This has to do with God’s sovereignty in pre-arranging the destiny of those whom He has chosen for blessing (Rom. 8:29; Eph. 1:5 – “marked us out beforehand”). Election is closely connected with predestination, but they are not the same thing. The difference is:
• “Election” has to do with persons being selected (Romans 11:5, 7, 28; 1 Thess. 1:4; 2 Peter 1:10).
• “Predestinated” has to do with the place (the destiny) which has been selected for those persons (Rom. 8:29-30; Eph. 1:5, 11).
The Bible teaches that God has predestinated the righteous to blessing, but there is no Scripture that states that He has predestinated people to a lost eternity. God loves all men, and He is “not willing that any should perish” (2 Peter 3:9; 1 Tim. 2:4). Romans 9:22 speaks of men being “vessels of wrath fitted to destruction,” but God does not fit them as such; they fit themselves by their own unbelief.