CIM Briefing Papers
C.I.M. #56
DIVINE ELECTION AND PREDESTINATION
I. Introduction
A. The common response
Divine election and predestination are doctrines taught
in the Bible, yet most believers avoid these topics like
last week's leftover fish. It is commonly believed
that these subjects are better left to theologians with
too much time on their hands. The mere mention of
election and predestination strikes fear in the hearts of
some, anger in others. When Christians discuss it,
emotions get out of control, heated arguments often
ensue, along with name-calling, and pigeon-holing.
"You're a hyper-Calvinist." "You're a rank Arminian."
"It's a damnable doctrine." These are but a few of the
epithets we have all heard.
B. Its Importance
The Apostle Paul spent considerable time expounding this
doctrine in Romans and Ephesians. The teaching of divine
election and predestination is an integral part of the
gospel of grace we as believers cherish. Because it is
so contrary to prideful human nature, it is a doctrine
which is, and always will be under attack. It must
be examined anew and afresh by every generation and by
every individual believer. It is our belief that when
properly understood this doctrine leads to evangelistic
fervor and humble worship before the Creator.
II. Major Scripture Passages
The passages on this subject are numerous. The word "elect"
was a favorite name given to believers in Christ in the NT.
The trend continues in the writings of the early fathers.
We are mainly interested in passages where the words
"chose," "chosen," "foreordained," or, "appointed," are
used. This is by no means an exhaustive list:
OT: Ex. 33:19; Dt. 7:6,7; 10:14,15; Ps. 33:12; 65:4; 106:5;
Isa. 65:1; Jer. 18:4-6; Hag. 2:23.
NT: Matt. 20:15-16; 22:14; 24:22,24,32; Mk. 13:20,22,27;
Lk. 18:7; Jn. 1:13; 10:3-4; 15:16; 17:8,9; Acts 13:48;
15:14; 18:27; Rom. 8:28-30,33; 9:10-24; 10:20;
11:4-7,28,33-36; I Cor. 1:26-29; Eph. 1:4-5,11,12;
Phil. 1:29; 2:12,13; Col. 3:12; I Thess. 1:4-5; 5:9; II
Thess. 2:13,14; I Tim. 1:9; 2:9; II Tim. 1:9; Tit. 1:1;
James 1:18; 2:5; I Pet. 1:1,2,5-11; 2:8,9; II Pet.
1:10; Rev. 13:8; 17:8,14.
III. Terms and Definitions
A. Foreordination: This term refers to God ordaining or
determining from eternity whatever comes to pass.
Theologians refer to God's ordaining as the Divine
Decree. The key point here is that foreordaining
refers to the totality of creation, i.e., whatever
occurs. His right to do this stems from His being the
Creator of all that is.
B. Predestination: It refers to a specific act whereby
God foreordains the destiny of moral agents (angels or
men). In more practical terms it means that God
decides the final destiny of beings before they were
created or born. (See Psalm 139:14-16; Romans 8:29,
and Eph. 1:4-5,11.).
C. Election: "To elect" means to choose among
possibilities. In this context it means that God chose
some for blessing (eternal salvation) and passed over
others. For example: He chose Israel and passed over
Egypt and Babylon. He chose Jacob for blessing, but
passed over Esau.
D. Reprobation: It refers to those who were passed over
and left for their just (the key word) condemnation.
Note that it was a passive action. There is another
view (a debatable one) that teaches that it was an
active choice of God to condemn some. This view is
sometimes called double predestination
or hyper-Calvinism, though never taught by Calvin. One
proof used to support this view are the several
passages where God is said to "harden" Pharaoh's heart
(e.g., Ex. 10:20 and Rom 9:10ff.).
IV. The Inter-relatedness of the Doctrine
It is very easy to get a stilted view of this doctrine if it
is not seen in the wider context of the doctrine of the
atonement (soteriology). A continuing, life-long study of
Paul's Epistle to the Romans should be on every believer's
agenda. For a good overview of the doctrine of atonement we
recommend: REDEMPTION: ACCOMPLISHED AND APPLIED by John
Murray (181 pp.).
"The doctrine of election should be viewed not only
against the backdrop of human depravity and guilt, but it
should also be studied in connection with the eternal
covenant or agreement made between the members of the
Godhead. For it was in the execution of this covenant
that the Father chose out of the world of lost sinners a
definite number of individuals and gave them to the Son to
be His people. The Son, under the terms of this compact
agreed to do all that was necessary to save those
"chosen" and "given" to Him by the Father. The Spirit's
part in the execution of this covenant was to apply to the
elect the salvation secured for them by the Son.
Election, therefore, is but one aspect (though an
important aspect) of the saving purpose of the Triune God,
and thus must not be viewed as salvation. For the act of
election itself saved no one; what it did was to mark out
certain individuals for salvation. Consequently, the
doctrine of election must not be divorced from
the doctrines of human guilt, redemption, and regeneration
or else it will be distorted and misrepresented. In other
words, if it is to be kept in its proper Biblical balance
and correctly understood, the Father's act of election
must be related to the redeeming work of the Son who gave
Himself to save the elect and to the renewing work of the
Spirit who brings the elect to faith in Christ!" (THE
FIVE POINTS OF CALVINISM by David Steele and Curtis C.
Thomas, p.31).
More specifically, a Biblical understanding of God's
attribute of sovereignty and man's moral depravity is
crucial to making sense out of the Bible's teaching on
election and predestination.
A. The Soverignty of God: It refers to Gods authority and
power over His creation. Because God is sovereign, He
foreordains whatever comes to pass. This last statement
is a necessary tenet of Christian theism. Why? If
God's sovereignty is limited in any way it is
conceivable that something could happen apart from
divine permission. It would mean that something or
someone is outside of His sovereignty and could
therefore thwart His plans. It would mean that God is
finite and would have all the weaknesses of the Greek
and Roman gods. If there are any atomic particles that
are outside of God's jurisdiction we would have no
guarantee that God could keep His promises. The real
issue is how God's absolute authority can co-exist with
the free will of man. The solution lies in the fact
that the freedom of a sovereign is always greater than
his subjects. Man has free will but it is affected by
his sin condition.
B. The Depravity of Man: The doctrine of total depravity
would be more accurately referred to as total inability.
This doctrine teaches that man sins because he is a
sinner, i.e. he was born with a sin nature inherited
from the first father, Adam. Because of Adam's sin all
are under the curse. This inherited sin nature affects
every part of man's being. All men are said to be
spiritually dead (Eph. 2). What this means is, that no
man can do anything to effect his own salvation.
Man's will is likewise affected by the fall. Man is
free, but his freedom is limited. Even God's freedom is
limited by His nature (He is not free to lie). Man's
freedom is likewise limited by his nature. Prior to
regeneration the Bible describes man's state as being a
slave to sin.
Human choices are always made according to the strongest
inclination (motive) at that moment. In a situation
where a thief sticks a gun in your back and says,
"Your money or your life," your options may be limited
but you still have freedom, and you choose according to
your strongest motive (to live). The Bible teaches that
man in his unregenerate state never has an inclination
(motive) to choose Christ unless first put there by God.
Man does not come to Christ unless drawn by Christ (Jn.
6:44).
V. The Two Major Positions
On the whole, the dispute is not based on God's nature and
will. Most Christians agree here. Rather, the debate is
about the nature of man and his will. This argument centers
around the basis on which God makes His decision to choose
some and pass over others. There are two basic positions:
A. Unconditional Election: It teaches that God did not
choose us based on any prior condition. God did not
choose anyone because He knew beforehand that they
would choose Him. Rather His decision to elect some is
based purely on His sovereign good pleasure (gratuitous).
No one is able to believe in Christ on his own unaided
initiative; he is spiritually dead.
Those who hold this position often use the Biblical story
of the raising of Lazarus from the dead to illustrate
what they believe is overwhelmingly taught in the rest
of Scripture (Jn. 11). When Jesus shouted to Lazarus (in
the tomb) to come forth we would normally conclude that
he could not hear Jesus since he had already been dead
four days. However, Lazarus did hear and did come forth.
How could he respond to the Savior's command? The
answer: He was given new life at the moment of his
calling. This view illustrates that when God calls us,
He simultaneously gives us life (spiritual life) and the
sinner then comes to Christ in faith. The view of UE was
held and expounded by some of the greatest theologians of
the church: Augustine, Luther, Calvin, Owen, Edwards, and
by some of the greatest evangelists and missionaries of
the Nineteenth Century.
Critique: Critics of UE assert that this view violates
human freedom and is thus unfair. I believe this
criticism is clearly answered from Scripture. (See part
VI.)
B. Conditional Election: It teaches that God's choice
depends on what He foresees (or foreknows) man will do.
Because He knew before time that you would do the
right thing and accept Christ as your Savior you are
numbered among the elect. This view acknowledges the
effects of sin but believes that unregenerate man still
has freedom to choose Christ.
Sometimes this view is explained by the rather simplistic
llustration: "There is an election going on; God's got
one vote; the devil's got one vote, and you cast the
deciding vote."
The view of CE is undoubtedly the major view when seen in
the wider context of Christendom.
Critique: (1)God's foreknowledge does not eliminate the
fact that the event (election of certain
individuals) is certain. (2)This makes God
obligated to save those He foreknew would
choose Him. This is contrary to the
definition of grace which is not obligated.
There would then be a reason for the sinner to
boast.
VI. Objections and Questions about Unconditional Election
A. The question of justice and impartiality: God could
have chosen to save all men because He had the power to
do so, and Christ's death was sufficient to pay all
men's sin. Also, it would have been perfectly just of
God if He had shown mercy to no one. He chose to do
neither. What He did do is choose to save some and
exclude others. He was not under obligation to choose
all; those excluded will receive their just reward.
They chose to reject Christ, and eternal separation from
Christ is what they get. Those who were excluded did
not want anything to do with the Savior. There was
never any coercion.
In John's Gospel (Jn. 5) an incident is related in which
a great number of people with all manner of diseases
waited by a pool to wait for an angel to stir the water.
The belief being that the first in the water would be
healed. Jesus came by the pool and healed a man who had
been waiting for 38 years. The great theological
conundrum is why He only healed this man and not all the
people when He had the power to do so. Was Jesus
unfair? This may not be an easy answer, but the God of
the universe can do as He pleases with His creation.
The question that should really haunt us is not how can
God be just?, but how can He be merciful?
B. The necessity of evangelism and prayer. Evangelism,
i.e., preaching the gospel and praying for the lost have
been ordained as the means. If the means fail so
will the ends. In other words, there is no salvation
apart from the gospel. Believers are commanded to
preach the gospel to all men. We are not able to
check out the Book of Life to see whose names are there.
Only God knows the identity of the elect.
C. God's insincerity. Is it insincere to offer the gospel
to all men if only some are chosen? Note: this is a
problem for both views of predestination. If election
is based on foreknowledge as in CE, the outcome is still
certain. But why does God offer the gospel to all men
knowing some will not choose Him? There may be several
reasons: (1)To show the hardness of the sinful heart.
(2)Preaching the gospel to all demonstrates God
sincerity. Salvation is open to all. If they repent;
they will be saved. (3) For all eternity believers
will reflect on the hardness of their own hearts, and
had it not been for God's grace, all will be compelled
to say "But for the grace of God there go I."
D. The teaching of election and predestination will lead to
fatalism and determinism. Fatalism is the concept that
all events happen by blind, impersonal forces, i.e., by
chance. Christians believe, and are comforted by Romans
8:28. History is purposeful and headed toward a
predesigned end. It simply is not true that Judas
would have been damned whether he betrayed Jesus or not.
If he had repented he would have been saved. Judas
exercised his will in doing what he did.
E. Predestination makes God the author of sin. This is a
troubling question. God obviously made evil a part of
His plan, but He Himself does not commit sin. Free
moral agency would not be possible if God had not
allowed for the possibility of evil. To be otherwise,
would make man a machine.
VII. Conclusion:
A. We must be wary of a non-Biblical emphasis, and must
guard against creating a God we are comfortable with,
rather than what is revealed in Scripture.
B. This is a difficult subject and we must resign
ourselves to living with some mystery and tension. On
the other hand, we must never give in to
contradictions. God's sovereignty and man's will are
not mutually exclusive.
C. Some "water," some "plant," but it is God who gives the
increase (I Cor. 3:6). We can fill waterpots but only
Jesus can turn the water to wine. The lesson: in
preaching the gospel it is God who saves sinners. We
must never be guilty of relying on skillful preaching
(though we should do the best we can), methods,
programs, gimmicks, or emotional appeals.
D. The result of concluding that we had nothing to do with
our salvation is that we never recover; it drives us to
our knees. We will not be constrained from telling
others. At the end of time, when men reflect on God's
plan, how His mercy and justice have been worked out,
all alive will do what the multitude did in The
Revelation: We will shout "Hallelujah! Salvation and
glory and power belong to our God, for true and just
are his judgements." (Rev. 19: 1-2).
For Further Study:
(The three marked with astericks are highly recommended for their
popular approach.)
Basinger, David, and, Basinger, Randall. PREDESTINATION AND FREE
WILL: FOUR VIEWS OF DIVINE SOVEREIGNTY AND HUMAN FREEDOM.
Boettner, Lorraine. THE REFORMED DOCTRINE OF PREDESTINATION.
Edwards, Jonathan. THE FREEDOM OF THE WILL.
Fisk, Samuel. DIVINE SOVEREIGNTY AND HUMAN FREEDOM.
*Gerstner, John. A PREDESTINATION PRIMER.
Luther, Martin. ON THE BONDAGE OF THE WILL.
*Sproul, R.C. CHOSEN BY GOD.
*Storms, C. Samuel. CHOSEN FOR LIFE: AND INTRODUCTORY GUIDE TO
THE DOCTRINE OF DIVINE ELECTION.
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