Predestination — Where to Exactly?
November 10, 2024
In one of the apostle Paul’s letters, the one to the Roman assembly of Believers, he wrote this:
“And He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose. For those God foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers.… — Romans 8:27–29, Berean Standard Bible.
I grew up in a Presbyterian family. That denomination is an offshoot of Calvinism. Now, Calvein seized upon one word in the above excerpt and made it into inviolate dogma that has misled people from that time on.
However he excluded the rest of the Gospel’s message For example, in the apostle John’s Book of the Revelations is Jesus’ invitation, “And the Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come.’ And let him that heareth say, ‘Come.’ And let him that is athirst come; and whosoever will, let him take the Water of Life freely”. — Revelation 22:17.
The particular phrase I want to emphasize is “…whosoever will, let him take the Water of Life freely.”
This is an open invitation.
This gives everyone the choice to respond or not.
Matthew 22:1–14 illustrates this in the The Parable of the Wedding Banquet. The apostle Peter warned about wrestling a word or phrase out of its context
So is Calvin’s point of view that some are destined to go to hell and a privileged few are guaranteed to go to Heaven?
The more I think about it the more absurd that thinking gets.
The only fact I read in the Bible’s Gospel account is that when we are born we are born separated from God and thus predestined for eternal separation from God — unless we are reconciled to God and given a new nature being born again into having the nature, and the character like Jesus’ character and nature.
That is predestination, and we all are given the invitation to avoid that destiny.
Finally, the apostle Peter explains how such errors can develop. Error and misunderstanding such concepts as predestination are explained in his letter, 2 Peter 3:16 , that is, what Paul is saying — “He writes this way in all his letters, speaking in them about such matters. Some parts of his letters are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction.”
What?!? Am I saying Calvin was being ignorant and/or unstable?!?
Yesireebob!
Happens to the best of us.
Let me remind everyone who holds to the dogma of Calvin, Jesus Himself said, “Those I love, I rebuke and discipline. Therefore be earnest and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in and dine with him, and he with Me.’ — Revelations 3:19–20, Berean Standard Bible.
