I have come to point out my views against predestination bear with it
Starting of with a view of God's sovereignty.
As I consider the interaction of God?s sovereignty and man?s free will, I see three possible positions.
1. God sovereignly dictates every nuance of every thought, word or action of every man, rendering man as nothing more than a dangling marionette in the hands of a divine puppetmaster.
2. Man is a completely autonomous being who is free to do as he chooses without divine influence or consequence.
Most of us would agree that these are two extreme positions that have no basis in scripture. The first is so fatalistic as to remove any semblance of hope or worship. The second is little more than atheism.
Surely the truth must lie in a balance between the two. There is never a moment, circumstance or action in the course of man?s history in which God has not, is not or will not be sovereignly involved. The question is, ?What degree of control does God exercise??
I believe that God and God alone can answer that question.
Some have suggested that the idea of man having a free will is somehow a denial of the sovereignty of God. If it is God who created man with a free will, omnisciently knowing how man will exercise it, omnipresently influencing man to use it for God?s glory and omnipotently holding man responsible for how he exercises the free will, how is His sovereignty denied?
Some have stated that because God is sovereign, He must be in absolute control of every circumstance. To think otherwise, some say, is to leave the door open for open theism. As long as we don?t forget the omniscience and foreknowledge of God, we will never be in danger of straying into that pit of heresy.
End discussion of God?s sovereignty
Why I disagree with Calvinistic predestination
(some of this may be argumentative sounding but it?s not meant to be)
here are five main points to calvinism spelled out by the TULIP acronymn:
? Total Depravity/Inability
o This is saying that man is hopelessly sinful. Man is incapable of being "good." Any "good" deed is truly motivated by something evil. The rest of the four points rely on this point.
? Unconditional Election
o Since man is totally evil, man's salvation is completely dependent upon God. This part is somewhat biblical; God chooses who he chooses. No matter how hard man tries, his actions alone cannot get him into heaven; God is the only one who has control. However, I believe that God will save those who have faith in Him, thus granting some influence to man. Afterall, God is just. However, calvinists see it otherwise. Calvinists believe that man has no free spiritual will.
? Limited Atonement
o Since God predestined the elect, Jesus paid only for those few elect.
? Irresistible Grace
o The elect have no choice about being elect. The elect cannot resist God's grace.
? Perseverence of the Saints
o The calvinists believe that once you're saved, you're always saved since God had predestined the elect and the elect have no choice about being elect.
The last four points rely so strongly on the first point. Is man purely evil and incapable of good deeds whose intentions were not born of evil origins? Many non-calvinists typically grant this first point, for it seems biblical and logical. Unfortunately, if we grant the first point, then the other four points can easily be proven as true, thus acknowledging that calvinism is in fact true. But I contend that man is not purely evil. For if man was indeed purely evil, it is easily seen that man cannot possibly obey God's command to repent. God threatens to eternally punish those who do not repent. But if man is purely evil and thus cannot repent, then God is not just.
Rather, man can indeed repent. Even Moses declared to his hearers that what he is commanding them to do is not too difficult or beyond their reach.. Moses simply commanded them to love God, to walk in his ways and his commands, decrees, and laws. Yet, if man is totally incapable of any non-evil-motivated action, then, well, you see the problem
? if God predestined everything, then there is no use in praying for your friends or family.
? Basically, God has already predestined the events and no appealing to God will likely change his mind- it has already been predestined and cannot be changed.
? The idea of predestining everything, could it not be disproven by Moses appealing to God not to destroy them(this is the first example to pop into my head)
32:9 And the LORD said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it [is] a stiffnecked people:
32:10 Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of thee a great nation.
32:11 And Moses besought the LORD his God, and said, LORD, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with a mighty hand?
32:12 Wherefore should the Egyptians speak, and say, For mischief did he bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from thy fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against thy people.
32:13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou swarest by thine own self, and saidst unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit [it] for ever.
32:14 And the LORD repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people.
?
? If God predestined everything, then God created sin.
? This is where Calvinists disagree among themselves. There are several camps; some that believe every little detail has been predestined, those who believe that God predestined all major events (including salvation), and those who believe that God only predestines those who will be saved. I suppose this point would address the first camp; If indeed God did predestined every little thing, then God did create sin. He caused man to act a specific way knowing in advance what it would lead to.
? If man is totally incapable of good, then man cannot truly be remorseful or repentant.
? If man is totally incapable of good, then man cannot be faulted for his sins.
? If God predestined everything, then there is no such thing as randomness. (Now that's an interesting research topic..)
? If God predestined everything, then why eternally condemn the non-elect? After all, it is not their fault.. they were predestined to be damned!
? This concept is called double-predestination. The logic is rather simple: if God only allows the elect to be saved, and God predestined the elect, then by default, God predestined everyone else who is not elect to be eternally condemned.
? Most Calvinists believe it, but there are quite a few who don't. Thomas Aquinas' view was that God does not in fact damn those whose inherent sin would normally be condemning; God simply "passes over" those who he chose to not predestine. While this view is also somewhat arrogant, (how arrogant it is for us to believe we were predestined while our neighbor might not be), it simply doesn't make sense. The bible clearly states otherwise.
? (never mind that little verse that says "whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life")
The existence of God has been manifested in every person in their unregenerate (unsaved) state by the attributes of God clearly seen in all of His creation so that no one is without excuse for rejecting God. This scripture is in complete contradiction to the erroneous doctrine of being blind and deaf to the things of God in Total Depravity(the first tenet of predestination)
The Bible affirms man's ability to respond to the Gospel while in a fallen state since the fall of Adam. Although the natural man is a sinner, the following verses are in clear contradiction to the erroneous theologies of Total Depravity or Total Inability which teach that the unregenerate man does not have the ability to believe in the redemptive work of Jesus Christ for his salvation. The Bible solidly teaches that every person is given a measure of faith and has been enlightened by Jesus Christ while still in his unsaved, fallen state.
1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Romans 10:9-10 (King James Version)
9That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
10For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Romans 10:13
"for Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."
John 3:16
"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
These are just romans road verses not to mention others thoughout the gospel
Total Inability and the Gospel
The Total Inability passed to us makes it impossible for us to comply with the command to believe in Christ. The most obvious fault with this doctrine is that it makes the gospel an unreasonable demand. How can God, who is perfectly just, "command all men everywhere to repent" (Acts 17:30), knowing the command is impossible to obey?
This is a vexing problem for Calvinists. They will often assert that a command does not necessarily imply the ability to keep it. But the statement is certainly not self-evident. If God gives a command and threatens to punish as responsible agents those who do not comply, it certainly does imply the ability to obey. Orville Dewey writes: "...it would follow that men are commanded, on peril and pain of all future woes, to love a holiness and a moral perfection of God, which they are not merely unable to love, but of which, according to the supposition, they have no conception."9
That puts the Calvinist in a conundrum. Man is so corrupt, he will not and cannot obey even the slightest spiritual command - nor can he appreciate or even understand it. Yet, God orders him to believe; He punishes him for not believing. As Judge of the Universe, he justly condemns the sinner for not doing what he from birth cannot do. This seems to many of us to be at odds with God's revealed character.
The Old Testament demands never seemed to be presented as impossibilities for the hearers. Moses said, " For this commandment which I command thee this day, it [is] not hidden from thee, neither [is] it far off" (Deut. 30:11). What of Total Inability here? Are we to assume that all of the hearers had received the miracle of Efficacious Grace? Moses adds, "See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. For I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in his ways and the commands, decrees and laws..." (v.19).
Moses sets life and death before the Israelites for their consideration. There is no intimation there that he was speaking to people utterly incapable of complying with the commands. He presents the prospects of life and death as genuine options for them to ponder.
Joshua urged the Israelites, " choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." (Josh. 24:15). There is nothing in Joshua's entreaty that suggests the Israelites were all unable to choose the Lord unless they first experienced an inward miracle.
Joshua did say that the people were "not able to serve the Lord" in their present sinful state (v.19). Repentance was in order. They were called upon to make a choice of the heart and turn from their evil ways. Joshua said, " Now therefore put away, said he, the strange gods which are among you, and incline your heart unto the LORD God of Israel." (v.23). Nowhere are we left with the impression that these people were all in a state of Total Inability from birth, innately incapable of yielding as Joshua commanded. Such an idea must be read into the text.
Anyways enough of my musings on the issue of predestination
My beliefs can be summed up in a few sentences
Man does indeed have a free will(and this in no way infringes on Gods sovereignty) to choose whether to serve God or reject him. As stated in the countless scriptures above. People tend to think that Gods all knowingness is in a way predestination, which is not the case. While God does know if you will be saved He does not predestine you do be saved. It brings much more honor and glory to God when one chooses to follow Him, rather than the arranged marriage of predestination.
