Hi Folks,
A couple of weeks ago my wife and I were having dinner with another couple who are strong believers in Jesus Christ. The subject of election and predestination came up. This other couple, both husband and wife, were unwilling to accept that God chooses those He will save from before the foundation of the world. I asked if they believed that their own salvation was certain; put another way, I asked them if it was possible for a Christian to lose his or her salvation. Their answer: definitely not. A Christian cannot lose his or her salvation.
Yesterday, after church service, I approached a friend who definitely believes that a Christian CAN lose his or her salvation and I asked him if he believes in the doctrine of election and predestination. He thought for a moment and then replied: “Yes, I do”.
So, my question for you today, my friends is this: Are the doctrine of election and predestination and the doctrine of eternal security (“once saved, always saved”) linked? If one doctrine is true, must the other be true? Or, if one doctrine is false, must the other also be false?
I hope to show you in this message that these two doctrines are definitely linked and that they are both true. Moreover, this is good news, and it redounds to the glory of God. Let’s look at a few Bible verses and passages to make the case. We’ll take the case from both sides, the negative and the positive.
Romans 8:29 (NKJV) For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.
Those who do not believe in the doctrine of election and predestination zero in on the word foreknew in this verse. They take it to mean that in eternity past, God looked down the corridors of time and foresaw in advance who would have faith to choose Him. Equipped with this knowledge, God chose those who first chose Him. He then predestined them to be conformed to the image of His Son.
Let’s consider this point of view. To do so properly, we need to look at this verse and at the word foreknew in context:
Romans 8:28-30 (NKJV) And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. [29] For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. [30] Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.
In Romans 8:28 who are the called according to His purpose? They are those who love God. These are the same people whom God foreknew and predestined in Romans 8:29. Why did God foreknow and predestine these people? He did it for a reason: so that they would be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. And Romans 8:30 says whom He predestined, these He also called. Whom did God call? Which individuals would respond with a true quickening of the heart to a gospel invitation? Which individuals are the ones who would call Jesus Lord and believe that God raised Him from the dead (cf. Romans 10:9)? The ones whom God predestined.
Foreknew refers to the people God knew from eternity past. It does not refer to the choice that people would make about God at some future time. This is all about God’s purpose. His great and eternal purpose. A purpose that would glorify God Himself and make those of us who believe God, into new creations: justified, glorified, and fellow-heirs with the Son of God for eternity.
Are there other Scripture passages that support the doctrine of election and predestination? There are. Here are two:
Ephesians 1:3-6 (NKJV) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, [4] just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, [5] having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, [6] to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.
Ephesians 1:11 (NKJV) In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will,
Folks, God chose us in Christ, before the foundation of the world, according to the good pleasure of His will. God left nothing to chance. His eternal purpose is too important.
Now if the doctrine of election and predestination is true, and it is, then the salvation of the individual believer has to be eternally secure.
Having talked about all this, someone raises an objection: What about free will? Let’s read Romans 9:21-24, which is very helpful to us here and then a comment on it from the Believer’s Bible Commentary:
Romans 9:21-24 (NKJV) Does not the potter have power over the clay, from the same lump to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor? [22] What if God, wanting to show His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, [23] and that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had prepared beforehand for glory, [24] even us whom He called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?
From William MacDonald’s comments on this passage from his Believer’s Bible Commentary:
Romans 9 BBC - 9:21 Then Paul uses the illustration of the potter and the clay to vindicate the sovereignty of God. The potter comes into his shop one day and sees a pile of formless clay on the floor. He picks up a handful of clay, puts it on his wheel, and fashions a beautiful vessel. Does he have a right to do that?
The potter, of course, is God. The clay is sinful, lost humanity. If the potter left it alone, it would all be sent to hell. He would be absolutely just and fair if He left it alone. But instead He sovereignly selects a handful of sinners, saves them by His grace, and conforms them to the image of His Son. Does He have the right to do that? Remember, He is not arbitrarily dooming others to hell. They are already doomed by their own willfulness and unbelief.
God has the absolute power and authority to make a vessel for honor with some of the clay and another for dishonor with some. In a situation where everyone is unworthy, He can bestow His blessings where He chooses and withhold them whenever He wishes. “Where all are undeserving,” Barnes writes, “the utmost that can be demanded is that He should not treat any with injustice.”
9:22 Paul pictures God, the great Potter, as facing a seeming conflict of interests. On the one hand, He wishes to show His wrath and exhibit His power in punishing sin. But on the other hand, He desires to bear patiently with vessels of wrath prepared for destruction. It is the contrast between the righteous severity of God in the first place, and His merciful longsuffering in the second. And the argument is, “If God would be justified in punishing the wicked immediately but, instead of that, shows great patience with them, who can find fault with Him?”
Notice carefully the phrase vessels of wrath prepared for destruction. Vessels of wrath are those whose sins make them subject to God’s wrath. They are prepared for destruction by their own sin, disobedience, and rebellion, and not by some arbitrary decree of God.
9:23 Who can object if God wishes to make known the riches of His glory to people to whom He desires to show mercy-people whom He had selected beforehand for eternal glory? Here C. R. Erdman’s comment seems especially helpful:
God’s sovereignty is never exercised in condemning men who ought to be saved, but rather it has resulted in the salvation of men who ought to be lost.
God does not prepare vessels of wrath for destruction, but He does prepare vessels of mercy for glory.
Folks, isn’t it just wonderful how God works? It is truly glorious. It’s perfect. Don’t pass up the chance to spend eternity with God in heaven. Take the opportunity now. Pray with me please:
“Lord of all the earth, Yeshua my Messiah, I know that I’m a sinner deserving to spend eternity in hell. But you paid the price for my sins. Thank you for doing that. Thank you so much for doing that. Please forgive my sins and make me a new creation that I might spend eternity in heaven with you. Thank you, Lord.”
Folks, in closing, let me say that what we talked about today may not strictly speaking be a salvation issue. You don’t have to believe in election and predestination, and you don’t have to believe in eternal security to be saved. But God wants you to believe these doctrines because they are from Him. Doing so will bring you closer to God and will bring God glory.
Thank you for listening, Folks. Until the next time, may the Lord richly bless all of you.
Art Wolinsky
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