This passage of scripture has bothered me ever since I was a teenager.
It seems like Paul is saying that God decides beforehand whether
He is going to like us or hate us, and really makes everyone as they are.
Also that we can't question it because He is the one who decides.
True, it is fully His right to decide how to make us and what to use us for.
But where does it leave the person who isn't chosen, who God chooses to hate?
You may say "Well that person has chosen to be like that"
But can you honestly still say that when God has done the making?
Look at Pharoah, God even hardened his heart against the Israelites.
So, what do you do if you are one of those unlucky ones that God has chosen to hate (Pharoah, Essau etc)
Can you really do anything about it?
How do you know for sure that God hasn't intended you for destruction no matter what?
Please help me to understand this scripture better.
God gives us the free will to decide if we will choose Him or not. In the Bible, God almost always sent
a messenger to those He may judge prior to judging them because God always wants to give us the
chance to choose Him or not.
Once God had revealed Himself to those He might judge if they decide not to turn from their evil ways,
He then judged them as God after seeing and knowing their disregard for God and His Statues. But God
only judged after offering an opportunity to repent.
Like the pharaoh in Egypt that would not let God's People go. God warned the pharaoh several times.
But He wouldn't listen. God could have done as He has done before and removed His Children and then
destroyed the nation of Egypt. The fact that God only punished them but did not destroy them
demonstrates God's tolerance but that He will only tolerate it to a point as the destruction of Sodom and
Gomorrah demonstrate God's judgment once a nation has proven their hatred of God's Statues.
God does create us but the reason for the flaws in our personalities is due to the influence of the sin
nature we all have. This is a form of judgment from God based on our fall from grace. God lets our
sin nature destroy us if we do not turn to Him for forgiveness.
I believe predestination just means that all of mankind was - before the fall - predestined to be in
heaven with God but our fall from grace robbed us of that
automatic blessing. Now, due to our fall from
grace, only those that choose God can be forgiven and are able to regain their predestination as Sons
of God and the gift of heaven.
I don't get caught up in this discussion on a meaningless subject to me. Christ said, Repent, Believe on
Me and receive the gift of eternal life. If everyone was preordained to go to heaven or hell, it doesn't
make sense to create a creation that everything was already decided about. Since God misses His
relationship with us, why make Himself wait for us to live our lives just so we can be with Him when
there is no need because He already knows which of us will go to heaven. This is a confusing concept
and I believe the devil uses it to confuse many Christians so they are too confused to follow Christ.
Jesus commanded us to tell others about Him till we reach the entire world. Predestination or the lack
of it has nothing to do with our following Christ.
I focus on the saving message of Christ. It is very simple and easy to understand. But I can say that
the act of accepting or rejecting Christ predetermines your eternal existence. I suggest we focus on the
simplicity of Jesus and not those things we may not be able to understand till we have our spiritual
bodies in heaven. Don't give satan an opening to confuse you about something that is unimportant.
What is important is - Have you chosen Christ as your Lord and Saviour?
This is the only true question that everyone needs to answer. If the answer is yes, predestination
doesn't matter since you are in heaven any way.
