Does God PREDESTINE some people to HELL?

Does God predestine some people to hell and others to heaven? Well, that’s the question, and for lots of Christians the answer to that question is something close to yes. I want to take it seriously, but I want to tell you why I believe the Bible teaches something very different.

You remember when I was in elementary gym class years ago? The teacher picks the two best athletes to be captains, and they took turns choosing teams. I believe they call this a schoolyard pick. And then, down towards the bottom, the kids who hadn’t been picked yet started to get a little nervous, because nobody wanted to be picked last. There was this kid in my class — let’s call him Danny. Danny was skinny, scrawny, uncoordinated — just not a natural athlete. At the very end, everyone had been picked, and the captains were arguing over who had to take Danny. One was saying, “I don’t want him.” The other said, “I don’t want him either. You take him.” Everyone laughed in the class, and Danny laughed too, like it didn’t matter. But I could tell that it did. Here’s why: because it hurts to not be chosen.

And the question I have for you is this: is that how God works? Like, before the foundation of the world, before anything, before we were ever born, God came and picked favorites, and left the rest to literally rot in hell?

Well, that’s essentially what John Calvin taught. Here’s what John Calvin said, and I quote:

“Eternal life is foreordained for some, eternal damnation for others.”

So eternal life is foreordained for some, eternal damnation is foreordained for others. John Piper, who’s a modern preacher, says this:

“Before you were born or had done anything good or bad, God decided whether to save you or not.”

Before you were born, God decided whether to save you or not.

I want to be fair to that view. I think the people who believe that aren’t trying to be cruel, but I think they’re trying to take certain passages seriously — the passages that start talking about choosing, and electing, and predestining. Those words are in the Bible, for sure, 100%. So we don’t have to pretend that they’re not. But I think that when you read those passages the way they were actually written, they paint a very different picture than Calvin had.

And I’ve got three thoughts for you.

The Calvinist Picture Makes God Less Loving Than We Are

Just think about that. If everything is part of God’s script, then cancer is part of the plan. Genocide is part of the plan. The Holocaust is part of the plan. And your son or your daughter — they might be chosen to live in heaven, or they might not. God perhaps created your precious child to burn in hell eternally for his glory, and we’re supposed to praise God for that somehow.

My wife and I adopted our daughter, Grace, who’s eight currently. Because of that, we have some friends in the adoption community — what they do is fight for kids and help kids who are waiting for adoption, waiting for families. And I just think about it like this: if everything has already been decided — if God has already sorted who’s in and who’s out — then why would a Christian fight for any of it? I think it saps your motivation to make the world better.

Understand this: everything that’s good on the inside of you is just an imperfect reflection of God. As much as you love your children, it’s just an imperfect, worse version of God’s love for all of us. So I find it slightly ridiculous, to be perfectly frank, that God would want something other than the absolute best for all of us.

When you open the Bible, you don’t see a God who sounds like he only wants to save some.

Hit me with some examples. You got it. Look at this — First Timothy says that he wants all people to be saved. Second Peter says he’s not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. Or of course, you even know John 3:16:

“For God so loved the world that whoever believes would not perish, but have everlasting life.”

Which would be a very strange thing to say if eternal life is reserved for only certain people.

Here’s what happens: God gives us the ability to choose. Just because God’s all-powerful doesn’t mean he’s all-controlling. Because that would be unloving.

So, number one, the Calvinist picture makes God less loving than we are.

You Means Y’all

Number two — I’m going to get weird here. You means y’all. What? You means y’all.

Think about it with me. If God wants all people to come to faith, then what do we do with these passages that talk about choosing and predestining? Because they are in there, 100%.

I think one thing that people miss when they read the Bible is that the Bible was written during and to a world of tribes. Tribes. And your tribe was your family. Your tribe was your identity. Your tribe was your protection. Your tribe was everything. And tribes had different gods, and your god protected your tribe. Early on, God calls this man Abraham to start a new tribe, and the whole Old Testament is the story of that tribe. So when God says “you” in the Bible, he’s almost always talking to a people, not a person.

What? A people, not a person.

Hit me with an example. You bet. Jeremiah chapter 29, verse 11 — you all know it:

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord.”

You all know that verse. And there’s lots of people that take that verse to mean, “Man, God has a plan for me.” And he does, absolutely. But you’ve got to understand that God was talking not to a person — he was talking to a people, a nation in exile.

Paul was a first-century Jew, and so he reads “chosen” the same way. When you get to Ephesians chapter 1, it says that God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world. What he’s not saying is that God picked certain individuals and rejected others. He’s saying that God chose a people, and he predestined what that people would become. He lists them: holy, blameless, adopted, forgiven.

And if you look carefully, you’ll notice that Paul does not say God chose us to be in Christ — he says that God chose those who are in Christ to be holy and blameless. So the predestination is the destination of the group, not who gets in.

A few verses later, Ephesians 1:13, he spells it out:

“You were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth. When you believed, you were marked in him.”

So you were included in Christ — the moment of inclusion was belief. When you believed.

So that’s number two: you means y’all.

Anyone Can Get on the Train

Lastly, number three: anyone can get on the train.

Think about trains with me for a second. Trains are predestined. What does that mean? The destination of a train is decided ahead of time. The schedule is predestined. The route is predestined. What’s not predestined, though, is whether you get on the train or not. But once you get on, everything that is predestined for the train becomes predestined for you.

That’s how predestination works in the Bible — God has predestined a people, and he’s decided ahead of time what that people would become. But you get on that train, you become a part of those people, through faith.

It’s very clear. Romans chapter 3:

“This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.”

Galatians chapter 3 says:

“Those who have faith are children of Abraham.”

So who are the children of Abraham? It’s those who have faith. The predestination is not about the people on the train — the predestination is about the destination of the train. But you get on the train through faith.

And what’s been predestined for the people on the train is so good. We’ve been predestined to be holy and blameless, adopted as sons and daughters, forgiven, redeemed, covered with grace. And of course that comes from God. Of course God works in you. Of course God awakens our hearts. Of course God tears down the walls of resistance on the inside. Of course God breathes life into us. Of course he empowers us to have faith in the first place. But he doesn’t force us, because that’s not what love does.

You wouldn’t exist unless God loves you. God created you out of love, and every breath, every heartbeat is a gift from God. Why? Because he loves you. And every person who simply accepts it is counted in.

So that’s number three: anyone can get on the train.

Conclusion

So here’s the question: does God predestine some people to hell and some people to heaven? I would say the answer is not just no, but it’s heck no. Not at all. Definitely not.

I think God loves each and every human being who has ever lived, who ever will live. As much as we love our kids right now, that’s just a tiny fraction of how much God loves each and every one of us. And if you, being evil, have that amount of love for your kids, how much more does God love us?

God has predestined a people. But the door to get on the train to become a part of those people is wide open. So, have you put your faith in Jesus? Well, if you have, then you’re on that train, and everything that’s predestined for the people of God becomes predestined for you. And if you haven’t put your faith in Jesus, it’s not because God is keeping you out. He’s the one who’s been pursuing you all along.

So you might be wondering: if God’s not all-controlling of every outcome, then why bother praying at all? Well, that’s another question.