Notes on the Doctrine of Election

What followed formed the basis of a couple of recent small group studies.  I should point out that the choice of topic was theirs, not mine!

Eph 1:3-14  is a good place to start: Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves…he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfilment—to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.  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, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory.

We see here repeated and joyful references to the purpose of God in ‘choosing’, ‘predestining’ from eternity those who in time would benefit from all the blessings of salvation.

Let’s begin to unpack the subject of divine election under a few headings.

Divine Sovereignty and Human Responsibility in Romans 9

Romans 9 is one of the few places in Scripture where the tension between divine sovereignty and human responsibility is acknowledged to something of a problem to our finite, fallen understanding.  Douglas Moo (in the New Bible Commentary) has a helpful comment:-

Paul’s emphasis on the sovereignty of God in salvation raises certain objections, as he well knew from many years of preaching. Paul deals with two of these in this section. Is not God unfair to choose some and reject others (v14)? And how can people be blamed for rejecting God if he himself determines that rejection (v19)? Such questions are our natural response to the biblical teaching about God’s sovereignty. It is significant that Paul here offers no ‘logical’ explanation for the compatibility of God’s sovereignty with the equally biblical teaching that God is scrupulously fair and that human beings are justifiably blameworthy for their actions. We would do well to follow his approach: to affirm the truth of these great biblical doctrines without eliminating or weakening one or the other through an insistence on an exhaustive explanation. This is a point at which, with Paul, (cf. Ro 11:33-36) we should be prepared to recognize a mystery beyond our comprehension.

Bruce Milne on Election

Bruce Milne’s Know The Truth is a straightforward, uncomplicated handbook of Christian doctrine.

Milne defines ‘election’ as

that work of God’s grace whereby he chooses individuals and groups for a purpose or destiny in accordance with his will.

Examples form the Old Testament include Abraham, Gen 11:31-12:7, Israel, Ex 3:6-10, and the Messiah, Isa 42:1f.  In the New Testament Jesus is in a special sense the object of election, Lk 9:35; 1 Pet 2:4f.  Then, the church itself is referred to as ‘the elect’, Mt 22:14; Mk 13:20; Lk 18:8; 1 Pet 2:4f.

The doctrine of election is

1. a revealed truth, disclosed in Scripture and to be held as firmly as any other biblical truth
2. a Christian truth, to be considered only from the perspective of regeneration.  It is not an explicit part of the gospel that we present to unbelievers, and in no way inhibits the universal offer of salvation
3. a trinitarian truth, involving the work not only of the Father, but the Son, Jn 15:16 and the Spirit, 1 Pet 1:2.
4. a Christological truth, for we are chosen ‘in Christ’, Eph 1:4, the elect are saved through his atoning work, Rom 8:29f; Eph 1:7f; and the blessings of the elect come through him, Eph 1:7f.
5. a complementary truth, to be held alongside the Bible’s insistence on human responsibility to repent and believe the gospel, Mt 23:37; Heb 12:25.
6. a divine truth, not fathomable by human intellect
7. a practical truth, intended to lead to (a) doxology, Eph 1:1-14; (b) security, Rom 8:33-38; and (c) holiness, Eph 1:4.

Quotes on Election

You begin at the wrong end if you first dispute about your election. Prove your conversion, and then never doubt your election. If your cannot yet prove it, set upon a present and thorough turning. Whatever God’s purposes be, which are secret, I am sure His promises are plain. How desperately do rebels argue! `If I am elected I shall be saved, do what I will. If not, I shall be damned, do what I can.’ Perverse sinner, will you begin where you should end? (Joseph Alleine)

People who are not well grounded in the Bible take umbrage at the idea that God actually hardened Pharaoh’s heart. Now, it is interesting to note that Pharaoh did not complain that God had hardened his heart. Pharaoh was quite satisfied. But others complain for him. (Gordon Clark)

Spurgeon on Divine Predestination and Human Responsibility

It is interesting that the great Baptist preacher C.H. Spurgeon placed a chapter entitled, ‘An Defence of Calvinism’ near the beginning, and not near the end, of his autobiography.  For the ‘doctrines of grace’ were not, for him, some distant climax of his faith, but, rather, its heart-beat and its foundation.

Listen to Spurgeon:-

That God predestines, and yet that man is responsible, are two facts few can see clearly.  They are believed to be inconsistent and contradictory, but they are not.  The fault is in our weak judgment.  Two truths cannot be contradictory to each other.  If, then, I find taught in one part of the Bible that everthing is fore-ordained, that is true; and if I find, in another Scripture, that man is responsible for all his actions, that is true; and it is only my folly that leads me to imagine that these two truths can ever contradict each other.  I do not believe they can ever be welded into one upon any earthly anvil, but they certainly shall be one in eternity.  They are two lines that are so nearly parallel, that the human mind which pursues them farthest will never discover that the converge, but they do converge, and they will meet somewhere in eternity, close to the throne of God, when all truth doth spring.

Autobiography I, 174.

Wayne Grudem on Election

Election is ‘God’s decision to choose us to be saved before the foundation of the world.’ Or, more fully, ‘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.’

The term ‘predestination’ is a broader term, including as it does God’s leaving of the non-elect to the consequences of their own sins.  The term ‘double predestination’ is not helpful as it implies that election and reprobation are similar divine actions.

J.C. Ryle on Election

John Charles Ryle ministered in East Anglia in the middle years of the 19th century before becoming the first (Anglican) bishop of Liverpool.  His writings are refreshingly clear, robust, and heartfelt.  He explains, defends and applies the evangelical faith with deceptive simplicity.  Ryle deals with the doctrine of election in his book Old Paths.  Here’s a summary:-

J.I. Packer on Election

Election is such a hot potato that we can end up resenting the very existence of the doctrine, and almost reproach God for putting it in the Bible at all.  Because we find many of our arguments about election to be unedifying, we are tempted to conclude that the doctrine itself is unedifying.

But look at the attitude of Paul: he is neither embarrassed nor ashamed of election.  The thought of election leads Paul to praise, Eph 1:3ff, to encouragement, Rom 8:33ff, and to ethical appeal, Col 3:12.

Because the doctrine of election touches on the inmost secrets of God, it is strong meat.  It is very nourishing to those who can take it, but likely to cause acute indigestion to those whose constitutions are out of order.

The Doctrine of Election – a Sermon

Following are my sermon notes on the doctrine of election.  This was preached at Holy Trinity Church, Norwich, in April 2006.  The text was Eph 1:3-14.  [See here for my Bible Study Notes on this passage]