Every now and then, while encountering the various religious groups on campus, I run into a Christian. There are several types of Christians but a good majority don’t even know what they believe. A couple of months ago, however, I ran into a professing Christian girl who seemed to be somewhat rooted in her beliefs. Everything we discussed sounded good: she was a bible study teacher and went to Church every week, etc. We seemed to be of similar minds until I brought up predestination. She was patient and polite in listening to what I had to say (we started on good terms since we both were professing Christians). I spoke about what I believed the Bible taught on predestination and I noticed a slight grin appearing on her face at what she likely considered earnest ignorance at best. Her facial expression implied a view that not a few people hold concerning predestination, that it is a sort of ancient, superstitious belief held only by the puritans or other odd groups of overly religious people. However, as I continued to speak I noticed the grin on her face slowly fading while an expression resembling something of annoyance and frustration swept over. Once I had finished, she immediately responded, in a not so polite tone, that her God wasn’t like that. I questioned her as to what she meant, and she explained that her God was a loving God who gave everyone a choice, who wouldn’t keep people out of heaven and throw other people to hell. While I agreed wholeheartedly that God was a loving God, I disagreed with her (mis)conception of God’s love. I went on to explain God’s holiness and perfection as well as His love through election and predestination. Not wanting her to think that I was simply propagating my own beliefs, I pulled out my Bible and pointed to Romans 9, particularly verse 18, “So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires.” Initially she turned to my bible to look at the passage, but as soon as she registered what I had read, she turned away and refused to look at the bible. She shook her head in disbelief insisting that I was somehow twisting the meaning. And though she could provide no alternative interpretation for the passage, she was adamant that that was not her God. I’m afraid she may have been right.
Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t poking at her condescendingly with obscure Biblical texts, I simply read what was written and asked her what it meant. Yet she refused to listen and held fast to what she considered to be truth. Whether or not it was completely biblical, or even logical, seemed irrelevant. What she said after all this is what got me. She turned and said, “Okay, so what if this is true. So what? Why does this matter to me? Am I supposed to be more thankful to God for this?” I responded with an obvious and emphatic “YES! That’s exactly how it’s supposed to make you feel!” But she had made up her mind to shut up her eyes and ears to what was so clear in the Bible.
That was a few months ago, but I have, every now and then, wondered whether I could have provided her with a “better” answer. And in my own heart I have struggled with the question of the importance of such a doctrine, namely: why predestination?
Well, while going through Luther’s polemic, “The Bondage of the Will” I found a satisfying response to Erasmus’ argument that the doctrine of election is a “useless doctrine that we can do without.”
Here are a few things Luther said:
Now, if I am ignorant of God’s works and power, I am ignorant of God himsef; and if I do not know God, I cannot worship, praise, give thanks or serve Him, for I do not know how much I should attribute to myself and how much to Him. We need, therefore, to have in mind a clear-cut distinction between God’s power and ours, and God’s work and ours, if we would live a godly life. (p.78)
God has surely promised His grace to the humbled… but a man cannot be thoroughly humbled till he realizes that his salvation is utterly beyond his own powers, counsels, efforts, will and works, and depends absolutely on the will, counsel, pleasure and work of Another– God alone. As long as he is persuaded that he can make even the smallest contribution to his salvation, he remains self-confident and does not utterly despair of himself, and so is not humbled before God; but plans out for himself (or at least hopes and longs for) a position, an occasion, a work, which shall bring him final salvation. (p.100)
The Doctrine of Grace is essential to the Christian life. And if the only thing knowledge of this truth accomplishes (although there are such depths to this doctrine) is just a greater amount of thankfulness, isn’t that enough in itself? For what is our end but to praise God and enjoy Him forever?
