Predestination Simplified

Predestination Simplified

Predestination: Fate; destiny.

Theology:

a. The action of God in foreordaining from eternity whatever comes to pass.

b. The decree of God by which certain souls are foreordained to salvation.

Election:

  Theology:  The choice by God of individuals, as for a particular work, or for favor or salvation.

Foreordained:

1. To appoint beforehand.
2. To predestinate; predetermine. (Collins English dictionary complete and unabridged digital edition.)

What every child of God needs to know regarding the fate of man and what to expect in the age to come. Not all of mankind is ordained to eternal life; however, everyone has a chance to receive eternal life.

II Timothy 2:17-21

 

          17. Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, THE Lord knoweth them that are his. And let everyone that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.

        18 But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honor, and some to dishonor.

     19 If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work.

God already knows those that are going to receive eternal life, or simply put, the ones that are going to work out the sin which is already on the heart, iniquity on the inside of the heart. Like a convicted drug addict, he’s gotten away from the drugs, but has to work out those cravings.

          A great house that people can’t get away from, gold and silver which were used back in the old days for money, but now is changed to paper currency. You can’t build a house unless you have wood; you build a house from the earth. Paul was saying to get away from these things, money and the love of it. Gold, silver and things of the world, in order to be that vessel unto honor. In order to become a sanctified vessel unto honor, you can’t have these things in the heart.

Matthew 6:21

For where your treasure is, there where your heart be also.

Jesus is saying, if you have these treasures, then you heart is on it. It is not wrong to have wealth, it is important to unload from riches and wealth before we exit this life.

I Corinthians 10

         1. Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea;

           2. And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea;

                  3. And did all eat the same spiritual meat;

          4. And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.

 

               5. But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness.

               6. Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.

            7. Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.

            8. Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand

          9. Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents.

      10. Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer.

           11. Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.

       12. Wherefore let him that thicket he standeth take heed lest he fall.

              There are people in the church saying that they’re filled with the Holy Ghost, sanctified and baptized.  Don’t be ignorant, the Israelites were saved from the Egyptians when they crossed the

          Red Sea out of Egypt; they were also baptized when they crossed over the water on dry land.  We have that same spirit that led them.  Were they not God’s chosen people?
The red sea opened up, and later on, they ate of the manna which felled from heaven. They saw and witnessed the water gushed out from the rock, yet they fell due to unbelief.

               Don’t think that because you’re saved that you can’t be lost.

            Moses went up unto the mountains for forty-days and nights, and when they didn’t see or hear from him they said: “Maybe he’s dead, who can stay in the in the mountains for forty-days without water, or who can find water on the mountains? Let us make gods for us who shall go before us to lead us.” They went and had orgies, wild parties, and even committed fornication, and on that same day twenty-three thousand fell. And on that same day God told Moses to get thee down, for your people, not his people anymore have corrupted themselves, and in that same day twenty-three thousand fell. They tempted Christ by murmuring against him.  So don’t temp Christ by saying:  “well if I do this, the Lord will forgive me”, but not necessarily, you might go out and get caught in the act and die in your sins and not make it back to Christ. Those twenty-three thousand who perished in the wilderness tempted Christ.  So don’t start complaining to God, don’t think that you’re so saved that you can’t fall. If you’re not going forward you are going backward, you can’t stay in this gospel and not be moving.

             Sure enough some of the Jews even to this day brag that they are the chosen people of God and don’t believe in Jesus, they are destined to be lost if they die without Jesus as their savior. Don’t even start to murmur to yourselves of how saved or holy you are because you might set yourself up for a fall.  We have not conquered the flesh and its desires, so until then let us not boast over the flesh.  

              The positives of predestination:

          Knowing that you are called: Ephesians 1:11

              11. in whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:

           We have obtained our inheritance from Christ that according to his purpose we are predestinated (chosen by him before the foundation of the world) now, this is by the counsel of his own will. We were destined, but we have to obtain unto our inheritance to keeping his commandments and living holy. Many are teaching a once- save always save gospel, this is false teaching, God has standards outlined in his word that all the people of God must follow. Jesus clearly teaches in his word that if we love him we must keep his commandments.

          St. John 10:27

                   27. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and   they follow me:

               The sheep of God, this is a select group of believers set aside to be his own, but salvation is also conditional to every believer, The scriptures mention the different categories of believers: Sheep, elect, wheat, bride and tares.  The death burial and resurrection of Jesus gives every person the right to eternal life, however, not all will accept this invitation to life, and not all will make it all the way to life.

          Here Jesus clearly says that his sheep hear his voice (word) all the sheep of God are going to hear his voice and follow him in this gospel of salvation. Since we are his sheep and know only his voice, we will not follow a stranger (other religions) but and if we follow other religions, it is only until he brings us out to escape the corruption of the world. Before the world was and while we were children we had the since of knowing that God is real, or had the knowledge of God but somehow ignored it or were deceived at some point buy the doctrine of men.

    28. And I give unto them eternal life; and they   shall   never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.

 This is the assurance that Jesus gives to his chosen vessels, that      they shall never perish but shall attain unto eternal life, and by no means shall ANYONE pluck them out of his hands (They won’t be lost.)

  29. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.

    God in his infinite wisdom has the power to preserve his sheep and to prevent any man from plucking them out of his hands, for he is greater than all and possess all power. Yet Satan will try to pluck them out of his hands, but he cannot in any way shape or form pluck any man out of God’s hands. His chosen are sealed with the Holy Ghost of promise for the day of redemption. We see that the true sheep of God will not be lost, but this is conditional to obedience to God and not willfully sinning against him.  

       St. John 17:12

            12. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name:   those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.

Now there is one who is known to be definitely lost   as pertaining to the house of God and that is Judas because the scripture had to be fulfilled.  In other words; Judas couldn’t help himself, the prophets said that he will betray Christ for forty pieces of silver. There is mention that Judas could have been saved…. No, not at all.   Matthew 27:3

       3. Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders.

        Here we see that Judas saw that he was already condemned (doomed, lost.) Jesus even mentions in St. John 17:12

   12. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled

God  will preserve his chosen vessels and to prevent them from falling if they are obedient.

      Ephesians 1:4        

4. According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:

  God is calling us as vessels of holiness and without blame before him in love.  Before he made the world, God in his infinite wisdom had chosen us to holiness; and to walk with him with a blameless heart. God require us to be holy even as he is holy. True saints of God can live holy lives before God and this is not such a difficult task providing he gives us his Holy Spirit and his word. Sheep of God have an idea they are called and chosen by the lives they live, but they do not know for sure whether they will fall at a given moment. God knows the end before he knew the beginning of all things even our life in him.  Even though God has elected some to life, he also gives them a free will of choice.  The saints of God will be tried and tested throughout their lives. Yes, they will be tried even as Jesus was tried and tested in the wilderness by the devil.

         Romans 8:28-30

           28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

           29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren

          30 Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.

            It is not my intent to say the least, that unless a person is chosen, he or she cannot receive life. God says in his word, it is not his will that any should perish, with that said, a person can obtain unto the truth of God’s word and inherit eternal life; in the same manner, a chosen vessel of God can lose his or her salvation by willfully sinning after receiving the knowledge of the truth.   All things work together for the good of God’s elect, it may seem that something that we went through was meant for evil, but in reality, God meant it for good. Remember Joseph? His brothers sold him into slavery because they were envious of him.  They meant it for evil, but God meant it for their good to preserve seed and to keep his family alive during the famine.  Mainly, it is up to the individual where they want to end up after this life, but God’s elect are sealed unto the day of redemption.           In that God foreknew us before the foundation of the world, meaning before we were in the womb God knew us, and a determination was made by him in the beginning to appoint us to life.

            The sheep of God are the ones whom God had handpicked in the beginning as well as the elect. The devil is on a mission to try to get their names blotted out of the book of life, but God has his hand on his chosen.  Everyone will be given an opportunity to accept this free gift of eternal life or reject it, but it will be their choice. The gospel will be preached throughout the whole world, and then the end will come.  God is not unfair in this matter, quite simply, he is the potter and we are the clay, does he not have the right to dispose of some of his creation, and have mercy on whom he will have mercy?