I believe in Predestination: God’s irresistible grace. This is why:

In the beginning, God created Adam and he knew God and talked to Him.

Adam represented all humanity, given free will to believe in God or not.

What does free will do?

God gave Adam all the trees in the garden (paradise) but told him to not eat from one tree.

What did Adam do? He ate from the one tree he’s not supposed to!

That’s free will : man always wants to do it his way, not to believe in God.

Adam’s sin was unbelief. It was to not trust in God despite living in the Garden of Eden / paradise!! Adam had everything, he was in paradise with God, he had the Spirit of God, he didn’t have any lack, he knew God and yet just simply did not believe in what God told him.

Therefore this proves that man is incapable of believing or obeying God.

The flesh (free will / human mind) is simply incapable of believing in God’s goodness.

It was not as if Adam was a very evil man. All people are the same. Any human being, including you and I would have made the same decision – because the flesh always opposes the Spirit of God’s GRACE.

That is why Paul said that NO-ONE is RIGHTEOUS, not even one, no one seeks God, ALL have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory.

Romans 3 ” ¹⁰ As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one; ¹¹     there is no one who understands;    there is no one who seeks God. ¹² All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one….²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, “

Sin is nothing but unbelief. Paul says that just like humanity sinned through Adam and all died and were condemned, but now God had to do the work to justify us. Jesus is God who came in the flesh as the 2nd Adam and He obeyed God by dying on the cross to bring Righteousness and Eternal life to all men!

Romans 5 “¹⁷ For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ! ¹⁸ Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people. ¹⁹ For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.”

So you see why Predestination is needed because man cannot do anything.

God has to do all the work of salvation through Jesus Christ.

But this does not mean universal-salvation! If everyone is saved, then there is no “salvation” because nobody is condemned. If everyone is saved, then what are they saved from? If everyone just goes to heaven, then there’s no need to preach the gospel obviously. Then there’s no need to send Apostles and for them to die horrible deaths!! There’s no need for Jesus to die on the cross.

Salvation has meaning only if there is condemnation for unbelievers and deliverance for believers. Judgment has meaning only if there’s salvation for some and not everyone.

God chose Abraham out of the pagan nations. But Abraham did not choose God.

God chose him because he and Sarah were childless and told him that his descendants would be innumerable and his SEED would bless all the nations, bringing salvation.

Abraham’s descendants became Israel under the Law.

God had predestined that this man and his nation were God’s chosen people.

Psalm 147 “He has revealed his word to Jacob, his laws and decrees to Israel. ²⁰ He has done this for no other nation; they do not know his laws.”

God did not choose 99% of the Gentile world, they remained in darkness, having no God or hope. 99% of the world perished in unbelief for thousands of years.

Ephesians 2 “¹¹ Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “the circumcision” (which is done in the body by human hands)— ¹² remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world.”

God chose Abraham and his nation (Israel) because they were small and nothing !!! This proves predestination – Israel did not choose God. He chose them.

Deuteronomy 7 “⁷ The Lord did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. ⁸ But it was because the Lord loved you and kept the oath he swore to your ancestors “

Romans 9 “⁴ the people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption to sonship; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. ⁵ Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of the Messiah, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen.”

This itself proves Predestination. It’s the highest form of GRACE.

You see, nobody deserves Grace. Nobody chooses Grace.

The free will of man is to oppose Grace.

Therefore God has to choose men and open their hearts to receive Grace.

Abraham and Sarah didn’t believe but tried to have Ishmael through Hagar. Sarah was barren but Abraham still had fertility. Eventually God waited till they both were completely barren and DEAD, incapable of having children.

Romans 4 “¹⁸ Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” ¹⁹ Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. ²⁰ Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God,”

Hebrews 11 “¹¹ And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she considered him faithful who had made the promise. ¹² And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.”

This again is predestination. God doing when He chooses, what He wants.

Not all Abraham’s descendants were chosen by God. He chose Jacob instead of Esau before anyone did right or wrong – proving that it’s by GRACE.

Romans 9 “⁶ It is not as though God’s word had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. ⁷ Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham’s children. On the contrary, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” ⁸ In other words, it is not the children by physical descent who are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham’s offspring. ⁹ For this was how the promise was stated: “At the appointed time I will return, and Sarah will have a son.” ¹⁰ Not only that, but Rebekah’s children were conceived at the same time by our father Isaac. ¹¹ Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad—in order that God’s purpose in election might stand: ¹² not by works but by him who calls—she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” ¹³ Just as it is written: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.””

God then allowed Israel to be in slavery in Egypt crying out to Him for GRACE, while the Pharoah was “hardened”, he was allowed to go his own way of the flesh. But it’s not as if God is playing Games here! He is executing His will of having mercy on Israel.

Romans 9 “¹⁴ What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all! ¹⁵ For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy,    and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” ¹⁶ It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God’s mercy. ¹⁷ For Scripture says to Pharaoh: “I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” ¹⁸ Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden.”

He has MERCY on whom he chooses, and if He does not have mercy but lets people try to seek Him then it will never happen!

In Revelation we see that when God poured out His judgment on unbelievers, they never repented. It’s because unless God opens their hearts, they will not believe.

Revelation 9 “²⁰ The rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the work of their hands; they did not stop worshiping demons, and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood—idols that cannot see or hear or walk. ²¹ Nor did they repent of their murders, their magic arts, their sexual immorality or their thefts.”

God has to predestine people for GRACE, otherwise nobody will be saved!

So then can unbelievers blame God for not giving them a chance? Paul tells us the answer:

Romans 9 “¹⁹ One of you will say to me: “Then why does God still blame us? For who is able to resist his will?” ²⁰ But who are you, a human being, to talk back to God? “Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’” ²¹ Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use? ²² What if God, although choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath—prepared for destruction? ²³ What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory— ²⁴ even us, whom he also called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles? ²⁵ As he says in Hosea: “I will call them ‘my people’ who are not my people;    and I will call her ‘my loved one’ who is not my loved one,” ²⁶ and, “In the very place where it was said to them,    ‘You are not my people,’    there they will be called ‘children of the living God.’” ²⁷ Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: “Though the number of the Israelites be like the sand by the sea,    only the remnant will be saved. ²⁸ For the Lord will carry out his sentence on earth with speed and finality.” ²⁹ It is just as Isaiah said previously: “Unless the Lord Almighty    had left us descendants, we would have become like Sodom,    we would have been like Gomorrah.”

Now people will say that God is “partial” and chooses some for hell. Don’t those people say that God is not just? That He’s not giving everyone a chance? But then who is man to question God ? Does the clay question the potter? Doesn’t God make some as objects of wrath, so that those CHOSEN for GRACE will glorify Him??

If God allows free will, then NOBODY will choose Him that’s a clear fact seen in Adam and Israel’s fall. This is why God has to choose and predestine people based on HIS GRACE…

Man is never going to choose God and believe in Him. This is why man has no right to question God if He shows grace to some people and wrath to others. God showed mercy to Israel and chose them for GRACE, while judging Egypt/Pharoah. In the same way just like he showed mercy to Jacob instead of Esau, purely based on election and not based on works! Election/Predestination is GRACE. That is why Paul says it is not based on man’s efforts or desire but God who has GRACE and MERCY. Apart from the Grace of God, ALL men are doomed to rebellion and unbelief !! So God has to intervene and give GRACE to whom He chooses !

But even then the Israelites rebelled, they were sent to exile in Babylon and restored again. The scriptures say that unless God left Israel a remnant by GRACE, then they would be completely destroyed like Sodom and Gomorrah. If God did not show mercy, then Israel would have ceased to exist and Jesus never came!

Paul says that God initially predestined Abraham and his descendants, making a covenant with them, showing them great grace and mercy while the Gentile nations were left on their own!

The Gentiles never bothered to seek God but they continued in their unbelief, worshipping idols, etc. God allowed them to continue in blindness and chose Israel for thousands of years.

Romans 1 “²¹ For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. ²² Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools ²³ and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles. ²⁴ Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts “

But when Jesus came, God chose the Gentiles and hardened Israel’s hearts. The Gentiles who had not bothered to believe in God were chosen to believe in Jesus to be saved!

Romans 9 “³⁰ What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith; ³¹ but the people of Israel, who pursued the law as the way of righteousness, have not attained their goal. ³² Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. “

Israel became proud and self-righteous so that they crucified Jesus. If God did not harden their hearts, then Jesus would not have been crucified.

Then God opened the heart of the Gentiles who were previously blinded for 2000 years when God chose Abraham and his children (Israel). You see, the Gentiles did not even seek God or want righteousness by works but they were living in their own pagan religions of unbelief, not seeking God.

God chose them for GRACE and has sent the GOSPEL to the Gentiles for 2000 years. You see this is a MIRACLE of God. How can Gentiles who didn’t believe for thousands of years, suddenly believe in Jesus – it’s because God gave them GRACE, opening their hearts.

He allows Israel to be hardened in their heart and millions/billions of Gentiles are saved !!!

Romans 11 “⁷ What then? What the people of Israel sought so earnestly they did not obtain. The elect among them did, but the others were hardened, ⁸ 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.” ⁹ And David says: “May their table become a snare and a trap,    a stumbling block and a retribution for them. ¹⁰ May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see, and their backs be bent forever.” ¹¹ Again I ask: Did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Not at all! Rather, because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious. ¹² But if their transgression means riches for the world, and their loss means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their full inclusion bring!

God did not fully reject Israel, but chose an elect among them, like Paul and the few thousands of Jewish believers in the 1st century (just like God chose 7000 by GRACE in Elijah’s time)

Romans 11 “I ask then: Did God reject his people? By no means! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin. ² 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: ³ “Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars; I am the only one left, and they are trying to kill me”? ⁴ And what was God’s answer to him? “I have reserved for myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” ⁵ So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. ⁶ And if by grace, then it cannot be based on works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.”

God’s GRACE is in electing some people for salvation. It is not by human desire or effort.

If God did not choose them by GRACE, then no Israelite would have been saved.

God sends the WORD and opens the heart so that man believes.

Acts 16 “¹³ On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there. ¹⁴ One of those listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth. She was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message. ¹⁵ When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. “If you consider me a believer in the Lord,” she said, “come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us.”

It’s not as if man is capable of believing. Look at Adam, look at Israel – nobody wants to believe! The natural flesh does not believe. So God has to open their hearts and send the word, that bears fruit and accomplishes what He sent it for, and then it comes back to Him after saving the hearer.

Isaiah 55 ““For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the Lord. ⁹ “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. ¹⁰ As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, ¹¹ so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire  and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. ¹² You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace;”

You see that man’s thoughts are always unbelief. But God’s thoughts are much higher. He sends the WORD (Spirit) to people He chooses and His word does the work of saving the person! Therefore it is God who does all the work!

You see in Romans 11, Paul says that God did not fully reject Israel but chose a remnant by Grace. We see that here: Jesus chose 12 Apostles who were the most unqualified fishermen, tax-collectors and not great religious leaders. They didn’t chose Him but God chose them!

John 15 “¹⁶ You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit”

John 17 “² For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him….⁶ “I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. ⁷ Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. ⁸ For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. ⁹ I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours.”

The Father chose them and gave them to Jesus who called and their hearts were open to believe! But Judas was chosen to betray Jesus so that He would be crucified to fulfill the scriptures.

John 17 “¹² While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.”

We know that Peter also denied Christ three times and yet God chose him to be the Apostle of the Jews, restoring him to the apostleship despite his unbelief in Jesus.

Why did God reject Judas and restore Peter?

You see, God predestined Judas for destruction while choosing Peter to be restored despite him choosing his flesh. Jesus restored Peter not because he was a faithful man but despite his faithlessness! This proves that it is by grace and it is predestined.

Jesus told Peter that His faith was not his own effort but God’s GRACE!!

Matthew 16 ” ¹⁶ Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”¹⁷ Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven.”

Only few seconds later, Jesus rebuked Peter for depending on his flesh trying to prevent Jesus dying on the cross.

Matthew 16 ” ²¹ From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. ²² Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!” ²³ Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”

Paul was predestined from the mother’s womb, to be an Apostle of Grace to the nations so that Christ in Him is revealed. Paul did not learn the Gospel on his own but Jesus showed it to Him by grace. Paul did not choose Jesus but Jesus did by GRACE.

Galatians 1 “¹¹ I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel I preached is not of human origin. ¹² I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ….¹³ For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it. ¹⁴ I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers. ¹⁵ But when God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by his grace, was pleased ¹⁶ to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles,”

You see Paul, was on the way to kill Christians, and Jesus CHOSE HIM, PREDESTINED him, appeared to him, opened his heart and saved him. Paul had no choice. But Paul’s “free will” was to go and kill Christians but the will of God was for Paul to be an Apostle who preached the Gospel that would save billions of Gentiles even to this day!

Ephesians 1 “³ 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. ⁴ For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love ⁵ he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— ⁶ to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. ⁷ In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace ⁸ that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, ⁹ he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, ¹⁰ to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ. 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, ¹² in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. ¹³ 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, ¹⁴ who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.”

God chose the Jewish remnant of believers before the foundation of the world to receive EVERY spiritual blessing in Christ, to be holy and blameless Sons of God adopted in Christ !! We know from Romans 9-11, that only God chose them by GRACE and not their own choice/desire.

God also chose Gentiles, who were appointed to eternal life to be included in Christ.

How else can we explain that Gentiles who didn’t even bother to know God for 1500 years, suddenly want to believe in Jesus in great numbers here while the Jews who knew God rejected Him – because the Gentiles were APPOINTED / PREDESTINED for Life now that Israel has been hardened.

Acts 13 ” ³⁸ “Therefore, my friends, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. ³⁹ Through him everyone who believes is set free from every sin, a justification you were not able to obtain under the law of Moses. ⁴⁰ Take care that what the prophets have said does not happen to you:⁴¹ “‘Look, you scoffers,    wonder and perish, for I am going to do something in your days    that you would never believe,    even if someone told you.’”⁴² As Paul and Barnabas were leaving the synagogue, the people invited them to speak further about these things on the next Sabbath. ⁴³ When the congregation was dismissed, many of the Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who talked with them and urged them to continue in the grace of God. ⁴⁴ On the next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. ⁴⁵ When the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy. They began to contradict what Paul was saying and heaped abuse on him. ⁴⁶ Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: “We had to speak the word of God to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles. ⁴⁷ For this is what the Lord has commanded us: “‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles,    that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’” ⁴⁸ When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed.”

So initially God CHOSE some small number of Jews to be saved.

Then He CHOSE many Gentiles to be saved.

But in both cases, God has MERCY and chooses whom He wants…

When we look at the fulfillment of prophecies , we see that it is God who works and does it.

God cannot depend on human beings and their free will for His timing to happen on the earth.

God has to move and do the work in the midst of this world !! How else could Jesus die exactly 3.5 years after His ministry began? If God left it to man’s free will, it would have happened too early or never at all.

When Cornelius the Gentile believed, it was because God chose to send an angel to him and then tell Peter to go to his house to preach the Gospel. If God does not intervene but just wait for things to happen, then nobody will be saved. When Cornelius heard the gospel, the Holy Spirit came upon him! We know that many people hear the gospel but their hearts are closed and cannot believe. Therefore the Holy Spirit has to do the work of regenerating the person and giving them a new heart that will even believe!

Acts 10 ” ⁴³ All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” ⁴⁴ While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. ⁴⁵ The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on Gentiles. ⁴⁶ For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God.”

Acts 11 ““So then, even to Gentiles God has granted repentance that leads to life.””

Titus 3 “³ At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. ⁴ But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, ⁵ he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, ⁶ whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, ⁷ so that, having been justified by his grace”

We didn’t choose our human parents in the flesh. We didn’t choose our birth in this world. How much more the new birth is chosen by the Spirit of God !!

John 3 ” ³ Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.” ⁴ “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!” ⁵ Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. ⁶ Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. ⁷ You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ ⁸ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

John 1 “¹¹ He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. ¹² Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— ¹³ children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.”

In the end, after God will have finished saving His predestined number of people from the Gentile world, He will then open the hearts of Israel to accept Christ. He will give them the grace when Jesus returns in the 2nd coming. Then we will see the glory of God’s grace!

Romans 11 “²⁵ I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in, ²⁶ and in this way all Israel will be saved. As it is written: “The deliverer will come from Zion;    he will turn godlessness away from Jacob. ²⁷ And this is my covenant with them    when I take away their sins.” ²⁸ As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies for your sake; but as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs, ²⁹ for God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable. ³⁰ Just as you who were at one time disobedient to God have now received mercy as a result of their disobedience, ³¹ so they too have now become disobedient in order that they too may now receive mercy as a result of God’s mercy to you. ³² For God has bound everyone over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all. ³³ Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!     How unsearchable his judgments,    and his paths beyond tracing out! ³⁴ “Who has known the mind of the Lord?  Or who has been his counselor?” ³⁵ “Who has ever given to God,     that God should repay them?” ³⁶ For from him and through him and for him are all things.    To him be the glory forever! Amen.”

All men were bound to disobedience because they are incapable of believing. This is the Glory of God that He gives grace to both Jews and Gentiles to believe. This is the grace of predestination – without which nobody can be saved.

Every day of the believer is ordained, including the day we were saved. Even the hairs on our head are numbered by our Almighty and Infinite God who is our loving Father.

Psalm 139 “For you created my inmost being;    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;    your works are wonderful,    I know that full well. ¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from you    when I was made in the secret place,    when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.¹⁶ Your eyes saw my unformed body;    all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.
¹⁷ How precious to me are your thoughts, God!    How vast is the sum of them! ¹⁸ Were I to count them,    they would outnumber the grains of sand—    when I awake, I am still with you.”

Matthew 10 “your Father’s care. ³⁰ And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. ³¹ So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”

If there is no predestination then a person has to choose to believe and then choose to endure in faith till the end to be saved. But then the believer can lose salvation if he stops believing due to some false teachings/persecution/troubles in life!

Without predestination the believer loses salvation.

We cannot say that it is free will for man to believe but then God’s will to keep Him saved till the end. We cannot mix man’s efforts and God’s grace. We cannot mix free-will and God’s will.

For me, I believe that predestination is 100% God’s grace with no human effort at all.

As Paul said in Romans 9 ” ¹⁵ “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”¹⁶ It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.” 

We are not saved by our endurance or faithfulness.

We are saved by the faithfulness and endurance of God and Jesus!

2 Thessalonians 3 “But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one….⁵ May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance.”

2 Timothy 2 “if we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot disown himself.

Christ’s perseverance saves us. He gives us faith when we falter. He gives us strength. He who started the work completes it.

Philippians 1 “⁶ being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

It is not we who start the work by free-will of choosing Jesus and then Jesus completing the work in us. You see it is Jesus who started the work of choosing us by the grace of predestination. He completes the work of keeping us blameless till the end.

1 Corinthians 1 ” ⁸ He will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹ God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.”

1 Thessalonians 5 “²³ May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. ²⁴ The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.”

If predestination is not true, then believers can forfeit their salvation if they stop believing. The only way a believer cannot lose salvation is if God does the entire work of salvation. That can only mean predestination.

This is why predestination is irresistible grace – it is the highest form of grace – where man has no input because we are incapable. The Almighty God cannot leave us to free will otherwise nobody will be saved. Even if a person believes by free will then he will fall away when trials come and will have to endure in his own strength and will eventually fall away. Therefore it is God who chooses us by grace and He saves us by grace and keeps us by grace.

You see, when Adam was in paradise, and had free will, he fell away.

Therefore no man can be saved by free will.

I look back at my life, and I see that I didn’t believe in Jesus because I had some great free will. I was saved because God opened my heart to recognize the love of Jesus who forgave my sins. I believed in Jesus without knowing anything in the Bible or going to Church. I was saved because Jesus chose me by grace. After being born-again, I went to Church and studied the Bible for decades in my own desire and efforts but it led to legalism and depression. When I was chosen by Grace I was saved. But when I tried to know God by my efforts, it backfired!

God had to intervene miraculously revealing that I was righteous by faith. I went into false teachings later on and denied Christ but God resurrected my faith on the day He promised me. He did it all. I did nothing. I did not seek Jesus or God, but they loved me and chose me by grace.

I see billions of unbelievers going to hell and they hear the Gospel and still don’t believe. This is why we pray that God opens their hearts. If it is based on free will, then God can do nothing! But sometimes Jesus appears to them in visions and dreams and chooses some to be saved by grace while the vast majority are condemned. It is because unless Jesus supernaturally chooses them by opening their hearts, they will not be saved.

I see so many Christians who don’t accept grace even after decades of attending Church. They never talk about the grace of God but only their works – how is that possible? I know the answer. It is because man will never accept Grace if he has free will. God has to predestine them for grace otherwise they will never believe it.

Our natural mind hates grace. We want to be independent, self-sufficient and not relying on the grace of God. Every human being is like this.

This is why Jesus Christ did all the work for the believer – to save us by irresistible predestined almighty grace!

Those who are saved, are predestined by grace, chosen by grace, given new believing hearts by grace, kept saved by grace, given endurance by grace, despite all our failures.

This is why Predestination is irresistible grace – the highest form of grace!