Question
What is your understanding on the issue of election?
Response
Here is a brief synopsis of my understanding of the issue, in a sort of doctrinal statement type manner. That is, I will just tell you what I understand, without necessarily trying to defend it, or substantiate it, or develop every point in connection with it, or even cover every point that could be considered, etc.
It is evident to me from the testimony of Genesis 1-3 that God created man with free will. And even though man fell through the exercise of that free will and became a sinner by nature, the capacity of man to continue to exercise that free will and so respond either positively or negatively to God was not eradicated, destroyed, or imprisoned. This is evidenced to me immediately after the fall, for example, by God’s dealings with fallen, spiritually dead, Adam; and also by His later dealings with Cain and Abel; and also by His dealings with Seth. Moreover, it is evidenced to me repeatedly in the rest of Scripture by the numerous references that there are to the issue of God appealing to the will or volition of man. (For example, Isaiah 1:18-20, in God’s program and dealings with Israel; and Romans 2:1-3:8, where in the second part of “the gospel of Christ” to men in this dispensation God appeals to men to change their minds about how they think they can escape His wrath and judgment.) Man, therefore, even though fallen, has free will, and God’s word to him both directly and actively confronts his volition.
Now God’s plan for the salvation of men is in accordance with men’s free will. It doesn’t ignore it, contravene it, violate it, or override it. As stated by Paul in I Corinthians 1:21, “… it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.” God’s sovereign good pleasure, therefore, is to proclaim a message, which if a man chooses to believe it. God will save him. God provides for men’s salvation, along with the opportunity to possess it, but He will only save those who will believe the message. The ultimate responsibility, therefore, rests with men themselves. They can either believe the gospel message and be saved, or choose not to believe it for whatever reason they have, and not be saved. And because God’s gospel message is His word and not mere men’s words, (i.e., because being His word it by nature is “spirit,” and it by nature is “life,” and it by nature is “quick and powerful,” and it by nature is designed to effectually work in the spirit of man), it can and does both directly and actively confront a man’s spirit, and as such it puts a man’s spirit in the position of making a decision regarding what it says, and it holds it responsible for making its choice of either believing what the gospel message says, or not.
Naturally enough in accordance with man’s free will, and in accordance with the issue of God’s gospel message both directly and actively confronting man’s volition and addressing it, an election occurs whenever a man chooses to believe God’s gospel message when he hears it. He becomes God’s elect, selected out from others by God and distinguished from them by him being now identified by God as saved from the debt and penalty of his sins, having simply believed God’s gospel call/invitation when he heard it. The purpose of God in election makes it clear, (to me anyway), that it is not the plan of God to save all men automatically or outrightly. Nor has it been the plan of God to create some men unto salvation and to create others unto damnation. Nor to either arbitrarily, capriciously, or on the basis of some undisclosed criterion, pre-select before the world began some men unto salvation and others unto damnation. Instead, the doctrine of election declares that it is the plan of God to provide salvation for all men, but in accordance with men’s free will and in accordance with God directly confronting men’s free will by His gospel, to save them that chose to believe it, and for them to thereby be designated by Him as His elect.
In accordance with the “God-ness” of God, God possesses foreknowledge. It is an aspect of His natural omniscience. Therefore, by possessing foreknowledge God knows things in advance; He knows something is going to happen before it happens. And based upon this God is able to make certain sure decisions and declare them to be such, and He is able take certain confident courses of action and declare them to be such as well. Yet God does not say to us that His foreknowledge determines anything; only that on the basis of it confidence should rest. Now though the
foreknowledge of God has a bearing upon many issues, with respect to the issue of man’s salvation it is the basis upon which certain aspects of the doctrine of election rests, as well as the doctrine of predestination, (e.g., Romans 8:28-30; I Peter 1:1-2). Simply put, based upon His foreknowledge God at times is able to talk about ones as His elect in advance; ones whom He knows will respond positively to His message when they hear it, and in so doing be selected out from among others as saved ones. In addition, based upon the certainty of His foreknowledge. God is able to set the destiny in advance of those whom He foreknew, and He is able to declare to them that He has done so. This is fundamentally what predestination is, as in Romans 8:28-30. It is the issue of God declaring to the ones He foreknew the certainty of their destiny, because He by His unerring foreknowledge of them was able to and did set their destiny in advance. The doctrine of predestination is set forth by God as an assurance doctrine to one who has believed the gospel. It is designed by God to effectually work within him unto producing within him much assurance of what the gospel promises, as he understands and appreciates the issue of God having already set his gospel promised destiny in advance, regardless of what he encounters in this world as he awaits it and before it actually comes to pass.
This once again is a very brief synopsis of my understanding. And as I said at the outset, you may find from what I have said that my understanding even differs from yours in certain areas. And if so, that’s fine. Nevertheless at least it gives you the gist of what I understand on this matter.
Keith Blades
Enjoy The Bible Ministries
20020225 B07 IP tc