Defending Double Predestination

• IMPORTANT UPDATE – Redeemer Church believes and teaches a full-orbed doctrine of Double Predestination, and will not pull any punches regarding our conviction of the truth of unconditional Divine reprobation before time began.
  
• In this sermon, Pastor Boothe refers to the reprobate being “passed over” which should only be taken as an imprecise turn of phrase highlighting the human experience of not being moved upon by the Gospel call. While it seems like God is merely passing over a sinner, in fact He is truly “storing up wrath for the day of destruction.” Scripture is abundantly clear: Divine Reprobation is active and an integral part of God’s singular eternal decree. God actively reprobates the wicked.
  
• Divine Double predestination is entirely symmetrical. God actively and unconditionally elects His people in Christ, while also actively and unconditionally damning the non-elect to eternal separation and torment.
  
• Further, we deny any talk of “mystery” regarding reprobation, as though we cannot possibly understand what God has given us in Scripture. We confess openly that God is Sovereign. Whatever He ordains is right, good, and just. Out of the same lump (Romans 9) He created vessels of mercy and vessels of wrath. Absolute Double Predestination is the Biblical truth concerning the matter.
  
  
  

The doctrine of predestination has long been a point of theological contention. At its core, predestination is the belief that before the foundation of the world, God sovereignly chose some individuals for salvation (election) and others for condemnation (reprobation). A particularly contentious aspect of this doctrine is the concept of “absolute double predestination,” the idea that God actively predestines some people to eternal life and others to eternal damnation. From a Sovereign Grace theological perspective, this doctrine is not only scripturally grounded but also crucial to maintaining a consistent view of God’s sovereignty, justice, and glory. Here, we will explore why absolute double predestination is a necessary and defensible doctrine.

God’s Sovereignty: The Foundation of Predestination
Consistent biblical theology holds to the absolute sovereignty of God in all things, including salvation and condemnation. Scripture teaches that God is the ultimate cause of all things, and nothing happens outside His will (Ephesians 1:11; Daniel 4:35). Therefore, the idea that God predestines individuals to eternal life and others to eternal damnation is consistent with the view that God is the primary cause of everything that comes to pass.

The Westminster Confession of Faith (WCF), a historic confession in the Reformed Christian tradition, clearly articulates the notion of predestination, stating that “by the decree of God, for the manifestation of His glory, some men and angels are predestinated unto everlasting life, and others foreordained to everlasting death” (WCF 3.3). This indicates that God’s will is at work in both election and reprobation, and to deny God’s role in both would be to
undermine His sovereignty.

The concept of absolute double predestination also affirms that God is the sovereign ruler over the fate of every individual. It underscores that God is not a passive observer of human destiny but the active initiator and determiner of it, ensuring that His will is done perfectly in all things.

The Justice of God
A key objection to absolute double predestination is the perception that it makes God unjust by condemning people who have no opportunity to choose salvation. However, from a Biblical standpoint, God’s justice is not undermined by predestination. Rather, His justice is magnified by it.

It is important to understand that every human being is deserving of damnation. Scripture teaches that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23) and that “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). This means that no one is entitled to salvation; all are justly deserving of eternal separation from God. The doctrine of double predestination affirms that God, in His sovereign will, has chosen to extend mercy to some and not to
others, and this distinction is entirely in accordance with His justice.

Romans 9:14-18 demonstrates this principle clearly, where Paul writes:
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.

This passage affirms that God’s mercy (election unto salvation) and hardening (reprobation) are both just, because God is free to do with His creation as He pleases, and every human being deserves condemnation because of sin. His choice to save some and pass over others is not arbitrary but is the expression of His justice and mercy according to the counsel of His perfect will.

Scriptural Support for Absolute Double Predestination
A number of passages in Scripture provide support for the doctrine of double predestination. Key texts include:
Romans 8:29-30: “For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son… and those whom he predestined he also called…”
Ephesians 1:4-5: “Even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ.”
2 Thessalonians 2:13-14: “But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth.”
Romans 9:10-24 (as previously quoted), where Paul explicitly defends the justice of God’s choices in both election and reprobation.
These texts show that God’s predestination includes both a positive election to salvation and a negative reprobation to destruction, and that both are part of His sovereign plan.

God’s Glory and the Revelation of His Attributes
The doctrine of absolute double predestination also highlights the glory of God. The Bible teaches that God’s primary purpose in creation is to display His glory (Isaiah 43:7). In the context of predestination, this means that both election and reprobation serve to display God’s glory in distinct ways.

The election of individuals to eternal life showcases God’s mercy, grace, and love. It displays His sovereignty in salvation, as He chooses those who will be saved not based on any foreseen merit found in the creature, but according to His good pleasure. On the other hand, the reprobation of others displays God’s justice, wrath, and holiness. It reveals the seriousness of sin and the righteous judgment of God upon those who rightly deserve it.

The Apostle Paul writes in Romans 9:22-23:
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?

In this passage, Paul reveals that God’s handling of both the elect and the reprobate serves to magnify His glory. Without the existence of the reprobate, God’s justice and wrath would not be fully known. Similarly, the existence of the elect makes God’s mercy and grace more clearly visible. Thus, the doctrine of absolute double predestination is integral to a fuller understanding of God’s glory. Vessels of wrath and vessels of mercy, both are raised up by our Sovereign God.

Theological Consistency
Finally, the doctrine of absolute double predestination is consistent with the overall framework of true Biblical theology. Scripture emphasizes the absolute sovereignty of God in all matters, including salvation, and absolute double predestination is a logical outworking of that sovereignty. To deny it would create a theological inconsistency, undermining God’s total control over the course of human history and salvation.

Furthermore, this doctrine reinforces the biblical teaching of God’s holiness and justice. If God were not the active cause of both salvation and damnation, it would suggest that some aspect of the human condition—such as free will—could thwart God’s ultimate plan, which contradicts the clear witness of Scripture that God’s will is always perfectly realized.

Conclusion
The doctrine of absolute double predestination is an essential component of a biblical understanding of God’s sovereignty, justice, and glory. It affirms that God is the sovereign, active cause of both salvation and damnation and that His will is perfectly carried out in both cases. Far from being unjust or arbitrary, double predestination magnifies God’s justice, mercy, and the display of His divine attributes. For the believer, this doctrine provides a robust framework for appreciating the grace of salvation and the holiness of God, while also offering comfort in knowing that all things, including the eternal destinies of individuals, are in the hands of a Sovereign and Just God.

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Jason K. Boothe serves as a Pastor of Redeemer Church of Piketon, Ohio. He preaches the Gospel of God’s Free and Sovereign Grace each Sunday.