August 16, 2007
The following is my paraphrase of something one of my readers wrote to me in response to my last “perspective”: It is very difficult to reconcile the "free will" that we all have with the fact that God chose us before the foundation of the world, especially in light of the fact that the two seem contradictory.
As you might imagine, these comments have challenged me to respond; therefore, I offer the following in the hope that it will challenge you to think outside the parameters of your usual paradigm, especially if you tend to think more highly of yourself than you ought.
Obviously, God’s having chosen us and predestined us to be His children before the foundation of the world eliminates any possibility of our choosing Him without any prior, causative influence from Him. Just for the record: “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the first-born among many brethren; and whom He predestined, these He also called, and whom He called, these He also justified, and whom He justified, these He also glorified” (Romans 8:28-29).
In other words, man’s will is NOT free and each of us should be very thankful that it is not; otherwise, you can rest assured that every last one of us would choose to reject Him, having no interest in or inclination for Him—actually, dead to Him. May it never be that God would leave the choice of redemption up to any of us; instead, may He continue to show mercy to whom He chooses to show mercy and harden the rest; at least, this way, redemption is possible for some of us. “So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires” (Romans 9:18).
Having said that, allow me to add this “apparent” contradiction: man’s will is free but only within the parameters of God’s providence. In other words, we do make choices, many of them each day; however, we can never make a choice that lies outside the parameters of what He has already decided (predetermined, predestined). As I write this, I wonder why anyone would want it any other way? To be sure, God allows us to make choices, even foolish choices (or so them seem to us, usually after the fact), but He will never allow us to make any choice that is outside the parameters of His providence (what He has already decided) and I (for one) am very thankful for this.
Just for clarity, follow the thought sequence in the above passage: whom He foreknew, He predestined; whom He predestined, He called; whom He called, He justified; and whom He justified, He glorified. In other words, God predestined that some be justified and glorified; the rest are left in their depraved state—dead to God. Now, this raises a significant question: Who did He foreknow? For those who think more highly of themselves than they ought, the answer is this: He foreknew those who would choose Him; consequently, these are the ones He predestined, called, justified, and glorified. For those who do not think so highly of themselves, the answer is this: He foreknew those He had chosen unto Himself; consequently, these are the ones He predestined, called, justified, and glorified.
To be sure, if you think more highly of yourself than you ought, the contradiction is huge; however, if you do not have such a lofty opinion of yourself, there is no contradiction, none at all—God simply does as God pleases and man does not answer back to Him. Justification is, indeed, a thing of grace and mercy and God really is GOD!
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