John 12:42-43 “Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; (43) for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.”
In this section we are discussing the sad truth, that some whom God has predestined for salvation, for various reasons; end up rejecting that salvation as an act of their free will. The above passage of scripture is another example of this particular truth, for in this passage we see that when Jesus walked the earth, that many of the rulers in Israel believed that He was the Messiah. The reason they could believe that, was because God the Father had given them understanding of that truth, for our Lord taught us that it was only God the Father Who revealed that truth to men (Matthew 16:17). But we also learn from this passage, that even though these men had understanding of the truth of Jesus being their Saviour, they refused to confess Him before men. Salvation is dependant on both, i.e. believing in Jesus and also confessing Him as Lord (Romans 10:9). Jesus also taught us that if we refused to confess Him before men, that He in turn would not confess us before the Father. In other words, the action of refusing to confess Jesus before men, carries the penalty of eternal damnation (Matthew 10:32-33). And so, just like the rich young ruler, these men also deemed the cost of eternal life to be too high a price to pay. For it was not because they did not understand the truth that Jesus was their Saviour, that caused them to reject the gospel, for they had perfect understanding of that truth, but rather as an act of their free wills, they decided that the praise of men in this life was better than the praise of God in eternal life. In other words, these rulers had been predestined for salvation, because of which, God gave them understanding of the truth of the gospel. But even though they understood the gospel message, they chose of their own free wills not to repent and act on it, and God was not going to force them to change their minds. And so, these rulers are in hell today, whereas they were predestined by God to be saved and be in heaven. And so, we see clearly from these passages, that it is not only unbelievers that reject the salvation of God, but that even some that are predestined for salvation, reject the salvation of God as an act of their free will.
Michael E.B. Maher
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