Predestination 1: Has God already decided who will be saved?
2 Timothy 1:8–12
You’re reading the first instalment in a series on predestination. These began as notes for our youth leaders, but gradually evolved into something the internet might accept. Start here for the series introduction.
I went to Penrith High School, a public high school in Sydney’s western suburbs. There were Hindus, Sikhs, Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons, along with self-professed anarchists and communists. It was quite a mix.
And it got me thinking. Did I only believe in Jesus because my family was Christian? If I’d grown up in someone else’s family, would I believe what they believed instead?
Why was I a Christian? My family had obviously played a big part. But was that the whole explanation?
In 2 Timothy 1:8–12, Paul takes us back before our families, before we were born, even before time began. We’ll see that God planned our salvation before time began and revealed his grace through Jesus.
Some context
In this letter, Paul is writing to Timothy, a younger church leader, while imprisoned for telling people about Jesus. He encourages Timothy not to be ashamed of the gospel. Our passage reminds Timothy of the grace that gives them both a reason to keep going.
1. God saved us by grace (v. 9)
Paul says God “saved us and called us to a holy life” (verse 9). Notice who acts first: God. We didn’t make ourselves worth saving by being religious, knowing enough Bible verses or trying harder than everyone else. Paul explicitly says it wasn’t because of anything we had done. God saved us because of his own purpose and grace. Grace means we receive kindness we haven’t earned. And that grace changes how we live: God calls us to a holy life, a life that belongs to him. Obedience follows salvation; it isn’t the price we pay to get it.
2. God planned it before time began (v. 9)
When did God decide to show us this grace? Paul says it was given to us “in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time”. Before we existed, before we could do anything good or bad, God’s saving purpose was already in place. That rules out the idea that we somehow earned our way into his plan. It also means salvation wasn’t a last-minute rescue God thought up when things went wrong. He planned to save us through Jesus. You might only recently have become a Christian, but God’s grace didn’t begin when you first noticed it.
3. God revealed it through Jesus (vv. 10–12)
We don’t have to guess what God’s saving plan looks like. Paul says it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Saviour, Christ Jesus. Jesus died for our sins and rose again. He broke death’s power, and the gospel announces the life that is found in him. Christians still die, but death won’t have the final word over those who belong to Jesus. So when you wonder whether God is gracious, look at Jesus. God’s purpose before time began has become visible in what Jesus has done. The gospel gives us something solid to trust.
Pushback questions
So God decided before I existed? How is my decision real?
Yes! God decided before you existed! God’s decision and our decision coexist. Both are real. We really do hear the gospel, repent and trust Jesus. We’ll look more closely at how these fit together in our article, “Do I really have a choice?”
Isn’t God choosing people because he knows they’ll choose him?
Paul says God saved us because of his own purpose and grace. He puts the reason for our salvation in God, rather than in something we have done. We really do trust Jesus, but God’s grace comes first.
So why doesn’t God choose everyone? Isn’t that unfair?
None of us deserves salvation, and left to ourselves, none of us wants God either. We turn away from him. God isn’t refusing a relationship to people who desperately want him; he is showing mercy to people who have rejected him.
When God saves us, he changes our hearts so that we want him and turn to him.
But why does God show that mercy to some and not everyone? We’ll explore that more fully in our article, “How is predestination fair?”
So what?
Trust God’s grace rather than yourself.
When you wonder whether you’re good enough for God, remember why he saved you: his own purpose and grace. Perhaps you’ve had a bad week, fallen into the same sin again or compared yourself with someone who seems much more Christian. Take your sin seriously and ask God to forgive you. But don’t imagine you need to become impressive enough to deserve his kindness. You didn’t earn his salvation, and his plan didn’t begin with you. Come back to Jesus, who saves sinners by grace.
You don’t need to uncover God’s secret plans. Look to Jesus, who has shown us God’s grace, and trust him. God didn’t choose you because you were smashing it—that is, doing well. So when you’re not smashing it, come back to his grace.
That’s why Paul urges Timothy not to be ashamed of the gospel (v. 8). God’s grace gives us reason to keep speaking about Jesus, even when it’s costly.
“The godly consideration of Predestination, and our Election in Christ, is full of sweet, pleasant, and unspeakable comfort to godly persons.”
Article XVII, Anglican 39 Articles
Study 1. Has God Already Decided Who Will Be Saved?
Pray and get going
Q1. What’s your first reaction to the idea that God has already decided who will be saved? Why?
Read 2 Timothy 1:8–12
Q2. In verse 9, what has God done for us, and why?
Q3. When did God give us grace in Jesus (v. 9)? What had we done at that point to earn it?
Q4. According to verse 10, how has God shown us his plan to save people?
Q5. A friend says, ‘God saved me because I was good enough.’ What would you show them in verse 9?
Q6. Paul is suffering for telling people about Jesus (verses 8, 12). How could remembering God’s grace help him keep going?
Q7. If God saves us by grace, what could you remember when you feel you’re not good enough for God?
Q8. A friend says, “What if God hasn’t chosen me?” What would you say to them from this passage?
Pray and give thanks
Father, thank you that you saved us and called us, not because of anything we have done, but because of your own purpose and grace. Thank you that you gave us this grace in Christ before time began and have now revealed it through Jesus. Help us to trust your grace rather than ourselves. Amen.
Read the rest of the series
More questions? Fair enough. Here are the other articles in the series:
3. Is God responsible for evil?
4. Does God want everyone to be saved?
5. How is predestination fair?
6. What about people who never hear about Jesus?
