Name: What God Predestines
Uploaded: 2024-01-16T13:56:59+00:00
Duration: 34 min 11 s
Description: A young woman who grew up in a church that taught John Calvin's doctrine of predestination once told me, "I believe in it, but I don't want to talk about it." My response is that if the Gospel is good

1 year ago

Podcasts Faith and Religion Calvanism Election Chosen Predestination Romans 9 The Reformation Doctrine Theology The Spirit of Rejection

A young woman who grew up in a church that taught John Calvin's doctrine of predestination once told me, "I believe in it, but I don't want to talk about it." My response is that if the Gospel is good news, we should want to talk about it. If what you are told is "the Gospel" is oppressing you, something is amiss in the teaching or the comprehension.

Calvin's doctrine of predestination may be popular, but I believe it is way off the mark and deeply problematic. Here is what I think about Biblical predestination:

What Has God Predetermined?
That You and I should exist. (Revelation 4:11)
That the world should be governed by human beings exercising God's authority. (Genesis 1:28)
That the world should exist as it is, in spite of the presence of evil.
That God would do something to fix the problem with evil. (Exodus 6:5, Genesis 3:12)
That a child of Abraham would be the agent God uses to win the victory over evil. (Genesis 17:1-6)
That God's victory would be fought and won by Jesus, a descendant of Abraham. (Isaiah 53)
That there WILL BE redeemed humans to manage God's creation (God Himself secured this end in the person of Jesus). (Romans 8:19)
That all evil will be removed from God's good creation. (Isaiah 25:8, Revelation 21:4)
What God has NOT Predetermined
Your life choices.
The choices of your parents, ancestors, and neighbors.
God determines what HE will do, not what YOU will do.