My wife and I have been traveling for the past several weeks. We've covered eight states and, during that time, heard about a whole bunch of state and local elections going on in most of them. So, I’m writing about election … except … not that kind. This is about the other election.
The topic is uncomfortable for many Christians who hear “election” and think “Calvinism,” but it’s not merely Calvinism; it’s biblical. It is, in fact, unavoidably biblical. Beginning with the Old Testament, when God chooses Noah to save and restart the human race and chooses Abraham to be the father of many and Moses to lead His people and so on, Scripture is full of election … God choosing people for Himself. Paul says God “chose us in Him before the foundation of the world” (Eph 1:4-5). Scripture refers to God choosing individuals or groups before they choose Him, according to His own purpose and grace. He chooses out of love, not merit (Deut 7:6-8). He chooses groups, but He also chooses individuals (e.g., Gen 12:1-3; 1 Sam 16:11-13; Rom 9:10-13). Jesus taught it (e.g., John 15:16; John 6:44; Matt 22:14). It’s not based on our choices (Rom 9:10-13; John 1:12-13; Rom 9:16). It is for His purposes (Rom 9:11) and His glory (Eph 1:6). It is undeniable if you accept God’s Word as truth.
You don’t have to understand every detail of how election works to trust that it is true, that it is God’s work, and that it is not about us. Before you reject it because it feels uncomfortable, take the time to see what Scripture actually says. It may seem arbitrary (it isn’t). It may appear as if it limits human freedom (autonomy is a myth). It might feel like it’s unfair (and you don’t want “fair”). The truth is it’s right there in His Word. Don’t let modern culture shape your understanding of biblical truth. Let biblical truth shape your understanding of reality … and of the God who saves.
7 comments:
I was a believer for many years before I ever heard of the term “Calvinism.” The churches I attended never dwelled on the topic of election (I don’t even know where they stood on the matter), and I had never specifically discussed or read about Reformed Theology. However, I would regularly come across the many verses in the New Testament mentioning election to salvation, causing me to further explore this unfamiliar teaching, which proved to be, as you say, “undeniable” and “unavoidably biblical.”
I once saw a snippet of an interview with John MacArthur, where he was asked something like, “what led you to become a Calvinist?” He replied that in the normal course of reading and studying the Bible, he had encountered those doctrines in God’s Word and therefore came to accept them. Same for me, as it happens.
P.S. Kudos for keeping up with your blog postings even while traveling! Not everyone can manage that. No doubt it’s one reason you’ve been able to average a daily post for twenty years straight. (When I’m traveling, I can’t even say I read my favorite blogs every day, much less comment.)
I don't think I've ever heard anyone make the argument about election in regards to Noah and Abraham, though clearly true. I wonder what the anti-election argument for that would be.
I've told people I'm not a Calvinist. I've never read Calvin. The "5 points" that are associated with "Calivinism" didn't come about until after he was dead. No ... I try to be a biblicist and am pleased when people like Calvin agree.
Agreed. For me, it’s even people like John MacArthur or you. :)
I was trying to recall this this morning: At the time when I first began reading here regularly, I might not have completely understood/accepted the doctrine of election (coming from an “I chose God” background, as I was). It is very likely that I came to absorb that teaching in large part through your posts, in fact--part of that being led to “think biblically” that I often mention I picked up here.
David, I thought the very same thing when reading that this morning (and you make a good point that neither of them chose their destinies). Then I realized that election, selection, and chosen are synonyms, and I remembered the Jews as “the chosen people.” Clearly, God’s providential plan entailed election by Him from the start.
In the past few days, I have twice seen someone quote Charles Spurgeon (from his autobiography) that “Calvinism is the gospel, and nothing else.” I also read both these same sources explain that in election we see the triune God at work: “The Father chose a people; the Son died for them; and the Holy Spirit … brings the elect to faith and repentance … to willingly obey the gospel.” Describing salvation another way: “The Father planned it; the Son achieved it; the Holy Spirit applies it.”
These truths come from God’s Word--not the imagination of a man named Calvin or anything else.
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