Free Will or Predestination

I had three teens in my car one day and one asked me if I believed in predestination or our free will. That led to an interesting discussion as we traveled and the basis for this blog entry. My response was that in a sense both ideas are true, not one or the other as so many think.

As I study the Scriptures, I find two views of salvation; one from earth and one from heaven. There are verses that support the view from earth and are used by those to justify their position of our free will. There are other verses that support the view from heaven and are used by those to justify their position of predestination.

I have chosen two groups of verses; one for each view and listed them below with a link to comments on each verse.

Earthly – Free Will

• Receive – John 1:12
• Believe – Acts 16:30, 31
• Call – Romans 10:12, 13
• Confess – Romans 10:9, 10

Heavenly – Predestination

• Elect – Matthew 24:22, 31
• Given – John 6:37 – 39
• Chosen – Ephesians 1:3 – 6
• Called – 2 Thessalonians 2:13, 14

In this discussion, my starting point is Ephesians 1:3 - 6 (ESV): “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.” These verses seem to make a clear case for God choosing us for salvation.

There is a mystery here. John 6:28 – 29 indicates that God works faith in us and in Philippians 1:29 he grants that we believe. By his work in us we are then enabled to freely choose him. So, do we choose God or does he choose us? In a sense it is both, but God starts the process.

Additional Thought

As I worked on this, Hebrews 6:4 – 6 kept coming to mind so I decided to write three more lessons.

• Hebrews 6:4 – 6 Part 1 Spiritual Gestation Period
• Hebrews 6:4 – 6 Part 2 The Impossibility of Falling Away
• Hebrews 6:4 – 6 Part 3 The Diagram of Life