“For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified” (Romans 8:29-30).
The noxious taproot of John Calvin’s pernicious TULIP is an extreme misunderstanding of God’s foreknowledge and predestination.
According to Calvinism, God’s foreknowledge and predestination is like the college professor who receives his freshman class list three days before the start of the semester and turns in all final grades the next day. Before the first lesson has been taught, all final grades have been permanently and irrevocably recorded. Such is the utter blasphemy of God which permeates Calvinism’s roots.
Clearly, the Bible does not teach such about God’s foreknowledge and predestination. Instead, like any fair educator, God has mapped out a plan of instruction and field experience (i.e., a syllabus). His foreknowledge of the textbook and the material which needs to be covered so that his students gain proficiency and mastery of the course’s requirements determines the pace and content of instruction.
In addition, how a student’s final grade will be assigned at the end of the semester is predetermined and explained. To be a respecter of no one, all grades will be figured by the objective standards written in the syllabus and distributed on the first day of class. Once this information has been given and understood, each student’s final grade will be the result of his own motivation, diligence, and work ethic.
God’s foreknowledge of humanity’s universal problem with sin necessitated God’s predestined plan of salvation through Jesus Christ. Called by the gospel, whoever will obediently comply with the divine conditions of salvation found in therein will be justified in this life and glorified in the life to come.
Your final grade has been predestined. It will either be “Come you blessed of My Father” (Matthew 25:34) or “Depart from Me you cursed” (Matthew 25:41). Because God is no respecter of persons, the final grade Jesus assigns to your life will be decided by your motivation, your diligence, and your adherence to the divine syllabus, the Scriptures.
You decide your eternal destination.
