Chapter 1: What does the Bible say about predestination?
The word predestination is a biblical word, and because it's a biblical word, all of those who have been diligent students of the Bible have tried to understand what the Bible means by divine predestination.
Do you believe in predestination? As discussions of Reformed theology, or what some call Calvinism, had among believers, this is a topic that can lead to heated debate as those with different views wish to defend their position. But as we were just reminded, predestination is a biblical word. So we mustn't deny predestination, but instead seek to define it biblically.
This is Renewing Your Mind on this Monday. I'm Nathan W. Bingham. This week, you'll hear messages from one of R.C. Sproul's classic series, Chosen by God. And to mark the 40th anniversary of the publication of Chosen by God, when you give a donation in support of Renewing Your Mind at renewingyourmind.org, we'll send you a special 40th anniversary edition of the book,
Chapter 2: How does R.C. Sproul define predestination?
and a copy of the series on DVD. Plus, we'll unlock the messages and the study guide in the free Ligonier app. So be sure to respond this week and help more people to discover the teaching that by God's grace has had a profound impact on so many people's lives. Well, despite the debate, when it comes to predestination, R.C. Sproul argues that every Christian believes in it. Here's Dr. Sproul.
As I look at the history of Christian scholarship, we see that every great Christian teacher, every theologian that the church has ever produced at some point or another has had to address this question of predestination. And though there's wide divergence of interpreting the doctrine of predestination, there's one thing that we can find that every theologian I've ever examined
agrees on, and that is that this doctrine must be treated with great caution. It's a dangerous subject because the more we study it, the tendency it has to raise more questions than it answers.
Chapter 3: What historical perspectives exist on predestination?
And I'm convinced that of all of the doctrines that we struggle with in Christendom, there's none that is more shrouded in misunderstanding and confusion than the doctrine of predestination. So that in itself calls for a certain kind of sober caution as we approach this subject.
And I would add to the theologian's warning of caution that I think it's also a doctrine that requires an extra measure of charity as we struggle with it. and that we need to be patient with each other and with those who differ from us in our views of this particular question.
Because I said there is a lot at stake here, and feelings can run very high when we discuss the matter of predestination. and we ought to be careful to manifest the fruit of God's Holy Spirit among ourselves as we try to deal with it. Now, I keep saying the doctrine of predestination as if there were only one doctrine of predestination.
or if there even were such a thing as a viable doctrine of predestination. There are those who look at the question of predestination and state it in categories like this. They'll say to you, a discussion between Christians would be, do you believe in predestination?
Chapter 4: What are the main theological views on predestination?
And some people will answer that question either by saying, yes, I believe in predestination, or they will say, no, I don't believe in predestination. as if everybody understood what we were talking about when we talked about the doctrine of predestination.
It may come as a surprise to some of you that every church that I know of historically, every denomination that I'm aware of historically that has formulated a doctrinal statement of sorts has formulated some doctrine of predestination. There is a Roman Catholic doctrine of predestination. There is a Lutheran doctrine of predestination. There's a Presbyterian doctrine of predestination.
There's a Methodist doctrine of predestination, and so on. So we need to get that clear at the beginning that there are many, many different doctrines of predestination. The reason why so many different denominations and different churches have doctrines of predestination is because the Bible speaks about predestination.
And all Christians who take the Bible seriously are therefore led to taking the concept of predestination seriously because it's a concept and a word that we find in the New Testament.
Chapter 5: How do Pelagianism and Augustinianism differ on salvation?
Let's just take a moment and let me read a couple of passages to refresh your memory that introduce this idea of predestination to us. I'm reading now from the first chapter of Paul's letter to the Ephesians, where Paul in his opening greeting says, "'Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.'"
just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself according to the kind intention of His will." And then if we move on down the page in the first chapter of Ephesians,
Verse 11, also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose, who works all things after the counsel of His will. Now this, of course, is not the only place in the Bible that we encounter this concept of predestination, but I just read that passage so that everybody will see that the word predestination is a biblical word.
And because it's a biblical word, all of those who have been diligent students of the Bible have tried to understand what the Bible means by divine predestination. Before we explore that closely, let me give a little bit more historical background.
There are many, many, many, many different theologies to be found in the history of the Christian church, just as there are many denominations that we've already noted in
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Chapter 6: What role does God's sovereignty play in predestination?
But I think it's safe to say that there are three basic, generic types of theology, historically. And theologians speak of them in these general categories. One is what we call Pelagianism. The second is what we call semi-Pelagianism. And the third is what we call Augustinianism.
Now the reason for this threefold designation of basic types of theology has its roots in the fourth century when the church underwent a titanic struggle over many serious issues of theology.
And the one man who was recognized and usually acclaimed as the greatest theologian at least of the first thousand years of Christian history, if not the greatest theologian of all Christian history, who defended the faith at that period was, of course, Saint Augustine. And his chief opponent in several debates at that period of Christian history was a monk by the name of Pelagius.
And one of the critical things about which they debated was how important or necessary was the grace of God for human salvation. Pelagius was of the opinion that the grace of God assists human beings to be saved, but is in no way necessary.
His fundamental assumption was that man, in his natural state, has within himself the capacity to keep the commandments of God to such a degree as to be redeemed without any help from divine grace. Augustine stressed the absolute dependence of the fallen sinner upon the grace of God for that sinner's salvation and really repudiated Pelagianism as an early form of sheer humanism.
And Pelagianism was seen not merely as a subdivision of Christian thought, but really as sub-Christian in its thought, that is, not even worthy of being considered Christian. Now, when I say there are three basic trains of thought that have come down through the church historically, I agree with this setup here. I didn't invent this designation, but I agree with it.
These are the three major generic types of theology that have influenced church history. And I see plagianism as the father of liberalism. So Sinianism that came in the 16th century, liberalism in the 19th century.
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Chapter 7: What is the significance of Ephesians in understanding predestination?
And so that you'll know where I'm coming from, I would consider Pelagianism as unchristian, fundamentally anti-Christian, not an option for a Christian thinker.
Now, the debates that have gone on within the church between semi-Pelagianism and Augustinianism, which reflected later on in history between the remonstrants in the 16th century and the Calvinists and so on and the Methodists, these I would regard as debates within the household of faith. the arguments between semi-Pelagianism and Augustinianism.
Semi-Pelagianism says that man cannot be saved apart from the grace of God. But there is something man must do, even in his still fallen state, to cooperate with and assent to that grace of God before God will save him. That is to say, he can't be saved apart from grace,
but it is left for man in the final analysis to either cooperate with God's grace or reject God's grace, and that becomes the convincing point of whether or not a person is saved or not saved. Augustinianism says that man is so seriously fallen
that he is totally dependent upon the grace of God even for his initial response to the gospel, even for the very cooperating and assenting to the gospel of Christ in the first place. And so you can see at the outset that the debate has its roots in the question of man's ability to respond to the gospel in his fallen state.
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Chapter 8: How can we approach discussions on predestination with charity?
And I would say, as we enter into any discussion of predestination, that lurking always behind the scenes of discussions on predestination is this fundamental debate right here between the semi-Pelagians and the Augustinians. And I also need to warn you at the outset that I am persuaded of the Augustinian view of predestination.
And I will be setting forth the Augustinian view of predestination in these seminars. I will be trying to explain it, to clarify misunderstandings that I think abound concerning it, and I will try to respond to objections that are brought to it from semi-Belagian brothers and sisters, and try to convince you and persuade you
that the Augustinian view is the Pauline view and consequently the biblical view and therefore the right one. But of course not everybody believes that, not everybody agrees with that. And I think again we have to be honest at the outset and recognize that some tremendously important Christian leaders
who have had an enormous influence for good in the kingdom of God have not espoused the view that I will be setting forth in this seminar. Let me just draw the scorecard for you. and try to be fair, broad-minded, and all that.
And I'm gonna list on this side of the board the theologians in church history who on this question of predestination, in my judgment, would fall into the camp of the Augustinian view. And then to balance it off, I'll try to mention the names of the theologians who fall on the other side. So we'll look first of all on the pro side of the pro-Augustinian view.
Now remember, we haven't really defined the Augustinian view. This is still background. We'll get into what that view actually is. Those that follow Augustine in the doctrine of predestination would include, and this may surprise you, and this may even be challenged by some, but first let's put Augustine himself since he did believe what he himself taught.
So we'll put Augustine at the top of the list. Then I would say Augustine's perhaps most eminent disciple with respect to theology in general and even these doctrines in particular. In my judgment, the man belongs on this side of the column, St. Thomas Aquinas.
Francis Schaeffer, I can almost hear him screaming at me from heaven right now because he would certainly not agree that Aquinas belongs in that category. but remember that Aquinas himself indicated his indebtedness to Augustine more than to any other theologian in church history. But since St.
Thomas Aquinas is the supreme theologian of the Roman Catholic Church, and since contemporary Roman Catholic theology does not embrace the Augustinian view of predestination, Protestants generally make the assumption that therefore St. Thomas didn't either. You can challenge that if you want. I will leave that open to debate and discussion. The next man, there's no debate.
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