Is Double Predestination Biblical?
00:00:00.000 | (upbeat music)
00:00:02.580 | Happy Friday, everyone.
00:00:05.600 | I mentioned, I think it was last year,
00:00:08.120 | last December sometime back in APJ 1720,
00:00:12.440 | that in our emails, the most asked about chapter
00:00:16.120 | of the Bible is Romans 9, and it's not even close,
00:00:19.600 | understandably so.
00:00:21.160 | The chapter raises a truckload of theology questions,
00:00:24.520 | and within that chapter, Romans 9 22, verse 22,
00:00:29.360 | is the most mentioned text, the most asked about verse
00:00:33.080 | in our entire inbox, because that verse raises
00:00:36.800 | the difficult but necessary topic of predestination
00:00:40.580 | and double predestination or reprobation,
00:00:44.320 | the divine design of, quote,
00:00:45.960 | vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, end quote.
00:00:50.960 | To sobering text, to raising many questions,
00:00:55.560 | relevant and important questions.
00:00:57.960 | We're not in that text in particular today,
00:01:00.400 | but we are back on the theme of double predestination
00:01:03.200 | through a different text in a question
00:01:05.140 | from a listener named Josh.
00:01:06.840 | Dear Pastor John, thank you for all your resources
00:01:08.780 | for people like me seeking Bible answers.
00:01:10.920 | I have a question about 1 Timothy 2, 4,
00:01:13.720 | and how it, when read in context,
00:01:15.640 | pertains to the doctrine of double predestination.
00:01:18.680 | To me, double predestination seems a logical result
00:01:21.720 | of the doctrine of predestination,
00:01:24.300 | but this verse seems to refute it.
00:01:26.880 | How do double predestination and this verse
00:01:29.040 | hold up together?
00:01:30.580 | Also, if addressing 1 Peter 2, 8 would be applicable,
00:01:34.240 | I would appreciate that as well.
00:01:35.880 | My understanding of one verse contradicts
00:01:37.920 | my understanding of the other.
00:01:39.800 | I know the Bible is cohesive,
00:01:41.520 | but I'm unsure how to reconcile these texts.
00:01:46.400 | - Yes, the Bible is cohesive.
00:01:48.640 | It is coherent.
00:01:50.800 | It has integrity.
00:01:52.120 | So that's a good assumption to start with.
00:01:55.320 | 1 Timothy 2, 4 has been perceived for centuries
00:02:00.320 | as a problem, not just for double predestination,
00:02:06.680 | but for any predestination
00:02:10.040 | or any unconditional election of who will be saved.
00:02:15.040 | So let me say a word about double predestination,
00:02:20.200 | since it's brought up in the question,
00:02:22.720 | and then show how I think 1 Timothy 2, 4
00:02:26.360 | is not a contradiction of predestination
00:02:30.520 | or double predestination.
00:02:33.680 | Predestination refers to God's appointing
00:02:38.680 | the final destiny of a person before creation.
00:02:43.400 | So for example, Ephesians 1, 4 and 5,
00:02:48.600 | God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world
00:02:53.600 | that we should be holy and blameless before him.
00:02:57.720 | In love, he predestined us for adoption
00:03:02.720 | to himself as sons through Jesus Christ
00:03:08.080 | according to the purpose of his will.
00:03:10.240 | So God assigns or destines the elect for adoption.
00:03:17.200 | That's the destiny.
00:03:18.920 | He plans for his chosen ones before creation.
00:03:23.520 | Hence the term predestined,
00:03:26.520 | destined beforehand for adoption.
00:03:31.600 | These predestined ones always correspond in real life
00:03:36.600 | with those whom Jesus calls to himself
00:03:42.360 | and those who believe on Jesus and are justified by faith.
00:03:47.360 | And we know that, we know that the predestined
00:03:50.880 | and the believers always correspond
00:03:53.960 | because of Romans 8, 30, which says,
00:03:57.240 | "Those whom he predestined, he also called,
00:04:01.020 | and those whom he called, he also justified."
00:04:06.040 | And we know that justification is by faith in no other way.
00:04:09.360 | So those are believers.
00:04:11.200 | Those whom he called, he brought to faith and justified.
00:04:14.760 | And those whom he justified, he glorified.
00:04:18.280 | So the predestined ones
00:04:21.600 | and those who are justified by faith in Jesus
00:04:24.280 | are always the same group
00:04:27.960 | because God not only predestines,
00:04:31.240 | he also calls people to himself and brings them to faith
00:04:35.480 | and justifies them and finally glorifies them.
00:04:40.160 | There are no predestined ones who do not believe
00:04:44.720 | and there are no believers who are not predestined.
00:04:48.600 | God is sovereign in the whole process of salvation,
00:04:52.360 | beginning to end, eternity to eternity
00:04:55.520 | in every aspect of it.
00:04:57.760 | Now, the term double predestination
00:05:00.800 | is used to refer to the fact
00:05:03.560 | that if God destines some for salvation and adoption,
00:05:09.920 | then he passes over others
00:05:14.680 | so that their destiny is judgment and not salvation.
00:05:18.960 | Now, some people think we should not call this passing over
00:05:24.880 | a second predestination
00:05:28.120 | since the Bible does not speak of it that way.
00:05:31.720 | And I would agree that we at least shouldn't make a focus
00:05:37.280 | out of what the Bible does not make a focus.
00:05:40.800 | But in fact, while not using the word predestined
00:05:45.800 | for unbelievers who perish,
00:05:50.020 | the Bible does refer to the reality of it.
00:05:54.080 | And it's not just a logical deduction.
00:05:58.280 | Sometimes this gets a bad rap
00:06:01.120 | because they say, "Here you go,
00:06:02.240 | applying your crusty wooden cold logic,"
00:06:06.320 | which the Bible doesn't do.
00:06:07.480 | Well, forget that.
00:06:09.520 | We're not talking about a logical deduction here.
00:06:11.560 | We're talking about texts.
00:06:13.800 | For example, consider these three texts,
00:06:17.240 | 1 Peter 2, 8, which is the one that was mentioned,
00:06:20.300 | refers to those who stumble
00:06:24.400 | because they disobey the word
00:06:26.920 | as they were destined to do.
00:06:29.620 | Romans 9, 22 refers to those whom God endured
00:06:35.340 | with much patience,
00:06:37.720 | vessels of wrath prepared for destruction.
00:06:41.400 | Proverbs 16, 4 says,
00:06:46.120 | "The Lord has made everything for its purpose,
00:06:50.080 | even the wicked for the day of trouble."
00:06:52.860 | Now, each of those texts needs careful attention
00:06:58.840 | and true interpretation,
00:07:00.760 | but my effort over the years has yielded to fact
00:07:05.080 | that I think they do in fact teach
00:07:07.840 | that God plans the destiny of each person,
00:07:11.280 | whether judgment or salvation.
00:07:16.240 | And that, of course, is very controversial,
00:07:20.360 | but it's also very important.
00:07:23.120 | I mean, think of it.
00:07:24.720 | It's not marginal.
00:07:25.940 | Think of what it says about the sovereignty of God.
00:07:30.800 | Either way, about the nature of saving grace
00:07:34.480 | and its power, its sovereign effectiveness.
00:07:38.520 | Think about the implications for prayer and evangelism
00:07:41.120 | and assurance and so many other things.
00:07:44.040 | This is not a marginal issue
00:07:46.360 | as though you could just shunt that aside and say,
00:07:48.880 | we'll just talk about other things.
00:07:51.400 | Now, the primary objection
00:07:53.280 | to this biblical teaching of predestination,
00:07:56.640 | whether you call it single or double,
00:07:58.640 | the primary objection
00:08:01.700 | is that it seems to result in people being punished
00:08:05.700 | when they are not morally accountable.
00:08:09.920 | So this seems to be unjust.
00:08:14.300 | It seems unjust to people and unjust in God.
00:08:18.700 | The alternative view says
00:08:21.260 | that God does not decide anyone's destiny
00:08:26.140 | before they exercise their ultimately self-determination.
00:08:31.620 | Self-determining free will.
00:08:33.660 | The assumption of this alternative view
00:08:38.940 | is that a person cannot be morally accountable
00:08:43.460 | unless each one has ultimate self-determination,
00:08:49.540 | which is usually called free will,
00:08:52.780 | but ultimate self-determination is the crucial definition.
00:08:59.780 | The text that most often is appealed to for this view,
00:09:04.780 | which is not my view, I'm not in favor of this.
00:09:09.780 | The text that's most often appealed to for this view
00:09:14.060 | is 1 Timothy 2.4,
00:09:17.020 | which Josh specifically asks about.
00:09:20.340 | It says, "God desires all people to be saved
00:09:26.300 | and to come to a knowledge of the truth."
00:09:29.460 | Then the inference, by those who read it,
00:09:35.180 | is drawn from this verse
00:09:39.460 | that God cannot choose only some to be saved
00:09:44.460 | because he desires all to be saved.
00:09:49.020 | Now, the problem is this.
00:09:51.520 | Both interpretations admit
00:09:54.620 | that God prioritizes something
00:09:58.980 | above his desire for all to be saved
00:10:02.500 | because all are not saved.
00:10:05.540 | Something restrains God from saving all.
00:10:11.940 | And one view says that what restrains God
00:10:16.740 | is that he prioritizes
00:10:19.380 | ultimate human self-determination above saving all.
00:10:25.260 | Better to have some perish
00:10:28.260 | than that all should be deprived
00:10:32.180 | of ultimate self-determination,
00:10:34.380 | usually called free will.
00:10:35.900 | The other view says that what restrains God,
00:10:40.780 | this would be my view,
00:10:41.940 | that what restrains God from saving all
00:10:46.700 | is that he prioritizes the glory of the freedom
00:10:50.380 | of his sovereign grace above saving all.
00:10:54.780 | Better that some perish
00:10:57.420 | than that the freedom and greatness of God's grace
00:11:01.100 | be diminished.
00:11:02.940 | So the question is,
00:11:05.860 | which of these two explanations
00:11:08.540 | is the biblical explanation
00:11:11.260 | of why God doesn't save everybody?
00:11:13.580 | Is it God's commitment
00:11:16.980 | to ultimate human self-determination
00:11:22.100 | or is it God's commitment to his own freedom
00:11:25.380 | and the glory of his predestining grace?
00:11:28.100 | Now that's a massive question,
00:11:30.900 | but let me give one pointer
00:11:33.700 | from inside Paul's letters to Timothy.
00:11:37.420 | I'm very, very jealous here
00:11:39.660 | not to be controlled by a system.
00:11:42.220 | I know that whatever view you have,
00:11:45.900 | it is very easy to be controlled
00:11:49.740 | by other truths besides the text you're dealing with
00:11:53.900 | rather than looking in the context
00:11:57.540 | to see what it really means.
00:11:59.020 | So I wanna stick with these,
00:12:01.460 | what are called pastoral letters of Paul.
00:12:03.940 | Let's just take 1 and 2 Timothy
00:12:06.740 | and show how close the language is
00:12:09.580 | between 2-4 in 1 Timothy
00:12:12.020 | and 2-25 in 2 Timothy.
00:12:15.740 | So in 2 Timothy 2-24 and 25,
00:12:18.380 | Paul uses language like this.
00:12:22.020 | And what's close about it is the phrase
00:12:24.380 | coming to a knowledge of the truth in both texts.
00:12:27.540 | But here's what he says.
00:12:29.180 | The servant of the Lord should correct his opponents
00:12:32.580 | with gentleness.
00:12:34.180 | God may perhaps grant them repentance
00:12:39.060 | leading to a knowledge of the truth.
00:12:43.660 | Same phrase as in 1 Timothy 2-4.
00:12:46.820 | Now what seems clear to me from this verse
00:12:51.020 | is that Paul does not believe
00:12:53.860 | in ultimate human self-determination
00:12:57.020 | when it comes to the all-important act of repentance.
00:13:01.580 | In this verse, repentance does not
00:13:05.380 | ultimately depend on human self-determination.
00:13:10.020 | It depends on the free gift of God
00:13:12.780 | to a person in the bondage of sin, Satan.
00:13:17.740 | God may grant, God may grant them repentance
00:13:23.420 | leading to a knowledge of the truth.
00:13:26.180 | Therefore, within these two letters of Paul to Timothy,
00:13:32.500 | he shows that what keeps God from doing
00:13:36.180 | what he at one level desires to do,
00:13:40.700 | namely save all,
00:13:43.020 | is not his commitment to ultimate human self-determination.
00:13:47.420 | No one is saved unless God grants repentance.
00:13:52.300 | Repentance is not the product
00:13:54.380 | of ultimate human self-determination.
00:13:57.420 | It's a gift of God.
00:14:00.700 | Now here's the paradox.
00:14:03.180 | Not contradiction, paradox.
00:14:05.740 | Lots of people try to make this out to be
00:14:07.220 | a logical contradiction.
00:14:08.500 | It's not.
00:14:09.620 | It runs through the whole Bible.
00:14:12.060 | Human beings are morally accountable
00:14:16.420 | even though they do not have ultimate self-determination.
00:14:21.620 | There is no injustice with God, Romans 9, 14.
00:14:26.260 | No one is punished who does not truly deserve to be punished.
00:14:32.380 | And the measure of the punishment is always
00:14:35.260 | in righteous proportion to the measure of the evil.
00:14:42.740 | Though God predestines who will be saved
00:14:46.500 | and who will not be saved,
00:14:48.620 | no one comes into judgment who does not deserve judgment.
00:14:55.260 | This is not a logical contradiction,
00:14:58.620 | which so many try to make it out to be.
00:15:00.980 | It is a mystery.
00:15:03.700 | I don't think the Bible makes plain
00:15:06.780 | how both of these truths,
00:15:08.700 | God's sovereignty and man's accountability,
00:15:12.420 | are in perfect compatibility.
00:15:14.580 | But the whole Bible testifies to both truths.
00:15:18.260 | They are compatible.
00:15:20.060 | The Bible teaches the truth of both.
00:15:23.300 | And they are profoundly important to embrace
00:15:27.740 | for the good of our souls
00:15:30.220 | and for the integrity of God's Word
00:15:32.980 | and for the health of the church
00:15:35.660 | and for the advancement of God's mission
00:15:39.180 | and for the glory of God's grace.
00:15:43.260 | Yeah, not questions to be stuffed aside and ignored.
00:15:45.940 | Thank you, Pastor John.
00:15:47.260 | And thank you for the question, Josh.
00:15:49.100 | Thank you for joining us today.
00:15:50.260 | You can ask a question of your own,
00:15:51.700 | search our growing archive, or subscribe to the podcast,
00:15:54.380 | all at desiringgod.org/askpastorjohn.
00:15:58.420 | Well, we've talked briefly about lament on the podcast, lament,
00:16:02.740 | particularly about being angry with God.
00:16:06.300 | You can see APJ 931 for that,
00:16:08.980 | since that episode, 931,
00:16:12.380 | which compares godly lament with ungodly lament.
00:16:16.260 | Several questions have come in on this,
00:16:17.820 | a lot of follow-up questions.
00:16:18.980 | It's another topic we can't ignore,
00:16:21.540 | and it's up next time.
00:16:22.580 | I'm your host, Tony Renke,
00:16:23.860 | and we'll see you back here on Monday
00:16:26.140 | for the topic of lament.
00:16:28.500 | We'll see you then.
00:16:29.460 | (upbeat music)
00:16:32.060 | (upbeat music)
00:16:34.660 | [BLANK_AUDIO]