Doctrine: Predestination

This is gonna be a long one…

I’ve spent over two years now wrestling with this topic — which admittedly is not much, considering the great ones who spent their entire lives pondering this topic, I’m looking at you, Sproul, Spurgeon, Piper, MacArthur. I’ve discussed this topic with people who agree, disagree, and everything in between. This is where I’ve landed, for now, on one of the most discussed and misunderstood doctrines in the Church:

Predestination.

TL;DR

Let’s Unpack This

I believe Scripture clearly teaches that God is sovereign in salvation — nothing happens outside His will or plan — that includes His choosing of those who will be saved (Eph. 1:4–5; Romans 8:29–30). At the same time, Scripture also presents people as truly responsible for their response to God’s call (John 3:18; Acts 17:30).

To me, this means two things can be true at once:

1. God’s Choice is Ultimate — He knows, wills, and accomplishes the salvation of His people, not based on foreseen merit or works, but according to His grace, which is ultimately beyond our human comprehension.

2. Our Response is Real — We genuinely choose to believe, repent, and follow Christ, and those choices have eternal weight. God’s sovereignty doesn’t cancel our responsibility, it establishes it.

I don’t see these as contradictory but as truths that meet in the mystery of God’s wisdom. I don’t try to flatten one to make the other fit.

Why This Matters:

• It keeps me humble — I can’t take credit for my salvation.

• It keeps me urgent — people must still hear and respond to the Gospel.

• It keeps me worshipful — salvation is all by grace through faith (Eph. 2:8-9), from beginning to end.

Predestination — Current Understanding

1. Preface: Our Limitations in Understanding

When we approach predestination, we must start with humility.

God’s ways and thoughts are infinitely higher than ours (Isaiah 55:8–9). I like to frame it this way when doing my evangelism. “Trying to fully grasp God’s eternal plan, perspective, and knowledge is like trying to teach advanced Chinese tax law to an infant in America.” God is operating on entirely different planes of knowledge, language, and perspective. The Bible gives us what we need to know, but not in a way that removes all mystery.

Much like that Chinese tax law in Mandarin, it does have rhyme and reason — but it won’t be immediately clear to someone who doesn’t speak the language. It requires disciplined study to begin to understand… and even then, tax law is still a mystery (perhaps that last part is universally true).

2. Two Core Texts

Two passages shape my current thinking:

1. Romans 8:29 — “For those God foreknew, He also predestined…”

2. 2 Peter 3:9 — “[God is] not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”

The first verse emphasizes God’s foreknowledge and His intentional plan. The second reveals His heart and desire for all people to come to salvation.

3. Who Does God Foreknow?

I believe God foreknows all people — not just the elect. From eternity past, He has perfect knowledge of every person, every decision, and every outcome. He knows our sin and our need for redemption. Before the foundation of the world, He planned for Jesus to be “the way” (John 14:6) so that anyone could be saved.

4. God’s Desire and Human Response

If God is not willing that any should perish, then the opportunity for salvation is truly open to all.

• The Gospel call is real, and God’s offer is genuine to every person (Matthew 11:28, Rev. 22:17).

• At the same time, people are responsible for their response. Some will receive Christ; others will reject Him (John 1:12, John 3:18).

• God draws people to Himself (John 6:44), but this drawing does not negate the reality of human responsibility. (John 3:18, Acts 17:30) — A deeper dive into these two passages here.

5. Tension Without Contradiction

I don’t resolve this by watering down either truth:

• God’s Sovereignty — He knows, initiates, and provides opportunity for salvation (I would assert, more than one opportunity for salvation — See Romans 1:20).

• Human Responsibility — Our response matters eternally.

This tension may not be fully explainable, but it is fully livable — and it calls me to humility, worship, and urgency in sharing the Gospel.

6. Ministry Implication

Because God’s invitation is genuine and His desire is for all to be saved, we proclaim Christ boldly to everyone, trusting the Holy Spirit to work in ways beyond our understanding. So that’s what I will do, even in the middle of my story.

Just so you know: I’m not a pastor, seminary graduate, or a trained theologian — I’m just a guy following Jesus and trying to live this stuff out. These are my honest convictions right now, shaped by Scripture, prayer, and a lot of conversations with people who agree and disagree. I’m still learning, still growing, and still letting God refine me — Right in the middle of my story.

A note regarding Acts 17:30 and John 3:18

In Acts 17:30, the phrase “[God] commands all people everywhere to repent” uses the Greek verb παραγγέλλω (parangellō).

Meaning of “commands” (παραγγέλλω / parangellō)

• Root: From para (“beside, alongside”) + angellō (“to announce, proclaim”).

• Core idea: To give a clear, authoritative directive — not a casual suggestion.

• Lexical range: command, order, instruct, give strict charges.

• In military contexts: Referred to an officer giving binding orders to soldiers.

Implication in Acts 17:30

• This isn’t God inviting in a soft sense — it’s a universal, binding summons to repent.

• It reinforces the point that human beings have a responsibility to respond — the imperative nature of the verb assumes the hearer is accountable for obedience.

In John 3:18, the phrase “stands condemned already” uses the Greek expression κέκριται ἤδη (kekritai ēdē).

Meaning of “stands condemned already” (κέκριται ἤδη / kekritai ēdē)

• Root: From krinō (“to judge, decide, condemn”) + ēdē (“already, at this present moment”).

• Grammatical form: Kekritai is the perfect passive indicative of krinō.

• Core idea: judgment that has already been rendered in the past and remains in effect in the present.

• Lexical range: to judge, to pass sentence, to declare guilty.

• Force of “already” (ἤδη): Stresses that this condition is not merely future; it is the present reality.

Implication in John 3:18

• This is not referring to a kind of “finality” or “predetermined future or outcome” — it is identifying a spiritual condition that exists now.

• This is a declaration of past and present guilt, not a statement that future guilt is inevitable, unchangeable or “already determined/predetermined”.

• The verdict can be overturned through faith in Christ, which removes condemnation entirely (Romans 8:1).

• Those who do not believe remain in their present state of condemnation.

• The perfect tense here underscores that unbelief leaves a person in an ongoing, unchanged condition until they respond to Christ in faith.

Video that inspired this post:

Please feel free to discuss, refute, affirm, or just reply with emojis in the comments section below! 😎🎉😭

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