Soteriology, Part 2 - God’s Election (Key Passages from Romans). 

1. Why do we want to talk about this? 

   1. Doctrines of Election and Atonement are some of the most debated doctrines out there. Is the election unconditional or based on some decision we make? Is it corporate or individual? Is the atonement limited or unlimited? In what ways? 

   2. Having a biblical understanding of election and atonement is important as it directly correlates with our view of who God is: a sovereign and gracious ruler or One who sits by and lets the choices of men have ultimate control of this world? 

2. Who are those who love God? Chapter 8, Verses 26-39. 

   1. His people. Verse 33 calls us “God’s elect.” Paul continues referring to God’s people in the following verses as seen by verse 29 beginning with “for.”

   2. These phrases are synonymous with saying “those who are saved.”

3. What do most believe it means that God foreknew His elect? Verse 29.

   1. That God “looked through the corridors of time” to see who would choose His Son and who would reject His Son. God would then base His choice of saving or passing over man on man’s decision. 

   2. People idolize free will and believe that if this is not how election works then we are just robots with no ability to make decisions. 

4. Why is this an incredibly dangerous view of God and foreknowledge? 

   1. God is omniscient, He does not need to “look forward” to learn anything. 

      1. “God has never learned anything. God has never looked into the future and learned anything. That is a pagan, secular understanding of God that there is knowledge outside of God, something God didn’t know, and God now is gaining knowledge. God now is being schooled.” - Steven Lawson. TO BE REWRITTEN. 

   2. If God did “look forward” to learn what people would choose to do with His Son, He would see that no one would choose Christ. No one. Look to the Doctrine of Total Depravity that is massively based in passages like Romans 1, 3, 5, and 8. The lost have eyes but they cannot see, they do not want God, they hate God. All like sheep have gone astray (Isaiah 53:6). 

   3. It mistakes “foreknew” for “foresaw,” which is an entirely different concept. We will look into the definition of foreknew in the next question. To foreknow refers to knowing someone, to foresee refers to seeing a future event (Gk. prooraó). 

      1. They are two different terms entirely, both in Greek and English.

5. What does it mean that God foreknew His elect? Verse 29. 

   1. Foreknew, or proginóskó in Greek, means to know beforehand. 

      1. It comes from the Greek roots ginóskó (to know) and pro (beforehand). 

   2. The corresponding Hebrew word for “to know” is yada. 

      1. This is translated as ginóskó in the Septuagint (Gk. OT). 

   3. Clearly, God knew us beforehand. More specifically, before the foundation of the world. However, what does it mean to know someone?

      1. Let’s walk through Scripture and look at some of the times these words are used and what each indicates about their meaning. 

         1. Yada is used 942 times in the OT and ginóskó is used 222 times in the NT, so we will only look at a few of them. 

      2. Genesis 4:1 - Here we see Adam “knew” his wife Eve, meaning to love. Adam had a most intimate and exclusive relationship with his wife Eve.

      3. Exodus 33:17 - God knew Moses, meaning He favored Moses. 

      4. 1 Samuel 2:12 - For the sons of Eli to not know God means they did not have a right, intimate, and exclusive relationship with God. 

      5. Psalm 1:6 - God knows the way of the righteous because He forged it, He delights in righteousness for He is righteous. For God to not know the way of the wicked doesn’t mean He is unaware of the wicked, He knows of their existence, but He has nothing to do with the way of the wicked. 

      6. Proverbs 9:10 - To have a reverent fear of the Lord is to know the Lord. 

      7. Jeremiah 1:5 - For God to know Jeremiah before He was born and to have selected Him as a prophet shows that for God to know someone means that He has entered into a (personal) covenantal saving and loving relationship with them. It shows His favor for His elect is unconditional. 

      8. Hosea 13:5 - God cared for His people in the dry, weary wilderness. 

      9. Amos 3:1-2 - God knew Israel, He chose Israel. He did not choose any other nations, He chose to make Israel His people. He knew only Israel. 

      10. Matthew 1:24-25 - Of course Joseph knew who Mary was in an intellectual sense, but when it says he did not know her it means he didn’t enter into a sexual relationship with her. He did not cross that line. 

      11. Matthew 7:21-23 - For the Lord to say He never knew you means He did not have a loving, saving relationship with you. You never knew Him, your whole walk and “miracles” were all a self-concocted deception. 

      12. John 10:14-15 - Jesus knows His sheep in a way He does not know the goats. Likewise, His sheep know Him and they know His voice. In other words, He chose us and therefore we choose Him, in that order. 

      13. Acts 2:23 - God’s foreknowledge was His plan all along, it wasn’t “Plan B.” 

      14. Galatians 4:9 - Those spiritually dead do not know (love) God, we do! 

      15. 1 Corinthians 8:3 - Those whom God has saved love Him. 

      16. 2 Timothy 2:19 - God knows (loves) His elect, He has chosen them. 

      17. 1 Peter 1:1-2, 19-20 - Whatever you say about verse 20 you also must say about verse 2, therefore the foreknowledge of God in reference to Christ shows that God chose to send His Son into the world.

6. Therefore, does foreknowledge lead us towards or away from predestination? What does this tell us about God’s election of His people? Verse 29. 

   1. Clearly, those whom God foreknew refers to those whom He loved beforehand. It refers to those whom He chose beforehand, whom He predestined.  

   2. This tells us that God’s election is unconditional, it is His sovereign choice. 

      1. Of course, certain conditions must be met for someone to be saved. Unconditional Election refers to how God did not “look down the corridors of time” and foresee some action or condition by us that induces God to save us, but that election depends on God’s sovereign choice. 

   3. If God’s election of His saints was conditional, meaning it relied on some action of condition that we must meet that induces God to save us, then that would ultimately make man sovereign and not God. 

      1. Even if we used the common misconception of foreknowledge and foresight being the same thing, it wouldn’t really matter because you cannot predestine someone you do not know about the existence of. 

7. What does it mean that something or someone is predestined? 

   1. Predestined (Gk. proorizó) means to have predetermined or pre-established boundaries. It comes from the Greek roots horizó (to mark off boundaries) and pro (beforehand). It was used in reference to the horizon out in the distance. It simply means that the destination was determined before the journey even began. The destination is predetermined. 

8. Where else do we see this in Scripture? 

   1. John 1:12-13 - It is by God’s will that we are His children, not the will of man. 

   2. Ephesians 1:3-10 - God chose us before the foundation of the world and predestined us to adoption as sons through the perfect blood of Christ. In other words, He chose us to be brought into spiritual Israel (the Church). 

   3. Revelation 13:8 - Those whom God has not chosen will continue in sin and worship the things of this world. In the end they will worship the beast rather than God (though the interpretation of this depends on your view of the millennium). 

   4. Revelation 17:8 - Those whom God has not chosen will not know God. We see once again that God has chosen His people before the foundation of the world. 

   5. Romans 9:10-24 - This predestination is not based on any action we would perform or condition we would meet, but on the good will of God. See Ex. 33:19. 

   6. 1 Corinthians 1:18-29 - God chooses the weak and foolish to shame those who believe they are too strong or wise to follow Christ. The glory belongs to God. 

   7. 2 Timothy 1:8-10 - God’s election of His people is based on His will. 

   8. Exodus 33:19 - God does not owe anyone salvation, He chooses whom He will have mercy on and whom He will leave to the consequences of their sin. 

   9. Deuteronomy 7:6-7 - God chose Israel not based on anything they had that other nations didn’t, but on the good pleasure of His will. Cf. Rom. 9:6-8. 

   10. Acts 13:48 - Those God has chosen or “appointed to eternal life” will be granted repentance and faith in the proper time that God has ordained for it to happen.

9. Are we able to preach the doctrine of unconditional election to nonbelievers? Has anyone ever done this in Scripture? Does your church do it? 

   1. “Sometimes I hear people say, “Well you can’t talk about predestination except in a small group Bible study with only believers,” or, “You can only talk about it on Wednesday night when no one’s there. We’re certainly not going to talk about predestination on Sunday morning. That’ll really rock the boat.” Well the boat needs to be rocked. Okay? So this was preached to unbelievers, and it was a part of the lightning and thunder of this sermon that you’re not in control of your eternal destiny and it’s a part of God humbling the unbeliever and shattering their self-reliance.” - Steven Lawson. TO BE REWRITTEN. 

   2. Acts 2:23 - Here we see the same root word horizó as the “definite plan” of God. God had predetermined that Christ would take on His wrath for those He chose. God not only predestines the ends but also the means. In other words, God has chosen whom He will save and how He will save them. 

   3. Acts 4:23-31 - The believers here (who Acts 2:42 describes as people who “devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching”) understood that this was part of the predetermined plan of God and did not hesitate to say it. The church here had only just begun and the members were already well educated on the topic of predestination. In fact, this firm belief in the sovereignty of God over all things led to incredibly bold prayers. 

      1. How bold are your prayers? Why are they often so small? Do we not recognize how big and powerful God truly is? 

   4. 1 Corinthians 2:6-9 - Here we see the full term proorizó as that which God “decreed before the ages for our glory.” The secret and hidden wisdom God decreed before the ages (before the foundation of the world, before time even existed, also called eternity past) is the gospel of Christ crucified. What this world sees as foolishness is truly the pure genius of God. As Steven Lawson put it, “The smartest people in this world could’ve never dreamed up the virgin birth; the sinless life; the substitutionary death, the body resurrection, the enthronement at the right hand of God, the Father; salvation by grace alone, through faith alone in Christ alone.” TO BE REWRITTEN. God had the solution long before Adam and Eve ever sinned, this has always been His plan. It has always been about the cross of Christ because it has always been about Christ. Do you recognize that if you are afraid to share the truths of predestination and how the gospel is God’s predetermined plan then you are afraid to share the full, true gospel?

   5. Ephesians 1:3-14 - As Spurgeon said, “I believe the doctrine of election, because I am quite certain that, if God had not chosen me, I should never have chosen Him; and I am sure He chose me before I was born, or else He never would have chosen me afterwards; and He must have elected me for reasons unknown to me, for I never could find in myself why He should have looked upon me with special love. So I am forced to accept that great Biblical doctrine.” 

   6. We must share the truths of predestination with the lost when evangelizing because it leads to a fear of the Lord, which is the beginning of wisdom. May our message drive them to repentance and faith in Christ!

10. If God chooses some then clearly He does not choose others, this is called double predestination. Is double predestination biblical? Explain your answer. 

    1. Yes, you cannot believe in the predestination of some but not all. However, it’s important we understand how this works as to make it clear there is no injustice on God’s part. The simplest way to think about this is a positive-negative way. 

    2. The positive side is that God directly wills those He chose to come to Him. He predestined His elect to be called, justified, continually conformed to the image of His Son, and one day be glorified with Him for eternity. This is why it’s described as a positive, He causes the sinner to come to repentance and faith. 

    3. The negative side is that God directly wills to pass over those whom He has not chosen. However, God does not force anyone to sin nor is He the author of sin. This is why it’s described as a negative, He does not cause the sinner to sin. 

11. Is there injustice on God’s part? How can God send sinners to hell whom He has chosen to pass over? Chapter 9, Verses 1-33. 

    1. Truly think about this, if Paul was making an argument from an Arminian or Semi-Pelagian perspective that based our eternity on our free-will choice then why would he immediately bring up the expected objection of his readers questioning God’s justice in Verse 14? 

       1. Arminian teachers certainly have their difficult questions to answer, but I highly doubt that they ever face the question of how God can be just in sending sinners to hell that He chose not to save. 

    2. However, we must realize two things. God has the power and authority to save all men and could have chosen to do so. God also could have chosen to save no one because He is under no obligation to do so. 

       1. Jacob received mercy from God, Esau received justice from God. There was no injustice on God’s part nor has there ever been or will be. 

    3. Think of this example: a rich man goes up on stage in front of a crowd of people in poverty and debt. He chooses to give some of the poor $1 million each but chooses to pass over the others. Is there injustice on the rich man’s part? No! He did not owe any of them anything, yet he chose to give his gift to some. 

    4. God is not required to save any. Though it is a heart-wrenching concept that we would wonder why God doesn’t save all (and this is a good thing to desire for it shows you desire all to know God and that you are following after God’s own heart as seen in 1 Timothy 2:1-6), the even better question is why does God save any at all? We are all deserving of eternity in hell under His wrath. 

       1. For God to love Jacob and hate Esau shows there is a distinction in the love of God. God does not love everyone the same. That statement may take a while to recover from but it is the truth. God has a special kind of love for His elect that He does not have for the reprobate. He knows His elect, He does not know the reprobate. 

       2. Hating Esau makes all the sense in the world, God is holy, holy, holy. Of course God is angry with Esau. It’s His love for Jacob that is so hard to understand, His love for another wretched sinner.

12. If God has chosen whom He will save, should we still evangelize? Why?

    1. Yes! 

    2. The first reason to evangelize is because God has commanded us to in the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20). If you are part of God’s elect then you have been given a new heart and been filled with the Holy Spirit, you now desire to please God and obey Him (John 14:15-17). This includes following His commandment to go and make disciples of all nations (people groups). 

    3. God has ordained not only the ends, but also the means. In other words, God has not only orchestrated (either directly or indirectly) all that will come to pass, but He has ordained the ways in which all things will come to pass as well. 

       1. More specifically to this question, God has not ordained the end (salvation) without also ordaining the means (evangelism). 

    4. Evangelism, or the sharing of the gospel of Christ crucified, is the means God uses to bring about the regeneration of sinners by the Spirit (Romans 1:16). 

    5. Without Christians sharing the gospel, people will not come to know God. In other words, people will not be able to repent and believe (Romans 10:14-17). 

    6. “Evangelism is man’s work, but the giving of the faith is God’s.” - J.I. Packer, Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God. 

13. What should our view of God’s election be?

    1. “Because as soon as He made the choice to choose whom He chose, He predestined their salvation. So that’s Ephesians One and Verse Five. Please note. “In love, He predestined us.” Always think of predestination as a doctrine of love. It is never a harsh doctrine. You are looking at it incorrectly if you think of it as harsh. If you look at it correctly and understand it Biblically, you understand the fact that God chose anyone is shocking grace; that He chose a vast number is amazing grace; that He chose you is incomprehensible grace. That He chose me is incomprehensible. So in love, He predestined us.” - Steven Lawson. TO BE REWRITTEN. 

14. Resources: 

    1. Unconditional election - is it biblical? Got Questions. 

    2. TULIP and Reformed Theology: Unconditional Election Ligonier, RC Sproul. 

    3. Is Double Predestination Biblical? Ligonier, RC Sproul. 

    4. Predestination and Evangelism Ligonier. 

    5. If God Predestines People, Why Evangelize? Relearn, Dale Partridge. 

    6. Evangelism and the Comfort of Predestination 1517, John W. Hoyum. 

    7. Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God J.I. Packer.  

15. Sermons: 

    1. Unconditional Election: What is Reformed Theology? with R.C. Sproul