Bill Pence's Reviews > What Is Predestination?

In this new book in his Crucial Questions series (free in the Kindle edition), R.C. Sproul writes that no doctrine in the Christian faith engenders more debate than the doctrine of predestination. He also tells us that no other doctrine more clearly demonstrates our utter dependence on divine grace and mercy than the doctrine of predestination. He writes that much is at stake in how we understand predestination, and we must be extraordinarily sensitive and careful in how we handle this doctrine. Studying predestination forces us to ask and answer hard questions, and if nothing else, it forces us to look more closely at the character of God and at our own sinfulness.
The doctrine of predestination is not limited to only Reformed churches. Sproul writes that every church and every Christian has some doctrine of predestination because the Bible has a doctrine of predestination. He tells us that if we are to grow in maturity in Christ, we must understand the biblical teaching on predestination. And though we may not like it at first, he tells us that with careful study and attention to the witness of Scripture, we can come to see the doctrine’s sweetness and its excellence and to experience it as a great comfort to our souls.
The author tells us that there are many different doctrines of predestination. The first of the most common views—and perhaps the majority view in the Christian world today—is the prescient view. In this view, God, from all eternity, looks down the corridors of history and knows in advance who will and will not respond positively to the invitation of Christ and His gospel. From all eternity, God ordains that every person who says yes to the gospel will go to heaven.
In the Augustinian view - also called the Reformation, or Reformed, view, and the view that the author holds to - God, from all eternity, not only predestines those who will believe to be saved, but He also predestines those who will believe to believe. In this view, from the foundation of the world—before anyone was born or did anything—God decided who would be brought to faith and who would not. Those who are not predestined from the foundation of the world will not come to faith, and their destination will not be heaven.
These two views are very different. In the first view, the decisive factor regarding a person’s destiny rests with the individual. In the second view, the decisive factor rests with God. Those who take the latter view must respond to questions about God’s fairness and justice and about man’s free will. Those who take the first view must answer the question of why it is that some people say yes and others say no. The author addresses what factor it is that ultimately determines a person’s salvation. Is it the human decision and response, which God knows in advance, or is it God’s sovereign election, in which He brings people to faith in Jesus Christ?
The author tells us that the focal point of the biblical doctrine of election is the grace of God. In its simplest terms, grace can be defined as “unmerited favor”. Grace is something that God is never obligated to give—God doesn’t owe anyone grace.
The author tells us that clearly, God sovereignly elects some to salvation and does not elect others. The prescient view of election leads to the belief that Jesus died on the cross, but not for anyone in particular. He dies to make salvation a possibility for those who choose to believe. The author tells us that in this view, it is theoretically possible that Jesus could have died in vain, that no one would have ever responded positively to the gospel.
He looks at two objections to the doctrine of predestination.
1. God drags people kicking and screaming against their wills into the kingdom of God.
2. He prevents other people from coming to the kingdom who do want to be there.
In response to these objections, the author tells us that the Augustinian doctrine of election unto salvation says this: no one wants Christ. No one wants to come into the kingdom of God. No one in his natural state wants to be there. For us to be saved, God must first regenerate us. Rebirth is the prerequisite and the necessary condition for being able to come to Christ. In addition, he tells us that there is no one who wants God whom God will exclude from the kingdom.
The author also addresses the subject of reprobation, which is the opposite of election. Someone who is reprobate has not been chosen, and does not receive the benefit of saving grace.
The author also looks at the Augustinian view of double predestination. Here, God does a positive work in the lives of the elect whereby He intervenes to rescue them from spiritual death by making them alive and creating faith in their souls. On the other hand, He gives sinners over to their sinful dispositions and abandons them to their sin. He ceases to restrain them from their own evil ways. Double predestination is simply this: the elect receive mercy and the reprobate receive justice, but no one receives injustice.
The author closes the book by looking at the topic of evangelism, and two primary objections in regards to the doctrine of predestination. The first is that if predestination is true, then there is no need to evangelize. The other is the accusation that those who believe in predestination are characteristically unconcerned about evangelism and inhibit the church’s mission in that regard. After addressing each objection, he tells us that it is a privilege to be used by God to bring another person to Christ.
The book, about a difficult and at times controversial doctrine, is written in Sproul’s characteristic easy to understand. It is concise and clear.
Here are 5 of my favorite quotes from this short book:
1. Virtually all of the errors that plague the church and her doctrine relate to one of two errors: either an underestimation of the greatness of God or an overestimation of the greatness of man.
2. It is easy enough to define grace as “unmerited favor,” but to get this idea from our brains into our bloodstream is one of the most difficult tasks in the Christian life.
3. If we think that God owes us grace, we’ve stopped thinking about grace and have started thinking about justice. The worst thing that could happen to us is for us to ask God for justice.
4. The only way we can gain entrance into the kingdom is through the sovereign grace of God and by that grace alone—sola gratia.
5. The only reason we’re redeemed is not because of our value but because of the value of Christ.