Predestination

Mike Pilavachi and Andy Croft talk about Jesus choosing ordinary, broken people; misfits: ‘When Jesus chose his disciples, it appears he went for the worst of the worst. Think about them: Whenever Peter opened his mouth he put his foot in it. James and John were nicknamed “Sons of Thunder”, not because they had digestive problems, but almost certainly because they were bad tempered. We’re told in the gospels that they were ambitious. When Jesus had been telling them about how he was going to die on the cross, James and John said, “Could you do us a favour? After you’ve done your suffering could we sit at your right and left and be really important people?” Jesus wasn’t impressed (Mark 10:35-40).

They were also competitive. As Peter and John ran to the tomb when they heard that Jesus had risen from the dead, John couldn’t resist telling us that he was a faster runner than Peter (John 20:3-4). (Note: If you read to the end of his book John tells us that there are many good stories he’s left out – but he still thought it was important to let us know who was the quickest over 100 metres…)

They were vengeful and violent. When some Samaritan villagers didn’t invite them in for a cup of tea, they suggested to Jesus that they should call down fire from heaven and have them burnt up (Luke 9:54). Jesus must have wondered whether they would ever understand.

One of the disciples, Simon, was a Zealot. In other words, he was trying to violently overthrow the occupying Roman army. Today he could well be labelled a terrorist. Matthew collected taxes from his own people on behalf on the occupying Roman power and was regarded as a traitor to Israel. Thomas was every pastor’s worst nightmare. He was negative, wouldn’t believe anything anyone said and always seemed to see the cup as half-empty. Yet Jesus chose them. He loved them. He was committed to them. For three years they misunderstood him and had wrong motives but Jesus didn’t give up on them. In the end his love changed them and they changed the world.

If we want to look at some other characters in the Bible, think about this: Noah was a drunk, Abraham was too old, Isaac was a daydreamer, Jacob was a liar, Leah was ugly, Joseph was abused, Moses had a stutter, Gideon was afraid, Samson was a flirt, Rahab was a prostitute, Jeremiah was too young, David was an adulterer and a murderer, Elijah was suicidal, Isaiah preached naked, Jonah ran from God, Job went bankrupt, Peter denied Jesus (three times!), the disciples fell asleep whilst they were praying, the Samaritan woman was divorced (and quite possibly a sex addict), Zacchaeus was too small, Paul murdered Christians, Timothy probably had an ulcer and Lazarus was dead! If God can use a dead man he can use us.

Source: Mike Pilavachi and Andy Croft, Everyday Supernatural, 2016, Colorado Springs USA: David C. Cook Publishers, p.62-63

The Bible teaches both predestination (that God has planned everything in advance) and it teaches that we have free will. This is a mystery that the Scriptures hold in tension. The paradox is although the elect have been predestined to believe, we still remain free agents; we still have a choice. Nicky Gumbel rightly states that it’s difficult to get our minds around this paradox but he has always found this illustration helpful: Imagine written above the archway to the gates of heaven, Jesus’ words: ‘Come to me all…all you who are weary and burdened …’ (Matthew 11:28). In other words everyone is invited to come and enter in. And then when you get through the gates and look back, on the other side of the archway is written, ‘No one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him’ (Matthew 11:27b). In other words, free will is a doctrine for everyone. No one can say, ‘I can’t or I’m not going to become a Christian because I have not been chosen.’ The invitation is open to all. On the other hand, predestination is a wonderful doctrine of assurance for those who are Christians. Once you have accepted the invitation and entered in, you can know beyond any doubt that God has chosen you and therefore he will never let you go.

Source: Bible in One Year – Alpha devotional, accessed 14/1/2015

What difference does the doctrine of election make to us?

1. It prompts us to worship God. I cannot praise myself in any way for my salvation – I will praise God.
2. It makes us humble. It was not our perceptiveness, intelligence or wisdom that caused us to choose God; he chose us regardless of anything in us. There is nothing in us to be proud about.
3. It makes us hopeful in evangelism. Anyone, even the most unlikely, can be saved by God – so I’ll share the gospel with everyone I can.
4. It makes us confident. God is in charge of everything, and he is committed to us, to bring us to glory.

Explore Bible notes, 31/07/2014

It’s fair to say that many folk have a strong hostility to the doctrine of predestination. The most common objection people say is that it’s unfair. Why would God choose certain individuals and not others? Good question but the important thing to remember, here, is that no one deserves to be saved. We have ‘all sinned and fall short of the glory of God’ (Romans 3:23), and so the only thing we really deserve is to be punished, and not to be saved. The fact is God would be perfectly fair and just in allowing all of us to go to hell, which is eternal separation from God. However, God, in His providence and grace, chooses to save some of us. He is not being unfair to those who are not chosen, because they are receiving only what they deserve. God’s choosing to be gracious to some is not unfair to the others, because no one deserves anything from God and therefore, no one can have any grounds to object if they don’t receive anything from God. Let me share an illustration to make the point: Imagine a man randomly handing out money to five people in a crowd of twenty. Would the fifteen people who didn’t receive the free money be upset? Probably. But do they have any right to be upset? No, they don’t. Why? Well, because the man did not owe anyone anything. He simply decided to be gracious to some, and that, of course, is his prerogative.

Source: www.gotquestions.org