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Predestination
For whom he did foreknow, he also did PREDESTINATE to be conformed to the image of his
Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren” (Romans 8:29).
Does God choose
some people for salvation and not others?
This has been the erroneous false teaching of some religions throughout history; however, the
Bible teaches NO such thing. The Bible is clear in many verses, “WHOSOEVER WILL MAY
COME.” We read in Romans 10:13, “For WHOSOEVER shall call upon the name of her Lord
shall be saved.” God is a “whosoever God.” He says that anyone may come to the throne of
grace for salvation, all He asks is that we come through faith in Jesus Christ alone.
There is
NOTHING in the Bible about God choosing anyone for salvation. Mankind has been given a
freewill by God to make our own decisions. This is what life comes down to—a series of
decisions. Every decision we make has an effect on something in our life, we must learn to
make the proper decisions if we want to be happy in life. The Bible has been given to us by
God to help us make these many decisions. We must obtain a working knowledge of God’s
Word.
By “working knowledge” I mean that we must make the Bible applicable to our
everyday lives. There are many Believers who know quite a lot about the Bible but don’t see
the application of it in their daily life. Knowledge does no good if it’s not livable. We must
make the truth practical as it was meant to be. God is not pleased by a bunch of “deeper-lifer”
Christians who never tell a soul about Jesus Christ, never build anything for God, never take a
stand for what is right, etc. We must find the practicality of the Bible.
Let’s look at Romans 8:29 again, “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate TO BE
CONFORMED TO THE IMAGE OF HIS SON, that he might be the firstborn among many
brethren.”
Predestination means that God has chosen us “to be conformed into Jesus’
likeness.” The Bible does NOT say anything about being chosen for salvation. God knows in
advance who will be saved and who won’t but He does NOT choose who will be saved or who
won’t. We decide to accept or reject Christ of our own freedom. Nevertheless, there are still
those who teach that you cannot be saved unless God first chooses you—this is utter foolishness.
This false teaching is known as Hyper-Calvinism. The truth is that God looked ahead in time in
His foreknowledge and saw those who would someday be saved and He predestinated them to be
conformed into Christ’s likeness—this is what predestination means. God has predestinated that
someday I will be exactly like Jesus. What a wonderful day that will be for every Believer.
God has many plans for each and every Believer!
“In whom also we have obtained AN
INHERITANCE, being PREDESTINATED ACCORDING TO THE PURPOSE of him
who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will” (Ephesians 1:11). This is very
interesting! God has a purpose for every Christian. He works all things according to His own
will. This is why Romans 8:28 teaches that all things will eventually work out for good for all
Believers, “And we know that ALL THINGS WORK TOGETHER FOR GOOD to them that
love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” Notice that all things are NOT
good! The Bible says that all things will WORK OUT for good. You WILL experience pain,
suffering and loss in this earthly life. Fortunate are those who have had the opportunity to enjoy
a rich and happy life with little problems down here; however, most are not as fortunate. There
are billions of people living in poverty right now. Millions of children are dying in other
nations because of starvation and lack of simple vitamins. Most people don’t know what
suffering is. Yet, we all have our heartaches and problems in life. Even in a wealthy nation
like the USA which has been prosperously blessed by Almighty God, pain and suffering are all
too common.
No one in this life is immune to loss, sadness, sickness and hurt. The Bible
does not promise paradise on earth; on the contrary, God told Adam and Eve that they would
suffer pain and toil. The Bible promises that ALL THINGS will work our for good but does not
tell us when. We know at least that things will be well when we get to Heaven to be with the
Lord. Most people don’t associate the word “predestination” with Romans 8:28. What does
predestination have to do with the things in my life turning out for good down the road? It has
everything to do with it. You and I have been predestinated to receive an inheritance from the
Lord.
Let’s read Ephesians 1:11 once more, “In whom also we have obtained AN
INHERITANCE, being PREDESTINATED ACCORDING TO THE PURPOSE of him
who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will” (Ephesians 1:11). God has so many
wonderful things for us when we get to Heaven, we cannot even begin to imagine all that will
happen. God has given us the Holy Spirit as a “down-payment” or as a “token of His promise”
that He has purchased us and we have an inheritance in Heaven, “...ye were SEALED with that
holy Spirit of promise, Which is the EARNEST of our inheritance until the redemption of the
purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory” (Ephesians 1:13,14). The word “earnest”
means “pledge.”
The Believer knows that they are saved because they have the Holy Spirit, God’s pledge to every
Believer that He will perform all that He has PROMISED to do for us as His Children. Do you
have the Holy Spirit living within you? I do! God has given me the Holy Spirit to let the devil
know that I have been PURCHASED By God. I have been purchased with the blood of Jesus
Christ. I am a Child of the King, a member of God’s Family. So the next time you think of
Romans 8:28 when things are going bad, remember that ultimately we all fall into God’s divine
plan which He will accomplish. No matter how bad things may seem here on earth, be rest
assured that our Heavenly Father is still on His throne and is in absolute control, we have
NOTHING to fear.
Bad things will always happen in life, but someday (within God’s
predestinated plan) we will all be very happy and content in the Lord. It’s just a matter of time!
Moreover whom he did PREDESTINATE, them he also CALLED: and whom he called, them
he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified” (Romans 8:30). The word
“called” means “to invite.” God invites all men to salvation, “For the grace of God that bringeth
salvation hath appeared to ALL MEN” (Titus 2:11). If God chose people for salvation, then
Titus 2:11 would not be true. The grace of God has appeared to all people everywhere (an
invitation to be saved). What we do with that invitation is another story. The word “called”
can be misleading if you take it our of context.
We must interpret this verse within the
agreement of the remaining Word of God. There are plenty of Scriptures teaching that salvation
is available to anyone who wants it. This doctrine of predestination simply means, “what God
has started, He will finish!”
“Being
confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a
good work in you WILL PERFORM IT until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6). God
will continue with us through ‘til the end of this life and beyond. God will never leave us or
forsake us, “...I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Hebrews 13:5).
What a wonderful
God!!!
Those who are saved, God predestinates to become like Jesus and to receive a divine inheritance.
“Having PREDESTINATED us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself,
according to the good pleasure of his will” (Ephesians 1:5). God wanted those who would
someday be saved to be as His own Children so God adopted them. If you are saved, you are an
ADOPTED Son of God. Now Jesus is the “only begotten” Son of God but God has many,
many “adopted” Sons and daughters. Those who accept Christ as Savior, God has already
predestined them to be accepted as Sons. God says, “You accept Me and I’ll take you in as my
own Son, Jesus.” A good Father leaves an inheritance to his children and to his grandchildren,
“A good man LEAVETH AN INHERITANCE to his children's children...” (Proverbs 13:22).
Truly, God is the greatest of all Fathers, He has provided us with an inheritance. I believe
day-by-day God is preparing things for us in Heaven. Is this not what Jesus said in John 14:2,
“...I go to PREPARE A PLACE for you.” This is all part of the predestination of God. God
foreknew who would be saved and decided to do all these wonderful things for them, Oh
how God loves His Children.
How foolish for any person to play games with God by holding out in pride and disbelief. Why
is it that oftentimes tragedy is the only thing that wakes us up and brings us to our spiritual
knees? Many folks who have experienced horrible accidents, loss of family, loss of health and
so much more have eventually come crawling to the feet of Jesus. Thank God for these people
who eventually do repent! Oftentimes these folks who have suffered such tragedies will confess
that it was the tragedy and loss which led to their salvation—a blessing in disguise. No one
wants to experience heartache and loss, but we all do. I’m NOT saying that tragedies are sent
from God (the truth is that we live in a fallen world prone to misery, sickness and wickedness),
I’m simply saying that it is a shame that it takes bad experiences to force us to remember our
God and Creator. Wouldn’t it be nice if people who are blessed with family, health and freedom
would turn to God in faith and obedience before the tragedy occurs? Surely this would be a
wonderful thing! Unfortunately, prosperity brings with it a lot of selfish pride. The USA is a
fantastically blessed nation whose people are increasingly turning away from God to serve
themselves, this is human nature. Rather, God wants us to be spiritual. As Christians, we are
to follow after God.