The Eelction Of God
By John Hendrix
During one of my lunch-break discussions with Calvin Johnson--my good friend and co-worker--he brought up the subject of God's election. This is a good topic, of course, because it bears directly on the subject of responsibility.
Calvin said, "Ephesians 1:4-5 should be plain to anyone: 'just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will. . . .'"
"Before the world began," Calvin interpreted, "God 'chose' every specific man, woman and child that He would save. His choosing was 'according to his own purpose and grace' and 'not according to our works', as taught in 2 Timothy 1:9. Indeed--according to Romans 9:16--'it does not depend on man who wills, or man who runs, but on God who shows mercy'."
I am glad that Calvin is still studying--as am I--and only good can come from that. I only want to encourage him in his study. My response was to this effect:
Yes, there is an election of God. The scriptures clearly say there is, and I would never presume to question them. There was an election that took place before the world began and a determination--a pre-determination--how the elect would live and what would be their reward.
I must point out that you said "specific man, woman and child," not the verse. A specific, individual election is not a necessary way to understand the passage. I do not know that the scriptures teach that--before the world began--God knew, individually, who would ultimately be saved. Certainly, He has the power to know, but that is not really an important issue to me.
While there is an election of God, the scriptures--I'm confident--teach that this election was neither arbitrary nor unconditional. When Paul said, in 2 Timothy 1:9, that it was not according to our works, he merely emphasizes that God's plan did not depend upon great works of ours that we could in any way boast about. God's plan was implemented over ages, with the Holy Spirit's revelations and the sacrifice of His Son. God's plan, for example, did not depend upon the righteousness of Jacob or the children of Israel. God's plan goes forward independent of what any man does.
I do not know anyone who teaches that we earn or deserve salvation. Yet that does not exclude the need for obedience. The walls of Jericho fell by God's grace, but the event required the faith and obedience of the children of Israel.
For the record, Romans 9 is generally dealing with God's plan to physically bring Christ into the world. This plan was not subject to man's will at all. Romans 9 is dealing specifically with the lineage of Jesus, the planned (foreordained) "falling short" of the Jews and subsequent grafting in of some of the Gentiles as God's people. God chose the children of Israel, knowing the whole time that they would not be able to live up to the requirements of the law of Moses. Their history is a lesson to all that only those who live by faith in God can be saved through the death of Jesus Christ.
When one teaches that God's election is arbitrary as far as anything we do or think, that removes a--if not the--major theme of the Bible: Pleasing God is your responsibility. God has made you and me "able to respond."
Consider Cain. After the "fall of man," Cain--who, according to 1 John 3:12, "was of the evil one"--was told by God, "If you do well, will you not be accepted?" That is in Genesis 4:7. God went on to command Cain to rule over his sinful desires. Was God teasing Cain? Was He telling Cain to do something he had no power to do?
Consider also Matthew 7:21, "Not everyone who says unto me Lord, Lord, will enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he that does the will of my Father in Heaven". And in Matthew 7:13 Jesus tells us to chose the "strait gate". Was He telling us to do something we have no power to do? The Philippian Jailer, in Acts 16:30, asked Paul, "What must I do to be saved?" Did Paul respond, "You have to be of the elect, chosen before the foundation of the world?" No, he told the Jailer to believe on Jesus, and he would be saved. Was Paul telling him to do something that was completely out of his power to do?
As early as Genesis 4:7--when Cain was told he could be accepted--and as late in the scriptures as Revelation 22:17--when the Holy Spirit said, "whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely"--God teaches us that it is our responsibility to do what is right. God has done His part, we must do ours.
At this point, I said, "I'll let you digest all that I have said. In the mean time, let me ask you a question: If my salvation is in no way my responsibility, then how can my damnation be in any way my responsibility? If I can play no part in my salvation, I cannot play a part in my damnation. Therefore, I cannot be blamed if I am lost. I am punished for something I cannot control."
Well, dear readers, Calvin wanted to think about this some more, so our discussion ended there for that time.