S. Michael Houdmann Supporter Got Questions Ministries

This is a very complex issue, and we will start with what the Bible does not teach. Fate is usually thought of as a predetermined course of events beyond human control. A typical response to a belief in fate is resignation"if we can't change destiny, then why even try? Whatever happens, happens, and we can't do anything about it. This is called "fatalism," and it is not biblical.

 Fatalism is a major premise of Islam, which demands total submission to the sovereignty of Allah. It is widely held in Hinduism, too; in fact, it is a fatalistic view of life that helps keep India's caste system in place. Greek mythology told of the Moirai, or the Fates, three goddesses pictured as weavers of men's lives. Their decisions could not be canceled or annulled, even by other gods. Again, fatalism is not a biblical concept.

 Fate and Destiny - Our Free Will

 The Bible teaches that Man was created with the ability to make moral choices and that he is responsible for those choices. The Fall of Man was not a predetermined event in which Adam and Eve were hapless victims of a Puppet-Master God. On the contrary, Adam and his wife had the ability to choose obedience (with its attendant blessing) or disobedience (with its consequent curse). They knew what the result of their decision would be, and they were held accountable (Genesis 3).

 This theme of being held accountable for our choices continues throughout Scripture. "He who sows wickedness reaps trouble" (Proverbs 22:8a). "All hard work brings a profit, / but mere talk leads only to poverty" (Proverbs 14:23). "Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you" (Romans 13:3).

 Often, when the Bible speaks of destiny, it's in reference to a destiny people have brought upon themselves: "Many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction" (Philippians 3:18-19). "This is the fate of those who trust in themselves" (Psalm 49:13). "A man who commits adultery lacks judgment; / whoever does so destroys himself" (Proverbs 6:32). "Each person was judged according to what he had done" (Revelation 20:13).

 We sin because we choose to. We can't blame "Fate," kismet, predestination, or God. James 1:13-14 says, "When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed."

 Interestingly, many people who choose to sin are annoyed by the negative consequences of their sin. "A man's own folly ruins his life, / yet his heart rages against the LORD" (Proverbs 19:3). This is a very insightful verse. When a man foolishly wrecks his life, he may yet insist on blaming God, or perhaps "Fate." In this way, he persists in his folly.

 Scripture also teaches that we choose to have faith. The oft-repeated command in Scripture to believe implies that we do have a choice in the matter. "Be not faithless, but believing" (John 20:27; see also Acts 16:31; 19:4). 

 Fate and Destiny - God's Sovereignty

 Lest we get the wrong idea, we are not the sovereign masters of our fate. Only God is sovereign. His sovereign control is called "providence." He has chosen to give us a free will, and He has created a moral universe in which the law of cause-and-effect is a reality. But God is God alone, and there are no "accidents" in the universe.

 An all-wise, all-powerful God must have a plan, so it should be no surprise that the Bible speaks of a divine plan. God's plan, since it belongs to God, is holy, wise, and benevolent. The providence of God is working to bring about His original plan for creation. 

 God speaks in Isaiah 48:3, "I foretold the former things long ago, / my mouth announced them and I made them known; / then suddenly I acted, and they came to pass." What God announces, He does (and He may announce it centuries ahead of time!).

 Fighting against the plan of God is pointless. "There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan / that can succeed against the LORD" (Proverbs 21:30). This is why the Tower of Babel was never completed (Genesis 11:1-9), why Daniel's detractors were thrown to the lions (Daniel 6:24), why Jonah spent time inside a fish (Jonah 1:17), and why I get in trouble when I sin.

 Even what we would normally call "chance" or "fate" is under God's control. "The lot is cast into the lap, / but its every decision is from the LORD" (Proverbs 16:33). In other words, God does not take a "hands-off" approach to running the world.

 Everything that happens in the world is made to work out according to God's purpose. Evil exists, but it is not allowed to thwart God's providence. God uses even sinful men for His purposes. "The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD; / he directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases" (Proverbs 21:1). God worked in the hearts of the Egyptians (Exodus 12:36) and King Artaxerxes (Ezra 7:27) to bring about His purpose. Even when Man's intent is purely evil, God can still bring about His will, as in the case of those who crucified Jesus (Acts 2:23; 4:27-28).

 God's plan includes a reward for those who trust in Him, and He promises to glorify His children. "We speak of God's secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. . . . As it is written: "No eye has seen, / no ear has heard, / no mind has conceived / what God has prepared for those who love him"" (1 Corinthians 2:7-9). Note the use of the word destined in this passage"and that it's a destiny based on our love for the Lord.

 Fate and Destiny - An Individual Plan

 God's sovereignty reaches even to a plan for our individual lives. This is illustrated in God's calling of Jeremiah"before the prophet was even born. "The word of the LORD came to me, saying, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, / before you were born I set you apart; / I appointed you as a prophet to the nations"" (Jeremiah 1:4-5).

 David also recognized that the Lord had a plan for him. "Your eyes saw my unformed body. / All the days ordained for me / were written in your book / before one of them came to be" (Psalm 139:16). Because of this knowledge, David sought the Lord's specific guidance in many situations, such as in 1 Samuel 23:9-12. 

 Fate and Destiny - Putting It All Together

 In Acts 9, Jesus appears to Saul of Tarsus with an interesting statement: "It is hard for you to kick against the goads" (verse 5). Jesus obviously had a plan for Saul, and Saul had been (painfully) resisting it. Exercising our freedom against God's plan can be painful.

 Later, Jesus tells Saul that a man named Ananias would come to visit "and then Jesus tells Ananias (verses 11-12)! Obviously, Jesus had a pre-arranged plan for Ananias as well. Now, Ananias didn't want to visit Saul (verse 13-14). He could have been like Jonah and run the other way. If that had been his choice, God would have had a "fish" prepared to bring him back. Fortunately, Ananias obeyed (verse 17). Exercising our freedom to follow God's plan brings a blessing.

 In summary, the Bible teaches that God is in charge. At the same time, He has given us the freedom to obey or disobey Him, and there are some things that God does only in answer to prayer (James 4:2). 

 God blesses the obedient, and He is patient with those who disobey, even to the point of seeming laxity. He has a plan for our lives, which includes our joy and His glory both in this world and in the world to come. Those who accept Christ as Savior have accepted God's plan (John 14:6). From then on, it's a step-by-step following of God's best for us, praying for His will to be done (Matthew 6:10), and avoiding the sidetrack of sin (Psalm 32:1-11; 119:59; Hebrews 12:1-2).

See http://www.gotquestions.org/fate-destiny.html

July 01 2013 • 3 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Michael Inglis Supporter

"In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will" (Ephesians 1:11)

March 28 2014 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

James Kraft Supporter 74 year old retired pipeline worker

We have a free will as to whether we accept Jesus as our savior. God made the way of salvation before the foundation of the world, But we have to accept him as our savior to be saved. 

For God so loved the world, (everybody) that He gave His only begotten Son, (Jesus) that WHOSOEVER (anybody) that believeth on Him, will not perish, but have everlasting life.

2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness, but is long suffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. (Believe on Jesus as the only way of salvation)

John 6:40 And this is the will of Him who sent me, that all the seeth the Son, and believeth on Him, may have everlasting life, and I will raise him up on the last day.

John 6:37 All that the Father hath given me, will come to me, and all that come to me, I will in no wise cast out.

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

2 Corinthians 5:21 For He hath made Him, who knew no sin, to be sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.

We are given eternal life, the minute we trust Jesus as our savior. John 10:28 "And I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand."

1 John 5:13 These things have I written unto you, that believe on the name of the Son of God, that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.

All believers are chosen by God because He made the way of salvation possible. We were not chosen to believe, but when we believe we are chosen.

Christ died for the sins of the whole world, so that anyone who comes to Him by faith alone, will be saved. Romans 4:5 But to the one that worketh not, but believe on Him who justifieth the ungodly, (all of us) his faith is counted for righteousness.

Romans 11:6 It is all grace, what Jesus did for us, not works, what we do or do not do, it can not be both. It is all grace because there is nothing we can do to save ourselves, and we can only accept Jesus as a free gift. Jesus paid it all and we pad 0.

The gospel. 1 Corinthians, 15:1-4 That Christ died for our sins, according to the scriptures, that He was buried and rose again on the third day, according to the scriptures. When we believe it we are given eternal life.

John 1:12 But as many as received Him, to them gave He power, to become the children of God, even to them that believe on His name.

August 02 2017 • 1 response • Vote Up • Share • Report

Kenneth Heck Supporter

Here are three other verses about destiny (Rom 28-30)

28 "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, them who are the called according to his purpose,

29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

30 Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called, and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified."

January 21 2015 • 5 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Ben Jones Supporter Retired Professional Photographer

Jeremiah 15:2 “….This is what the Lord says: “Those who are destined for death, to death; those who are destined for war, to war; those who are destined for famine, for famine; those who are destined for captivity, to captivity.” 

Ecclesiastes 6:10, “Everything has already been decided. It was known long ago what each person would be. So there’s no use in arguing with God about your destiny.” 

Lamentations 3:37-39 “Who can command things to happen without the Lord’s permission? Does not the Most High send both calamity and good? Then why should mere humans complain when we are punished for our sins?

Matthew 25:34 “Then the King will say to those on his right,’Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world.’”

James 4:12 (a) “He [God] alone has the power to save or to destroy...”

Prov 21:1 “The king’s heart is like channels of water in the hand of the Lord; He turns it wherever He wishes."

Prov. 16:1 “The plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord.” 

Prov. 16:9 “The mind of man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps” 

Prov. 16:3. “The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord."

Prov. 19:21 “Many plans are in a man’s heart, but the counsel of the Lord will stand. ” 

Jeremiah 10:23 “I know, O Lord, that a man’s way is not in himself, nor is it in a man who walks to direct his steps.” 

Romans 9:10”...When Isaac married Rebekah, she gave birth to twins. But before they were born, before they had done anything good or bad, she received a message from God. This message shows that God chooses people according to his own purposes, he calls people but not according to their good or bad works. She was told ‘Your older son will serve your younger son.’ In the words of scripture, ‘I have loved Jacob but Esau I have hated.” (See Mal 1:2-3).

Romans 9:15 “For God said to Moses, I will show mercy to anyone I choose and I will show compassion to anyone I choose. So it is God who decides to show mercy. We can neither choose it, nor work for it.”

Romans 11:7-8 “So this is the situation: Most of the people of Israel have not found the favor of God they are looking for so earnestly. A few have-the ones God has chosen-but the hearts of the rest were hardened. As the scriptures say. God has put them in a deep sleep. To this day he has shut their eyes so they do not see, and closed their eyes so they do not hear.” (See Isa 29:10 & Deuteronomy 29:4).

Ephesians 1:4-5&11 “Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. For he decided in advance to adopt us into his family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan."

Psalm 135:6 “Whatever the Lord pleases, He does, in heaven and in earth, in the seas and in all deeps” 

Isaiah 46:9-10 “For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things which have not been done, saying, ‘My purpose will be established, and I will accomplish all My good pleasure’ ”

Daniel 4:35 “ All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, but He does according to His will in the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of earth; and no one can ward off His hand or say to Him. “What have You done?’”

Job 42:2 “I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.”

Isaiah 64: 8 “But now, O Lord, You are our Father, we are the clay, and You are our potter; and all of us are the work of Your hand."
Ex 4:11 “The Lord said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes him mute or deaf, or seeing or blind? Is it not I, the Lord?” 

Lamentation 3:37-38 “Who is there who speaks and it comes to pass, unless the Lord has commanded it?”

April 08 2021 • 1 response • Vote Up • Share • Report