What Does The Bible Say About Election?
Election that is based on the Bible is simply the act of God whereby in eternity past He chose those who will be saved. It does not depend on anything outside the power and grace of God. No amount of good works can make any human being obtain faith and salvation (Romans 9:16 So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy.). The Doctrine of Election has repeatedly been taught in the Word of God, and so it is vital for us Christians to understand what it is.
For us to have a better understanding of what election is, we need to understand our natural state first. The Bible tells us that we are all dead in sin or that we are spiritually dead (Ephesians 2:1-3). All human beings are born as sinners; yes, from the moment our mother has conceived us (Psalm 51:5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me.). When we were yet governed by the flesh and were not yet born again, our minds were naturally hostile to God and did not submit to God’s laws, nor could they do so (Romans 8:7-8). It is impossible for us to love God and obey His commandments when we are spiritually dead. There is no way for the sinner to be able to please God. And because we are spiritually dead, it is impossible for us to respond to any spiritual stimulus. A mind that is governed by the flesh is totally hopeless.
The Good News
The good news is that God in His grace and mercy has drawn some of His children to Him. There’s only one way for us to become His children and that is to believe in Jesus Christ. But unless the Father, Who has sent Jesus, draws that person to Him, no one can come to the Savior (John 6:44 No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.). This is where election becomes a significant part of our salvation. It is the Lord Who opens our hearts to respond to Him (Acts 16:14). It is God Who gives us new hearts and puts a new spirit in us (Ezekiel 36:26). Romans 8:29-30 tells us, “For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing, he gave them his glory.” Clearly, it is God Who seeks and calls people and not the other way around.
Before the Foundation of the World
God elected, or chose, His children before the foundation of the world. “Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure” (Ephesians 1:4-5). The faith that we have in Jesus Christ is absolutely a gift from God Himself and not of our own (Ephesians 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,). “For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was his plan from before the beginning of time—to show us his grace through Christ Jesus,” (2 Timothy 1:9). It is such a mind-blowing fact that God has chosen us from the beginning for salvation, and such salvation came through the Spirit, Who makes us holy through our belief in the truth (2 Thessalonians 2:13 But we are [a]bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through [b]sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth,).
An Unconditional Election
God’s election is definitely unconditional. God’s choice of the elect is an act of Holy mercy. It is solely by the grace of God that the elect are able to respond to God’s calling and be able to love the statutes of the Lord. Without the grace of God, the elect would persist in sinning and would remain lost. No human being is responsible for his or her salvation. However, it is important to note that this does not eliminate the responsibility of those people who continue to sin and are lost. We are all responsible for our sins and not God. But what God does in the hearts of the elect is that He changes them and makes them willing to love His commandments. The hearts of the elect are now designed to beat just like the heart of Jesus Christ. The heart of a Christian longs to worship God every day of his or her life.
The Word of God affirms human responsibility together with the doctrine of Divine Sovereignty. We can all believe that God has had a special love relationship with the elects, who are, of course, Christians from eternity. On the basis of this love relationship, God chose us for salvation. We might ask why God chose or elected some for salvation and left others in their spiritually dead state; this question is one that we, with our limited knowledge, cannot answer. Nonetheless, our election should prompt every single one of us to praise God. It should also humble us and at the same time motivate us to minister and do evangelism. It should give us hearts that are willing to share the Gospel of Christ with people who have not yet received Jesus. Election definitely increases assurance in the Lord’s salvation, so let us not forget to thank Him every day for it.
