While the church needs to grow bigger, it must grow deeper first! If the members of the church lack proper knowledge of key biblical truths (like predestination), how will they be able to make disciples in the first place?

Predestination is one of the most hated and debated doctrines in the Bible. Yet, Charles Spurgeon said, “I am persuaded that the doctrine of predestination is one of the ‘softest pillows’ upon which the Christian can lay his head and one of the ‘strongest staffs’ upon which he may lean in his pilgrimage along this rough road.” If that’s true, why is the doctrine of predestination avoided, demonized, and reserved for esoteric studies or theological debate? Consider these five reasons why predestination should be preached on Sunday morning to the gathered church.

The Church Needs Depth

The calling of a pastor is to feed God’s sheep. As the church is gathered together, God expects that the whole counsel of God will be preached—not just clever sermon series and topical studies.

Many churches have a shallow view of the way church discipleship should be approached resulting in evangelistic sermons on Sunday morning, more serious doctrinal sermons on Sunday evening (if the church gathers on Sunday evenings), and real serious doctrinal teaching on Wednesday evening when the majority of the church is not present.

This is the most popular structure for preaching and teaching in evangelical circles today and it has caused many local churches to be a mile wide and an inch deep theologically speaking. In other words, you can find many large local churches that know John 3:16 by memory and can walk you down the Romans Road, but they don’t possess a good handle on biblical theology. The idea that you have to grow your church by evangelism on Sunday mornings will have a negative impact upon the church in the long run.

While the church needs to grow bigger, it must grow deeper first! If the members of the church lack proper knowledge of key biblical truths (like predestination), how will they be able to make disciples in the first place? Remember, in the Great Commission (Matt. 28:18-20), Jesus anticipated that the process of making disciples would involve teaching grand truths like the Trinity because he issued the Trinitarian formula of baptism (in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit) which implies that people would be teaching the Trinity early on—rather than several years after their baptism during a Wednesday evening Bible study.

Predestination is in the Bible

The word “predestinated” in Romans 8:29 comes from the Greek term “προορίζω” meaning “to decide upon beforehand, to predetermine.” It’s a compound Greek term made up of two words:

• Pro – Before
• Horizo – Determine

This word literally means to determine before hand. No matter what theological gymnastics are performed to get around it, predestination has a meaning that cannot be overlooked or sidestepped. It’s in the Bible for a reason and it’s not reserved for a seminary class.

A number of years ago I was serving as a pastor in Kentucky when a woman visited our church on a Sunday morning. She introduced herself to me after the service and stated her reason for visiting. She said, “I have come to understand that my pastor believes in predestination.” I kindly informed her that not only was predestination in the Bible, but I actually believe it as well. I never saw that woman again after our short conversation. I can hope that she returned to her church and sought to listen to her pastor as he preached the Bible. Far too many people are looking for pastors who will teach them what they want to believe rather than what the Bible actually says (remember Paul warned Timothy about that in 2 Timothy 4:3-5).

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