The idea that our lives, the events that occur to us every day and even our own salvation, has already been determined by God from before we were born, has occupied the mind of humans from various religions and philosophical schools at different times in history.
In Hinduism, Krishna, the Hindu god, tells his
charioteer Arjuna not to fear going into battle and kill his enemies, because
he had already predestined Arjuna’s duty and the death of his opponents. (Bhagavad
Gita 11:31-34, 200 BCE).
Earlier Egyptian literature, as in the story
of “The Doomed Prince”, also reflects the belief in a pre-appointed fate for
humans among ancient Egyptians. 1
As this belief in a higher power beyond our
control, marking and determining our earthly existence expanded, Judaism was no
exception. Their belief in their own election as a privileged nation in Abraham
was deeply rooted in God’s sovereignty (Ex 33:19; Dt 7:7-8; Jos 11:20; Mal
1:2); and from them, passed onto Christianity and Islam.
Since we hold only Jewish and Christian
scriptures to be inspired by God, the concept about predestination among other
religions and cultures is irrelevant to us as theological source, except for
the fact that seems to be a natural inclination in humans to lean towards this
belief, as if it was implanted in their souls.
Predestination
and Free Will in the Bible
Indeed, the Bible as a whole teaches that God
has predetermined many things in the universe, as much on a macro level,
regarding the planet and the world affairs in general, as on a micro level,
regarding our lives.
God has predestined the date and place of our
birth, and the length of our lives (Acts 17:26; Mt 6:27); He predetermined the
greatness of nations (Dt 32:8), God elected us before we were born to believe
in Christ (Eph 1:3-5), and indeed Lord Jesus said that nobody comes to believe
in Him, unless God brings him or her to Him (Mt 24:24; Lk 8:10; Jn 6:44; Ro
9:10-13; 2 Th 2:13-14; Gal 1:15; Rev 13:8).
On the other hand, the Scripture also states
clearly, that humans have the power to choose their destiny
(Jn 7:17; 1Cor 10:13; 2Pe 3:9; Rev 2:5, 21-23;
3:5; Dt 30:19; Is 55:6-7)
The Perfect Balance
The Bible is not a book of systematic
theology. It is not an encyclopaedia according to topics explained to
exhaustion. The bible is a collection of lose books, addressed to an audience
already familiar with its teachings, and that holds the most important points
of the Christian faith that are necessary for salvation. That is the reason why
the Holy Spirit guided the Prophets and Apostles to put in writing what they
did.
From Scripture we can gather that humans were
created free. That is why Adam and Even were punished justly, because the
disobeyed God deliberately of their own volition.
But Scripture also teaches us that God in his
love and mercy, has already chosen us to become his children in this life to
partake, through Christ, of his Glory once this life is over. That God has
ordained things in our favour so that we attain the purpose He created us for:
“…having
determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, that
they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him” (Acts 17:26-27)
However, the manner how this is balanced in
the perfect manner that only God, in his perfect justice can do, it is a
mystery to us.
We have been told of our free will, so that we
may make our decisions responsibly, because we will be held accountable for
them. And in the other hand, it has been revealed to us that without God’s
grace and initiative, the exercise of this free will would be impossible since
the Adamic fall.
Throughout history, men of God have tried to
explain how this could happen. The prevalent theory teaches that God made his
election in base of his foreknowledge of what would be our decisions and
actions in a perfect state, that is, without the natural inclination to sin and
the decay of will that came after the Fall, electing them and ordering all
thigs in this life that would lead them to that. However, some think this
theory diminishes God’s sovereignty over our salvation after all. Regardless, the truth is that it is still and
it will remain always a mystery to us.
Distorted
Theories
Despite the fact that we may not know with certainty
how this balance between human free will and God’s election takes place; what
we know for certain, is that wrong and immoral theories have crept into
Christianity at times.
The doctrine of Double Predestination that
teaches that God Almighty created deliberately some people for Glory and some
to end up in Hell fire, for his own amusement or to prove to angels and humans
how powerful He is; and the theory that once humanity had fallen, God only
chose some to be saved and bypassed the rest of humanity abandoning them to
eternal pain and damnation, being able to save them if He wanted to; are both
distorted doctrines that contradict all moral, philosophical and theological
principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, unacceptable even to imperfect human
standards.
Omar Flores
1 William Kelly Simpson, The Literature of Ancient Egypt (London: Yale University Press,
2003), 75-79
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