Predestination

Predestination is what has already been determined. However, for the Christian, what has been determined can be changed by an individual's act of disobedience, which means the exercising of personal volition rather than exercising the obedience of faith (Romans 1:5; 16:26), and trusting completely in God's omniscience and omnipotence.

The idea of predestination incorporates all the following:   fated, predetermined, preordained, meant,  doomed, foreordained, pre-elected. 

The difference is that the predestination being spoken of in this case is not fate without any means by which what has been foreordained cannot be stopped.

The reason the predestination we are speaking of can be stopped has to do with free will—our ability to exercise volition and make decisions for ourselves, whether based on facts or falsehood, logic or impulse.

God has planned for us to walk in His perfect will and enjoy the abundance of blessings that have been predetermined for us, provided we walk in His faithfulness, which means that we ourselves are required to be faithful to our calling.

What we need to understand is that there is what has been termed "positional" justification, sanctification, and glorification. A second term is "provisional" justification, sanctification, and glorification. Then there is "experiential" justification, sanctification, and glorification. As strange as it may sound, these states of justification, sanctification, and glorification, within the confines of the three classifications—positional, provisional, and experiential—are current.

Positional justification, sanctification, and glorification refer to our current state as God sees us in Christ Jesus.

Provisional justification, sanctification, and glorification are what have been provided for us in accordance with the plan and purpose of God, but what we choose to do and how faithful we are in our walk with God determines what we experience.

Experiential justification, sanctification, and glorification are what we actually experience of what God has provided for us within His plan and purpose.

We understand that everything God has foreordained for us has already been mapped out (Ephesians 2:10). All we need to do is walk in God's ways by doing His will (Romans 12:2), and we will obtain what has been predetermined for us to experience. However, unless we begin to take steps of faith towards God (Hebrews 6:1), we are not going to enjoy the experience of possessing or sharing or taking pleasure in what is rightfully ours. We are doomed to miss out (Matthew 16:12; 5:20), even though this need not be our fate (Ezekiel 18:32; Ephesians 1:3).

We may think that God has preordained us to perform good works so that His name will be glorified (Matthew 5:16), but just as the nation of Israel was pre-elected, this did not mean that every Israelite’s salvation was a fait accompli before each one was born (Ezekiel 18).

God has a plan wherein each one has been given a place—a position—to occupy before the throne of God at birth. Unlike the Son of God, we are all born with a blank slate, without any knowledge of a previous existence, irrespective of all the claims made by those who say they are the reincarnation of some dead person or bird, beast, fish, or grub. Our spirits do not evolve, reincarnate, or transmigrate. Our spirits are created by God (Ecclesiastes 12:7; Hebrews 12:9; Numbers 16:22) and are distinguishable from our souls (Hebrews 4:12; 1 Thessalonians 5:23).

Our spirits are what enable us to think (1 Corinthians 2:11), without which we cannot exercise our volition—our free will.

When Jesus was speaking to one of His audiences, He stated, "I know from where I have come" (John 8:14; cf. 8:35, 38, 42; 7:6). His implication was that they did not know from where they had come. His audience claimed that their father was Abraham (John 8:33), but Jesus repudiated this, saying that their father was actually the Devil (John 8:44), while acknowledging that, according to the flesh—according to physical descent—their ancestral father was Abraham.

Jesus was not saying that God did not give them a spirit, but that they believed what was false in preference to seeking out what is true.

Provisional salvation may sound like positional salvation, or even progressive salvation, which is an assessment of how much progress we have made in our walk. Not that anyone can determine what progress a person has truly made in reality, although we can tell whether a person has changed and to what degree that change has taken place. Unfortunately, unless God shows us the heart of the person, we cannot see what He sees. For all we know, the person might give the appearance of change but be a worker of iniquity (Matthew 7:22–23), unbeknown to us.

Provisional salvation is about what is available to us as a consequence of the decisions we make and act upon.

Every step we make toward God is opposed by the spiritual forces of darkness (aka the Devil). We are to be overcomers, not succumbers to sin. We are to overcome darkness, not succumb to the fear of what we cannot see in the darkness.

Provision has been made for us to escape from the snare of the Devil and do his will (2 Timothy 2:26), and to exercise faith in God's faithfulness, so that we may walk in the good that has been set before us and fulfill what was originally preplanned for us.

Unfortunately, distraction, doubt, and unbelief will limit us, if the Devil has his way. However, this need not be the case, because provision has been made for us to endure the temptation of distractions that lead us to a place of doubt and unbelief.

No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your strength, but with the temptation will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. (1 Corinthians 10:13)

At every stage of our walk, distractions occur. We have to learn how to effectively master them and stay true to the path—the narrow way presented to us to walk down (Isaiah 35:8)—for that which leads toward destruction is wide and easy to take (Matthew 7:13).

Whether we receive every reward that our Heavenly Father has provided for us depends upon the decisions we make. The decisions we make depend, to some degree, on how we were conditioned as children, but not if we have recognized that we have found the pearl of great price and treasure our salvation so much that our first love is to please Lord Jesus Christ by following where He leads us every day.

In all probability, our experience as a Christian will be one where, while trying to work out our salvation with fear and trembling, we forget about the fear and trembling and deviate from the course. Instead of walking down the narrow Holy Way, we become distracted, bluffed, or tempted and sidetrack. Easily done—especially when navigating territory that is foreign to us.

Once I was travelling across Australia by car. The most intriguing part of the trip was crossing the Nullarbor Plain. I had heard horrendous tales about the road across the Nullarbor. The highway (if you could call it that) in those days was an unpaved gravel road with potholes and sections of corrugated stones that could loosen every nut and bolt holding a chassis together—and it was known to take casualties, the evidence of which I eventually saw littered along the roadside.

I arrived in Adelaide and was talking to a newly met acquaintance about crossing the Nullarbor Plain. My acquaintance told me not to tell anyone, as the railway workers didn’t like the public knowing this, but that the road along the track was much better than the public highway. He said that if I were to follow the track along the railway line, I would be better off. Initially, it looks terrible—but that, he claimed, was to turn people away. After a mile or so, it was supposedly paved for the rail workers who lived along the line to drive on. With this secret information, I headed off toward the Nullarbor.

Fortunately, I had picked up a hitchhiker at Port Augusta (South Australia) who lived in Norseman (Western Australia), on the other side of the Nullarbor. He actually knew the terrain. He warned me not to take the track. Still, I had a look at the track. Whatever I had been told was nonsense. The gravel highway was better than any off-road track that ran alongside the railway.

Taking the Indian Pacific railway on the return trip, I made a point of observing the vehicle track that ran along the side of the railway line. The off-road vehicle track was much worse than the gravel highway—and in some places, non-existent. The railway workers had jiggers (handcars) with which they checked the rail track. There were rail sidings periodically spaced along the single rail track for the jiggers to use. In several locations, there were a few small dwellings for maintenance workers.

If I were predestined to travel to Perth, I did not know about it. In 1974, I made two return trips across the continent: one with a broken arm; the other, with a broken leg. I learned quite a number of life lessons in doing so. One of them is to beware of deceptive people giving bad advice. This is like the enemy distracting us so that we enter darker places rather than continue toward the light.

God has predestined that we walk in His ways—but more than that, it is His desire that we bring glory to His name in order that we might benefit by sharing His glory through Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 5:2).

One person informed me on Friday, 8 March 2024, that when he became a Christian, he did not stop sinning—yet he believes in “once saved, always saved.” He expects to continue sinning until the day he dies. He holds to the belief that he has a deceptive heart and that even if it were changed, it would still be wicked (Jeremiah 17:9). Unless this person gets rid of his stinkin’ thinkin’ (so to speak), forsaking the way of the wicked and the thoughts of the unrighteous (Isaiah 55:7) is not something he is predestined to do—even though it is God’s desire that we are predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son (Romans 8:29). This is the calling to which all are called (John 1:12), so that we can be sons of God, saints of the Most High (Daniel 7:17).

When I became a Christian, without realizing it, I ceased masturbating and stopped cussing. Nevertheless, I committed fornication with some women, including prostitutes, buggerized a woman, sodomized a homosexual, got drunk on a number of occasions, wiped off my new Ford GT sports sedan as a consequence on one occasion, bore false witness on the odd occasion, demonstrated a disregard for people, got into some fights, obtained some merchandise without paying for it, and even embezzled money—but was constantly thinking about the love of God. The sin dropped off. I simply found myself ceasing from sinning. Instead, my devotion turned to knowing God. This I was predestined to do. Sinning I was not predestined to do.

Although there have been times that I have jumped into the sewer of sin and had to suffer the shame and ignominy of publicly acknowledging my decision for having done so (as I have done here), the desire to not jump into the sewer of sin and keep sinning became less over time. God’s grace abounded so that eschewing evil became my treasure (Proverbs 13:8; Isaiah 33:6; 11:3). My realization now is that God has predestined for me to walk in His ways and do the works that He has set for me. As it is written:

Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken. (Isaiah 1:18–20)

What needs to be understood is that we are predestined to walk in the ways of God. This will only occur if we make the decision to repent from our iniquity, exercise faith toward God, and faithfully walk in His ways. At any time, we can jump the fence along the Holy Way if we so desire. The trouble is, jumping back into the Holy Way is not as easy to do. In such a case, we will be predestined to start again at the beginning—by confessing our sin, asking for forgiveness, and beginning the walk again. This is what we are predestined to do, if we want to walk with God and reap the benefits of doing so.

The fact that we possess free will gives us a degree of freedom either to walk with God or to do our own thing. Unfortunately, doing our own thing is fraught with anguish and pain, whether we like to admit it or not.

God wants to reason with us. This would not be the case if we were animals. However, we are spirit beings who possess a soul and a body—not just a body and soul only. Our spirits give us the ability to reason with God and make a decision to think righteously or not. For if we are willing to walk in God's ways, we have to go the next step and demonstrate that we understand the benefits of doing so and thereby faithfully exercise the obedience of faith (Romans 1:5). This is what the gospel message is all about, according to the Apostle Paul, who says he had:

received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations (Romans 1:5)

Exercising "obedience of faith" transcends the idea of "obedience to the faith" as the King James Version (KJV) incorrectly states. Exercising obedience of faith is not a works trip, as implied by “obedience to the faith.” Rather, it is an active expression of faith being demonstrated through love for God and one’s fellows.

The Calvinist idea of “the faith” is a set of doctrines to which an adherent professes to subscribe, and then works at proving that this is the case, under the pretense of meeting the requirements for “the perseverance of the saints.”

The Jehovah Witnesses also see their body of doctrines as "the faith" to which adherents must subscribe. Their 1984 version of The New World Translation Of The Holy Scriptures (TNWOTHS) has 2 Timothy 3:15 reading:

“able to make you wise through the faith in connection with Christ Jesus”

instead of:

“able to make you wise through faith in Christ Jesus”

and John 17:3 reading:

This means everlasting life, their taking in knowledge of you, the only true God and of the one whom you sent forth, Jesus Christ

instead of:

And this is eternal life, that they know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent.

These KJV and TNWOTHS translations of the Greek text are weighted toward a “work-for-salvation” mindset—by acquiring knowledge of doctrines and performing works to demonstrate that a person is saved.

The Calvinists have their TULIP doctrines, which keep them from entering into a personal relationship with Lord Jesus Christ.

The Jehovah’s Witnesses seem to do everything they can to point out that knowledge of their doctrines (which they call “the faith”) in connection with Christ Jesus is what is required—not a relationship.

Calvinists claim that people were predestined to disobey the Word of truth (1 Peter 2:8), rather than acknowledge that those who refuse to reason out their salvation with God do so from their own free will, and therefore are predestined to fall by virtue of their disobedience—not because they were preordained to do so.

We are predestined to either be saved or not be saved, to eat of the good of the land or be devoured by the sword, to enter eternal life or face the Great White Throne Judgment. We are predestined to be one or the other—not to be either saved or condemned to eternal punishment without exercising our free will in the matter.

Our future is predetermined (predestined, preordained, fated, or doomed) by the decisions we make and our follow-through in keeping faithful to our decisions—or failure to do so. Every time we make a decision to comply with what is right, we fortify our standing in Heaven. We grow in faith every time we give God the glory for what we know He has done in our lives. In doing this, we are predestined to share in the glory of God. How much depends upon us, and the extent to which we are faithful in walking in the ways of the Lord. The more we walk in God's ways, the greater the likelihood of us having more reason for giving glory to our Father in Heaven for what happens in our lives.

We have been predestined to make decisions, and these will determine our future. If we decide to exercise faith toward God through our Lord Jesus Christ, we will begin to bear fruit—initially through our confession, and then in our behavior. In fact, we are predestined to bring glory to God by bearing fruit, if we walk in His ways and forsake our unrighteous thoughts.

• Instead of hate, we will express love.
• Instead of anger, we will possess joy.
• Instead of being in a state of fear, we will be at peace.
• Instead of being impatient, we will become patient.
• Instead of holding grudges and being judgmental, we will be forgiving and kind.
• Instead of being selfish and mean, we will be gracious and generous.
• Instead of demonstrating that we don’t keep our word, we will prove to be trustworthy and faithful.
• Instead of being proud and boastful, we will exhibit meekness and humility.
• Instead of being impulsive, we will demonstrate maturity and self-control.

However, we are predestined only to bring forth the fruit that accords with the disposition we allow God to install within us. God has predestined us to share in all the good that is rightfully ours in Lord Jesus Christ. While we are positionally predestined to have everything that pertains to life and godliness as partakers of the divine nature (2 Peter 1:3–4), what we obtain and enjoy depends upon us making the right decisions and staying the course—known as the Holy Way.

An example of predestination is when a person says they are going to do something, and then a course of events changes matters. For instance, one day I was busy attending to some things I needed to do, when my son kept pestering me to take him to watch a game of football. My son had already played for his team that morning. Still, he wanted to see a school buddy play that afternoon and wanted to give him support. I knew the person in question. He was not someone who could be relied upon. I explained how I felt about the situation to my son and asked, “What if he doesn’t show?”

“I will still watch the game,” he said.

We went to the match. His school buddy was nowhere to be seen. Instead of watching the game, my son decided to go and skateboard in the park next to the football grounds. I reminded him of what he had promised me. He said the game was boring and that he would rather skateboard.

Five minutes later, my son had dislocated his arm. I attempted to put it back, but it wasn’t sitting right. He had chipped off a minute piece of bone at the base of his humerus (that he didn’t find funny), which prevented his arm from sitting comfortably in his elbow socket. Long story short: like Jacob with his limp, he has suffered ever since.

Was my son’s injury preplanned, as in foreordained? Or was this predestined to happen because of a series of events?

There was nothing preplanned about the event. Personally, I do not subscribe to the idea that this was foreordained according to the will of God.

The series of events that led up to the accident included two violations of faith:

1. Not keeping the promise he made;
2. Dishonoring his father.

My son did not honor his word. He made a promise that he would watch the game if his school buddy did not show. Instead, he had his skateboard in the boot and insisted on going to the skate park.

He dishonored his father by disregarding the advice he had been given, arguing with him after being proven right about his school buddy not showing up. Rather than pleasing his father, he thought to please himself.

We can easily treat our Heavenly Father the same way. I know I have—much to the Devil’s delight.

Whenever we violate any of the Ten Commandments, the Devil has the right to interfere with our well-being. As Christians, when we violate one of the Ten Commandments, we walk in darkness. This is true whether we agree with it or not. The Apostle John writes:

This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not live according to the truth; but if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. (1 John 1:5–7)

We are predestined to stumble if we walk in darkness, because we cannot have fellowship with God or one another unless we are walking in the light. Sadly, people think they can do whatever they like irrespective of what is written in the Bible about loving one another or walking in darkness by being selfish, and that there are no consequences.

Yet each time we do what is good, right, and true, we are predestined to be protected by the blood of Jesus, and the Devil cannot touch us. When we are walking in darkness, we have left the covering of God’s protection, and we are predestined to place ourselves at the mercy of the Devil. The only way out is through repentance, bearing the shame, and asking for forgiveness. Essentially, consequences are predestination.

People like to think predestination is not a matter of consequences or the result of our actions, but the will of God preordained. Except this is not the case, for we are not robots and have free will. Certain actions predestine the next experience, even if this is a variable that can change from one individual to another depending upon each one’s behavioral conditioning and natural reaction.

What we are not predestined to do is forsake our free will. Rather, we are predestined to make use of our free will. Whether we make decisions based upon weighing the evidence that is presented to us, or impulsively from desire or aversion, depends upon us. We can be trained like dogs reacting to Pavlov’s bell or rats expecting to be rewarded as a result of operant conditioning. When growing up, we are trained unconsciously by our environment to do three things: react to certain stimuli, behave according to culture, and think according to how we learn to process and recall information.

Reaction is usually a physical response. Behavioral conditioning is based on social expectations and the consequences thereof and affects our soulish response. Our cognitive response originates from our spirit and depends upon whether we are consciously aware of our circumstances and are in control of our faculties. From the perspective of being a child of God, when we are controlled by the idea that we don’t live for ourselves but to give glory to our Creator, then we will have the following mindset:

I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me; and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)

With this mindset, we are predestined to accomplish what God has ordained for us from this time forth and bear fruit that glorifies His name.

Redemption

Translations used:

World English Bible (WEB) by Public Domain. The name "World English Bible" is trademarked.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

RSV (Revised Standard Version of the Bible) copyright © 1946, 1952, and 1971 Used by permission.

Young's Literal Translation (YLT) by Public Domain

KJV (King James Version)

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