Home List
of Predestination Articles
Perhaps
When we talk about Calvinism, we should give some quotes
from John Calvin. Here is one that should interest you:
“No one who wishes to be thought religious dares. . .deny
predestination, by which God adopts some to hope of life, and sentences others
to eternal death. . . . When we attribute foreknowledge to God, we mean that
all things always were, and perpetually remain, under his eyes, so that
to his knowledge there is nothing future or past, but all things are
present....this foreknowledge is extended throughout the universe to every
creature. We call predestination God’s eternal decree, by which he
compacted with himself what he willed to become of each man. For all
are not created in equal condition; rather, eternal life is foreordained for
some, eternal damnation for others. Therefore, as any man has been created to
one or the other of these ends, we speak of him as predestined to life or to
death. [Some say man] had free choice that he might shape his own fortune, and
that God ordained nothing except to treat man according to his own deserts. If
such barren invention is accepted, where will that omnipotence of God be whereby he
regulates all things according to his secret plan, which depends solely
upon itself?”[1]
According to this fatalism, I want to report to you 3 of
the gazillion things God determined to be done in the last few years as
reported on the Web.. Yes, according to Calvin, we can say, “God did it,”
because God predestinated everything.
God caused a man to get thirsty and attempt to rob a Coke
machine. He then caused the Coke machine to topple over on top of the man as He
caused the man to try to tilt the machine so he could get a free Coke out of
it.
God caused a blade in the motor of a Delta jet to
precisely cut through the side of the jet and kill just a mother and her child.
That was real precision work that, according to Calvin, God did.
This one takes the cake: The Arizona Highway Patrol came
upon a mass of smoldering metal embedded in the side of a cliff which rose
above the road at the apex of a curve. The wreckage resembled the site of an
airplane crash, but it was a car. The type of car was unidentifiable at the
scene. The lab finally figured out what it was and what had happened. Remember,
according to Calvin, God caused what happened. It seems that a guy had somehow
gotten hold of a JATO unit (Jet Assisted Take Off - actually a solid fuel
rocket) that is used to give heavy military transport planes an extra “Push”
for taking off from short airfields. He had driven his Chevy Impala out into
the desert and found a long, straight stretch of road. Then he attached the
JATO unit to his car, jumped in, got up some speed and fired off the JATO! As
best as could be determined, the facts are, that the operator of the 1967
Impala hit the JATO ignition at a distance of approximately 3.0 miles from the
crash site. This was established by the prominent scorched and melted asphalt
at that location. The JATO, if operating properly, would have reached maximum
thrust within 5 seconds, causing the Chevy to reach speeds well in excess of
350 mph and continue at full power for an additional 20-25 seconds. The driver,
soon to be pilot, most likely would have experienced G-forces usually
experienced by pilots in dog-fighting F-14 jets with fully opened afterburners,
basically causing him to become insignificant for the remainder of the event.
However, the automobile remained on the straight highway for about 2 ½ miles, about
15-20 seconds, before the driver applied and completely melted the brakes, blew
the tires leaving thick rubber marks on the road surface, became airborne for
an additional 1.4 miles, and impacted the cliff face at a height of 125 feet
leaving a blackened crater 3 feet deep in the rock. Most of the driver’s
remains were not recoverable; however, small fragments of bone, teeth and hair
were extracted from the crater, and fingernail and bone shards were removed
from a piece of debris believed to be a portion of the steering wheel.
What could have been God’s purpose in doing all of this? I
read a typical answer in a monthly paper.[2]
“How do we reconcile the sovereignty of God and the free will
of man? We can’t, only God can! . . . God deliberately created His truth to be
outside the intellectual sphere of man. So how do we reconcile the great truths
[of God’s absolute sovereignty and man’s free will], I personally hold to the
absolute and total sovereignty of God, but I also hold to the volitional choice
of man. Thus, somehow in some way, God’s sovereignty is expressed in and
through the volitional choices of man. Do I understand this? No, but I do
believe it.
And that’s the problem. People don’t study the Bible to
see what it says. They look to the Bible to substantiate what they already
believe. Then they say, “Do I understand this? No, but I do believe it.” That
is, they believe the theology someone has concocted, not what the Bible reveals.
What is the solution? If we genuinely view ourselves as
helpless instruments of a schizophrenic God who says He wants us to be holy but
makes us do evil things, wants us to live peacefully, but brings tragedy &
pain to our lives, we’ll lead a foolish, fruitless life. We’ll always be able
to say, “That’s the kind of guy I am, God made me that way.” Instead of “The
Devil made me do it,” we’ll say “God made me do it.” Fate will always be an
excuse for ungodliness, lack of love, and a zestless Christian life.
But, if man has any free agency – can make any choices not
totally predestined by God, then, those future free acts would be unknowlable.
The Bible doesn’t say anywhere, “God knows the future, or God doesn’t know the
future.” But it does make statements which show that almighty God does not know
some of the future events of the somewhat free agent, man. God shows that man
has free will, because He doesn’t know for sure what man will do in all cases. But I haven’t proved that to you,
yet. Gen 22:12-17 shows God doesn’t know the future free actions of man.
Gen 22:12,15-17 And He said, “Do not lay your hand on the
lad, or do anything to him; for now I
know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only
son, from Me.” 15 Then the Angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time
out of heaven, 16 and said: “By Myself I have sworn, says the LORD, because you have done this thing, and
have not withheld your son, your only son; 17 blessing I will bless you,” etc.
In Jer 26:3 God said perhaps [yl^Wa, oo-laiy].
Jer 26:1-3 In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the
son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came from the LORD, saying, 2 “Thus
says the LORD: ‘Stand in the court of the Lord’s house, and speak to all the cities
of Judah, which come to worship in the Lord’s house, all the words that I
command you to speak to them. Do not diminish a word. 3 Perhaps [yl^Wa] everyone will listen and turn from his
evil way, that I may repent concerning the calamity which I purpose to bring on
them because of the evil of their doings.’”
But did they listen – No! Then it says in
Jer 36:1-3 Now it came to pass in the fourth year of
Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, that this word came to Jeremiah
from the LORD, saying: 2 “Take a scroll of a book and write on it all the words
that I have spoken to you against Israel, against Judah, and against all the
nations, from the day I spoke to you, from the days of Josiah even to this day.
3 It may be [yl^Wa] that the house of
Judah will hear all the adversities which I purpose to bring upon them, that
everyone may turn from his evil way, that I may forgive their iniquity and
their sin.”
But did they turn from their evil way? No! Then, in Eze
12: 1 it says:
Eze 12:1-3 Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying: 2
“Son of man, you dwell in the midst of a rebellious house, which has eyes to
see but does not see, and ears to hear but does not hear; for they are a
rebellious house. 3 Therefore, son of man, prepare your belongings for captivity,
and go into captivity by day in their sight. You shall go from your place into
captivity to another place in their sight. It may be [yl^Wa] that they will consider, though they are a rebellious
house.
But did they consider? No! God acts according to the
inconsistency and unreliability of man’s actions as shown in Ex 13:17:
Ex 13:17 Then it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the
people go, that God did not lead them by
way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said,
“Lest perhaps the people change their minds when they see war, and return
to Egypt.” God said, “Lest perhaps”!
Other Scripture shows that God repented.
Gen 6:5,6 Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was
great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only
evil continually. 6 And the Lord was sorry repented that He had made man
on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.
So, what is our responsibility?
Man is free – he can resist God’s will.
1 Tim 2:4 God our Savior desires [wills – qevlei] all men to be saved and to come to the
knowledge of the truth.
Yet we know that all men are not saved. That’s because man
can resist God’s will for them to be saved. Then, we find that even Christians
resist His will. In fact, every Christian I know resists His will to some
extent, because in 1 Th 4:3 it says:
For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you
should abstain from sexual immorality.
But, man is responsible – he can produce God’s will if he
does it God’s way.
Rom 12:1,2 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the
mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy,
acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed
to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may
prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
When Christians follow God’s instructions, God’s energizes
them with His power.
Phi 2:12,13 work out your own salvation with fear and
trembling; 13 for it is God who works in [oJ
ejnergw'n ejn uJmi'n] you both to will [toV
qevlein] and to do for His good pleasure.
God does this because He has a passion for godliness.
Isa 5:3,4 And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of
Judah, judge, please, between Me and My vineyard. 4 What more could have been
done to My vineyard that I have not done in it? Why then, when I expected it to
bring forth good grapes, did it bring forth wild grapes?
Israel may have been judged for salvation, but even we, in
the body of Christ, will be judged for our conduct.
2 Co 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat
of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to
what he has done, whether good or bad.
Above all other things, God wants us to love Him with our
all, and others as ourselves.
Mat 22:36-40 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in
the law?” 37 Jesus said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your
heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. 38 This is the first and
great commandment. 39 And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor
as yourself. 40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”
What does all of this mean? I hope it means you’ll
meditate on the word of God as food for your inner man. Then, by faith, let the
Holy Spirit produce God’s love in your heart.