There is a tension in my mind in attempt to grasp these. If there is freewill, it means your actions determine your outcome. If there is predestination, it means no matter what you do, you cant alter the outcome. But both above are mentioned in bible, which contradicts one another. Someone pls enlighten me thanks.
Good day, Ivon,
The word 'proorizó' translated as Predestination, means to mark out beforehand, i.e. before creation. This however does not mean that God is going to save us no matter what we do, for those that God chose before the world began must still have faith from beginning to end. An example of predestination is found twice in Revelation 13:8 and 17:8
"And all who dwell on the earth will worship the beast—all whose names
have not been written from the foundation of the world in the Book of Life belonging to the Lamb who was slain." - Berean Study Bible
"The inhabitants of the earth whose names
have not been written in the book of life from the creation of the world will be astonished when they see the beast, because he once was, now is not, and yet will come." - NIV
Notice that in the two scriptures above, that those who worship the beast will be those whose names that were not written in the book of life which took place before the world began. What those scriptures also reveal is that those whom God predestined, their names were written in the book of live before the world began.
Now, some might say that God is being unfair by choosing to save some but not others. However the fact is that, God would be just if He allowed the whole world to be condemned because we are all guilty of sin and no one deserves to be saved. Therefore, no one is worthy to receive salvation, but it is by God's Sovereign choice that God chose to save some. To be clear, God is the One who did the choosing and the saving and that before the world began. This is also supported by when Jesus said, "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him." This statement would infer that not everyone is draw. Paul also spoke of our predestination by using Israel as an example of God's Sovereign choice:
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Not only that, but Rebecca’s children were conceived by one man, our father Isaac. Yet before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad, in order that
God’s plan of election might stand, not by works but by Him who calls, she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” So it is written: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”
What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Certainly not! For He says to Moses:
“I will have mercy on whom I have mercy,
and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”
So then, it does not depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy. For the Scripture says to Pharaoh: “I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display My power in you, and that My name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” Therefore God has mercy on whom He wants to have mercy, and He hardens whom He wants to harden.
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A simple comparison of God's choosing, would be like a man standing out on a street corner and handing out $20 bills, but only to those he chose to give it to. Is the man being unfair to those who are not receiving $20? No! Because it is his money and no one in that group did anything to earn it. The man is simply giving the money to those whom He chose which is what God has done in His Sovereignty by choosing to save some. It is not unfair to those whom God did not choose because they are guilty of sin.
Those whose names were not written in the book of life before the world began, are not predestined and therefore the Father will not drawn them to His Son. Another example of predestination can be found in the following scriptures:
"When the Gentiles heard this, they rejoiced and glorified the word of the Lord,
and all who were appointed for eternal life believed.
And
"To you who believe, then, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe,
“The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,”
and, “A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.”
They stumble because they disobey the word—
and to this they were appointed.
In the two examples above, the Gentiles were "appointed" to believe and obtain eternal life. In the other example, those who of Israel who did not believe, it states that they were appointed to stumble and not believe. Both demonstrate God's predestination.
