Presbyterians and Predestination July 28, 2002 A Sermon by Von Clemans Associate Pastor, Myers Park Presbyterian Church, Charlotte, NC Genesis 29:15-28 [NRSV] 15 Then Laban said to Jacob, Because you are my kinsman, should you therefore serve me for nothing? Tell me, what shall your wages be? 16 Now Laban had two daughters; the name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. 17 Leah s eyes were lovely, and Rachel was graceful and beautiful. 18 Jacob loved Rachel; so he said, I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel. 19 Laban said, It is better that I give her to you than that I should give her to any other man; stay with me. 20 So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed to him but a few days because of the love he had for her. 21 Then Jacob said to Laban, Give me my wife that I may go in to her, for my time is completed. 22 So Laban gathered together all the people of the place, and made a feast. 23 But in the evening he took his daughter Leah and brought her to Jacob; and he went in to her. 24 (Laban gave his maid Zilpah to his daughter Leah to be her maid.) 25 When morning came, it was Leah! And Jacob said to Laban, What is this you have done to me? Did I not serve with you for Rachel? Why then have you deceived me? 26 Laban said, This is not done in our country giving the younger before the firstborn. 27 Complete the week of this one, and we will give you the other also in return for serving me another seven years. 28 Jacob did so, and completed her week; then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel as a wife. 29 (Laban gave his maid Bilhah to his daughter Rachel to be her maid.) 30 So Jacob went in to Rachel also, and he loved Rachel more than Leah. He served Laban for another seven years. Romans 8:26-39 26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. 27 And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. 28 We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. 29 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 within a large family. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called; and those whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified. 31 What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? 32 He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else? 33 Who will bring any charge against God s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is to condemn? It is Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us. 35 Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written, For your sake we are being killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered. 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Presbyterians and Predestination Page 1 of 5
If you get any group of Presbyterians together, in fact any group of curious people, one of the first things that comes up is what is it with Presbyterians and predestination? Perhaps no other idea is connected more closely to our denomination. I suspect few other ideas are as misunderstood. Today I d like to talk with you about the idea of predestination, share my understanding of what it means, and remind us all how it is good news for saint and sinner alike. I want to acknowledge my indebtedness to a particular book entitled Christian Doctrine, by Dr. Shirley Guthrie. Dr. Guthrie, retired professor of Theology at Columbia Seminary in Atlanta, has spoken here at MPPC several times. In this book, written in understandable, not-technical language, he tackles most all of the difficult issues of faith and has helped many lay persons and pastors ground their faith in thoughtful understanding. I commend the book to any person wanting to understand his or her faith on a more mature level. His insights have helped me greatly. Any errors in my preaching, however, are mine alone. To begin, we need to clarify what Predestination is not. Predestination is not the notion that we should accept everything that happens as the foreordained will of God. Trying to sort out whether God is a micro-manager, deciding whether a traffic light turns red or green, causing some tragedy to happen, or setting a time for you and I to die, falls under a related concept called the Providence of God, but that is not predestination. Predestination is not about a fatalistic surrender to circumstances, a what will be, will be mentality that eliminates almost all personal responsibility from human actions. [Just for the record, I don t believe God is a micro-manager. I believe God doesn t overrule human freedom, but allows us to experience the consequences of our decisions and behavior. Perhaps in another sermon we can tackle that issue.] Predestination is about the question of salvation who does God choose to save, who does God choose not to save? Predestination asks, what determines whether you or I are included among those that receive the joy and blessing and wholeness of God s abundant life? Are some accepted and some rejected by God? Are all people saved? Do we need to do anything to be saved? These are not new questions. They ve been asked since people of faith wondered for the first time about their God. These are the questions of Predestination. Over the course of time there have developed three traditional ways of talking about predestination and answering the question of who will be saved? The first answer is called double predestination. Double predestination says that from the beginning of time God has decided that some will be saved to eternal life and some will damned to eternal punishment. It sounds harsh to us now, but at the time of the Protestant Reformation when it was developed, it provided tremendous relief and peace of mind. For many generations, you see, the church held out a conditional salvation that required confession and penance and good works to get right with God. This resulted in great anxiety as people of every place in life wondered if they had done enough to secure their salvation. Martin Luther s revolutionary realization was grace alone, faith alone salvation is up to God, not up to us. John Calvin, theologian, lawyer, and father of the Presbyterian way, took Luther s idea to its logical extreme. If salvation is totally in the hands of God, then God must have determined in advance both those to be saved and those to be damned. This was the understanding of the Westminster Confession of Faith in the mid-1600s, and until 1903, was the official Presbyterian stance. Double Predestination, God choosing some and rejecting others, clearly emphasizes God s sovereignty and control over who is saved and who isn t. It s all God s doing and none of our own. It also takes seriously the justice of God, recognizing that some people, especially evil, get what they deserve. Double predestination, however, leaves very little room for human freedom. If God has already decided, then our apparent freedom is just an illusion. There is also a problem when we hold double predestination up to the life of Jesus. Jesus life was lived as a model of grace, often taking in the very people the society would scorn. Again and again Jesus pointed to God s love instead of God s judgment. Presbyterians and Predestination Page 2 of 5
Imagine a parent who tells the children: I love you all, but don t mess with me. Some of you are going to do just fine and some of you are going to fail. No matter what you do, some of you will be blessed and some of you will be cursed. You ll figure out which is which as you go through life. Would the family reunions be joyous occasions? I don t think so. Double Predestination is bad news for some, and tentative good news for the rest, since it leaves us wondering which group we are in. Fortunately, the Presbyterian Church became so uncomfortable with double predestination, that in 1903 it added a new chapter to the Westminster Confess allowing much more emphasis on God s mercy and making room for human freedom. If double predestination is the first answer to the question of who will be saved, then the second traditional answer is universalism all people will be saved, none will be rejected. For many people this approach is much more consistent with their understanding of God as a loving God. It focuses on God s mercy and it suggests that even the most reluctant and unrepentant sinners will eventually succumb to the irresistible grace of God which is extended to the whole world. Salvation is by grace alone and is out of our hands. The problem with this view of predestination is that it ignores issues of justice completely. The Bible constantly calls us to repent because what we do day to day does matter to God. Universalism treats people with a soft love that ignores accountability and justice. It also, in the end, overrules a person s rejection of God, making the idea of free choice illusory. Imagine a parent who says to the children: I love you all. I want you all to love me. Some of you will love me right away. Some of you will reject me, but I will still love you no matter what you do. I am patient. I will wear you down until you have no choice but to love me. It sounds good, but what kind of children would we raise if they had little motivation for doing the good and knew their decisions would be overruled? The first traditional answer to the question who will be saved? is that some will be saved and some will not. The second answer is that ultimately all will be saved. The third traditional answer is those will be saved who just take the first step. [known technically as semi-pelagianism]. This view of predestination acknowledges we are all sinners, incapable of saving ourselves, and are totally dependent on God s grace to save us and that, while we cannot save ourselves, we CAN acknowledge our need, turn to God, ask for forgiveness, show our willingness to receive salvation, and allow the Spirit to come into our hearts. We can decide to let God save us. If we do that much if we just take that first step God will do everything else and save us. Therefore, if a person is not saved, it s because they have rejected God, not because God has rejected them. This view of salvation is widespread among Christians of all shapes and denominations. It recognizes God as the source of saving grace and yet includes human decision making in the mix. It casts a wide net, including in God s saving work anyone who allows God s grace into their life. Yet, in the end, this Just-Take-the-First-Step approach ignores how pervasively sin taints even our best intentions and commitments. While claiming grace alone, it is, in practice, self-salvation. It requires human decision and commitment before God can act. Imagine a parent who says to the children: I love you all very much and I want you to love me. I will give you all the love you could ever need, but first you have to show me you are serious about loving me, before I love you in return. I ll be waiting This is conditional love that always leaves us wondering if we have done enough is our faith strong enough, is our commitment deep enough, is our submission complete enough, have we done enough for God to save us? In spite of the widespread acceptance of this answer to the who-can-be-saved question, the church has recognized the fallacy of this approach and warned the faithful away from its appeal. [Pelagianism and semi-pelagianism were declared a heresy.] Then who will be saved? We have eliminated the answer of double predestination that God has pre-determined some to be saved and some rejected. We have eliminated universalism the idea Presbyterians and Predestination Page 3 of 5
that all will be saved, eventually. And we have eliminated the answer that says just those who take the first step will be saved. What then is left? Whatever our response to the question of who will be saved? Our Presbyterian and reformed heritage compels us to set some boundaries on our answer. 1) We must listen to the whole of Scripture, including all the passages that support double predestination, universalism, and the just take the first step approach. 2) We must find a creative tension between the justice and the mercy of God. But, if we ever have to choose one over the other, we look to Jesus the Christ who points us to the joy of life in God s embrace, not terror of God s rejection. 3) And, we must think not only about those who claim the name Christian, but also about those who call themselves Jews, Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims, along with thousands of other faith traditions, and even atheists, who make up this world for which Jesus died. Predestination then is this: 1) It is a radical dependence on God s grace alone for our salvation and not on anything we do, say, believe, decide, accept, or allow. Predestination compels us to increase our humility at the same time as our gratitude for God choosing us. Predestination prevents us from carrying in our behavior toward others a smug, self-congratulatory pride that suggests we, who are on the inside, are better than others on the outside who don t look, think, or act like we do. Predestination constantly reminds us that God s love which claims us is especially for those we consider the greatest sinners. 2) Predestination locates the assurance of our salvation in the faithfulness of God s love and not in the circumstances of our lives. Living in the relative affluence of our North American culture we are tempted to equate material blessings with God s blessings. To the extent we live a good life, we want to believe that God is on our side. We want to believe the reason God has blessed us is that we are somehow special or better than other who aren t so blessed. And, to the extent that life becomes hard or takes an ugly turn, we think that God is against us and that something we ve done has incurred God s punishment. Predestination reminds us that God s grace is independent of whether we are blessed or burdened. Neither blessing nor burden can get in the way of God s love. 3) Finally, Predestination is both a gift and a mission. Those of us who enjoy the saving grace of God, can rejoice in God s gift to us. But we cannot hold it over others. For the gift of God carries with it a commission to share that gift with the rest of the world. To whom much is given, much will be required. What is required of those on the receiving end of God s grace is not a privileged piety but sacrificial service. God blesses us, not as an end in itself, but that we might in turn become a blessing for others. To wrap it up, I want to share with you some questions and answers from the Presbyterian Church s newest confessional resource The Study Catechism. In a question and answer format it asks: Will all human beings be saved? 1 No one will be lost who can be saved. The limits to salvation, whatever they may be, are known only to God. Three truths above all are certain. God is a holy God who is not to be trifled with. No one will be saved except by grace alone. And no judge could possibly be more gracious than our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. How will God deal with the followers of other religions? 2 God offers salvation to all human beings through Jesus Christ. How God will deal with those who do not know or follow Christ, but who follow another tradition, we cannot finally say. We can say, however, that God is gracious and merciful, and that God will not deal with people in any other way than we see in Jesus Christ, who came as the Savior of the world. Presbyterians and Predestination Page 4 of 5
How should I treat non-christians and people of other religions? 3 I should meet friendship with friendship, hostility with kindness, generosity with gratitude, persecution with forbearance, truth with agreement, and error with truth. I should express my faith by word and by deed. I should avoid compromising the truth on the one hand and being narrow-minded on the other. In short, I should welcome and accept these others in a way that honors and reflects the Lord's welcome and acceptance of me. To believe in predestination is to know and trust with all our hearts, and mind, and strength that nothing will ever separate us from the love of God. To be predestined is to be inextricably bound to the grace of God. There is nothing we can ever do, say, believe, decide, accept, or allow that will make God love us more. There is nothing we can ever do, say, believe, decide, accept, or allow that will make God love us less. Is there any better news than that? To God be the glory! 1 Question 38, The Study Catechism 2 Question 40, The Study Catechism 3 Question 39, The Study Catechism Presbyterians and Predestination Page 5 of 5