Thoughts on Predestination

I recently Skyped into a high school classroom in Nairobi, Kenya to answer Bible questions from students. The prominent question had to do with God’s election of those who would be saved, or predestination. They wondered if humans had any choice in their eternal destination if God was the only one deciding the matter and did He pick who went to heaven and who went to hell.

Mentally, I reviewed my own journey through this question. It is probably the most unsolved argument among theological circles and probably will never be answered to everyone’s satisfaction. On one hand is Calvinism that proposes that humans have no part in the process because God has already decided beforehand who will be saved and who will not be saved. On the other hand is the Arminian view that leaves the choice to the freewill of humans. There are varying levels of proposals in both views, from extremes to compromise.

As a young man, I felt compelled to decide what I felt to be the truth about salvation and eternity as it relates to humanity. Somewhere between Calvinism and Arminianism lay the truth. That both God and man were involved in their relationship together. What needed to be reconciled in my mind was the pre-election found in passages like Ephesians 1 where believers were known from before time and Revelation 22 where all are invited to come. I knew that it was not God’s will that any perish as 2 Peter stated and Paul said to Timothy. I also knew that Jesus died for all mankind.

My search led me to Romans 8:29-30 and that passage brought the reconciliation to me that I needed. God based His decisions of the elect based on what He knew rather than what He willed. I remembered that it was not His will that any perish (2 Peter 3:9; 1 Timothy 2:4) but many will perish. What God knows and acts on is far different than randomly choosing who goes to heaven and who goes to hell. God has made random, unexplained choices before, as with choosing Abraham to be the father of a nation, but the salvation or condemnation of millions is not a random choice with God.

Romans 8:29 begins by stating that God predestined those that He foreknew. God is not bound by time so He knows the end from the beginning. I don’t fear going into tomorrow because God has already been there. Time is a creation of God and He will do away with it in the last days. God knows who is going to respond to His call and who will reject it. Based on what He already knows, He has already chosen the willing to be saved. He didn’t will their response; He simply knows what it will be.

 

It is like someone watching a movie. When the movie is over, the viewer knows the end from the beginning. He knows at what point he will laugh, cry, or be tense. He hasn’t willed these things, he simply knows it. When he invites someone to watch the movie with him, he already knows the outcome and bases his reaction on what he already knows, not on what he wills.

I was chosen before time began according to Ephesians 1:4-5. He knew before creation that in time, I would respond to His call to me out of my lostness and give Him total control of my life through faith and repentance. Knowing this, my salvation was a “done deal” before time began based on what God already knew. In God’s mind and economy, I was already saved before there was an earth.

Romans 8:30 states that whom He predestined, in time He called. He knew when He called that I would answer. Whom He called, He justified (declared innocent, forgave) and salvation was set. Whom He justified, He also glorified. For a saved one to be glorified points to his end, meaning he has been transformed in eternity, heaven and has become like Jesus (1 John 3:2). Glorification is the end state of the believer. Notice that being glorified is in the past tense, already done in God’s mind before it happens.

 

To summarize, God knew ahead of time who would respond to His call of salvation. He chose them as the elect before time began based on His foreknowledge rather than His foreordination. Those whom He had predestined based on what He knew, in time He called them, saved them, and set their end state. This reconciles the difference between God has chosen a select group and whosoever will may come.

Romans 8:29-30 is a chain of five links that connects eternity past with eternity future. He predestined in eternity past, called and saved in time, and set our glorification for eternity future.

Chosen in Him before time,

I chose Him in time.

This is the skinny version of my thinking about the sovereignty of God concerning salvation. Many will have other thoughts. This brings reconciliation of truth to my heart.

Reasons

Since the sin and fall of man in Eden, people have walked by faith with an unseen God. He spoke, acted, and moved among them, usually without being visible. When God decided to step out of heaven, He came as a man, born a child in Bethlehem. Why did He decide to come among His creation? There are definite reasons why Jesus came to earth to live and die. In this new series that begins Sunday we discuss several of those reasons.

Summer in the Scripture – Week 4

The summer is already flying by.  I’m looking forward to hearing Dr. Luke’s account of the life of our Savior this week.  He was a medical doctor and the only gentile author in the Bible.  Many Bible scholars believe that his source of information that his gospel is based upon was Mary, the mother of Jesus.  He has insight that reveals Mary’s heart like no other gospel writer.  When he says, “And Mary kept these things and pondered them in her heart”, we surmise that only Mary could have told him that.  He also wrote the book of Acts, being a traveler with the Apostle Paul in some of his travels.  He writes with the accuracy of his training.  I am enjoying Luke’s account of the “old, old story” of Jesus and His love.

Summer in the Scripture – week 3

In listening through the book of Mark this week, one thing is certain.  Jesus did some amazing things that had never been done or attempted among people of the earth.  No wonder crowds followed Him wherever He went.  He taught them about life, healed them, fed them, delivered them, and loved them.  Who wouldn’t respond to that touch from heaven?  I purposed not to listen with ears that assign those works to the past.  I believe He still does now what He did then.  I will listen with ears that believe He remains the miracle working Son of God.  I have been with Him long enough to know that He remains the Victor and the One who accomplishes whatever He feels the Father wants.  I will listen with hungry ears to know His wonders.

Summer in the Scripture

I love listening to the New Testament on CD.  I always hear something with a new twist that seems different from only reading it.  This week we are finishing up Matthew’s gospel.  Pay special attention to the teachings by Jesus about the end times in Matthew chapters 24 and 25.

We are also beginning the gospel of Mark.  While Matthew wrote with a Jewish audience in mind, Mark wrote with a gentile (Roman) audience in mind.  Mark spoke often of what Jesus did, even more than what Jesus said.  It is an action book.

This is a summer in scripture for many HeartLand family and friends.  Even many of the children are listening their way through the New Testament and will be discovering truths for the first time.  These truths will carry them through a lifetime of living.  I’m grateful to be a part of this journey with you.

Summer in the Scripture Week 1

Today many in HeartLand Church will begin a summer journey together.  Children, teens, and adults will begin to listen through the entire New Testament together as the summer unfolds for them.  On their work commute, ipod, vacation, late at night, and early in the morning, the Living Word will be spoken into our hearts.  No doubt, we will discover many new life changing truths even though we may read them before.  The Holy Spirit waits anxiously to show us some of the treasures and mysteries that come from God’s heart.  The words of truth that we hear, originated in heaven.  They were once in the womb of the the heart of God and now birthed into our spirits.

I can hardly wait to hear the stories of what God is doing, changing, teaching, and building up in the lives of those we love.  The children, with their own edition of CD’s will be learning for the first time so many concepts and stories that will become a foundation for the balance of their lives.  Teens and adults will once again sit at the table of the Master to be fed from acres and acres of green pastures provided for the sheep of His pastures.

Disc 1 is where we begin this week.  One disc per week will bring us through the entire New Testament in 15 weeks.  It’s going to be a great journey together.  Purpose in your heart now to finish the journey.  There are a lot of starters around us but fewer finishers.  I will cross the finish line.  Come and go with me into wonderful world of God’s world.

Preacher: Summer in the Scripture

Summer is quickly coming upon us and it is going to be a great summer for HeartLand. One of the things I am most excited about is Summer in the Scriptures. I am inviting all members, attendees, and friends of HeartLand to join us in listening to the entire New Testament this summer on CD together. The HeartMarket (Bookstore) at HeartLand has gotten a great deal for a set of NT Cd’s. The entire NT for just $20. There is also a dramatized version if you prefer and a set for children with scriptures and songs on it.

Going on a trip? Commute to work everyday? Working in your shop? Mowing the yard with an ipod? Why not spend that time listening to the Word of God.

We will begin on Monday, June 6. We will listen to one CD per week for 15 weeks. That should take us to about labor day. I have preached through nearly every NT book verse by verse. But, when I listen to it being read, I here new truths and insights.

Hope you have a great, safe, and memorable summer. I also hope that you will have listened to the New Testament all the way through by fall. Join us. Reserve your copy this Wednesday or Sunday. Just fill out the card in the info sheet and drop it in an offering box.

I look forward to moving through God’s word with you in the weeks to come.

Preacher

More info: Summer in the Scripture

Summer in the Scripture

I can’t wait to begin Summer in the Scripture. We will be listening through the New Testament together as a church this summer. In the past when I have listened through the Scriptures, God has showed me things, and I have learned things that I may not have learned through only reading them. It’s a new and fresh way to meditate on the scriptures and I encourage your whole family to do this together.

You can purchase or pre-order your audio New Testament from the HeartMarket or from the website for as little as $20, and they even have children’s dramatized versions for the kids. We will be starting June 6th and will listen to one disk per week for 15 weeks. You can listen during your commute, or while you’re at home. It’s a great new way to get into the Bible this summer.

One staff member will be blogging each day about their mediations on that weeks listening, so this will be great devotional tool to keep you in the Scripture as you go through your summer. For more info, or to pre-order your cds go to our website or read about it at our blog.

Snapshots Volume 2

We are starting a new series this week that I am very excited about. It will be a continuation of the biographical series that we started in September of 2009 called “Snapshots.” The steps of Jesus carried Him to the needs of so many struggling in life.  The Bible says that Jesus went about doing good. In this volume, we will look at four more snapshots of the Master delivering people from the inadequacies that life had left them with. Here are the dates of the series and the message descriptions:

May 23 – Come See a Man (Jesus meets with a woman confused about life)

May 30 – Come Down (Jesus meets with one which power and success has left empty)

June 6 – Come Back (Jesus opens the eyes of a blind man crying out in the crowd)

June 13 – Come With Me – (Jesus privately heals a man in two steps)

Download the series via our Podcast or listen to streaming online audio as they become available.

Bible Numbers

Bible Numbers and their Significance

One – unity
Two – union, division
Three – God, perfect
Four – creation, world
Five – grace
Six – weakness of man
Seven – Complete,perfection
Eight – New beginning
Nine – Fruit of the Spirit
Ten – Testimony, amplify
Eleven – Judgment, disorder
Twelve – Government
Thirteen – Depraved, rebel
Fourteen – Deliver, salvation
Fifteen – Rest
Sixteen – Love
Seventeen – Victory
Eighteen – Bondage
Nineteen – Faith
Twenty – Redemption
Twenty one – sinfulness of sin
Twenty two – Light
Twenty three – Death
Twenty four – priesthood
Twenty five – forgiveness of sins
Twenty six – Gospel of Christ
Twenty seven – preached gospel
Twenty eight – Eternal life
Twenty nine – departure
Thirty – Blood of Christ
Thirty one – offspring
Thirty two – covenant
Thirty three – promise
Thirty four – naming a son
Thirty five – hope
Thirty six – enemy
Thirty seven – word of God
Thirty eight – slavery
Thirty nine – disease
Forty – Trials, testings
Forty two – oppression, Lord’s advent
Forty five – preservation
Fifty – Holy Spirit
Sixty – pride
Sixty six – idol worship
Seventy – restoration of Israel
One hundred – children of promise