Hi, One and All:
I'm going to quote two passages that present very difficult problems for those here who believe that God saves those who he knew in eternity would in time and space come to faith. Of course, anyone who believes this is the case is already in trouble because this would mean God's will is contingent upon ours, which is diametrically opposed to scripture that teaches God works all things after the counsel of his own will.
Secondly, it would also imply that God's salvation is a quid pro quo arrangement, whereby the Son of God, on behalf of the Father, did his part in this world by taking on flesh, keeping his Father's law and living a sinless life, then with his death, burial and resurrection made salvation possible for everyone; so now anyone who wants to be saved must do his his part. He must keep his end of the deal. But again, this is opposed to scripture, since the New Covenant, unlike the Old, is a bilateral and unconditional covenant. There are no conditions to be fulfilled by man in Jeremiah 31 or Ezeziel 36.
Thirdly, this unbiblical view of predestination further implies that Jesus is only a potential Savior of the world, yet scripture portrays God and His Christ as the Savior of the world -- not merely potential saviors.
There are other problems, as well, but the three above will suffice for the moment. Now...in addition to these three, there is a fourth very sticky problem for those who misunderstand the great doctrine of predestination. And this problem has to do with the deaths of "innocents". And by innocents, I mean young children who die who never had a true knowledge of Good and Evil. And this becomes no small problem because the only logical inference we can make from the two passages I'm going to quote is that these "innocents" are destined for heaven. Yet....there is not one passage in scripture that I'm aware of that teaches that one needs to attain to only the level of innocence to inherit internal life. Whereas, there a plenty of passages that teach that nothing less than the righteousness of God is required for entrance into heaven! So...here are the two passages:
2 Sam 12:21-23
21 His servants asked him, "Why are you [king David] acting this way? While the child was alive, you fasted and wept, but now that the child is dead, you get up and eat!"
22 He answered, "While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept. I thought, 'Who knows? The LORD may be gracious to me and let the child live.' 23 But now that he is dead, why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me."
NIV
And,
Matt 18:2-4, 10, 14
2 He called a little child and had him stand among them. 3 And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven...10 "See that you do not look down on one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven...14 In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost.
NIV
We know that young children can be saved. Some actually profess Christ and show an understanding of the gospel. On the other hand, many other children are not as spiritually precocious (Deut 1:39). In the case of David's infant, what could he have known about Good and Evil and the need for a savior? And Jesus did not qualify his statement in v14. He clearly said that his "Father in heaven is not willing than any of these should be lost."
And the Gr. term "theleema" for "will" is strong. It means determination, choice, purpose, decree. It is not God's will that any of these "little ones" (innocents) should perish. And David's son is such an example.
So, the problem #1 for those who believe that God's predestination is grounded in human actions (faith and/or repentance) that he has foreseen in eternity, is that God foresaw no such actions in the deaths of innocent children.
And problem #2 is that even though God does not will that any "little ones" should perish, is their "innocence" (lack of true knowledge of Good and Evil) alone sufficient to save them? Or is their salvation just like anyone else's who does have such knowledge and thus
grounded in the righteousness of Christ? Is Christ's righteousness also imputed to these "little ones"? According to the tenor of all scripture, and even numerous specific passages, I can only surmise that nothing less than Christ's perfect righteousness is required for anyone to enter heaven! Therefore, what possible merit could God see in the death of any innocent child who knows not good from bad, since the child's innocence cannot save him!?
Finally, problem #3: We must not forget that all innocent children are not innocent in another sense: Every single one us came into this world guilty of Adam's sin, since his sin is imputed to us all! The only way Adam's sin is removed from any us is by being in Christ and having his righteousness imputed to us! Then and only then are we not in Adam in any longer, for all our sins have been forgiven, including Adam's imputed sin. So, this truly makes the problem quite pernicious for those who base the doctrine of predestination on God's foreseeing something meritorious in us, e.g. faith. For the bottom line to the "innocence" of little ones who do not know right from wrong is that they're still not innocent! Conversely, there are zero problems if we just take the scriptures at face value that teach that God's will is not contingent on any of his free moral agents, and that the only merit any saint can boast of here on earth or in heaven is Christ's redemptive work and his imputed righteousness.
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