Lexzie in Christ

Get comfortable because I have so much to say! 

Lately, I’ve seen many of my favorite apologists arguing that salvation is a result of free will; man’s ability to choose Jesus. It’s a position that I don’t agree with, despite being in lock step with much of their other theology. And because they don’t tend to elaborate on what they mean by free will, it’s a bit hard to determine the degree to which we disagree.

For clarity, I’m unsure if their view of free will falls within the framework of predestination, or completely outside of it.

Predestination is the idea that God has already elected people for salvation. And, yes, many people tend to react viscerally to this concept, as it stirs up a lot of emotion and a lot of questions. 

Within predestination, there are a few different views. Here’s a summation from Wikipedia:

“In Christian theology, conditional election (the Arminian view) is the belief that God chooses for eternal salvation those whom He foresees will have faith in Christ. This belief emphasizes the importance of a person’s free will. The counter-view is known as unconditional election (the Calvinist view), and is the belief that God chooses whomever He will, based solely on His purposes and apart from an individual’s free will. It has long been an issue in the Calvinist–Arminian debate.”

I would love to assume that my favorite apologists at least subscribe to the view of “conditional election.” This would clarify that the free-will they argue for still exists within the confines of God’s sovereign will. But because they’ve never truly touched on any aspect of predestination, I can’t assume. I will say, however, that with all the talk of free will, an unbeliever would likely never understand where God’s will fits into the equation.

Let’s look at the attributes of God. He is: all-powerful (Omnipotent) and all-knowing (Omniscient). He is everywhere (Omnipresent) and He is Eternal. He doesn’t change and He keeps His promises (Immutable). He is Holy, pure and perfect. And He is completely independent; relying on nothing.

For emphasis: God is omniscient. He is all-knowing. If there was something He didn’t know, then He wouldn’t be God. So… the reality of the matter is that He knows everything; including who will be saved and who won’t. 

Let’s face it. That’s tough to digest. And maybe it’s why some apologists decide to simply not broach the subject of predestination. 

But Believers should absolutely spend time mulling over tough and uncomfortable concepts; especially ones that ultimately inform so much of our doctrinal beliefs. 

When it comes to predestination, the first step is to wrestle with this: Does God preordain people for salvation or is it completely based on our free-will? If salvation is completely based on free-will, does that mean that God does not know who will be saved? Can God be omniscient if He does not know who will be saved? (Take it to God, wrestle with it and answer honestly when you can.)

Then, wrestle with Conditional Election: This position states that God chooses people for salvation because He knows that they will choose Him. This view helps to reconcile God’s omniscience with our free-will. The question is: If God chooses us because He knows that we’ll choose Him, is the decision ours or His? What happens if we exercise our free-will and we decide not to choose Him? Does that make Him wrong and therefore lacking in knowledge? Also, what sets us apart to make us worthy for salvation over others? Does Scripture teach that an unregenerated person has the capacity to choose an Almighty God? 

Now, wrestle with Unconditional Election: This position states that God chooses people for salvation, with “no conditions attached.” It emphasizes God’s will and desire as being the only prerequisite for salvation. Simply put, what sets Believers apart from unbelievers in this view is nothing other than: God’s choice. It’s simpler to explain, but tougher to swallow. Does Scripture teach that God chooses people for Himself? Does Scripture show that God actively chooses some while actively not choosing others?

I will not tell you what to believe. But I will be making a case for Unconditional Election – literally, the most unpopular view on the list. I will be showing the patterns that I see in Scripture. I will share the verses that underscore this view. And I will share the possible ramifications of the other viewpoints. I will also share where my understanding ends, while positing some points for consideration.

•••

But first, one important disclaimer: Regardless of which viewpoint you subscribe to… if you were to realize you were wrong – would you still consider God good? Would you still know that He is perfect? Would you still trust Him? I would. If you’re not sure, then that is something to wrestle with before anything else.

Are you truly willing to submit your heart and your finite mind to an exceptional God?

God is a Holy and just God. So whether salvation is a result of free-will, conditional election, or unconditional election – the commission to spread the Gospel stands. A Believer’s purpose will always be to plant and water seeds by telling the truth about our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

i.

PATTERNS IN SCRIPTURE

The pattern of God choosing is woven throughout Scripture. I’ll just share a few key examples that God has allowed to really stick out to me.  

God created everything: The trees, the elements, the land. He created animals and He chose which ones were clean and unclean. He created the angels, and He cast out those who rebelled, never to be reconciled again. And yet, of all His creation, God chose humans to be made in His image. Of all His creation, we alone are able to be redeemed unto salvation. 

God created humans. After the fall of Adam and Eve, and after they’d populated the Earth, we eventually see the human race eventually degenerate into wickedness. Scripture says that the hearts of men were set on evil all the time. God chose Noah – who serves as a type of Christ, foreshadowing Jesus – to build the ark as the means for preservation. Scripture only describes Noah as blameless. And yet, God chose Noah’s family for preservation as well. Scripture doesn’t describe Noah’s wife, sons and daughters-in-law as blameless. It doesn’t say that they were deserving of being spared. It doesn’t say that Noah chose them or that they sought entry themselves. We see that God chooses them. And obviously, He had a purpose for them.

God created all the humans, post-flood, through Noah’s preserved family. And, as the land became populated and as people grew deeper into pagan worship, God chose and made a covenant with Abraham. Once again, out of His creation, He chose for Himself. And while Abraham was one who’d found favor with the Lord, the (eventual) Israelite community as a whole, would experience the reality of being in covenant with God, by no action of their own.

God created Abraham’s descendants, but He loved Jacob and hated (or, loved less) Esau. God chose the line of Jacob for His redemptive plan.

God’s covenant was with Israel. But, fast forward significantly to post-Solomon’s reign. Solomon’s decisions led the Lord to declare that the Kingdom of Israel would be split in two. Of the two, God chose the Kingdom of Judah for continued redemption.

Fast forward to Jesus’ earthly ministry. Jesus chose His twelve disciples and He knew who would betray Him. Actually: He knew who would betray Him unto death – Judas. And who would betray Him, yet be redeemed – Peter. Peter denied Jesus three times, and was still able to be reconciled.

There are so many other examples, but I’ll quickly mention that, post-resurrection, we see that God chose Paul. 

Throughout Scripture, we see God read people’s thoughts and hearts. We see Him harden hearts. We see Him remove the scales from people’s eyes. We see Him in complete control. 

And while there may be Scriptures that seem to show people “choosing God” (the Egyptians who join the Israelites during the Exodus; Ruth who follows Naomi), I would argue that those decisions were still prompted by God. Or, if I were to relent, I would still say that the pattern of God choosing is far more prevalent.

•••

What’s the point of preaching the Gospel if God has already elected some for salvation? I believe the answer is found in Romans 10. Paul is talking about Israel here, but it still applies:

“How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”

I believe that this is what happened even in my own salvation testimony. God was actively drawing me and preparing my heart to receive the truth of Jesus. But I had to ultimately hear the Gospel in order to respond to it. And, yes how beautiful were the people I encountered who had already been proclaiming the Gospel, boldly. By the time I heard the Gospel, the response was instant in my heart. And I professed my belief right after, in my living room. At that point, I didn’t even have to think about. Thank God for preparing me, thank God for sending pastors and bloggers and friends to share the good news. It matters. Even though God is completely in control, He’s given us a purpose as Believers. We have an active role to play in His plan, and sharing the Gospel matters. I say on this site that our testimony is for our salvation or for someone else’s. I know that God used others to deliver the Good News to me and I am excited to do the same.

ii.

SUPPORTING SCRIPTURE 

We know from Scripture that we are not: Saved by intellect, through faith. Nor saved by works, through faith. Nor saved by logic, through faith. We are saved by grace, through faith. And grace is defined as the free and unmerited favor of God. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so no one can boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9

In John 14:6, Jesus says that no one comes to the Father but through Him. Jesus also said that that “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them.” John 6:44

We know that, “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:9 

The problem is, “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” Jeremiah 17:9

The problem is, we are gripped by sin. “For we have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under the power of sin. As it is written: ‘There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God.’” Romans 3:11

But the good news is that we are promised a new heart. “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.” Ezekiel 36:26

We are promised the Holy Spirit, who testifies of Jesus. “When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me.” John 15:26

Unbelievers don’t yet possess the Holy Spirit. This is why the Lord positions Believers – who are carrying the Holy Spirit – to preach the Gospel. To testify of Jesus.

Because we know that Jesus saves. Jesus is “‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’ Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:11-12

The good news is that, without a doubt, Jesus saves. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”  John 3:16

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.”  Romans 8:28-30

iii.

RAMIFICATIONS OF OTHER VIEWPOINTS

We serve an Almighty God. One God. Existing in three persons. All three members of the Trinity – the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit – work to bring about our salvation and to keep us. Believing otherwise may not ultimately affect your salvation. But it could have an impact on some other aspects of your theology. For instance, if you genuinely believe that you played any role in your salvation, you may also believe that you can lose your salvation. If you believe that you can lose your salvation, then what do you think you need to do to keep it? Does it not then turn into a works-based salvation? Yes, we are to obey Jesus’ commands. But if you fail, will you be discarded? To what degree do you have to fail before you’re discarded? Would that mean that God has then broken His covenant with you? Is there no guarantee? I believe that you are either truly saved, or you’re not. I believe that once you are truly Born Again, you cannot be unborn. (That’s all I’m saying!)

iv.

WHERE MY UNDERSTANDING ENDS

1] Is there a chance that someone can be preordained to salvation, but be so deep in their sin that they never make it to salvation? Is there a chance that someone is preordained to salvation, but they never hear the Gospel, so they die in their sin? Maybe. But, I don’t think so. My only defense for that reasoning is God’s omniscience. I think that the Lord knows who will be saved and that He will have His way. But I will acknowledge that those questions are seriously beyond my paygrade.

•••

2] Why did God create people who He knew would never make it to Heaven? Part of me wants to say: It was God’s intention that we all live in perfect harmony with Him. But because of Adam and Eve’s original sin, things changed. But, I think that answers the question of how sin tainted our nature, rather than why God allowed it. In light of my argument for God’s omniscience, I’d like to posit something a bit different.

I believe that “in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” So, in line with my doctrinal beliefs: If we know that God is in control and that our salvation is His doing. If we know that He knows the ending from the beginning. If we know that God knew that satan was going to rebel. That satan would then tempt Adam and Eve. That Adam and Eve would succumb to temptation and be cast out of the Garden. That sin would permeate the human race to the point where our will consistently leads us away from God, not toward. If God foreknew all this, then for whose benefit does it serve for Him to have gone about things in this way? I believe that it serves God’s elect. For consideration, I pose this question: What if God has ordered every event explicitly for the benefit of His elect?

If we view it in this light, things start to fit neatly. For instance: Let’s consider the fact that, in the Garden, God granted Adam and Eve dominion over the animals and the land. They were not yet tainted by sin, and that they likely had a power and strength that we can’t even imagine. Their temptation and fall, not only shows their human fallibility. It also cuts their time in the Garden short, leaving absolutely no room for any of us to idolize man. This event so quickly differentiated God’s reliability from man’s, God’s authority from man’s, God’s power from man’s, and God’s holiness from man’s.

Let’s consider satan’s rebellion and the fact that a third of the angels fell with him, unable to be reconciled. Since angels are actually created holy, perhaps one reason that God allowed this event is so that we may know not to worship the angels. Or maybe it was so that we may recognize the magnitude of the gift of our redemption. A reminder that if He’s chosen to not reconcile those He created to be Holy; then how grateful should we be that He would redeem us.

Now let’s consider sin, in general. There are countless Biblical accounts of God being patient and giving people time to repent; yet, they don’t. Could the reason for this be to remind His elect that without His intervention, no one would choose Him? Is it a reminder that no heart is good, and that no one is righteous apart from Him?

I understand that it is hard to view things this way because, first: I could be completely wrong. Second: If I’m right, then it pins our unbelieving loved ones as mere pawns in a game they’ll never win. Well, I’ll say this. We know that not everyone will be saved. But we also have no idea how many will be saved. Just because someone is an unbeliever today, it does not mean they’ll be an unbeliever tomorrow. Someone who is an unbeliever today may still be part of God’s elect. We should never stop praying for… and ministering to… and reminding people that Jesus loves them. There are people who will always reject it. But there are people who need to hear it. 

•••

3] OK, but just… Why? Why did God even create anything? Because He wanted to and because He can.

•••

4] As it relates to salvation: how does our will, agency and responsibility come into play? I believe that God intercedes in the lives of those He is drawing and that our obedience plays a role in how things progress. (Not if they progress. But, how they progress.) Take my testimony, for example:

I know that God’s been drawing me my whole life. He did so much to get my attention prior to my salvation. In 2014, He is the One who commanded me to stop drinking (though I was not an alcoholic and though I’ve never held the view that Christians aren’t allowed to drink). That was the first time I ever gave something up for Him and it was extremely hard. It took months. (Full transparency, I’d later pick it back up, before putting it back down again. But I digress!) Through this journey, He removed my desire for partying and He increased my desire for church. I started going to church in 2014.

On another front, God was patient with me as I stayed in my former sorority for eight years from 2008 – 2016 (though He’d told me to leave back in 2009). Throughout my adult life, God gave me the conviction needed to make a few other tough decisions, as well. But your girl reneged on all of them! Every last one.

Fast forward to 2023, I’d been caught in a super traumatic time for a long time, and I finally understood the need to surrender my situation to Him. Once I did, I started hearing Him clearly. He led me to start studying repentance, then obedience, then discernment, then forgiveness, then righteousness, then agency and authority. Over the course of six months, I learned to lean on Him for everything. I already knew the weight of my circumstance, but He also revealed the weight of my sin. In those six months, God revealed my need for both protection and forgiveness. Then, in early 2024, while sitting in church, God stirred my spirit as my pastor did and said some questionable things that no one else seemed to notice! I’d been in that church for 10 years at that point. But God encouraged that discernment and He led me to research.

In the span of 10 days, I learned all about the Word of Faith movement that my church was a part of and God exposed my pastor’s heretical theology. In the span of 10 days, God allowed me to hear the Gospel stated plainly three different times by three different people. In the span of 10 days, God unraveled 10 years worth of heresy. And everything that He’d led me to study the year before, now made perfect sense in light of the Gospel. (Of course, it made sense before, but I was burdened by poor doctrine.) But the light of Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit bearing witness to the truth of the Gospel… illuminated everything. The Father had drawn me. And I surrendered my life to Christ. Not just my situation. My whole life. I want to emphatically stress that Scripture is authoritative and that we need to formulate our understanding of the essentials using the text. But, for the record, there are other unshared aspects of my pre-salvation testimony that I now recognize as Jesus giving me confirmation of His existence, in my spirit. 

So to answer the question about our responsibility: Would I have been saved much earlier, had I obeyed God when He told me to leave my sorority the first time? I think it’s likely! What would have happened if I had eagerly sought further instruction from God once He delivered me from my desire to drink? Would He have more quickly led me into a right relationship with Him? Very possible! I do believe that our obedience, or lack thereof, is significant. How much of a stumbling block do we serve for others when we are dead in our transgressions and engaged with our sin? How much destruction do we invite in our life when we don’t resist the devil? How many people do we miss out on ministering to when we ourselves lack knowledge of the truth? For years, I considered myself a Christian without even realizing that I did not know the Gospel!

We do have a will and we have the ability to exercise it. But, for salvation: We need God to intervene supernaturally to bring us into right standing with Him. And when we know that God is at the helm, there is a humility that comes with that. There’s a desire to study and defend the faith, while also acknowledging that we may not have all the answers. Either way, we know that God is perfect. I know that God is perfect. And whatever His reasons for how and why He does things – I am here and in agreement. Because I KNOW that He is good. And I trust Him fully.

•••

5] Once we are in Christ, does free will factor into our decision-making at all? Does our will impact anything? Are we simply robots? While I believe our salvation to be predetermined, I don’t believe that our general every day actions are. We have a will (be it completely free or limited, I don’t know). But I believe that the decisions we make determine the quality of our life – our life before Christ, and our life within Him. I believe that God’s children are Born Again and given a new heart, and that God works to keep that heart repentant. But we can still very much choose to live a life which caters to our flesh; much to our detriment obviously.

My thought is that, much like God gave Adam responsibility over the land and animals, we have the responsibility of stewarding our earthly body and our homes. That being said, Born Again Believers know the importance of handing these things back over to God. Sure, He gives us agency. But the wisest thing to do would be to lay our treasure at His feet so that He can show us how to operate within His will. Obviously, He is Most High – far more wise and powerful than we could ever hope to be.

•••

6] Wait… a Believer can exercise their will in a way which “caters to their flesh”? Shouldn’t Believers possess the fruit of the spirit? If they don’t possess fruit, can we assume that they are not Believers? This is what I’ve gleaned thus far from Scripture. If someone preaches a different gospel, they are not a believer. If someone professes the faith correctly, but doesn’t show any fruit of the spirit: they are either not a believer at all, or they are still being sanctified in certain areas, or they are in a season where they have given into sort of temptation. Believers are not perfect. Therefore, I honestly don’t like to guess at people’s salvation, even though I’m often tempted.

Instead, Scripture clearly tells us how to navigate these relationships, be it through rebuke or distance. 2 Thessalonians 3 tells us: “In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers and sisters, to keep away from every believer who is idle and disruptive and does not live according to the teaching you received from us.” (Again: This is about Believers!) That same chapter says: “Take special note of anyone who does not obey our instruction in this letter. Do not associate with them, in order that they may feel ashamed. Yet do not regard them as an enemy, but warn them as you would a fellow believer.”

We also have 1 Corinthians 5 which says, “But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people.” This is referring to people who claim to be in the faith. Whether they are or they aren’t, we are to deal with them a certain way. For context, this is what it says earlier in the chapter about someone in the congregation, “A man is sleeping with his father’s wife. And you are proud! Shouldn’t you rather have gone into mourning and have put out of your fellowship the man who has been doing this?” Paul goes on to say: “So when you are assembled and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present, hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord.”

•••

I truly believe that all of this – the allowance of sin, the exposure to sin, the temptation of sin, the Lord’s rebuke and all of His instruction – is so that God may show His elect that we are not Him. And it is so that our spirits may be prepared for the day of the Lord.

Romans 11:1

“I ask then: Did God reject his people? By no means!”

Romans 11:4-6

“God did not reject his people, whom he foreknew. Don’t you know what Scripture says in the passage about Elijah—how he appealed to God against Israel: ‘Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars; I am the only one left, and they are trying to kill me’? And what was God’s answer to him?

‘I have reserved for myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal.’ So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. And if by grace, then it cannot be based on works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.

Romans 11:7b-8

What the people of Israel sought so earnestly they did not obtain. The elect among them did, but the others were hardened, as it is written:

‘God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that could not see and ears that could not hear, to this very day.’”

•••

Ephesians 1:3-14

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.

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, in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.”

…HE IS EXCELLENT.

Take it to the Lord, you guys.