Predestination in the Epistle to the Philippians

"It has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in Him but also suffer for His sake" (Philippians 1:29).

There are two common arguments used by Arminians against the biblical doctrine of predestination. One is that God foresees (an inaccurate view of foreknowledge) who shall believes, and then He predestines them to all of the means to achieve that. The other is that predestination refers to national destinies, particularly of Israel, not to individuals.

Both of those arguments are refute by the verse above. How so?

First, note to whom Paul addresses his comment, "to you." "You" whom? To the saints at Philippi. That is not to Israel, or to people in general in the future. It is to a specific group of individuals at the time that Paul wrote this letter to them! Prior to his writing to them (specified as before the creation in Ephesians 1:4), God had mercifully granted that they would come to have saving faith in Christ. God's mercy was the a priori condition that induced the response of the Christians (Romans 9:16, Philippians 2:13). There is no hint that His predestination is a reaction to anything foreseen in the future. Second, Paul refers not just to predestination to salvation but to suffering. Now, it is certainly true that Israel has suffered, and continues to suffer. However, by no definition can it be claimed that they have suffered for Christ's sake. But also, if it is unacceptable for God to cause us to believe in Jesus apart from our sovereign wills, how can it be acceptable that He has chosen for Christians to suffer apart from those same sovereign wills? Does that not mean that the Arminian has rejected the sweetness of the one while he has swallowed the bitterness of the other?