What is the doctrine of predestination?

from the old testament

• God repeatedly chose certain people or groups for specific purposes, demonstrating His initiative in salvation and blessing. For example, God chose Abraham to be the father of a covenant people (Genesis 12:1-3).
• With Jacob and Esau, God declared that “the older shall serve the younger” before they were born, showing divine election (Genesis 25:23; Malachi 1:2-3).
• God chose Israel to be a holy nation and His covenant people, not because of their merit but because of His love and purposes (Exodus 19:5-6; Deuteronomy 7:6-8).
• The Old Testament emphasizes that God knows and ordains events according to His purposes. God declares the future and brings His plans to pass, such as the rise and fall of nations (Isaiah 46:9-10).
• God’s knowledge of human hearts shapes His plans for blessing or judgment (Psalm 139:1-4).
• The Old Testament shows God actively working to accomplish His redemptive purposes, often choosing and preserving those through whom His plans will unfold. For example, Joseph’s life demonstrates that God can predestine circumstances for good (Genesis 50:20). The prophets and kings were also raised up according to God’s will to guide or deliver His people (1 Samuel 2:30; Isaiah 42:1).

from the new testament

• The word translated 'predestination' used in Romans 8:29-30, Ephesians 1:5, and Ephesians 1:11 comes from the Greek word proorizo, which means "determining beforehand", "ordain" and "to decide upon ahead of time." Using the definition of the word, predestination is God determining, in His sovereign will, certain things to happen ahead of time, specifically regarding salvation.
• According to Romans 8:29-30, God has predetermined that certain individuals would be confirmed to the likeness of His Son, be called, justified, and glorified.
• Other scriptures that refer to believers in Christ being chosen include Matthew 24:22, 31; Mark 13:20, 27; Romans 8:33, 9:11, 11:5-7, 28; Ephesians 1:11; Colossians 3:12; 1 Thessalonians 1:4; 1 Timothy 5:21; 2 Timothy 2:10; Titus 1:1; 1 Peter 1:1-2, 2:9; 2 Peter 1:10. Using these scriptures, predestination is the biblical doctrine that God, in His sovereignty, chooses certain individuals to be saved.
• Romans 8:29-30 says, "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." Predestination is a biblical doctrine.
• Ephesians 1:5 declares, "he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,” and verse eleven of that same chapter says,“In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will."
• The Bible states that we have all sinned (Romans 3:23) and because of our sins, the only thing that we deserve is eternal separation in hell (Romans 6:23). However, in His grace and divine mercy, God chose to save some of the people who deserved hell. God is not being unfair to those who are not chosen because they are receiving what they deserve. In other words, God choosing to be gracious to some does not make it unfair for others.
• God’s predestining some to salvation does not cancel or diminish any of His other attributes—especially His omniscience. God “knows everything” (1 John 3:20). His foreknowledge of all things, including every human decision and every moment in history (see Isaiah 46:9-10), fully aligns with His sovereign work in salvation (Romans 8:29-30; Ephesians 1:4-5).

implications for today

One of the most common objections to the doctrine of predestination is that it is unfair. Why would God choose certain individuals and not others? But no one deserves heaven. Still, God loves us enough to make salvation possible. Jesus came and took on flesh, died the death we deserved, and rose again, conquering sin and death. Anyone who trusts in Him for salvation will be forgiven and given new life. Still, God predestined some to salvation. For some people, this sounds like He just arbitrarily picked who would be saved and who would not.

However, predestination does not override God’s character: His justice (Psalm 89:14), His love (1 John 4:8-10), His goodness (Psalm 145:9), or His desire that people come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). Instead, God’s sovereignty in salvation is one expression of His perfectly unified character—He does not choose in ignorance, but according to His infinite wisdom (Romans 11:33).

Another common objection to the doctrine of predestination is the role that our free will plays in all of this. Doesn't predestination undermine our free will to choose and believe in Christ? The Bible tells us in John 3:16 and Romans 10:9-10, among others, that we have the free will to choose and believe in Jesus Christ and be saved. The Bible never tells us of God rejecting anyone who believes in Him or turning away anyone seeking Him (Deuteronomy 4:29). Somehow, in the mystery of God, predestination works hand-in-hand with a person being drawn by God (John 6:44) and believing unto salvation (Romans 1:16). God predestines who will be saved, and we must choose Christ to be saved. Both facts are equally true despite the tension between them. God is infinitely more than we can understand, so we should bow our knee to what He has revealed to us and exclaim, as Paul did, "Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!" (Romans 11:33).