The Doctrine of Election

Biblical Support for the Doctrine of Election
By W. Scott Hollander III
Version: June 28, 2006
Scripture Text is English Standard Version (ESV), emphasis added.

I have spent several years now (currently counting at 14) studying this doctrine in particular and it is not an easy subject, for a theological study or a conversation piece. It is, however, a very Biblical term as it (predestined) is used in Scripture six times and broached by the use of other words such as appointed, determined, election and foreknowledge. I believe the study is a worthy pursuit because it is a Biblical concept as Paul also spent a lot of time on the doctrine. Some of the benefits I see are knowing and understanding the God we serve, not an idol we have created in our own minds with human understanding. It puts God in His proper place, sovereign, in charge and in control of His property, His creation; we are for His glory. Our infinite God has always enjoyed Himself as God and now so shall we, not the other way around. It puts man in his place, sinful, “children of wrath” (Eph 2:3), who could do no right, but God showed favor on us out of love and mercy. I should mention that this topic, as with any, has extreme views on either side. I have the highest view of God and Scripture, and I believe to deny this doctrine is to deny Scripture. It is very hard to understand and swallow with our human minds, but Biblical nonetheless.

You should also understand that this is also a very historical doctrine, as I have mentioned, Paul wrote of it in Scripture, but also our church fathers throughout history also taught this doctrine. Theologians and pastors such as the following: Augustine, John Calvin, Zwingli, Matthew Henry, Spurgeon, Jonathan Edwards, J.L. Dagg (early southern Baptist theologian), and numerous others through the centuries. Calvin may be the most familiar since the study of the subject has in the last few centuries been referred to as Calvinism. So this is where I begin. It should be clarified that what has come to be known as Calvinism is actually a rebuttal to the heresy of Arminianism initiated by the professor Jacob Arminius who questioned the teachings of Calvin and his followers. The rebuttal and the five main points of doctrine clarified were done so at the Synod of Dort, which met in 1618-19 in the Netherlands, and are known as The Canons of Dort. Theologians later simplified the teachings into an acrostic, the acrostic TULIP, which stands for Total Depravity, Unconditional Election, Limited Atonement, Irresistible Grace, and Perseverance of the Saints.

My study here is a simple one; its purpose is not to convince you with a theological disposition or deep exegetical study but to assist you in your own study as a springboard of concepts and Scripture. I would also recommend you read the following: Spurgeon’s Defense of Calvinism (available online, clear and concise); The Potters Freedom, by Dr. John White (very exegetical, studious); A Journey in Grace—A Theological Novel, by Richard Belcher (extremely readable!); or Chosen By God, by RC Sproul.

I’ll begin with the following block quotes which are excerpts from the NIV Bible Dictionary and the Expository Dictionary to clarify the definitions of the terms used in Scripture involved in this doctrine from the original languages.

ELECTION AND PREDESTINATION

For God to predestinate (Greek—proorizo), is for Him to decree or foreordain the circumstances and destiny of people according to His perfect will (Rom 8:29-30; Eph 1:11), a particular aspect of the general providence of God. For God to elect (Heb. bachar, Gr. eklegomai) is for Him to choose for salvation and/or service a people or a person; the choice is based not on merit but on His free, sovereign love (Deut 4:37; 7:7; 14:2; Acts 13:17; 15:7; 1 Thess 1:4). Further, since predestination and election are both presented as acts of God, election cannot be on the basis of God’s knowing in advance the reactions of people to His will. Election must be choice flowing only from God’s own initiative. Believers were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world (Eph 1:4).

Election is a prominent theme in the OT. There is the choice of Abraham and His “seed” that in Him the nations of the world will be blessed (Gen 12:1 ff.; 22:17-18); and there is the choice of (covenant with) the people Israel (Exod 3:6-10; Deut 6:21-23). This nation was chosen by God as those to whom He could reveal Himself and His will, and through whom He could exhibit and declare to the world His purposes and salvation (28:1-14; Isa 43:10-12, 20, 21). Further, there was the choice, from within the chosen people, of specific individuals—e.g., Aaron and David—for special roles and tasks (Deut 18:5; 1 Sam 10:24; Pss 105:26; 106:23).

In the NT, Jesus is the Elect One (Luke 9:35), in whom the election of Israel and of the church of God of the new covenant find their meaning and center. Jesus is the elect “cornerstone” of the new building that God is constructing, composed of both Jewish and Gentile believers (1 Peter 2:4-6). God destined us in love to be His sons through Jesus Christ (Eph 1:5). So the church of God is an elect race (1 Peter 2:9). God’s election is never presented as a cause for speculation or controversy, but rather to celebrate the free grace of God that grants salvation and also to move believers to constant worship and lives of holiness and goodness. As in the OT there is in the NT the election of individuals for service (e.g., Acts 6:5; 15:22, 25). The Jews are, as a people, still the elect of God (Rom 9-11). (NIV Bible Dictionary)

PREDESTINE

The word “predestination” remains a focus of theological debate, but the Greek term for “to predestine,” proorizo (which means “to mark out ahead of time” or “to predetermine”), occurs only six times in the NT (Ac 4:28; Ro 8:29, 30; 1 Co 2:7; Eph 1:5, 11). However, there are other words in Scripture that suggest the same concept—that God has sovereignly determined beforehand that certain things shall come to pass. Such words as keimai and tithemiare variously translated “appointed” or “determined” or “destined.” In context, these often affirm God’s ultimate control of all things.

In the NT, proorizo is used with specific focus. That is, just what is predetermined is carefully identified. For example, Ac 4:28 asserts that the events associated with and culminating in Jesus’ crucifixion were exactly what God’s “power and will had decided beforehand should happen.”

Ro 8:29 identifies those who love God as “predestined to be conformed to the likeness of His Son.” The next verse adopts the divine viewpoint of timelessness. The aorist sums up what to us is a process, but what to God is so certain that it can be spoken of as a completed whole. We who love God have been chosen, predestined, called, justified, and glorified, with the whole process encapsulated as a single timeless event.

According to 1 Co 2:7, God’s plan to redeem human beings through Christ was something “destined for our glory before time began.”

In Eph 1:5, Paul affirms that God, out of love for believers, “predestined us to be adopted as His sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will.” In the same chapter he adds that “in Him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of Him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will” (v. 11).

Thus, the NT use of “predestination” focuses on salvation. That whole wonderful process—including specifically Jesus’ death, our adoption into God’s family, and our transformation into Jesus’ own likeness—is in view. (Expository Dictionary)

Although, for clarity and brevity, Scripture was taken out of context, in the sense that I generally selected individual verses, versus the whole chapter or book, I trust that in your own study you will see that Scripture is not taken out of context in the sense of trying to twist words, meanings or passages to fit a desired interpretation. I trust an exegetical approach and an in-depth study of all passages listed will confirm my conclusion.

TOTAL DEPRAVITY or Total Inability

Man is too dead in sin to search out God on his/her own.

The view one takes concerning salvation will be determined, to a large extent, by the view one takes concerning sin and its effects on human nature. It should be of no surprise then, that the first article dealt with is the Biblical doctrine of total depravity or total inability. This means that man’s nature is corrupt, perverse, and sinful throughout. The adjective “total” does not mean that each sinner is as totally or completely corrupt in His actions and thoughts as it is possible for Him to be. Instead, the term “total” is used to indicate that the whole of man’s being is corrupt and has been affected by sin, extending to the body and soul, mind, will, and emotions. As a result of this corruption, the natural man is totally unable to do anything spiritually good. He is unable to initiate any change to His spiritual state. The alternate view, which I do not see in Scripture, sees man as still having enough good in Him to search out God, this view is known also as semi-pelagianism.

Because of Adam’s transgression, His descendants enter the world as guilty, lost sinners. As fallen creatures, they have no desire to have fellowship with the Creator. He is holy, just and good, whereas they are sinful, perverse and corrupt. Left to their own choices, they inevitably follow the god of this world and do the will of their father, the devil. Consequently, men have cut themselves off from the Lord of heaven and earth and have forfeited all rights to His love and favor.

Genesis 2:16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

Colossians 2:13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses

UNCONDITIONAL ELECTION or Sovereign Election

God chose those He would elect for salvation and without regard to any human conditions, decisions or actions.

It would have been perfectly just for God to leave all men in their sin and to show mercy to none. God was under no obligation whatsoever to provide salvation to anyone. It is in this context that the Bible sets forth the doctrine of election. We must also be careful to note that we serve a timeless God who sees the depravity of man throughout history before history even takes place. It was out of this depravity that He chose some upon whom to bestow mercy, not that He chose them before the creation of the world knowing that they would have chosen Him. As noted in earlier Scripture, man would not have sought God if God had not interjected His grace and favor to some. This is also evidenced in the story of Noah and the flood that God chose eight people to save from His wrath as the rest of the world was brought to death.

The doctrine of election declares that God, before the foundation of the world, chose certain individuals, from among the fallen members of Adams race to be objects of His undeserved favor. These, and these only, He purposed to save. God could have chosen to save all men (for He had the power and authority to do so) or He could have chosen to save none(for He was under no obligation to show mercy to any), but He did neither. Instead He chose to save some and to exclude others. His eternal choice of particular sinners unto salvation was not based upon any foreseen act or response on the part of those selected, but was based solely on His own good pleasure and sovereign will. Thus election was not determined by, or conditioned upon, anything that men could do, but resulted entirely from God’s self-determined purpose.

Those who were not chosen to salvation were passed by and left to their own evil devices and choices. It is not within the creature’s jurisdiction to call into question the justice of the Creator for not choosing everyone to salvation. It is enough to know that the Judge of Heaven and Earth has done right. It should, however, be kept in mind that if God had not graciously chosen people for Himself and sovereignly determined to provide salvation to them and apply it to them, none would be saved. The fact that He did this for some, to the exclusion of others, is in no way unfair to the latter group, unless of course if one maintains that God was under obligation to provide salvation for sinners – a position which the Bible utterly rejects.

It could be further noted that election does not save anyone. It is part of the process of salvation. All that election does is mark out those individuals that God will save. It, in itself, does not save. God brings this individual to the point of salvation. The key part of God’s salvation plan was not in the choosing of the vessels of mercy, but in choosing that the Lamb would be slain as justification and propitiation for these individuals, and this choosing before the creation of the world.

Deuteronomy 7:6 “For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. 7 It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, 8 but it is because the Lord loves you

Revelation 17:8 … And the dwellers on earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world will marvel to see the beast, ...14 They will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful.”

LIMITED ATONEMENT or Particular Atonement

Jesus’ PURPOSE in coming to die on the cross was to secure the salvation of the elect that God had planned before the creation of the world. Scripture states that Christ came, not to enable men to be saved, but to efficaciously save sinners, His chosen people, His sheep. This adds to or clarifies the concept that Jesus’ death was sufficient for all but efficient for some.

IRRESISTABLE GRACE or Efficacious Grace

God’s grace is bestowed effectually to those He has elected unto salvation.

I have combined the listing of Scripture for these two points since the purpose in Jesus’ coming and death is so closely related to the efficacious grace bestowed in relation to His purpose in the sacrifice of His death and resurrection.

Matthew 1:21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

1 Timothy 1:15 The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners,

PERSEVERANCE OF THE SAINTS or Preservation of the Saints

Salvation of the elect endure because God is the giver and sustainer of our salvation.

John 10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.”

Jude 1:1 Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James, To those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ: ... 24 Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, 25 to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.

By no means is this the only Scripture that teaches the doctrine of God’s sovereign salvation process. This should, however, be plenty to get you started into your adventure of studying God’s Word and what He has for you as a follower of Christ.