A Brief Defense of the Reformed View of Predestination
By Hannah Schumacher
Over thousands of years, scholars have repeatedly argued numerous controversial
theological issues and questions. How can a benevolent God allow evil? Was Jesus Christ
really the Son of God or just another prophet? Is Jesus Christ coming back? One of the
most debated theological issues is that of predestination. There are two main views of
predestination: Arminianism and reformed (or Calvinism). However, after careful review,
the evidence will show that the reformed view of predestination is the most Biblically and
logically supported position.
Most people are somewhat familiar with the concept of predestination, but others
are not. To begin, it is wise to first define terms. What does predestination literally mean?
One theologian defines the term as: “The divine determination of human beings to eternal
salvation or eternal damnation. The doctrine of predestination is a branch, so to speak, of
the doctrine of election; God’s predestinating activity is a function of his existence as the
electing God” (Myers). Another definition is: “This word is properly used only with
reference to God’s plan or purpose of salvation. The Greek word rendered “predestinate”
is found only in these six passages, Acts 4:28; Rom. 8:29, 30; 1 Cor. 2:7; Eph. 1:5, 11;
and in all of them it has the same meaning. They teach that the eternal, sovereign,
immutable, and unconditional decree or “determinate purpose” of God governs all
events” (Easton). What these two definitions have in common is that they both agree that
predestination is more than God simply knowing what is going to happen in the future. It
is the fact that God took a step further and planned the events of the future beforehand. In
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the Greek, the word “predestine” is the word “proorizo, which means to ‘predetermine’;
‘decide upon beforehand’, the action of God in foreordaining from eternity whatever
comes to pass” (Wuest).
Another word for predestination found in the Bible is “foreordination” (or
foreknowledge) Foreordination is directly connected with foreknowledge “In Acts 26:5
and II Peter 3:17 we have the purely classical meaning of the verb, namely, ‘previous
knowledge.’ But in Acts 2:23, and I Peter 1:2, the meaning of the noun form, and in
Romans 8:29 and 11:2, and I Peter 1:20, the meaning of the verb form, goes beyond the
purely classical meaning of the possession of previous knowledge, and refers to that
which the a.v. in I Peter 1:20 calls foreordination” (Wuest).
Once one understands what the word “predestination” means, it is next good to
see where the term and concept are used in the Bible. Predestination or foreordination
appears eight times in the New Testament. Each time God causes something to happen
ahead of time and He is directly involved.
Having now an understanding what predestination means and where it is found in
the Bible, we can turn our attention to what the two primary positions teach on the
subject. Many people have been taught the Arminian point of view within their churches,
and they may not even realize that is what they are being taught. A good way to
summarize Arminianism in a single sentence would be: God predestines the plan not the
man. The idea is that God knows the plan beforehand for all Christians, but he does not
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predetermine what each person will do. Representing this thought is Ben Witherington III
who, commenting on Paul’s letter to the Romans, says, "Is Paul then talking about a
pretemporal election plan of God where the outcome is predetermined because of God's
sovereign hand in and on every step of the process? Paul is speaking about God
foreknowing and destining in advance Christians to be fully conformed to the image of
Christ” (Witherington, 228).
A more detailed definition of Arminianism is as follows: “Arminians hold that
God does not predetermine, but instead infallibly knows who will believe and
perseveringly be saved. This view is known as Conditional Election, because it states that
election is conditional on the one who wills to have faith in God for salvation. Although
God knows from the beginning of the world who will go where, the choice is still with
the individual” (Wikipedia).
Some holding to the Arminian philosophy say that God only knows the events but
does not cause them. In other words, God knows what is going to happen, but He does
not cause future events to happen. Basically, God is omniscient in that He knows what is
going to happen in the future but He is just not directly involved. The famous evangelist
John Wesley believed this and said in one sermon: “In a word, God, looking on all ages,
from the creation to the consummation, as a moment, and seeing at once whatever is in
the hearts of all the children of men, knows every one that does or does not believe, in
every age or nation. Yet what he knows, whether faith or unbelief, is in nowise caused by
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his knowledge. Men are as free in believing or not believing as if he did not know it at
all" (Wesley).
Another Arminian teaching is called open theism. Open theism says that God is
not really all knowing but rather He makes good hypotheses or educated guesses about
what will happen in our world. A quote that summarizes the open-theism side to the
Arminian position is: “It is clear from Scripture that God sovereignly chooses not to
meticulously control everything. He wants people to love him by choice, not necessity,
and so he limits the scope of his sovereign control. […] Beginning in the Garden of
Eden and extending through the New Testament, we find that God gives people the
ability and the obligation to make morally responsible choices” (Boyd 30). It is worth
noting that open theism is often viewed as heretical because it has God learning
something and this goes against the doctrine of God’s omniscience.
Regardless of which form of Arminian teaching a person holds to, the following
analogy by A.W. Tozer helps drive the idea home: “Perhaps a homely illustration might
help us to understand. An ocean liner leaves New York bound for Liverpool. Proper
authorities have determined its destination. Nothing can change it. This is at least a faint
picture of sovereignty. On board the liner are several scores of passengers. These are not
in chains, neither are their activities determined for them by decree. They are completely
free to move about as they will. . . . But all the while the great liner is carrying them
steadily onward toward a predetermined port” (Tozer 111).
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The Arminian teaching is sometimes called the prescient view of predestination.
“Prescient” means “pre-science” or “pre knowledge.” The idea is that God does choose
people for salvation, but His choice is based on His foreknowledge of what people will
do and not what He causes. This teaching says God looks down through history, and
knows in advance who will respond to the call of the gospel message and who will not.
God chooses some based on His knowledge of their responding to the call and having
faith. God’s choice is conditional on a person’s faith. On this subject, Norman Geisler
says God ‘determines’ events, but the word is not used in the sense of actually making
something happen. He says, “God then is totally sovereign in the sense of actually
determining what occurs, and yet humans are completely free and responsible for what
they choose. God sees what we are freely doing. And what he sees, he knows. And what
he knows, he determines. So God determinately knows and knowingly determines what
we are freely deciding” (Geisler, 70, 73). By "determine" Geisler means the passive
recognition of the acts of free men, not the sovereign decree that the action would take
place. It is much like saying, "I determined that the water was cold by putting my foot in
it."
The Arminians believe that Jesus died for everyone and that God does not choose
who will be saved. Instead, they believe that it is our choice to come to Christ. There are
two verses that the Arminians use to support their position: 2 Peter 3:9 states “The Lord
is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not
wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance”. The last part of the verse
seems to indicate that God in fact does not pick and choose who is going to be saved
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beforehand. Another relevant scripture is 1 Timothy 2:3-4: “This is good and acceptable
in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the
knowledge of the truth”.
In direct contrast to Arminianism is the Calvinist doctrine of predestination. In
short, the Calvinistic stance is that God predestines both the plan and the man. It holds to
the position that God has a select group of people that He has chosen to save. This group
is called the “elect” or the “chosen ones.” In fact, the word “church” literally means the
“called out ones.” The Westminster Confession describes the Reformed view of
predestination very nicely: “God, from all eternity, did, by the most wise and holy
counsel of His own will, freely, and unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass: yet
so, as thereby neither is God the author of sin, nor is violence offered to the will of the
creatures” (Sproul 128).
Another way of simply defining the main difference between Arminianism and
Calvinism is to say that the first is primarily based on man’s choice and the second is
God’s choice. Arminians believe more in the ‘willing’ of the unbeliever and Calvinists
believe in the ‘willing’ of God. Reformed theology states that it is God who wills man to
come to Him. Whereas the Arminians think that it is man’s choice to come to God. But,
as stated in several different places in the Bible, man does not willingly choose God, but
instead God chooses each individual. For example, Romans 3:11 says: “No one seeks for
God” and 2 Thessalonians 2:13 states “God has chosen you from the beginning for
salvation”.
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Why believe that the reformed view of predestination is valid vs. the Arminian
position? From a logical perspective the Arminian stance fails because. God supposedly
looks down through time and sees who will exhibit faith. But this does not give people
free will in choosing salvation like the Arminians think. Wayne Grudem explains it like
this: “For if God can look into the future and see that ‘person A’ will come to faith in
Christ, and that ‘person B’ will not come to faith in Christ, then those facts are already
fixed, they are already determined” (Grudem 679).
Next, the Arminian position fails Biblically. There are various different Scriptures
that support the fact that God does indeed choose both the ‘man’ and the plan. For
example, David writes in Psalms 65:4 “How blessed is the one whom You choose and
bring near to You”.
Paul writes in Romans how God chooses certain people to be glorified here on
this earth. “and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called,
He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified. ” (Romans 8:30) This
passage is known as the “Golden Chain of Salvation” and has been very helpful in many
different studies concerning predestination. Matthew says in his gospel that few are
chosen to come into the kingdom of God: “For many are called, but few are chosen.”
(Matthew 22:14). John makes it clear in his gospel that one does not choose God but
rather God chooses the man. “You did not choose Me but I chose you” (John 15:16).
Mark mentions in his book that God does things for the sake of the elect (literally
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meaning the chosen ones) “Unless the Lord had shortened those days, no life would have
been saved; but for the sake of the elect [Lit. ‘chosen ones], whom He chose, He
shortened the days” (Mark 13:20). Luke also writes, “When the Gentiles heard this, they
began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord; and as many as had been appointed
to eternal life believed.” (Acts 13:48; notice: it does not say “and as many as believed,
God appointed to eternal life”).
In addition, Paul shows God’s direct involvement in choosing who He will when
he says, “For He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will
have compassion on whom I have compassion.” So then it does not depend on the man
who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy. . . . So then He has mercy on
whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires” (Romans 9:15–16, 18).
Peter specifically calls out how God chooses believers when he says: “Therefore,
brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you” (2
Peter 1:10) Paul says literally the same thing in the book of Thessalonians: “knowing,
brethren beloved by God, His choice of you” (1 Thessalonians 1:4). He also says in
second Thessalonians that God called out people from the beginning of time for
salvation: “But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the
Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through
sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth. It was for this He called you through our
gospel, that you may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. ” (2 Thessalonians 2:13–
14).
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In the book of Revelation John makes the bold statement about the end times and
how only those who are called and chosen will stand with Christ. “These will wage war
against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, because He is Lord of lords and
King of kings, and those who are with Him are the called and chosen and faithful.”
(Revelation 17:14)
One passage in particular worth reviewing is Paul’s letter to the Romans is often
referred to as the ‘golden chain of salvation’. Romans 8:29-30 says “For those whom He
foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He
would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also
called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He
also glorified”.
In these verses, Paul doesn’t say that foreknowledge is the basis of God’s
predestination; that their salvation is based on their choosing God and responding to His
call. This position is imported into the text by Prescients. Paul simply says God
predestines those He foreknew, which makes sense: God must know people before He
predestines them for salvation.
A helpful exercise in interpreting these verses comes from R. C. Sproul, in his
book Chosen by God. What is the implied qualifier in the verses above – “some” or “all”?
The Chain found in Romans progresses through to glorification so it would appear that
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“all” is the proper qualifier. All who are predestined are called, and all who are called are
justified, and all who are justified are glorified. If “some” is used as a qualifier, then the
Golden Chain becomes nonsensical. If God’s predestination is based on His knowing
how people will respond to the call of the Gospel, then why predestine only some and
call only some? This would have God predestining some who are not called.If some of
the predestined are predestined without a call, then God could not be basing His choice
on their response to His call. God can’t have foreknowledge of a person’s non-answer to
a non-call. Is the call above an inward or outward call? Does everyone get the call? If
“all” is used then either a person must embrace universalism (the teaching that everyone
is saved) OR admit that there is an inward call, performed by God on a person, that not
everyone gets because those who are called are justified. This means the foreknowledge
view of the Prescients is dealt a death blow because it says God predestines an inward
call – He is doing something in the hearts of only those predestined so they will respond.
The Prescient view says God knows those who will respond to His call and
choose Him and so therefore He chooses them. This means predestination would come
after calling because God would need to put out a call, know who will response, and then
choose them. But the Golden Chain specifically has calling after predestination meaning
that the call that goes out is the effectual call of God and not a generic all to salvation.
Concerning these verses, the Reformed view says the Father knew His chosen
ones from all eternity and fore-loved them. All these that He foreknew He also
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predestined to be a Bride for His Son. He then effectually called them, justified them
through the death of Christ, and glorified them to spend eternity with Him.
One last passage worth looking at in depth that supports the reformed view
of predestination is Romans 9:10-12 which says: “And not only so, but also when
Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, thought they were not
yet born and had done nothing either good or bad in order that God’s purpose of election
might continue not because of works but because of Him who calls- she was told “The
older one will serve the younger”. How does these verses help validate the reformed
doctrine of predestination? God is selecting an individual and He is predestining and
individual for something. And, in the same way, this is what God does with our salvation.
God predestines our salvation the way He predestined Esau to serve Jacob. John Piper
explains it this way: “The divine words 'the elder will serve the younger' must, therefore,
be more than a wish or even a statement of foreknowledge. If these words have as their
aim to secure and establish God's purpose then they must express a decision on God's part
to intervene in the lives of Jacob and Esau in such a way that those words come true. The
word pre-destine is an apt description of the divine act expressed in the words. It is an act
of predestination (rather than pre-recognition) because by means of it the purpose of God
according to election remains rather than falls (9:11c) (Piper 51).
The primary objection Arminians raise against the reformed view of
predestination is that it violates man’s free will. Free will and predestination seem to
contradictory at first glance. How can God predetermine the man, but the man still has
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free will to choose? When it comes to salvation, the Bible makes it clear that people are
morally incapable of choosing God on our own. 1 Corinthians 2:14 says: “The natural
person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God for they are folly to him and he is
not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned” (MacArthur 1687).
Also, Romans 8:6-7 says: “For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on
the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it
does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot”. These two verses clearly state that man
does not choose God on his own but rather he is incapable of morally doing so. Jesus
Himself even said “No one can come to me unless it has been granted him by the Father”
(John 6:65). There is an inner calling that people respond to when the Father draws them
to Him, but a person still chooses – it’s just a question of what must happen first. On this
point, James White says: “Reformed Christians believe that men believe and choose. It is
the order of events that is in dispute. Every Christian has chosen Christ, believed in
Christ, embraced Christ, and even more, continues to do so. The question is not ‘must a
person believe,’ but can a person believe while a slave to sin? Further, whose decision
comes first: the decision of God to free the enslaved, dead sinner and give him the ability
to believe, or the free-choice decision of the sinner that then makes him or her one of the
elect?” (White 184). Reformed theology says that man cannot choose as long as he is a
slave to sin. However, once Christ takes away man’s sin man is then able to freely choose
on his own.
Before God opens an unbeliever’s eyes, they are naturally rebellious against Him
and His ways, and it is by God’s doing and planning alone that ensures a person is saved.
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2 Timothy 1:9 says God: “saved us and called us to[a] a holy calling, not because of our
works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before
the ages began.” God saved us because of HIS own purpose instead of man doing it on
his own. Nothing man did but instead what God did for man (MacArthur 1813).
Now, a skeptic might ask: what about those who want to come to God but cannot?
Reformed theology says that no one desires to come to God and that no one seeks God.
(Roman 3:11).
Another common objection to the Calvinistic doctrine of predestination are the
two verses cited earlier (2 Peter 3:9, 1 Timothy 2:3-4, or John 3:16). In looking at these
verses, a person should first step back and ask the question: Why isn’t everyone saved?
There are two possibilities: there is another power that exists in the universe that is
apparently greater than God and is overruling what His will is or that God wills not to
save all, even though He is willing to save all, because there is something else that He
wills more, which would be lost if He exerted His sovereign power to save all. The
Arminian answer is that God values human self-determination and the possible love
relationship more than saving all people via His efficacious grace. However, there is not
one verse in the Bible that explicitly supports this position. The reformed position says
that God values His glory in showing mercy and grace to His chosen and also displaying
His wrath on those who reject Him more than saving all people. Romans 9:22-23 says:
“What if God, desiring to show His wrath and to make known His power, has endured
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with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the
riches of His glory for vessels of mercy, which He has prepared beforehand for glory”.
In conclusion, the Reformed view of Predestination is the most Biblically and
logically supported. God is all knowing and is the architect behind all of creation. God
has designed everything for a purpose. He is omniscient but it is even more than that. He
has preplanned every event. He has chosen every person to bring glory to His kingdom.
Satan knows that he is defeated but unfortunately he wants to take everyone down with
him. Christians are called to spread the good news of Jesus Christ. Lorraine Boettner
describes who God is in relation to His creation and His plan when he says: “A wise man
first determines upon the end he desires to attain, and then upon the best means of
attaining it. Before the architect begins his edifice, he makes his drawings and forms his
plans, even to the minutest details of construction. In the architect’s brain the building
stands complete in all its parts before a stone is laid” (Boettner 232).