GOD’S PURPOSE OF ELECTION:
THE DOCTRINE OF DIVINE ELECTION AND ITS IMPLICATIONS AND IMPORTANCE IN THE CHRISTIAN LIFE
Introduction
“Election destroys evangelism! It encourages pride and diminishes the responsibility of God’s people to reach out to the world in missions. Those pastors who preach the doctrine of election are in churches that are doing nothing for the growth of the kingdom. I believe in election, but I do not teach it because it would drive people away.” Those are the words of the pastor of a large Southern Baptist church.
The Southern Baptist statement of faith says:
Election is the gracious purpose of God, according to which He regenerates, justifies, sanctifies, and glorifies sinners. It is consistent with the free agency of man, and comprehends all the means in connection with the end. It is the glorious display of God's sovereign goodness, and is infinitely wise, holy, and unchangeable. It excludes boasting and promotes humility.[i]
What is it about the doctrine of election that a Southern Baptist pastor would be so afraid of? Many simply do not understand the doctrine of election, its biblical basis, and its history. Some who claim to believe in the doctrine fail to see its importance in the Christian life. Carey C. Newman, in an article published in Review and Expositor argues, “Biblical teaching about election and predestination remains as vital for the church as it is controversial for the history of interpretation.”[ii] So if the doctrine is greatly misunderstood and controversial it is equally (if not more) important, especially to the week-to-week preaching of pastors who are responsible to God for their people’s knowledge of the word of God.
The well-respected Baptist theologian Millard Erickson says, “Election is the selection of some for eternal life.”[iii] Election means that God has chosen some individuals from all the peoples on earth to be special, a people who would be redeemed and ransomed by the blood of Christ, for the purpose of being “a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works” (Tit. 2:14 ESV). This is the meaning of the doctrine of divine election and it should not be avoided simply because it is a difficult doctrine.
The purpose of this paper is not to completely explain every aspect of the doctrine, but to show four implications of the doctrine of election that give it importance for the Christian life. These are:
1. Divine election is unconditional and eternal and therefore destroys human boasting, and promotes humility.
2. Divine election is the motivation and the guarantee for the success of evangelism and missions.
3. Divine election is the foundation on which the Christian life is built and the foundation of the Christian’s hope for the future.
4. Divine election is Christological in nature, and is intended to display the glory of the grace of God.
1. Divine Election is Unconditional and Eternal and Therefore Destroys Human Boasting, and Promotes Humility.
“Even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will” (Eph. 1:4-5 ESV).
Paul says in Ephesians 1:4 (ESV) that the election of God’s people is “according to the purpose of his [God’s] will,” and that it was “before the foundation of the world.” First of all, this means that God’s election of people for salvation is unconditional, according to the “purpose” of “his will.” There was no reason outside the sovereign will and purpose of God for any person to be chosen for salvation in Christ. God freely chooses whomever he wills, based on his own purpose and good pleasure.
Paul makes reference to this sovereign will of God again in Romans 9. Here he is speaking of Jacob and Esau. Jacob was chosen over Esau to be Israel, not because of anything that Jacob or Esau did, but simply because that is the way God chose to work his plan. He says “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 his call” (Rom. 9:11 ESV). In verse 13 he adds, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.” By all rights Esau should have been the one to receive the more prominent position, but God chose Jacob to be the leader of his people. This is testimony to the fact that God “works all things after the counsel of his own will” (Eph. 1:11 KJV), and for no other reason.
Secondly, God’s election is eternal, “before the foundation of the world.” Humans were unable to influence God’s decision in whom to choose by virtue of the fact that they were not there at the time he chose. Before there was ever a created universe, there was God. Before God ever created human beings who would fall away from him in sin, he chose a certain number of them to be redeemed in Christ. The Bible clearly teaches an eternal, unconditional election.
The doctrine of election, however, in no way encourages pride. John Calvin stated that the opposite is true:
“It [election] is useful, necessary, and most sweet. Ignorance of it impairs the glory of God, plucks up humility by the roots, begets and fosters pride. The doctrine establishes the certainty of salvation, peace of conscience, and the true origin of the Church.”[iv]
As the apostle Paul was teaching the gentiles about how God had hardened the hearts of Israel so that they would not believe and the gentiles would believe, he warned them sternly, “do not be arrogant toward the branches (Israel),” but to “note the kindness and severity of God” (Rom. 11: 18, 22). There is no room for boasting in the Christian life.
The truth is that there was no other reason for God choosing any person over another but that he simply chose to do it that way. This is designed to humble the believer who realizes that no one deserves God’s grace, and that every person deserves God’s wrath. As the Baptist Faith and Message states it, the doctrine of election “excludes boasting and promotes humility.”[v] The person who has been chosen by God can no more boast of his standing than the beggar and criminal to whom a king decides to show favor. Paul again makes it clear that salvation is not of human effort, but all of God’s grace and mercy:
“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” (Eph. 2:8-9 ESV).
2. Divine Election is the Motivation and the Guarantee for the Success of Evangelism and Missions.
“Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory” (2 Tim. 2:10 ESV).
There are those who claim that the doctrine of unconditional election hinders, even destroys evangelism and missions. If God’s “elect” are going to come to faith in him no matter what, they reason, then it follows that there is no need for the preaching of the gospel. It is true, especially among Particular Baptists in 17th and 18th century England that some Christians in the Church’s history have held to this view of election. This hyper-Calvinist view is what many are reacting against when they object to the doctrine of unconditional election. There are still many hyper-Calvinistic churches around today. However, those who object to teaching the doctrine of election on these grounds simply demonstrate their ignorance of the whole of Church history, and of the word of God.
Moreover, there are also those who believe strongly in the doctrine of unconditional election (especially in staunchly Reformed traditions), who fall into the same error as that of their objectors. These maintain that the elect will come to Christ no matter what the church does to reach out to them (for God is sovereignly in control of all things), but that the church must preach the gospel simply out of obedience to Christ’s command, namely the great commission (Matt. 28:19-20). Even though these proponents of the doctrine intend to uphold the truth of the word of God, they miss the importance of election to evangelism and missions. This does not aid their case against the former group.
There is an easy answer to the question “if the elect are going to be saved, why do evangelism?” It is found in 1 Corinthians 1:21. The apostle Paul writes, “it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe” (KJV). The Bible teaches that God has chosen a people for himself, and that he has also chosen the means by which they become his people, namely preaching. Jesus said, “And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd” (Jn.10:16, ESV). Do you hear the confident language of Jesus? He was certain that his “other sheep” would come into the fold. How would they come? They would hear his “voice.” God’s elect hear about the grace of God through the preaching of the gospel, and they respond accordingly.
Paul has said that he is “a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ,” “for the sake of the faith of God's elect…” (Tit.1:1 ESV). Paul suffered many things because of his commitment to the gospel of Christ. Why? Surely he did not work in obedience to the great commission without a certianty that God would work in the hearts of those to whom he preached. No, he claimed the promise of the gospel, which ensures that Christ has by his own blood “ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation” (Rev. 5:9 ESV). Paul says that for this reason he was willing to “endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory” (2 Tim. 2:10 ESV).
So then it follows that the doctrine of election is election is the “impetus” and “guarantor” of the success of evangelism.[vi] Election ensures the church that it’s labor is not in vain. The preaching of the cross, as foolish as it may seem, will convert the hearts of sinners, bringing them into the kingdom of God. On this doctrine the church must wager all.
Many claim that the Reformed doctrine of election hinders evangelism and therefore they reject the teaching of reformers such as John Calvin. But again they only show their ignorance of the past and base their objections on mere speculation. Joel R. Beeke, writing in the Reformation and Revival journal, points out that “Calvin was more of an evangelist than is commonly recognized. Through instruction and practice, he relit the torch of biblical, Reformed, God-centered evangelism,”[vii] and “the truths of sovereign grace taught by Calvin such as election are precisely the doctrines that encourage missionary activity.”[viii]
May the truth of history be acknowledged and gloried in that the greatest missionaries and pastors and evangelists of modern times have been staunch, five-point-Calvinists, holding to the highest, most biblical view of the doctrine of eternal, unconditional election. Among these are William Carey, the father of modern missions, Adoniram Judson, the first American foreign missionary, Charles Haddon Spurgeon, revivalists George Whitefield and Jonathon Edwards. Ministers of the gospel today should have no reservations about being counted among this great cloud of witnesses.
3. Divine Election is the Foundation on Which the Christian Life is Built and the Foundation of the Christian’s Hope for the Future.
“He chose us…that we should be holy and blameless before him” (Eph. 1:4 ESV).
“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” (Rom. 8:29-30 ESV).
John Calvin called election “the church’s heart, hope, and comfort.”[ix] The doctrine of election is the grounds on which Christians may be confident toward God in the Christian life. Believers have certainty of eternal life, not because of themselves, but because of God’s grace in election. Election works itself out in the Christian life, confirming the believer’s standing with God, and therefore providing a foundation on which to live victoriously. The apostle Peter encourages Christians to “be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure” so that “you will never fall” (2 Pet.1:10 ESV).
Against the notion mentioned earlier that election produces pride on the part of those chosen by God stands the reasoning of the apostle Paul. He says, “Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience” (Col.3:12 ESV). Election is the basis for which Christians are to display a humble attitude toward God and the world. The knowledge that one has been graciously chosen should lead to “compassion,” “kindness,” “humility,” “meekness,” and “patience.” The knowledge of election causes the church to walk humbly before God, having as its great ambition to freely give what it has been freely given (Matt. 10:8).
The elect have been chosen for the purpose of living lives of holiness and blamelessness before God, and thus inheriting an eternal life of glorification. But God does not leave this up to the believer to accomplish. His election ensures the Christian that “he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Phil.1:6 ESV). Carey C. Newman states, “The beginning, middle, and end of the Christian life is wholly and wonderfully dependent upon the mercy, love, and grace of God.”[x] “Election,” says Newman, “inaugurates the progressive transformation of the total person.”[xi] Without the knowledge of the grace of God in election, Christians will live in doubt as to whether they can live the Christian life, and in fear of the future. With a proper understanding believers are enabled to live fruitful lives. Jesus said,
“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you” (Jn. 15:16 ESV).
An understanding of the doctrine of election and its consequences enables believers to live triumphantly over depression, suffering, and even death. The great tragedies and questions of the age are less of a threat to the person who is grounded in the grace of God. Again Newman encourages the church: “God answers life’s bizarre irrationality through the security, empowerment, and promise grounded in election…”[xii] Calvin himself stated that “the design of all God’s promises…[is] to keep us from being disturbed, to give us quietness of mind, and to cause us to look for the help promised to us.”[xiii] The doctrine of election is the great foundation for the victorious Christian life, and the assurance of hope for the future.
4. Divine Election is Christological in Nature, and is Intended to Display the Glory of the Grace of God.
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him [Christ] before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved” (Eph. 1:3-6, ESV).
From this verse alone one can see the Christological nature of divine election. It is “in Christ” that God has chosen his elect and adopted them “through Jesus Christ.” There is no election apart from Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God.
The purpose of election is to stimulate praise for “the glory of [God’s] grace” (Eph. 1:6 KJV). The glory of the grace of God is seen in none other than the person and work of Christ. Christ vividly displayed the gracious purpose of God in the days that he walked this earth in human form. He loved, he labored, he lived, and he wept for the purpose of bringing glory to the Father. This was them primary focus of Jesus’ life, and it is the primary focus of the gospel today, clearly stated and seen in the doctrine of divine election. Carey Newman states, “To speak of election is to speak of God first, and only secondarily of humanity.”[xiv] This theme is repeated in Ephesians 1: 6,12,14: “to the praise of his glory” (ESV).
Newman says again:
“Election is the clearest expression of God’s will. Election in, through, and by Christ consequently becomes the interpretive prism by which and through which all of God’s will, history, and even our lives can and should be read. Fundamental questions such as, ‘what is God like?,’ ‘how does he behave?,’ and ‘upon what should we stake our lives?,’ receive their most decisive and salient answer in election.”[xv]
What is primary and most important to God is seen in the doctrine of election, namely, his glory, or more specifically, the glory of his grace. God desires, not only a people ransomed for himself, but a people who will give him praise for the glory of his free gift of grace in Christ. This is the very foundation of the gospel. The church must not only proclaim that sinners can be saved and have eternal life in Christ, it must also be careful to proclaim the glory of the one who gives salvation and eternal life.
A proper understanding of the doctrine of election, as well as what is at stake (the glory of God), will move to church away from a “humanistic concept of evangelistic task and methods,” and will promote and fuel “God-centered, God glorifying evangelism” that is in keeping with the truth of God’s revelation.[xvi] The church must see God as a God-centered God, and the gospel as a God-centered gospel, and must proclaim the glory of God in Christ in all its endeavors. Election at its root is the primary doctrine that guards against a man-centered, idolatrous view of God and the gospel.
What is foremost in the doctrine of election is the election of Christ, and not the individual who is chosen in Christ. In the Old Testament, God proclaimed this through the prophet Isaiah:
“Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles” (Isa. 42:1 KJV).
If the elect were chosen in Christ “before the foundation of the world,” it is also true that Christ was a lamb slain before the foundation of the world (1 Pet. 1:19-20). Peter was careful to draw attention to Christ:
“Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Zion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded” (1 Pet. 2:6 KJV).
The election of Christ must take precedence over the election of individuals, regardless of one’s view of the logical order of God’s decrees. Without the election of Christ and his passion, the election of individuals would be meaningless. Romans 8:29 says, “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. The glory of God in Christ is the primary focus of election.
Conclusion
Some may mock the doctrine of election as having no importance for the Christian life. Some say that the doctrine of election belongs only to the academy for discussion and theological debate, and not for the average Christian in the average church. The Christian life, they claim, consists of a more practical nature than does the study of systematic doctrines, such as election. What these pastors and teachers fail to see is that the doctrine of divine election has many practical implications for the Christian life, and that it is important for the believer’s spiritual journey.
One implication is that the doctrine of election eliminates human boasting and promotes humility before God. When believers realize that God has chosen them for no other reason than his sovereign purpose of grace, they live lives of thanksgiving and gratitude.
Another implication is that divine election is the motivation and guarantee for the success of evangelism and missions. There are those who maintain that the doctrine destroys evangelistic fervor, but they simply show their ignorance of history, and of the word of God. The knowledge that God will call his elect to himself through the church’s preaching of the gospel will encourage and motivate the church to go to the ends of the earth with the gospel of Christ.
The doctrine of divine election also is the very foundation on which the Christian life is built, and the foundation of the Christian’s hope for the future. Believer’s are encouraged in Scripture, “Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience” (Col.3:12 ESV). Knowledge of the free grace of God is the basis for which the Church seeks to do good works.
Finally, divine election is Christological in nature, and is intended to display the glory of the grace of God. What could be more important for the Christian life than a proper understanding of the person and work of Christ in relation to the glory of God the Father? Understanding the biblical doctrine of election means to understand the most important and most valuable thing in the universe, namely the glory of God. God desires that his glory be seen most clearly in his grace toward humans, and this is seen most clearly in the doctrine of divine election.
Pastors who would diminish the importance of the doctrine of election miss the point of biblical doctrine. They are robbing their people of the spiritual experience of understanding a little more of the God that has redeemed them, and they will be held accountable to God for their neglect.
[i] Baptist Faith and Message, 2000, Article V.
[ii] Carey C. Newman, Election and Predestination in Ephesians 1:4-6a: An Exegetical-Theological Study of the Historical, Christological Realization of God’s Purpose, in Review and Expositor (vol. 93, Spring 1996), p. 237.
[iii] Millard Erickson, Christian Theology 2nd edition (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1998), p. 921.
[iv] John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion (Translated 1845 by Henry Beveridge, Published August 1, 1536. Zondervan Pradis [CD ROM]), 3.21.1.
[v] Baptist Faith and Message, 2000, Article V.
[vi] Joel R. Beeke, John Calvin: Teacher and Practitioner of Evangelism, in Reformation and Revival (vol. 10 no 4 Fall 2001), p. 124.
[vii] Ibid., p. 108.
[viii] Ibid., p. 123.
[ix] Ibid., p. 124.
[x] Carey C. Newman, Election and Predestination in Ephesians 1:4-6a: An Exegetical-Theological Study of the Historical, Christological Realization of God’s Purpose, in Review and Expositor (vol. 93, Spring 1996), p. 240.
[xi] Ibid., p. 240.
[xii] Ibid., p. 242.
[xiii] John Calvin, quoted in Reformation and Revival (vol. 10 no 4 Fall 2001), p. 105.
[xiv] Carey C. Newman, Election and Predestination in Ephesians 1:4-6a: An Exegetical-Theological Study of the Historical, Christological Realization of God’s Purpose, in Review and Expositor (vol. 93, Spring 1996), p. 238.
[xv] Ibid.
[xvi] Joel R. Beeke, John Calvin: Teacher and Practitioner of Evangelism, in Reformation and Revival (vol. 10 no 4 Fall 2001), p. 124.
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