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"Not Willing That Any Should Perish" A critical examination of the doctrine of Determinism as taught by Augustine, Calvin, Luther et al., but particularly as set forth by Calvinism's Five Points: Total Depravity, Unconditional Election, Limited Atonement, Irresistible Grace, and the Perseverance of the Saints.
Introduction God's Sovereignty Man's Free Will The Foreknowledge Of God The Five Points Of Calvinism Examined Calvinistic "Sugar-Sticks" Conclusion |
The Foreknowledge Of God
by: Allan Turner Psalm 147:5 says that God's understanding is infinite. Infinite in this verse is the Hebrew micpar and means the same thing as it does in English, that is, "having no boundaries or limits." Now, if God's understanding has no boundaries or limits, and understanding is predicated on knowledge, then it follows necessarily that God's knowledge has no boundaries or limitations. Such knowledge would be "unsearchable" by mere finite creatures, and this is exactly what the Bible says.1 In other words, the Bible teaches that God "knows all things."2 This kind of knowledge is what the theologians call "omniscience." By definition, omniscience or "all-knowingness" encompasses the present, the past, and the future, and undoubtedly includes genuine foreknowledge.3 This is proved by many Bible passages. In the space that follows, we will notice a few of these. Just before he died, Moses was told by God of the coming apostasy of the Israelites.4 In doing so, God was not just declaring what He planned to do in the future, He was making it clear that He knew what human beings would be doing in the future of their own free wills. In Acts 2:23, the apostle Peter taught that Jesus was delivered up "by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God." He went on to say to the Jews, "...you have taken [Jesus] by lawless hands, have crucified [Him], and put [Him] to death." This clearly teaches that God's plan to deliver up His Son was made in view of what He foreknew the Jews and Romans would do, that is, He knew that given the right circumstances, they would cause Jesus to be crucified. Again, in Romans 8:28-30 and 1 Peter 1:1-2, we are told that God foreknew certain individuals, of their own free wills, would obey the gospel and be conformed to the image of His Son, that they would become the "elect" in their connection with Jesus Christ. This means that God's foreknowledge of those who would be conformed to the image of His Son predates their election and predestination. Since God chose them "in Christ" before the creation of the world,5 it seems clear that they and their free will actions were foreknown by God before the world began. Therefore, there is absolutely no reason for the Bible believer to ever doubt God's genuine foreknowledge of the future, contingent, free will choices of His creatures. Calvinists assert that God's foreknowledge and man's free will are completely irreconcilable. Again, they are wrong! The Bible teaches that God has foreknowledge (and we will look at some biblical examples of these momentarily), therefore, God's foreknowledge is a fact. Likewise, the Bible teaches that man has free will (and we have already examined some of these passages), therefore, man's free moral agency is a fact. Consequently, Calvinists, or anyone else, who claim that God's foreknowledge and man's free will are incompatible are teaching that which is contrary to God's word.
A Little Simple Logic Necessarily, whatever God foreknows comes to passAnd so, the determinists argue, if Gods foreknows the future, then all things come to pass necessarily, and this means that man's free moral agency and true contingency are eliminated, and were never more than a non-determinist's illusion. But, and this seems difficult for some, the above reasoning embraces a logical fallacy. According to the rules of logic, the conclusion of an argument can be necessary only if both of the premises are necessary. But in the above argument, only the major premise is a necessary truth. The minor premise is not a necessary truth because it is not necessary that God know x. He could have known y instead. Consequently, the proper conclusion to the above syllogism is: Therefore, x will come to pass. Now, from the fact that God foreknows that x will occur, we may be sure that x will, in fact, occur; but, and this is my point, it is not necessary that x occur. It is, indeed, possible (because man is a free moral agent) that x might not occur. This having been said, we do know, according to the above syllogism, that x will actually occur because God foreknew it would occur.6 The fact that God knows I will act a certain way does not mean His knowledge causes me to act this way. If, as a free moral agent, I chose to behave differently, God's knowledge about this behavior would also be different. In other words, if God foreknew that I should do x, then I will do x. But, as a free moral agent, I have the power not to do x, and if I were not to do x, then God would not have known that I will do x. This means that although God's foreknowledge is chronologically prior to my action, my action is logically prior to His foreknowledge. What this all means is that the future, contingent, free will choices of men and women are not settled by God's foreknowledge; instead, God's foreknowledge is settled by the reality of the future events themselves. The fact that God, from His viewpoint in eternity, sees them "ahead of time" does not mean these events will happen because God sees them; rather, they are going to happen because of the genuine free moral agency of those involved. Again, the fact that God sees them ahead of time does not make them happen in any causative sense. I want you to notice that the Bible does not say that God has the capacity to know all things, which He certainly does; instead, the argument is that God actually "knows all things." Now, if God knows all things, what is it that He does not know? Remember, the Great Intelligence of the universe is writing to His intelligent creatures. Consequently, not only does He teach us through direct statements and approved examples, but He also expects us to come to necessary conclusions about what He has written. By direct statement, the Bible teaches that God "knows all things."7 By direct statement, the Bible teaches that God's understanding is without boundaries or limits.8 Therefore, if God's understanding is infinite, and understanding is established through knowledge, then it follows necessarily that God's knowledge is also infinite. In other words, based on the direct statements of Scripture, the only conclusion one can arrive at is that there is nothing God does not know and this encompasses the then, the now, and the not yet!
Some Claim God Cannot Know The Future On the other hand, there are brethren who believe that God has the capacity to know all things, but for reasons known only to Him, He chooses not to know some things. Unlike those who say God cannot know, this group does not take their position for philosophical reasons. Instead, they take their position because the Bible does seem to be saying there are things God does (did) not know,11 and as they are wont to say, "We all know the Bible does not contradict itself." True, the Bible does not contradict itself. Therefore, if the Bible teaches that God knows all things, then passages like Genesis 18 and 22 must be interpreted in light of this truth. In fact, a fundamental rule of Bible interpretation says that we must understand Scripture in its normal sense unless a literal interpretation contradicts other clear teaching found in God's Word. Not doing this, in my opinion, is the error one makes in thinking these passages negate the all-knowingness of God.12
Mixing Apples And Oranges
Resolving An Apparent Dilemma
I, [who have somehow subjected Myself to the time/space continuum] will go down [not from heaven, but down the way geographically] now [not in eternity, but right now at this moment, subject to time and space] and see [i.e., learn experientially in time and space] whether they have done [and, more importantly, continue to do "now"] altogether according to the outcry against it that has come to Me [in eternity, not limited by time and space]; and if not [i.e., if they are no longer doing what I knew they were doing before I allowed Myself to be subject to time and space], I [God subject to time and space] will know [experientially]. Notice that I have emphasized the word "now" by putting it in bold letters. This is because I believe this word to be the key to understanding this passage. God, who knows the past, present, and future, confines His knowing to the "now" of the time/space continuum. Are we supposed to think that the self-existent, eternal, infinite Spirit who is God did not really know everything that had been happening in Sodom and Gomorrah? 1 John 3:20 makes it absolutely clear that God is greater than our heart (He knows our heart as well as every other heart) and knows all things. Consequently, whatever Genesis 18:21 means must be understood by the context, and the context clearly indicates a theophany. And so, the theophany must be taken into consideration when trying to understand this passage. When I debated a brother who teaches that there are some things God cannot know, he at least admitted that God knew the past and present perfectly. Now, some are wanting me to believe that the all-knowing God does not even know the past and present perfectly. This, of course, is the only conclusion one may come to if Genesis 18:21 is to be understood literally and apart from the "now" context. Consequently, this conclusion is not—indeed, cannot be—true. I now call your attention to what I consider to be the more difficult passage. In Genesis 22:12, the angel of the Lord says to Abraham, "Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me." Although the "angel of the Lord," who some think may be the pre-incarnate Christ, is involved in this episode, the unusual circumstances associated with a theophany are not a part of the context. Even so, as has already been pointed out, the Bible teaches that the self-existent, eternal, and infinite Spirit who is God "knows all things." So, once again, citing a fundamental principle of Bible interpretation, the current passage cannot be interpreted in a way that would negate clear and unequivocal passages which teach that God knows all things. As we think about this situation, it is interesting to note what the self-existent, eternal, infinite Spirit who is God knew about Abraham before He ever "tested" him. In Genesis 18:18-19, the Lord said: "...since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness and justice, that the Lord may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him." In other words, God knew that Abraham would pass the "tests" of faith, which included the one mentioned in this passage. To disregard this information, as well as the truth about God's "all-knowingness," is to make a serious mistake when trying to understand this passage. Yes, taken literally, the passage does appear to be teaching that God learned something about Abraham that He had not previously known. But, if God really does know all things, and if He therefore knew Abraham would pass all "tests," then Genesis 22:12 cannot be teaching what it seems to be teaching. I admit to feeling just a little bit uncomfortable making this kind of statement. Nevertheless, I am confident this is the correct way to view this passage. Paul was not the only inspired writer who wrote things difficult to understand, which, if we are not careful, can be twisted to teach something completely contrary to truth.13 Our responsibility is to "Be diligent to present [ourselves] approved to God, [as workers] who [do not] need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."14 This is not always easy, but if we work hard at it, then we, too, will pass the "test." I believe the key to understanding Genesis 22:12 is to be found in places like Deuteronomy 29-30, where God promises to give life or death and blessings or cursings, depending upon one's obedience to His Word. Do what is right and one is blessed; do what is wrong and one is cursed. This is a principle taught many places in the Bible, and although we do not expect to hear the voice of the "angel of the Lord" today, nevertheless, if we serve the Lord faithfully, He will bless us; if we disobey Him, He will curse us. God is all-knowing. However, He has graciously agreed to deal with us in the time/space continuum. In Genesis 22:12, I have once again emphasized the word "now." This is because I believe the key to understanding this passage, like the key to understanding Genesis 18:21, is the "now" context. In the now of Abraham's time and space, the voice of the angel of the Lord could be heard audibly, and God is acknowledging His blessing on or appreciation of Abraham at a very critical time and place in his "walk of faith." In fact, the word "know" in this passage is sometimes translated "to recognize, admit, acknowledge, confess, declare, or tell." So, in harmony with the rest of Scripture, and without doing any violence to the words of this passage, Genesis 22:12 is not teaching that the all-knowing God of the universe did not really know whether Abraham would pass this critical test. He is, instead, acknowledging His appreciation of Abraham's faithfulness to Him. In other words, He is declaring, "Abraham, I have been testing you...and you have passed the test!"
As has been demonstrated, there is nothing in God's word that limits His knowledge, not even the free moral agency of man. Therefore, with the apostle Paul, we say: "Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen."15 Notes |