---
That none should perish... a question of predestination
I would love to hear what others think on this topic. Yesterday, my husband and I got into quite a heavy discussion. We wondered together about how unsaved people today, how they recieve the Gospel, knowing the "Predestination" claus, if you will.
So, I believe that the Holy Spirit revealed a little something to me as we discussed this topic.
Key Scriptures we will be discussing:
2 Peter 3:9
[9] The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
Romans 8:28-30: "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined, he also called; and those whom he called, he also justified; and those whom he justified, he also glorified."
Ephesians 1:4-5: "Even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love. He predestined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will."
1 Peter 1:1-2: "To those who are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace and peace be multiplied unto you."
Galatians 6:7-10
[7] Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. [8] For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. [9] And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. [10] So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.
---
Now, I'm not specifically speaking about anyone, just generally. Some people have heard that Christians are choosen long before we even had a choice and others are destined to go to hell, regardless of anything because of this little word "Predestination". It is my thinking that we kind of have this a little wrong, because it goes against God giving his creatures freewill.
I think we need to reexamine what FREEWILL actually is and what Freewill is not.
Freewill is NOT your right to do whatever you want whenever you choose. That goes against order and the laws we live by.
God is Orderly and nothing He does is ever chaotic or immoral. So freewill is not absolute and does have boundaries. In fact, I am of the opinion and don't believe that freewill extends too everything, I believe that it only applies in situations that are in the moral absolutes. Example, while it is obviously done, I do not believe that your supposed freewill should trump mine in regards to anything that could potentially harm me. We live by laws, not freewill, let me clarify:
As with everything that God does, the devil distorts. And I firmly believe that he distorted our perception of what freewill was meant to actually be.
Freewill is about our acceptance of Jesus Christ for our salvation, freely accepting of Him or denying Him.
When Jesus makes the offer of conditional salvation- because there are conditions- do we accept or deny Him?
If we do accept Him, are we legit living for Him? Or are we giving Him lip-service?
There are those whose acceptance of Jesus is only surface level, like in the parable of sower. They stay for a time, then when things don't go their way, or they get in offense, they fall away and so forth as the parable explains as the sower plants the seeds on various grounds.
That is freewill, do you focus your whole heart, mind and soul on Jesus or not.
See, predestined isn't a surety unless you freely accept Christ in totality. How many times have you heard of someone "losing" their faith? Well, it's because they weren't all in to begin with. They were never part of the vine, and were pruned off, cast into the fire.
Now, those of us who are in it for the long haul, we now are tasked with going into the World so that NONE SHOULD PERISH BUT ALL COME TO REPENTANCE. Every soul on earth has the opportunity to either accept or reject the offer from Jesus, THE ONLY WAY, and in so doing will either be with God or against Him, I reiterate, either using their freewill to accept or deny the gift of Salvation.
I firmly believe that we, all of us, would never choose God on our own. We would never seek Him out, we would rather continue to do what we want if there were no consequences. In every instance of salvation, it is Jesus who comes to us, to bring us to Himself and out of the world and out of our old selves.
Ever noticed that Jesus is the only God, in any religion to willingly condescend Himself into mortality to experience life as a total mortal man; distractions and temptations, pain and heart ache, joy and laughter etc. And to die the most humiliating death? There isn't another god in all the millions of false gods out there that ever step into our shoes except Christ.
He lived, died and rose so that we could freely come to the cross and choose to live and die, (in some cases) for Him.
So, what are we then? Creatures of the living God with no brains who blindly follow Him or did God love us so much that the only one who was truly predestined, Jesus, would come to each and everyone of us, individually, with the offer of Salvation and Grace! Because He is the first born of many according to our scripture in Romans. As 2 Peter states, That None should perish because we all have that choice to make, of our own freewill!
But what do you all think? Is predestined for sure? Or is it based on our acceptance of the offer of Salvation? Can we change the course of another's life? Someone who was predestined to hell? I think so.
In the end, we won't know till we get to the other side, but until then, we have a duty to try.
