EXPLORING THE BIBLICAL DOCTRINE OF PREDESTINATION
It is widely agreed that in order to be truly God, God must be both foreknowing and in control of everything. However, whether such omniscience and omnipotence leave room for human “free will” and for God’s supreme goodness and justice has been debated in every age. The Bible addresses these questions in many passages that talk of ‘predestination’, sometimes as if God governs even the heart of men and their eternal destiny.
To search for answers in the Bible and why they are essential for the Christian life, this study examines the relationship between God and the will of man in texts from the Old (OT) and New Testaments (NT), and why this matters for how we can be saved from eternal condemnation by faith in Jesus Christ.
The study can be done in four sessions (parts I to IV) by dividing a group of twelve or more participants into three to four small groups according to their level of familiarity with the Bible, with the youngest using the questions for “group 1”, and the oldest those for “group 4”. Parts II to IV will need 35-40 min for discussion and 15-20 min for each group to report what they talked about and their conclusions. At this point, the discussion leader may help to clarify key points if necessary. Part I requires a little more time (up to 1 hour in groups, and 30 min for joint discussion).
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