This post will be more meaningful if you read Part 1 and Romans 9 first...
In my view, unless simply ignore what the words of Romans 9 are clearly saying or do some very fancy interpretation, you will find that God makes a sovereign choice, according to His purposes and wisdom, about individual destinies. In other words, predestination is clearly taught in the Bible.
The most important truth to remember in this whole debate is that every human (except Jesus) is, by nature, a rebel traitor against God who deserves eternal punishment. If we want to speak of fairness, the only fair thing is for every human to be condemned to hell. What is manifestly unfair is that Jesus, sinless and perfect, was crucified on a Cross. If only one human in history was ever saved (say, for example, the criminal on the Cross with Jesus), God would be just to send everyone else to hell because they would all remain rebels. For God to choose some to be saved does not cause God to be unfair or mean to those who are not chosen (all remain deserving of hell because all are rebels); instead, God's choice magnifies His mercy.
It’s important to remember that all who believe in Christ alone for salvation are our brothers and sisters in Christ. This issue should always be discussed with gentleness and humility. Also, we should remember that our primary task as Christians is to tell those who are lost how they can be saved, not to convince Christians to believe in predestination (or any other aspect of a particular theological system). Still, this debate has serious implications on how we view God, especially in how we view God in relation to ourselves. Are we going to be God-centered in our Christianity or man-centered?
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