The Doctrine of Divine Election | Who elected who?

As I mentioned last week, I want us to push pause on Ephesians for a week and consider the doctrine of divine election.  Our text last week forced us to consider the ultimate reason why we’re Christians and how we became Christians.  Ephesians 1:4-6, “(God) chose us in him before the foundation of the world…In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace.”  This text says plainly that a Christian is a Christian because God chose them to be united to Christ before the world began.

This idea of God choosing us for his glory isn’t an isolated idea in the New Testament.  It’s everywhere, as we’ll see in a few moments.  But, for whatever reason, most of us were raised under the teaching, or with the assumption, that the most basic explanation for our salvation is that we chose God, rather than that God chose us.  That our salvation is owing to our will rather than God’s will. 

The doctrine of election raises all kinds of questions, some of which I’ll try to address today.  It can lead us to think that we’re totally passive agents with no responsibility whatsoever.  It can lead us to think that God is unfair or unjust.  It can be confusing and divisive.  It doesn’t seem to have much practical relevance to our lives.  But this doctrine is immensely practical because it helps us understand the why and how of our Christianity.  It helps us understand why people are saved. 

What is Election?

Theologian Wayne Grudem offers a good definition of election: “Election is an act of God before creation in which he chooses some people to be saved, not on account of any foreseen merit in them, but only because of his sovereign good pleasure.”  Grudem also points out that the term “predestination” is another term for election.  Both are used in Scripture to refer to the same thing.  J. I. Packer offers another good definition: “The biblical doctrine of election is that before creation God selected out of the human race, foreseen as fallen, those whom he would redeem, bring to faith, justify, and glorify in and through Jesus Christ.”

Election in the Bible

Where does the Bible teach this doctrine?  In the Old Testament, we find passages like Deuteronomy 7:6, “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” (cf. 14:2). 

In the New Testament, the doctrine really begins to take shape.  For example, when Paul and Barnabas preach to the Gentiles, Luke writes, “When the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed.”  How many believed?  All those “appointed to eternal life.”  In Romans 8:28-30, we read, “We know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.  For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.  And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.”  Then in Romans 9:10-13, “When Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad – in order that God’s purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls – she was told, ‘The older will serve the younger.’  As it is written, ‘Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.’” 

Then in Romans 11:7 Paul addresses why some of the people of Israel were saved while others were not, “Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking.  The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened.”  There are two groups within ethnic Israel, those who are “elect” and those who are “hardened.”  This is what Paul says in Romans 9:6, “For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel.”  And in Romans 2:29, “A Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter.”  God chose ethnic Israel to represent him on earth, to be the nation through which the Messiah would come, but not all Israelites are his children.

Paul says to the church in Thessalonica, “We know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you” (1 Thess. 1:4).  And to the same church, “We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved” (2 Thess. 2:13).  And in 2 Timothy 1:9, Paul says, “(God) saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began.”  When Peter writes to hundreds of Christians scattered across the Roman empire, he begins by saying, “To those who are elect exiles of the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia” (1 Pet. 1:1).  He later calls them “a chosen race” (2:9).  The apostle John says in Revelation 13:8 that “all who dwell on the earth will worship (the beast), everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain” (cf. 17:8). 

A Misconception about Election

The biblical evidence for this doctrine is solid and consistent: Before the beginning of time, God selected those who he would save through his Son Jesus Christ.  This doctrine, like every truth about God, involves mystery and can create lots of confusion.  Probably the biggest misconception is that election is based on God’s foreknowledge of our faith.  In other words, God chooses those who he knows will choose him.  He elects those who he knows will elect him. 

There are lots of problems with this way of thinking.  First, when the Bible uses the word “foreknowledge” (Rom. 8:29; cf. 11:2), it’s referring to persons, not facts.  The passage explicitly says that God foreknew persons, “those whom he foreknew,” not just some fact about them, such as the fact that they’d believe in him one day.  This “foreknowledge” is a personal and relational knowledge.  It means to “fore-love” and “fore-appoint.”  It isn’t a spectator’s anticipation of what will eventually happen.  God knows intimately, in a saving way, those whom he chooses before time. 

The second problem is that Scripture never says that our faith is the reason why God chose us.  In Romans 9:11, Paul says that God’s choice of Jacob instead of Esau wasn’t based on anything they’d done “either good or bad,” but that it was “in order that God’s purpose of election might continue.”  And in Romans 11:5-6, Paul says that the reason some of the Jews had come to faith was only owing to God’s gracious choice.  “At the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace.  But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.”  In other words, God’s choice of some of the Jews to be saved was owing to nothing that they did.  Nothing – not even their faith.  It was based on sheer grace.

The third problem is that election based on our faith would open the door for salvation by works.  Theologian Wayne Grudem summarizes this well: “If the ultimate determining factor in whether we will be saved or not is our own decision to accept Christ, then we shall be more inclined to think that we deserve some credit for the fact that we were saved.  In distinction from other people who continue to reject Christ, we were wise enough in our judgment or good enough in our moral tendencies or perceptive enough in our spiritual capacities to decide to believe in Christ.”  But if election is based on his sovereign choice of us, rather than his choice of us based on our choice of him, then we’ll have a more profound appreciation for a salvation that is totally undeserved and totally dependent on his choice, not ours.

Most Christians believe in election.  But it is at this point where a division occurs.  What is the basis, or the grounds, or the reason for God’s election?  Is it conditioned upon my choice of God?  Or is it totally unconditional?  What ultimately makes the difference between those who believe on Christ and those who don’t?  If our answer is that it’s ultimately based on something God does, then we’ll see salvation at its most basic level as based on grace alone.  But if we answer that the difference is based on something in us, on a tendency in us to believe or not believe, then salvation depends on a combination of grace and human ability. 

Grace is amazing, as we’ll sing in a few moments, because it’s not based on anything in us but only on God’s free gift.  What really makes grace amazing is that we deserve the opposite of grace.  We’d likely admit that we don’t deserve grace, but it’s harder to admit that what we deserve is God’s judgment.  We’re inclined to think of ourselves before salvation as neutral in the sight of God.  We’ll admit that we don’t deserve grace, but we probably won’t admit that we deserve hell.  But the Bible doesn’t describe us as helpless and neutral before God.  It describes us as openly hostile to God (Eph. 2:1-3). 

This is why we all really prefer what we want to do rather than what God wants us to do.  Left to ourselves, we’d always and only choose ourselves and live for ourselves.  We don’t grow up thinking, “How can I please and glorify God?”  But rather, “What do I want to do?”  Because of our open hostility toward God, we deserve his judgment.  We deserve hell.  But, in his grace, he’s chosen to give millions and millions and millions of us mercy.  This is amazing.

Repentance and Faith

Election, by the way, doesn’t mean that we don’t have to repent and believe the gospel.  The Bible is clear that only those who turn from themselves and turn to Christ will be saved.  But the Bible says that those who do this do it because they’re the elect, because they were chosen by God to believe on Christ.  Paul says this in 1 Thessalonians 1:4-5, “We know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction.”  And in 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14, “We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved…To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.”  Peter says it this way in 1 Peter 1:23, 25, “You have been born again…through the living and abiding word of God…And this word is the good news that was preached to you.”  And James says, “Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth” (1:18).  God calls his elect ones through the gospel, by his Spirit.  The way to know, therefore, if you’re elect is to ask if you’re trusting in the good news of Jesus Christ for your salvation.  Those who are are the ones who God chose to be saved. 

Is This Fair?

Some will inevitably say that God choosing some and not others isn’t fair.  We aren’t the first ones to think this.  Paul addressed this in Romans 9:19-24.  Paul says that there’s a point beyond which we can’t answer back to God or question his justice.  He is the Creator, we are creatures.  Understanding the chasm that exists between us helps keep our pride in check and reminds us that God isn’t obligated to explain everything to us.  Grudem summarizes this well: “When we read these words of Paul, we are confronted with a decision whether or not to accept what God says here, and what he does, simply because he is God and we are not.  It is a question that reaches deep into our understanding of ourselves as creatures and of our relationship to God as our Creator.”  This is not to mention the fact that, if God were truly fair, we’d all go to hell.

How Does the Doctrine of Election Apply to Our Lives?

Here are five ways this doctrine applies to our lives.  First, the elect can rest assured that the God who chose them will bring them safely home.  Philippians 1:6, “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (cf. 1 Cor. 1:8-9; 1 Thess. 5:23-24; 2 Tim. 1:12, 4:18).

Second, this doctrine confronts our pride and grows us in humility.  1 Corinthians 1:28-29, “God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.”  Ephesians 2:8-9, “For by grace you have been saved through faith.  And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”  A proud Christian is an oxymoron, especially a Christian who believes in the doctrines of grace. 

Third, this doctrine compels us to live for God’s glory.  Isaiah 43:6-7, “I will say to the north, Give up, and to the south, Do not withhold; bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth, everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory” (cf. Eph. 1:5-6, 12, 14).  Those whom God has called will inevitably want to live for God.

Fourth, this doctrine compels us to tell every person on earth the gospel.  God knows those who are his.  We do not.  His people will only be saved by hearing and trusting in the gospel.  So we must live to spread the gospel (Rom. 10:13-15; cf. Acts 18:9-10; 2 Tim. 2:10).  J. I. Packer says, “We should view all persons that we meet as possibly being numbered among the elect.”

Fifth, the doctrine of election stills our fears and anxieties (Rom. 8:31-39).  Luke 12:32, “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”  Zephaniah 3:16-17, “Fear not, O Zion; let not your hands grow weak.  The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.” 

God is for his people.  He delights to give them what is his.  He is in their midst.  He has saved them from eternal danger.  He rejoices and sings over them.  He aims to quiet their restless spirit with his love.  A love that began before you did any of the stupid stuff that you’ve done or any of the great stuff that you’ve done.  His love is truly unconditional, not based on anything but his good character.  This love is freely available to all who’ll turn away from their sin and put their confidence in Jesus Christ.