Grace & Free Will
Double predestination is a theological doctrine held
by traditional “hyper” Calvinists, which basically means God has willed to
create some people to be saved and others to be lost. In other words, human
beings cannot freely choose whether they want to be reconciled to God and be
saved or to reject God and risk losing their salvation. Their eternal destiny
is a predetermined fate that is beyond their control: spiritual as opposed to
biological determinism. This particular Protestant teaching rejects the idea
that our salvation partly depends on human desire and effort. It’s grounded on
the conviction that no one deserves God’s mercy because of their sins
and cannot merit their salvation by any natural means. This part is
true and acknowledged by Catholics, but Reformed Protestants of the classical
tradition even deny the idea of supernatural merit through the efficacy of
actual and cooperative grace.
These super-extreme Calvinists believe that, because
of our common sinful nature and original fall from grace, God can act with
partiality. God can choose the people whom He wills to be merciful to and those
whose hearts He will deliberately harden so that they cannot be saved. Hence,
human free will and supernatural merit within the system of cooperative grace
hold no place in this theological doctrine. Human beings are either formed of
clay for either a special purpose (the glory of God) or common use (for the
glory of God). Salvation, however, is no longer a merited gift or reward but an
undeserved favor (irresistible grace) only so that God can demonstrate His
omnipotence and mercy and consequently flaunt His divine will on a whim. There
is justice insofar as Christ’s alien righteousness is imputed to the believer
only because of their faith in His redeeming merits.
To support their belief system, hyper-Calvinists
usually cite Exodus 14 and Romans 9, which we will examine later since Paul
uses Pharaoh as an example for all the wicked. For now, let’s look at Exodus
and see whether it’s true that God has intentionally created some people for
eternal destruction, who, because of their sinfulness, can’t justly blame God
for His choice; since God could have withheld His mercy from everyone if He so
chose – all having fallen short of the glory of God (Rom 3:23). Is the clay in
no position to argue with the potter? The answer is Yes, but in a Catholic
sense. Can God justly show or withhold His mercy from whoever He chooses in His
sovereignty? Again, the answer is Yes, but in a Catholic sense.
But when Pharaoh saw that there was
relief,
he hardened his heart and did not heed them,
as the Lord had said.
Exodus 8:15
But Pharaoh hardened his heart at this
time also;
neither would he let the people go.
Exodus 8:32
And when Pharaoh saw that the rain, the
hail, and the thunder had ceased,
he sinned yet more; and he hardened his heart, he and his servants.
Exodus 9:34
Our non-Catholic friends fail to see what is actually
meant by the idea of God hardening one’s heart. They single out and isolate
Exodus 14 to support their preconceived notion formed from their
interpretation of other Scriptural passages in the New Testament. Chapter 14,
Verse 4 doesn’t mean that God somehow predetermined or molded Pharaoh from
wanting to release the Israelites from slavery. Rather, it means that God
permitted Pharaoh to remain unyielding to His command freely. Pharaoh,
unfortunately, was obstinate in heart. He refused to be persuaded even after
Egypt had been hit by several devastating plagues. In fact, because of his
pride, he grew even more intransigent after each plague was sent by God.
Pharaoh defied God and became even more defiant. God had hardened his heart,
but only because of the plagues, which resulted in its increased hardening.
Thus, Pharaoh grew even more defiant and unheeding with
each plague because of his pride. They boosted his ego, which influenced his decision to remain intransigent. In this way, God hardened his heart
by being physically responsible for sending the plagues. On the other hand, Pharaoh was morally responsible for them by his persistent disobedience to the divine command: “Let my people go!” God wouldn’t have commanded Pharaoh if he had no free will and choice in the matter. I’m afraid God doesn’t
mold us so that we should act against His will for the sake of His pleasure of
being merciful to a selected few other than ourselves and demonstrating how
merciful He can be when He wants to be by acting arbitrarily apart from our
desires rendering them moot.
On the contrary, God reveals His true intentions and
what he truly desires for everyone who is made of the same original clay through
the prophet: ‘Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? says the
Lord GOD: and not that he should turn from his ways, and live?’ (Ezek 18:23;
cf. 1 Tim 2:3-4; 1 Jn 2:1-3; 2 Pet 3:9). The truth is God permitted Pharaoh to
become more obstinate of his own accord and then purposefully used his pride
and ego to free the Israelites from slavery in such an awesome way, as to
display His glory and might to the Egyptians.
14 What shall we say then? Is there
injustice on God’s part? By no means! 15 For he says
to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion
on
whom I have compassion.” 16 So it depends not upon man’s will or exertion, but
upon
God’s mercy. 17 For the scripture says to Pharaoh, “I have raised you up for
the very
purpose of showing my power in you, so that my name may be proclaimed in all
the
earth.” 18 So then he has mercy upon whomever he wills, and he hardens the
heart of
whomever he wills. 19 You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault?
For who can
resist his will?” 20 But who are you, a man, to answer back to God? Will what
is molded
say to its molder, “Why have you made me thus?” 21 Has the potter no right over
the
clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for beauty and another for menial
use? 22
What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured
with much patience the vessels of wrath made for destruction, 23 in order to
make
known the riches of his glory for the vessels of mercy, which he has prepared
beforehand
for glory,
Romans 9
The basic principle embedded in Romans 9 is this:
Those who will not see and hear shall not see and hear. Consequently, God has
mercy upon whom he wills. He hardens whom he wills (cf. Jn. 9:41). In Vv.
14-16, Paul is simply affirming that there is no injustice on God’s part in not
granting what another has no natural right to (the forgiveness of their sins)
since all of us who have sinned justly deserve punishment. God isn’t indebted
to showing us His mercy in His justice. If, on the other hand, God shows His
mercy on some people, it is because of His goodness and liberality despite
their sins. If He leaves others in their sins (Pharaoh or the Pharisees) by
withholding his grace because of their stubbornness of heart, they are punished
for their just deserts.
God’s mercy shines upon His elect, those who are willing to receive His grace and open themselves to His word, but the divine justice is handed out to the wicked and the reprobate according to what they deserve through their moral liberty and obstinacy of heart. There is no just reason why God must show His compassion to those who refuse it. We cannot force our will on God and expect Him to be merciful to us while remaining in sin. Nor can we blame God for being sinful and punished for our sins by how we choose to act against His will.
No command of God is impossible for us to obey because we
have all received sufficient grace in our fallen condition. God’s efficacious
grace assists us in being righteous once we have directed our will to His
goodness. If we draw near to God, He will draw near to us and shower us with
His grace, not by any natural merit of ours because of our sinful state, but
through the sacrificial work of Jesus who has merited grace for us (Jas 4:8;
Heb 10:2, etc.). There are at least thirty-five Bible verses about drawing near
(not being drawn) by God, which presuppose we have free will and can either
accept or reject God’s merciful gift of salvation.
In v. 19, Paul responds to the objection that if God
rules over faith through the principle of divine election, God cannot accuse unbelievers of sin. The apostle, however, shows that God is far less
arbitrary than what might appear at first glance. He suggests in v. 22 that God
does endure with much patience people like Pharaoh who obstinately resist His
will. He reiterates why God might, without any injustice, have mercy on
some and not on others, grant particular graces and favors to His elect and not
equally to everyone. All humankind is liable to damnation, composed of sinful
clay, the state of original sin. No single soul has a just claim on the
Divine Mercy by any natural merit outside the system of divine grace.
So, those whom God chooses to remove from this sinful
lump to bestow His graces and favor are to display His
justice and hatred for sin. This is the underlying meaning in v. 23. God is
glorified by leading any of us to repentance by the riches of His kindness and
His mercy, which we mustn’t disregard if we hope to be saved according to the
divine plan (Rom 2:4). The “vessels of mercy” are those who by the grace of God
acknowledge their sins and repent with a firm desire for amendment with the
help of divine grace.
By leaving others as “vessels of wrath” that are lost
in their sins, Paul simply means that God has endured patiently as much as He
could, thereby abandoning them in their obstinate sinfulness and withholding
His grace and favor from them through their own intransigence and willfulness.
God knows the hearts of everyone, and so He knows who to touch and how to touch
their hearts so that they come to accept His will for them. Those who are
fettered by pride and selfishness are less likely to be drawn by divine
persuasion. God coerces no one, so He might decide to leave some people alone and in their sins while patiently waiting for them to change their hearts. He has already granted them the sufficient grace they need. Only those
who are humbly willing to align their wills with God benefit from His mercy by
answering the call and cooperating with his helping grace. These are the ones
who make every feeble effort to draw near to God with the help of His grace
that He will draw near to them. We can do nothing without God despite our
desire to be reconciled to Him, so we must ask for the graces we need and
will receive just by asking (Mt 7:7).
Hence, the allegory of the Potter and the Clay is by
no means intended to show that human beings are destitute of free will and
liberty and so are completely passive in God’s plan of redemption, unable to
decide for themselves whether they want to be saved. It is used only to stress
that we are not to question God why He confers his graces and favors on some
and not on others since we are no better than each other in our sinfulness. If
there is any difference among us, some of us are humbler and less
proud by the grace of God and thereby most likely to acknowledge our sins and
be saved.
It is owing to the divine goodness and mercy that God
wills to create vessels of honor by His grace and gifts of the Holy Spirit. And
it is just that others, because they refused to repent and convert, should
be given up as vessels of wrath undeserving of God’s mercy. Meanwhile, Paul’s
point is that God sovereignly decides whatever purpose He has for His elect
when bestowing His gifts of the Holy Spirit on them. God has a unique plan for
each of those who choose to love Him and obey Him, just as He has a plan for
those who choose to reject Him. It’s God and not any of us who takes the
initiative. But our collaboration is called for if we truly want to be saved
and come to the knowledge of the truth as God desires everyone to be (1 Tim
2:1-4).
Early Sacred Tradition
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“And pray ye without ceasing in behalf
of other men; for there is hope of
the repentance, that they may attain to God. For ‘cannot he that falls arise
again, and he may attain to God.’”
St. Ignatius of Antioch, To the Ephesians, 10
( A.D. 110)
“And this is your condition, because of
the blindness of your soul, and the
hardness of your heart. But, if you will, you may be healed. Entrust yourself
to
the Physician [God], and He will couch the eyes of your soul and of your
heart.”
St. Theophilus, Bishop of Antioch, To Autolycus 7.
(inter A.D. 168-181)
“Now, in the beginning the spirit was a
constant companion of the soul, but the
spirit forsook it because it was not willing to follow. Yet, retaining as it
were a
spark of its power, though unable by reason of the separation to discern the
perfect, while seeking for God it fashioned to itself in its wandering many
gods,
following the sophistries of the demons. But the Spirit of God is not with all,
but, taking up its abode with those who live justly, and intimately combining
with the soul, by prophecies it announced hidden things to other souls.”
St. Tatian the Syrian, To the Greeks, 13
(A.D. 175)
“That eternal fire has been prepared for
him as he apostatized from God of his
own free-will, and likewise for all who unrepentant continue in the apostasy,
he now blasphemes, by means of such men, the Lord who brings judgment [upon
him] as being already condemned, and imputes the guilt of his apostasy to his
Maker, not to his own voluntary disposition.”
St. Justin Martyr, fragment in Irenaeus’ Against Heresies, 5:26:1
(A.D. 189)
“All indeed depends on God, but not so
that our free-will is hindered. ‘If then it
depend on God,’ (one says), ‘why does He blame us?’ On this account I said, ‘so
that our free-will is no hindered.’ It depends then on us, and on Him For we
must
first choose the good; and then He leads us to His own. He does not anticipate
our
choice, lest our free-will should be outraged. But when we have chosen, then
great is the assistance he brings to us…For it is ours to choose and to wish;
but
God’s to complete and to bring to an end. Since therefore the greater part is
of
Him, he says all is of Him, speaking according to the custom of men. For so we
ourselves also do. I mean for instance: we see a house well built, and we say
the
whole is the Architect’s [doing], and yet certainly it is not all his, but the
workmen’s also, and the owner’s, who supplies the materials, and many others’,
but nevertheless since he contributed the greatest share, we call the whole
his.
So then [it is] in this case also.”
St. John Chrysostom, Homily on Hebrews, 12:3
(A.D. 403)
“‘No man can come to me, except the
Father who hath sent me draw him’! For He
does not say, ‘except He lead him,’ so that we can thus in any way understand
that his will precedes. For who is ‘drawn,’ if he was already willing? And yet
no
man comes unless he is willing. Therefore he is drawn in wondrous ways to will,
by Him who knows how to work within the very hearts of men. Not that men who
are unwilling should believe, which cannot be, but that they should be made
willing from being unwilling.”
St. Augustine, Against Two Letters of the Pelagians, I:19
(A.D. 420)
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Ask and it will be given to you; seek
and you will find;
knock and the door will be opened to you.
Matthew 7, 7
Pax vobiscum