Predestination? Foreknowledge? Suffering?

Hi, I'm Dr. Andrew Farley, host of The Grace Message. Got a Bible question, struggling with a personal issue, wondering about a tricky verse? At BibleQuestions.com, you'll get clear, grace-based answers in ten seconds or less. No fluff, no confusion, just practical, biblical truth. Ask anything, anytime, and experience the power of God's love. Visit BibleQuestions.com, that's BibleQuestions.com, your go-to for biblical clarity. Jesus plus nothing, 100% natural, no additives. Andrew Farley is celebrating your freedom in Christ. Call in and ask your questions at 877-655-6755. That's toll-free at 877-655-6755. By a satellite from Texas, it's The Grace Message with Dr. Andrew Farley. Hello, everyone. Welcome to The Grace Message. I'm Andrew Farley. So glad you're joining us tonight. That number to call, 877-655-6755. We got open lines, room for you right now. You'll be sure to get in. Maybe you got a question tonight about a scripture passage, something that's been bothering you lately, perhaps something going on in your life that you just need some help with, or maybe you heard something in church or in a Bible study or chatting with a friend in a coffee shop, and it didn't sit right with you. You want to put it to the test. That is exactly why we're here for you live right now. We are live across the United States and Canada on SiriusXM, all kinds of FM and AM stations, and of course, yes, we're live streaming on social media as well. It doesn't matter how you're listening or watching right now. You can simply call in and be a part of tonight's conversation. We'd love to have you. Again, 877-655-6755.

We got four open lines right now. Tonight's your night. This is your opportunity to pop in and be a part of tonight's conversation, no matter what's on your heart or mind. We want to hear from you. If you're a first-time caller, please know we love it. We love to hear from our first-time callers. We want to hear from you. And if you're a veteran caller, maybe you've joined us in the past, but has it been a while? You got something new on your heart tonight? Join us as well. Again, 877-655-6755. Well, isn't it interesting that even as believers, we wear crosses around our necks and we understand the meaning of the cross on some level, and yet we still struggle with this lie that God is keeping a ledger. You know, that he's keeping a clipboard in heaven with all our sins. Or maybe you've even imagined that you'll be at the final judgment and there it is, the movie, the blockbuster film of all your sins shown on the big screen while all your friends and relatives grab their popcorn and the next 40 minutes proceeds to be the highlight reel of everything you've ever done wrong. Why is it that an image like that gets into our psyche? Well, it's because we end up buying the lie that God is keeping a heavenly sin ledger, you know, on believers, on you and me. Well, the truth is, of course, as Scripture says, God remembers our sins no more. And when we come back from this short break, while we're waiting for these calls that are trickling in, we got one open line remaining. But in the meantime, I want to let you know about a new resource we have this month only, which is ending soon. So hurry and grab your copy of Nothing to Prove. What if I told you you could stop trying to live the Christian life for God?

What if there's nothing to prove? Did you know that's the truth of the gospel? You don't have to prove anything to God. He's already proved himself to you. I'm excited about this new resource called Nothing to Prove, the end of performing for God. In this series, you're going to learn all about what it means to stop managing God's mood and start trusting his heart. You get to drop the checklist. You get to quit auditioning for God with that try harder, do more gospel and exchange it for the real thing. It's all about having nothing to prove because God has already proved himself fully to you and me Make sure to request your copy of nothing to prove when you give your gift this month to the grace message You're gonna love it. And thank you so much for your support Yes, thank you for your support we can't do it without you and as I've always said we love doing it with you We're so grateful that you're part of the grace message team. It takes just two minutes To give your gift at Andrew Farley org and when you do Don't forget to request your copy of nothing to prove. You're gonna love it You'll be encouraged by it. It'll be a lightbulb moment when that light goes on and you see the finished work of Jesus like never before again, you can go to Andrew Farley org and request your copy of Nothing to prove and thank you so much for your support You're helping us reach even more people all over the world with the message of God's love and forgiveness and grace Found only in Jesus Christ well Before the break we were talking about this lie this lie that God has a ledger on you You know a file cabinet full of your sins. What is the truth? Well, he remembers your sins no more forgiven means forgiven and you know, it's interesting how much Christians will buck up against this sometimes We're happy to say we're saved by grace, but then it seems like we want to believe we're forgiven progressively

You know forgiven little by little like paying off your car or paying off your mortgage we got to make more payments on Tuesday and Then again on Thursday as we pay for our sins in one way or another whether it's more repentance more beating ourselves over our back or a more confession and more begging and pleading and hoping and waiting for God to Swoop down out of heaven and cleanse us once again Well Hebrews chapter 10 that shed some light it says by one sacrifice You've been made perfect forever That's the truth. God keeps no record of your wrongs He's removed your sins as far as the East is from the West There's nothing that separates you from the love of Christ, do you believe you're saved forever? I do well if you believe you're saved forever Then automatically you believe that your next sin is already forgiven If your next sin weren't forgiven you wouldn't be saved forever But your next sin is forgiven and that's precisely why you will be saved forever You're eternally secure in Christ because all your sins past present and future Were taken away through the cross. How many of your sins were in the future when Jesus died all of them, right? Yesterday's sins today's sins tomorrow's sins. They were all in the future when Jesus died He didn't say I'll take away these but not these I'll forgive these but not these No, he looked down the timeline of your sins and he says I'm taking them all away once for all It's called the finished work of Christ Because nobody else could finish it and Jesus already did so why are we trying to finish? What God says is already done Well, that's our lie and truth for the day. God isn't keeping a sin ledger on you He remembers your sins no more So let's go now to North Carolina for our first call of the evening. We'll talk with Terry. Hi Terry What you got for us tonight? Hey, Pastor Foley. I appreciate being able to speak to you so my question is Predestination

verse I guess Calvinism and the reason I'm asking is I have a friend years ago that was a Calvinist and his position was You're predestined for either Being saved or not being saved Which I couldn't wrap my mind around that. I do understand predestination because it's biblical and I do get it I did hear James Vernon McGee Explained it about as good as I've ever heard it and he used a door He said, as you're going into the doors of heaven, it says, those who were predestined. And on the other side, he said, it says, those that called upon the name of the Lord. Right. Okay, well let me jump in there and say this. That is a neat analogy. I heard it growing up, I believed it growing up for a long time, and I've come to a different place where I just don't think that makes any sense. Did you choose God, or did God choose you ahead of time? And then we're supposed to just pretend that it makes sense, both of those make sense at the same time, but then we're supposed to pretend that God didn't cause you to believe? And then we're supposed to pretend that that doesn't take your choice away? That's not up in heaven, as a puppeteer in the sky, forcing some people, causing some people to believe, while others have no chance. Let's proceed slowly, because you're right that the word predestined is in the Bible, but it has nothing to do with individuals. Let me say that again. The word predestined is in the Bible, but it's not about individual selection. In fact, it is about the Gentiles. We'll get there, but before we do, let me just highlight a few passages. John 3.16, for God so loved the world, right? The world.

And it goes on to say, whosoever believes in him will not perish. Now, did Jesus die for some people? No, he died for everybody. Who can be saved? Well, it says, whosoever believes. How about Romans 10.13? Everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved. So who can be saved? Everyone who calls? Anyone who calls? Whoever calls? Well, does God only want certain people to be saved? 1 Timothy 2 says God desires all people to be saved. Could it be any clearer? God wants all to be saved? 2 Peter 3, it says God doesn't wish anyone to perish. He wants all to come to repentance. Is that true? It has to be really true. Then we shouldn't play mental gymnastics with it and say, well, you know, God's still picking some people. God's still pre-picking some people. God wants everybody saved, but he's still secretly choosing some. See, that makes no sense. I don't care how many analogies we throw at it or how many clever words we throw at it. It just doesn't make sense. Now I get it. Someone out there is thinking, well, Jesus himself said nobody can come to the Father unless they're drawn. You have to be drawn, right?

Well, John 12, 32 says, when the Son of Man is lifted up, he will draw all people unto himself. So yes, you have to be drawn, but who's being drawn? All people. Who gets invited? All people. Who accepts? Well, only some people. Today, if you hear his voice, don't harden your heart. Now is that God warning himself? No. God's not a puppeteer, and we're not puppets. The warning is real. Today, if you hear his voice, don't you harden your heart. Why would that warning be there? Because it's up to you? Because you get to choose? Because you get to say yes or no to Jesus? And so, yes, the word predestined is there. We find it, for example, in Ephesians. But guess what? Ephesians has a context. It has a we, which refers to the Jews, and then it says, you also were included when you believed. So who's the we that was predestined? And who's the you also? Well, Paul is simply saying, we Jews were predestined for this gospel. And guess what? You also, when you believed, you Gentiles also were included. So he's saying to the Ephesians, there was a secret plan, a predestined plan that has

now been revealed, and here it is. I'm going to call those Ephesians, and I'm going to invite those Galatians, and I'm going to even extend the invitation to the Romans, and to the Philippians, and the Colossians. Why do you think it's the Apostle Paul that talks about this predestined plan? Well, it's because his whole ministry is to whom? It's to the Gentiles, and that's the newsflash. That's the big news of predestination. It's not about God going down the city streets saying, let me see, I'll choose Bill and Lisa and Roger, but I'm going to leave out Linda and Rick. They don't have a chance. I'm going to choose these for heaven and these for hell. I'm going to cause these people to believe, and I'm going to cause these people to not believe. Can you imagine a God who does that? Then everything is fake. Everything is rehearsed. We're automatons. We're robotic. We're puppets on a string. And again, what have we already seen from Scripture? Whoever believes, everyone who calls, God wants all to be saved. He wants none to perish. He's drawing everybody. And then we see in Ephesians, the predestined plan is not about individuals. It's not individual selection. It is about the Gentiles. I will call a people who are not my people, my people. And that's why even in the heart of Romans 9, you know that landmark passage about how God can do whatever he wants. You remember, Jacob I loved, Esau I hated, Pharaoh hardening his heart.

God can do whatever he wants is the theme of Romans 9. But you know what the landmark verse is in that passage? You know that red flag waving in the air? It's Romans 9.30, and it says, what shall we say then? That the Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have found righteousness by faith. And that was the secret plan. God could do whatever he wants. He could have just said, you know what, Messiah is for Israel only. But no. You know what he decided instead? That the Gentiles who were not chasing righteousness, they didn't care about Yahweh, they weren't pursuing God, and God's predestined plan for them was that you too are going to be invited. You're included in this gospel. So yes, predestination is biblical. The word is in the Bible. But in context, what does it mean? It is not about individuals. It is about the Gentiles and God's secret plan now revealed to call a people who were never his people before. So isn't that amazing? It fits perfectly. We don't have to have a door analogy. We don't have to have two statements that contradict each other. We don't have to tell people God chose you, but you chose God, and you can't understand it until heaven. No. You can simply say, Jesus died for everybody, God wants all to be saved, and today if you hear his voice, don't harden your heart, because this is important. Don't neglect so great a salvation. So Terry, I'll put you back on and see.

Does that give you something to think about, my friend? Oh, it was fantastic. And I will say the door analogy, I do see the other side being us choosing. So I've always reconciled it to say God in his omnipotence knew that I would choose him. Okay, so that would be called foreknowledge. So that's different than what the Calvinist is saying. So if you're just saying God knows the future, well, I would say to that, yeah, you're right, of course he does. God knows everything. God wrote the book of Revelation. God knows the future. God knows who's going to choose him, sure. But that's just foreknowledge, see? That's not predestination. That's just knowledge ahead of time. So if I could tell you who's going to win the NBA Finals in a couple of weeks, that would be foreknowledge. But if I'm controlling the players, then that would be predestination, see? At least the way the Calvinist explains it. So what you're saying there is perfectly compatible, I believe, with a healthy view, because of course God knows the future. But that doesn't mean he's controlling the players on the court. And so there you have it. But if we're going to look at the Bible and understand the context of Paul's letters, all I'm saying is, wow, do you see it? It's the key. It's the missing puzzle piece. It's the key that opens the lock. And here it is, Gentiles, Gentiles, wherever predestination is mentioned. it's Gentiles. Wherever this topic comes up, it's Paul, and Paul is the minister to the Gentiles,

and he's defending his own job, and he's talking about people, groups, not individuals. So now we can put it all together and say, I understand Romans better, I understand Ephesians better, and of course God knows everything, but of course Jesus died for everybody, and anybody can be saved. Thanks again, Terry. Love talking with you. Appreciate your question. Well, we're almost out of time, but I want to go out to Nevada and take Cindy's call. We got just a few minutes, Cindy. Hi. Oh, thank you, Mr. Farley. I really appreciate you taking the call, and thank you for the education that you give everyone. Oh, thank you. Yeah, what's on your heart? What's on my heart? A dear friend of my daughter's, they've gone to school, this grammar school together. She graduated college. She became a nurse, ICU heart nurse. She had two children. Her second one was born four months ago. Her first was born three years ago, and the three-year-old was diagnosed with leukemia, and six weeks into treatment, she died of blood clots throughout her whole body. And as I'm talking with my daughter, my daughter's like, how can there be a God when he would do this to a young child and put my friend in such, such pain? And I told her, I said, God did not do this. But I don't know what else to tell my daughter, because I've been walking with Jesus for the last 15 years, but I still keep myself as a young Christian, and I don't have the answers, but I do know that God did not do this. Right. Well, that is the most important part, Cindy. We've got a couple of minutes. I think you know the most important part, and that is God is good, and he didn't do this. So you already shared that part, and you're 100% right. I mean, when we look at Scripture, Genesis explains that death came in as a result of Adam and Eve, not God. Death came in as a result of Satan, not God. So God is not a death dealer. He is a life giver, and there's a big difference there. So Romans 5 says sin brought death into the world, and Hebrews 9 says that death comes to everyone. It's not targeted. But you know, at the end of the day, I think you're needing to say what is true about God's nature, that God is good, but he's also not a control freak. He would not control Adam and Eve, and he did not control Satan, and so let's call a spade a spade. I mean, when you have a terrorist situation, you blame it on the terrorists. You don't blame it on the victims, and you don't blame it on the president of a good country. You blame it on the terrorists. You blame those who deserve the blame. So God did not send Jesus to condemn the world, but to save it. Jesus didn't come to judge the world, but to save it, he says. So I think you just simply state that God is good, and that he's the great comforter

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