Predestination, And Free Will for Counseling

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” (John 3:16, NRSV)

“But to all who did receive him, who believe in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.” (John 1:12, 13, ESV)

“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise that person up on the last day.” (John 6:44, NRSV)

“And he said, For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.” (John 6:65, ESV)

“We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn within a large family. And those whom he predestined he also called; and those whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified.” (Romans 8:28-30, NRSV)

“The Lord is not slow about his promise, as

Christian counselors are committed believers, doing their best to help others, with the help of God. Such a definition includes believers who come from different theological perspectives, use different approaches to counseling, and have different levels of training and experience” (p. 21).

“And [Jesus] said, ‘It is what come out of a person that defiles. For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come: fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person’” (Mark 7:20-23);

• a deeply committed, Spirit-guided (and Spirit-filled) servant of Jesus Christ

For this is what the promise said: “About this time next year I will return and Sarah shall have a son.” And not only so, but also when Rebecca had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad – in order that God's purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of his call – she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.” What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God's part? By no means! For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills. You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?” But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?” Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honored use and another for dishonorable use? What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory?” (Romans 9:9-23, ESV)

The external call is the preaching of the gospel. Whenever the gospel is preached (or the Bible is read), all who hear it are called to faith in Christ. Those who hear are now in a position of being responsible for having heard or read the good news of Jesus Christ. But not everyone who hears the gospel responds positively. Many times the gospel is ignored or scoffed at or serves only to further harden already hard-hearted people. Based on their strongest desire of the moment they freely reject the message of salvation. No pastor or preacher has the power to work inwardly on the heart or disposition of another human being. Christians can and should contend earnestly for the faith by respectfully arguing with unbelievers, attempting to persuade them of the truth of Christianity. But ultimately only God can call a person inwardly (Mat. 11:27, 16:16-17). Only God can work within the inner recesses of the human heart to influence a positive response of faith to the gospel. Since all whom God calls inwardly at the time of the call are justified and all whom God predestines are called inwardly, then it follows that God’s foreknowledge concerns more than a mere prior awareness of the free decisions a person will make. God knows from eternity who he will inwardly call, and all whom God inwardly calls will respond positively at the time of the call and be justified. In other words, the inward call of God is given to people logically prior to when they believe, before they respond in faith. “If foreknowledge influences the response in any way, then God is predestinating an advan

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