Predestination and Public Worship

Predestination, when it is rightly understood as framed by Holy Scripture, it has many lines of application. If we understand for example Acts 4:28 and connect this with Ephesians 1:4, then public worship will not be used as a tool to attract people to the church.

Acts 4:27-28 reads "for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, 28 to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place". Therefore what happened to Jesus was decided in advance by the heavenly Father (predestination defined). Similarly there are a fixed number of people whom the Lord will save, and they have been chosen in eternity.

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 5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will".

These truths are stable and unchanging. They can guard us from a numbers and results driven approach to the church. Numbers are not our primary focus, but faithfulness to biblical principles in public worship and also in expounding and hearing the truth of Holy Scripture. When results come we will be quick to divert attention to ourselves and instead give credit and praise to the glorious grace of God (Ephesians 1:6, 7, 12).

A fresh meditation on the truth and doctrine of predestination can grant us all fresh spiritual rest and renewed spiritual stability. We want the church to be outward moving and evangelistic, while always being rooted in the doctrine of predestination. This guards us from worldliness and worldly methods in order to gain success. True success and genuine kingdom growth, only comes from the head of the church who is the Lord Jesus Christ (Colossians 1:18).

My desire is that predestination could be freshly discussed and considered as to how its truth can be relevant in application to the church at this time.