PREDESTINATION AND FREE WILL

If two people look at ugx 100 coin from different sides, what they see will be utterly different. If
they are Ugandans, one will see a bull, while the other will see a court of arm. Are they seeing a
different coin? No—just the same coin from different sides. And that’s how many truths are in
the Bible; they can appear very different depending which side you are looking at them from.
And it’s when people insist there is only one side that problems and disagreements arise.
Nowhere is that truer than in this area of predestination and free will.

What do these words mean?

Predestination is the belief that God has eternally chosen those that he intends to save (“the
elect”) and that he works everything out in life towards that end. His grace searches out those he
has chosen and that grace cannot be resisted—if you are called, you will come. Those following
this approach are often called “Calvinists”, after the 16th century French theologian John Calvin
who was a strong proponent of it. While the word “predestination” itself only occurs five times
in the Bible (all in the writings of the Apostle Paul), the idea of people being chosen or “called”
by God for his purpose (“election”) is found throughout the Bible.
The Bible teaches both predestination and free-will—and doesn’t try to reconcile them,
leaving this within the mystery of God himself.
Free will is the belief that people have the capacity to make decisions independently of God or
any other external influence. God’s “election” of people is therefore based on their own faith-
response to him, and his grace can be either resisted or accepted—we can say “yes” or “no” to
him. Every human being therefore has a choice concerning his or her eternal destiny. This
approach is often known as “Arminianism”, named after Jacobus Arminius, a 17th century Dutch
theologian who proposed it as a reaction to Calvin’s teaching, which some Christians saw as too
harsh.

In short, those who take a “Calvinist” approach believe that they owe their faith to their election,
whereas those who take an “Arminian” approach believe that they owe their election to their
faith.

Truth in Tension

The Bible contains what often seem to be paradoxes—opposites that seem irreconcilable (like
the two sides of the coin we mentioned earlier). But this is because we see everything from a
limited, human, time-bound, this-world-perspective, rather than the limitless, divine, timeless,
other-world dimension of God. So, things that we often see as irreconcilable opposites are, to
God, merely aspects of his multi-dimensional truth. We often want to major on one aspect of that
truth, while God can hold all the different aspects in perfect tension.

This is particularly true in this area of predestination and free-will, both of which can be found in
the Bible. People often end up emphasizing one aspect rather than the other depending on which
parts of Scripture that they major on, or their own circumstances or background (that inevitably
color us, even when we think they don’t). But the truth is: the Bible teaches both predestination
and free-will—and doesn’t try to reconcile them, leaving this within the mystery of God himself.
God can work out his will and purposes in and through the acts of people in such a way
that his will is always done and yet human will is never violated.

For example, Acts 13:48 says: “all who were appointed for eternal life believed.” In this short
statement, we see that salvation involves both divine appointment and human faith. On the one
hand, God absolutely “elects” (chooses) people “all who were appointed for eternal life” (see
also e.g., Deuteronomy 7:7-8; John 15:16; Romans 8:33; Ephesians 1:5-11; 1 Peter 2:9), for there
is no way that sinful human beings could possibly save themselves. And to underline this, the
Bible even says that God chose us before our lives (Jeremiah 1:5) and the world itself (Ephesians
1:4) came into being. So if that doesn’t take away our part in salvation, and doesn’t show that it
is wholly dependent on God, then what does?

Yet on the other hand, that same verse also says that “all who were appointed for eternal life
believed”—in other words, people had to play their part too. In fact, throughout the Bible,
choosing God and his ways is seen as our own responsibility, which is why people are constantly
called to make a choice and to repent and turn to God (e.g., Mark 1:15; John 1:12; Acts 2:38;
3:19; 16:31; 17:30)—meaningless if we have no ability to do so. And since the Bible often
shows that God’s heart is for everyone to be saved (e.g., 1 Timothy 2:3-6; Titus 2:11; 2 Peter
3:9), how can this be true if he only chooses to save some?

Here then is an example of truth in tension. Another example is found in 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 God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the
image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he
predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.”
The idea of predestination to salvation and purpose in these verses could not be clearer; and yet
those that God “predestined” are those that he “foreknew”—in other words, he knew us before
we knew him, and also knew that we would choose to respond to him and his love, which is why
he chose and predestined us.

Both aspects; God’s election and human response are absolutely and equally essential. Yet how
these fit together remains a mystery even though Paul tries his best to explain it in Romans 9–11.
What is clear throughout the Bible is that God can work out his will and purposes in and through
the acts of people in such a way that his will is always done and yet human will is never violated
(e.g., Proverbs 16:1-4, 9).