Is Our Eternity Decided For Us?

This is my "Predestination vs. Free-Will" series from my other blog.  This is where I broke the four large posts up in smaller pieces.  (The large posts: "Predestination Does Not Mean 'No Choice'" and "Controversial Predestination Verse" and "Does Romans Teach Predestination?" and "Does Ephesians Teach Predestination?")  I have updated it a bit here.



"Do we have a choice about our eternal 'destinies'?  Do we have the free-will to choose Jesus and heaven, or does God predestine us to heaven or hell?"

Maybe this question won't cross the minds of many of you.  But it's one I have studied and thought about a lot ... mostly because we have a pastor who hammers the idea of predestination, acting like anyone who disagrees with him is disagreeing with the Bible and dishonoring God.  Like his view is the only way to read the Bible!

He even goes so far as to say things like God wanted people in hell - for His glory.  That He planned Adam and Eve's Fall - for His purposes.  That if we sin, it's because God caused it.  And that everything that happens in our lives is caused by God - even childhood abuse - for His glory and our good, and so we just have to trust Him.  

[Oh, my goodness, I can feel my blood starting to boil already!  That was the sermon when I decided that I am done with that church.  And so I have been staying home lately and watching Tony Evans' sermons online.  I simply can't listen to our pastor preach anymore because it makes me so angry!]

One good thing, though, is that my frustration with his dogmatic stance has caused me to research this issue as deeply and thoroughly as I could, to find out what I think the Bible really says about it.  

And in doing so, I have come to the opposite conclusion: 

Yes, God has done all the work of providing a way to heaven ... but we have to accept it.  He doesn't "force" us to believe or not believe.  He calls us to believe, but He leaves it up to us.  He made the way, but we have to choose to follow Him.

  

This is what makes the most sense when you look at the Bible as a whole, at God's character, at the meaning of Jesus's death, at the call to evangelize, at justice and mercy and grace, etc.

This pastor constantly talks about predestination and Calvinism (but never calling it "Calvinism").  And now his adult son gets up there and does it, too, preaching about how "Jesus only died for the elect, not for everyone."  

Really!?!?  'Cuz my Bible says "And he died for all..." in 2 Corinthians 5:15.

It is so frustrating to me - the wrong things that he's teaching, that contradict the clear, consistent teachings of the Bible, that do great damage to God's character and Jesus's sacrifice.  And sadly, no one else seems to care, except for one other couple.  Everyone else seems to accept what he is teaching, or they are simply not concerned enough to think too much about it.

But honestly, I don't know how anyone could not be interested in figuring this issue out.  It affects so many parts of our faith: our view of God's love, of Jesus's sacrifice, of grace, of mercy, of forgiveness, of evangelizing, of sin, etc.

It affects our overall view of God - of what kind of God He is.  

Is He the kind that would create billions of people for hell, giving them no chance to go to heaven, just so He could have a few people in heaven with Him?  Or is He the kind who would offer forgiveness to all?  

Is His love for everyone or just for a few?  

And if He does cause people to go to hell, then how can we trust the Bible when it says that Jesus died for all and that God promises eternal life for anyone who would believe and that God wants no one to perish?  

How just could He be if He causes people to reject Him and then punishes them for it?  

Why would He keep calling us (in the Bible) to "repent and believe" if we actually have no choice about repenting and believing?   

This is why this issue matters so much to me.  Because I need to know what kind of God I believe in and serve.  I staked my eternal soul on the Bible and God and Jesus!  And I need to know what Jesus's death really meant and what salvation really is.  What love is.  What grace is.  Who we are.  What we are responsible for and what God is.  What the Bible really teaches.  I need to know that the Bible is consistent and reliable and understandable.  That God is trustworthy and loving and gracious, and not the monster that Calvinism paints Him as.  Etc.

Others might want to quietly sweep this issue under the rug because it's confusing and difficult and debatable.  But I want to get to the bottom of it, to really understand what the Bible says about it.  This is a huge issue for me, which is why I keep focusing on it.  

In this series (as on this blog), I will be sharing why I believe the Bible teaches that Jesus died for all and that salvation is available for all ... but that we have the responsibility to respond to the Gospel and to Jesus's offer of eternal life.   

If we end up in hell, it won't be God's fault.  It will be ours - for rejecting His offer of forgiveness and salvation.


(For the posts in this series, click here.)