Election Or Choice?
Through reading the Bible I find it true that God has elected those who will be saved. My question is are all who are saved elect? If only those who are elect can be saved then how does this fit in with a loving God?
Q. Through reading the Bible I find it true that God has elected those who will be saved. My question is are all who are saved elect? If only those who are elect can be saved then how does this fit in with a loving God? That means millions of people were born who were given no choice in the matter of existing in a fallen form with a destiny to be damned. I do not see how this can be!
A. The dispute over whether God chooses who will be saved or whether each believer makes that choice personally is left over from a period in history where man didn’t understand the nature of time. It has always been known that God is eternal. What wasn’t known until our generation is that eternity isn’t just a lot of time, it’s the absence of time altogether.
Mankind has now learned that time only governs physical beings. God, being Spirit (John 4:24) is therefore not limited by the constraints of time. That’s how he can predict events that haven’t happened yet. He can see the the end from the beginning.
Simply put, this means that God knew every single person who was going to choose salvation before even one of us was created. He actually saw it happen. Knowing that, He reserved a place for us in His Kingdom. We call that pre-destination, but to Him it’s as simple as making a reservation for someone He already knows will be there.
So, did God know in advance who He was going to save? Yes. Does each one of us make the decision about our own salvation? Again the answer is yes. John 1:12 and 3:16 and a host of other passages make that abundantly clear.
There is a doctrine of election in the Bible, but it refers to God’s unilateral choice of Israel as His people. Theologians who try to make it fit the salvation event have usually been confused by the false doctrine of Replacement Theology that views the Church as having replaced Israel in God’s plan.
