Is Double Predestination Fair? - by Kevin DeYoung

Found here. Our comments in bold.
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The author has appeared in our blog several times before. In these times we've analyzed him we've discovered he has a marked aversion to quoting Scripture. Today's article is no exception. Thus the author attempts to teach about his doctrines but without hardly a quote of the document from which those doctrines are derived. 

We must deem this Bad Bible Teaching.

In fact, the author doesn't even teach the Bible, he teaches Calvinism. We have yet to observe him teaching the Bible apart from specific Calvinistic doctrines.

Lastly, this is nothing more than an exercise in futility. There is no benefit to knowing the things the author writes about. "Double predestination" is nonsensical.

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Election and Reprobation

The terms election and predestination are often used interchangeably, (We don't know anyone who uses the terms at all, let alone interchangeably. In fact, the author will spend the first three paragraphs discussing this distinction without a difference. 

The inconsequentiality of knowing the distinction is profound.)

both referring to God’s gracious decree whereby he chooses some for eternal life. In Romans 8:30 Paul speaks of those whom God has predestined, called, justified, and (in the end) glorified. (The obvious question the author doesn't consider is who "those" are: 

Ro. 8:30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. 

Paul tells us: 

Ro. 8:23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.

"We" and "us" do not refer to Paul's audience. "We ourselves" is not you and I, because you and I were not the ones to receive the "firstfruits of the Spirit." Every use of the word "we" and "us" in the passage does not refer to his readers.

Paul does not return to discussing his readers until verse 32: 

He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all...

"Us all" is a brief tangent referring to Paul's audience, but he immediately returns to the "us" who were chosen.  Indeed, you and I are not like sheep to be slaughtered like Paul was, so we should not think we were predestined like Paul was.

This distinction needs to be kept firmly in mind in order to understand Paul's thrust. Paul was not teaching universal predestination.)

In Romans 8:33 Paul references the “elect,” apparently a synonym for the predestined ones described a few verses earlier. (Indeed, this is correct. However, the author has read himself into this passage, unfortunately.)

A sharp distinction between the two words is not warranted from Scripture, but if there is a distinction to be made, predestination is the general term for God’s sovereign ordaining, while election is the specific term for God choosing us in Christ before the foundation of the world. (This is from Ephesians 1:4.)

For some theologians, election is the divine ordination to the appointed end of salvation, while predestination is the divine ordination regarding the means of salvation. (Um, really. Who cares?)

Calvin defined predestination as “God’s eternal decree, by which he compacted with himself what he willed to become of each man. . . . Therefore, as any man has been created to one or the other of these ends, we speak of him as predestined to life or to death.”1 For Calvin, predestination encompasses the entire eternal decree. Election and reprobation, then, represent two different aspects of that decree. The Canons of Dort make this same distinction, expounding on “election and reprobation” as the two elements of “divine predestination” (Art. 1). (Um, really. Who cares?)

This delineation is not without merit. The “elect” is always a positive designation in Scripture (e.g., Matt. 24:31; Titus 1:1), suggesting that election implies eternal life (though Romans 9:11 may be an exception to this rule). Predestination, on the other hand, can be used more broadly. Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and people of Israel, did to Jesus what God’s “plan had predestined to take place” (Acts 4:27–28). (Our first snippet of Scripture...)

Of course, the doctrine of election does not depend upon the word itself. Numerous passages speak of believers being chosen in Christ (Eph. 1:4), (Sigh. Let's quote:

Ep. 1:4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.

Again that pesky word "us." Who is "us?" Again, Paul tells us: 

Ep. 1:12 in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory.

Hmm. This sounds suspiciously similar to the "firstfruits" in Romans 8:23, doesn't it? 

So if present-day Christians cannot be among those who were the first to hope in Christ [i.e., the "firstfruits"], then when were we included? Again Paul directly tells us: 

Ep. 1: 13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation.

Our predestination began when we believed. Therefore, Ephesians 1:4 is not about us.)

chosen by God (2 Thess. 2:13), (Sigh again... Let's quote: 

2Th. 2:13 But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you as his firstfruits to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth.

You, dear reader, are probably beginning to see the pattern. The Thessalonian church as part of the firstfruits were indeed chosen. Again, this is not us.)

or prepared as a gift from the Father to the Son (John 6:37). (Let's quote: 

Jn. 6:37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. 

Again the incurious author doesn't bother to ask, who are the ones the Father will give Jesus? Jesus is lecturing the Jews about their lack of faith: 

Jn. 6:36 But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe.

He came specifically for Israel: 

Mt. 15:24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.” 

The Jews by and large did not believe him: 

Jn. 5:43 I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not accept me...

As His chosen people, the Jews have always been first:

Ro. 1:16 I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. 

Not all Jews are chosen, only the children of promise, through the lineage: 

Ro. 9:8 In other words, it is not the natural children who are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham’s offspring.

Predestination applies only to the people group who descended through Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and only those predestined Jews in the first century could be called His firstfruits: 

Jer. 2:3 Israel was holy to the LORD, the firstfruits of his harvest...

We as gentiles are not part of these special Jews.)

The opposite of election is reprobation, sometimes called double predestination. (Really, who actually uses these words?)

This is the belief that God not only predetermines those who will be saved but also predetermines those who will not be saved. Admittedly, this is a hard doctrine. Even Calvin called it a dreadful decree. But reprobation is more than a logical corollary to election. (Indeed, due a false understanding of election, it would naturally follow that God chose some to be saved and chose everyone else to go to hell. And because He's sovereign and His will is irresistible, no one has any choice. It's all determined beforehand and we're just puppets going through the motions.

This is the inescapable conclusion of the pernicious doctrines of Calvinism.)

According to the Bible, God has vessels of wrath prepared for destruction (Rom. 9:22). (The gentiles.)

The reprobate have been designated for condemnation (Jude 4), (Read through Jude without the preconceptions of Calvinism and the new context practically jumps out at you: 

Jude 5 Though you already know all this, I want to remind you that the Lord delivered his people out of Egypt, but later destroyed those who did not believe.

These are the Children of Promise, versus children of the slave woman:

Ga. 4:31 Therefore, brothers, we are not children of the slave woman, but of the free woman.

Once you've seen it once, you can't unsee it.)

and they disobey the word as they were destined to do (1 Pet. 2:8).

It is important to note that in typical Reformed theology, reprobation has two parts: preterition (the determination to pass by some) and condemnation (the determination to punish those who are passed by). (At this point we're hoping the author would just stop. These arcane distinctions are without purpose and without fruit.)

This distinction safeguards that God’s decree to punish the reprobate is not arbitrary or without justice. God wills to punish the guilty, not the innocent. While the decrees of God are beyond full human comprehension (Deut. 29:29), we must not shy away from testifying to the God who works “according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace” (Eph. 1:5–6).

Is Predestination Fair?

The doctrine of double predestination is not easy. Romans 9 tells us that before Jacob and Esau were born or had done anything good or bad, God had already determined to “love” Jacob and to “hate” Esau (Rom. 9:11–13). That is a hard word, prompting questions about God’s fairness and man’s responsibility. Thankfully, the apostle Paul anticipates both questions.

1) In Romans 9:14, Paul asks the question: “Is there injustice on God’s part?” His answer is a resounding, “By no means!” Notice, Paul does not defend God by appealing to human free will or by suggesting that election is based on God’s foreknowledge of our choice. Instead, Paul argues that God is not unjust in election, because election displays the character of God, and election serves the purposes of God. Paul makes both of these points in the same way, by quoting Scripture and then offering a summary statement of what Scripture teaches.

On the first point, Paul quotes from Exodus 33:19 where God reveals himself to Moses by announcing that he will have mercy on whomever he chooses to have mercy. For God to be God, he must be merciful, and he must be sovereign. The freedom of God to dispense his mercy to whomever he pleases, apart from any constraint outside of his own will, is at the heart of what it means to be God. Thus Paul summarizes: the ultimate reason some people believe and others do not depends on God, not on us (Rom. 9:16).

Paul’s second point is the other side of the same coin. God not only has mercy on whom he will have mercy. He also hardens whom he wants to harden. If Romans 9:15–16 demonstrate God’s righteousness in loving Jacob, Romans 9:17–18 demonstrate God’s righteousness in hating Esau. This is why Paul quotes from Exodus 9:16. God raised Pharaoh up for the explicit purpose of hardening Pharaoh’s heart and thereby having occasion to show his (i.e., God’s) power.

2) In Romans 9:19, Paul anticipates a second objection: If salvation is up to God, why does he still find fault with us? (Sigh, sigh, sigh.... Let's quote: 

Ro. 9:19 One of you will say to me: “Then why does God still blame us? For who resists his will?”

This verse does not mention salvation. The context is about ancient personages who were chosen by God for good things and bad. This is not a predestination Scripture, and has nothing to do with us.)

Paul doesn’t back down from this objection, and he doesn’t deny that we are responsible for our choices and for our sins. Paul’s response is to question whether the question is even appropriate. To this end, Paul makes three points: We have no right to question God (Rom. 9:20); God has every right to do what he pleases (Rom. 9:21); predestination serves a divine purpose (Rom. 9:22–23).

Election and reprobation are not arbitrary exercises of divine power. They serve a good purpose in revealing the holiness of God, the power of God, and the glory of God. We would be unable to see and experience the full glory of God’s mercy apart from the backdrop of powerful wrath. It may seem as if Paul has not really answered the original questions he raised, but he has. His “answer” is to put God in his place and to put us in our place. Paul measures God by the only two things against which God can be measured: against Scripture and against himself. Paul defends the righteousness of God by helping us see what righteousness is all about. Righteousness is not about our fallible opinions of fairness or what we wish God were like. It’s about God’s character and God’s purposes as they are revealed in the Bible.


Notes:

Calvin, John. Institutes of the Christian Religion. 2 vols. Translated by Ford Lewis Battles. Edited by John T. McNeil. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1960., 3.21.5.

This article is adapted from Daily Doctrine: A One-Year Guide to Systematic Theology by Kevin DeYoung.


Kevin DeYoung (PhD, University of Leicester) is the senior pastor at Christ Covenant Church in Matthews, North Carolina, and associate professor of systematic theology at Reformed Theological Seminary, Charlotte. He has written books for children, adults, and academics, including Just Do Something; Impossible Christianity; and The Biggest Story Bible Storybook. Kevin’s work can be found on clearlyreformed.org. Kevin and his wife, Trisha, have nine children.