I believe in predestination, but I have found that many people do not. I did not believe in it at first, but after some discussion with my brother, he was able to convince me. That was two years ago, and by now many of our friends who previously had not believed in predestination now do.
It seems to me that the primary reason that people do not believe in predestination is the idea that if we are all predestined, then we must not have free will. However, I am going to explain how we can have both predestination and free will.
God created Adam and Eve with free will. He gave them the option of living freely in the garden, with only one restriction: they were not to eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Adam and Eve exercised their free will by eating the fruit of that tree. This one sin, of course, caused the fall of man. Two thousand or so years ago, God sent his son, Jesus, to die for the sins of the world. Through Jesus’ sacrifice, God offered his grace to the entire world. However, in his omniscience, he knew that not all of the world would accept his gift. He knew, as well, exactly which people would accept it.
God prepares people to accept his gift in various ways. He provides people in their lives who have already accepted God’s gift of grace. He shows them miracles and signs, that his glory may be revealed through them. It is when God opens their eyes to the truth that they accept his grace. Then they begin to understand the importance of the people in their lives who were willing to tell them of God’s grace as well as the reason for the signs and miracles that they witnessed before they became Christians.
It is important, though, that we remember to live lives of faith. Yes, God’s grace does cover all of our sins. But that does not mean that we should go on sinning in the same manner as we did before we accepted Jesus Christ as our savior. If we accept God’s grace, we must show our acceptance with faith, which means doing good works.
Carrying out good works is how we display our faith in God and our acceptance of his grace. We must remember the proper order. Grace comes first, then works, not the other way around. “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, (9) not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9, NKJV).
When James says, “Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead,” he does not mean that one cannot be saved without works (James 2:17). He means that faith without works is not a living, active faith. True faith is followed up with works. This is simple logic. When we believe in something, we act on those beliefs. If one were to say, “To make money, I need to get a job,” would it make sense, then, for him not to get a job? If he wants money and believes that without a job he cannot get money, the obvious choice would be to get a job.
Without acting on our faith through works, how can we glorify God and point others to the gift of grace through Jesus Christ, his son? God opens our eyes so that we will accept his grace and live the rest of our lives to glorify him. In this way we can fulfill the Great Commission and lead others to Christ. We, ourselves, can become the ones that God uses to help prepare people to accept the gift of grace.
