God Predestines No One To Go To Hell

Adrian Rogers was a cruel author when he wrote this little booklet, "Predestined for Hell? Absolutely not!" He had to have intentionally misrepresented the Calvinist when he accused them of believing that God arbitrarily sends a little baby to hell. By now we all know that he was constructing a straw man argument to turn around and destroy it thus disarming the Calvinist argument.


But what about his belief? Does he believe that God does not predestine people to hell? According to Rogers who goes to hell? Why, all who do not accept Christ as their personal savior.

Those who are capable of moral action can make a decision with the enablement of God for themselves to go to heaven.


What about children who have not reached this capability? Oops! They created a clause that excludes these children. It has been a historic tradition that has been in existence for as long as there were fundamentalist in Britain and America. What about those who are incapacitated intellectually to make a decision. I think they have included them in this as well.

Where did this belief that God does not predestine anyone to hell come from? In the fifth century a man named Pelagius held that a man by the natural power of free will, without the use of God's enablement, could lead a good life. For him Adam's sin was merely bad example. Augustine refuted this and the Catholic Church convened a council, Orange II, 529 AD. Pelagianism was ruled a heresy and the Church firmed up a position on the transmission of original sin.

One of the practical aspects of this was infant baptism, which was a practice of the early church fathers. The Catechism of the Catholic church states: "Because of this (death of the soul) certainty of faith, the Church baptizes for the remission of sins even tiny infants who have not committed personal sin." CCC 403 Original sin is a "certainty of faith" "closely connected with that of redemption by Christ." 407

Pelagius believed that the problem with sin was surmountable. In the sixteenth century the Protestant Reformers were perceived by the Catholic Church as denying original sin, though Luther affirmed it. They were believing that the reformation was heading toward a Pelagian view and thus the Council of Trent was formed to combat that in 1546 AD. 406 The Church's teaching on the transmission of original sin was articulated more precisely in the fifth century, especially under the impulse of St. Augustine's reflections against Pelagianism, and in the sixteenth century, in opposition to the Protestant Reformation. Pelagius held that man could, by the natural power of free will and without the necessary help of God's grace, lead a morally good life; he thus reduced the influence of Adam's fault to bad example. The first Protestant reformers, on the contrary, taught that original sin has radically perverted man and destroyed his freedom; they identified the sin inherited by each man with the tendency to evil (concupiscentia), which would be insurmountable. The Church pronounced on the meaning of the data of Revelation on original sin especially at the second Council of Orange (529)296 and at the Council of Trent (1546).297

The Catholics correctly identified the Pelagian views as surmountable sin not affecting human choice and semi-Pelagian view of sin as insurmountable destroying free choice. All this in spite of the fact that they were practicing a semi-Pelagian gospel themselves. Now doesn't this happen all the time. We see the wrong in others while not seeing it in ourselves.

My guess is that the Catholics saw this as a defection from infant baptism. Their belief in OS affirmed the need to care for the less capable among themselves, particularly infants. This belief in baptismal regeneration was erroneous. But what seems to be important to me is a warning to not abandon the less capable among us. The argument over freedom of choice leads to abandonment of those not capable of a moral choice. Though themselves practicing baptismal regeneration they saw the problems in decisional regeneration!

They also saw the problem with Pelagian corruption of God's character. 1037 God predestines no one to go to hell; for this, a willful turning away from God (a mortal sin) is necessary, and persistence in it until the end. In the Eucharistic liturgy and in the daily prayers of her faithful, the Church implores the mercy of God, who does not want "any to perish, but all to come to repentance": Father, accept this offering from your whole family. Grant us your peace in this life, save us from final damnation, and count us among those you have chosen.

Pelagianism leads to attempts to adjust the sovereignty and character of God to fit in the scheme of human choice. The Catholics affirm emphatically, God destines no one to hell! They also affirm that God does not send someone to hell for rejecting his own Son's offer of salvation! People clearly go to hell for willfully turning away from God (a mortal sin) persistently to the end. Who go to hell? Those who inherit Adam's sin! Who go to heaven according to the Catholic lip service to doctrine? Those He has chosen! God destines no one to hell and all who go to heaven are destined by his choice to go to heaven! What a definite clear presentation of grace!

The Catholics saw the error in Adrian Rogers' theology hundreds of years ago! They failed to see the truth in the Protestant Reformers in the sixteenth century.