“Knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God. For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance; as ye know what manner of men we were among you for your sake” (1 Thessalonians 1:4-5).
Introduction
The subject of election is one of those issues upon which the church is divided. The concept is taught in Scripture, but unfortunately it has been distorted by those who come to it with Augustinian notions and preconceived ideas. There are those who exalt the subject at the expense of human free will and responsibility.
Election
Paul defines the basis of our election in Romans 8:29-30, “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.” God did not call us unto Himself so that we could magnify our standing before Him, but so that we might be conformed to the image of Christ. Election serves no higher purpose than this. “All Christians were the elect, and the expression is another way of saying, ‘Knowing that you have become Christians.’” (People’s New Testament).
Has God predetermined who will be saved and who will be eternally lost? If He has, then there seems to be no point obeying the ‘Great Commission’ found in Matthew 28:18-20. If people have no choice but to either accept or reject Christ then calling sinners to repentance is a waste of time. The Bible tells us that we “walk by faith” rather than fate (2 Corinthians 5:7).
Free will
If man has no free will, then salvation is not a choice of the sinner but a decision of God. Some theologians suggest that from birth a person is travelling on a pre-planned route that will lead to Heaven or Hell, that is, some are elected to salvation while others are elected to damnation. If this were true, we can draw no other conclusion than that God has not given man free will. If he has no free will, but simply follows the life God has determined for him, then how can he be condemned for sin and sent to Hell? Does not this make God the mastermind behind the crime? In reality God “commandeth all men every where to repent” (Acts 17:30). Why would He bother to command all men everywhere to repent if He has predetermined their eternal destiny? Here is a problem for those who reject the concept of free will, for if God “commandeth” and man does not repent, does this not undermine God’s sovereign will? It is better to recognise that God, in His sovereign will, has given man free will to either accept or reject Christ.
Salvation
The sinners in Thessalonica who responded to the preaching of Paul, Silas and Timothy accepted Christ as Saviour. Their salvation was a result of obedient men preaching the word of truth. Each one of them made a personal choice to repent and turn to God. The message of salvation is not received by robots but by those who believe, and believing is an act of the will. “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek” (Romans 1:16). As we teach and preach the Good News, God can use it and us to change even the hardest of hearts.
The men who first taught the Thessalonians were convinced (had much assurance) that the power of the Holy Spirit could transform lives and redeem the world. Every believer ought to know that, “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16), that Christ “came into the world to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15), and we are responsible for going “into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15), for God Himself is “not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). It is not that God is unwilling to save, but that the majority are not willing to repent, and we are often unwilling to go to them with the gospel. “How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?” (Romans 10:14).
Conclusion
The moment we lose sight of the reason for our election we will find ourselves in a deep and muddy theological quagmire. Many have fallen into such a pit and have never been able to see the wonderful glory of the gift of salvation. “Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory” (1 Peter 1:8).
© 1/1/2008