What Is Predestination? - by R.C. Sproul

Found here. Our comments in bold.

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Dr. Sproul does what all Calvinists/Reformists do, explain Calvinism. They will never explain the Bible unless they can teach their doctrines. 

In addition, Dr. Sproul writes 950 words about his doctrines, but not a single Bible verse is quoted. Not one. He doesn't even provide a Bible reference. 

Astonishing.

We must deem this Bad Bible Teaching.

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We must start by asking a seemingly simple question: What is predestination? There appear to be as many different definitions of predestination as there are doctrines of predestination. Since the Bible was not written in English, we don’t find the English word predestination, yet multiple Greek words convey the concept, so we look to these Greek words to inform our understanding of what predestination means.

One example is the Greek word proorizō. (Ok, what Bible verses use this word? Oh. He won't tell us. We shall explain.

Proorizó is used six times in the NT: Acts 4:28, Rom. 8:29, 30, 1 Cor. 2:7, and Eph, 1:5, 11. The verses in Romans and Ephesians are the go-to verses for Calvinistic predestination, which we have discussed frequently in our blog. We direct the reader to these links for a full explanation. 

We will say, a careful Bible student should resist the urge to insert himself into every verse of the Bible. And neither the Romans verse or the Ephesians verse are about us.

The first verse using proorizō is 

Rm. 8:29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 

This not about us. How do we know? Well, Paul directly tells us his context. We find this information a few verses before: 

Rom. 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 did not receive the firstfruits of the Spirit. We were not alive back then. Therefore, we were not predestined. 

So if we are not predestined, how were we saved? We find that information in Ephesians. The verse containing proorizō is

Ep. 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...

Paul writes, "we were also chosen" in verse 11, and the careful Bible student would ask who "we" is. Well, Paul tells us in the next verses:

Eph. 1:12-13 ...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 "we" Paul referred to are the ones who were "the first to hope in Christ..."(verse 12). This is not us. You and I were not predestined, we believed when we heard the word of truth.

So now that we understand the use of the word proorizō, we can consider the rest of Dr. Sproul's presentation.)

The prefix pro- corresponds to the English prefix pre-, meaning something that takes place in advance, in front of, or before something else that follows later, while orizō means “to appoint, designate, assign.” Therefore, proorizō refers to ordaining or designating something beforehand.

Without being fatalists, thinking that everything that happens falls out according to some impersonal guiding principle, we can say that we each have a destiny. In God’s providence, that destiny is in His hand and in His eternal plan. Before any of us were born, our destinies were written by God before the foundation of the earth. (This is a substantial doctrinal claim, one which requires a Bible-based explanation. Alas, one will not be forthcoming.)

With respect to salvation, the doctrine of predestination does not include the concept that every detail of our lives is foreordained and predestined by God. Rather, this doctrine deals with our ultimate destiny. Certainly, every detail of our lives is foreordained by God, but that truth belongs more properly to the doctrine of God’s providence. (Oh. What? What is God's providence, and why is it important to make sure the predetermined details of our lives is in a different category than our predetermined salvation?

One might also wonder, if God predetermines the salvation of every soul and also predetermines every detail of our lives, what is the point of existence? Choice is an illusion, life has no meaning, Jesus' death on the cross is irrelevant, and the whole of creation is just a farce. We are simply automatons, actors reading our pre-written lines in a false reality.)

The doctrine of predestination, in its initial form, does not include these particular elements in its scope (though they are true). It simply concerns our final destiny and where we will go when we die. (Where do we find this in the Bible? Oh. He won't tell us.)

Most Christians will agree that God is not simply a spectator of human events, but that He does, at least in some ways, decide things in advance. Most would affirm that in at least some sense, God has what we call foreknowledge, as this concept is deeply rooted in the pages of Scripture. (Where in Scripture? How about one or two examples? Oh. He won't tell us.)

God knows all things in advance, and He knows them perfectly. But as soon as we begin to probe the extent of that foreknowledge and the grounds for that foreknowledge, Christians divide into opposite camps and the philosophical debates erupt.

Though all churches and Christians don’t agree about the nature of predestination, one point can be agreed on: God, in His sovereignty, in some way predestines who gets to heaven and who does not. (We do not agree. This statement simply assumes the premise, and we shall not permit Dr. Sproul to assume he is correct.)

That’s the simplest definition of predestination. The focal point of predestination is the doctrine of election we find in the New Testament, (Where in the New Testament? Oh. He won't tell us.)

and that has to do with God’s choosing and making a decision about heaven or hell.

Virtually all Christians believe that much about predestination. (But, but... That's the whole point of dispute. Previously Dr. Sproul told us: "Christians divide into opposite camps..." But if everyone believes that God chooses those who will go to heaven or hell, then there is no opposite camp.

To the contrary, Calvinists believe that God chooses who will to go to heaven or hell, while others believe that God does NOT choose who will go to heaven or hell.)

But exactly how God makes the decision in advance about our ultimate destiny is by no means a matter of universal agreement among professing Christians or in the historic creeds. There are many different doctrines of predestination. While delving into all the subtle nuances and peculiarities of the various views is beyond the scope of this book, we must mention the two most common views of predestination that we find in church history. (We have little interest as to what church history has to say about predestination. We want to know what the Bible has to say. Oh. He won't tell us.)

The first of these most common views—and perhaps the majority view in the Christian world today—is the prescient view. Prescience is simply a synonym for foreknowledge. The prescient view of predestination holds that God, from all eternity, looks down the corridors of history and knows in advance who will and will not respond positively to the invitation of Christ and His gospel. He knows that some will say yes to Christ and others will say no. From all eternity, God ordains that every person who says yes to the gospel will go to heaven. He chooses them for heaven based on their foreseen faith. (What Bible verses illustrate this perspective? Oh. He won't tell us.)

The Augustinian view, also called the Reformation view, holds that God, from all eternity, not only predestines those who will believe to be saved, but He also predestines those who will believe to believe. In other words, apart from God’s predestinating grace, no one would ever believe. People are not predestined to heaven because they believe or because God knows that they will believe; they are predestined to believe that they might go to heaven.

The Augustinian view maintains that from the foundation of the world—before anyone was born or did anything—God decided who would be brought to faith and who would not. Eternal destiny is rooted and grounded in God’s predestinating grace. Those who are not predestined from the foundation of the world will not come to faith, and their destination will not be heaven. (What Bible verses illustrate this perspective? Oh. He won't tell us.)

These two views are very different. (Well, not really. Both appeal to predestination.)

In the first view, the decisive factor regarding a person’s destiny rests with the individual. In the second view, the decisive factor rests with God. (What important difference is there between God knowing beforehand and choosing beforehand, and God choosing beforehand? Indeed, for the Christian walking out his faith in daily life, how is this even relevant? Why is this distinction so critical, and why is Dr. Sproul writing hundreds of words about it?)

Those who take the latter view must respond to questions about God’s fairness and justice and about man’s free will. Those who take the first view must answer the question of why is it that some people say yes and others say no. Is it because some people are more righteous, intelligent, or meritorious than others? (Indeed. So what are some of those responses? Oh. He won't tell us.)

Studying predestination forces us to ask and answer hard questions, (What questions might those be? Oh.)

and if nothing else, it forces us to look more closely at the character of God and at our own sinfulness. (How does it do that? Oh.)

We can never spend too much time studying the character of God. There is no such thing as a “too developed” understanding of the grace of God or the greatness of God. Nor is it harmful to us to explore the depths of our own human weakness. Virtually all of the errors that plague the church and her doctrine relate to one of two errors: either an underestimation of the greatness of God or an overestimation of the greatness of man. (Perhaps. But if God predestines every detail of our lives, then He's predestined these errors.)