|
Is
the Doctrine of Election Biblical?
by
John
MacArthur
Adapted
from The Body Dynamic, © 1996 by John MacArthur. All rights
reserved.
Among
the most hotly contested and persistent debates in the history of the
confessing church, the doctrine of election is perhaps the greatest
of all. The question goes like this: Does God choose sinners to be
saved and then provide for their salvation? Or, Does God provide the
way of salvation that sinners must choose for themselves?
Where’s
the evidence?
This
question of choice is called “election” because of the Greek word
for those who are chosen—the Bible calls them eklektos. There are
many such uses in the Bible (cf. Col. 3:12; 1 Tim. 5:21; Tit. 1:1; 2
John 1), but one of my favorites is in Romans 8:33: “Who will bring
a charge against God’s elect?” The answer is, “no one,” but
why? Is it because I chose God, or is it because God chose me?
One
passage that is critical to the discussion is in the opening chapter
of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. Immediately after his customary
greeting, Paul launches in Ephesians 1:3-14 with a great song of
praise. It’s only one sentence—but, with 200 words in the Greek,
it may be the longest single sentence in religious literature.
Paul
touches on all the great biblical themes in that hyper-complex
sentence—sanctification, adoption, redemption, and
glorification—and all of them rest on one foundational doctrine,
the doctrine of election. The most superlative spiritual blessings
stand on Ephesians 1:4—“He chose us [elected us] in Him before
the foundation of the world.”
So the
doctrine of election is biblical, but what does that passage really
teach? I want to help you get a better grasp of that by pointing out
what Paul teaches about election. If you are a believer, you can
equip yourself for your next conversation on this topic. But more
important, as one of His elect you can rejoice in the astonishing
kindness God showed you before the world began.
What
does it mean?
Paul’s
song is essentially his reflection on the amazing truth that God
“blessed us with every spiritual blessing … in Christ” (v. 3).
And how did He bless us? “He chose us in Him before the foundation
of the world” (Eph. 1:4).
God
didn’t draw straws; He didn’t look down the corridor of time to
see who would choose Him before He decided. Rather, by His sovereign
will He chose who would be in the Body of Christ. The construction of
the Greek verb for “chose” indicates God chose us for Himself.
That means God acted totally independent of any outside influence. He
made His choice totally apart from human will and purely on the basis
of His sovereignty.
Jesus
said to His disciples, “You did not choose Me, but I chose you”
(John 15:16). And in the same Gospel, John wrote, “But as many as
received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God,
even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood
nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God”
(1:12-13, italics mine). And Paul said, “But we should always give
thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has
chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by
the Spirit and faith in the truth” (2 Thess. 2:13).
Those
statements defining God’s sovereign choice of believers are not in
the Bible to cause controversy, as if God’s election means sinners
don’t make decisions. Election does not exclude human
responsibility or the necessity of each person to respond to the
gospel by faith. Jesus said, “All that the Father gives Me will
come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast
out” (John 6:37).
Admittedly
the two concepts don’t seem to go together. However, both are true
separately, and we must accept them both by faith. You may not
understand it, but rest assured—it’s fully reconciled in the mind
of God.
You must
understand that your faith and salvation rest entirely on God’s
election (cf. Acts 13:48). And yet the day you came to Jesus Christ,
you did so because of an internal desire—you did nothing against
your will. But even that desire is God-given—He supplies the
necessary faith so we can believe (Eph. 2:8).
Think
about it—if your salvation depends on you, then praise to God is
ridiculous. But, in truth, your praise to God is completely
appropriate, because in forming the Body before the world began, He
chose you by His sovereign decree apart from any of your works. The
doctrine of election demonstrates God being God, exercising divine
prerogatives. For that we must praise Him.
“But
that’s not fair!”
Some are
shocked to find that God didn’t choose everyone to salvation. Jesus
said, “And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He
has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day” (John
6:39, italics mine). God the Father chose certain individuals to form
a Body as a gift to Jesus Christ. Every believer is part of that love
gift to Christ—a gift of the Father’s love to His Son.
To those
who say that is unjust, Paul answers: “What shall we say then?
There is no injustice with God, is there? May it never be! For He
says to Moses, ‘I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will
have compassion on whom I have compassion’” (Rom. 9:14-15).
So why
does God still find fault in unrepentant sinners when He didn’t
choose them? Doesn’t this deny human responsibility? Is it fair for
God to still hold them accountable?
Paul
answers all such questions with a rebuke—“who are you, O man, who
answers back to God? The thing molded will not say to the molder,
‘Why did you make me like this,’ will it?” (v. 20). Does the
clay jump up and ask the potter why it looks the way it does? Not at
all.
Some
believe that is terribly cold and calculating. But that is only one
side of God’s sovereign election. Paul continues in the next
chapter by saying, “If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord,
and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will
be saved … for ‘whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be
saved’” (10:9, 13).
How
these two sides of God’s truth—His sovereignty in choosing us
(Rom. 9) and our responsibility to confess and believe (Rom.
10)—reconcile is impossible for us to understand fully. But
Scripture declares both perspectives of salvation to be true (John
1:12-13). It’s our duty to acknowledge both and joyfully accept
them by faith.
Added to
Bible Bulletin Board's "John MacArthur Collection" by:
Tony
Capoccia
Bible
Bulletin Board
Box 119
Columbus,
New Jersey, USA, 08022
Our
websites: www.biblebb.com and www.gospelgems.com
Email:
tony@biblebb.com
Online
since 1986
|
