. Jesus was offering an eternity with God to a people who wanted political freedom here-and-now.
St. Paul explained that the rejection was necessary in order for the good news to get to the Gentiles without its being 'wrapped up' in the laws and commandments of orthodox Judaism. Gentiles were free to accept Christ from where they stood spiritually at that moment, rather than their needing to first convert to Judaism. They could simply accept Christ's passion, death and resurrection as cleansing them of their sins without first accepting the religion of another nation, namely, Judea.
But this did not mean that God has turned his back on the Jews. They were still his chosen people through the promise he made to the patriarchs, and that promise is irrevocable. So even though the Jews as a nation had rejected the gospel, they would still have God's mercy shown on them as a result of the Gentiles who had accepted the gospel. This explanation can be found at the end of that long passage, and is in Romans 11:24-32.
If you want to read a short explanation of what Romans 9:1 to 11:32 is really referring to, the NIV Study Bible has a nice one. If you want a more indepth explanation, The New Jerome Biblical Commentary devotes six pages (fine print, double columns on each page) to this same passage.
