2. Christ: How God Knows Us
God is not bound by time as we are. He dwells in eternity, having already experienced the fullness of every age and every relationship. When Scripture says He “foreknew” us, it is not a matter of God passively observing our future choices, as the Arminian imagines. Rather, He has already enjoyed the ages to come with us. Our history with Him is not a possibility—it is a reality He holds in His eternal present. This is the foundation of predestination: not a cold decree, but the loving prerogative of a God who has already purposed to bring His children into sonship and inheritance.
God’s Sovereign Initiative: Overcoming Human Resistance
Do not be deceived: by nature, we are not seekers of God. Scripture is unambiguous—apart from Christ, we are “dead in trespasses,” “children of wrath,” and “enemies of God” (Eph 2:1–3; Rom 5:10; 8:7). The flesh is hostile and cannot please Him. The notion that man, given the right environment, will simply choose God is a Pelagian fantasy. This error is the root of revivalism: the altar call, the emotional manipulation, the desperate attempt to manufacture a “decision” for Christ. These are not tools of the Spirit, but the fruit of a theology that trusts in man’s will rather than God’s grace.
What does this produce? Churches filled with false converts—people who have been pressed into a moment of emotional decision, rushed through a “sinner’s prayer,” yet remain strangers to justification and the finished work of Christ. They are zealous for a Christian life they do not possess, because they have never truly received the Gospel. This is not a minor error; it is a collapse of the very foundation of assurance and inheritance. If salvation depends on your choice, then so does your security. “I chose my way in; I could choose my way out.” Such thinking leaves the conscience forever unsettled, always looking inward for evidence of sincerity rather than resting in Christ.
The True Work of Grace
But God, in His sovereignty, does not leave His children to the futility of their own will. He orders circumstances, orchestrates relationships, and spends years patiently softening the heart. He brings believers across our path—those who pray, who forgive, who persist when others would walk away. He convicts us, not through manipulation, but by the quiet testimony of lives transformed by grace. The Spirit draws, sometimes over decades, until the resistance is overcome and faith is born.
This is not irresistible force, as the Calvinist would have it, nor is it mere opportunity, as the Arminian claims. Scripture is clear: “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him” (John 6:44). Yet, we also see that regeneration follows faith, not precedes it. “After you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise” (Eph 1:13). The Spirit draws, we may resist, but God is able—at great cost and patience—to soften the heart and bring about genuine faith. This is how God brings His foreknown children into the reality He has already enjoyed with them.
Universal Grace, Real Responsibility
Do not let Calvinistic error rob you of the breadth of God’s grace. Christ died not only for our sins, but for the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:2). The call of the Gospel is genuine: “Let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price” (Rev 22:17). Thirst is not the exclusive property of the “elect"—it is the universal ache of humanity, created with eternity in our hearts, estranged from God and longing for home. Even the rich man in torment begged for a drop of water (Luke 16:24). Jesus Himself, bearing our alienation, cried out, “I thirst.” The invitation is real, and the grace is sufficient for all.
Yet, only those whom God foreknew—those whom He sovereignly draws and brings to faith—enter into sonship and inheritance. This is not contradiction, but the mystery of divine initiative and human responsibility, held together by the providence of God.
What Is Lost If We Accept the Error?
If you accept the Arminian or Pelagian error, you lose the very ground of assurance. Justification becomes a matter of your own sincerity, your own decision, your own ability to maintain faith. Inheritance is no longer a gift secured by Christ, but a wage to be earned or forfeited by your performance. Sonship is reduced to a contract, not a covenant. The finished work of Christ is eclipsed by endless introspection and religious striving. This is not a secondary issue—it is salvific. To trust in your own will is to abandon the promise.
The Glory of Predestination
Predestination, rightly understood, is not a doctrine of exclusion, but of security and love. God has already “spent” the future with you. He has purposed to bring you into conformity with His Son, to lavish you with inheritance, to seal you with His Spirit. He does not manipulate, nor does He abandon. He draws, He softens, He overcomes resistance—not by force, but by grace.
Let the Gospel stand: Christ has done it all. The call is to believe, to rest in the finished work, and to rejoice in a salvation that is as secure as the God who purposed it. Anything less is to trade the riches of Christ for the poverty of human effort.
