The Doctrine of Predestination

While I was praying for the salvation of our two sons, the verses that bothered me most were Romans 8: 29 and 30:  "For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.  Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified."  It appeared as though God had 'predestined' specific individuals to be saved, sanctified, and glorified while He hardened the hearts of some others just like He hardened the heart of the Pharaoh.  I was worried about what the Lord had predestined regarding my children's salvation.  I somehow wanted to understand what God meant by this verse. Once, brother Rajkumar Ramachandran visited my company (EC Group Datasoft) for a staff Bible study.  He beautifully explained it and clarified my doubt!

Foreknowledge is God's knowledge in advance of those who would repent of their sins and believe the gospel.  In other words, God knows all who would one day accept His offer of salvation through Christ. The fact that they would eventually believe in Christ was the condition that prompted God to choose them "before the foundation of the world" (Eph. 1:3) or predestined them to eternal life. God does not arbitrarily choose some and condemn some others! The Bible says in 1 Tim. 2:4 that God "desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth."  The Bible also says, "The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance." (2 Peter 3:9).  No one is excluded!  The call for sinners to repent and believe the gospel is universal. If salvation is determined solely by God apart from a person's free will, it will become meaningless.  This understanding set my heart at peace!

My friend, are you still praying for a loved one to come into the saving knowledge of Christ? Do not despair.  God, who is infinitely wise and powerful, will bring them into His fold in His time, for the Bible says, "… the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost  (Luke 19:10)." No one is beyond the grace of God!

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