We are continuing to answer some of the questions we received during our Big Questions sermon series. One of the questions we addressed in the final weekend of the Big Questions sermon series was, “Do we choose God or does God choose us?” (find it here, from 45:45 to 50:00), and we pointed out how many passages speak about God electing to save people and using the term predestination; therefore, as a church, we believe in the ideas of election or predestination. A number of other questions related to predestination and election were also submitted that I wanted to address in this post.
If God has planned out our whole existence, do we still have free will about our salvation or anything else? If human decisions are the out workings of the decision of God, wouldn’t our lives and actions leave nothing to chance?
The Bible affirms that God elects to save people and that He has a plan and purpose – that nothing takes Him by surprise – and at the same time, humans make real choices that are in accordance with their desires (which is what it means to have free will – to be able to chose in accordance with what you want rather than being forced). The Westminster Confession of Faith (written in the 1640’s), citing verses like Matthew 17:12, James 1:14, and Deuteronomy 30:19, puts it this way in Article 9, Section 1: “God hath endued the will of man with that natural liberty, that it is neither forced, nor by any absolute necessity of nature determined, to good or evil.” Earlier in that same confession it says, “God, from all eternity, did, by the most wise and holy counsel of His own will freely, and unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass: yet so, as thereby neither is God the author of sin, nor is violence offered to the will of the creatures; nor is the liberty or contingency of second causes taken away, but rather established,” once again citing a number of passages (Ephesians 1:11, Romans 11:33, Hebrews 6:17, Romans 9:15, 18, James 1:13, 17, 1 John 1:5, Acts 2:23, Matthew 17:12, Acts 4:27-38, John 19:11, and Proverbs 16:33). I will admit that it might seem odd to say that God has a plan and knows all things and that we make free and real choices, but we might be looking at it from a human standpoint, thinking it must be one or the other…not both. Jesus was fully human and fully God – 100% of each which does not make sense. When the divine and human spheres interact and connect, there is bound to be some mystery. Therefore, we can rest in the idea that God has a plan and also know that our choices are real.
Why can some people listen and look at the evidence and believe it, while others look at the same evidence and not believe? Is there an element of being chosen and/or receiving the Spirit?
It is amazing that two people can look at the same evidence and come to very different conclusions, and we see that to be true when people examine facts about the Bible and its reliability. Part of the reason people do not come to believe, even in the face of evidence, is that Satan blinds people to the truth: “the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Corithians 4:4). At the same time, we need to recognize that when we come to faith, it is not due to our intellect or rationality that is superior to others. As Jesus notes, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him” (John 6:44). The doctrine of election allows us to believe without arrogance, as we know our salvation starts with God’s work in us rather than with something inherent in us and that without God’s intervention, we would continue to walk in blindness.
God is all knowing and all loving, so why would He create someone if He knows, in their free will, they won’t choose to believe in Him? Why create the angel(s) and people who started the fall? Why not create a world where all this sin, suffering, death, and eternal damnation didn’t happen, since He can do anything?
This is a good question and one that I always seek to tread into lightly, recognizing my finite view as a human being. Just as my young children often ask “why?”, there are many times when the technical explanation is not what they need to know or can understand, so there is a sense we have to be careful in asking God “why?” as there may be a greater purpose than we will ever understand. That said, we don’t want to dismiss the question, because it is one that we often wonder about. We see in the Bible that God knows all things and nothing takes Him by surprise, so the sin of Adam and Eve and the results that emerge from that were not unknown when they were created. In fact, we see that God chose to save people before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4), which means He knew that Jesus would come and die even before things were created. We also need to remember that God created the world for His glory. Therefore, it seems that God, in His infinite wisdom, created a world in which sin would come into existence (He is not the author of sin, as sin came about because of the choice of humanity and before them, Satan) because it would display and demonstrate His glory. In a sense, it would seem that a world in which this was not possible would not be as effective of a display of God’s glory. That said, we need to recognize that God did not create sin (sin is the absence of God, rather than a created thing) and that He does not cause sin; He tolerates this sin and in the process, displays His mercy. That might be hard to read, but we also need to know that sin is even more egregious to God than it is to us. A final point that I think is important for us to remember is that God did not have to create – the Triune God has existed in perfection from eternity past and has never lacked anything. Therefore, another question to ask is why did God even create the world in the first place? I don’t know the answer, but I do know that because He has done so, I exist and get to see His glory in this world and for all eternity.
Is it possible to lose your faith?
While this question does not directly refer to predestination, the topic of whether someone can lose their faith and salvation often comes up in conversations about election and predestination. Some would ask that if God has elected people, can they do whatever they want and it won’t matter because God has saved them? However, we see in Scripture that God choosing to save people is not just about them going to heaven when they die, but living for Him while on earth. “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit” (John 15:16). God’s spirit transforms us so that we will obey Him; this does not mean sinless perfection (see Romans 7 and the struggle Paul describes there), but there is a life change when God is working in someone. In addition, we have to remember the words of Jesus that, “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. …. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day” (John 6:37-40). No one whom God has elected will be lost, and those whom God chooses to save will remain and endure in faith, stumbling and falling at times, but not falling away completely in the end.
If God knows all things, then why pray?
Pastor Jason DeVries handled this question in the final week of the Big Questions series and rather than rehash his excellent insights on this good question, I will point you to his teaching that you can find here, from 50:00 to 54:15.
More Still to Come
Based on the number of questions I received, I realize that it will likely take longer to answer them than the month I had planned, so we will continue to answer these questions in the posts over the new few weeks, so stay tuned for more answers to your big questions.
Questions about the Bible or theology? Email them to Pastor Brian at Theology@WeAreFaith.org. You can also request to receive weekly emails with our blog posts by filling out the information on the right side.
