Chapter 6
Sproul uses this verse from Romans 8:
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He attempts to make the argument that because God foreknew people the verse must mean all. He changes the passage to this:
"Some of those He foreknew, He also predestined. Some of those He predestined, He also called. Some of those He called, these He also justified. Some of those He justified, He also glorified."
He offers that as proof that all must be the correct meaning without examining the passage using all. He should have included his use of all in the passage as follows:
"All of those He foreknew, He also predestined. All of those He predestined, He also called. All of those He called, these He also justified. All of those He justified, He also glorified."
Now this would seem to make more since until you look at how Sproul got at the point in the first place. He states that for God to have chosen Jacob He first had to have some idea in His mind of who Jacob would be. I agree. And that presents the problem.
In order for God to predestine everybody He had to have some idea of who everybody would be. Using that, then the, "All of those He foreknew" would have to mean every person is ever was, is or will be. It forces the broadest meaning of All. That would mean that the rest of the verse would have to use the same meaning of the word all which would mean that every person who ever was, is or will be would be saved. We know this is not the case. Therefore, the meaning of all in this passage cannot mean the broadest, all inclusive sense of the word. It would have to mean all of a particular group. All of a particular group is only some of mankind. It would seem that Sprouls use of some actually fits a view of only certain people being saved much better that the use of all. This present a problem with who God foreknew.
I think this is a clear example of why we should not add to nor remove from the Gospel our own words. In either case, adding all or some to the passage serves only to confuse things.
As to his conclusion that this passage can only mean that predestination is the only possible correct interpretation, I disagree. I hold to the view that Gods foreknowledge is perfect and He can see our lives laid out before Him without the need to predetermine anything. God is not subject to our concept of time. We are constrained by it. God can move through time the same way we can walk up and down a street.