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Because
most Pentecostals think that the doctrine of predestination makes God appear
unjust, because while on the one hand He predestined the elect to be saved,
on the other hand He predestined the others to go to perdition!! Another
reason is because they think the doctrine of predestination produces laxity
and laziness; in other words it discourages believers from seeking holiness
and doing good works!!
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Let me reply
to these objections.
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Because of
the fact that God predestined some to be justified and others to be condemned,
He cannot be accused of being unjust because it is lawful for Him to do what
He wants with His own things; that is to say, He is free both to have mercy
on whom He wills and not to have mercy on whom He wills. God says to those who
strive with Him: “Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own
things” (Matthew 20:15
– NKJV), and also: “I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will
have compassion on whom I will have compassion” (Exodus 33:19 – NKJV). I
realize that it is hard to accept this way of acting of God, I realize that
it is not comprehensible from a human point of view, yet this is the way God
acts because the Scripture says so. If the Scripture did not say such a thing
or such a thing were inconsistent with the Word of God, then I would reject
it; but the fact is that the Scripture teaches that God acts in this way. For
instance, let us talk about Esau and Jacob: what does the Word of God say
about them? It says that before they were born or had done anything good or
bad - in order that God’s purpose in election might stand - God said to Rebecca:
“The older will serve the younger. Just as it is written: Jacob I loved, but
Esau I hated” (Romans 9:12-13
– NIV). Isn’t the Scripture clear? Is it not clear that God acted in that way
not because Jacob deserved to be served by his brother and Esau did not
deserve to be served by Jacob, but simply because that was His good pleasure?
Why do many keep speaking empty words then? Moreover, I want to emphasize the
fact that Paul took the example of Esau and Jacob in order to explain the
purpose of God according to election, and we have to admit that this example
fits perfectly because it shows clearly and unquestionably that the purpose
of God according to election is not by works but by Him who calls, that is,
as Paul says a little further: “It does not, therefore, depend on man’s
desire or effort, but on God’s mercy” (Romans 9:16 – NIV. The NKJV reads: “So
then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows
mercy”). Therefore, when we read that Esau sold his birthright to Jacob for a
stew of lentils and that Jacob took away the blessing of Esau (by deceiving
his father Isaac), we must bear in mind that those events came to pass by
God’s set purpose, for God caused those things to happen so that His Word
might be fulfilled. Obviously, the wrong behaviour of both Esau and Jacob did
not go unpunished, for they received the due penalty for their misdeeds.
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Similar
things must be said about Pharaoh. When God sent Moses to Pharaoh in order to
command him to let His people go out of Egypt, He told Moses that Pharaoh
would let His people go out of Egypt because of His mighty hand for He would
harden the heart of Pharaoh in order to manifest His glory, so that the
Egyptians might know that He was the Lord. Listen to what God said to Moses:
“See, I have made thee a god to Pharaoh: and Aaron thy brother shall be thy
prophet. Thou shalt speak all that I command thee: and Aaron thy brother
shall speak unto Pharaoh, that he send the children of Israel out of
his land. And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and multiply my signs and my
wonders in the land
of Egypt.
But Pharaoh shall not hearken unto you, that I may lay my hand upon Egypt, and
bring forth mine armies, and my people the children of Israel, out of
the land
of Egypt
by great judgments. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I
stretch forth mine hand upon Egypt, and bring out the children of Israel from
among them” (Exodus 7:1-5). It is true that in some places it is written that
Pharaoh hardened his heart (Exodus 8:15,32),
but that hardening was caused by God without Pharaoh knowing it. God had determined
to act in that way, and He did exactly what His hand and His purpose had
determined to do. Someone may say that this is just an isolated example of
hardening caused by God, so it cannot be taken as an example. I answer that
it is not an isolated example because in the law we read that Sihon king of
Heshbon was hardened by God too, in that Moses said to the Israelites: “But
Sihon king of Heshbon would not let us pass through, for the Lord your God
hardened his spirit and made his heart obstinate, that He might deliver him
into your hand, as it is this day” (Deuteronomy 2:30 – NKJV). As you can see,
the case of Pharaoh is not isolated. And not only this, but there is also the
case of the Jews who refused to believe in Jesus even though they had seen
many miracles. Listen to what the apostle John says: “But though he had done
so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him: That the saying
of Esaias the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spake, Lord, who hath
believed our report? and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed?
Therefore they could not believe, because that Esaias said again, He hath
blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with
their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should
heal them” (John 12:37-40). I think that it is superfluous to expound the
words of John!!!
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Therefore,
in the light of the Scriptures, Paul is right when he says that God has mercy
on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens (Romans 9:18). But who dares
to reply against God? Who dares to quarrel with God? What can a man, who is
but a potsherd among the potsherds on the ground, say to his Maker?
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Therefore
if God has mercy on whom He wills and He hardens whom He wills, the objection
according to which the doctrine of predestination makes God appear unjust or
respecter of persons proves to be untrue.
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The
doctrine of predestination does not produce laziness in those who accept it;
the example of Paul confirms this very clearly for Paul believed that God had
separated him from his mother’s womb for the Gospel (Galatians 1:15), yet he stated
that he labored more abundantly than all the apostles (1 Corinthians 15:10). On the
contrary, the doctrine of predestination prompts those who accept it to be zealous
for good works because this doctrine leads believers to be grateful to Him
who had mercy on them.
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However,
now I want to make it clear that even though I teach the doctrine of
predestination I don’t accept the doctrine called ‘once saved always saved’ for
the Scripture teaches that a believer can fall away from grace and go to
perdition. It is evident, therefore, that when I say that the doctrine of
predestination cannot produce laziness, I say it because a believer, knowing
that he was called with a heavenly call by the grace of God, will make every
effort to live a life full of good works, a holy and right life; for he knows
that if he refuses to pursue holiness he will go to perdition. If the just
draws back, he will go to perdition; this is what the Scripture teaches (Hebrews
10:38-39).
That’s why a believer who knows that he was predestined to be saved before
the foundation of the world is not encouraged or led to live ungodly. What
shall we say then about those believers who accepted the doctrine of
predestination but afterward they drew back to perdition? We shall say that
they did not want to continue in the faith to the end and thus their soul
went to hell. Therefore the expression ‘once saved always saved’ can be
applied only to those believers who continue in the faith till the end. While
as for those who once were saved but did not continue in faith, we need to
say that ‘they remained saved only for a certain period of time’.
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In
conclusion I want to say something else: there is another reason for which
many Pentecostals refuse to accept the doctrine of predestination, and this
reason is pride. What do I mean by that? I mean that they reject the doctrine
of predestination because it deprives them of any boasting for according to
this doctrine the fact that one has believed in the Lord did not depend on
his will but on the will of God because God predestined him to believe and so
He enabled him to believe by giving him faith. In other words, the believer’s
conversion did not depend on him but completely on God, and this annoys all
those who think and say that they believed because it was they who wanted to
believe, it was they who wanted to come to Christ. When we speak about
predestination to these believers, it is as if they said to us, ‘Through this
doctrine you don’t allow us to exalt ourselves even a little, you don’t allow
us to congratulate ourselves even for a moment, because, according to you,
all is God’s work: we were converted by God, we were drawn to Christ by God,
and we were saved by God only because of the good pleasure of His will!!’ It
is sad to notice this, really sad.
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