They paused for a moment and both answered yes. I take it to mean that God will make no mistakes in his dealings with humanity. We wouldn’t have thought of it ourselves, but the Bible teaches it, therefore it must be true. We’re not all the same. I asked a very simple question: As you look back now, are you conscious that Someone was drawing you to Jesus? Here is the good news for sinners. When we finally get to heaven, we will look back and discover that we were indeed “chosen before the foundation of the world.”. What is fate? What if God, choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath—prepared for destruction? Anyone who wants to can walk right in. We’re in charge of being lost. He gives you a new heart and a new desire, and from that new desire you freely choose the Lord. The term predestined is found four times in two of Paul's epistles. If God is calling you, then come running to the cross of Christ. God is so determined to populate heaven that he has invited the whole world to join him there. There is a great mystery here. As I stated in my salvation article, people tend to think of salvation as voting for God as leader. I write on the front, “San Francisco.” I have predestined my package to travel from Tupelo to San Francisco. Charles Spurgeon applied this great truth to himself: I believe the doctrine of election, because I am quite sure that if God had not chosen me I should never have chosen him; and I am sure he chose me before I was born, or else he never would have chosen me afterwards; and he must have elected me for reasons unknown to me, for I never could find any reason in myself why he should have looked upon me with special love. When the moment comes, God so arranges the circumstances that you are irresistibly drawn to Jesus Christ. No, not at all. (Actually this statement—brief though it is—does summarize the Christian position on divine sovereignty and human responsibility as it has been developed over the centuries.). 2. Some people are simply “prepared” for destruction.              Next Page of Predestination >. No one will go to hell by mistake. (Romans, p. 148). What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory? That leads me to give you my personal understanding of predestination and free will. The Bible says that God is not willing that any should perish but wants all people to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). Male or female. Romans 9:19-29 doesn’t use the word, but it does contain the doctrine. The Judge of the all earth will do what is right–not just in the mega-sense but also in dealing with my father and with my friend’s brother and with all our loved ones and with each of us individually. Communion - 10 Important Things to Remember None of those things matter with God. By that I simply mean that you do not feel constrained by some divine power that forces you to eat at Burger King instead of McDonalds. He hears everything you say. Then someone shared the gospel with him and he said, “I’m not going to accept Christ tonight. No one can get around that fact. Since predestination is a biblical concept, we must face this doctrine squarely whether we like it or not. Bible Study and Teaching on Predestination This article tackles the central Message of the Bible, which is the very purpose of the Christian walk with the Lord, and the real meaning of Biblical Predestination. Everything is transparent before his eyes. The doctrine of Predestination is definitely in the Bible. You've planned for your future. Does it turn us into robots or puppets on a string? Mercy means receiving something you don’t deserve. Self-Preservation “We are all ruled in what we do by impulses; and these impulses are so organized that our actions in general serve for our self preservation and that of the race. It’s in the Bible, therefore we must first seek to understand it and then to ask what difference it makes. Harry Ironside told of a prayer meeting where a man gave a stirring testimony of God’s grace in his life. The illustration from the world of pottery-making is clear enough. However, I do want to assert one fact at the very beginning: The Bible does teach predestination. I think it is motivating to evangelism.