Does God predestine some people to go to Heaven and others to Hell? I encourage you to read through Romans 9-11 along with the questions and answers I've inserted to help you think about the issue of predestination. If you have any questions, please leave a comment and we can discuss!
Romans 9-11 Bible Study – Who’s Predestined and Why?
6 It is not as though God’s word had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. 7 Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham’s children. On the contrary, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” 8 In other words, it is not the children by physical descent who are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham’s offspring. 9 For this was how the promise was stated: “At the appointed time I will return, and Sarah will have a son.”
Which child of Abraham did God choose to use?
Isaac
Why?
God wanted to show He was fulfilling a promise.
10 Not only that, but Rebekah’s children were conceived at the same time by our father Isaac. 11 Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad—in order that God’s purpose in election might stand: 12 not by works but by him who calls—she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” 13 Just as it is written: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”
Which child of Isaac did God choose to use?
Jacob
Why?
To fulfill God’s purpose
14 What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all! 15 For he says to Moses,
“I will
have mercy on whom I have mercy,
and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”
16 It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God’s mercy. 17 For Scripture says to Pharaoh: “I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” 18 Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden.
Who did God choose to use?
Pharaoh
Why?
To display His power and so that others would proclaim His name.
19 One of you will say to me: “Then why does God still blame us? For who is able to resist his will?” 20 But who are you, a human being, to talk back to God? “Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’” 21 Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use?
Who decides how God uses someone?
God does. He chooses to some people for special purposes and some for common purposes.
22 What if God, although choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath—prepared for destruction? 23 What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory— 24 even us, whom he also called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles? 25 As he says in Hosea:
“I will
call them ‘my people’ who are not my people;
and I will call her ‘my loved one’ who is not my loved
one,”
26 and,
“In the
very place where it was said to them,
‘You are not my people,’
there they will be called ‘children of the living
God.’”
27 Isaiah cries out concerning Israel:
“Though
the number of the Israelites be like the sand by the sea,
only the remnant will be saved.
28 For the Lord will carry out
his sentence on earth with speed and finality.”
29 It is just as Isaiah said previously:
“Unless
the Lord Almighty
had left us descendants,
we would have become like Sodom,
we would have been like Gomorrah.”
Who are the objects of God’s wrath in this section?
Israel! But I thought they were His chosen people!
Who are the objects of God’s mercy?
The Gentiles! God planned all along to show the Gentiles mercy even though He didn’t choose them for a special purpose at first.
30 What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith; 31 but the people of Israel, who pursued the law as the way of righteousness, have not attained their goal. 32 Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone. 33 As it is written:
“See, I
lay in Zion a stone that causes people to stumble
and a rock that makes them fall,
and the one who believes in him will never be put to
shame.”
Why is Israel the object of God’s wrath?
They didn’t place their faith in the Messiah.
10 Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. 2 For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. 3 Since they did not know the righteousness of God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. 4 Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.
5 Moses writes this about the righteousness that is by the law: “The person who does these things will live by them.” 6 But the righteousness that is by faith says: “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down) 7 “or ‘Who will descend into the deep?’” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). 8 But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim: 9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. 11 As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.” 12 For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, 13 for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
What type of person can be saved?
Anyone who does have faith – Jew or Gentile
14 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15 And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”
16 But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our message?” 17 Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ. 18 But I ask: Did they not hear? Of course they did:
“Their
voice has gone out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.”
19 Again I ask: Did Israel not understand? First, Moses says,
“I will
make you envious by those who are not a nation;
I will make you angry by a nation that has no
understanding.”
20 And Isaiah boldly says,
“I was
found by those who did not seek me;
I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me.”
21 But concerning Israel he says,
“All day
long I have held out my hands
to a disobedient and obstinate people.”
Why are most of the Israelites not saved?
They’ve heard about the Messiah, but they obstinately refuse to accept Him.
11 I ask then: Did God reject his people? By no means! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin. 2 God did not reject his people, whom he foreknew. Don’t you know what Scripture says in the passage about Elijah—how he appealed to God against Israel: 3 “Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars; I am the only one left, and they are trying to kill me”? 4 And what was God’s answer to him? “I have reserved for myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” 5 So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. 6 And if by grace, then it cannot be based on works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.
Why are some of the Israelites saved?
God chose a remnant from among the Israelites. He predestined them, by grace, to accept the Christ.
7 What then? What the people of Israel sought so earnestly they did not obtain. The elect among them did, but the others were hardened, 8 as it is written:
“God
gave them a spirit of stupor,
eyes that could not see
and ears that could not hear,
to this very day.”
9 And David says:
“May
their table become a snare and a trap,
a stumbling block and a retribution for them.
10 May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see,
and their backs be bent forever.”
Who hardened the hearts of the majority of the Israelites?
God hardened the Israelites who didn’t believe in the Messiah, just like He hardened Pharaoh. (But don’t worry – there’s still good news for those who are hardened.)
11 Again I ask: Did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Not at all! Rather, because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious.
How did God use Israel’s fall for good?
He opened salvation to the Gentiles. The Jews rejected the Messiah, so the Apostles started preaching to the Gentiles.
How will God use the Gentiles’ salvation for good?
He will make the Israelites envious and want to accept God’s plan of salvation.
12 But if their transgression means riches for the world, and their loss means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their full inclusion bring!
13 I am talking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I take pride in my ministry 14 in the hope that I may somehow arouse my own people to envy and save some of them. 15 For if their rejection brought reconciliation to the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? 16 If the part of the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, then the whole batch is holy; if the root is holy, so are the branches.
17 If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, 18 do not consider yourself to be superior to those other branches. If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you. 19 You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.” 20 Granted. But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but tremble. 21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either.
What could cause the Gentile “branches” to be broken off?
Unbelief
22 Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off. 23 And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. 24 After all, if you were cut out of an olive tree that is wild by nature, and contrary to nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much more readily will these, the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree!
Can the hardened Israelites be saved?
Yes! A hardened heart isn’t damnation. A person can still choose to stop persisting in unbelief!
25 I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in, 26 and in this way all Israel will be saved. As it is written:
“The
deliverer will come from Zion;
he will turn godlessness away from Jacob.
27 And this is my covenant with them
when I take away their sins.”
28 As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies for your sake; but as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs, 29 for God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable. 30 Just as you who were at one time disobedient to God have now received mercy as a result of their disobedience, 31 so they too have now become disobedient in order that they too may now receive mercy as a result of God’s mercy to you. 32 For God has bound everyone over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all.
Why will Israel be saved?
God chose them. He hasn’t changed His mind. In His grace, He has determined all Israel will be saved.
Summary:
Does God use certain people and groups for special purposes?
Yes! He chose to use Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Pharaoh, Israel, and the Gentiles. God still uses people and groups for special purposes, though we might not understand exactly how He’s using someone.
Does God decide who is saved?
In general, no. He graciously allows anyone who has faith to be saved. In the case of Israel, however, He has determined that they will be saved.
Does He decide who is not saved?
No. Even if God hardens someone’s heart, they can still repent and believe.
33 Oh,
the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable his judgments,
and his paths beyond tracing out!
34 “Who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or who has been his counselor?”
35 “Who has ever given to God,
that God should repay them?”
36 For from him and through him and for him are all things.
To him be the glory forever! Amen.
Is it possible for us to know all God is doing?
God’s wisdom is too deep for us to know His full plan. After seeing God’s plan for the Jews and Gentiles explained in this passage, however, we can see that He is a gracious God who is worthy of our trust. We don’t have to know His plan; we just have to know Him.
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