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| Q. Elder Flavius, What is predestination? Are we predestined for Heaven or hell? |
| A. Omniscience and foreknowledge refer to God’s cognitive activity regarding the world in general and free human actions in particular. Within this general context, predestination refers to God’s volitive activity ( Eph. 1:5 , 9 , 11 ) in deciding the basic components and structure required to accomplish the redemption of humankind ( 1 Cor. 2:7 ). . God’s predestination does not determine the eternal salvation or damnation of human beings, as some would have us believe. The biblical teaching does not identify of predestination with foreknowledge, whereby God is said to predestine everything He foreknows. It is true that the biblical idea of foreknowledge includes God’s knowledge of our eternal destiny. However, Scripture denies on two accounts the claim that God predetermines human destinies. First, Paul clearly differentiates between foreknowledge and predestination ( Rom. 8:29 ). Thus the two notions should not be confused. Second, according to Scripture, the salvation of human beings involves not only God’s predestination plan and works of salvation but also the free response of faith to the call and prompting of the Holy Spirit. The role of free choice in the determination of our eternal destiny is implicitly present in the teaching of final judgment included in divine predestination ( Acts 17:31 ), which entails, among other things, the incarnation and death of Jesus Christ, the free human response to the call to accept all the provisions of God’s plan, and God’s judgment of our response. The eternal immutable God of the Bible is capable of knowledge ( Joshua 22:22 ): “The Lord is a God of knowledge” ( 1 Sam. 2:3 ). God not only knows Himself but He also knows the created universe. God’s knowledge of Himself is described in clear trinitarian terms. Paul states that “no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God” ( 1 Cor. 2:11 ). The omniscience of God is clearly proclaimed by John, who specifically states that God “knows everything” ( 1 John 3:20 ). Paul articulates the same concept as he explains that before God “no creature is hidden, but all are open and laid bare to the eyes of him with whom we have to do” ( Heb. 4:13 ). God’s omniscience obviously includes the world ( Job 38:33 ; Gen. 1:31 ) and human beings and their free actions ( Ps. 44:21 ; 139:1–5 ; Matt. 6:8 , 32 ; Luke 16:15 ; Acts 15:8 ). Scripture teaches that God knows and that His knowledge includes everything, even future free decisions of human beings who do not yet exist. The way in which He knows, however, belongs to the concealed level of the divine nature. The affirmation of God’s foreknowledge is neither contradictory nor logically incompatible with human free will. By this study you have seen that every human being born in this world has a free choice, to be in Heaven or to burn in hell. Since God can see the future, He knows who is ging to be In Heaven and who will follow the other way. I pray that all of us will follow the narrow way that leads to life eternal. The quotations used in this study may not be the sole property of words to live by, but may have been collected from other sources that we find a blessing. Our prayer is that they will bring a blessing to your life. j |