"Unconditional Election" 3/2/08
T
he second of the five points of Calvinism is unconditional election. There are two words that need to be explained, the first is the word unconditional, and the second is the word election. As we learned in our study of the first point of Calvinism, total depravity, man is incapable of making morally right decisions. The Bible tells us that “no one seeks for God” (Rom 3) and again that the “thoughts of men are always evil continuously” (Gen 6 and 9).
“For he says to Moses, 'I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.' So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.” (v. 15, 16)
At this point it would be good to contrast Calvinism with its rival the Arminian. The Arminian, unlike the Calvinist, suggests a different approach to election. The Arminian admits that God elects men to salvation, and that God chooses men to be saved. However, the Arminian typically affirms what is known as the prescient view of election. That God, in His foreknowledge, looks down the corridor of time to see who will receive the Gospel, and who will reject the Gospel. Based on this knowledge God chooses those who will be saved, or elects them, to salvation.
“...even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love (5) he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, (6) to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. (7) In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, (8) which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight (9) making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ (10) as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. (11) In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, (12) so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory.”
For the Calvinist, this predestination to salvation was not based on any action of men, or any foreknown action of men, but based on the unconditional love of God. The London Baptist Confession of Faith says it well when it says:
“Those whom God hath predestinated unto life, He is pleased in His appointed, and accepted time, effectually to call,...This effectual call is of God's free and special grace alone, not from anything at all foreseen in man, nor from any power or agency in the creature, being wholly passive therein, being dead in sins and trespasses, until being quickened and renewed by the Holy Spirit; he is thereby enabled to answer this call, and to embrace the grace offered and conveyed in it, and that by no less power than that which raised up Christ from the dead.” (Chapter 10: Paragraph 1, 2)
This raises another important question that will be answered in our next article. If God's election is based only on his will, and not on the will of man, then why are some men chosen and others not? If salvation is “not of works” and without condition, then why does God save some and not others? In our next article we will take up the third point of Calvinism: Limited Atonement.
~ Founder and Teacher Jeremy J. Lundmark
Since man is incapable of meeting any conditions on his own behalf, God must meet all the conditions. When we talk about our salvation being “unconditional” we mean that man plays no part in the initial working of his salvation. The Bible tells us that salvation is “not of our own doing; it is a gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” One of the most basic tenets of protestant Christianity is the idea that justification is by faith alone apart from works. What this means is that the initial work of salvation is done on behalf of the sinner, apart from the sinner. This is why Romans chapter three says “It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be both the just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” Paul will go on to say that boasting is excluded.
The other word, is the word election. This is a more controversial term than the word “unconditional” for two reasons. The first is because it brings to mind all sorts of negative connotations about God picking and choosing which people to save. The second reason is because at the present time in Christendom the study of God's unconditional love is more appealing than His is sovereign election.
To help explain this term it is helpful that we are in an election year. In November of 2008 the United States of America will hold its presidential election. Every eligible citizen of this country has the right and responsibility of going to a local polling location and “electing” someone to lead our country. The term is very simple, we pick who we want to be our leader. However, the difficulty comes when we start considering the reasons why we choose who we choose. We may choose a candidate based on their religious point of view, or on a particular issue that they agree with us on, or based upon their past voting record. However, the Scripture tells us that God's election of men to salvation is based not on anything good in the man, but because of the good pleasure of God.
Romans 9 demonstrates this election principle which is not based on anything except the desire of God alone.
Notice the difference. The Calvinist says that God's election of men to salvation is based not on man, but purely on the good pleasure of God. The Arminian believes that is too arbitrary, and that God bases his selection upon the foreknown decision of each man. The problem with this view, for the Calvinist, is that God is looking down the corridor of time and actually seeing wicked men make decisions to turn from their sin and choose to follow God. This violates the first tenet of Calvinism that “no man seeks after God, no not one.” According to the Calvinist, if God were to look down the corridor of time to see who would choose Him, nobody would!
The Calvinist affirms Ephesians 1:4-12 which says:
Original Date of Composition March 1, 2008