Predestination

Have you ever felt so strongly about a certain belief it made you who you are but you could not fully explain it after a certain point, it took faith? As Christians, followers of Christ Jesus, I hope we know this experience. God says without faith it is impossible to please Him. This theme of predestination and once saved always saved, simply put scares me on some level. At the other end of the spectrum there is the belief that I lose my salvation every time I disobey God’s commands. Let us agree that at the extreme ends both thought processes are wrong. Predestination is not saying that if I’ve won God’s lottery I can live like the devil and still go to heaven and on the other hand it is not my works that save me and each time I sin I start over as a new believer, how foolish! So the answer lies somewhere in the middle, no doubt.

I do understand the process that God knows all and sees all, not just in the past and present but also in the future and because of that He knows if I belong to Him and in that way I am predestined but only God knows but that doesn’t mean I don’t have anything to do with it. However, I do not agree that it is possible to accept Jesus Christ at an early age, grow up believing in Him, having real relationship with Him, knowing who He is, and then at the end of my life fall away because some unimaginable tragedy has taken place only to be told that I never belonged to God in the first place or it’s ok, I can do what I want, God will turn a blind eye because I was saved as a child and I have the golden ticket. This thought idea of what predestination looks like is a flawed process. You cannot dismiss John’s revelation where God shown Him what will take place in the end and where he listens to God address the seven churches in Asia because they had left their first love. There is an eminent threat of falling away and their decision to listen and obey or turn to their own selfish desires will indeed determine what eternity will look like for them but that doesn’t mean they never belonged to God. Revelation 2:10 God told the church, “But if you remain faithful even when facing death, I will give you the crown of life.” (NLT) The words “if you remain” tells us that what we do does have a part to play in our destination. Revelation 3:3 “Go back to what you heard and believed at first; hold to it firmly. Repent and turn to Me again. If you don’t wake up, I will come to you suddenly, as unexpected as a thief.” Revelation 3:15 “I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one of the other!” 16 “But since you are lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth!”

God tells us in Hebrews 12:6 “For the LORD disciplines those He loves, and He punishes each one He accepts as His child.” We are told that in the Old Testament as well – Proverbs 3:12 and again in Revelation 3:19 and because we are God’s children let’s look at this from a parent’s perspective. As a parent are you happiest when your children will not obey and you have to confront them before they take the garbage out and they do it begrudgingly or when they do it without you asking because they want to please you, because they care about the relationship they have with you? There is something about the “want to” that pleases God’s heart. It says God you are important to me, I love this relationship we have, and I want to do everything I can to cause it to grow, that’s why tithing is so important, really everything we do from reading our Bibles to prayer and study, worship… if we have real relationship with Jesus then it is because of the “want to”. However, if I am predestined (in human understanding) it creates a void, in that I can do whatever I want and God will overlook it. Predestined in this sense doesn’t grow relationship with God but repeals me from God and the very thing that made me feel safe, in that I can’t mess it up, causes a hollow space between my Savior and me because I cannot respond to His marvelous love and His unquestionable grace. Without free will how are we different than the heavenly host? The Bible tells us of one time they were able to choose and a third of them were thrown out of heaven with Satan.

We’ve been stepping around this without landing on it but at the center of this debate is Matthew 7:22-23. God never ceases to amaze me in little subtle ways. Just six days ago I was led to this scripture and He’s been preparing me for this talk since then. Let’s start at Matthew 7:21 and stop at verse 27.

Matthew 7:21-27 NLT  "Not everyone who calls out to Me, 'Lord! Lord!' will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of My Father in heaven will enter.  (22)  On judgment day many will say to Me, 'Lord! Lord! We prophesied in Your name and cast out demons in Your name and performed many miracles in Your name.'  (23)  But I will reply, 'I never knew you. Get away from Me, you who break God's laws.'  (24)  "Anyone who listens to My teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock.  (25)  Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won't collapse because it is built on bedrock.  (26)  But anyone who hears My teaching and doesn't obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand.  (27)  When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash."

Did you catch that Jesus said “Anyone who listens to My teaching and follows…”? This is a strong statement indicating that there is no golden ticket but instead the work of my salvation is done by Christ Jesus alone yet it is how I respond to it that determines what that means to me but the center of Christ’s words here is in Him knowing me. Now what does that mean, after all He knows everyone even so much so that the hairs of our heads are numbered! What Jesus is talking about here when He says I never knew you speaks of relationship and if it is about relationship then it is the “want to” that makes a difference. Therefore, if I fall away and no longer have relationship with Him I no longer know Him but I once knew Him. However, Jesus said I never knew you which points back to the fact that He is God and because of predestination He is able to look into the future and know the exact condition of our hearts when we will be called to give an account of how we lived our lives and because of that He knows which ones are His. Like wheat and tares to the human eye are indistinguishable God knows which will produce a harvest and which will not because He is God.

Don’t ever lose the “want to” in your relationship with Jesus, yes God has predestined you but that does not mean you don’t have a choice. And should you fall away His mercy is sufficient and though He will correct you it is because of His great love and His Father’s heart that He does so but still we must respond to receive His love. I have no answers other than to know and follow God’s leading, like Paul told the Philippians 2:12 work out your own salvation with hard work, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. God is in control not man and for that I am exceedingly glad; in the end the extreme middle of the two camps are not so far apart.

From the book “Stop Asking Jesus Into Your Heart” by J.D. Greear

            Repentance and faith are heart postures you take toward the finished work of Christ. You might express the beginning of that posture in a prayer. But don’t make the mistake of equating that prayer with the posture. The sinner’s prayer is not a magic incantation or a recipe you follow to get a salvation cake. The real stuff – the stuff that matters – is the posture of repentance and faith behind the words you speak. The prayer is good only insofar as it verbalizes the posture.