Salina First Church of the Nazarene

Today's Question: How do we have free will, yet God, being all knowing, knows who will go to heaven or hell?

Perhaps we ought to ask it this way...Does God predetermine it all, and leave us to be as it were puppets on the stage of life, preordained to a final end over which we have no choice or decision?

Arminianism holds that predes­tination is the gracious purpose of God to save mankind from utter ruin. It is not an arbitrary, indiscriminate act of God intended to secure the salvation of so many and no more. It includes provisionally, all men in scope, and is conditioned solely on faith in Jesus Christ, For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begot­ten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3: 16).

Four things to see:
1. God desires that all men would come to repentance and spend an eternity with Him.
2. God is not willing that any should perish, as stated in 2 Peter 3:9.
3. What Christ did at Calvary for us, is available to us, but we must exercise faith in Him for it to become a reality.
4. In Christ, not in some theological concept, is my hope found, and God is not discriminative in choosing some while rejecting others.

God’s desire is not that some, but that all would come to righteousness that we would one day be with Him for eternity. But that desire is limited by one thing — His willingness to let us choose.

So when it comes to my destiny, the choice is mine. God will not force me to accept His plan, neither will He force me to reject it. He will let me choose. But the outcome of that choice truly is predetermined:

If I choose God’s plan, salvation is mine and I will spend an eternity with Him.

If I choose my own way, and in so doing reject God’s plan forever, salvation will be lost and I will spend an eternity in Hell without Him.

So what is involved in choosing God's plan?

First, you must accept responsibility for your own future both now and in eternity.

So what is involved in choosing God's plan?

Second, choosing Christ and accepting God's plan for your salvation.

So what is involved in choosing God's plan?

Third, you must live your life for Christ and reflect Him in your everyday living.

What is involved in choosing God's plan?

Fourth, you must share Christ will all those who come across your pathway, inviting them to join you on the journey to heaven.