Acts 1:26
Acts 1:20-26 (see also Proverbs 16:33)
“For it is written in the book of Psalms, ‘Let his homestead be made desolate, and let no one dwell in it’; and ‘Let another man take his office.’ Therefore it is necessary that of the men who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us—beginning with the baptism of John until the day that He was taken up from us—one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection.” So they put forward two men, Joseph called Barsabbas (who was also called Justus), and Matthias. And they prayed and said, “You, Lord, who know the hearts of all men, show which one of these two You have chosen to occupy this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.” And they drew lots for them, and the lot fell to Matthias; and he was added to the eleven apostles.
When the disciples drew lots, in order to determine from God who would replace Judas, and one naturally won, while the other naturally lost, and no faith was required. Naturally, also, it seems that God disregarded that whole process, and chose for Himself, in His own time, the true replacement for Judas, since Jesus selected Saul of Tarsus instead: “‘And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew dialect, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.” And I said, “Who are You, Lord?” And the Lord said, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. But get up and stand on your feet; for this purpose I have appeared to you, to appoint you a minister and a witness not only to the things which you have seen , but also to the things in which I will appear to you; rescuing you from the Jewish people and from the Gentiles, to whom I am sending you, to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me.”’” (Acts 26:14-18) I infer this to be the meaning of Paul’s introduction in Ephesians: “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God....” (Ephesians 1:1)
Now if Calvinistic Determinism was true, then one could avoid having to live by faith all of the time, and just live by the answer of the lots.
“If determinism is true, then it would be true that every time I cast lots, the answer will always be the answer it is supposed to be. Thus, I can always know the future if I want to by simply casting lots for every decision I want to make and every action I want to take!” - Miss Cleo.
Lorenzo Elijah Heighway: “We can test this very simply. Cast lots five times. If Calvinist determinism is true, the five lots will always be the same.”
Question: Are casting lots biblical?
Answer: Yes, primarily in the Old Testament, though, including variations, such as Gideon’s wool. But in the New Testament, we have the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit, whose guidance and activity are well documented:
Acts 13:2: “While they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’”
Acts 21:11: “And coming to us, he took Paul’s belt and bound his own feet and hands, and said, ‘This is what the Holy Spirit says: “In this way the Jews at Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.”’”
Ephesians 4:30: “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”
Romans 8:27: “He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”
Romans 15:30: “Now I urge you, brethren, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God for me.”
One member of The Society of Evangelical Arminians comments on Proverbs 16:33: “In Old Testament times, believers would often seek God’s will by casting lots. Lots were typically small stones (or other types of markers) used to determine God’s selection of someone or something out of 2 or more possibilities. We don’t know the specific procedure for certain, but it would have been something like asking a yes or no question, and then throwing the lot, which would indicate the answer by what lot came out of the pouch that held them (there would be more than one lot, which would be marked or colored to distinguish them and their meaning) or something along these lines. This was a main method of seeking God’s will. So the proverb promises that in this procedure of seeking God, the lot’s every decision was from the Lord. So commentator Derek Kidner articulates the meaning of the proverb well: ‘The Old Testament use of the word lot shows that this proverb (and 18:18) is not about God’s control of all random occurrences, but about His settling of matters properly referred to Him’ (Proverbs, p.122). So this proverb is promising us that when we seek the Lord’s will, he will guide us. We don’t cast lots in the NT because we have the Spirit. We have a much more intimate relationship with the Lord. But the same principle still applies. When we truly seek the Lord’s will, he will guide us (compare the wonderful and famous Proverbs 3:5-6 -- ‘Trust in the LORD with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.’) Now to take this passage in a deterministic sense does not make much sense in my opinion. This would require taking it to say that God accomplishes all that happens. So according to the deterministic reading, God is the one who accomplishes every wicked and evil thing that happens. That would mean that God accomplishes every sin, every rape, every child molestation. That’s practically blasphemy concerning the one whose eyes are too pure to look upon evil.”
