Controversy: Trying to Figure It Out

This Sunday will be the second meeting of the new Young Adults Small Group at my church.  I am blessed with the chance to lead this group and I am looking forward to where the discussion will take us this weekend.  We are studying the book of 1 Peter and last week we got through verse 1.  This time, we will only be in verse 2 but the discussion should be rich.  Here is what we are talking about this time:

The foreknowledge of God.

Oh, the controversy.  In doing my research I came across a great source of information about this issue, an excerpt from A.W. Pink.  Here is the link.  It isn't the most exciting read but it provides a wealth of info about predestination and election, if you have ever pondered the topic.

When I talk about the foreknowledge of God, I am referring to the idea that God ordained, before creation, who would be saved and who wouldn't be saved.  That He not only knew ahead of time who would believe, but that He also appointed certain people to salvation. 

This has always been a topic of confusion for me.  When I was in Bible College I developed the idea that God's foreknowledge was limited to the fact that He simply knew ahead of time, before we were born, which of us would choose His Son.  I silently argued against the thought that He would create certain people with no intention of ever saving them.  I suppose the greatest force in the decision making process was my longing to flee from the legalism of my youth, the ultra-conservatism of the church's in which I was brought up.  Mostly for that matter, while in college I decided against many of the "conventional" theological ideas that had been fed to me over the years.  Now, two years after college, I am beginning to see the wisdom and significance of such ideas.

I firmly believe that God is sovereign.  I believe that nothing is able to escape His will.  I believe that He knows all things and can do all things.  I believe that it is extremely possible that He ordained certain people to be saved.  It would be blasphemous for me to say that God was unable to do that.  Time and history are of no significance with God.  On the other hand, I believe that God gave us free will and the ability to make decisions.  I believe that we are given a choice in life - choose Jesus and live, or reject Him and die.  So now my quandary is how to reconcile all of those beliefs and facts, how to strike a balance between them.  Until I can do that, I cannot say how I interpret God's foreknowledge.  I am unable to fully decide which of the two interpretations to hold to: 1) God appointed people to be saved, or 2) God knew who would be saved.

I supposed there is Biblical evidence to support the first option.  And I suppose my hesitation in grasping such an approach is my own emotional dilemma.  I want it so badly to be true that every man and woman in this world has an equal opportunity to be saved, to know that there are not people walking around this planet, in the grocery store, living on my street, at my job, who were predestined for hell.  The sadness that such an idea brings is almost overwhelming.  I would much rather believe that every person on earth has a choice, and then hope to God that they all make the right choice before it is too late. 

So as I stated before, this topic is a little controversial.  It isn't an easy one.  But hopefully this Sunday my small group will get somewhere in this discussion.  If you live in Junction and want to get in on the talk, join us on Sunday.  We will figure this out together, or at least open up about our struggles with it.