Traditions

Thursday, June 27, 2013

Predestination *Gasp*

I know, I know. Predestination is not the most enjoyable discussion ever. But, I realized that in my last post, I said that I would address it, and I totally forgot about it. Therefore, I’m going to give some insight that I received (ultimately through God) from Beth Moore. My mom lent me some of her old audio tapes from Moore’s Sunday school class and a session on predestination was on there. Being a young lass who hasn’t even chipped the surface of theological doctrines, predestination has always been a topic that makes me anxious and uncomfortable. It’s a topic that I have so many questions about, but my brain can’t even handle the complexity of predestination so I don’t even know how to phrase the questions I do have.

So, for those of you who are like me and are still unsure of how to swallow the idea of election, these notes are for you. Beth Moore waltzes gracefully into the complex idea of predestination with the best possible attitude a Christian can have with difficult doctrines in the Bible – total awe and submission to the sovereignty of Christ. You ready to dive into this sucker? Let’s do it.

·         Ephesians 1:4-6 “even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will, to the praise of His glorious grace, with which He has blessed us in the Beloved.”

·         We must love the body of Christ even when we disagree on points of doctrine

·         Both sides – Arminianism vs. Calvinism – have Scriptural evidence

·         “Both sides are right. In our human minds, we can’t understand how what seems two contradictory statements could be right, but in the omniscience of God, they are, and He will prove Himself right.” (paraphrased quote from Beth Moore’s former pastor)

·         Let’s not be cowards and think denominationally over Scripture but think as children of God

·         A.W. Tozer: “pouring over this issue may make us theologians, but it will not make us saints”

·         Vs. 4 “chose” God picked us out for Himself

·         Vs. 5 “predestined” begins with “in love” (end of vs. 4) and ends with “grace” (beginning of vs. 6)

·         When we hear predestination, we should immediately think of God’s love and grace, not with meanness or prejudice

·         What’s the basis for this election?

1.       The Sovereignty of God

§  He doesn’t owe us an explanation

2.       We have absolutely no idea

§  This subject is beyond our comprehension

3.    Implications of Matthew 22:1-14

§  Parable of the wedding feast – helps us understand a glimpse of heaven

§  Vs. 5 shows 2 types of people:

·         Complete refusal

·         Too busy to think about it

§  Vs. 10 “good or bad” on the basis of grace, not on their past

§  Is. 61:10 in context of a wedding

§  They must come to God by God’s requirements and not their own; they must be clothed in salvation (parallel to the wedding garments in Matt. 22) through Jesus; He chooses those who choose Him

·         Rom. 9:21-22 the other side: election for wrath

·         God’s sovereignty cannot be separated from His foreknowledge

·         1 Peter 1:1-2

·         We have not been chosen apart from foreknowledge

·         He knew in advance what was being chosen

·         Rom. 8:28-29 foreknowledge undergirds predestination

·         Rom. 11:1-6, 25-36

1.       Vs. 5 this remnant is chosen by grace

2.       Vs. 33 we need to be more like Paul in our reaction to difficult questions rather than being dogmatic

3.    “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and how inscrutable His ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been His counselor? Or who has given a gift to Him that He might be repaid? For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be glory forever. Amen.”

1 comment:

  1. Pretty good thoughts in this one. I believe that we do have to come at this topic with a Deut. 29:29 attitude - “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law."

    I'm sure that come August you'll be quite immersed in this topic at college, though. But I would like to quickly say a couple of things. When I was first trying to wrap my head around Predestination, my understanding of it became quickly solidified directly from scripture. Specifically, John 6 was very eye-opening to me and is actually quite clear on this subject:

    All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out....No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. (John 6:37,44)

    Put that all together and you get a beautiful picture of salvation. The only people who can come to Jesus are those the father draws (not just a wooing in mind here!) and all of those who the Father gives will come to Jesus and he will never cast them out but raise them up! This is very much like Romans 8:28-29, also.

    Just the other week, a publication I read had an excellent sermon from Spurgeon: Sovereign Grace and Man's Responsibility. You can read it here: http://www.spurgeon.org/sermons/0207.htm I think that Spurgeon, Calvinist that he was, hits the nail on the head here:

    "Both are true; no two truths can be inconsistent with each other; and what you have to do is to believe them both. With the first one, the saint has most to do. Let him praise the free and sovereign grace of God, and bless his name. With the second, the sinner has the most to do. O sinner, humble thyself under the mighty hand of God, when thou thinkest of how often he hath shown his love to thee, by bidding thee come to himself, and yet how often thou hast spurned his Word and refused his mercy, and turned a deaf ear to every invitation, and hast gone thy way to rebel against a God of love, and violate the commands of him that loved thee."

    If you wanna chat about this some, I do have some free time starting next Saturday. :)

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