Predestination

Q: How do we know that predestination is real? I mean where exactly does the Bible spell it out? Aren't people who believe in predestination reading a lot into Scripture ... maybe more than even God intended?

A: Oh my gosh, there are literally dozens and dozens of Bible verses in both the Old and New Testaments that confirm the concept of predestination. It starts with Adam & Eve in the garden. God created the world and everything in it. Then He laid forth some guidelines. When Adam & Eve failed to follow them, God told them how it was going to be. In fact, He told them how it was going to be for all of mankind!

The theme continues in many chapters and verses. An Old Testament favorite is Jeremiah 1:4-5, where God says, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart ..." He's basically saying that we were known spiritual beings before we started down that path to become human beings. And when we became human beings, God had a plan in place for us.

A New Testament favorite is Romans 8:29-30, where the Apostle Paul tells us that, "For those God foreknew He predestined to be conformed in the image of His Son ... and those He predestined He also called; and those He called He also justified; and those He justified He also glorified." What Paul is saying is that God knew which of us would become Christ-followers. And He created us with the plan that we become spiritually like His own Son (Jesus). In other words, when we became human beings, God knew us and had a plan for us (as humans).

There are so many other Bible verses that confirm the concept of predestination, that it would be impossible to list them all here without bringing the blog server down! Seriously, there are just too many for there to be a practical debate. But as you read the Bible, notice how things are explained in terms of what will happen. "If you do this, God will do that. If this happens, then that will be the outcome." Basically anywhere you see this, you're seeing predestination.

God has a plan and a will. He didn't create chaos to rule itself. And God's will being carried out is predestination. It is the action of God deciding how things will be and how things will happen. And it is the action of God following up to see that things go down that way.