Are Some Predestined to be Damned? Before I can answer that question I have to explain what predestination is. Predestination, in the dictionary, is said to be “the doctrine that God in consequence of his foreknowledge of all events infallibly guides those who are destined for salvation.” Scripture has 2 very good passages for defining what predestination is: Jeremiah 1:5 which says “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” God is talking about Jeremiah in this passage and how God chose him before time; he was predestined for his job. Romans 8:28-30 “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called them he also justified: and whom he justified them he also glorified.” This passage speaks about God’s ultimate omniscience concerning our predestination and how we would react to the message of God’s Word.The Reformed churches believe in a different kind of predestination called “double predestination,” which says that God not only determines the salvation of the elect, but also the damnation of the reprobate. For example, it seems interesting that Rev. Herman Hoeksema (Reform Church) would chose II Timothy 2:19 to base his belief in this double predestination. This passage only says that God knows who are his and that those who are his shall depart from iniquity, it doesn’t say anything about the rest of the world being chosen to be damned. From this passage he speaks of a purposeful divide among our race that causes a constant matter of suffering as long as we are in this present time. His belie...
