Just hear me out, Z, that's all I ask.
What burns inside the majority of believers is double-predestination. They (we) reject it.
There can be no single-predestination, if God in His sovereign will has elected some to salvation by default the rest are left for spiritual destruction.
Where did this come from? How many verses of Scripture show this can't be so?
Paul never said that man was elected from the foundation of the world for salvation, that is formulated in man's mind.
Paul said that we were predestined/chosen to be conformed in the image of His Son, he is not speaking of who will be saved, but how we are saved.
This double-predestination thing is pagan, it is contrary to Scripture from beginning to end.
Hello Charlie, Good post, and good question! I myself reject double predestination as I do not see that in scripture either. While I have read a small group who advocate for what they say is "double predestination". I think they misuse the word predestination to get there.
I have said it before, because of fall, the condition of all natural men is they are born in the realm of spiritual death, and unless God has mercy on them they will die in their sins and go to second death. There is no need for God to Predestine them to second death, because that is where they are heading to begin with. The Confession of faith makes it clear;
3._____ By the decree of God, for the manifestation of his glory, some men and angels are predestinated, or
foreordained to eternal life through Jesus Christ, to the praise of his glorious grace;
others being left to act in their sin to their just condemnation, to the praise of his glorious justice.
( 1 Timothy 5:21; Matthew 25:34; Ephesians 1:5, 6; Romans 9:22, 23; Jude 4 )
This "passing over" or leaving them to their own actions is known as preterition. Why some confuse it is God has ordained to punish all sin. So there a two or three verses that refer to this fact, namely that God has ordained to punish all in sin who have no propitiation, and Mediator.