All I could think at the moment was, Someone’s going to get upset. I was speaking at a family camp in New York when, during a Q&A session, a student asked a question I always dread hearing: “What do you believe about election and predestination?”
I’d already fielded questions on homosexuality and the Bible, transgenderism, politics, and gay weddings. This question about election and predestination, though, caused me more anxiety than any of those other hot topics. Why? Because Christians strongly disagree when it comes to these doctrines and often fight about them.
There’s a difference between what I call an “open-handed” doctrine and a “close-handed” doctrine in Christianity. Close-handed doctrines are non-negotiables. The triune God of Scripture exists; Jesus rose from the dead; salvation is by grace through faith; Jesus is God—these are all close-handed doctrines. Issues like speaking in tongues, modes of baptism, and the meaning of election and predestination, for example, are open-handed doctrines. Christians can disagree on these issues as long as they agree on the close-handed doctrines.
I want to be clear. I have strong personal convictions about what the Bible says when it comes to election and predestination. I also want to acknowledge that while all Christian views on these doctrines might be wrong, they can’t all be right. Clearly, some views are mistaken. As interesting as the doctrines of election and predestination are, though, this letter isn’t about them.
What I want to address is why God wasn’t clearer in his Word on these issues. He could’ve told us without ambiguity how election and predestination work, but he didn’t. He could have spared us innumerable arguments, fights, hurt feelings, books, and conflicting confessions of faith. Why didn’t he?
Before I speak to that question, I admit it’s bold to try to answer why God did or didn’t do something. How can I know what God’s intentions were or the reasons he had for what he did? I don’t claim to know the mind of God on issues he’s silent about, but I do think we can find clues in his Word.
Let’s look at some clear commands of Scripture. Jesus gave this unambiguous directive to his disciples the night before he was crucified.
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another. (John 13:34–35)
Jesus clearly communicates his desire for his disciples to love each other. People will know we are followers of Jesus by observing our love for each other. It’s not by our Christian T-shirts, tattoos, or even our theological acumen. Love for the brethren is what characterizes a follower of Jesus. This is simple, unambiguous, and clear.
In Paul’s first letter to the Corinthian church, he constantly corrected their bad theology and immoral living. He told them to stop getting drunk when taking communion, to discipline a man who was sleeping with his father’s wife, to not be joined to prostitutes, and to not fight about which Christian leader they held in highest esteem. Then, after discussing spiritual gifts, Paul wrote an entire chapter on the excellence of love. He ended the chapter with these words:
For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known. But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love. (1 Cor. 13:12–13)
Paul’s point is that we should value and cultivate love even more than spiritual gifts. Though the Corinthian church needed to be corrected on their bad theology, Paul made the point that love is the most excellent way—love, not theological precision on every issue.
Back to our question: Why didn’t God clearly explain predestination and election—or every open-handed theological issue, for that matter? I think the reason is that he’s giving us an opportunity to truly love other Christians. It’s not difficult to love those who agree with you on everything. However, loving people who disagree with you is hard. Yet, this is the command of Jesus. Our love for our fellow Christian—Arminian, Calvinist, or anywhere in between—will show the world we follow Jesus.
In a culture that believes disagreement equals hate, the church could be a beautiful example of the way of Jesus—if we obey him and love our fellow Christians even when we strongly disagree with them.
I told the crowd in New York that Christians disagree on how election and predestination work. I did my best to explain both the Arminian and Calvinist views and then offered my view and why I believe it’s correct. Then I emphasized the need for Christians to love each other, especially when we differ on open-handed theological issues.
Jesus cares more about how we treat our brothers and sisters in Christ than he does that we understand election and predestination correctly. We can study theology and come to good conclusions on these doctrines, but we can’t allow our theological positions on open-handed issues to cause division.