There are many religions in the world: some believe in Free Will and others in Predestination; the difference being you have a choice where to spend eternity, or you don’t.
It seems to me that if you don’t have a choice, then why try?
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The best-known Christian religions that teach predestination are Lutheranism and Calvinism. There are others, but let’s stick with Judeo-Christian religions, OK?
Judaism may show up as one of those who teach predestination, if you ask Google, but that isn’t so. A long time ago I heard how Judaism actually works with both predestination and free will.
In Judaism, we see God as the captain of a ship, heading towards eternal joy, and it makes stops along the way at different ports. At each port, anyone can come aboard or debark, and on the trip there may be detours, but one way or another, the ship WILL make it to its final destination. Those who stay on board will be expected to follow the rules, and those who don’t want to follow the rules will be put off.
The thing I don’t get with predestination is that if God is willing to forgive us, then how can there be no options? God gave us a system by which we can be forgiven, in the Torah, and when that system was no longer available (with the destruction of the temple), God still made forgiveness available through Yeshua, the Messiah.
If our eternal future is already decided, then why give us the Torah, which is God’s User Manual for Righteous Living? Why would we need any sort of instruction if our future is already written in stone?
But, on the other hand, if we have free will, i.e., the opportunity to choose where we will spend eternity, then having a set of rules (i.e., the Torah) to lead us to salvation makes sense.
Predestination means no matter what I do, I am either saved or damned. But God told us how to act towards him and towards each other, and how to be forgiven when we mess up.
Do you see my point? If I have no choice, then it doesn’t matter what I do- I am either doomed or saved. As such, I can do whatever the heck I want to, and it won’t make a difference. I can sin till the cows come home, or I can be as faithful as Abraham, but it won’t make any difference.
Given the innate sinfulness of humans, to preach predestination is like giving us a license to sin without any repercussions because, well…it’s already decided, and no matter what I do, or don’t do, it don’t make no never mind!
You know, predestination seems to me to be the antithesis of worship, simply because a religion has rules, but predestination implies the rules don’t matter because your eternal future is a done deal.
On the other hand, free will gives us the option to choose where we will spend eternity, and that is the main reason I started this ministry- it is my “calling” to teach people what they need to know in order to make an informed decision about where they will spend eternity.
So, if you have been raised being told that you have no options, I would ask you to consider why God gave us rules if it doesn’t make any difference?
Yes, there are verses in the Bible that indicate we don’t have a choice, such as when God told Jeremiah he was chosen when still in the womb, yet we are told how to be forgiven. If our future is set, what use is forgiveness?
In any event, already saved or already damned, in Deuteronomy 28 God promises blessings to those who obey him, so you have nothing to lose and blessings to gain by doing as God said to do in the Torah.
Look, it all boils down to this: doing what God says you should do will result in blessings here on earth, so whether you believe you have a choice or not, it just makes sense to obey God while you are alive.
Thank you for being here and please remember to share these messages with everyone you know, even non-believers, Hey, after all- you never know how fertile the soil is until you plant a seed in it.
That’s it for today, so l’hitraot and Baruch HaShem!
