Election and Predestination

Fate, destiny, genetics, determinism, fatalism, bondage of the will.

Freedom, choice, liberty, libertarian free will.

A philosophical debate has been going on among us human beings for over 3000 years. The debate centers around this:

• Do human beings have the ability to freely make choices that effect the direction of their lives?
• OR
• Is everything that happens in our lives including the actions we take and the mental "decisions" we make pre-determined by a force or forces beyond our control?

There are not two clear "sides" to this debate and there are a whole range of views in between two extremes. The extreme view on one side is that human beings have no control or will at all and that every detail of their lives is controlled and determined by outside forces. In this view the external cause may be a "god", the universe, genetics, etc. The other extreme would be that human beings have absolute freedom to will or cause or control everything that happens to them.

Here are two quotes about this from the secular, non-religious perspective:

Somewhere around 400 BC the Greek Philosopher Leucippus said this:

“Nothing happens at random, but everything for a reason and by necessity.”¹ 

And as a more modern example, the well known physicist Stephen Hawking has said this:

“Free will is just an illusion.”²

And...

“This book is rooted in the concept of scientific determinism which implies...that there are no miracles or exceptions to the laws of nature.”³

Unfortunately, this debate has crept into Christian thought and beliefs as well. Here are some quotes from Christian theologians who have embraced a deterministic view of God, human existence, and salvation. John Piper says this:

"...God is the only being who is ultimately self-determining, and is himself ultimately the disposer of all things, including all choices — however many or diverse other intervening causes are...no human being has free will, at any time. Neither before or after the fall, or in heaven, are creatures ultimately self-determining."⁴

And he also says this:

“God...brings about all things in accordance with his will. In other words, it isn’t just that God manages to turn the evil aspects of our world to good for those who love him; it is rather that he himself brings about these evil aspects for his glory."⁵

Another Calvinist theologian, R.C. Sproul says this, referring to God:

“The reason why he knows everything that is going to come to pass is because he has ordained everything that is going to come to pass.”⁶

But what does God's word, the Bible, actually say about this?

Does God actually cause evil events?

First, I would like to present a Biblical response to John Piper's claim quoted above that God actually "brings about", that is, causes the evil events that occur. Please look at Jeremiah 19:3-7. Here Jeremiah is delivering God's message of coming judgement to the king and people of Israel:

Say, ‘Listen to the Lord’s message, you kings of Judah and citizens of Jerusalem! This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, has said, “Look here! I am about to bring a disaster on this place that will make the ears of everyone who hears about it ring. I will do so because these people have rejected me and have defiled this place. They have offered sacrifices in it to other gods that neither they nor their ancestors nor the kings of Judah knew anything about. They have filled it with the blood of innocent children. They have built places here for worship of the god Baal so that they could sacrifice their children as burnt offerings to him in the fire. Such sacrifices are something I never commanded them to make. They are something I never told them to do! Indeed, such a thing never even entered my mind."' (NET) (emphasis added)

Note the phrases that describe the actions of the people: "These people have rejected me"; "They have offered"; "they have filled"; "they have built". These phrases clearly indicate that the people, through their own choices, did these things. Also note that God clearly says that he had nothing to do with these evil actions.

• "Such sacrifices are something I never commanded them to make."
• "They are something I never told them to do!"
• "Indeed, such a thing never even entered my mind."

God is clearly saying here that he did not plan or force or decree or determine these human action.

Here are two quotes from the New Testament that also indicate that evil deeds and events come from the world and from human choice, not from God.

Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted by evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each one is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desires. (James 1:13-14 NET)

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him, because all that is in the world (the desire of the flesh and the desire of the eyes and the arrogance produced by material possessions) is not from the Father, but is from the world. (1 John 2:16-17 NET)

 What about salvation?

The most disturbing claim made by those holding to the Calvinist deterministic view is that human beings have absolutely no choice in salvation. They say that, because of sin, human beings are totally unable to even respond to God. Therefore, God has arbitrarily chosen certain people to be regenerated and accepted into the kingdom of God, and he has left the others to eternal separation from Him.

The majority of Christians, however, do not accept this position. We believe that all people are sinners and are not capable of living up to God's standard without help from God, but we believe that people are able to hear the message of the gospel and then to freely choose whether to accept the message or to reject it.

What does God's word, the Bible have to say about this? I am going to quote some Bible passages and then explain why each one supports the concept of human freedom of choice.

“And you, son of man, say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what you have said: “Our rebellious acts and our sins have caught up with us, and we are wasting away because of them. How then can we live?”’ Say to them, ‘As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but prefer that the wicked change his behavior and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil deeds! Why should you die, O house of Israel?’ (Ezekiel 33:10-11 NET)

Looking particularly at these two phrases...

•  but prefer that the wicked change his behavior
• Turn back, turn back from your evil deeds!

It is clear that people have the ability to turn to God for help, and indeed, the scripture indicates that God desires that they make the choice to turn to him.

Then those who respected the Lord spoke to one another, and the Lord took notice. A scroll was prepared before him in which were recorded the names of those who respected the Lord and honored his name. “They will belong to me,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “in the day when I prepare my own special property. I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him. Then once more you will see that I make a distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between the one who serves God and the one who does not.  (Malachi 3:16-17 NET)

Again, the clear indication of the language here is that people have a choice to respect God or to reject God; and those who respect God of their own free choice will be treated like sons by him.

Confusing words

I now want to look at some words or concepts used in the Bible that have caused confusion and debate among Christians regarding free will and salvation. The words are chosen or elect, and predestination.

Chosen, Elect

The Greek word eklektoi is used a number of times in the New Testament and it means to choose, to select, or to set apart. Jesus uses the word several times in his teaching and I want to look at one of those times now. In Matthew 22:1-14 Jesus tells this parable:

Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: 2 “The kingdom of heaven can be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son. 3 He sent his slaves to summon those who had been invited to the banquet, but they would not come. 4 Again he sent other slaves, saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited, “Look! The feast I have prepared for you is ready. My oxen and fattened cattle have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.”’ 5 But they were indifferent and went away, one to his farm, another to his business. 6 The rest seized his slaves, insolently mistreated them, and killed them. 7 The king was furious! He sent his soldiers, and they put those murderers to death and set their city on fire. 8 Then he said to his slaves, ‘The wedding is ready, but the ones who had been invited were not worthy. 9 So go into the main streets and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.’ 10 And those slaves went out into the streets and gathered all they found, both bad and good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests. 11 But when the king came in to see the wedding guests, he saw a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. 12 And he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ But he had nothing to say. 13 Then the king said to his attendants, ‘Tie him up hand and foot and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth!’ 14 For many are called, but few are chosen.” (NET)

First, I will explain what I think is the meaning of this parable and then I will explain what I think it has to do with free will vs determinism.

The meaning is as follows:

• The king is God and the son is Jesus.
• The wedding banquet is salvation.
• The first group invited were the people of Israel, the majority of whom rejected Jesus as the Messiah.
• The second group invited were the Gentiles, that is, everybody else.

Here is what I believe are the significant conclusions we can gain from this parable regarding free will and salvation:

• In both cases the people were "invited" but were not forced to come.
• The fact that the king invited them indicated that he wanted, desired them to come.
• The first group chose NOT to come of their own free will.
• The second group chose to come of their own free will.
• Everyone was invited, whether they were "bad" or "good".
• You don't have to be "good" before you come in, but once you are in God will help you become good.
• I am not absolutely certain about the person who was kicked out because he wasn't dressed properly, but I think it is because he came without humility and respect for the king and his son.

Jesus concludes the parable with this statement: "For many are called, but few are chosen." The word "chosen" could have been translated "elect". What did he mean by that? Who are the "called" and who are the "chosen"?

• The called are those who are invited; the gospel is the invitation.
• The language Jesus uses makes it clear that they have a free choice to come or not. 
• The chosen are the ones who freely choose to come.

I think Mark Moore put it very well in his Core 52 book:

Jesus' parable explains the basic process of election: they were invited and they came. It's that simple. Many prominent people were invited but refused to come. They were not elected. Others never deserved an invitation but received one and came gladly.They were elected. One guy came for the wrong reason and without the dress of respect. he was rejected.

Predestined

Calvinists use the word predestined to describe those people whom God supposedly chose arbitrarily for salvation before creation. But let me say clearly that predestine is NOT the same as predetermine. A destination is a place or a condition and it has nothing to do with fate or determinism. Lets look at one scripture in this regard, Ephesians 1:11-14:

In Christ we too have been claimed as God’s own possession, since we were predestined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to the counsel of his will so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, would be to the praise of his glory. And when you heard the word of truth (the gospel of your salvation)—when you believed in Christ—you were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit, who is the down payment of our inheritance, until the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of his glory. (NET)

I highlighted several phrases - lets look at them:

In Christ - Salvation is all about our relationship with Jesus Christ.
...predestined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to the counsel of his will.
Here is a question: What is God's will regarding our relationship to him and salvation?
And here is the answer:

• When you heard the word of truth, the gospel
• When you believed in Christ
• You were marked with the seal of the Holy Spirit - that is salvation

The answer is that you play a part and God plays a part:

You realize your need for help, you humble yourself, You believe in and trust Jesus.

God saves you and helps you.

Resources

If you want to pursue this subject further, here are some resources you may find helpful.

The website Soteriology101 has various resources that deal with this subjetc from a free will prespective.

This book by a Christian pastor, teacher, and theologian who was a Calvinist for 10 years but changed to a free will perspective.

Leighton C. Flowers, D.Min, The Potter's Promise, A Biblical Defence of Traditional Soteriology

Copyright 2017 Trinity Academic Press

ISBN-10:0-692-56184-6

ISBN-13:978-0-692-56184-3

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1. Leucippus, On the Mind
2. Stephen Hawking, The Grand Design, p.32
3. Ibid, p.34
4. John Piper at DesiringGod.org. https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/a-beginners-guide-to-free-will
5. John Piper at DesiringGod.org. https://document.desiringgod.org/suffering-and-the-sovereignty-of-god-en.pdf?ts=1439242069
6. R.C. Sproul in a question and answer session in a YouTube video.

Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NET) are from the NET Bible® 
copyright ©1996-2016 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.

This post is the result of my studies based on the book by Mark E. Moore, Core 52: A Fifteen-Minute Daily Guide to Building your Bible IQ in a Year, published by WaterBook (Penguin Random House)
Trade Paperback ISBN 978-0-525-65325-7
ebook isbn 978-0-525-65326-4