“And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of God; and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed” (Acts 13:48).
This has been a question that I have traveled long and hard with. I am not aware of any other subject that is more controversial than this one. Yet, as controversial as it is, I submit that we should not shy away from it. We should dive into this subject head on. I write this post for many of you who have never heard anything of this sort before. What does it mean to “predestined”? The doctrine of predestination (or election, as it is sometimes called) has been summed up well by one theologian:
Election is an act of God before creation in which he chooses some people to be saved, not on account of any foreseen merit in them, but only because of his sovereign good pleasure.” (1)
To some, this doesn’t sound like the Christianity that they know to be true. If any of you are like I was, then you will probably be tempted to call this doctrine a heresy. Yet, before one comes to such a conclusion, I pray that you will hear the claims first. My journey through this doctrine has been a hard one. There was a time when I was very much settled (nice and cozy, I might add) into a very flesh-pleasing doctrine of Free Will. I, too, once thought that man had a will that could choose God, unaided by the Holy Spirit. Yet, I had to ask myself, is this idea of man being able to choose God unaided by the Spirit true–That is, is it biblical? My conclusion came to be that it was not. I could go into the history of the great feud between St. Augustine and Pelagius, but I’d rather not. For one, I don’t know my church history enough to be commenting on it (though I am always studying it!). Secondly, it really doesn’t matter what man has to say about doctrine. It’s the Bible that matters. John Calvin could be wrong, but the Bible cannot. Martin Luther was fallible; the Bible is not. Therefore, it is becoming of us to dive into what the Bible says. Grant it, I do not have enough time (or space) to go into a deep, exegetical thesis of the doctrine of the sovereignty of God, but I do think I have the patience to get into it somewhat without losing your attention. So–ready or not–here goes.
Does the Bible teach that God ordains some to eternal life? I maintain that it does. Let’s take a look at one verse in particular.
“And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of God; and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed” (Acts 13:48).
The part of this passage that I want to hone in on is the second clause. “…and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed.” Notice that it does not say, “And as many who believed were appointed to eternal life.” No, it says just the opposite. “As many as were appointed…believed.” Once can conclude, then, that before you can believe, you must have first been appointed, or ordained, to eternal life. So, then, who does the appointing (or ordaining, or predestining)?
“For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son…” (Romans 8:29, NIV)
The answer is clear. God does the predestining, the appointing, the ordaining. Another passage that I want to take a look at is John 6:44:
“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day” (John 6:44, NIV).
And again,
“…this is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled him” (John 6:65).
It is obviously clear from these passages that sinful man cannot come to God unless the Father “draws” him. In fact, the scripture (John 6:65) goes so far as to say that man must be “enabled” to come. This implies, obviously, that he is “unable” to come before the Holy Spirit gets a hold of him. So I think it is quite clear that man is, indeed, unable to come to God apart from God’s drawing. Man is not “free,” if you will, to come to God unless he has first been given that freedom. Man, since the fall, has been enslaved in sin. And sin is all that he wants. There is not one good thing in man that causes him to seek or want God. That is why God must first give the desire to come to him. Why? Because man, on his own, does not have such a desire.
“…there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God” (Romans 2: 11, NIV).
There is this lie that has been going around for sometime that says, “All men seek God.” Well, I’ve got news for people: No they don’t! Man, at least according to scripture, does not seek God. Oh, he may seek what God has to give, but not God for who He is. Of course, men want God to make them rich, give them blessings, etc. But God and God alone? Never. Man is at war with God. Man is at enmity with God. Therefore, it follows that God must first place a desire for Himself before man will ever get saved.
So, we’ve shown how God must call us to himself before we can ever be saved. When did He set us apart for salvation? That is, when did He choose for us to be saved? The Scripture says, that God “saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began” (2 Timothy 1:9, ESV, emphasis added).
This passage makes it clear that God chose us to be saved even before we believed. He is the one that set us apart before we were even formed. Question. If God must be the one to determine who will be saved and who will not, then why doesn’t He just save everyone? After all, it’s not His will that any should perish (2 Peter 3:9).
First of all, I must say that I believe every Scripture that preaches that God wills that everyone be saved. I love passages like that. I will preach them until my dying day. However, we must draw a line in the sand when we talk about the wills and decress of God. First, I submit that God has two wills. Theologians sometimes call these the sovereign will and the moral will. For instance, the Scriptures say the God “does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and peoples of the earth” (Daniel 4:35). This makes it clear that God can do what He wants without having to answer to any man. What He sets forth to do, he does. No man can stop Him. This is called His Sovereign Will.
“But wait a second,” you say. “God’s will can’t always get done–after all, I went against His will this morning when I lied. It’s not God’s that anyone lie, but, yet, I lied. Doesn’t this make God’s will breakable?” Well, no. It doesn’t. When people break God’s will, they are not breaking His sovereign will, but his moral will. God’s moral will can be broken, but God’s sovereign will cannot. So, when God wills that only a few will be saved (“many called, few are chosen”), and then He says that it’s not His will that anyone perishes, He is speaking about two different wills. It may be God’s moral will that not everyone be lost, but it is His sovereign will to save only a few.
Yet, some will say, “That’s not fair!” I agree. It is not fair. What’s fair is that all go to hell. That’s fairness. It’s wonder He should save anyone. God can choose to show mercy to whomever He wants. He can also harden whomever He wants.
“I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion” (Romans 9: 14, NIV).
Well, folks, I think this is enough for tonight. Let us be glad that God has saved us. Let’s not thank ourselves. We didn’t choose Christ because we were smart enough or wise enough. No, we chose Christ because He first chose us.
soli Deo gloria, Matthew Halsted
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NOTES: 1. Grudem, Wayne Christian Beliefs. Zondervan: Grand Rapids, Michigan. pg.79
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3 responses so far ↓
Anon // September 24, 2008 at 7:53 pm |
Cool article… I agree with you on the fact that we cannot choose God until salvation. However, I’m not sure I agree with you on the idea that God has two wills.
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.
Who is this “to us-ward” and “any” referring to and is the word “all” referring to every man?
Consider Luke 2:1 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed.
Is the phrase “all the world” referring to the entire world? How was Caesar Augustus going to tax the entire world?
Or consider Mark 1:5 And there went out unto him all the land of Judaea, and they of Jerusalem, and were all baptized of him in the river of Jordan, confessing their sins.
“…All the land of Judaea”; “…Were all baptized” What was the population of Judea and Jerusalem combined at this time? It must have been in the millions or close to that. Can you imagine John (and maybe his followers) baptizing hundreds of thousands of people? Or let’s speculate (not good to do) and say that they each baptized themselves. Can you imagine hundreds of thousands or maybe millions of people in a river? What about the Pharisees? Were they also baptized? They were after all in the land of Judaea and Jerusalem…
When the Bible teaches that God is “not willing that any should perish”, this is not talking of every man that ever existed. This is only referring to those whom He chose – His elect…
With this in mind 1 Corinthians 15 begin to make sense…
1 Corinthians 15:22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
All die refers to all of man kind while “all be made alive” refers only to God’s elect otherwise Christ will be a liar…
Matthew 7:13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
Matthew 7:22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
And you and I both know that that is an impossibility. When we study the Bible we must consider all that the Bible has to say about a particular topic – say, salvation. And only when we have no contradictions can we come up with a doctrine.
1 Corinthians 2:13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
Thanks
Its me // December 9, 2008 at 4:33 am |
Acts 13:48
As many as were ordained to eternal life believed—This text has been most pitifully misunderstood. Many suppose that it simply means that those in that assembly who were fore-ordained; or predestinated by God’s decree, to eternal life, believed under the influence of that decree. Now, we should be careful to examine what a word means, before we attempt to fix its meaning. Whatever τεταγμενοι may mean, which is the word we translate ordained, it is neither προτεταγμενοι nor προορισμενοι which the apostle uses, but simply τεταγμενοι, which includes no idea of pre-ordination or pre-destination of any kind. And if it even did, it would be rather hazardous to say that all those who believed at this time were such as actually persevered unto the end, and were saved unto eternal life. But, leaving all these precarious matters, what does the word τεταγμενος mean? The verb ταττω or τασσω signifies to place, set, order, appoint, dispose; hence it has been considered here as implying the disposition or readiness of mind of several persons in the congregation, such as the religious proselytes mentioned Acts 13:43, who possessed the reverse of the disposition of those Jews who spake against those things, contradicting and blaspheming, Acts 13:45. Though the word in this place has been variously translated, yet, of all the meanings ever put on it, none agrees worse with its nature and known signification than that which represents it as intending those who were predestinated to eternal life: this is no meaning of the term, and should never be applied to it. Let us, without prejudice, consider the scope of the place: the Jews contradicted and blasphemed; the religious proselytes heard attentively, and received the word of life: the one party were utterly indisposed, through their own stubbornness, to receive the Gospel; the others, destitute of prejudice and prepossession, were glad to hear that, in the order of God, the Gentiles were included in the covenant of salvation through Christ Jesus; they, therefore, in this good state and order of mind, believed. Those who seek for the plain meaning of the word will find it here: those who wish to make out a sense, not from the Greek word, its use among the best Greek writers, and the obvious sense of the evangelist, but from their own creed, may continue to puzzle themselves and others; kindle their own fire, compass themselves with sparks, and walk in the light of their own fire, and of the sparks which they have kindled; and, in consequence, lie down in sorrow, having bidden adieu to the true meaning of a passage so very simple, taken in its connection, that one must wonder how it ever came to be misunderstood and misapplied. Those who wish to see more on this verse may consult Hammond, Whitby, Schoettgen, Rosenmuller, Pearce, Sir Norton Knatchbull, and Dodd.
I found this simple commentary and thought I should pass this along.
The Idea that man has not a free will or cant choose God eliminates any reality in a real “Relationship” with Him. Sort of like a mail order wife…I dont think God is looking for a mail order bride but rather one who loves Him back. Its a choice to love…
I conclude. Since the 16th century it has been a topic of many. John Calvin, Jacobus Arminious.. It will not end. Stubbornness (Idolizing your own thoughts) will blind many peoples eyes to the truth.
Love God because He first loved you. Live for Him, die to yourself, pick up your cross, follow Him. Christ didnt preach calvinism or arminiansm, He preached Life, IF YOU WILL abide in Me My father WILL abide in you.
Thanks
mike // September 22, 2009 at 11:32 pm |
To analyze scripture, you should have some working knowledge of Greek. In Acts 13:48 “tetagemanoi”, a nominative case, perfect tense, passive middle voice participle of “tasso” is used, and indicates a * present* influence on the Gentiles toward eternal life and believing the gospel. This fits the context: Acts 14:1 continues, saying Paul and Barnabas “so spake, that a great multitude … believed.”
“Tasso” is used 7 other times in the NT, none of which express the idea of predestination. Where predestination is mentioned, it is derived from “proordizo.”
Romans 8:29 does not mention eternal states, instead the likeness of Christ.
John 6:65 is properly rendered “except it were given [Gr “didomi”] unto him of my Father.” I.e. the Father gives the opportunity to come. Something given can be accepted or rejected. Other uses of “didomi” throughout the NT : John 1:17, John 4:10, John 17:14, John 18:11, Romans 12:3 and 15:15, Galatians 2:9. All use the same Greek term, and all mean something that can be accepted or rejected.
Romans 2:1 is taken from the Psalms, and is not meant to give scientific description of the condition of man. It shows the general attitude of his heart – the sinful nature. Obviously this doesn’t say men are unable to respond to the gospel when a missionary seeks them out.
Romans 9 says a lot of things, but it doesn’t say anything about eternal destinies of individuals. The passage about Jacob and Esau are about nations – see obvious references to Malachi – and do not address their eternal destinies. The passage about Pharoah only says God will use the innate evil of a person to do His will. Reading Exodus, one can’t avoid passages clearly stating that God hardened Pharoah’s heart – they’re usually right next to ones saying Pharoah hardened his own.
So, Calvinist interpretations of the Bible are a little skewed in my opinion. They rest more on the work of Augustine and Luther, though Calvin only gave credit to the former. It’s odd though – only Augustine can be mentioned, because all the other early church fathers say nothing on the subject, or, like Chrysostom – an archbishop – say that free will exists. And what’s even more alarming is that someone who reads Augustine closely sees that for him, the sovereignty of God and the free will of man are co-existent.
So before spreading a philosophy, be sure you have done the research. At the very least, this means looking into the original language in which it was written.