Romans 8:28-30
28 And we know that to them that love God, all things work together unto good, to such as, according to his purpose, are called to be saints. 29 For whom he foreknew, he also predestinated to be made conformable to the image of his Son; that he might be the firstborn amongst many brethren. 30 And whom he predestinated, them he also called. And whom he called, them he also justified. And whom he justified, them he also glorified.
The Douay Rheims explains:
[29] “He also predestinated”: That is, God hath preordained that all his elect should be conformable to the image of his Son. We must not here offer to pry into the secrets of God’s eternal election; only firmly believe that all our good, in time and eternity, flows originally from God’s free goodness; and all our evil from man’s free will.
Today’s second reading is one that has been so twisted and taken out of context by Protestants that Presbyterians were taught that only 100,000 or so people would make it to heaven. Think about that, in all of the history of the world and humanity, only 100,000 would be saved... and, their salvation was predestined. Nothing they could do would jeopardize that and, for the rest of us, nothing we could do would matter. The greatest saint, the most faithful Christian, the martyr, no one would go to Heaven unless God had apparently picked them at random before all time. On its face, this is ridiculous. But, this is one of the foundational doctrines of the Presbyterian church, which is one of the largest Protestant denominations in the world. Why anyone would even bother being a Christian who holds that belief is beyond my understanding. Why live a good life? Why not sin? Why not indulge every greed and pleasure? But then, while Luther taught that anyone who has faith in God may go to Heaven, he also taught that a Christian may engage in any sin without jeopardizing their salvation and encouraged his followers to commit adultery and even murder! So, as the old saying goes, it is “six of one and half a dozen of the other.” The bottom line is that all Protestant doctrine that disagrees with the teachings of the Catholic Church is heresy; it is false and not inspired by God.
So, who was “predestined”? Well, many have been, from the prophets to the present day God has chosen special people to attain a level of holiness far beyond ordinary. The Blessed Virgin Mary is the best example of this, preserved from the stain of original sin and whose place in time that was necessary to bring Jesus into the world required hundreds of generations and could not have happened without the active will of God. So, too, were the Apostles. Our Lord knew each man before they existed, and He called them by name to lead His Church. To none other was such honor and authority given. Just as God called Abraham and Moses, etc., God calls those who lead the Catholic Church and they are justified both through faith and obedience. Just as God used the Apostles to choose one to replace Judas among the 12 through the power of the Holy Spirit, the successors of the Apostles choose the Pope. The Holy Spirit ensures that the man they choose will be infallible in official teaching of morals and doctrine. God’s Divine Providence means that He knows each man who will serve in the office of Pope, cardinal and bishop before all time. Even when bad men fill those offices, like Judas, they are instruments of God’s will.
Luther, Calvin, Knox, etc. were never predestined to lead God’s Church. They are not the “firstborn of many brethren”, nor are they justified. They were apostates and anti-Christs, no different than the cult leaders of today who take advantage of the ignorant to enrich and glorify themselves. As our Lord said of the false religious leaders among the Jews, they are children of their father, “the father of lies.”
Judson Carroll is the author of several books, including his newest, A Daily Catholic Devotional, Reflections on the Daily Mass Readings July - December, 2026 It is Available in paperback on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GRGY1D15
A Daily Catholic Devotional, Reflections on the Daily Mass Readings January - June, 2026 It is also available in paperback on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GDK16N45
and
Confirmation, an Autobiography of Faith: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C47Q1JNK
His podcast is The Uncensored Catholic https://www.spreaker.com/show/the-uncensored-catholic