Acts 27:22
Acts 27:21-26 (see also Jeremiah 38:17-23)
When they had gone a long time without food, then Paul stood up in their midst and said, “Men, you ought to have followed my advice and not to have set sail from Crete and incurred this damage and loss. Yet now I urge you to keep up your courage, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. For this very night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood before me, saying, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar; and behold, God has granted you all those who are sailing with you.’ Therefore, keep up your courage, men, for I believe God that it will turn out exactly as I have been told. ‘But we must run aground on a certain island.’”
Question: Was it God’s will that the Captain set sail?
Answer: No. Is was not God’s will that the Captain set sail, though God’s will was going to get done, in spite of him. Paul was not going to drown. Acts 27:9-11 states: “When considerable time had passed and the voyage was now dangerous, since even the fast was already over, Paul began to admonish them, and said to them, ‘Men, I perceive that the voyage will certainly be with damage and great loss, not only of the cargo and the ship, but also of our lives.’ But the centurion was more persuaded by the pilot and the captain of the ship than by what was being said by Paul.”
If Paul believed in Determinism, then what would be the point of telling them what they “ought” to have done, as if to shame them? If he believed in Determinism, their actions would be scripted, regardless. “Shame on you for doing what you were inalterably scripted to do!” Does that make sense?
However, the passage goes on to state: “But as the sailors
were trying to escape from the ship and had let down the
ship’s boat into the sea, on the pretense of intending to lay
out anchors from the bow, Paul said to the centurion and
to the soldiers, ‘Unless these men remain in the ship, you
yourselves cannot be saved.’” (vv.30-31)
The fact is that God did grant that these lives would be
spared, but Paul identified conditionality in the promise.
He affirmed the promise, but added that they must stay
in the boat in order to receive the fulfillment of the
promise. There is something similar in Scripture with
King Zedekiah of Israel, when God sent the prophet
Jeremiah to warn him of two potential futures, in
which either all may “go well” or not. See Jeremiah
38:17-23.
Jeremiah 38:17-23: “Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah,
‘Thus says the LORD God of hosts, the God of Israel,
“If you will indeed go out to the officers of the king of
Babylon, then you will live, this city will not be burned
with fire, and you and your household will survive. But
if you will not go out to the officers of the king of
Babylon, then this city will be given over to the hand
of the Chaldeans; and they will burn it with fire, and
you yourself will not escape from their hand.”’ Then
King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, ‘I dread the Jews who
have gone over to the Chaldeans, for they may give me
over into their hand and they will abuse me.’ But
Jeremiah said, ‘They will not give you over. Please
obey the LORD in what I am saying to you, that it
may go well with you and you may live. But if you
keep refusing to go out, this is the word which the
LORD has shown me: “Then behold, all of the women
who have been left in the palace of the king of Judah
are going to be brought out to the officers of the king
of Babylon; and those women will say, ‘Your close
friends Have misled and overpowered you; While your
feet were sunk in the mire, They turned back.’ They
will also bring out all your wives and your sons to the
Chaldeans, and you yourself will not escape from
their hand, but will be seized by the hand of the king
of Babylon, and this city will be burned with fire.”’”
Notice the three key elements at work:
1) The situation of the siege. 1) The situation of the shipwreck.
2) A word to Jeremiah from the Lord. 2) A word to Paul from the Lord.
3) Jeremiah’s warning to the king. 3) Paul’s warning to the sailors.
- The word that the king’s family would live was a divine promise, pledging safety for his family, but was explicitly contingent on doing what Jeremiah said.
- The word that the sailors would live was a divine promise, pledging safety for the crew, but was explicitly contingent on doing what Paul said.
First of all, if all of Zedekiah’s actions were predetermined by God, then Jeremiah was the last to know. For he seems to think that Zedekiah had the power of contrary choice, since before him, were two possible futures, and the Lord had shown Jeremiah both, and that’s why he was pleading so hard with Zedekiah not to take the foolish route. Therefore, applying this principle to Acts chapter 27, had Paul kept silent, those men would have perished. Additionally, had those men not listened to Paul, they would have perished. Just like with Jeremiah chapter 38, there were two possible outcomes, and Paul relayed the one in which he was granted no loss of life. Similarly with Jeremiah chapter 38, Jeremiah relayed the outcome in which what? In which it would have “gone well” with Zedekiah, but he refused. This is why Calvinists are in error of their understanding of Acts chapter 27. These simply took the opposite route of Zedekiah.
Consider other examples of God granting something:
Acts 5:31: “He is the one whom God exalted to His right hand as a Prince and a Savior, to grant repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.”
Acts 11:18: “When they heard this, they quieted down and glorified God, saying, ‘Well then, God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that leads to life.’”
God has granted repentance to both Israel and the Gentiles. In fact, Acts 26:20 states: “...but kept declaring both to those of Damascus first, and also at Jerusalem and then throughout all the region of Judea, and even to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds appropriate to repentance.” So everyone has been granted repentance, that is, the opportunity to actually do so, and have it received by God. God has essentially opened the door for their salvation. John 3:16 easily fits within this, because with their opportunity, still comes their obligation to act upon the opportunity, which is to repent, believe and become saved, and thus to receive the gift of eternal life. So in terms of the sailors, God granted Paul their lives, but implicit to that promise was a condition which Paul specifically warned about. So there really is no evidence of Determinism here. Calvinists simply manufacture it.
