He predestined us to be adopted as sons through Jesus Christ for himself, according to the good pleasure of his will.

—Ephesians 1:5

Is there such a thing as fate? Are the events of our lives already determined before they happen? And if so, does that mean our choices are meaningless? These are interesting—maybe even fun?—questions to consider, and though these questions might sound like they belong in a philosophy classroom, they’re similar to questions the Bible itself raises and which Christians have been asking for a very long time.

Though the Bible never entertains the idea of the world being under the control of some impersonal “fate,” it does teach that the world and all that happens in it are under the guidance of a very personal God. It also teaches and assumes human moral agency throughout. These can appear to be competing truths, and as such, Christians have long attempted to explain the relationship between them. Before looking at these attempts, it’s helpful to first see some of the ways that Scripture speaks about both predestination and free will.

What Does the Bible Say About Predestination and Free Will?

In addition to Ephesians 1:5 quoted above, Paul goes on to say that “we were predestined according to the plan of the one who works out everything in agreement with the purpose of his will” (Ephesians 1:11). In Romans 8:29, he writes that “those [God] foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son.” Reflecting on those responsible for Jesus’s death, the early Christians acknowledged that they had done “whatever [God’s] hand and . . . will had predestined to take place” (Acts 4:28).

The events of the Joseph narrative (Genesis 37—50) likewise illustrate God’s control of events. Though Joseph had been betrayed by his brothers—sold into slavery in Egypt—God orchestrated circumstances to raise Joseph up to a place of prominence in Egypt so that many lives would be saved. Seeing this in hindsight, Joseph tells his brothers that “it was not you who sent me here, but God” (Genesis 45:8). In Daniel 4:35, Nebuchadnezzar comes to realize that God “does what he wants with the army of heaven and the inhabitants of the earth” and that no one can stop Him. Speaking to the crowd on Pentecost, Peter said that Jesus was crucified “according to God’s determined plan and foreknowledge” (Acts 2:23). In these and many other examples, it is clear that God does predestine things to happen.

The Bible is equally clear though that human beings are moral agents who are accountable for their choices. When Peter says that Jesus’s death happened “according to God’s determined plan,” he is laying the responsibility for this on his hearers: “ you used lawless people to nail him to a cross and kill him” (Acts 2:23, emphasis added). And though God had “sent” Joseph to Egypt (Genesis 45:8), Scripture also says that the brothers’ actions toward Joseph were evil (Genesis 50:20). Through the prophet Ezekiel, God told His people, “The person who sins is the one who will die. . . . The righteousness of the righteous person will be on him, and the wickedness of the wicked person will be on him” (Ezekiel 18:20). Taken together, these verses indicate that people are responsible for their actions, and God will respond appropriately to those actions.

Predestination and Salvation

It’s one thing to talk about God predestining events to happen. (Was it predestined for me to live in this city? Was I predestined to marry this person?) What has most puzzled and troubled Christians, though, is when the Bible talks about God predestining to save people (as Paul does in Ephesians 1:5 and Romans 8:29–30). What are the implications for our choices of being predestined for salvation? Did God choose us, or did we choose God? If He chose us, on what basis did He do so? And what about those who God didn’t predestine for salvation? Did they ever genuinely have a choice to turn to Jesus? And if not, why is it fair for God to punish them?

These are good, weighty questions, and it has to be acknowledged that Christians have been debating the answers to these questions ever since the days of the Roman Empire—the New Testament authors themselves were facing these questions! Some have argued that God’s reasoning for predestining some for salvation is found entirely in His own mysterious purposes and that it is not at all a response to what a person may or may not do. As far as those He didn’t choose, advocates of this view point out that all people have sinned and deserve God’s wrath. Thus, God chose to save some who were otherwise doomed to destruction but not all. A person is therefore not punished because they weren’t predestined; they are punished because of sin.

Others, however, equally acknowledging the sinfulness of humanity, ground God’s reasoning for predestination in His foreknowledge of whether a person will respond to Jesus in faith. This view, it is argued, gives sufficient weight to the Bible’s emphasis that a sinner must choose to repent of their sins and turn to Christ in faith, and it makes proper sense of passages which speak of God’s sorrow over sinners who refuse to repent (Ezekiel 18:23, 33:11; Matthew 23:37; 2 Peter 3:9). After all, if God takes no pleasure in the death of a sinner, then why wouldn’t He just predestine them for salvation?

Navigating This Topic Well

As I said above, making sense of the Bible’s teachings on predestination and free will is something Christians have been debating for many centuries, so my goal isn’t to “solve” the dilemma in a brief blog post! What I do hope to offer, though, are some suggestions for navigating this complex topic well in your own study of God’s Word and in conversations with other Christians. To that end, here are three points of advice:

First, stay humble. It took me a long time to accept the fact that, wherever I might personally land on this issue, there are people far more brilliant than me who would disagree. More importantly, those people deeply love Jesus, too, and want to see people embrace Him as Savior. One author has wisely observed that “There is no one historical position on the question of predestination and free will.”¹ By all means let’s discuss and debate this topic—it’s in the Bible after all. But let’s do so knowing that our voice is but one contribution to a conversation that has been going on long before we came on the scene.

Second, embrace the tension. The Bible clearly teaches predestination. It also clearly teaches the moral responsibility of human beings. That has to be our starting point for this topic. Whether or not we can make sense of the relationship between these teachings is another matter. The danger is that, in our attempts to explain this tension, we would end up removing it—that we’d so emphasize God’s work of predestination to the neglect of human free will or free will at the expense of predestination. Is there tension here? Of course. But our goal is to preach what the Bible teaches and be willing to live with the tension, just as we would when we are articulating that Jesus is truly God and truly man or that there is one God who exists in three persons.

Finally, focus on what Christians all agree on. Conversations on this topic can easily become heated, and one reason for that is that misunderstandings abound. But it’s important to recognize that wherever Christians land on this question, there is significant overlap between them when it comes to the topic of salvation. Theologian Roger Olson notes that while it “seems doubtful that equally God-fearing, Bible-believing, Jesus-loving Christians will ever reach consensus” about the topic of predestination and free will, “consensus already exists that, whatever role humans play in their salvation, salvation is God’s work.”² Disagreements aside, all Christians agree that human beings are sinners who deserve nothing from God but His wrath. But God in His grace has made a way for them to be reconciled to Himself. Salvation is God’s initiative, and it is entirely a gift of His grace. No one has earned it. These are truths that all Christians embrace, and so the discussion on predestination and free will needs to happen within these borders.

Notes

1. Patterson, Election and Free Will, 15.

2. Olson, “Election Is For Everyone,” Patheos, February 13, 2016, https://www.patheos.com/blogs/rogereolson/2016/02/election-is-for-everyone/.

Author Bio:

Scott Dickson serves as a Theological Editor at The Daily Grace Co. He lives with his wife Krystal and their two boys in the Houston area. Scott is deeply passionate about helping people understand the Bible and how all of it speaks to our everyday lives.

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