Free Will & Predestination

Hi John (not his real name),

Thank you for your email. You asked, basically, three questions about free will, predestination, and women preachers. Your queries are not ordinary questions.

Firstly, my answer to your question on free will is “No”. Biblically, man is “dead” spiritually. How can he choose when he is dead? His free will is spiritually dead, inoperative, and powerless to choose between options or alternatives. It means he cannot exercise freedom of choice or choose God to get saved. If God wills to bring the sinner to Christ, He needs to put life in the dead sinner before he can accept Jesus as his Saviour. This is the job of the Holy Spirit working behind the scenes long before or at the time of regeneration. Once God has done this, the sinner willingly repents and believes in the Lord Jesus Christ. The sinner will never choose Christ by his own free will, for he is dead spiritually.

Secondly, do I believe the doctrine of predestination? Absolutely! It is taught in the Scripture (John 6:44; Romans 9:14-16). I always believe whatever is taught in the Bible.

The doctrines of predestination and human responsibility (free will) divide us, the Independent Baptists, into two camps or factions – the Arminians (Free Willers) and the Calvinists (Predestinarians). Many times, I am called a Calvinist but refuse that name vehemently.  I would rather be called a Biblicist because I believe all the Bible teaches, and I don’t subscribe to all of John Calvin’s doctrine of Protestantism. I am a Baptist and not a Protestant. Baptists are never Protestants!

Thirdly, “women preachers” is not a Bible doctrine. It is a product of man’s wrong interpretation of the Scripture.

I hope I have given justice to your three questions. For your reading on free will and predestination, I recommend you read my book, “No Accident: Chosen or Chance,” available in Kindle or Paperback editions on Amazon.com.

Because of Christ,

Pastor