PREDESTINATION — the biblical
teaching that declares the sovereignty of God over human beings in such a way
that the freedom of the human will is also preserved.
Two major concepts are involved in
the biblical meaning of predestination. First,
God, who is all-powerful in the universe, has foreknown and predestined the
course of human history and the lives of individuals. If He were not in
complete control of human events, He would not be sovereign and, thus, would
not be God.
Second, God’s predestination of human events does not
eliminate human choice. A
thorough understanding of how God can maintain His sovereignty and still allow
human freedom seems to be reserved for His infinite mind alone. Great minds
have struggled with this problem for centuries.
Two views of predestination are prominent today. One view, known as
Calvinism, holds that God offers irresistible grace to those whom he elects to
save. The other view, known as
Arminianism, insists that God’s grace is the source of redemption but that it
can be resisted by people through free choice. In Calvinism, God chooses the
believer; in Arminianism, the believer chooses God.
Although the term predestination is
not used in the Bible, the apostle Paul uses a form of the same word in
Ephesians 1:11: “We have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according
to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His
will.”
All Christians agree that creation
is moving within the purpose of God. This purpose is to bring the world into
complete conformity to His will (Rom. 8:28). From the very beginning of time,
God predestined to save humankind by sending His Son to accomplish salvation.
Thus, “God would have all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the
truth” (1 Tim. 2:4).
The doctrine of predestination does not mean that God is
unjust, deciding that some people will be saved and that others will be lost.
Mankind, because of Adam’s Fall in
the Garden of Eden, sinned by free choice.
Thus, no person deserves salvation.
But God’s grace is universal. His salvation is for “everyone who believes”
(Rom. 1:16).
Paul also declared that he was a
debtor under obligation to take the message of the gospel to other people (Rom.
1:14) so they might hear and obey. Paul clearly meant that no one is saved
apart from the will of God and no one is lost apart from the will of God. But
the will of God functions within an order that God Himself has established.
Predestination is a profound and mysterious biblical
teaching. It focuses our thinking on human freedom and responsibility as well
as divine sovereignty.
nelson’s
New Illustrated Bible Dictionary © 1995, 1986 by Thomas Nelson Publishers
Ronald
F. Youngblood, Herbert Lockyer, Sr., F.F. Bruce, R.K. Harrison
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