How many of you remember seeing the Publisher’s Clearing House Sweepstakes commercials on television? For those of you don’t remember, Publisher’s Clearing House was (and maybe still is) a marketing company that peddles merchandise and magazine subscriptions with sweepstakes and prize-based games. There was no purchase necessary; all you had to do was fill out the little card, send it in, and wait until you were picked to win. Then the “Prize Patrol”, which consisted of a sharply dressed announcer and a camera crew, would knock on the winner’s front door with a fanfare of flowers, balloons, and a bottle of champagne. Then the announcer would say, “Is your name David? Guess what? You’ve won the Publisher’s Clearing House Sweepstakes!” Then he would present a giant check ranging from one thousand to ten-million dollars. Viewers would be amused by watching the winner’s initial skepticism transform into genuine joy as they realized that they had, in fact, won.
The doctrines of predestination and election are similar to the Publisher’s Clearing House Sweepstakes. When you realize that God chose you, before he even created the world and from all the people in the world, to recipieve his salvation, you are overcome with gratitude and jubilation. Predestination is the doctrine whereby God predetermines or foreordains everything that comes to pass. Election is the doctrine whereby God freely chooses (or elects) some people to receive his gift of salvation. Like Publisher’s Clearing House, God’s gracious choice is unmerited—it cannot be bought, earned, or manipulated—it is not based on anything you have done or not done—it is simply based on his good pleasure!
But before we dig into these doctrines, let me preface this sermon by openly acknowledging that election and predestination are controversial concepts. The Christian church has been divided over these doctrines for centuries. Historically speaking, Presbyterian, Congregational, and Reformed churches have affirmed and promoted these doctrines. Methodist and Pentecostal churches have denied them. Roman Catholic, Lutheran, and Episcopal churches still haven’t made up their minds about them. And Baptist churches are deeply divided over them. This is actually one of the reasons why there are so many Baptist denominations.
Please know that there are good Christians on all sides of this issue and I firmly believe that it’s not worth fighting or breaking fellowship over. That being said, I will present these doctrines according to the way I think the biblical text intended them to be interpreted. For I am convinced that both predestination and election are biblical and should be affirmed. Without further ado, let’s see what the Bible says!
Acts 13:46-48
Let’s begin with a snapshot of election from Acts 13, where the Apostle Paul begins his first missionary journey to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ. After he sailed to the island of Cyprus in the Mediterranean Sea, he and his friend Barnabas came to the city of Antioch in the region of Pisidia. After they preached in the synagogue, a mixed crowd of Jews and Gentiles asked them to continue to explain the gospel. Their response is recorded in verses 46-48. Look at these words:
Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: “We had to speak the word of God to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles. For this is what the Lord has commanded us: “I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.” When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed.
Most of the Jews rejected the message of eternal life, but the Gentiles in Pisidian Antioch were overjoyed to hear that salvation through Jesus Christ had even extended to them. They honored the word of the Lord and put their faith in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins. They accepted the gospel!
Notice what Paul says about those who accept the gospel—“all who were appointed for eternal life believed.” The Greek word translated here as “appoint” is “tasso” which can also be translated “ordain.” This is an obvious reference to God’s sovereign work over salvation, where he has foreordained or predestined or elected those who come to eternal life.
Once again, this text raises the age-old question: Does God choose us, or do we choose him? The answer to both questions is “Yes!” This is one of the clearest verses in the whole Bible where we see the convergence of God’s sovereignty and man’s free-will. Like the Gentiles in this text, the gospel demands that we choose to follow Jesus Christ to receive forgiveness from our sins and salvation for our souls. But we would never choose to follow Jesus if God hadn’t already predestined us to believe. In essence, God chooses us to choose him!
The story is told of a group of theologians who were discussing the tension between predestination and free-will. The conversation became so heated that the group broke up into two opposing factions.
But one man, not knowing which to join, stood for a moment trying to decide. At last he joined the predestination group. “Who sent you here?” they asked. “No one sent me,” he replied. “I came of my own free will.” “Free will!” they exclaimed. “You can’t join us! You belong with the other group!”
So, he followed their orders and went to the other clique. There someone asked, “When did you decide to join us?” The man replied, “Well, I didn’t really decide–I was sent here.” “Sent here!” they shouted. “You can’t join us unless you’ve decided by your own free will!”
The relationship between predestination and free-will is perplexing; it makes our heads spin and raises even more questions our minds. But let’s look at one more text before we consider the ramifications of these doctrines.
Ephesians 1:3-12
Ephesians 1:3-12 is one of the clearest teachings on election and predestination in the whole Bible. Follow along as I read these words:
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment– to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.
In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory.
After Paul begins his letter to the Ephesians with the customary greeting, he immediately launches into this litany of praise to God for blessing them through Jesus Christ. Then, starting in verse 4, he identifies this blessing as: election and predestination. He makes it perfectly clear that before the world was even created, God chose these Ephesian Christians to be the recipients of his grace and that they would stand before God as holy and blameless because of what Jesus did for them on the cross. Because of God’s unfathomable love, he predestined them to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance to his pleasure and will. This grace is a free gift which bestows redemption and forgiveness of sins through the blood of Jesus Christ. This grace, although it is given and received in the present, will be culminated when time has reached its fulfillment when Jesus returns to earth.
Paul reiterates and broadens the doctrines of election and predestination in verse 11. Not only does God choose and predestine some people to receive the gift of grace, but he “works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will.” This is the ultimate declaration of God’s sovereignty over salvation and everything else that takes place in history. It was God’s predestined will that these Ephesians would put their faith and hope in Christ.
Now I recognize that some of you may be struggling with these biblical doctrines and you have some questions. So, let me anticipate a few common questions and try my best to answer them.
1.) What about me?
Some of you may be wondering—Has God chosen me? Has he predestined me for salvation? How do I know? Well, if you have received God’s gracious gift of salvation by putting your faith in the death and resurrection of his Son Jesus Christ, then you can be assured that God has chosen you! If you have been sitting on the fence of faith, then you must still be wondering! The only way you can be sure that God has elected and predestined you for salvation is by freely choosing to follow Jesus. Repent from your sins and put your faith in him today!
2.) What about everyone else?
Now some of you may be thinking, “Wait a minute, are you saying that God chooses some people to be saved and not others?” Yes, that is exactly what I am saying because that is exactly what the Bible says! But then you may be thinking, “Well, that doesn’t seem fair!” Yes, you are exactly right! It isn’t fair at all! Fairness is an American value; it is not one of God’s attributes. If you think about it, we don’t really want a God who is fair; we want a God who is gracious. If God was fair, in the truest sense of the word, he would condemn all of us to eternal destruction in hell because of our sins. But because of his love and through his grace, he predestined some to receive his free gift of salvation!
3.) What should we do?
Based on the biblical doctrines of election and predestination, I really do believe that God is completely sovereign over salvation and everything else in life and history. If God has elected us to receive his salvation, we can take comfort in the fact that we can never lose our salvation. No mistake, no failure, and no sin can ever separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus! And no matter what we may suffer in this life, our final destiny is ultimate peace and perfection in paradise!
Likewise, if God is really in control of our lives, we don’t have to bear the burden of trying to determine our own destiny. It is easy to become anxious and stressed out when you bear the full weight of the millions of decisions that must be made. But if we simply trust God’s plan for our life, we don’t have to worry about anything!
And finally, let us pray and share the gospel with people wherever we go. Even though God knows who is predestined unto salvation, we don’t. God has called us to the privilege of participating in his redemptive work in the world! So, will you share the good news of God’s grace with those who do not yet know!Conclusion
Let me conclude sermon with a poignant poem about predestination. Follow along as I read, “As I Walk Among the Flowers Wild” by Bruce Meador.
As I walk among the flowers wild
Some this high
And some, sad to say, underfoot.
The one I pick, no prettier than another
Whose perfume I sigh on
This flower will be pressed
And blesséd words mark its dark repose
As I take you now
And press you in my book
Do I choose the page to hold you
And this verse upon which you lie?
Or is my hand guided
By some distant star?
Has the plan for now
Been drawn long ago?
Answer me!
Where you born to bloom
Not to sleep
To wave your color and to be
Until this page, that verse
Hath hold of thee?
Or is all unplanned
Thy petals unnumbered?
Another page, another verse could do?
I could have stepped another way?
There would have been another you?
I could have chosen other thoughts
To face thee in thy sleep?
Why
did God pick me from all the flowers of the field?