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Predestination and Clarity

I do not understand everything in the Bible. That thought alone bothers me, but it is a fact. It is a fact that I am certain will never go away. I am not, however, willing to use this fact as an excuse to never think about or attempt to understand hard things. That is called laziness.

Thinking about difficult things is good for the mind. Predestination is one such difficult item. This week it surfaced in my mind again, as it has dozens of times. I immediately threw the old arguments at it like I always do, hoping some new insight would break forth in the process. Usually it does not. On this day it did.

The word ‘predestined’ occurs five times in our Bible (Acts 4:28, Romans 8:29,30, Ephesians 1:5, 1:11). If it did not appear in the Bible I would avoid it. But it does, so I cannot. To say, “I do not believe in predestination” is to say “I do not believe the entire Bible is true.” I will never say that. I believe the Bible is without error and true in all that it affirms.

So if I were to be asked, “Do you believe in predestination?” I would have to answer, “Yes.” If it is affirmed in the Bible, I believe it – even if I do not understand it fully. That is as clear as it can be.

What the word means, however, is not totally clear. Then what do we do? Here is a good start to the answer. First, let the Bible define the term for itself and second, carry the term no further than the Bible carries it. That means that Christians can affirm God’s sovereign control over all things and still affirm the fact that humans have choices and that those choices matter.

What then was the insight? If God determines some things before hand, so that they cannot be any other way – how are we to know what things? The book of Revelation gave me my insight.

The book of Revelation is a good place to start because it is the end of the story. God tells us before hand how things will finally end. Jesus will return, the devil will be destroyed in the Lake of Fire, and the earth will be re-created to its original beauty and splendor. God has told us this. It cannot be any other way. That is predestination. From there we have to walk cautiously backwards. Is there anything else that could be no other way? Well, yes. Isaiah’s predictions of Jesus dying on the cross were that way. God said it would happen, so it had to happen.

Does this give us all the answers we have in our mind? No. But it is a good place to start. I hope this conversation has helped you to trust the Bible and believe it for all that it affirms – even the hard things.

Love In Christ,
Pastor Mitch

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