{"id":1800,"date":"2005-12-12T22:18:00","date_gmt":"2005-12-12T22:18:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/adrianwarnock.com\/2005\/12\/spurgeon-on-predestination-and-free-will\/"},"modified":"2025-11-20T10:19:33","modified_gmt":"2025-11-20T10:19:33","slug":"spurgeon-on-predestination-and-free-will","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/2005\/12\/spurgeon-on-predestination-and-free-will\/","title":{"rendered":"Spurgeon on predestination and free will"},"content":{"rendered":"<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\">\n<html><head><meta http-equiv=\"content-type\" content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\"><meta http-equiv=\"content-type\" content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\"><\/head><body><p><figure id=\"attachment_42024\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-42024\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/298\/2024\/06\/spurgeon1200-1200x673.jpg\" alt=\"Charles Spurgeon the preacher\" width=\"1200\" height=\"673\" class=\"size-large wp-image-42024\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-42024\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Charles Spurgeon Suffered significantly with his health.  SRC: wikkimedia<\/figcaption><\/figure>Thanks Pyromaniac for todays dose of <a href=\"http:\/\/phillipjohnson.blogspot.com\/2005\/12\/where-divine-sovereignty-meets-human.html\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Spurgeon wisdom<\/a> O for a restoration of preaching like this:<\/p>\n<p><em>The system of truth is not one straight line, but two. No man will ever get a right view of the gospel until he knows how to look at the two lines at once.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>I am taught in one book to believe that what I sow I shall reap: I am taught in another place, that \u201cit is not of him that willeth nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I see in one place, God presiding over all in providence; and yet I see, and I cannot help seeing, that man acts as he pleases, and that God has left his actions to his own will, in a great measure.<\/p>\n<p>Now, if I were to declare that man was so free to act, that there was no presidence of God over his actions, I should be driven very near to Atheism; and if, on the other hand, I declare that God so overrules all things, as that man is not free enough to be responsible, I am driven at once into Antinomianism or fatalism.<\/p>\n<p>That God predestines, and that man is responsible, are two things that few can see. They are believed to be inconsistent and contradictory; but they are not. It is just the fault of our weak judgment. Two truths cannot be contradictory to each other.<\/p>\n<p>If, then, I find taught in one place that everything is fore-ordained, that is true; and if I find in another place that man is responsible for all his actions, that is true; and it is my folly that leads me to imagine that two truths can ever contradict each other.<\/p>\n<p>These two truths, I do not believe, can ever be welded into one upon any human anvil, but one they shall be in eternity: they are two lines that are so nearly parallel, that the mind that shall pursue them farthest, will never discover that they converge; but they do converge, and they will meet somewhere in eternity, close to the throne of God, whence all truth doth spring.<\/p>\n<div style=\"border: 2px solid #4a6d8c; border-radius: 12px; padding: 24px; margin: 40px 0; background-color: #f8fbff; text-align: center; font-size: 1.05em; line-height: 1.7; box-shadow: 0 4px 12px rgba(0,0,0,0.05);\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-43110 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/298\/2024\/10\/AdrianWarnockLandscape1200-300x225.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\">\n<p style=\"margin: 0 0 14px; font-weight: bold; font-size: 1.35em; color: #2c3e50;\">Looking for Christian Help for When Life Hurts?<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin: 0 0 18px; color: #34495e;\">\u00a0Check out a growing collection of articles, drawing from Adrian Warnock\u2019s medical and psychological expertise, lived experience, and Christian faith.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin: 0 0 18px; color: #34495e; font-weight: 600;\">Click the type of pain you or a loved one are experiencing right now<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin: 14px 0; font-size: 1.05em;\"><a style=\"color: #4a6d8c;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/2025\/11\/help-when-life-hurts\/#general-suffering\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\">General suffering &amp; disappointment<\/a><br>\n<a style=\"color: #4a6d8c;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/2025\/11\/help-when-life-hurts\/#financial-ruin\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\">Financial difficulties<\/a><br>\n<a style=\"color: #4a6d8c;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/2025\/11\/help-when-life-hurts\/#feeling-disqualified\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\">Feeling disqualified<\/a><br>\n<a style=\"color: #4a6d8c;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/2025\/11\/help-when-life-hurts\/#chronic-illness\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\">Chronic illness &amp; disability<\/a><br>\n<a style=\"color: #4a6d8c;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/2025\/11\/help-when-life-hurts\/#divorce\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\">Divorce &amp; family pain<\/a><br>\n<a style=\"color: #4a6d8c;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/2025\/11\/help-when-life-hurts\/#mental-health\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\">Depression &amp; mental health<\/a><br>\n<a style=\"color: #4a6d8c;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/2025\/11\/help-when-life-hurts\/#bereavement\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\">Bereavement &amp; end-of-life<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin: 24px 0 0;\"><a style=\"background: #4a6d8c; color: white; padding: 12px 28px; border-radius: 8px; text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; font-size: 1.15em; display: inline-block;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/2025\/11\/help-when-life-hurts\/\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\"> See the full list of over 40 articles<br>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Thanks Pyromaniac for todays dose of Spurgeon wisdom O for a restoration of preaching like this: The system of truth is not one straight line, but two. No man will ever get a right view of the gospel until he knows how to look at the two lines at once. I am taught in one [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1268,"featured_media":42024,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[401,551,380],"class_list":["post-1800","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-charles-spurgeon","tag-hope","tag-predestination","tag-spurgeon"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Spurgeon on predestination and free will<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Thanks Pyromaniac for todays dose of Spurgeon wisdom O for a restoration of preaching like this:The system of truth is not one straight line, but two. 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I am the author of the Transformed by Jesus: Spiritual Renewal series of books, which ask: \u2192 Is the Easter story true, and what does it mean? Raised With Christ: How the Resurrection Changes Everything \u2192 Why is change so difficult? What causes the resistance? The Traitor Within: Understanding and Healing Our Deceitful Hearts \u2192 How does transformation happen over time? Amazing Grace: How Faith Grows in the Human Heart \u2192 What are the first steps on a journey of faith? Hope Reborn: How to Become a Christian and Live for Jesus These books bring together medical, psychological, social, and faith-based insights, advocating for a biopsychosocial\u2013spiritual model of wellbeing. My qualifications and training reflect this integrated background: \u2192 British MB BS medical degree (equivalent to an MD in the USA) \u2192 Postgraduate qualifications in Psychiatry (MRCPsych) and Pharmaceutical Medicine (MFFM, DipPharmMed) \u2192 Theological training courses run by Newfrontiers","sameAs":["http:\/\/patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/adrianwarnockpage\/","https:\/\/twitter.com\/adrianwarnock"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/author\/awarnock\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1800","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1268"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1800"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1800\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/42024"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1800"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1800"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1800"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}