Predestination-dogma versus the loving character of God

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Predestination versus the character of God!
On a number of internet-forums people are discussing 'obvious predestination'. Is God really 'labelling people' or...maybe not at all?!

Predestination: 'pre-labelled' by God?
My first reaction to the theme 'predestination' is my thought: 'everyone that believes in this dogma is saying that God is a liar and a charlatan, because God gives us all a free choice to choose for his Son Jesus; saying that this choice has been 'fixed' by God would turn God into a 'manipulating-monster'. And I know -through Jesus- that God isnot like that at all!

Of course it may be so, that God -the Almighty and having all Knowledge- knows what is going to happen. Now I do not have the impression, that us humans can understand what this exactly means. Nor do I know whether God can use His Almight to influence the outcome of things to happen. But -knowing God- I wouldnot mind a good ending at all. It seems like Calvin did mind a good ending, so he invented 'the double predestination'.

Predestination-teachings: started in the Roman Catholic church
In the 4^th CenturyAugustinus and the monk Pelagius disagreed on something. Pelagius claimed, that all humans living after Adam's and Eve's act of sin would still be able to do 'good works' by means of 'free wil'; all humans are able to choose for or agains sin freely.

Augustinus disagreed by stating that no human would be able to do anything but sinning against God unless by His Wil God would change human actions into Grace. 'The reason for the Gift of Mercy is not in the human being but in God by means of predestination Augustinus claimed.

I consider both claims of both gentlemen very odd, but of course: I do not have a Catholic background. So I do not believe in 'good works' or in 'earning my way to heaven' either; I consider this church-teaching very unbiblical indeed!

And if the keeping of the 10-Commandments of God cannot save us by means of 'earning a reward'...what 'good works' would be able to save us? Still: predestination definately does not 'pop up' in my mind at all.

Gift of the Spirit: the receiver becomes a partaker of the Spirit...
God can give us His Gift of the Spirit. And receiving these Gift means being a partaker of the Spirit. And the Spirit may be called 'the Power of God'. In short: with the Gift of the Spirit our spirit becomes a part of God's Spirit and in that way we can be doing His Wil [and not our own sinful wil].

So Augustinus wasnot right claiming humans are only capable of sin, because partakers in the Spirit can do what God asks them to do within his Wil. And knowing this 'predestination' is off. Mind you: the Gift changes us and makes us grow in the Fruit of the Spirit; of course this with all start by taking and choosing for Jesus as our personal Saviour...

Luther and Calvin supported the predestination-teachings (from a different angle)...
Though Luther -about 1.100 years later- didnot want to follow th RC-teachings about 'good works', he did accept the Catholic predestiantion-dogma on his way; yet from a different perpective. 'Mercy by faith for the humble hearted' became Luther's credo.

Calvin added 'another door' to the 'destination-dogma'. He claimed there were two doors predestined for mankind; the door the heaven or the door to hell. His teaching is also known as 'the double-predestination-dogma'.

Another person that tried to tackle the 'predestination-issue' was Arminius in the 16th Century. He claimed faith was 'a thing mankind could bring in him- or herself' and so every man or woman would be free in his or her choice for Jesus; in short: predestination is nonsense.

Faith...also a Gift of the Spirit!
Of course our Bible tells us, that 'faith' is also a Gift of the Spirit, but this doesnot mean, that God will rush us through 'one of two predestined gates' either...

1 Corinthians 8:7-11
'But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit thereby: For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; to another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; to another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues. But all of these that one and the selfsame Spirit worketh, apportioning to every man individually as He will.

The Bible & predestination
Bible-passages that are often used are:

Romans 9:18 - ' Therefore hath He mercy on whom He will have mercy, and whom He will, He hardeneth'.

2 Peter 3:9 - 'The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.'.

John 3:16 - 'For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.'.

John 3:18 - 'He that believeth in Him is not condemned; but He that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.'.

Clearly there are many people that do not understand the way God works through His Spirit and they love to quote passages from Romans or John to underline, that God pre-destines people to choose for Him or even make people choosing against Him...

But all those that do understand how God works or -even more important- know the character of God will instantly understand that God didnot give his only son Jesus because God 'already fixed any outcome'. God wanted to give a loving answer to the consequences of satan's fixed sins upon us. Jesus fixes our broken relation with God in order by giving us the possibility of God's counselling ánd and by giving eternal life.

A possible way-out for all those that choose for Jesus
From the book of Jeremiah I know, that God choose Jeremia to speak for Him; Jeremiah was God's Prophet. Still: Jeremiah didnot really want to be a prophet at all, but at the end he choose for God and the task God had given him.

Knowing everything in advance like God does, is not the same as 'fixing the outcome'. And it certainly doesnot mean, that God willnot work through us by means of His Spirit to show us a better way or ending!

God gave his only son Jesus. And Jesus made it possible for us to receive the Spirit as our Comforter and Personal Advisor. When anything would be pre-destinaned...why would Jesus even bother doing this....? Clearly the outcome isnot predestined at all!

Keeping the latter in mind I want to add the following:
2 Petrus 3:9 - 'The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

Clearly the Roman 9:18 passage is not about predestination at all when you read 2 Peter 3:9, because in this verse we read, that God wants us all to be saved!

By: Hein Kuipers dd. 21 May 2004

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