| |
ELECTION
Election is one of the more difficult subjects to discuss in
Christianity. The subject itself is really an easy one to prove from
the Bible because verses are abundant that speak of God's sovereign call
of specific people for salvation. The problem comes after proving that
election exists. What do we do with all the verses that teach that man
has a free will to choose or not to choose eternal life through Christ?
Many preachers and Bible teachers avoid the issue by skipping over the
verses that seem to strongly teach election or man's will. Others try
to blend the two doctrines together and show how they work. What
happens, though, is that they end up destroying both doctrines. The
best approach is to do what the Holy Spirit does--teach both doctrines
independently of each other and let God understand how they mesh
together. I admit that man is incapable of understanding how God's
sovereignty in election can exist alongside the Biblical doctrine of
man's free will. God has not chosen to reveal how they blend, He just
states that both are true. This is where the finite must yield to the
infinite and admit that we don't know the answer. It should not alarm
us to admit that there is something in the Bible that we can't
understand, because the Holy Spirit told us early in the Scriptures
that, "The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things
revealed belong to us and to our children forever. . ." (Deuteronomy
29:29).
For this study we will be looking at the subject of election as the
Bible does--separate from man's free will. Later I hope to write a file
on the subject of free will also. I will not attempt to explain how the
two doctrines mesh but only that they exist.
A. ELECTION DEFINED
Webster defines the word "elect" as those persons belonging to a
specially privileged group, and the term "election" as the act of
choosing a person to fill a position by vote. God uses both terms
throughout Scripture in direct reference to those who are saved. Paul
defines these two groups, the elect and the others who were hardened in
the book of Romans, "What Israel sought so earnestly it did not obtain
(salvation), but the elect did. The others were hardened." (Romans
11:7). The apostle Peter states that his book 1Peter is addressed to
God's elect, "Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to God's elect,
strangers in the world." (1Peter 1:1). In Romans, Paul refers to the
twins Jacob and Esau, and quotes the Old Testament, ". . . before the
twins were born or had done anything good or bad--in order that God's
purpose in election might stand: not by works but by Him who calls--she
was told, 'The older will serve the younger.' Just as it is written:
'Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated." (Romans 9:11-13;Genesis 25:23;Malachi
1:2-3). Election is simply God choosing who will be saved for eternal
life. Those He does not choose are hardened (a process they began, but
God continues, as in Pharaoh's case). It is an independent choice,
apart from any human consideration or input.
B. ELECTION TIMING
When did this election take place? According to the Bible it was before
the world began! ". . . He chose us in Him before the creation of the
world . . ." (Ephesians 1:4). If there was ever a doubt about man's
input into the election process, then consider that man was not even
created yet! But some will say, "God just looked down through the ages
and picked the ones that would chose Him." This thought appeals to the
human nature because it gives man some credit in salvation. All the
saved ones chose by their intellect to believe in God, therefore God
chose them. Not true, for other Scriptures scream NO! In Ephesians 2:8
we read that man is saved by "grace" through "faith." In other words,
what acquires our grace of salvation is our faith to believe in Jesus.
The problem is, where did we get the faith to trust in Jesus and the
Gospel message? Again in Eph 2:8 we hear the Spirit say, " . . .it is
by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from
yourselves, it is a gift of God. . ." God must instill in us the faith
to believe, so again man has no choice, for when God gives us the faith
to believe--we will believe!
C. ELECTION'S PURPOSE
God chose us "to be holy and blameless in His sight." God simply wanted
to have a people for Himself. This is a fair and righteous thing for
God to do. He chose one nation out of the rest to be His favorite.
What did Israel have to offer God? Nothing, but He wanted her, so he
elected her as a nation. Why would God chose you and me for salvation?
Because He wanted to. Not because He "saw" something in us that was
lovely, for we were doomed to sin as we proved when we were born. Our
election originated only in Him. Now some would say, "then why wouldn't
God chose everybody to be saved, because that would be equitable."
Well, God is not on trial; He is a just and fair God and we have no
right to question His fairness. The question to ask is not, "Why
doesn't God elect (save) everyone." Rather, it is to ask, "Why does God
elect (save) anyone?" We all deserve eternal Hell for our sins, and why
God chose to be so gracious as to let some live lies solely in God.
D. ELECTION MOTIVE
Why did God choose some to be saved? He had to choose some because,
according to the Bible no one would have chosen Him. As it says in
Psalms, "God looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there
are any who understand, any who seek God. Everyone has turned away,
they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not
even one." (Psalm 53:2-3). The reason God chose some is LOVE! "In love
He predestined us to be adopted as His sons through Jesus Christ, in
accordance with His pleasure and will. . ." (Eph 1:5). God loved and
chose some because it pleased Him to do so.
E. ELECTION'S APPLICATION
Without even "scratching the surface" of the subject of election, I'll
conclude with some thoughts on the Christian's response to having been
chosen by God for salvation.
1. Believe in election by accepting it for what it is.
May we not try to "water it down" nor ignore the
subject. Rather, simply believe it and teach it whenever
we come to it in the Scriptures, as we would the subject
of "free will."
2. Be humble before God realizing that we had nothing to
offer Him, and had nothing to do with salvation, other
than to respond to the gospel as the Holy Spirit directed
us and empowered us. We need to remember that if we had
not be elected, then we would have not believed.
3. Preach the gospel and try to persuade men and women
everywhere to make a decision for Christ. Some may say,
"If God only elects some to be saved and they will
believe, leaving all the rest in unbelief, then why
bother to witness?" There is only one reason to--God
said to go into all the world and preach the Good News to
all peoples. (Matthew 28). God commands us to try to convince
people to believe.
4. Be thankful to God for His grace and wisdom to save
some. Try to yield our lives, by the power of His
Spirit, to do whatever tasks or calling He has for us.
5. Be compassionate to the unbeliever, for some are blind
and will never see the truth of the gospel, and the
others are blind only until God calls them and makes
their election sure.
Remember that election cannot be blended fully with man's free will, but
that it must be treated as a separate entity. If we try blending the
two together, then we will in the end destroy both doctrines. God only
knows how they fit together. Trust Him.
Bible Bulletin Board
Tony Capoccia
Box 115
Galveston, IN 46932
Modem (317) 452-1535
September 2, 1986
THIS PROGRAM HAS BEEN BROUGHT TO YOU BY:
SOUTHERN MARYLAND CHRISTIAN INFORMATION SERVICE BBS (SMCIS)
SMCIS
P.O. BOX 463
CALIFORNIA, MD 20619
301/862-3160
SYSOP: BUGGS BUGNON
FOR THE WAGES OF SIN IS DEATH, BUT THE GIFT
OF GOD IS ETERNAL LIFE THROUGH JESUS CHRIST,
OUR LORD. ROMANS 6:23
|