In all honesty, I don't think there is a "perfect denomination". I am Baptist because I believe Baptist takes the Bible as it is and does not answer to a higher church authority. The only authority to answer to, as a church, is God himself. However, I do not think anyone should hold too tightly to their denomination. When someone clings to their denomination, they start to worship their denomination rather than God. Rituals, sacraments, policies, traditions. These can actually oftentimes stand in the way of worshipping and following God.
We could talk about all sorts of beliefs that change from denomination to denomination, but I want to talk about a very specific topic that I believe, with exception of assurance of salvation, has the most diversity, and that is predestination. There are many different beliefs as to what predestination is and I want to clear at least some of it up. I also believe that the topic of free will ought to be explained with predestination since those two often go hand in hand.
A common belief is that some people are predestined to be saved and some people not. This would lead into "do we really have free will". If we are chosen into Heaven rather than others, can we do whatever we want? Moreover, if we are predestined to take a certain path in life, do we really have free will and the freedom to make our own choices? Or are all of our choices made because we were "predestined" to make them? If I am predestined to not enter Heaven, but I decide to accept Christ, are all those verses on assurance of salvation a lie? Would that make God a liar when he says "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved?" This is a tough argument and I want to clear some of this up by showing you what I have learned in my studies.
Let's start with looking at some common verses on predestination. Romans 8:28-30 says, "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. 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. 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." I will explain this in a minute, but let's first look at some other verses. Ephesians 1:4-5 says, "According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will". And 2 Peter 3:9, "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance."
These 3 verses would be easy to mistake as being predestination into salvation, but let's take a closer look. There are 3 important methods I follow when examining a verse: What is the context? Are there other verses that explain this verse? And does my interpretation contradict what God says in other parts of the Bible? I would like to examine these verses in that manner.
I want to first look at Romans 8:28-30 since this one is easiest to explain. Yes, Romans has MANY verses that explain salvation, but it also has explanations on what it means to be a Christian and who we are in Christ. This is the passage where Paul is talking about Christians, not lost people. Verse 28 is strictly talking about those who have been saved (and I will explain that word "called" in a bit). As we go into verse 29, we see the opening phrase "whom he did foreknow". This is very important! God already knows who will accept him. This does not mean that God only selects certain people, but rather that he already knows who will accept him.
In this passage, we even see what the predestination is: "to be conformed to the image of his Son". Only Christians can be conformed to Christ's image. When we are saved, we bear Christ's name, but conforming to His image must be a conscious decision as explained in Romans 12:1-2. What God has predestined is the path in which we are to walk as Christians. Does this mean we don't have free will? I will get to that in a bit.
Verse 30, then, says that those of us (Christians) who have been predestined to become like Christ (all of us), are also called into a specific ministry. That ministry may be as simple as witnessing to your neighbor, or as big as becoming a missionary to a foreign country. Every calling is as important and sovereign as the next. From there, he justifies us into that calling and as we conform to the image of Christ and follow Gods calling, we become glorified through him. That is what this passage is talking about. I find this passage easier to explain because it is straight forward. You don't need to search for the explanation of it in other parts of the Bible; it explains itself.
Let's move over to Ephesians 1:4-5 "According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will." And 2 Peter 3:9 is similar in saying "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance."
These verses, and especially in Ephesians, it can look initially that God predestinates people into salvation. I guess that is why so many people believe it. But that belief would contradict the rest of the New Testament which clearly states that "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that WHOSOEVER believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16, emphasis added) The whole New Testament is clear that if ANYONE chooses to accepts God's gift, he "will in no wise, cast out."
That being said, let's examine these verses. The key word in both verses is "will". Yes the verse in Ephesians states that our adoption is predestined, but the second half is according to his will. However, this is where things change. God wills that we all enter into his presence as seen at the end of 2 Peter 3:9. That is how we were initially created: pure. God designed us to dwell with him forever. But in the garden, when Adam sinned (free will), that cut ties. God cannot allow sin into his presence and that is why salvation is needed. God's created us to be with him forever, but with sin, we now need salvation. God still wills that we enter into his presence and presents the opportunity over and over. This is stated in 2 Peter when it says God is longsuffering and willing that we not perish.
God's will is different from predestination. It is God's will that we all accept him and follow him. Does that happen? Obviously not. God's will is what he wants from us, but predestination is what God has laid out for us and chosen for each of us. We saw in Ephesians 1:4 that God has chosen us to be holy and blameless. That is God's will. Does that make sense? God wills us to accept him, but predestinates the path for those who he already knows will accept him. He does not predestinate us to be saved, but does predestinate the calling of them who he already knows will accept him. This can be something that is hard to comprehend, but that is the point. God does not reveal all of himself to us. We do not have divine understanding as God does and that is why he is God and we are not. There are some things that God reveals enough to us to know it, but not enough to understand it 100%. Some things we may simply not know until we meet Christ face to face. Just because we may not understand it fully, does not mean we can put our own twist or interpretation to it. This is warned against in Revelation 22:19-21.
So if we are predestined to a certain calling, does that mean we do not have free will? I mentioned Adam sinning in the garden. That is the perfect example of free will. God created humans differently than the rest of creation. We are the only ones that he "formed" and breathed life into. We are the only ones created in his image. When God made Adam, he put him in a perfect environment and made him to be the perfect creation, but he also gave him a choice. He gave him certain commands, one being to not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God gave him the choice.
This oftentimes gets me to thinking. God created the perfect beings in his own image (by the way, angels were not created in his image, only us), but since sin is completely contradictory to God's nature, why did he allow Adam to have the choice to sin and go against God's nature? I believe one reason is because God wants us to have free will. Think about it, if God created Adam (and all humans) preprogrammed to love God and follow his commandments no matter what, is that really love? If you force someone to love you, is it true love? I think God gives us free will and choice because he wants us to choose to love him, not because we have to.
Proverbs 16:9 says "A man's heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps." God has planned our entire lives from the beginning and predestined those he knows will accept him, into a calling that he has laid out for us. We see this is Ephesians 1:4. But we still have a choice to follow that. This verse tells us that we choose which path we take and if we choose to take the way God has for us, he directs us. But we still have the choice whether or not to follow him. Predestination does not mean we don't have free will! This does bring up the question, "If God knows who will accept him and knows what path he will take, is that path what God laid out or does God use that to his glory?" This can send us in circles and thinking all day, but the truth is: God is sovereign. He has ultimate control. Our only job is to follow God's calling and live for him as he tells us in his Word.
You may disagree with all of this, but I encourage you to forget what your denomination claims. I want you to actually examine God's word. We cannot rely on what a pastor or priest tells us, if he does not support it with scripture, and the whole scripture. Oftentimes, a verse is used to support a point, but is taken out of context or twisted to mean what a man wants it to mean. It is too often that we make the Bible support our ideas rather than believing what the Bible has spelled out for us. Again, I encourage you to really read through the scriptures and find for yourself, the truth.
Let's move over to Ephesians 1:4-5 "According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will." And 2 Peter 3:9 is similar in saying "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance."
These verses, and especially in Ephesians, it can look initially that God predestinates people into salvation. I guess that is why so many people believe it. But that belief would contradict the rest of the New Testament which clearly states that "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that WHOSOEVER believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16, emphasis added) The whole New Testament is clear that if ANYONE chooses to accepts God's gift, he "will in no wise, cast out."
That being said, let's examine these verses. The key word in both verses is "will". Yes the verse in Ephesians states that our adoption is predestined, but the second half is according to his will. However, this is where things change. God wills that we all enter into his presence as seen at the end of 2 Peter 3:9. That is how we were initially created: pure. God designed us to dwell with him forever. But in the garden, when Adam sinned (free will), that cut ties. God cannot allow sin into his presence and that is why salvation is needed. God's created us to be with him forever, but with sin, we now need salvation. God still wills that we enter into his presence and presents the opportunity over and over. This is stated in 2 Peter when it says God is longsuffering and willing that we not perish.
God's will is different from predestination. It is God's will that we all accept him and follow him. Does that happen? Obviously not. God's will is what he wants from us, but predestination is what God has laid out for us and chosen for each of us. We saw in Ephesians 1:4 that God has chosen us to be holy and blameless. That is God's will. Does that make sense? God wills us to accept him, but predestinates the path for those who he already knows will accept him. He does not predestinate us to be saved, but does predestinate the calling of them who he already knows will accept him. This can be something that is hard to comprehend, but that is the point. God does not reveal all of himself to us. We do not have divine understanding as God does and that is why he is God and we are not. There are some things that God reveals enough to us to know it, but not enough to understand it 100%. Some things we may simply not know until we meet Christ face to face. Just because we may not understand it fully, does not mean we can put our own twist or interpretation to it. This is warned against in Revelation 22:19-21.
So if we are predestined to a certain calling, does that mean we do not have free will? I mentioned Adam sinning in the garden. That is the perfect example of free will. God created humans differently than the rest of creation. We are the only ones that he "formed" and breathed life into. We are the only ones created in his image. When God made Adam, he put him in a perfect environment and made him to be the perfect creation, but he also gave him a choice. He gave him certain commands, one being to not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God gave him the choice.
This oftentimes gets me to thinking. God created the perfect beings in his own image (by the way, angels were not created in his image, only us), but since sin is completely contradictory to God's nature, why did he allow Adam to have the choice to sin and go against God's nature? I believe one reason is because God wants us to have free will. Think about it, if God created Adam (and all humans) preprogrammed to love God and follow his commandments no matter what, is that really love? If you force someone to love you, is it true love? I think God gives us free will and choice because he wants us to choose to love him, not because we have to.
Proverbs 16:9 says "A man's heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps." God has planned our entire lives from the beginning and predestined those he knows will accept him, into a calling that he has laid out for us. We see this is Ephesians 1:4. But we still have a choice to follow that. This verse tells us that we choose which path we take and if we choose to take the way God has for us, he directs us. But we still have the choice whether or not to follow him. Predestination does not mean we don't have free will! This does bring up the question, "If God knows who will accept him and knows what path he will take, is that path what God laid out or does God use that to his glory?" This can send us in circles and thinking all day, but the truth is: God is sovereign. He has ultimate control. Our only job is to follow God's calling and live for him as he tells us in his Word.
You may disagree with all of this, but I encourage you to forget what your denomination claims. I want you to actually examine God's word. We cannot rely on what a pastor or priest tells us, if he does not support it with scripture, and the whole scripture. Oftentimes, a verse is used to support a point, but is taken out of context or twisted to mean what a man wants it to mean. It is too often that we make the Bible support our ideas rather than believing what the Bible has spelled out for us. Again, I encourage you to really read through the scriptures and find for yourself, the truth.
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