Another theological debate that we often encounter during this discussion of the first sin introduced to the human race is the doctrine of personal election.  To argue that God’s sovereignty requires His choice of certain individuals to be saved and others to be lost overlooks two truths. First, it ignores that man shared God’s image and was given the creative power of the mind to choose. To claim that each man’s destiny is already predetermined ignores this truth. Second, it fails to distinguish God’s foreknowledge from predestination.  The mistake is made when we assume that the existence of one requires the existence of the other. And, if this is true, God elected Adam and Eve not only to fall, but He has already chosen whether they will be saved or lost eternally.  In this case, man’s choice is irrelevant because God has already chosen his destiny for Him. If He has chosen him, then he will respond to heaven’s will and be saved. On the other hand, if He has not chosen him, then that individual will choose to ignore God’s will and be lost.  This makes the human race part of a drama production to be lived out. We already know how it ends, but we play our part. If you are the villain, you just play your role through the end of the play.  The real question, here, is whether God causes you to play your role to the very end or if He only knows what choices you will make before you make them. Â
There is a huge difference between knowing a thing is going to happen before it occurs and causing that thing to happen. As already mentioned, if He causes man to be a certain way, man has no power of choice. He is only living the course already charted for him to play out. But, knowing what choices will be made, does not cause it to occur. God’s knowledge that Adam and Eve would sin did not cause it any more than my knowledge that my sons will eventually disobey me causes them to do it. God knows the end from the beginning. He knows all things long before it occurs but one does not determine the other. To illustrate this truth, imagine you were at an intersection, stopped at a red light watching the traffic pass through and you witnessed a car in the turning lane pull out in front of on-coming traffic at the speed of 40 mph. The car traveling at the speed of 40 mph applied the brakes and proceeded its skid into the other car. Just two to three seconds before they collide, you know a wreck is about to occur. Knowing it did not cause it to happen. The difference in this analogy and God knowing something is the length of time. God might know the accident would occur years before it did, but His knowledge did not cause it any more than your knowledge would cause it.