pThis is a 20 to 30 minute read. This is also a work in progress and may be edited from time to time.
Because of the length, section headings and important comments are inserted to assist in the flow.
An Original Work by R. Joseph Ritter, Jr.
Introduction
Do we have a role to play in responding to God’s call on our lives, or is everything predetermined by God to occur according to His overriding providence and by His design? This question can be traced throughout time from the beginning of the world, and it will be reviewed anew here. Included in this discussion is a Biblical refutation of eternal security, as well as Biblical support for the expectation that we strive for Christian perfection.
The Sovereignty of God
In addressing this question, we must first consider the sovereignty of God. Rather than question the sovereignty of God, we must consider whether the sovereignty of God overrides individual decisions and if the sovereignty of God is unaffected by human decisions. Claiming that humans can make decisions which undermine the purposes of God certainly has the appearance of weakening the sovereignty of God, such that God perhaps may not have the control that an omnipresent, omnipotent and omniscient deity should have.
If the sovereignty of God overrides all human decisions, then nothing can occur outside of the will of God nor outside the control of God. No human activity can alter anything which God has already determined to occur. If instead we understand and accept that the purposes of God are pre-determined — such as creation, redemption, the glory of Christ, the power of the Word of God, and judgment of sin — regardless of human activity, we do not undermine the sovereignty of God. This approach allows for human responsibility and for human decisions to be made without undermining the pre-determined plan of God. We will address some of the questions surrounding these opposing views of God’s sovereignty.
A serious concern which will be discussed more fully in this paper is that the absolute sovereignty of God which determines and provides for everything necessarily includes sin and evil. We must take great care to give all glory to Jesus Christ, and this paper aims to highlight how ascribing to God absolute sovereignty even over human decisions, the predestination of souls to heaven or to hell, and providentially causing everything to occur regardless of human activity actually has the effect of undermining the glory otherwise due to Jesus Christ.
The Early Church Fathers: Augustine and Prosper
In large part, church history today is influenced by early church fathers who lived shortly after Christ and were instrumental at various points in time in developing church as we know it today. For church history, the Old Testament is certainly influential, however, today’s church doctrine finds its origins in Christ. The Old Testament is informative, and in fact, much of what Jesus taught in the gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) recited from or was rooted in the Old Testament. However, church doctrine and the institutional organization of the church today is based in large part on the New Testament. We will review both Old Testament and New Testament passages of Scripture because both are necessary to understand the topic at hand.
Augustine (354-430AD) was the first of the early church fathers to propose that at the moment of conversion we are unable to make the decision to accept grace (i.e., that God’s grace is irresistible). He believed that conversion occurred only by the power of grace, for we are only capable of sin and not free to decide to accept grace. He believed that the initiative in conversion is only divine, that grace is irresistible, and God only offers grace to those who have been predestined to receive it. 1
Since then, two distinct factions of church doctrine have emerged, one believing that humans do have a role in salvation with salvation being offered to all and some choosing to refuse it, and the other, from Augustine, believing that salvation occurs and is completed in humans only at divine initiative, meaning that some are excluded by God’s pre-determined design. That salvation is offered to all, rather than the predestination of some by Augustine, is recorded as early as Prosper of Aquitain (390 – 455 AD), thus, this refutation of Augustine’s predestination is essentially as old as Augustine. 2
First, let me say that Augustine’s logic is inherently flawed, and that this problem of flawed logic pervades all doctrine stemming from Augustine. It is not correct logical sequence to believe that, because salvation must originate outside of us, humans have no part in salvation and cannot even so much as make the choice to receive salvation because of the sovereignty of God. This is a chasm too wide to be bridged in one step. Augustine simply observed events recorded in the Bible as well as during his time on earth and believed that, despite many Bible passages which speak to our obligation to act and respond, everything occurs by God’s providence and sovereignty. It is this type of logic which brought us ideas such as a flat earth and the sun revolving around the earth. This type of logic is inherently flawed.
We must agree with Augustine, at least to a point. The two best passages of Scripture to illustrate Augustine’s teaching are Genesis 3:1-13 and John 3:16. In Genesis, we see the sin of Adam and Eve and must recognize that, once having sinned, they are unable to reconcile themselves to God. God promised that sin would result in death, and this death included separation from God, which humanity acting alone cannot repair. Thus, we must agree with Augustine that salvation is completed only through the divine grace of God.
We also see in Genesis that God took the initiative to offer reconciliation and redemption. It was God who came seeking Adam and Eve once they sinned, not the other way around. Rather than seek God, Adam and Eve hid from Him. This image represents you and me in our sin. Not only can we not redeem ourselves or restore fellowship with God on our own, our sin brings such guilt and shame that we flee from God. Indeed, God took the initiative.
However, it is here we must carefully analyze the proposal Augustine gave us. If Augustine is correct, then Adam and Eve received God’s initiative and offer of redemption, not of their own choosing, but of God’s design, predestined plan, and sovereignty. In other words, God imposed salvation upon Adam and Eve, even against their will. This is important because their expressed will was to rebel against God, and God would have essentially canceled out their decision for rebellion against their will. Augustine would have us believe that God acted through Adam and Eve to respond to His own initiative. Augustine would also have us believe that God needed Adam and Eve to respond, for this was the only way to the cross of Jesus Christ. Thus, God pre-ordained that Adam and Eve could do nothing but sin and respond to salvation.
Here, we turn to John 3:16. Once again, we see that God took the initiative in sending His own Son. Like Genesis 3, Augustine would have us believe that when Jesus said “whosoever believes” it is really the action of God’s sovereign will in us responding to His own initiative and that any decision on our own part is only an illusion of free will. Hence, the next logical step is that there is nothing but the predestination of souls to heaven or to hell according to God’s pre-determined plan to explain those who do not believe on Christ.
If this is true, then it must also be true that God acted in Adam and Eve to sin, and the purpose of that sin by God was to bring forth His plan of redemption into the world. This necessarily makes God not just the author of sin but the only real sinner and the only volitional force behind their sin. Augustine’s belief also removes any guilt from ourselves and places it only on God. Augustine’s ideas further remove all personal responsibility in turning to God by claiming that we are incapable of such an act because of predestination ordered by God.
This necessarily means that I can stand before God and deny any guilt for sin because God predestined that sin within me, taking all responsibility for my actions upon Himself, and predestined that I would be forever excluded from partaking of salvation. Likewise, I deserve no reward for turning to God because it was not my own decision to respond to God’s initiative but God responding to His own initiative. Augustine, John Calvin, and the modern Reformed doctrine would have us believe that humans are indeed responsible for sin and that God did not act to commit the first sin or any sin which occurs on the earth.
This argument necessarily means there is yet another volitional force other than God which is sovereign in its own right to act contrary to the sovereign will of God, yet we would acknowledge that it is still subject to the sovereignty of God. If this is not true, then there must be some type of freedom given within God’s sovereign will to commit evil. In other words, God would have to allow evil to occur by something other than Himself if He is not the author of evil.
It is a fatal contradiction to hold that God is absolutely sovereign but that He allows evil and that those who commit sin are responsible for their own sin. This means there is a limit to God’s sovereignty.
Augustine’s belief also renders the words of Jesus in John 3:16 to be untrue because it is not my belief at all which results in salvation, for only God can respond to His own initiative directed toward me.
If we are unable to respond to the light which God shines upon our souls because we are incapable of doing so in our sin and because of the predestination in God’s sovereign will, then it also means we are incapable of pursuing holiness and Christlikeness. The extent to which we are holy does not depend on our own actions but on the degree to which God’s sovereign will pleases to evidence holiness in individuals. Predestination itself is a type of bondage, in which we have little say in our own direction because everything has been pre-ordered by God. Modern proponents of predestination will very much agree with this statement because they agree that God’s providence in His sovereign will upholds every action which occurs in the universe. It is at this point we must highlight the breakdown in Augustine’s logic.
Five Important Sequences From Sin to Grace: An Analysis of Genesis 3
A correct sequence is to analyze each step and look for God’s responsibility and any responsibility of the human. In the first step, Adam and Eve sinned. In the second step, Adam and Eve understood their sin and hid themselves from God in shame. In the third step, God shone the light of redemption upon their souls. From there, Augustine would have us believe everything else is the result of predestination. However, in the fourth sequence, having the dungeon of our souls flame with the light of God’s redemption, it is at this point a response is required from us.
Augustine did not believe we have the ability to make this response on our own, but this is to underestimate the power of God’s grace. Yes, this paper proposes that the need for God’s sovereignty actually detracts from the power of God’s grace. This is to say that God’s grace in and of itself is insufficient to grant humans the power to respond to the light of redemption, thus, God must sovereignly impose His will to make it irresistible and effective.
However, it is more glorious to the sovereignty of God to hold that the grace of God, in taking the initiative to offer redemption, includes with it the enabling within our own spirit to accept that offer. Denying this, the only other possible conclusion is that we are incapable of anything, to which Augustine agrees and further claims is evidence of predestination.
In God’s sovereign will, He has determined that His grace is sufficient for redemption and holiness without the need to make it irresistible. 2 Corinthians 12:9
The fifth sequence is that we continually respond to the grace of God by consenting to become more holy and more Christlike through sanctification. John 1:16 Thus, the whole of the Bible illustrates this point, in which we are called to choose a blessing or a curse (Deuteronomy 11:26-28), to believe on Christ (John 3:16), to offer ourselves as a sacrifice (Romans 12:1-2), to conduct ourselves in a Godly manner (Philippians 1:27), and indeed to hold fast to God. 3 These are all meaningless if we are predestined and have no say or responsibility in the matter. Predestination would have us believe that interpreting these verses at face value is incorrect because we actually cannot choose anything on our own, except to sin, which is also predestined by God.
In the predestination of souls to heaven or to hell, we are, thus, also completely unable to will ourselves to make it to heaven or do anything to move ourselves closer to heaven because all which occurs is by God’s design.
That we see something occur in the world around us and within our hearts does not permit a conclusion which requires a leap across a chasm. In other words, because we do respond to God’s grace through the power of grace and because we do exercise faith in believing on Christ for salvation, Augustine claims this is evidence of predestination. The providence of God would then have us believe that when we see a robin land in the front lawn and dig up a worm this was all pre-determined by God to occur, and both the robin and the worm acted by God’s sovereign design determined long ago.
While it may be a comfortable set of beliefs to hold that God determines everything, this comfort is a most dangerous consequence of Augustine’s teaching.
Jacob Arminius on Predestination
Many years later, Jacob Arminius pointed to the same problem of God being the only sinner when refuting the predestination of souls to heaven or to hell. If God has predestined us, then it is only God who acts, and all evil and sin which is committed occurs by His design, through His power and providence, and at His hand. John Calvin understood this problem and desired to defend the character of God, yet continued to hold to the predestination of souls.
Arminius wrote, “For I consider it impossible for any art or sophistry to prevent this dogma concerning ‘such a previous determination’ from producing the following consequences: First, it makes God to be the author of sin, and man to be exempt from blame. Secondly, it constitutes God as the real, proper and only sinner; because when there is a fixed law which forbids this act, and when there is such a ‘fore-determination’ as makes it ‘impossible for this act not to be committed,’ it follows as a natural consequence that it is God himself who transgresses the law, since he is the person who performs this deed against the law. For though this be immediately perpetrated by the creature, yet with regard to it, the creature cannot have any consideration of sin because this act was unavoidable on the part of man, after such ‘fore-determination’ had been fixed. Thirdly, because according to this dogma God needed sinful man and his sin, for the illustration of his justice and mercy. Fourthly, and from its terms, sin is no longer sin.” 4 (Emphasis mine.)
Arminius further writes that he has not seen a refutation of these consequences and wishes that these consequences would be substantively addressed. Indeed, the opportunity for such came in the Synod of Dort and the trial of the Remonstrants. Instead of addressing Arminius and these consequences, the Synod chose to condemn Arminius and the Remonstrants as heretical and to persecute anyone who held to the teachings of Arminius.
Query: Are we able to blaspheme God of our own decision, or is this also predestined by God? For if it is predestined, then God chooses to blaspheme Himself. If God has determined all things in advance and all things occur providentially by His sovereign will, then we are bound to accept that it is God who blasphemes Himself, though such act occurs through a human instrument. This is a vivid illustration of the position Arminius takes against the predestination of souls. It is also a vivid illustration of the problems which must be addressed when reviewing the topic of predestination, the sovereignty of God, and the providence of God.
We Are Compelled to Respond to God’s Grace
It is God who first sought Adam and Eve after their sin. It is also God who sent Jesus Christ into the world to bring about salvation. However, when the light of God’s word shines upon a dark soul, it is at that moment we are compelled by God’s grace to respond. Beyond making God to be the only sinner, the predestination of souls turns on whether we are morally responsible for the decisions we make. We cannot bear any responsibility if God predestines because God is the only volitional force behind the action. However, when God shines the light of His Word upon our soul, our decision to respond in acceptance or rejection is what justifies God’s judgment for rejection and reward for acceptance. This is also where we are compelled to yield to Christ and allow our motives to be renewed and aligned with Christ. Romans 12:1-2, Galatians 2:20
In other words, if the predestination of souls to heaven and to hell is true, we have no responsibility to be holy, for this will be undertaken by God. Any effort on our own part to be holy is a mere illusion. However, if the predestination of souls is not the object of predestination, and we are compelled to respond to the light of God’s Word, we have a greater duty to be about submitting ourselves to Christ and ever seeking to be more like Christ.
While this current treatise does not set out to defend predestination, we will endeavor to renew in our minds the consequences of predestination which Arminius so eloquently outlined.
What Is The Object of Predestination?
To understand predestination, we must first grapple with the object of predestination. More than the object, we also need to understand the purpose of predestination. Modern teaching among Calvinists/Reformed insists that God predestined certain people to heaven and certain people to hell. In taking this position, they reject supralapsarianism, which is the teaching that predestination was determined before the fall of Adam and Eve. This rejection is necessary, they believe, to avoid making God the author of sin. Indeed, if God predestined everything before the fall, then the first sin was committed by His hand, an admission even Calvinists know they cannot refute. In proposing the determination of God by His sovereign will, John Calvin also understood the importance of defending God’s character against evil.
To get around this, many Calvinists believe that predestination occurred after the fall of Adam and Eve. A fundamental flaw in this belief is the Bible itself. Ephesians 1:4-5 says, “Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will.”
Notice the phrase “before the foundation of the world” when Ephesians states that we were “chosen” and “predestined to adoption.” Among modern Calvinists, the idea that predestination occurred before or after the fall is a product of a logical sequence. However, this application of human logic to the things of God fails to comprehend the majesty of God. Nowhere in the Bible are we led to believe that God is logical. On the contrary, many times in the Old Testament the people of God questioned God’s designs because it defied human logic.
Beyond the application of any human logic, the idea that predestination occurred after the fall of Adam and Eve is simply not supported by the Bible. Whatever is predestined was determined before the fall. If the Calvinist position is correct, this makes God the author of evil – the first sin was in fact committed by His hand, through His sovereign will, and of the outflowing of His providence.
The trouble with disavowing supralapsarianism is that God still remains, as Arminius pointed out, the only volitional force behind the actions of the most sinful and evil individuals. Further, if a soul is predestined to hell and has no opportunity to turn to Christ because this is the design of God, then the individual bears no responsibility for the sin committed. The sin was determined by God to be committed before the individual was created, and because God predestined that soul to hell, the individual could not act in any other manner but to sin and never seek Christ. This makes God the only sinner, as Arminius points out. Thus, rejecting supralapsarianism is of little value.
We cannot just skip over predestination. Predestination is referenced in Acts 4:27-28, Romans 8:29-30, 1 Corinthians 2:7, Ephesians 1:4-5, and Ephesians 1:11. It is noteworthy that in both Ephesians and Corinthians there is a reference to “before the ages” or “before the foundation of the world.”
“A coherent conclusion is required…”
In John 17:24 and 1 Peter 1:20, there is also reference to Jesus Christ being foreknown before the foundation of the world. If the coming of Jesus Christ to earth to be the propitiation for sin was foreknown before the foundation of the world, then it is incoherent and blasphemous against Christ to claim that predestination occurred after the fall of Adam and Eve. A coherent conclusion is required, and the only coherent conclusion is that any predestination occurred before the foundation of the world.
To claim that the fall of Adam and Eve was necessary to fulfill the purposes of God and illustrate His justice and mercy is to admit that predestination occurred before the foundation of the world. However, to claim that predestination only occurred after the fall of Adam and Eve is to deny the very words of Jesus. The only reason that Jesus Christ is necessary is that there would be sin, a need for salvation, and judgment for sin.
In John 17:24, we have the words of Jesus Christ, who would know and understand predestination. Thus, there is very good support for predestination being determined “before the foundation of the world.”
“Predestination of people to heaven or hell leads to eternal security.”
We’re still back at the question of what was predestined. The argument for predestination of people to heaven or hell leads to eternal security, or the belief that once an individual is saved such individual is predestined to heaven and cannot lose salvation. This teaching has, unfortunately, led to a myriad of misunderstandings of holiness, sanctification, righteousness, and obedience. In conjunction with this teaching, sanctification is understood to be complete only at the moment of death. Once again, this concept of sanctification underestimates the power of God’s grace. Incidentally, the idea of Christian perfection was a key focus of John Wesley to refute these limitations in God’s grace.
Those who hear eternal security teaching come away believing that it does not matter how they live. Eternal security risks giving people license to sin, or at a minimum, to be lackadaisical in their relationship with God. There is zero support in Scripture for intentionally committing sin and failing to maintain righteousness before God. Rather, the Bible clearly teaches that we must have pure motives, remove all sin, and be holy before God (i.e., Wesley’s Christian perfection).
There most certainly is security – it must be so, or salvation is a fraud. In Jesus Christ, our salvation is secure. Because Jesus Christ is eternal and provides security for our salvation, the theology of salvation is eternally secure. However, this is vastly different from claiming that an individual soul is eternally safe.
A Review of “Appointed” / “Ordained” in Acts 10:42 and Acts 13:48
Before we continue, we should spent a few minutes reviewing Acts 10:42 and Acts 13:48. In Acts 13:48, modern Calvinists propose that there is strong support for the predestination of souls and for eternal security. Does the word “appointed” in 10:42 and 13:48 mean foreordained, predestined or predetermined? The original Hebrew and Greek word is translated as “ordained” in some versions of the Bible and “appointed” in others.
Obviously, one use of “ordained” is to ordain apostles and ministers. In 10:42, the Strong’s Concordance number is 3724, and in 13:48, the Strong’s number is 5021. This is a significant clue that the words, while they may be translated as the same English word to accommodate our limited vocabulary, carry different meanings.
In Acts 10:42, the obvious meaning from the verse is the ordination of apostles and ministers of the gospel. This, alone, should be an indicator that “ordained” and “appointed” cannot necessarily be interpreted to mean predetermined, predestination or foreordained.
The lectionary meaning of the word used in Acts 13:48 is split. The usage is generally accepted to mean “to place in a certain order,” and indeed, “order” is the root of ordained. It is also used to describe “arrange, assign a place and appoint.” It is also used to refer to consecrating oneself to minister unto another.
Adam Clarke’s commentary on Acts 13:48 cautions readers to be careful to understand what a word means before interpreting the word. Clarke writes that the word used in Acts 13:48 “signifies to place, set, order, appoint, dispose; hence it has been considered here as implying the disposition or readiness of mind of several persons in the congregation, such as the religious proselytes mentioned Acts 13:43, who possessed the reverse of the disposition of those Jews who spake against those things, contradicting and blaspheming, Acts 13:45.”
When reviewing the greater context of Acts 13, we must consider something critically important. Located within the paragraph at Acts 13:44-52 is a quote from an Old Testament command. We find, “For so the Lord has commanded us, `I HAVE PLACED YOU AS A LIGHT FOR THE GENTILES, THAT YOU MAY BRING SALVATION TO THE END OF THE EARTH.’” (NASB translation and nearly identical translation as KJV) This quote comes from Isaiah 42:6, which reads, “I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles.” (KJV)
The reason given for the apostles turning to the Gentiles is the violation by the Jews of the Old Testament command to be a light to the Gentiles to bring salvation to the ends of the earth. From this, we find that the command to carry the gospel to the whole world (the Great Commission) was actually given in the Old Testament. Not only is this a command to the Jews, it is a promise that through them would come a covenant to be a light for the Gentiles (i.e., salvation through the cross, a promise which is repeated throughout the Old Testament).
The violation of the Old Testament command means either one of two things. It is God’s own violation committed by God alone to fulfill the purposes He ordained according to His sovereign will in the predestination of these Gentiles to heaven and these Jews to hell. If this statement is not true, then it is not indicative of predestination at all but a rebuke of the Jews who determined in their heart to violate God’s long-established command and promise.
The most obvious flaw with an interpretation that Acts 13 supports the predestination of souls to heaven or to hell is the volition behind breaking God’s own command. If it is true that these Gentiles were predestined to heaven, then it is also true that either God predestined these Jews to hell or that by default the Jews could not obtain heaven because only these Gentiles were pre-chosen. This necessarily means that God established a law in the Old Testament and only by God’s volition was His own law broken. The Jews could act in no other way because God’s sovereignty prevented them from anything else. There is no other coherent interpretation of predestination in Acts 13. Any other interpretation is incoherent and self-serving to preserve doctrinal positions.
We’re right back in the problem of God being the only sinner. The Jews would not have determined to break God’s law, but they could do nothing but break God’s law because God set them on an unalterable course by His sovereign will and through His providence to break His own law. In other words, God determined before these Jews were created that they could do nothing else but break God’s law, and this makes God to be the only law breaker. That they ratified God’s predestination by actually committing the sin is meaningless because they could do nothing else. This is the point Arminius made in the quotation above.
This deep dive into Acts 13:48 allows us to explore in more detail how claiming human responsibility for sin within the doctrine of predestination fails to grasp the fatal problems of the predestination of souls.
If we reject the notion that God is the only sinner and law breaker, then we cannot interpret Acts 13 as inferring the predestination of souls to heaven or to hell. Predestination, then, does not at all mean the predetermination by God’s sovereignty of souls to heaven or to hell. The remainder of this review of predestination will concern itself with the object of predestination.
First Disagreement – The Predestination of Souls Makes God the Only Sinner
Here’s where we can be more clear about God being the only sinner. The position Arminius took was that God did not predestine people to heaven or hell. Instead, He predestined the cross on which Jesus Christ died, and He did so because of His foreknowledge. Further, God predestined that believing on Jesus Christ (John 3:16) and confessing our sins (1 John 1:9) would result in justification (acceptance before God) and salvation from condemnation to hell for sin. God also predestined that in the lives of those who are thus justified through Christ He would begin a work of sanctification and provide the grace necessary to bring it to completion (Colossians 1:28).
Before the foundation of the world, God knew that Lucifer, a created being in heaven, would sin. God also knew that this sin in heaven would need to be cleansed. God also knew that the sin of Lucifer would lead to the sin of Adam and Eve. Thus, in His foreknowledge, before the foundation of the world (in other words, before God created anything), He predestined the plan of salvation through Jesus Christ. This plan would be upheld and completed through the sovereignty of God. God did not create and then provide a means for redemption. Instead, He predestined (set in stone) the means for redemption and then created. We may even say that creation is the unfolding of this predestined plan of redemption, and I believe this to be true.
God is the author of sin and the only sinner if He predestined souls to hell. If God so predestinated, sin originated from the work of God’s creation. In creation, God necessarily would have built sin into the created beings, all the way back to Lucifer. This is also why claiming to disavow supralapsarianism does not avoid the problem of God being the only sinner. To disavow supralapsarianism and still hold to the predestination of souls is mere misdirection, and Arminius handily points this out. Supralapsarianism only claims to disavow that God is the author of sin, or that God predestined before Adam and Eve sinned. All creation has its source in God, so that an individual who is created to sin and be damned to hell cannot do anything else necessarily means that God intentionally created the individual to sin. God is the ultimate volitional force behind that individual’s sin. By God’s design, the individual can do nothing else but sin. This necessarily makes God the force behind sin and the only decision-maker about the individual’s sin.
The individual sinner, therefore, cannot be justifiably held responsible for sin because God designed it to be so, and the individual is incapable of anything contrary to God’s sovereign design. Therefore, condemning souls to hell for their sin is wholly unjust for they were not responsible.
Second Disagreement – The Predestination of Souls
Detracts from the Glory of Christ
Arminius did not accept the idea that people are predestined to heaven or hell because predestination is not about us. It is about God redeeming His people even before He created them. In love, God did not withhold life despite His foreknowledge of the sin which would follow. In His foreknowledge, God could have scrapped all plans to create because of the sin and evil which would unfold. However, love is voluntary, and God desired fellowship with us and desired that we (His creation) voluntarily choose Him. Thus, He created us with the ability to turn to God and have fellowship with Him. To scrap plans for creation based purely on it leading to great sin would have been the opposite of love.
“Predestination is not about us.”
This underscores the righteousness of God’s judgment and the great importance of holy living.
In reviewing this topic, I ask this question, “What would bring God the most glory? Is it more glorious to predestine people to heaven or hell, or is it more glorious that Jesus Christ determined before the first sin and before creation to die on the cross to cleanse heaven and save us from sin?” The answer is obvious. God would have the most glory if salvation through Jesus Christ was predestined before the foundation of the world and before any sin occurred. Making predestination about you and me takes glory away from Jesus Christ, who is the centerpiece of all the Bible. It is through the cross that God desired to glorify Christ, and Christ is glorified when we believe on Him and pursue holiness.
[Important Note: Where supporters of the predestination of souls (usually Calvinists and Reformed believers) disagree with Arminius is on the concept that we cannot do anything to obtain our own salvation or complete our own sanctification. This is Biblical to a point. In John 12:32, Jesus said that He draws people to Himself. John 3:16 says our part in salvation is only belief. Matthew 17:21 (indeed verses 14-21) teach us that power over evil only comes through God. Ephesians 2:8 teaches that we are saved only by (God’s) grace and that the faith necessary is the gift of God. While it is true that salvation and sanctification are only a work of God, the Bible is also very clear that we must consent and order our lives in such a way to permit God to work. Denying this means many passages of the Bible are rendered erroneous and empty and significantly detract from the glory due to God and to Jesus Christ.]
God’s decree before the foundation of the world was that the soul which sins must die. Thus, when Lucifer sinned, he should have stood for his own sin and offered himself to die. His pride and arrogance prevented him from doing so, and Jesus Christ offered Himself in the stead of Lucifer to cleanse the sin which Lucifer brought into heaven. This alone is what gives rise to the glory of Jesus Christ. It is the very reason the angels celebrated when Jesus was born, for at long last, the sin in heaven could be made aright.
Third Disagreement – The Earth Was Created to Host the Sacrifice of Christ and Enable the Cleansing of Heaven
The concept of sin in heaven and Jesus Christ cleansing heaven is clearly taught in Revelation 12:1-13. When we take a step back, we understand that the temple in the Old Testament is a reflection of what is in heaven. Exodus 25:9, Hebrews 8:5 A teaching which accompanies the temple is that the substitute to be sacrificed must killed outside the gate. Exodus 29:14, Hebrews 13:12 If heaven is a temple, and the Bible confirms it is, Jesus Christ as our substitute cannot be offered for our sin in heaven. He must suffer for our sin outside the gate, and He suffered in this manner – both literally and figuratively. Thus, before the foundation of the world, God predestined that the earth would be created where this substitutionary sacrifice was to occur. Once the sacrifice was complete, Jesus Christ ascended back into heaven to cleanse the sin committed by Lucifer. In the process, He became our propitiation for sin.
This is why the cross was necessary, why Christ’s birth is celebrated, and why Christ’s resurrection from the dead is important and celebrated.
In this way, humanity is most definitely a central figure in predestination. However, to say that we are predestinated to act by God’s design is also to say that God drove the nails in the hands of His own Son. May it never be! We are justly condemned for refusing Christ when the light of God’s Word shines upon our souls, and we reject Him even to the point of nailing Christ to the cross. God, in His foreknowledge, knew what would occur, but He did not design and order the death of Christ. Had He done so, He must also be the author of sin.
It is gloriously significant that there must be the shedding of blood to cleanse sin. Lucifer was facing the penalty of death for the sin committed. However, Jesus Christ offered to stand in Lucifer’s place. Where Lucifer should have abandoned his pride and confessed his sin, his greater sin was allowing Christ to die in his place. This was a clear affront to the glory of God and justifies the ultimate punishment due Lucifer. Lucifer truly believed that he could overthrow God, and no price is too high to pay to achieve this goal, including the suffering and marring of the body of Christ, God’s own Son. Matthew 21:33-46 Indeed, this is what justifies the punishment of all sin by any person who commits sin.
Fourth Disagreement – The Predestination of Souls to Heaven or Hell Is Incompatible with Scripture, or Is Inconsistent with the Will of God Concerning Souls
There is also the issue of squaring the modern view of predestination with the plain reading of Scripture. There is a string of verses which clearly teach the universal offer of salvation. The predestination of souls to hell is only valid if the Bible consistently supports the limited availability of salvation. However, this is not the case. The only consistent teaching in Scripture is the universal availability of salvation.
We first recall Isaiah 42:6, where the Jews were called to be a light to bring salvation to the end of the earth. This is an incoherent command which is impossible to obey if salvation is limited to a select few.
The next and most obvious is John 3:16. Here, Jesus said “whosoever believes.” The words of Jesus do not make sense if salvation is limited to a select few who are predestined to heaven. “Whosoever” is a word of universality, in that salvation is available to all and not limited. In John 12:32, Jesus said if He was lifted up on the cross He would draw “all men” to Himself. Once again, the word “all” is incompatible with a selective group. [That all will be saved is vastly different from all receiving the offer of salvation. This review of predestination does not support universalism, which is the false teaching that all will ultimately be saved. There is no support in the Bible for universalism, and your author wholly rejects such teaching as blatantly false and completely unsupported by the plain teaching of the Bible.]
Then, there is 1 John 2:2, “He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.” In the view that God has predestined certain people for hell, Jesus Christ is not their propitiation, thus, He cannot be the propitiation for the “whole world.” His sacrifice is ineffective for them. Here, we must observe that a limited effectiveness of Christ’s propitiation detracts from the glory due Christ. Thus, in the Calvinist and Reformed attempt to preserve the sovereignty of God, the attempt actually limits the glory of Christ. This view also detracts from the glory due Christ by reducing the severity of His judgment on those who reject Him as well as the reward of those who overcome the world.
Again, in Romans 5:18, we find, “So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men.” We find similar verses in 1 Timothy 4:10, 1 Corinthians 15:22, 2 Peter 3:9, Titus 2:11, Romans 11:32, John 12:47, 1 John 4:14, John 1:29, Colossians 1:20, Romans 14:11, and Luke 2:10.
“The will of God desires all men to be saved and for all to come to repentance.”
Then, we have the will of God concerning all people. The will of God is expressed in 1 Timothy 2:4, in that God “desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” God’s will is also expressed in Philippians 2:9-11, “For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” God’s will is further expressed in 2 Peter 3:9, “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.”
Every tongue will definitely confess Christ, whether it be on earth by repentance of sin and belief on Christ or acknowledging Christ at the judgment seat for unrepented sin. However, the absolute will of a sovereign God is for all people to confess Christ and avoid judgment. Because love is voluntary, God permits us to refuse Christ, which sets us on a path to confess Christ only at the final judgment. We cannot alter the outcome or consequences of our decisions, but we can alter our decisions.
One other more obscure inconsistency with Scripture is the concept of premeditated crimes. In Deuteronomy 19, God establishes sanctuary cities to which people can flee if another person died at their hands but in innocence. In this chapter, God distinguishes between an individual who dies because the head of an axe slipped off the handle and an individual who dies because the murderer concocted a plan to lie in wait. The latter we understand today to be premeditated murder, while the former is the result of negligence. (Incidentally, to avoid injuries and death by negligence, I was taught to stand off to the side when someone is slinging an axe. We also see how our modern legal system is (sort of) built on Biblical standards. We should take every step possible to avoid negligent injury.)
The incoherence of predestination of souls to hell is on full display where premeditation is at the root of sin. There is no premeditation if God designed by His sovereignty and providence for the act to occur. If every act we commit is only by the providence and sovereign will of God, we are completely incapable of premeditated crimes because we can do nothing other than what God designed. In the predestination of souls, this premeditation in Deuteronomy 19 is only a mere illusion, which is a softer way of saying it makes the passage false. God would have put it in the mind of the individual to lie in wait and likewise to loosen the head of the axe. If every leaf falls and every robin flaps its wings at the providence of God and by His sovereign will, then the same volitional force loosed the axe head, despite any appearance of negligence by the axe owner. No amount of prevention by the axe owner would have avoided the ultimate injury. The individual cannot be found guilty for premeditated crimes when predestination by the sovereignty of God is the actual cause.
A key for believers in the Wesleyan-Arminian tradition is consistency in the interpretation of Scripture, and these Scripture verses present serious concerns with the inconsistencies and incoherence of the predestination of souls. Inconsistent interpretation of Scripture weakens the character of God, makes the Bible appear to be false, and detracts from the glory due Christ.
The only coherent conclusion which can be extrapolated from this collection of verses is that the will of God is that all would choose Christ, yet He has allowed us the liberty to reject Christ. Once we understand that a response is required from us, then and only then can we appreciate the reward of heaven for belief on Christ and the judgment of sin. Salvation is offered to all, however, not all will respond in acceptance.
Thus, we are obligated to be a light in the world to bring salvation to the ends of the earth. Isaiah 42:6 True holiness is desiring that none face judgment for sin and desiring to share the salvation from that judgment that we have come to cherish. It would be wrong to withhold any warning and prevent others from obtaining salvation. This is the heart both of holiness and of evangelism.
Fifth Disagreement – The Predestination of Souls Is Inconsistent with the Will of God Concerning the Will of God for Our Physical Health
In Christ’s Alternative to Communism, E. Stanley Jones writes on the various types of disinherited classes of individuals. In the chapter on the Physically Disinherited, Jones writes the following at page 129:
“God does not send sickness, nor is sickness the will of God. He would banish it. The Kingdom of God is an offensive against it. Jesus did not teach submission to sickness and suffering — he cured them both. His was no fatalistic acceptance of conditions, but the impact of a redemptive movement that changed conditions. His movement was not an opiate that made men content, but an operation that made men well. It was not something that weakened the fiber of men’s thinking by preaching contentment, but something that gave men the courage to believe that sin and suffering had met their match and could be conquered.”
Indeed, it was the act of Jesus healing on the Sabbath which caused such a great uproar that led to His crucifixion. (Luke 13:10-17) In the account, Jesus rebuked the traditions of the Pharisees and priests which would have left the unwell alone until the next day, extending their suffering unnecessarily. Jesus all but asked, “Is not the temple a place of healing?” It is, or it is supposed to be.
E. Stanley Jones cites the problem to be, not any limitation on God’s part, such that He is unable to get to everyone who is sick or that He cares not about some who are unwell, but that the injustices committed by humanity have stunted the growth of the Kingdom of Heaven. Thus, 2,000 years after the coming of Christ, we still have many who are physically disinherited. The will of God as revealed to us through Christ is that all humanity experience healing — healing of sin-sick souls, healing of the mind, and healing of physical infirmities. Christ’s work was, first of all, redemptive, and He did not only redeem souls from sin and spiritual death. It was, after all, His forgiveness of sin while healing infirmities, forgiving the sin of adultery, and healing demoniacs which landed Him in trouble with the Jewish leaders.
Should this not tell us something? While the Kingdom of Heaven would bring redemptive healing, it is humanity which seeks to limit the extent of its healing work. And we have not progressed much beyond the Jewish leaders. Jones continues to write in the same chapter:
“Jesus never comforted the sick — he healed them. If Krishna had met the widow of Nain taking her dead son to burial, he would have said, according to the Gita, ‘Weep not, for the Self has not died for it is deathless.’ Buddha would have said, ‘Weep not, for existence and evil are one. Cut the root of desire, even for the dead, and you will enter Nirvana, the place of the desireless.’ Mohammed would have said, ‘It is the will of Allah, submit to it.’ Jesus said, ‘Young man, I say unto you, arise.’ The philosophers of India would have explained how it all happened and why, and would have left things as they were before. Jesus explained nothing, but told the dead to arise! Jesus would have agreed with Marx when he said, ‘Philosophers have explained the world in various ways; the task is now to change it.’ Jesus looked on sin, error, sickness, and death as hindrances and enemies.”
Before His death on the cross and ascension back into heaven, Jesus said in John 14:12, “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father.” Nothing in the gospels of the New Testament support the doctrine of predestination of souls saying to an individual that God wants the individual to remain unwell or that such is the foreordained will of God.
When the disciples attempted and failed to heal a demoniac, they went away ashamed. The demon mocked them. Privately, they asked Jesus why they could not heal as He did, even as He said they would. The account found in Matthew 17:14-21 (NASB) teaches us that the source of our power in overcoming evil and sin in the world is prayer and fasting. We have not done greater works than Christ or expanded the Kingdom of Heaven to all people because of the lack of our obedience, not because of predestination. Throughout the book of Acts in the Bible, prayer and fasting are central to the accomplishments of the early church. One cannot separate the role of prayer and fasting from the achievements of the early apostles. Thus, everything which we accomplish in the world for Christ is through the power of Christ.
Do you want to see people healed? How is your prayer and fasting? Still, we cannot bait, trick or tempt God into healing others just because we are praying and fasting. Our obedience must come from a sincere heart, and the whole Kingdom of Heaven is founded on self-denial. We’re not doing that great on any front.
That Jesus healed one demoniac or raised one person from the dead but not another is no support for claiming that the Kingdom of Heaven is limited in scope or that it was the will of God that only such individuals would be healed and all others left unredeemed. Jesus left it to us to completely install the Kingdom of Heaven, and we have failed, whether because of selfishness, greed, doctrine, or a refusal to genuinely obey Christ.
Sixth Disagreement – Predestination and the Providence of God is Comfortable … But Lacking Joy
Modern teaching on predestination is comfortable. It is certainly a great comfort to know that everything which occurs has been predetermined by God to occur because of His sovereignty and through His providence. This means God is in everything, and nothing escapes His notice. “God is in control.” Everything which occurs is by God’s design and intention. A Calvinist leaning pastor asked me, if I do not believe in predestination and eternal security, about the source of my joy. I responded that I find my joy in believing on the sacrifice Jesus Christ made on the cross and in choosing to surrender myself back to Him in obedience and service (Romans 12:1-2). By this, I was implying that I am exercising what free will I have to accept grace and practicing personal responsibility. Shall we trade joy for comfort?
“It is only comfort which accepts such a reality and not be compelled to action. It is too much comfort which prevents us from urging more to salvation than we actually do.”
This same pastor believed joy comes from knowing God is in control and determines all things beforehand. This is not joy at all but mere comfort. If it is joy, then we are glad that some souls are damned to hell by God’s design.
It is only comfort which accepts such a reality and not be compelled to action. It is too much comfort which prevents us from urging more to salvation than we actually do.
Seventh Disagreement – The Problem of Sanctification and Sin
John MacArthur, who is firmly in the camp of predestination of souls and eternal security, teaches that those who have salvation in Christ will continue to sin. 5 The very description of the message is very telling, “Although all who are justified will also be sanctified, sanctification is the fruit of justification, not its ground. In this message, Dr. John MacArthur will clarify the relationship between justification and sanctification and explain that we are justified while we are still sinners.” (Emphasis mine)
That we are predestined to heaven and possess eternal security is apparently a necessary teaching to justify continuing sin. The greatest concern I have with eternal security is that it accepts and allows willful sin, and perhaps even encourages such sin. As mentioned previously, eternal security is a necessary outgrowth of modern teaching on predestination. Part of this teaching is that we are only made perfect in death, because only death holds the power to free us from sin.
However, we find no indication in the Bible that death holds any virtue or virtuous power. Yes, we are free from the power of sin because of our death, yet nothing in the Bible supports the notion that our death results in perfection or the completion of sanctification. Rather, the Bible teaches we can achieve complete and perfect sanctification during life!
Once again, the flaw in sinning while claiming salvation in Christ is the Bible itself. In Matthew 5:48, Jesus says, “Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Jesus would only tell us to do something if He understood it to be possible. Even if it were impossible, it is possible through Christ (Matthew 19:26), and this once again detracts from the glory of Christ.
“Does a fountain send out from the same opening both fresh and bitter water?”
Through Christ’s words, we can know that it is possible before death to be perfect in our walk with God. It is by the grace He offers, through the power of the Holy Spirit, that we can progress toward this perfection. A teaching that we cannot be perfectly sanctified during this life diminishes the power of God’s grace.
We are also called in both the Old Testament and New Testament to be holy as God is holy. We understand God to be perfect, so to what are we called? Leviticus 11:44-45, “For I am the LORD your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy. And you shall not make yourselves unclean with any of the swarming things that swarm on the earth. For I am the LORD who brought you up from the land of Egypt to be your God; thus you shall be holy, for I am holy.” See also 1 Peter 1:16
In Leviticus, the concept of holiness is purity, or to be without defect. This idea of holiness is one which is without sin and is complete. With this understanding, we can understand the words of Jesus in Matthew 5:48 to mean that we are to have a perfect love for God. Taking this one step further, our love for God is to be unmixed with love for the world. Matthew 22:37-40 The holiness of God is unmixed with anything of the world, and we are called the same holiness.
Why would God call us to something which is utterly impossible, even with the help of grace through the Holy Spirit? We find these verses and these commands in Scripture because it is not only possible but required and expected of all who claim to believe on Christ and follow Him.
We find this illustrated in James 3:7-12, “For every species of beasts and birds, of reptiles and creatures of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by the human race. But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God; from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way. Does a fountain send out from the same opening both fresh and bitter water? Can a fig tree, my brethren, produce olives, or a vine produce figs? Nor can salt water produce fresh.”
It is wholly incompatible that a righteous and holy person will at the same time love the world and commit sin. We cannot be holy and righteous at the same time that we commit sin. Thus, we are called to perfection before God. Matthew 19:21, Colossians 3:14, James 2:22, James 3:2, 1 John 2:5, Genesis 17:1, 2 Corinthians 13:11, Ephesians 4:13, Colossians 1:28, Hebrews 6:1, James 1:4, 2 Peter 1:4-11
It is from these verses, as well as a few others like them, that we extrapolate the requirement of Christian perfection, sometimes known as a second work of grace. Luke 6:40, Philippians 3:12
However, we understand John MacArthur’s understanding of sanctification only being complete in death to be the result of the comfort provided by predestination and eternal security. This comfort undermines our commitment to the obedience and to holiness commanded by Christ.
We must address a common misconception about and argument against Christian perfection, often simply called Wesleyan-Arminianism. Over the last 100 to 150 years, teaching has continued to mount that we can be entirely sanctified or achieve Christian perfection through works. Revival meetings, altar calls, outward attire, legalistic practices, and similar exhortations among Wesleyan-Arminian and Methodist leaning churches leads those on the outside to criticize a works-based religion.
Ephesians 2:8-10 makes it clear anything we become in Christ is only through faith by grace. “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”
Christian perfection, then, is also by faith through grace. Faith is a necessary component. What is faith? Is it not belief? And this belief, is it not a gift from God? When we believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation from sin, He continues the drawing of our souls to Himself (John 12:32). In other words, we will become Christlike, unless we abort the process.
Those who believe we can continue in sin while practicing righteousness live in Romans 7, where Paul eloquently identifies the struggle we have with sin. It is when we flip to Romans 8 that we discover we are not called to live in sin. Romans 8:9-15, “However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh— for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, ‘Abba! Father!’” 6
In Romans 8, we understand that (1) we are under no obligation to sin, (2) in Christ we no longer live in the flesh but live by the Holy Spirit, and (3) if we do sin, it is an intentional act we are otherwise not obligated to commit. Thus, we can extrapolate from Romans 8 that it is our motives and love for God that we must completely submit to God and seek to have renewed. We have the complete freedom to continue in sin, but to do so is to deny that the Holy Spirit has done any work in us. 1 Corinthians 6:12
Here, however, I wholly reject the other extreme, which is that once “entirely sanctified” we cannot commit sin. Yes, I have heard this proclaimed, and it has apparently been around since at least the 1800s. It may have been a teaching of W.B. Godbey, but I cannot substantiate this. It was in the early 1800s that a new type of false teaching emerged which adversely influenced the church. I wholly reject this whole idea as false.
In A Plain Account of Christian Perfection, John Wesley makes it clear that to proclaim we are entirely sanctified, rather than to live humbly, is to harbor pride. Wesley exhorted against publicly proclaiming such and rather exhorted to humility. We are not to boast of our perfection nor act presumptuously. To harbor pride is sin, thus, while claiming we cannot sin once entirely sanctified we are already tripped up by pride and living in sin. This is the extreme danger of such proclamation. The sin of pride is so subtle that it will go undetected and unconfessed. Such sin always grows, and these individuals are precariously close to spectacular falls from grace, tragic sin, or even denouncing God entirely.
Eighth Disagreement – Those Who Fall Away Were in Christ,
Or It Is Possible to Fall Away
Another segment of predestination is the question of whether we can fall away from Christ. Those who hold to the predestination of souls believe that it is God who holds us fast, so that we cannot fall. John Calvin’s commentary on Romans 8 supposes that Paul intended to complete verse 12 to say that we are in bondage to Christ. However, this is incompatible with Scripture. 1 Corinthians 6:12, Isaiah 61:1, John 8:32, Romans 8:2, Romans 8:21, 2 Corinthians 3:17
In Christ, we have liberty, and we have the freedom to live for Christ. However, we also have the freedom to return to bondage. If we deny this, then we deny the reality that Israel in the Old Testament repeatedly returned to idolatry after having been freed from slavery in Egypt. Having the promise of a blessing, they willingly and intentionally chose the curse. Put another way, they did little to nothing to guard against idolatry. God did nothing to stop them from exercising this liberty to reject God; yet He continually called them to return and repent.
One instance where this is easily overlooked but on vivid display is Judges 6 and the account of Gideon. Why was there an asherah pole in the middle of Israel’s camp? They blamed God for abandoning them, but they become unconscious of their previously intentional decision to turn to idolatry. It was only after Gideon made their idolatry obvious by tearing down the pole that the leaders of Israel refused to defend idolatry.
That we can fall away is plainly taught in Scripture, but the concept is very different from actually falling away from Christ. Arminius is very clear on this distinction. Those who are continually choosing to yield to God and submit their motives to Him will not fall away from God. However, it remains possible to discontinue yielding to God. Thus, we understand that this is where we must allow the grace of God to work in our lives, so that we root out any desire to turn away from God and turn back to sin as Israel did. Proverbs 14:14, Malachi 3:7-18, Matthew 24:12, Luke 9:62, Galatians 4:9, Hebrews 10:38, Revelation 2:4
Of particular note among these are the words of Jesus referencing falling away in Matthew 24, Luke 9, and Revelation 2. When we understand that it is possible to turn away from God, we then understand where we must allow the grace of God, by faith, to work in us to prevent a falling away.
“That we can fall away is plainly taught in Scripture, but the concept is very different from actually falling away from Christ.”
Those who believe that the predestination of souls and eternal security will not allow us to fall away claim that anyone who does “fall from grace” was never in Christ at all. This is to deny the truth of Scripture. In John 3:16 and 1 John 1:9, we have truths that our sins are forgiven based on our belief. A person who has in sincerity believed on Jesus Christ and confessed sin is forgiven and justified in Christ. This is an explicit promise rooted in the sovereignty of God. For an example of this, see 1 Timothy 1:18-20.
Once again, the possibility of falling away from God highlights where we must allow, by faith, the grace of God to work in our lives and the need for yielding ourselves to God’s grace. We prevent ourselves from falling away by pursuing holiness as we are commanded, loving God with our whole heart unmixed with love for the world, praying without ceasing, turning away from sin, and guarding ourselves from false teaching.
All of these are impossible on our own strength. We must have the grace of God to perform all of these acts, but God’s grace does not perform them against our will nor prevent us from refusing that grace.
Unconfessed sin and false teaching will be the two primary areas which result in falling away. Thus, there is a great danger of falling away while holding to eternal security and incomplete sanctification during this life because we are always entertaining and committing sin, without a clear need to confess it.
Conclusion
Modern teaching on predestination fails to convince that God does not sin. If I am predestined to hell, then it would be an injustice on God’s part to hold me accountable for my sin. It is not me who committed the sin, but God who predetermined that I would sin, which means that I am committing sin by His design and by His hand and had no choice, motive or intention in the matter. What God determined to occur is said by Jesus Christ and New Testament writers to be determined before the foundation of the world. In this way, the predestination of people to heaven and hell subtracts from the glory due to Jesus Christ. In eliminating the glory due to Christ, it also takes away my personal responsibility to holiness and obedience before God. Still, it is through personal holiness and obedience to God and surrendering ourselves as living sacrifices to Christ that great joy is found and true glory is given to Christ. In giving Christ glory and testifying to His great salvation, we bring souls to Christ and live as light to bring salvation to the ends of the earth. In all of this, we cannot undertake such work without the grace of God, which He promises in abundance to obedient souls.
Footnotes
1 Justo L. Gonzalez, The Story of Christianity, Vol. 1, p.215
2 James Arminius, The Works of James Arminius, Vol. 1, Article XII
3 A survey of the King James Version, New American Standard Bible, and English Standard Version of the Bible reveals that the phrase “hold fast” occurs in 52 individual verses. In 39 of those verses, in both the Old and New Testaments, the people of God are urged to “hold fast” to God. This includes usages by Jesus Christ in Luke and Revelation. In 9 verses in both the Old and New Testaments, “hold fast” refers to holding to evil. In 3 verses, the husband is called to “hold fast” to his wife. Only in 1 verse (Psalm 139) is there a reference to God holding fast to us. The vast majority of the teaching is an imperative on us to ensure we are holding fast to the correct teaching.
4 James Arminius, The Works of James Arminius, Vol. 1, Article VII
5 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRFOplUmIDA
6 In no way does Abba mean daddy. https://www.logos.com/grow/what-does-abba-really-mean/. See also “ABBA-FATHER”: REVISITING JOACHIM JEREMIAS’ POSITION ON THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE EXPRESSION IN PAUL OVER AGAINST SECOND TEMPLE JEWISH TEXTS by Daniel S. Supimpa published on academia.edu. It is reported that Joachim Jeremias, who first proposed that Abba means daddy, later retracted his theological treatise, however, the damage had been done. Continuing to teach that Abba means daddy is not based in any theological literature. Instead, claiming Abba means daddy is to woefully undermine the glory due Christ and the sovereignty of God.