Acts 13:48 “…all who were appointed for eternal life believed. (NIV)”

I hate arguing religion. Too often, each side of the debate wants to be heard, but does not want to hear. One of the major debates of organized Christianity revolves around the question of who God will save. One side says God is sovereign and only He can make that choice. They believe God has preordained some to salvation and others to be lost. The other side believes God chose to give humanity real freedom; He offers us the gift of salvation and eternal life but we make the choice.

At first glance, this text seems to support one side of the debate. Almost all translations use the word “appointed” or “ordained” to translate the Greek verb, tassō. The basic meaning of this verb is “to place, to order, to appoint, to ordain, to determine, to arrange in order.” The Greek language spells the passive and middle form of this verb the same. That means when translating, we do not know whether someone is appointing the subject, or the subject is appointing himself or herself. Depending upon which form of the verb the translator chooses, the meaning of the sentence can change greatly.

Using the passive form, we arrive at a translation like that found in the NIV. However, if Luke intended the middle form of the verb, the translation would be different. A closer translation would be “all who ordered, appointed, ordained, or arranged themselves toward eternal life, believed.” This translation agrees with the teaching that turning toward God is a matter of freewill and personal responsibility.

Because, both translations are technically correct, we cannot use this verse to support either side of the theological debate. Our theology will shape the translation rather than the translation shaping our theology.

Without argument for or against, I will not tell you what I believe. “All who believe the gospel are destined for eternal life.” God gives us real freedom and we must make a choice; I choose Jesus.