PREDESTINATION:
Some thoughts to consider.
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Many times people, even though their lives are being lived in sin, lived contrary to the Word of God and they aren't faithful to God's house or His ways, still when the consequences of sin hit their lives and homes and things go wrong, they blame God first not understanding that it is sin from the beginning in the garden that brought on the horrible consequences of sin even today.
God, from the very beginning, made man free moral agents with the ability to choose from their own free will.
This is good because when someone falls in love with God from their heart then the relationship with God is what He desired from the very beginning anyway.
However, when one decides to follow the lusts and desires of their own flesh, do it their way and for all practical purposes leave God and His Word out of their lives, then the consequences of sin can sometimes be very destructive in one's life and family, causing the prince of the air, Satan to have free reign in their lives, blind and delude them to truth and ultimately deceive them to their and their family's ultimate demise.
For that reason, God robed Himself in flesh (became Emmanuel meaning GOD WITH US! Matthew 1:23) because He didn't have a body before the Incarnation, and He came to shed His Blood and bring His Spirit thru the New Covenant (Testament) that our dead souls could be reborn thru an experience with Him by being born again of water and His Spirit. (John 3:5, Acts 2:38)
God having given us His Word, His Blood and His Spirit, provided all the instruction and power we need to be saved, it boils down to our decision to:
1. go all in and take it all,
2. try to get by on as little as possible OR even
3. disregard God and live as we choose, which is what most do.
All three choices are ours to make but only one of them will lead us to eternal life.....so choose wisely.
Either thru the Law of the Conscience, paths crossing in life from someone that tells them the truth and other various ways God tries to prompt the heart of man that He has more for them and something is not right with their eternal soul, no one will be able to stand before Him at the Great White Throne of Judgment and accuse Him of not touching them and trying to reach them, even thru their conscience.
Hell was created for the devil and evil angels.
Hell was not created for humanity but because of sin and rebellion, the rebellion that originated with Lucifer/Satan; it will be the same spirit of rebellion to deny full truth and do it their own way that will be the cause of those that go to hell to be there.
This little introduction brings us to the question of predestination and a few following considerations:
Romans 8:30 says....."whom He (God) did predestinate, them He also called: and whom He called, them He also justified: and whom He justified, them He also glorified."
We have to ask ourselves "Who are the ones that God calls?"
* If God is no respecter of persons, then He isn't picky or choosy with who He calls which is true.
* The Word of God gives us the answer:
Luke 5:32 "I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."
This is just one verse, of many, where the Word of God lets us know God came to call the sinners, all who aren't ready and anyone that will obey His New Testament plan of salvation given on the Day of Pentecost and preached by Peter and the Apostles.
* So we see God's full intention is to call everyone to Him and that He came that all not perish but have everlasting life.
However, man's inherent sin and rebellion against God's Word will be the cause of many not hearing Him say Well Done.
So, with the understanding that God called and is calling every soul that has, is or shall live to Him, then we have to look at God's character and desires a little closer to grasp the idea of predestination.
Predestination is never used in the sense of Divine Determinism, that all, or any, of our actions are determined by God in finality. Rather, God has predetermined that all who are in Him would be conformed to His image and adopted as His children.
So what did God predestinate?
In Romans 8:29-30, Paul uses this term twice. In verse 29, he says that “those God foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son.” Regardless of how one might understand the word foreknew in this verse, the matter of predestination is clear.....it is that the elect would be conformed to the image of Christ. God’s pre-determined plan is that those who are in Christ would become like Him. Predestination in this passage is very narrowly defined. Not as relating to all our choices or actions. Nor even who would be saved. But that the saved would become like Christ.
Verse 29, in this passage, goes on to say that those who were predestined would be called, the called would be justified, and the justified would be glorified.
The only thing God predestined was that He wanted everyone to repent, turn from evil, take part in His New Testament plan of salvation, be conformed to His image by the power of His Spirit and ultimately be judged as Well Done from the Books and Book of Life.
So, the sequence is: foreknown > predestinated to be conformed to the image of Christ > called > justified > glorified....
That's God's predestined, predetermined plan!
In Ephesians 1:11, Paul uses this term again saying, “In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of Him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will.”
* Here, Paul is referring to himself and some of the early believers that God had chosen to carry out the work of spreading the gospel. The idea of every soul, past, present and future already being either damned to hell or saved isn't a concept that is found in the context of this Scripture.
God did predetermine or predestinate from the creation that Christ would be crucified and that the message of the Cross would be the means to bring us to salvation and God also predestined a specific place for believers within the body of Christ if they choose to follow Him. Predestination is never used in the sense of Divine Determinism, that all, or any, our actions are determined by God alone and we have no choice or ability to change our direction.
I would be highly reluctant to ask how God could "live with Himself knowing that He created a place where the vast majority of His creation would suffer in Hell?" To me that interrogation not only questions God's integrity BUT questions God's character of love and implies that somehow He purposefully & nefariously designed things so that most would suffer in hell. Nothing could be further from the truth. There are consequences to sin and responses to us rejecting Him and He lets us go where we choose to go...
If we enjoy the world, ways of the world, humanistic reasoning, doing it our way, being stiff necked, loving the ways and things of this world, being with those that are unfaithful to God's house and His Word, then He will grant your wishes to spend eternity with those that you have chosen to be like minded with and on whose side you chose alliance. God can "live with Himself" when He reflects on Calvary and giving all He had to give on the Cross to make atonement for the sins of the world. God did everything He could to make it possible for human beings to have relationship with Him if they want to seek Him, trust Him, walk by His Word and Promises and be faithful until the end.
This brings us to the bottom line of it all;
Does God already know, even before a baby is born or a soul has lived, if that person will or will not go to hell or Heaven?
The simple answer is NO.
If He already knew then it begs the question why He went thru the trouble of the Incarnation, struggles He faced in this life then the agony of the Cross.
If He already had allowed Himself to know the final outcome of all, then the need for concepts such as grace, mercy, being washed in His Blood, the Law of the Conscience and many other concepts of this nature would have never had any value because in the final analysis they wouldn't have changed anything anyway.
We see multiple times in the Scripture where intercessors would talk to God and He changed His mind on destruction of people for sin and even on wiping out the entire human race because of sin.
God hears praying people and the effectual, fervent prayers of a righteous man availeth much. James 5:16 (the Greek word ischuo for the word availeth means to prevail, be whole, amend and recover....intercessors who pray for others and those that will honestly, faithfully and fervently pray for themselves, God will give you all that you need to be mended, recovered from sin and made whole in your soul so that you're ready to meet Him in the Rapture!)
Here's something to consider about the efficacy and power of Jesus' Blood;
You ask, is there anything God doesn’t know?
The answer is YES....
He no longers knows the past sins of those who have had His Blood applied to their lives by being baptized in His/Jesus name. Acts 2:38
The debit column is wiped clean!
The Bible let's us know that He washes us whiter than snow and that our sins are thrown into the Sea to be forgotten. Michah 7:9
If God can choose to blot out and not remember things such as sin from the past, it is absolutely plausible that He can, as well, choose to not know or blot out things from His own knowledge for the future.
It's not that He couldn't know BUT He chooses NOT to know otherwise in His love, He would be very tempted to interfer with His Word and man's choice which would be contrary to His plan of allowing man free will choice.
Additionally, if He had already predetermined and knows in advance who will and will not be saved in the end, then there would be no need to have the Great White Throne of Judgment and for Jesus to open the Bible and the Book of Life and make the final judgment and separation of good and evil, saved and lost from what He finds written there.
If He had not let His Blood cause Him to see us thru the beautiful red haze of His Crimson Blood that flowed from Calvary and that He had already predetermined everyone's salvation or damnation, then the Cross would be of no use and effect and most of what we do in serving God would be of no consequence therefore of no value in time or effort.
Because Jesus sees us thru His Blood, because the only thing He has predetermined and desires is for us to repent and walk in His ways with Him and because His predetermined desire is that ALL people come unto Him, we must know, even inherently, that He sees thru His Blood and not the facts of the moment and exists hoping that a preacher can stir us and wake us up, the Law of the Conscience can alert us and that something somehow can cause us to turn our hearts, minds and lives fully to Him so that He can complete His work of salvation in us that He ultimately desires to do. Philippians 1:6 lets us know God's ultimate desire is to complete His work of salvation in each of us so we'll be ready when He comes back to take His Redeemed out of this world.
Each of us can be a part of that great day we call the Rapture if we want to....
God has not eternally damned anyone and all who come to repentance, gets baptized in the saving name of Jesus to apply His Blood, gets filled with the power of His Spirit to have the power to not only live like He wants us to here and now living a holy and separated life from the worldy, earthly ways of sinful humanity, but we can determine our own future because we will have made ourselves ready to meet God. Peter instructs us to save ourselves (Acts 2:37-40), not that we have the actual saving power, BUT that we position our own selves to be in line with God's Word, making the decision to live holy and upright, staying full of the power of the Holy Ghost and being faithful until the day of redemption comes.
We alone decide if we love the world, sin and ease of this world and not having to carry any Crosses....OR.... that we love and desire God so much that we feel like Job when he told God that even if God slayed him, yet he was going to trust the Lord no matter.
Simply put, those that love sin, a life of ease, doing it their way and justifying the parts of the Word of God away that they don't want will have their sad reward BUT those that go all in with Jesus, give it all and die out to sin, this flesh and lusts for this world will receive life everlasting in Heaven with Jesus and like minded brothers and sisters who totally forsook this world to follow Jesus.
One may ask, "How could God enjoy praise from and relationship with just a handful that make it to Heaven
knowing the majority didn't make it."
Studying population levels from each century, childhood diseases that caused many to not even be born or die young, we simply don't know that the "vast
majority" of his creation will suffer in hell.
It is clear that God is soon to stop it all because in just one century we've had a massive population explosion and sadly the Spirit of the Age, evilness has consumed this generation and many from this generation will be lost but when all the saved and lost from every century past are added up, it cannot be said that the vast majority of His creation will be lost.
John saw in a vision an innumerable host from all nations surrounding the throne worshiping God!
I want to be a part of that host of Redeemed one day! (Rev 7:9).
Consider also that, from the beginning of the human race, more conceptions no doubt have ended in miscarriages and abortions and more children have died from disease and starvation, before reaching an age of accountability, than those who lived and have gone on to make decisions to serve or reject God. These innocents are in heaven.
With these and those who have chosen God, for all we know there will be infinitely more in heaven than those who rejected God and chose hell.
Regardless, those who end up in hell will be those who ultimately rejected God's offer of salvation and chose their ideas, their viewpoints, their justifications and their ways above God's.
Jesus came so that you could have life and that more abundantly.
So that you could experience His joy....joy unspeakable and full of glory!
Jesus gave EACH person a measure of faith...enough faith to move a mountain....He didn't give one person a cup full and another a thimble full so they would run out!
Jesus said WHOSOEVER will, come unto me and drink....that means everybody!
If He meant to leave someone out, He couldn't have used blanket, all inclusive statements like He did when He called ALL unto repentance...EVERYONE can repent and be saved if they choose to.
Like Jesus specifically saying "LAZARUS, come forth"....He would have to uniquely identify each person separately to partake of His calling and plan of salvation BUT He says ALL because in God's mind, the only predestination that exists is that you are predestined by Him to be saved, to be an overcomer thru Him if you want to be!
The only ones that will be in hell are the ones that want to be....they either have too much pride to really humble themselves and seek God...others think they make themselves available and God should chase them....others still just simply like the pleasures and sins of this world and don't want to truly seek God & His righteousness....some even let a situation they don't understand cause them to get angry and bitter at God and allow that bitterness to cut the flow of God's Spirit off to their souls....in each case, God does not predestine that person to be lost....it's their decision to follow after their own flesh, thoughts, opinions and desires.
People should be motivated to live for God, not because they fear hell BUT because they love God and want to be with Him now and forever.
Even if there were no hell or at least no eternal punishment, I would hope that people would still be motivated to live for God and to walk with Him just because His ways are good and clean and above all else there's no more peaceful place than being in His presence.
I don't walk with God because I have to or even because of fear of hell.... I've found that there's nothing as beautiful, lovely and peaceful as being in His presence, feeling His love and walking in His Spirit.
God is calling >> ALL << unto a closer walk with Him.
Don't believe the lies of the devil and allow his fear, anxiety and worry keep you from receiving everything God has for you, especially a home in Heaven throughout eternity....
You have a home there He wants to give you....
Will you do what it takes to live there forever?
