Are We Predestinated, Chosen or Elected to be Saved?

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"Are we predestinated, chosen or elected to be saved?"

Are we predestinated, chosen or elected to be saved?

By Diane M. Hoffmann, B.Th., M.Th., PhD/Th., Ord./IAOG-Canada

Another article provided by Timing Revelation & more...

We're living in the last days. And many people are being led astray as to their ultimate destination goes in these end times

I am writing this article for two reasons:

Reason #1:

Many people are led astray by this made-up theology idea that people are predestinated or elected or chosen to be saved. That is a lie from the devil. ALL people are predestinated for Redemption... but each one of us must make the decision to receive this free gift of Salvation... “for ALL have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).

I know of a local man (he represents countless others) who actually believes that God has already predestined individuals to be either saved or not saved, and that no matter what he would do, he was not, in his mind, guaranteed salvation. He lives a miserable and sad Christian life based on that.

The Bible says that God is “long-suffering (patient) to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” ALL should come to repentance! (2 Peter 3:9)

Reason #2:

The second reason is that someone who is looking for the truth did ask me to write a chapter in my next book on this subject. Many churches believe this lie. I even witnessed Bible studies at other people’s homes where videos of preachers propagating this false doctrine were used.

As in all false doctrines, scriptures are used to make it look as truth, but these scriptures are taken out of context, twisted in meaning, and totally out of place in the same way as the teachings of cults and false religions are. This is how Satan, the father of lies, operates to deceive people.

Bible verses wrongly used for this predestination issue:

Let’s look at some of the Bible verses used to support predestination and/or the doctrine of election. Please note that scriptures are quoted from the King James Version.

Psalm 65:4

“Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and causest to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts: we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple.”

This verse is not referring to predestination. It refers to “chosen” as in Israel as a nation. In Deuteronomy, verse 6 it says: “For thou art a holy people unto the Lord thy God: the Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth.”

It speaks of those individuals who are drawn to Him by faith. This has nothing to do with individuals being predestinated for salvation or for destruction without any means of our will. We as individuals will to receive or reject the Gospel of Salvation – by faith in Christ.

“What must I do to be saved? The jailer asked Paul. His reply was, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and THOU SHALT BE SAVED, and thy house. And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house.” (Acts 16:30-32). Clear and simple truth from the Word of God.

Proverbs 16:4

“The Lord hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.”

It’s amazing how people will wrongly use scriptures to support their made-up beliefs. Again this scripture does not refer to predestination or election. Yes, the Lord has made everything for Himself. He knew from the beginning that there would be good and evil. He knew this from the time of His instruction to Adam and Eve not to eat of the tree of good and evil for at that moment they would die – decaying both spiritually and physical.

The wicked are subservient to His eternal purposes and will. They will experience the day of wrath and receive their deserved punishment. HOWEVER, even the wicked can get saved by receiving the gift of Salvation. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23) and the only way for every one is to avoid the wrath of God is though faith in the mercy and truth of God.

God created all things – every baby that is born is created by God whether they will choose to stay in their sins or receive the gift of redemption is up to each one.

More Bible verses wrongly used for this...

Matthew 24:31

“And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”

Again this has nothing to do with predestination as if God already marked some to be saved and some not. The elect are those who have come to faith in Jesus Christ through the grace and mercy of God.

Luke 18:7

Again the word elect refers to those who have accepted and received the grace and mercy of God unto Salvation. Even the context here tells us that the persistence of the widow won the favour of the king and Jesus then says, “nevertheless will I find faith when I come… so faith is what is needed for man to turn to God and believe on the works of Jesus Christ.

Acts 15:17-18

Once more we see that this has nothing to do with predestination. God is speaking to a disobedient people, unbelievers, just like in Acts 13:46 where God told Paul to turn their ministry of the Gospel unto the Gentiles.

Verses 17-18 of Acts 15 is a reference from Amos 9:11-12 which speaks of the future restoration of Israel where God will give the remnants of Israel and Gentiles another chance at seeking after Him.

Romans 8:28-30

“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” (v.28)

“To them who are called” is specific to them who comprise the family of God, those who are in Christ and justified by His blood. This is as it is clearly defined in Romans 9, verses 6-7: “Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect, For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel, neither because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, in Isaac shall thy seed be called.”

In other words there are natural Israelites and spiritual Israelites – not all descendants of Abraham will accept God’s redemption; Abraham had two sons, Isaac and Ishmael. But through Isaac’s seed they are called. People are called within a certain group of people or family. Individually we are all called to receive the salvation or redemption of God through the plan of God as told to us in the Bible’s history. We are so justified by faith, each one of us.

“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.” (v.29)

God already knew who would receive Him, and those were predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son – not predestined to be saved or lost.

Romans 9:11

“(For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;)” (read within the context of the passage).

Here too, some use this scripture to show predestination of individuals. However what this is all about (and the rest of the chapter) is that in God’s sovereignty, God can supersedes the natural or spiritual processes, including the first birth privileges, as in this case of verse eleven, where God selects Jacob to be the heir of the promise instead of the older brother Esau. God can do whatever He wants according to His ultimate purpose.

But that does not change the salvation availability to every individual who will accept the redemption plan of God down through history. God is always working from the physical and the spiritual aspect of mankind, always with the goal in mind of Salvation only through Christ.

Romans 11:2-7

Again, these scriptures are taken out of context. Foreknowledge and election of grace are not referring to predestination of some will be lost and some will be saved. It is about the acceptance or rejection of the people of God and others who hear the gospel, toward the grace offered by God for redemption from sin. Again all are predestined to Redemption, but each individual must accept and receive it.

Ephesians 1:5-6, 11-12

“Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.” Again all are predestined to Redemption, but each individual must accept and receive it.

“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, that we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.” Again all are predestined to Redemption, but each individual must accept and receive it.

Again, people pick any scripture that has the word “predestination”, “choosen” or “election” as to do with God having predestinated us to being saved or being lost in spite of what we do. That is criminal – spiritually speaking.

We have to read these scriptures form the basis of the scripture that says that God is “long-suffering (patient) to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that ALL should come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9)

What predestination is referring to is that, when God created the world and the people in it, He predestined ALL for Redemption. That is the whole purpose of God on this earth – for us to make a decision for that Redemption made available by God or for refusing it.

Yes, God has “chosen” us all from the beginning unto salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth whereunto he called us by the gospel to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Tessalonians 2:13-14)

Revelation 13:8

Even this scripture is used by some to support the lie of salvation being available only to a number of people “predestined” beforehand to be either saved or lost,

“And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.”

Yes there is a book in which the names of those who are saved are written; these are the saints of God, those who turned to Him when called by the Gospel of Jesus Christ and received His sacrifice on the Cross for the remission of the sin of mankind. And those whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world are those who refused to accept the free offer of Salvation.

Again this is not a predestination of being lost without the availability of Salvation through faith in the work of Christ on the cross. That is a terrible lie.

Those who spread this lie of predestination in that way, give all sorts of misinterpretations of the reason why God would do such a thing. To believe in such a theory, one must be in the camp of those who believe there is no hell. Because there are only two places that the soul of man can go to after death: heaven or hell. God sets before us life and death and says “choose” life.

/DMH

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