Predestination ....?

Question

..thats pure Bible.
How would you know if you are predestinated (chosen by God)to eternal life or not.
Will there be any evidence ?

Answer 1

What is predestination and election?


Predestination and election are both biblical teaching. The English "predestination" is translated from the Greek word "proorizo" which means "1) to predetermine, decide beforehand. 2) in the NT of God decreeing from eternity. 3) to foreordain, appoint beforehand."1 Predestination, then, is the biblical teaching that God predestines certain events and people to accomplish what He so desires. The word "proorizo" occurs six times in the New Testament each time demonstrating that God is the one who is foreordaining and bringing about certain events:

Acts 4:27, "to do whatever Thy hand and Thy purpose predestined to occur."

Rom. 8:29, "For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the first-born among many brethren;

Rom. 8:30, "and whom He predestined, these He also called; and whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified."

1 Cor. 2:7, "but we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom, which God predestined before the ages to our glory."

Eph. 1:5, He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will,.

Eph. 1:11, "also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will."

You must also note that God predestines people as Rom. 8:30, and Eph. 1:5, 11 demonstrate. There is, however, controversy as to the nature of this predestination. In the Reformed (Calvinist) camp, predestination includes individuals. In other words, the Reformed doctrine of predestination is that God predestines who He wants to be saved and that without this predestination, none would be saved. The non-Reformed camp states that God predestines people to salvation, but that these people freely choose to follow God on their own. In other words, in the non-Reformed perspective, God is reacting to the will of individuals and predestining them only because they choose God where by contrast the Reformed position states that people choose God only because He has first predestined them.

Election

The word "election," or "elect" comes from the Greek word "eklectos" and occurs about 25 times in the New Testament. It signifies "1 to pick out, choose, to pick or choose out for one’s self. a choosing one out of many.""1 The one who does the choosing, the electing is God.

John 13:18, "I do not speak of all of you. I know the ones I have chosen; but it is that the Scripture may be fulfilled, ‘He who eats My bread has lifted up his heel against Me.’"

Eph. 1:4,"He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him."

1 Tim. 5:21, "I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of His chosen angels, to maintain these principles without bias, doing nothing in a spirit of partiality."

Again, there is debate within Christianity as to the means and purpose of God's election. Some say that God elects individuals and others say He only elects nations and/or groups of people. If God elects individuals this means that God is predestining them, electing them into salvation and He is not electing others. This does not sit well with many Christians. On the other hand, some Christians state that God elects based upon a foreknowledge of what an individual will do.
Whichever side you believe, remember that predestination and election are biblical concepts. You must also remember that how you believe or not in predestination and/or election does not effect your salvation. Therefore, you should be gracious to other Christians who differ with you on this subject.

Answer 2

Predestination is not a Bible word or teaching. If each one’s moment and manner of death were already fixed at the time of birth or earlier, there would be no need to avoid dangerous situations or to care for one’s health, and safety precautions would not alter mortality rates. But do you believe that a battlefield during war is as safe as one’s home far away from the war zone? Do you care for your health or take your children to the doctor? Why do smokers die three to four years younger, on an average, than nonsmokers? Why are there fewer fatal accidents when automobile passengers wear seat belts and when drivers obey traffic laws? Obviously, taking precautions is beneficial.

Gal. 6:7: “Do not be misled: God is not one to be mocked. For whatever a man is sowing, this he will also reap.” (Also 1 Corinthians 6:18.)

Zephaniah 2:3: “Seek Jehovah, all you meek ones of the earth . . . Seek righteousness, seek meekness. *Probably you may be concealed in the day of Jehovah’s anger.” (Would a just and loving God encourage people to do what is right, in hope of a reward, if he knew that they were foreordained not to succeed?)

Illustration: The owner of a radio can listen to the world news. But the fact that he can listen to a certain station does not mean that he does. He must first turn on the radio and then select the station. Likewise, Jehovah has the ability to foreknow events, but the Bible shows that he makes selective and discretionary use of that ability, with due regard for the free will with which he has endowed his human creation.

If you would like further information or a free home Bible study, please get in touch with Jehovah's Witnesses at the local Kingdom Hall. Or visit http://www.watchtower.org

Answer 3

If a person is predestined, they will eventually accept Jesus Christ as their savior after they hear the gospel and being accept the truth in the Bible.

Ephesians 1:11 In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, 12 in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. 13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession--to the praise of his glory.

The evidence of this salvation is:
Matthew 24: At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, 11 and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. 12 Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, 13 but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.

Answer 4

First, yes, there is predestination in the Bible. Jeremiah was predestined by God before he was even formed in the belly of his mother, to be a prophet of God.
However, sometimes "predestination" gets confused with Gods "Election". The Election of God were a group who stood firmly on the side of God, when Satan rebelled. After Satan was defeated, this loyal group were named by God, His "Election" or "Elect"; sometimes its translated "saints" in scripture.
This group are predestined in that they fought with God to defeat satan in that war, and they will be the main instruments used to defeat Satan at the end of this age as well. They can be counted on, because they already served God in this exact way before.
There is a misconception that God already knows what you will decide in this life, and that all of it is predestined. That is not true;
you really have free will, and God does not know ahead of time what you will choose to do. What God DOES know, is YOU, personally. Just as you would know what your mother might do given a certain situation, because you know her so well,
its the same with God. He knows what we did before we came here, meaning in that war with Satan. The manuscripts say that besides the Elect who stood loyally with God, there were also those 1/3 of our people who followed Satan. And, there were the rest of those who stayed neutral, not really caring as long as it didn't affect them (whats new under the sun, huh?).
All those who followed Satan, and all those who remained neutral, all have free will to make an ultimate decision of who they would follow. Those folks have a destination unknown, because at the last moment any one of them could have a change of heart. But the Election do not have free will, because they don't need it;
they were already judged when they were named "Elect", and already showed God what their decision was, so they have no choice to make in this flesh age. The Elect are here because they are predestined to be delivered up before Antichrist as a witness against him, and as a testamony for Jesus Christ. This is their destiny.
Scripture tell us that those who are of the Election will have the seven seals of God in their foreheads, and know that Antichrist comes first. Romans 11:7 tells us that it doesn't matter how hard you work at it, or how much you wish for it, The Election of God has already been named, and will know the deeper mysteries of God, kept secret since the foundation of the world (in the manuscripts its "since the katabole, or overthrow of satan") AND ALL THE REST ARE BLINDED.
If you understand the three earth ages as discussed in 2peter, and you understand that the Antichrist comes first before any gathering back to Christ, then the chances are very high that you are of the Election.

I hope this hasn't confused you; I am trying to be brief.
One last note: These churches that name "saints" are insulting to God, in that a "saint" means "set aside one", and these are Gods Elect. No man can name a Saint,
its already done and over with, and all the saints that are to be named, are already named. I quess they've never read Romans.

PS: NOBODY IS PREDESTINED TO SALVATION; THAT IS AN INDIVIDUAL, FREE-WILL DECISION.

Answer 5

I'm not really a big fan of that interpretation.

That's like saying that I can't predict who is going to hit a home run in tonight's baseball game, but if anyone does hit a home run, he was predestined to do so.

Answer 6

Predestination is strictly a Calvinist belief and not all Calvinists would agree on the degree to which they believe it. Bible scholars would argue your "that's pure Bible" comment too. I understand it like this... God knows us so well that He knows whether or not we will decide to follow Him. We still have a free choice to do so.

Answer 7

Dear joe,

Good question! The Bible tells us to "Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?" (2 Corinthians 13:5). We also read in Romans 8:16, "The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God."

These 2 verses tells us alot. First, we are to continually examine our selves. "Am I obedient to everything that God states in His word? Do I enjoy reading the Bible and speaking to God in prayer? Do I rely on the Lord for His guidance or is my trust in others or myself? Am I really desiring to do everything God's way? Do I actually thirst for God?

As one continues day by day, do we find that we are more obedient to God's commandments and it actually is a joy to do God's will? If we sin, does it really bother us or do we just go on?
If we find in ourselves that we love to do God's will and if we sin, great sorrow fills our heart, this is good evidence that God has saved us.

May I suggest that you read Psalm 119--this is a Psalm that gives the heart attitude of someone that is saved. Please also read 1 John 2:3, 4.

I hope this will help you. The references I have listed can be viewed on your computer.

Answer 8

Well if you believe that Jesus died on the cross for your sins and that he was raised from the dead and will confess the same then you are one of the elect and thereby predestined unto salvation. Since the ability to believe is a gift from God, if you believe, you are one of his chosen elect who extends mercy too.

Answer 9

I think you are a little confused. The Bible states that some were foreordained to be a prophet, etc, but those people still had free will to do something else. They chose wisely. God intends for all of us to return to Him, it is our choice if we do what is necessary or not.

Answer 10

Calvin and Luther said that there is no way to know for sure if you are predestined for heaven (agnostic self-salvation :-)), but by studying scripture and going to church you can at least assure yourself that you most likely will.