Some people wonder if the Bible teaches absolute
predestination: God's unconditional election of some sinners to
everlasting salvation in Jesus Christ and His unconditional
reprobation of other sinners to eternal destruction in the way of
their sins.
What would it take to prove this? What if God in His Word told us of
twin boys in their mother's womb, and said that before they were even
born—and therefore before they could believe or not believe, or
do good works or bad works—one was the object of God's love and
election while the other was hated?
What if an apostle, anticipating objections to this, emphatically
denied that God is unrighteous in so doing, and quoted Old Testament
Scripture to prove the absolute sovereignty of God's mercy and compassion,
and asserted that salvation is not of man's free will or of man's
exertions but solely of divine mercy?
What if the Holy Ghost, knowing full well the objections of fallen man
to this teaching, proceeded to give a well-known Old Testament example
of a man whom God hardened and destroyed in order to show the power of
His glorious name? What if He then affirmed the absolute sovereignty
of divine hardening and, rebuking those who find fault with God's
ways, taught that God is the great potter who can do what He wills
with the vessels He makes, destroying some and bringing others to
glory?
This is exactly what we do have in Romans
9:10-24. If anyone wants to know if the Bible teaches
unconditional election and unconditional reprobation, they should look
up and read this passage.
