Foreknown by God

Those predestined are also called, justified and glorified by God (Rom. 8:28-30). If that is not predestination to heaven, what is? And how can one who is conformed to the image of Christ not go to heaven? The destiny therefore, of all those foreknown by God (the relational knowledge of love, cf. Matt. 7:23) is heaven.

Furthermore Ephesians 1:3-14 speaks of this same predestination:

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: 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: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him: 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: That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory."

The language is clear: we have been chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy. We are predestined to be adopted as children, and as children in Christ, we have also an inheritance, to which we were predestined by God's purpose. Not only so, but we have already an earnest of this inheritance in the Holy Spirit. The blessings flowing from this predestination are, adoption, acceptance, redemption, forgiveness, etc.

The Arminian thinks that the "foreknowledge" of Romans 8:29 is God's omniscient, a comprehensive prescience. This leads to statements like the following: "Also, if God foreknows the elect, then, logically, He would also know the damned."

That is precisely what the logic of Romans 8:28-30 will not allow. ALL those foreknown by God are predestined by Him to eternal salvation. If the Arminian wants to avoid blatant unqualified universalism, they better reconsider their false definition of "foreknow".

I have explained that this "foreknowledge" is to "know" personally, relationally, in the sense of loving knowledge. It is not to know about a person, but to really know a person in loving fellowship. And this is why Christ can say in Matthew 7:23 to the damned, "I never knew you."

The Arminian understanding of "foreknow" which must include "the damned" results in irreconcilable contradiction. Romans 8:28ff tells us that all those foreknown by God are saved, yet the Arminian tells us that some that God foreknows are damned? This explanation is contrary to Scripture and must be rejected.