Here's a whole 'nother way of looking at predestination: Matthew 18:2 and following says
He called a child to Himself and set him before His disciples, and said, "Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me; but whoever causes one of these little ones to stumble, it would be better for him to have a mill stone hung around his neck and be cast into the sea."
So Jesus says conversion is like becoming a child. It makes no more sense taken literally than His words to Nicodemus, "You must be born again (John 3:7)." As confusing as that was to Nicodemus, Jesus' answer doesn't really seem to clarify things much to a casual reader of John chapter three. One should read the entire book of John to get a good sense of what the new birth really is. This comparison of conversion to "becoming a child" is perhaps a little easier to grasp, so here goes:
What's so great about children that the Lord should want us to become like them? Do you think it's the innocence of children that Jesus is talking about here? Absolutely not! For one thing,
children are not innocent. No human is! But for another thing, we wouldn't we need a savior at all if we're innocent. The key is in verse 4. Jesus says, "Whoever
humbles himself as this child." It is not that children are "innocent!" It is that children are
dependent upon others and willing to accept from others what they cannot provide for themselves. They are wholly trusting because they are wholly dependent. That is humility. It also is a Biblical definition of saving faith!
What does it take for a person to become like a child then? An act of God? Yes, exactly!We can no more convert ourselves than we can reenter our mothers' womb and be born again. We are dependent on God even to make us become like children - realizing our dependence and helplessness and willingly accepting, with ongoing trust, the provision of our Father. Conversion - whether we put it in terms of "new birth" or in terms of "becoming like a child," is an act of God wrought
upon unworthy people. What
results from that work is confession of Jesus as Lord in that person's words and actions.
One does not make that confession in order to become a Christian, but the confession comes as a result of conversion! Open confession of Christ as Lord is surely a mark of any true Christian. But it is not a prerequisite outward behavior that God demands as in order to
become a Christian. By insisting on an outward act "to receive Christ," many evangelists unwittingly add a new requirement to salvation which Christ did not command. We should be careful not to make the same mistake by insisting upon an exactly worded "sinner's prayer" that is theologically perfect, doctrinally accurate, and aesthetically pleasing; then judging the eternal destiny of others by that standard - instead of the standard that Christ Himself has set: Childlike dependency, simplicity; accepting, humble trust in God's provision. Salvation begins and ends with God. The resulting confession of Christ as Lord in word and deed is not to be mistaken as the
means to salvation, but acknowledged as the result of the Holy Spirit's application of the Son's finished work upon those the Father has chosen.
The "P" Word (and I don't mean Presbyterian)Let me begin by offering what Predestination is not. Predestination is not the idea that God looks down the corridor of time to the future, sees who will choose Christ, and thus "elects" them to salvation. Rather, it is God's choice of individuals, before Creation, to be redeemed from the curse of sin and set apart for Him. These people are inevitably converted to Christ and live for Him. They are kept by Him and for Him, and will be raised to everlasting life at the last day. The number of the elect is known to God, is certain, and cannot be changed. None will be lost, and every single one of the elect will be converted without fail, because Christ accomplished their salvation at Calvary. But there's a whole 'nother way to look at this complicated and awesome truth:
Once I ran away from home. I disappeared without a word for a couple of days. My father searched all over the city for me.
He wasn't looking for just any kid who wanted to go home with him. He was looking and calling for me. No one else would do. I was his
beloved son, I was the one Dad wanted. Dad wouldn't settle for any kid who happened to come along and say he'd go with Dad. Dad's heart and soul were after me.
I was his choice,
even though there were plenty of other runaway kids that would have been happy to go to my father's house.
That is the picture of election I want people to have. God's choice of us for Himself before the founding of the world is more awesome and gracious than simply a general call to "whosoever will." The will is the part of us that is bound to sin! An unregenerate sinner can no more choose Christ than a male can choose to get pregnant. It simply isn't in him to do so, even if he wished it more than anything. Your heavenly Father chose you - personally, His beloved child.
-Robin
