Fuel for the Fires of Hell
Several years ago I heard of a woman who said to a minister after services, “don’t bother praying for me pastor, I was born to be fuel for the fires of hell!” The pastor did his best to console her, but she walked away from church that day believing that God had predestined her to be eternally lost and there was nothing that she, or anyone else could do to change her eternal destiny.
If she really believed her conclusion to be correct, why had she come to church that day? Was she hoping to hear something that would convince her otherwise? Was she hoping against hope?
In my ministry also, I have talked to individuals who felt that they could not possibly be saved, that God somehow could save others, but for them there was no hope.
Is there something in the Bible that would teach such a thing? Is the God of heaven so cruel as to cause a person to go through life with a sick feeling in their gut? that they are totally helpless to change the course of their life? that there is no assurance of God’s tender love and care for them?
I can assure you that this is not the God I serve, because it is not the God the Bible portrays. Why then do some have the idea that God has appointed certain ones to eternal life, and other to eternal death, regardless of their personal choice?
Problem Texts
Perhaps the answer lies in an age old error that thousands have assumed is true, because of a misinterpretation of God’s Holy Book. Let’s take a moment to read the Bible verses in question.
Romans 8:29, 30 “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.”
Ephesians 1:5, 11 “Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, . . . In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:”
You have probably determined by now that the problem centers around the word “predestinate”. Predestinate is from the Greek word proorizo, meaning “to determine beforehand.”
Erroneous Conclusions
From the passages just quoted, some have erroneously assumed that God arbitrarily predestined, or chose beforehand, particular individuals to be saved and others to be lost. Imposing the benefits of salvation upon some while denying them to others.
This kind of thinking engenders a whole host of erroneous conclusions, such as, God forces some to be saved against their will. That God will choose certain ones to be in heaven regardless of how much wickedness they practice while here on this earth.
Could some be lulled to a false security, thinking heaven is their home, only to be rejected in the end? Will some pine away during this life, thinking they will be lost, when at last they find themselves in the bliss of heaven?
Salvation Available to All
The Scriptures demonstrate conclusively the fallacy of this line of reasoning. Let’s take a look at what God’s word plainly teaches upon this subject.
1 Timothy 2:3, 4 “For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.”
2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”
Nowhere do the inspired writers state that God has willed that some men should be lost. This is a fiction of human invention.
Revelation 22:17 “And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.”
Ezekiel 33:11 “Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, . . .”
If God has appointed some to be fuel for the fires of hell, why would He plead for all to repent and live?
John 3:16-18 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”
We see from these verses that our eternal destiny is not arbitrarily fixed by God, but has something to do with whether or not we believe.
John 1:12 “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:”
It’s not enough to believe in Jesus (the devil also believes – James 2:19), but the decisive factor in each individual case is willingness to receive God’s only-begotten Son as one’s personal Saviour. God does not refuse the benefits of salvation to anyone who sincerely chooses the way of life and is willing to comply with His requirements.
Acts 10:34, 35 “Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: but in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.”
The teaching that distorts Bible predestination to mean that God has arbitrarily foreordained certain persons to be saved and others to be lost results from the neglect of the cardinal Bible truth that God has granted to every man the power to settle his own destiny. God never interferes decisively with the free exercise of man’s power of choice.
Ezekiel 18:32 “For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord GOD: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye.”
Salvation is offered freely to all, but not all accept the invitation. Salvation is not forced upon man against his will, nor is it denied him contrary to his will. Divine foreknowledge and predestination in no way exclude freedom of choice or render it ineffective, but grant to men the privilege of choosing the way of life eternal. Those who believe in Jesus Christ are justified by their faith in Him, while those who refuse to believe automatically exclude themselves.
Even before the creation of our world God predestinated those who believe in Jesus to be saved and those who would not believe should be lost, but He has left it to every man to choose whether to believe or not to believe.
Matthew 25:34 “Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:”
Ephesians 1:4 “According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:”
1 Peter 1:20 “Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you.”
Choose Ye This Day
Dear Friend, before you were born God predestined you to be saved for all eternity by exercising faith in His Son Jesus Christ, and the only thing that stands between you and that promise is your personal choice. Won’t you give Him your heart just now?
In Revelation 3:20 Jesus says, “Behold, I stand at the door (of your heart), and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.”
What a wonderful promise! Don’t keep Him outside the door thinking you must correct your character defects first; you can’t do it. Invite Him in now and He will change your desires and strengthen you to do His will.
2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”
In light of all these promises, how could anyone believe that they have no choice but to be fuel for the fires of hell?
“Choose ye this day whom ye will serve” (Joshua 24:15).