Many Christians believe that, in eternity past, God sovereignly hand-picked a small number of sinners to be saved because humanity would be incapable of choosing salvation in their wretched, depraved state. They also believe that the vast majority of humans will spend eternity in the lake of fire, not because they willfully rejected Jesus as their only means for salvation, but because God deliberately excluded them from the opportunity to be saved. In other words, they believe every individual enters the world on a predetermined track headed for Heaven or the lake of fire without the ability or opportunity to change or affect their destiny.
Their belief is based, in part, on Romans 8:29-30, “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.” They also cite Romans chapter 9 and Ephesians chapter 1 as further evidence that God hand-picked people for Heaven while sovereignly excluding others from it (see Romans 9:14-24 and Ephesians 1:1-11).
Although these portions of Scripture seem to imply that God solely determines who goes to Heaven (and who ends up in the lake of fire), numerous verses contradict that interpretation and conclusion. Some of them are as follows:
The books of Ezekiel and 2 Peter express God’s heart for all sinners to repent and be saved, not just a select few. They also convey His unwillingness for anyone to die in an unredeemed condition, and give sinners the choice to respond, repent, and believe. Ezekiel 33:11 says, “I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?” Likewise, 2 Peter 3:9 declares, “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”
Next, consider what Jesus told Nicodemus in John 3:14-18, “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”
Jesus’ offer of salvation was not to a select few but to all (i.e., “whoever”), and His promise to save sinners who trust in Him for forgiveness and redemption extends to everyone (i.e., “the world”), not a limited few with the rest excluded.
Additionally, God’s offer of redemption is based on His unconditional love for sinful humanity and His desire for everyone to be saved. It was not predicated upon favoritism, discrimination, hypocrisy, or conditional love because God does not possess nor operate in those spheres but warns against them (see Romans 2:11, Acts 10:34, Deuteronomy 10:17, James 2:9, 1 John 4:8, and Romans 2:3).
Furthermore, Jesus’ words to Nicodemus also placed responsibility on sinners to repent and exercise faith in Him to be saved, just as the Israelites had to repent of their sins and look up at the bronze serpent by faith to live after being bitten by poisonous snakes (see Numbers 21:4-9). Jesus also disclosed that those who refuse to trust in Him for salvation stand condemned—not because He prohibits them from attaining it, but because they willfully reject His gracious offer of forgiveness and eternal life.
Next, consider what Jesus said to a man who asked if only a few people would be saved. Jesus responded, saying in Luke 13:24, “Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.”
Jesus told His listeners to “strive” to enter the door that leads to eternal life, which required their active involvement and willful choice, not passivity. However, if God preselected and predetermined who would go to Heaven and who would perish, Jesus’ instructive response in Luke’s gospel would be like telling people how to escape a burning building after He intentionally blocked the exit and made their breakout impossible. Even worse, Jesus’ words would be deceptive and misleading, rendering Him a liar, and negating Scripture’s claim that He was God manifested in human flesh and the sinless, spotless Lamb of God.
Next, consider what the Holy Spirit inspired Paul to write in Romans 10:9-13, “If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. For the Scripture says, ‘Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.’ For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; for ‘Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.’”
These passages clearly convey that God imparts salvation to those who willfully confess Jesus as Lord and believe, calling on Him for salvation by faith. They do not express the idea that God’s promise of redemption applies only to those whom He predetermined to save, rendering the rest disqualified, but that His gift of redemption is equally attainable to all without discrimination (i.e., “all” and “whoever”).
The book of Romans and Mark’s gospel also confirm this fact. Paul wrote in Romans 1:16, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” Likewise, Jesus told His disciples in Mark 16:15-16, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.”
Neither the Apostle Paul nor Jesus excluded, disqualified, or prohibited anyone from the opportunity to be saved (i.e., “everyone,” and “all the world,” and “every creature”). Instead, they confirmed that God’s gift of redemption is available to all but is only imparted to those who exercise faith in the gospel message.
Lastly, Jesus revealed that the lake of fire was not created for sinful humanity but for the devil and his angels. He said in Matthew 25:41, “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels.’”
If, in eternity past, God predestined all sinners to irrevocable and irreversible eternal death apart from a few He chose to rescue, He would have created the lake of fire for humanity and included that fact in Matthew 25:41, because there would be nowhere else for them to go after death but there. Yet, that is not what Jesus expressed in the passage (even though many sinners will ultimately be cast into the lake of fire for rejecting the only means of salvation available—Jesus and His shed blood).
As such, Jesus urged sinners in Matthew 7:13-14 to, “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.” In other words, the choice to enter through the narrow or broad gate is ours, not His, because He did everything on His end to allow entrance into Heaven, short of forcing people to believe.
I hope this small sampling of verses was helpful and informative on this somewhat controversial topic.
