Topic: Predestination
Reading: Romans 8:29-30
Introduction and Overview
There are in the scriptures some subjects and topics that are hard to understand and come to grips with. The concept of predestination is one of those, and these two verses often drive this discussion.
The concept of predestination suggests that all people on this earth are predestined and predetermined as to what they will become. It suggests they are “wired” a certain way and there is nothing they can do to change that “wiring” because God has made them a certain way.
But such thinking rejects the idea that we have been made by God to have a free will. It suggests that the choices we make are already predetermined, and we cannot choose other than what we are “wired” to choose. And even if we try to “go off script” and do the exact reverse, it is still what God has wired into us.
So, let’s look at the verses today, and then I will discuss the issues and problems I have with this matter. And today I must say that I do not have all of the answers (not that I have all the answers any other day also), so in effect I am presenting a puzzle. I have not yet fully solved the puzzle, but as I learn I will come back and update this study.
Also, I would ask that if you have any thoughts or questions on this matter, send me an email using the Contact Form on this website, because God may choose to reveal this matter to you from which I can then learn. Bible study is improved by the thoughts and ideas of more than just one person, and as you study these things, perhaps you will be given an insight that the Lord has not revealed to me yet.
Key points from reading:
- People, or some people, are foreknown by God for His purposes
- Those whom He foreknows are set a destiny to do His work and Hos will
- Those who follow the destiny set before them will be justified or made righteous by God
Discussion:
- Scripture: Romans 8:29
- There are some people who God has known beforehand and for whom He has a certain work. He places a destiny before them and they need to choose to follow that path or destiny to do the will and work of God.
- But it is evident that some are destined to do good, while others are destined to do evil. For example, John the Baptist was destined before birth to be the “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.” (Read Isaiah 40:3, Matthew 3:3) His work and his role was prophesied beforehand in the Old Testament, and he was revealed at the right time just before the appearance of Jesus. And in the Old Testament it is evident that Samuel, the prophet, was preordained to the work he would do (Read 1 Samuel chapters 1 to 3).
- But then there were those who were raised up and predestined to do evil, such as Pharaoh of whom God said, “For the scripture says to Pharaoh, “I have raised you up for the very purpose of showing my power in you, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth.” (Romans 9:17). And also the evil work of Judas Iscariot was prophesied in the Old Testament that showed he would sell Jesus to the priests for thirty pieces of silver (Read Zechariah 11:10-14)
- Now, the scripture in Romans 8:29 goes on to say that those whom he foreknew were predestined to be conformed into the image of Christ. They were to learn the ways of the Lord and be established in His ways and transformed into the likeness of Christ. They would learn to think, act, behave, and walk as Christ walked.
- All of this occurs according to the will of God so that in Christ He would be the firstborn Son of God, and those who follow His path and His destiny would be brethren in His name and the family of God.
- Scripture: Romans 28:30
- This message then continues in this verse and talks about receiving the calling of God and those who are called. The Greek word translated as “called” can and often is also translated as “invited.” If then what God does is He “invites” people to His work, then the matter of free will comes into play. It is then up to us to accept or reject His invitation.
- It appears as though the process works something like this. First, God has a foreknowledge of different people who He wishes to follow a specific purpose as part of His plan. That plan He established for those people in advance is their destiny and they are predestined to follow or to receive that plan in accordance to His will. At that point in time He then calls or invites those people to come to Him to receive and follow His plan.
- So, in summary the process is “foreknowledge -> plan/destiny -> invitation/call” If this is how it works, then the fact of free will still exists for each and every person. God may have a destiny for everyone, but it is up to us to follow that destiny by choosing to accept His invitation or call to do His will.
- A classic example where someone tried to reject His call or invitation was the case of Jonah. God called Jonah to go and preach to the city of Nineveh telling them to repent (Read the book of Jonah, it is only quite a short book). But Jonah didn’t want to do it and rebelled against the work that God had destined for him as a prophet. And we see that Jonah tried to run from God and during a storm on the seas he was cast into the water to drown, but was swallowed whole by the great fish or whale. While in the belly of the fish Jonah repented and was spewed out of the great fish and Jonah then went to preach the will of God to the people of Nineveh and they repented.
- Jonah had a choice to make. Would he do God’s will or not. He chose not to and tried to run away from God. But God wanted Jonah to choose the right path, and so He did not kill Jonah in the storm on the sea, nor did He kill Jonah when he was thrown overboard, either by drowning or being eaten by sharks. Rather, God sent the great fish to swallow Jonah and gave him time to repent and turn around to do the will of God, which he did. You can be sure that had Jonah not repented, he would have died in the belly of the fish and God would have appointed someone else to go to Nineveh. But the choice was Jonah’s to make, and in the end he chose to follow God’s will. And there were many lessons for us in that process.
- So, looking at Jonah’s example from the predestination point of view, we see that God foreknew Jonah for he was already a prophet. God set a destiny for Jonah, which was to preach to Nineveh. God then called or invited Jonah to take up his destiny. Jonah initially rejected the destiny established by God, but he was given another chance to follow the right way. In the end, Jonah repented and took up the destiny God had preset for him, and Jonah did God’s will.
- This, I believe, is how the process of predestination works AND free will works in conjunction with each other. God establishes a destiny for all people, but then the decision or choice is left to the individual to choose their path. And He may call and invite us many times in the hope that we turn from the evil ways of this world. After all, there are only two destinies: to follow Jesus Christ and God, or not to.
As I worked through these scriptures I came to the understanding mentioned above. And it was not an easy process.
Predestination is a confusing subject that is not easily or readily understood, and I admit that I have had great difficulty coming to grips with how this can work with free will. Basically the way that predestination is presented by those proponents of the doctrine is that everyone is predestined to be a certain way by God, and there is nothing we can do to change that. But when looking at the wider scope of what is written, that argument is insufficient.
There are many in the world who say things like, why doesn’t God just fix things? And, if God is all powerful, why does man sin? Surely an all-powerful God could make it so that we do not sin? Why doesn’t God just make us all perfect so that there is no suffering? And other similar questions.
In some ways the doctrine of predestination is saying the same things. Basically it is saying that we are the way we are and that cannot be changed. God made different people to be good and others to be evil, and at the end of days the good will go into eternal life, bu the bad will suffer eternal punishment and death.
If that is true then why did God give us a free will? And it is clear that God DID give us a free will to choose. Consider this verse:
3 This is good, and it is acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. (1 Timothy 2:3-4)
Here we see that God desires that ALL men will come to the knowledge of salvation. He does not force His will upon anyone, but they must choose. It is His desire that all would choose, but there are many who won’t choose the way of God and will go into damnation. The only way a person can choose is to have the option presented to them and to make the choice on the basis of a free will. It is our free will to choose the destiny God has on offer.
There is also another issue with the way predestination is typically presented. It is the difference between DESTINY and FATE. Fate is something that we cannot choose and we have no influence over. It is determined by external factors that are outside of our control. Predestination is often presented in the same way. It presumes that our destiny is absolute and cannot be influenced or changed in any way. But this is incorrect.
On the other hand, destiny is a choice. Think about it as a “destination” and you will get the idea. If you are going on a trip, you can choose the route and the destination for your trip. It is YOUR choice and it is not outside of your control. So, what I believe is that when God “predestines” our destiny, He establishes the destination (salvation and eternal life with Him), and then our destiny is our choice to accept or reject. We are “invited” or called to take up the preset destination of God, or to reject His call and invitation.
I should point out also that the Greek word “kaleos” that is translated as “called” is also frequently translated as “invited,” as already mentioned. If we look at it as an invitation, then it becomes clearer and easier to understand how there is a plan or destination that God has set in place, He invites us to participate in His plan, but we can also reject the invitation. And this seems to align with the parable of Jesus where He spoke about the great invitation.
16 But he said to him, “A man once gave a great banquet, and invited many; 17 and at the time for the banquet he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come; for all is now ready.’ 18 But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it; I pray you, have me excused.’ 19 And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them; I pray you, have me excused.’ 20 And another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’ 21 So the servant came and reported this to his master. Then the householder in anger said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and maimed and blind and lame.’ 22 And the servant said, ‘Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’ 23 And the master said to the servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedges, and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled. 24 For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.’” (Luke 14:16-24)
In this scripture the Greek word in verse 16 translated as “invited” is the same word used in Romans 8:30 as “called.” And we see in this example that there were many who were invited, but they put other things as a greater priority and they rejected His invitation. This is an example of the process shown in Romans 8:29-30. In this example we see that first, God “foreknew” the people because they had already been invited to the marriage feast. These were the religious people but who did not follow the ways of God according to His will. Then we see the “predestination” offered in the invitation, which was to attend the marriage feast of the Son. Finally we see the acts of freewill where many rejected the invitation, and so the Father sends out His invitation to everyone from all walks of life to come to the feast. And I should add that they too are not forced to come, but have the free will option to accept or reject. I believe God is showing many things in this example, but to give a little clarity, the original invitees were the children of Israel who rejected Him, and so God opened up His offer of life to the Gentiles and all mankind through Christ Jesus.
Key Takeaways:
- God has established a plan and a destiny for all people, which is essentially to live with Him into eternity.
- God then invites or calls us to take up the destiny He has predetermined for us.
- We then exercise our free will to accept or reject His predestined offer.
Prayer Points
- Pray to gain a fuller understanding and perception of the questions of predestination. It is a difficult concept to grasp, but the Lord will open it up to you.
- Pray that you can understand all of His will and follow Him according to His will and not the words of men.