Predestination: Does God choose who will be saved?

 

Was coming to Christianity something you did on your own or did God predestine you before you were born to be a Christian who will persevere to the end in faith? I will argue in this entry that when we look at the scriptural data, I believe the latter is true. Now I know many will have vehement disagreements with me on this, which is fine however I do ask you to hear the opposing side first so you at least know where we have gone wrong. I welcome feedback in the comments.

To break this down 2 questions need to be asked when dealing with this larger question. 1st, can human beings come to genuine saving faith of their own free will. 2nd Does God pick those that will come to the faith and be saved. The biblical term for those who come to final salvation is the "elect". I ask you to approach these passages from the Word of God with an open mind and seeking truth in the only place we are certain truth lies.

Can man come to faith of his own will?

Lets hop right into passages that speak of the condition of mankind and weather they can respond to the Gospel call of their own agency. 

Romans 3:10 as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; 11  no one understands; no one seeks for God. 12  All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.”  Here we are told that no one seeks for God, bear that in mind, Next

Romans 9:16 So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.

1 Corinthians 2:14, “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.”

 Lets hear what Jesus tells the Pharisees in John 6.

John 6:44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day

John 6: 64 But there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.) 65 And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.”

Now you can read the entire chapters for context around these verses, and how they don't change the context of what's being said. I restate the question: "Can man come to faith of his own free will?" Jesus says no one can come to him unless it is granted to him by the Father, do we believe him?

Does God pick who will be saved.

If man cannot come to the faith of their own human will. That means that God must be the one who works faith in the hearts of believers. Does God choose the Elect before hand, well lets look at some verses. Lets start with Ephesians 1:

Ephesians 1:4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.

Ephesians 1:11 In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will,

Acts 13:48 And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed

Here we are told that upon preaching the Gospel only those who were appointed to eternal life believed.

Mark 13:19 For in those days there will be such tribulation as has not been from the beginning of the creation that God created until now, and never will be. 20 And if the Lord had not cut short the days, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect, whom he chose, he shortened the days.

So we know God elects some people to eternal life, but what is the criteria for this election? Divine grace, that is God elects people unto eternal life based solely on grace (see Romans 9:16, Ephesians 1:5-6 above). For it to truly be Grace then it has to be unmerited meaning that there is nothing in the human himself that made God choose him, remember man cannot come to God or do what is pleasing to God of his own free will so all conversions are a work of the Spirit. Ephesians 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Answering Objections

Objection 1: What about free will? The Bible never says that human can will to do whatever they want the bible says repeatedly that our wills are bound to sin and we love the sin of the world. The bible refers to humans as slaves of sin Titus 3:3, unable to do what is pleasing to God Hebrews 11:6. So if our wills are enslaved and if we we are unable to do things e.g. please God then by definition our wills aren't free. However I am not saying we don't make free choices, just that apart from faith in Christ Jesus none of our actions please God. Hebrews 11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. Once again we know from previous passages that we can only seek for God once he works in us another supporting passage for this is Ephesians 2:3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—. 

I encourage you to read verse 5 again, we see that we are made alive by God, while we are dead in our trespasses and sins.

Objection 2: Isn't that unfair why would God only choose some and not others and how can he still find fault in those that don't believe? Ill let the Apostle Paul answer this one Romans 9:10 And not only so, but also when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, 11 though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad—in order that God’s purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls— 12 she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” 13 As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.” 14 What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means! 15 For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”----18 So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills. 19 You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?” 20 But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?” 21 Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? 

We cannot know why God picks some and not others, he has not told us in his Word why however, we can trust that the Judge of the Earth will do what's right and just.

Think about it, if God left the final decision of human salvation up to us that would be really unfair. I was born a Christian and will likely by the grace of God die a Christian, However what about those in Muslim majority countries who have heard the Gospel but because of their family members and societal pressure will always dismiss Christianity because they have too much to loose. For me its the opposite i will loose family and friends if I leave Christianity. We see that if God isn't in control of salvation then your likely hood of burning in hell for eternity is more statistically determined by your geographical location. But if God is Sovereign over salvation then we know that salvation isn't up to us and we can rest assured that our salvation isn't in our own hands and that God is sovereignly saving his elect regardless of where they are. 

Conclusion

John 6:47 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. The doctrine of election and predestination can be difficult and confusing with Christians disagreeing in all ages of history. But one thing is for certain that we can rest on the Words of our God and savior Jesus Christ that whoever believes has eternal life and hence is apart of the elect. All we have to do is believe and tell and encourage others to believe and we will all be saved.