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What About Predestination?

What is predestination and what do Lutherans believe about it?

OK, well, to answer the first part of the question: "Predestination" is also sometimes called "the doctrine of election." It is basically the teaching that God chose or "elected" everyone who will be saved from before the creation of the world. In other words, that God chose to save you, uniquely and individually, 6000 years or more before you were born.

This doctrine is based especially on Romans 8:28-30 "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. "

and Ephesians 1:3-7 "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace."

So, the Bible clearly teaches that those who are saved were known, loved and chosen before the creation of the world. But what does this mean? There are three ways of approaching this doctrine:

1: Predestination based on foreknowledge: God's predestination is based on His foreknowledge of the individual's choice to believe in God. According to this viewpoint, God chose to love you because He knew that you would choose to believe in Him. While this is logical, it has two failings. Firstly, it requires people to be able to choose to believe in God. But, when it comes to choosing to believe - we just can't. It is not possible for an unbeliever to choose to become a believer. (see our Q/A on Free Will). The second problem is that it puts credit for our salvation on ourselves for choosing to believe in Christ, which is in direct conflict with the verses quoted before in which all glory and credit are given to God. So Lutherans reject this view.

2: Double Predestination:God predestined some to heaven and, therefore, logically, destined the rest to go to hell. This is called Double Predestination. Like the previous viewpoint, this stand is logical and makes sense. But, like the previous viewpoint, it contradicts Scripture. "(God) desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth." (1 Timothy 2:4). So we reject this viewpoint too.

3: Single Predestination God predestines those who go to heaven but does NOT predestine damnation for who go to hell. This is called single predestination. It does seem contradictory from the human point of view. How can God choose some to go to heaven but not, logically, choose the rest to go to hell? However, it does agree with the clear teachings of Scripture that God preordained all who go to heaven but did not destine any individual for hell. Therefore, this is the viewpoint we, as Lutherans, accept.

This is the unique thing about the Lutheran Church. When the choice lies between resolving a logical contradiction or accepting the clear words of Scripture, we always accept Scripture. For we know that we humans are limited and sinful. Our logic, thought and reasoning are often faulty. Therefore our understanding of things like the Trinity, eternity, the two natures of Christ, the love of a holy God for rebellious sinners and predestination will always be limited. Many things which are clear to God will, because of our sinful and limit nature, appear to be contradictory to us.

Perhaps this will help a little:

The question which causes the confussion is: "If God predestines some to heaven then aren't the others, logically, predestined to hell?"

The difficulty with that question is that the doctrine of predestination has a very narrow application in Scripture. It is used only to comfort and encourage Christians who, for one reason or another, doubt God's love for them or are in danger of doing so. In Romans 8, for instance, Paul uses it as the foundational doctrine for why all the things he will list in the last of the chapter (death, angels, etc) are not able to separate the believer from the love of God. The doctrine of predestination, however, does not apply outside this very specific use. Therefore we can never ask "what happens to those who are not predestined for heaven?" The doctrine of predestination simply doesn't apply at all when speaking of unbelievers. It is like asking "what color is the number 4?"

We do something similar with our kids. When a 10 year old breaks a tool he was not supposed to be playing with and asks, "do you still love me, daddy?" Our response is, "You are my son, I love you more than my own life." In fact, Dad has loved him since the day he found out his wife was pregnant, before he even knew what kind of child the boy would be. From the moment he knew he was going to be father, he loved his son in a way he loved no other child. He loved him uniquely and individually, in a way in which no other child could substitute for that son. That love was not based on anything the child would say or do or be but simply and completely on the father being who he is. God, being eternal says a somewhat similar thing, that he has loved us uniquely and individually, but from eternity and with fuller knowledge of our sin than we ourselves have. And that love was not based on anything in us but on God and who He is.

On the other hand, when the same boy at 17 is drinking, doing drugs, stealing cars and basically ruining not only his life but the security of the home, Dad tells him, "either get help or get out." Now we may say the father is using tough love. But the fact is that the situation is not about love. The young man has separated himself from any benefit of Dad's love until he realizes the wrong-ness of his actions. Love, at this point, simply is not the issue. We do not see this as a contradiction. The father's love for his unborn child was just as strong and as real as his present anger at the rebellious teenager. But because of the son's unrepentance, the boy is like a stranger to the father and has separated himself from the father/son relationship

This is not, of course, an exact parallel by any means. I just want to illustrate that we do something very similar in our own lives. We assure a child who is sorry for his actions that our love is bigger than his misdeeds while the anger and penalty a rebellious son experiences from his father is a result of his own misdeeds and his own obstinate attitude.

In a similar way, we apply the doctrine of predestination only to a person who is terrified that they will somehow lose God's love by failing or by sinning. To that person we must say, "God's love is bigger than your sin. If you fall into sin, God has already forgiven you and you will not lose your salvation."

But we can never apply it to a person who sins rebelliously and refuses to repent. To them we must say, you have separated yourself from God's love. Your sin has indeed separated you from God. This is your doing and the fault and blame are totally yours. God plays no part in the damnation to which you are heading except to be the Judge of your actions. You are bringing it all on yourself. We do this, for the same reason the father chastises and even abandons a rebellious son, in the hope they will understand the horrible result of the path they have chosen so that they will repent and once again know the benefit of God's mercy and love.

Like Law and Gospel, many doctrines are only to be taught in a narrow application. Just as the Law does not apply to a repentant sinner nor the Gospel to an unrepentant one, predestination applies only to the believer and says nothing to nor about the unbeliever.