You probably believe in the freedom of choice. Good! But we have a problem when we choose, and the problem is our very bad attitudes. Genesis 6:5 indicts people: “Every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Gen. 6:5). As a result, we will inevitably choose evil rather than good. Why? We freely act in accord with our own nature.

I believe in the freedom of choice as well. I believe in God’s freedom of choice. He is the “Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them” (Acts 4:24). In fact, He is the “only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords (1 Tim. 6:15). As the only Sovereign, God brought the heavens and the earth into being. He orchestrates everything that takes place within His universe according to His plans and purposes. “He established them forever and ever; he gave a decree, and it shall not pass away” (Ps. 148:6). God’s decrees are His plans for all plants and trees, all rocks and seas, and all birds and bees. God’s decrees—His plans and purposes—embrace the inanimate and lifeless as well as everything that is growing and fruitful. God’s decrees encompass all things, including all the animals, big and small; all the angels, good and bad; and every human being.

As a subset of God’s decrees, predestination concerns God’s moral creatures: human beings and angels. Because God is sovereign, He decrees whatever comes to pass. Predestination comes under the heading of God’s decrees, God’s plans and purposes. “He predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will….In Him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will” (Eph. 1:5, 11, italics added).

Predestination has two sides, election and reprobation. Remember, because of your bad attitude, you freely choose the evil of rejecting God. Also, remember that God has freedom of choice. “He has mercy on whomever He wills, and He hardens whomever He wills” (Rom. 9:18). But what must God do to harden your heart? He allows you to exercise your free choice to thumb your nose at Him. He does not intervene. He does nothing. When preaching on Romans 9, a former student explained election and reprobation as follows:

In the high school art room they had a clay barrel.…When we wanted to get clay we had to go back and open this clay barrel.…The clay was hard. You’d have to dig out a hunk of it with your hands. Then you’d take it to a table where you’d pound it and pound it and spray it with water and pound it. Eventually it would become malleable and you could work with it because it was warm and soft. But if you left this clay to itself, it would become harder and harder and harder. It would become chalk and break in your hand. Man’s heart is like clay. Apart from God’s work grabbing it and pounding it, it remains hard.

We call God’s free choice to grab our hearts and pound them to make them warm and soft unconditional election. If you freely choose to follow your wicked attitudes in sinful living all your earthly life, you will enter hell and suffer eternal punishment because of your sins. However, if you are “chosen by grace” (Rom. 11:5) and enter heaven, you owe your salvation to God alone and to grace alone. Give Him praise!

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