Which do you feel is true: God's predestination or our free will?

Ted’s Response:

It is impossible for the human mind to compehend, much less understand, the complex ways of God. For instance, it is difficult to grasp the simultaneous singular and multiple nature of God. We are three-dimensional beings bounded by time; God is an infinite Being unbounded by space or time. His thoughts and ways are infinitely higher than ours (Isaiah 55:8,9).

Likewise, it is not easy to fathom how our actions are a perfect balance of

1. predestination by God and
2. our own free will choices.

God's predestination and human free will both take place, equally, and in tandem. There are numerous examples of each in the Bible:

Even if, in a given passage, God's predestination and a person's free will are not both evident, we still must assume that both are present. For instance, when God hardened Pharoah's heart (Exodus 4:21), we know that Pharoah subsequently made the free will choice not to let the Israelites leave Egypt (8:32).

As pertaining to our relationship with God,

1. all those whom God chooses (the "elect") will embrace Him; and
2. all those who receive God have been pre-selected, by Him, to do so.

1. all those those whom God rejects (the "condemned") will deny and oppose Him; and
2. all those who renounce and turn from God have been predetermined, by Him, to do so.

What if God, choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath—prepared for destruction? What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory...? (Romans 9:22,23).

It should be noted, in the passage by Paul, that the main reason why God has preordained a segment of humanity for destruction is for the benefit of those He has chosen for salvation and glory. Ultimately, having seen the destiny of the ones prepared for wrath, those who are saved (the "elect") fully will grasp and understand the eternal love God has for them. They will appreciate that God could have chosen them for destruction as well but did not. Instead, He will have chosen to reveal the eternal riches of His glory to them, something for which they never will cease loving Him—fulfilling God's ultimate goal.

Now, although there is a difference between God's "predestination" and His "foreknowledge," there is a one-to-one correspondence between these two concepts as well (just as there is between "predestination" and "free will"). The reason God has foreknowledge of all things is because, from the beginning, He has predestined all things to happen, and in the order in which they will come to pass.

If God has fore-ordained all things to occur, does that mean that he has predetermined all of our choices before we make them? As difficult as it is for many to believe that this could be the case, I suspect that it is. Of course, it is human nature not to want for this to be true.

For one thing, our pride is a barrier to our conceding that any of our choices are not, strictly and completely, our own—that we have been "pre-programmed," as it were, to make them. Furthermore, it does not seem to make sense that God would cause people to disobey Him, being that He so adamantly detests being disobeyed. However, for his ultimate goal to be achieved, God Himself must endure an unfathomable amount of heartache, disappointment, and pain, while this present creation is in place, before the new Creation comes into existence.

Such things cannot be comprehended by human minds—that is, unless we recognize and realize what is God's ultimate goal: to assemble all of those He has chosen, in this creation, to enter the eternal Creation to come (see old and new Creations). God knows it is of paramount importance that those He takes with Him into that brand new, pristine Creation will have a solid, air-tight understanding that all evil and iniquity must be forsaken for eternity. No one who embraces even the slightest hint of impurity will be unable to enter that realm (Revelation 21:8,27). Thus, we must be exposed to the "worst of the worst" of all things, in this life, to know for certain that every form of evil leads to destruction.

We must be careful not to feel "self-righteous" when someone else sins and gets punished for it. If it was predetermined for that person to do wrong, we must realize that it very well could have been ourself who could have been chosen to choose to do wrong in a similar manner and to receive the penalty for it. "There but for the grace of God go I."

If God has chosen all who will enter the new Creation (which will materialize at the end of the Millennium, after the present heavens and earth pass away—Revelation 20:11, 21:1), then He must convince them that He is worthy to be chosen by them, for all eternity. He could have caused all of humanity to know only goodness; then, by default, we all would have "chosen" Him, because He alone is good. But there is a difference between choosing to follow someone and choosing to love that person. God wants not only the devotion and loyalty of those whom He has chosen but, more importantly, their adoration and affection.

Love is not genuine and sincere unless one has a choice of those to love. Therefore, humanity had to be made aware of evil as well as of good, so as to be able to make a choice between loving evil (represented by all that this deteriorating world has to offer) and loving good (epitomized by God and His incomprehensibly wonderful, eternal blessings).

In essence, this present existence is like a "play" for which God has written the "script." It is the greatest drama, comedy, and tragedy—all at once—ever told. In fact, not only is God the writer but He plays the Lead Roll, and He also directs all the events that take place. That is, He is the Writer, Lead Actor, and Director. Everything is under His control and influence, down to the lines that each actor (including every human being) speaks.

None of us will understand, completely, why it must be this way until after we see Him face-to-face. As the Samaritan woman at the well correctly stated,

I know that Messiah [called Christ] is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us,

I who speak to you am he (John 4:25,26).