Sat, Aug 2, 2008
Predestination according to the Scriptures
We had a huge controversy over predestination in our church not too long ago. Here are some of my thoughts on the topic. I hope they will help you to accept the clear teaching of the Scriptures.
Basically, there are two positions - Regeneration before Faith (RbF) and Faith before Regeneration (FbR). I now believe it is the former (RbF) that is scriptural, even though it is, at first glance, difficult to accept.
Some years ago I had pretty much the same questions and objections that many of you will raise. However, the exegesis of John 6:65 seemed to me unassailable, no matter my revulsion to the idea. John 6: 65: He went on to say, "This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled him." I could find no way around that. In the end, you could say I was dragged into "regeneration before faith" kicking and screaming.
The questions that are normally raised do seem troubling. However, on the flip side, "regeneration before faith" can instead be reassuring. Why?
Because if we come to faith entirely on our own efforts, there is no guarantee that our loved ones will be saved; the choice is out of God's hands. Although we can imagine him intervening here and there to nudge them towards faith, the unregenerate mind is infinitely unpredictable and not subject to pure rationality (Romans 1). The fallen will can trump reason at any time; the outcome of our prayers is entirely dependent on their fallen will.
However, if faith depends on God's prior work of regeneration, and is irresistible, we can always have hope in the goodness and love of God that, in his goodness, he has also chosen our loved ones. Even in situations where it seems impossible, we can trust that if they are elect, they will be saved. This is not to say that God will save everyone we want to be saved, but that we should start our thought processes in the goodness and love of God, rather than in our limited knowledge about who is saved and who is not.
Also, we can then be assured that our perseverance depends on God. He has chosen us and will keep us until the end. Our salvation does not depend on our mental fortitude. (However, that raises the question: how do I know if I am one of the elect? That's a different issue altogether.)
Lastly, if regeneration comes after faith (or because of faith), then it seems that it is not by grace, but our faith, based on our own mental effort and assent that led us to faith. We found the evidence and accepted it, or evaluated the arguments correctly, and so were saved. In that case, it was through our merit - our IQ, our integrity, or our willingness to submit to the truth - through which we were saved. To avoid this, we could say that it was God's grace that allowed us to believe. But then we are back to virtually the same problem - why allow us to believe but not this other person? Why didn't that person get enough grace to believe? If he did get enough grace, then we were better than he, because when we received sufficient grace, we believed. Then we were saved by being smarter or more humble or more honest - that is salvation by merit, by works, not by faith. But if they didn't get enough grace, then God is again determining who is saved and who is not.
My journey through this question has shown me that, having accepted the meaning of John 6:65, it becomes fundamentally a matter of how much I trust in God to do what is best and right - to make the most loving, the most merciful, the most wise choices. In light of the terrible suffering of the Cross, can I trust that God is good enough to grant the earnest desire of my heart, that my loved ones will be saved?
One important point, though, is that in our experience, it is through faith, just as in our experience, we reach that choice freely. We can't know when and where regeneration started. That is one of the mysteries of how God works with our free wills.
In sum, our acceptance of this clear teaching of the Bible depends on our understanding of who God is, in his perfect love, wisdom, and justice. It is when we doubt his perfections that we call this doctrine into question.
(See my link contribution for more on this topic.)
Basically, there are two positions - Regeneration before Faith (RbF) and Faith before Regeneration (FbR). I now believe it is the former (RbF) that is scriptural, even though it is, at first glance, difficult to accept.
Some years ago I had pretty much the same questions and objections that many of you will raise. However, the exegesis of John 6:65 seemed to me unassailable, no matter my revulsion to the idea. John 6: 65: He went on to say, "This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled him." I could find no way around that. In the end, you could say I was dragged into "regeneration before faith" kicking and screaming.
The questions that are normally raised do seem troubling. However, on the flip side, "regeneration before faith" can instead be reassuring. Why?
Because if we come to faith entirely on our own efforts, there is no guarantee that our loved ones will be saved; the choice is out of God's hands. Although we can imagine him intervening here and there to nudge them towards faith, the unregenerate mind is infinitely unpredictable and not subject to pure rationality (Romans 1). The fallen will can trump reason at any time; the outcome of our prayers is entirely dependent on their fallen will.
However, if faith depends on God's prior work of regeneration, and is irresistible, we can always have hope in the goodness and love of God that, in his goodness, he has also chosen our loved ones. Even in situations where it seems impossible, we can trust that if they are elect, they will be saved. This is not to say that God will save everyone we want to be saved, but that we should start our thought processes in the goodness and love of God, rather than in our limited knowledge about who is saved and who is not.
Also, we can then be assured that our perseverance depends on God. He has chosen us and will keep us until the end. Our salvation does not depend on our mental fortitude. (However, that raises the question: how do I know if I am one of the elect? That's a different issue altogether.)
Lastly, if regeneration comes after faith (or because of faith), then it seems that it is not by grace, but our faith, based on our own mental effort and assent that led us to faith. We found the evidence and accepted it, or evaluated the arguments correctly, and so were saved. In that case, it was through our merit - our IQ, our integrity, or our willingness to submit to the truth - through which we were saved. To avoid this, we could say that it was God's grace that allowed us to believe. But then we are back to virtually the same problem - why allow us to believe but not this other person? Why didn't that person get enough grace to believe? If he did get enough grace, then we were better than he, because when we received sufficient grace, we believed. Then we were saved by being smarter or more humble or more honest - that is salvation by merit, by works, not by faith. But if they didn't get enough grace, then God is again determining who is saved and who is not.
My journey through this question has shown me that, having accepted the meaning of John 6:65, it becomes fundamentally a matter of how much I trust in God to do what is best and right - to make the most loving, the most merciful, the most wise choices. In light of the terrible suffering of the Cross, can I trust that God is good enough to grant the earnest desire of my heart, that my loved ones will be saved?
One important point, though, is that in our experience, it is through faith, just as in our experience, we reach that choice freely. We can't know when and where regeneration started. That is one of the mysteries of how God works with our free wills.
In sum, our acceptance of this clear teaching of the Bible depends on our understanding of who God is, in his perfect love, wisdom, and justice. It is when we doubt his perfections that we call this doctrine into question.
(See my link contribution for more on this topic.)
Romans 9:9, Romans 9:9-10, Romans 9:10-11, Romans 9:11-12, Romans 9:12-24 and Romans 9:29
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