Destiny

In biblical terms destiny plays a big part in Gods plans. To be honest the battle over destiny has played a great part in Christianity and the lives of Christians over the past centuries of the Age of Grace. Questions have arisen from scriptures like Romans chapter 8 verse 28 which says “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”ESV “While many Christians take great solace from this scripture and consider it a promise of God. Others see it as a part of a concrete determinant in God’s Sovereign Will where Christians are predestined and without choice and the wicked are destined to hell, both groups for time immemorial.

Then there are the destiny words like chosen, predestined, foreseen and foreknown. Merriam Webster defines Chosen as “one who is the object of choice or of divine favour; an elect person.” Predestined is defined as “the doctrine that God in consequence of his foreknowledge of all events infallibly guides those who are destined for salvation. Foreseen is stated to be “to see (something, such as a development) beforehand.” Foreknown is “to have previous knowledge of; know before- hand especially by paranormal means or by revelation.”

These are the power words in the battle between those who see God as a whimsical, vengeful, angry dictator and those who see him as the Loving Father of all Creation. Who when faced with sin and imperfection has used His cosmic ability to every affectation to rescue humanity and all of His work in this Universe from the brink of ruin and loss. They key phrase to the latter group is found in the writings of the apostle John in 1John chapter 4 verse 16 “So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.” ESV

So, the question arises “What is God’s purpose with the Creation and Mankind?” God clearly knows who will be predestined to Salvation through Grace to Eternal Life and those who are destined to reject His Saviour and to meet their eternal destiny in the Second Death. Therefore, are all actually predestined to Salvation in Christ Jesus but many reject the Saviour and so do not receive the benefits Grace and Eternal Life. Or, are we predestined either to Salvation or Damnation.

One would assume that this discussion leads to a debate over the nature of the Living God. As I mentioned before is God an angry and vengeful God or is He truly a God of Love? There are those who believe strongly one way or the other just as there are those who believe some combination of both views. How can we truly ascertain what the attitude of God is to salvation and unbelief?

I believe that there is one scripture in particular that gives us a glimpse into the nature and thinking of God on this matter. Mark chapter 12 verses 28 -31 “Then one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him, “Which is the first commandment of all?” Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” NKJV

Would it then be fair to say that those who are destined to Salvation have a capacity of soul, heart and mind to love God with all of their strength? Would it be fair to say that they are capable of loving their neighbour as themselves, such that, they honour their parents, don’t murder and don’t commit adultery, don’t keep slaves, don’t lie or covet other’s possessions. Bearing in mind that it is only possible to keep the God’s Law with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit with the fullness of God in our hearts and minds. Can you see the link that Jesus was making here between loving God and keeping his commandments with the law fulfilled in His redemptive work on the Cross and now under the New Covenant. Matthew chapter 26 verses 26– 28 “And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” Isn’t this thinking congruous with the theme of a loving Saviour that is underlined in that other famous scripture John chapter 15 verse 13 “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” KJV

Conversely, are those who reject Christ incapable of loving God with all they have and unable to love their fellow man? Are they because of their state of mind then destined to damnation? Now you might say here. “ Why would God allow men to have hearts which are hardened against him?” Hardened in a way that they can never receive the good news of Salvation in Jesus Christ and are therefore lost to eternal damnation. At which point I would say “God doesn’t do that and that in my opinion He reads their hearts, from eternity, and notes that they will never come to him in humility and repentance seeking forgiveness and eternal life.” In this way they are predestined but not as a direct action of God against them. It just happens to be a fact that because of internal wiring they will never accept God’s grace.

Having said this I do need to qualify my statement here and mention that God does harden men’s hearts on occasion and that their are incidents in scripture when he has caused them to refuse to repent. Proverbs chapter 28 verses 13 – 14 puts it this way “Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy. Blessed is the one who fears the Lord always, but whoever hardens his heart will fall into calamity.” ESV So it maybe even today that some people provoke God’s ire against them through their actions so that He hardens their hearts and causes them not to repent.

Noted American preacher of the nineteenth century, Charles Finney spoke of a man who boasted that he would not repent until he was about to die. When that fateful day came. Try as he might to seek God and to repent of his sins. He could find no peace, security or hope of salvation. It brings to mind the scripture Isaiah chapter 55 verse 6 “Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near...” ESV The question in this case then is, was this person destined to damnation because God hardened his heart or, was he simply incapable of salvation because of his rebellious heart? The result being in either case that God knew his destiny from the foundation of the world. The question then being did the man choose to rebell or did God predestine his rebellion?

The point I’m trying to make here is that those men and women that receive eternal life have as a consequence chosen to live with God for eternity. Satan has eternal life and it seems he could not live an eternity at peace with God and in the end developed a rebellious heart and literally went in to battle against God with a third of the angels under his leadership. God will not allow that situation to arise again and so those men, and women, who receive eternal life need to be able to live an eternity at peace and in love with God. Hidden in God with Christ for now and then presented as the Bride of Christ at the Wedding Party of the Lamb and from then for eternity as the beloved possession of God.

So in conclusion, are we destined to salvation or damnation? My answer would be yes we are destined to salvation or damnation. However, I don’t believe God would determine people to damnation but rather that he might make a decision not to choose someone to salvation who couldn’t survive eternity in the presence of the most high almighty King of Kings. As it says in scripture Isaiah chapter 55 verses 6-9 “Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.