IS CALVINISM CORRECT ABOUT ACTS 13:48 STATING SOME ARE PREDESTINATED TO HELL?
“And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ORDAINED to eternal life believed.” (Acts 13:48 KJV)
The word ordained in most translations of Acts 13:48 is a translation of the Greek verb tassō. It’s meaning is ‘to place in a certain order, to arrange, to assign a place, to appoint’. Does this mean a person has no choice is being a saved or lost person though? That God before predestinated people to Heaven or Hell before they were born? Not at all in that sense.
GOD’S FOREKNOWLEDGE
Understand that God FOREKNEW who would accept the free gift of salvation by believing on Jesus, the Christ and who who reject the free gift of salvation offered.
To be God, God exists outside of time. To God, all is now. He sees all time as NOW. God knows everything to happen inside the time we live within. After all, God created time, space and matter.
“For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.” (Romans 8:29 KJV)
IN COMPLETE FOREKNOWLEDGE, from before creation, God knew all who would decide to believe in Christ for salvation. For those, He ordained and appointed it to happen.
It is not that God did not offer everyone a choice to believe or not believe. Apostle Paul was clear in his writings that God foreknew the choice a person will make. Whenever Paul wrote about predestination, he always did so with stating God’s foreknowledge as being paramount. And that we each have a decision to make about God and Christ, who are one and the same.
Paul writes the same in Ephesians 1 as another example,
“4 According as he hath CHOSEN IN HIM BEFORE THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: 5 Having PREDESTINATED US unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, 6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. 7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; 8 Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; 9 Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: 10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him: 11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: 12 That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. 13 In whom ye also trusted, AFTER THAT YE HEARD THE WORD OF TRUTH, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also AFTER THAT YE BELIEVED, YE WERE SEALED with that holy Spirit of promise, 14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.” (Eph. 1 KJV)
Who is Paul addressing? Born again saved believers which is why he writes US and WE. That is the context here. Again Apostle Paul is not contradicting his teaching in Romans 8:29 by context when he wrote verse 4 in Ephesians 1. Just continue to verse 13 and 14 and we read that those God predestinated are those who chose to believe.
Peter wrote,
“The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, NOT WILLING THAT ANY SHOULD PERISH, but that all SHOULD come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9 KJV)
Jesus Himself said,
“He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, BECAUSE HE HATH NOT BELIEVED in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” (John 3:18 KJV)
“36 But I said unto you, That ye also have seen me, AND BELIEVE NOT. 37 All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. 38 For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. 39 And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which HE HATH GIVEN ME I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. 40 And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, AND BELIEVETH ON HIM, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.” (John 6 KJV)
The context is clear. Verse 39 is not contradicting verse 40. Verse 36 sets the context that each person makes a choice of free will. Verse 37 and 39 is all because God foreknew all who would come to decide to believe. Jesus stated that all who decide to believe, He will never cast out.
Also note, regarding salvation and predestination, it is always Scriptures are written in a positive and encouraging and reaffirming manner addressed to born again in the Spirit believers. Never a predestinated group for hell. Instead, that we all were condemned and headed for hell with a sin debt we could not pay until we decided to accept the free gift of salvation (John 17-18, Romans 6:23). Of course God foreknew we would accept Christ in belief before we were even born and the Holy Spirit worked in our lives to ordain that to happen.
For God to be the true God, He must know everything. He foreknew and He has a reason and purpose in allowing evil in this world, and giving a free will to people. He did not create us as characters like robots. He is building real relationships into His family to all who in humbleness want it. Salvation is available to WHOSOEVER wants it by believing on Christ.
Jesus is the one who created the universe, the pre-incarnate Christ, the Word (John 1). Before creation God had already decided to give and ordain and predestinate us to what salvation offers, through Himself on the cross and rising again (1 Cor. 15:1-4), to all who will believe. Showing us all, just how much He wants all to decide to believe in Jesus, God in human form died and shed His own blood to save us in the greatest act of love on the cross.
Even to Israel God stated,
“I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore CHOOSE LIFE, that both thou and thy seed may live:” (Deuteronomy 30:19 KJV)
Calvinism is not the Gospel.