The Doctrine of Election

Did God decide that certain specific persons would go to heaven or hell, before he created the world? Did God know everything that will happen before he created anything? If so, did God know this because he determined or predestined these things would happen, or was this his divine foreknowledge? The answers these questions and others reveal ones perspective on the doctrines of election and predestination.

1. Three main views on Election

a. Augustinian (reformed tradition).

b. Armenian

c. Divine election as Corporate, Open, and Vocational

2. Method of Study

a. Discuss each view separately

b. Look for points of agreement and disagreement.

3. The Augustinian (late 4^th/early 5^th centuries) View

a. Also known as the Calvinistic view and the reformed tradition.

b. Three main assertions related to election.

i. Unconditional—God elected some to be saved based on His good will, without concern for an individual’s qualities, character, actions, or choices.

ii. Individual—Each individual saved; man, woman, child (boy or girl) was loved and favored by God before the creation of the world and was specifically chosen to be saved from condemnation and ruin and to be made holy and blameless (Eph 1^1-5).

iii. Infralapsarian—“infra” means after, “lapse” refers to the “fall” of man.

1). The issue here is did God chose certain individuals from a pool of persons who would make-up the mass of humanity after the fall, or did he view humanity from the view of created but not yet fallen?

c. Textual support for Unconditional Election.

i. John 17^{2, 6,
9, 24}—“all you have given him”.

1). So, those who believe are those whom God has chosen to be saved. Otherwise, they couldn’t believe because of “total depravity.”

ii. Romans 9^10-16—the election of Jacob, not Esau, was unconditional. The emphasis is on verses 11 and 12.

1). Question: Is there “injustice” with God? (see Rom 9¹⁴) “I will show mercy to whom I will show mercy. . . .”

iii. Romans 11^5-7—note verse 5; “chosen by grace.”

1). “Gracious Election in short, is unconditional election.”[1]

2). “To accept a gift is not the same as working to earn it.”

iv. Ephesians 1^4-5—“chose us in him before the foundation of the world . . . .”

1). The reason for the Apostle’s emphasis on the time is to show that we did not yet exist and therefore “God’s election of us can simply have nothing to do with certain truths about us.”[2]

d. “General” call verses “Effectual” call.

i. “Effectual calling requires unconditional election.”[3]

ii. It is agreed that the gospel message calls all people everywhere to put their trust and faith in Jesus Christ and be saved. This is referred to as the “general” call. However, since it is conditional in that the call (or invitation) must be accepted, salvation is not assured.

iii. It must also be noted that the general call is not individual as required by the effectual call.

iv. Romans 8^29ff—“ . . . those whom he foreknew . . .” is defined by Augustine as those whom God chose. This is the effectual call since these individuals had no choice, but were predestined to accept Christ.

v. This was argued by Arminius as being God’s foreknowledge of those who would ultimately accept Christ as Lord and Savior.

e. The issue of regeneration.

i. Adherents to this doctrine believe that regeneration precedes saving faith.

ii. 1 John 5¹—“Everyone who does what is right has been born of God.” So, new birth must precede doing what is right. Or, to do what is right requires having been born again. This again is the effectual call.

iii. To accept Christ is to do what is right and one must already be “born again” to do that.

iv. John 1^11-13—Ware argues that the right to be children of God is because they were . . .

1). Born of God.

2). Believed in Christ.

3). Became children of God.

v. Note the sequence of regeneration prior to saving faith. Ware argues, therefore, this [sequence] is only confirmed by what John says. “He [John] says that they were born ‘not of blood’ (i.e. not due to one’s physical descent.), ‘or of the will of the flesh’ (i.e. not due to one’s own personal determination or will), ‘or of the will of man’ (i.e. not because of any other person’s determination or will), ‘but of God’ (i.e. God alone is the One who has brought into existence this new life).”

vi. Since man is totally depraved and unable to do anything that is pleasing to God, he could not possibly rise to saving faith without already having been regenerated and that requires the unconditional election of God.

vii. Divine sovereignty as understood by the adherents of this doctrine also requires unconditional election. Since Scripture teaches that God ultimately controls all that occurs in life and throughout human history, this must include and account for the salvation of each and every individual. Notice Eph 1¹¹—God we were “predestined according to the purpose of the One who works out everything in accordance with the decision of his will.”

f. Textual support for individual election.

i. John 6^{37, 39}—These passages affirm that specific person were given to Jesus by the Father. Secondly, they affirm that each individual given would be saved.

ii. Romans 8^29,
30—Again, we have the use of pronouns, us, these, those, etc. that indicate specific individuals being referred to.

g. Definition and Explanation of Infralapsarian.

i. “Infralapsarian election to salvation may be defined as God’s gracious choice, made in eternity past, of those whom he would save by faith through the atoning death of his Son, a choice which considered all of humanity fallen, sinful, and guilty in Adam, fully deserving of eternal condemnation while fully undeserving of the bestowal of any favor of kindness, according to which God elected out of the whole of this fallen and guilty humanity some particular sinners to be granted eternal life in Christ, by grace, and through faith.”[4]

h. Textual support for Infralapsarian election.

i. Acts 13⁴⁸—“When the Gentiles heard this, they rejoiced and glorified the message of life.” If they were not sinners, they would not need to have been appointed to eternal life.

ii. Romans 8^29,
30—Several aspects of this passage indicate that those predestined are sinners chosen to be saved.

iii. Ephesians 1⁴—If those elected were chosen to be holy and blameless, apparently they were not viewed as holy and blameless at the time of their choosing.

iv. 2 Thessalonians 2¹³—“God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth.” This is an obvious statement that God chose sinners who were in need of salvation.

4. The Armenian View.