Acts 13:
44. And the next sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God.
45. But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy, and spake against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming.
46.Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles.
47. For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth.
48. And when the Gentiles hear this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed.”
(Acts 13:44-48)
Here is another passage that seems to support the doctrine of predestination. “And as many as were ordained to eternal life believed.” To ordain means to set or to establish a person in a particular position.
You can look at Acts 13:48 to mean that in order to believe the gospel one must be ordained by God to eternal life. But back in verse 46 Paul says something important. To the unbelieving Jews he says, “but seeing ye put it far from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles.”
So, did God ordain everyone ahead of time to salvation or damnation, or did the unbelieving among the Jews (because Paul and all of Jesus’ apostles were all Jews pertaining to the flesh) judge themselves?
God beckons us all, but we must choose our response to his calling. As established in 2nd Peter, God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance (2nd Peter 3:9).
Matthew 25:41 gives us another clue about God’s position on our eternal destiny. Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.
Hell was intended for the devil and the fallen angels, not for man. The blood of lamb was shed for man to reconcile him to God. This gesture of mercy was never offered to the fallen angels.
But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man (Hebrews 2:9).
And similarly,
14. Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;
15. And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
16. For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham.
(Hebrews 2:14-16)
The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. -1st Corinthians 15:29
God is not making it difficult for people to get saved. The gospel has gone out around the world many times. The question is who will believe the report? Who will hear his voice and fell the strangers and hirelings? All we have to do is yield to Holy Spirit. The hard part was done at Calvary.
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