Order of Salvation - 1. Election

All right, so you can, if you flip over the prayer sheet, you'll see some notes, and hopefully that'll help you follow along. The goal of this upcoming series that we're gonna do on Wednesday nights is to help us better understand the plan of salvation. What are the steps in this plan? How is salvation worked out in our lives? And then how do these different aspects of that plan fit together? This is often called the Ordo Salutis, which is just Latin for the order of salvation. And there's various ways that people have kind of listed this out, but I've sort of pieced together something, referenced Wayne Grudem and some others to come up with with this list, but we're going to try to work through this together and just explain what these words mean and how they relate. So it'll probably be about a six to eight week study in all. But tonight, We're gonna focus on the first step in this process, and that is election. And so first, I wanna just give some clarity. So what is it? What does election mean? And I think the simplest way to define election is that election is God choosing some for salvation. And when God chooses some for salvation, well, that necessarily entails God passing over others. And so that next word, reprobation, that's what that means, is God not choosing or passing over others. And then a third key term is predestination. which really is just election and reprobation combined. You can think of it as election and reprobation are the two sort of aspects of predestination. So all human beings are destined in advance either for everlasting salvation or eternal ruin, that's predestination. And perhaps surprisingly to someone who hasn't read the Bible that much, these things actually come up a lot. And the Bible tends to be pretty matter-of-fact about it. I've given you a list of verses that touch on election, and a few of them touch on reprobation as well. We're not going to go through all of those. In fact, there's many, many others that are not listed here. This is just sort of a short list. But I'll just read a few of them. So Ephesians 1, verses 4 and 5 says that God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love, God predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ. Romans chapter 8 verses 29 and 30 says, for those whom God foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined, he also called. And those whom he called, he also justified. And those whom he justified, he also glorified. So we'll come back as we keep working through this order of salvation to some of those other terms, but clearly those are all linked together. And then one other place, Acts 13 verse 48, Paul and Barnabas are rejected by the Jews, but they turn to the Gentiles. And then it says, and when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord. And as many as were appointed to eternal life believed. So there was some pre-prior appointing of some to eternal life. And then the other side, just a couple, a few verses that speak about reprobation. In Jude chapter, Jude verse four, it says, for certain people have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were designated for this condemnation. Ungodly people who pervert the grace of our God. In first Peter chapter two, verse eight, It says that some stumble because they disobey the word as they were destined to do. And then in Matthew chapter 11, verses 25 and 26, Jesus declares, I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for such was your gracious way. So this is just a few verses that talk about these concepts of God choosing some, not choosing others, and some of them use this term predestination, the end being determined beforehand. So these are clearly biblical concepts. Now a second key question is, when does election take place? And this, again, scripture is very, very clear. So Ephesians chapter 1 verse 4, I already read that, but it says, God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world. Also in Revelation chapter 13 verse 8, it's talking about the beast. And it says that all who dwell on earth will worship it. That is everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the lamb who was slain. So scripture is very clear. There's this book, some people's names are written in it, and it's written before the foundation of the world. In other words, election takes place before creation in the very eternal mind of God. So this brings us to the third question, which is, well, why then does God choose whom he chooses? And this is really the critical question in the debate. Sometimes I've been asked the question, so do you believe in predestination? It's as if some Christians believe in predestination and some Christians don't. But actually, anyone who believes the Bible should believe in predestination. That is just a clear biblical teaching. Historically, the debate isn't over whether God predestines or when God predestines. but how and why God predestined some for salvation, but not others. And I just want to very briefly touch on four different views here, just to try to introduce us to some of the different views on this point. So you can see them listed out there. The first of those is the traditional Armenian view, which is that God bases election on foreseen faith. So basically, why does God choose some and not others? Well, because God sort of looks through time. So even though he makes that decision, you know, before the foundation of the world, he's looking ahead to see which of us will choose to follow Jesus. And then he bases his choice of us on our choice of him. So election is conditioned on us. One proponent of this view, Jack Cottrell, he says, before the world ever existed, God conditionally predestined some specific individuals to eternal life and the rest to eternal condemnation based on his foreknowledge of their free will responses to his law and to his grace. So that's the traditional Arminian view. The second one is the corporate election view, which is the idea that God elects at the group level. And this is actually a variant of Arminianism. So these are people that would agree, in terms of the whole plan of salvation, they're Arminian. But they reject the idea that when scripture talks about election, it has in view God sort of looking through the corridors of time to see who will choose him. Instead, what they say is that God predestines a group, namely the church, for salvation. And as individuals, our election is then subsequently dependent on whether or not we are sort of in the church or not. And to be clear, they don't just mean a member of a local church. They mean, do you repent and believe in Jesus? And therefore, through faith, you are belonging to him and part of the universal church. One proponent of this view is Leighton Flowers. And he uses the analogy that the church is like a ship. And Jesus is the captain of the ship. And God has predestined that ship for salvation. And so the question is just whether we are on board the ship. And that's kind of subsequently determined by our response to the gospel. Another proponent of this, Brian Abasciano, he puts it like this. He says, corporate election refers to the choice of a group which entails the choice of its individual members by virtue of their membership in the group. Thus, individuals are not elected as individuals directly. but secondarily as members of the elect group. So this, unlike traditional Arminianism, it's not trying to base selection on foreknowledge, but like traditional Arminianism, when you get down to what about the individual, it's still conditional in the very same way. They would just exegete some of these passages differently. Third view, the Molinist view. And this view is a little, well, it's a little bit like the group view, but it's the idea that God elects a particular world. And it's called Molinism because the founder of this idea was a guy named Luis de Molina, who was a Jesuit theologian from the 16th century. And it relies on a concept called middle knowledge. by which God foresees which individuals would choose Christ in every possible world that God could have created. And the assumption is, well, of course God would want, you know, probably everybody to be saved, but it assumes sort of an understanding of free will, just like Arminianism, which is the idea that, well, God can't work it out so that everybody is saved, because that would infringe on human freedom. So what God does is basically he looks at all of the possible worlds and what the outcomes would be in all those possible worlds. And then he chooses to actualize one particular world, whichever world sort of meets the criterion, which is often sort of assumed to be something like, you know, that the highest percentage of people will become believers. And then he chooses that world. And so then the election of individuals is kind of derivative of the fact that, well, God chose this world, and in this world, you and I are the people that chose to believe, where maybe in a different world we wouldn't have, and so he elected us because he chose this world. One fairly well-known proponent of Molinism is William Lane Craig. He puts it like this, he says, it is up to God whether we find ourselves in a world in which we are predestined. but it is up to us whether we are predestined in the world in which we find ourselves. So that's the idea of Molinism. Once again, there's clearly an important sense in which election is conditioned on us. Well then, fourthly and finally, there's the reformed view. And this is the view that God elects certain individuals before the foundation of the world, based on his own free and sovereign will. So this is the view that says election is unconditional. That God chooses us not based on something in us, but he chooses us just based on his own will. And in fact, this is really the view that doesn't even try to attempt to answer the question, why is this person saved, but not that person? Because every other view, in some way, it's sort of based on, well, this person did that, and that person did that, and that would explain it. But this is the view that says, there's a mystery here. We can't give an answer, ultimately, other than to say, because it was God's choice. It's simply up to God. It's the purpose of His will. And I just want to briefly argue that, you know, unless you're motivated to find a way around that, I think that's just what a plain reading of Scripture is going to lead us to. This simply, it's up to God. You just look at scripture, that seems very clear. Let me just point out a handful of verses that I think say this. First, I just want to make clear that, you know, God, election isn't just about groups, but it is about individuals. I already read Acts 13, 48, but again, it says, when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord. And as many as were appointed to eternal life believed. It's clearly talking about some of these individuals were appointed to eternal life and they believed. Not they became appointed to eternal life when they believed. So, individuals. Matthew 11 where Jesus talks about how God reveals things to infants and he hides things from the wise and prudent. There's individuals in view there. Romans 9, Paul's going to build an argument about election based on the fact that God chose Jacob, but not Esau. He chose Isaac, but not Ishmael. There's specific individuals in view. And then when we try to probe deeper, okay, so why would God choose one individual, not another? Well, again, scripture seems very clear that it's not based on the individual, it is based on God's own will. 2 Timothy 1, verses 9 and 10 says that, God saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works, but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began. because of his purpose in grace. In Deuteronomy 7, thinking about Israel, God says, it was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples. But it is because the Lord loves you. Why does God love you and choose you? Because he loves you. Ephesians chapter one, again, verses four and six, right after saying, you know, God shows us in Christ before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and blameless before him, and that in love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ. It gives us a reason. It says he did this according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace with which he has blessed us in the beloved. Why would He choose us based on the purpose of His will and for His glory, to the praise of His glorious grace? And then finally, just one other example in Romans chapter 9. where it talks about how God chooses Isaac and then he chooses Jacob in order that God's purpose of election might continue. Then it goes on and Paul says, for God says to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I have mercy. and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion. And then he concludes, so then, it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God who has mercy. God is the potter, we're the clay. God is the chooser, we are the chosen. Again and again, it's God's will, it's God's purpose, it's God's grace. It doesn't depend on us. And yet, why is it that that teaching is hard for many of us to accept? Open up to you guys. What are some reasons that we can sort of struggle with this? I think the first three are garbage, so this is not me saying it's how you can accept it. Because people want to have a say in their salvation. They want to feel like they're participating and they have to do something because then they can feel better about it. But that makes God a potential Savior, not an actual Savior. The only one that makes God an actual Savior is the fourth one, the reformed biblical view. He actually saves people, he just doesn't potentially save them. But people want to hold on to, I've done something. You can bring up to free will, you can get into a good argument if you like over that for a while. People are as free as God allows us to be. I think people don't want to understand the essential nature of their actual depravity. I think it's an avoidance of true understanding that I am absolutely reparate. I'm horrible. I'm terrible. And I need Jesus Christ. From most of the people that I've talked to, many people who are even in evangelical churches, Baptist churches, different churches across, you know, just all across the country, I mean, through Facebook and then just through interaction in my workplace and so forth, what the general idea is, even when they're Christians, the general idea is I'm reasonable and God gave me a boost. You know, I was messing up But it's not, I was completely depraved, and God saved me. They don't realize the reality of it, and I think they try to avoid that. And? On the opposite side of that, which goes with that, is that our understanding of God, we don't have a right understanding of God's love, and so we attribute our understanding of love to God, and say, we can only love people that deserve love, and we don't understand our depravity and God's greatness and perfection in His love. Lots of hands. This is great. David, I saw your hand next to mine. I think Paul kind of addresses it in that same chapter. In verse 19, he says, So you'll say to me, then, why does he still find fault? Or who's ever resisted his will? Like, there's a, there's, we feel an injustice towards God. Why do we think that he is picking and choosing people, which would seem arbitrary to us, that, like, in a very real sense, God is determining the eternal destiny of people and has nothing to do with it. It seems unjust at face value, and it's hard to deal with that. Yeah. Keith? I think it runs against how we really experience God and salvation, because I chose Jesus when I was saved. And it's a legitimate confusion. I truly chose to believe in Jesus. Praise God, I can see that he was doing a lot more work than I realized at that moment. But it runs over against that belief I actually knew Jesus. I saw that. James? Yeah, I think those are all very foundational things, all those things that people said, but the reality is also that, now this isn't the case for everyone here, but some of us here, as well as a lot of people in churches around America, did not grow up in churches that taught this sort of thing, right? Because of all those foundational things. So some people reject this doctrine basically out of fear of rejection from the Christians that they're in fellowship with. And so I would even say that sometimes our appeal to those people, if they're in this congregation, is like, hey, you can believe freely as you read the scriptures plainly, you know? So, if you're a man... Yeah, and maybe some of us have seen this doctrine sort of misapplied in a way that you know, even could, with misapply, there's people that have sort of right negative reactions, but they don't realize, well, they're sort of responding to the misapplication rather than a true biblical application. Rob? I think this is a particularly difficult thing for people in our generation, in our culture, because we have so many choices that we can make versus, you know, in history where, you know, you grew up a blacksmith's son, you were going to be a blacksmith, you grew up noble, you were part of the noble class, things like that, where you kind of accepted these things as they were, and as you were given things, and today I think it's a lot more Yeah. Yeah. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, I think it's a great point, and it comes through, yeah, one like, well, if I were God, I would do this, and how could a loving God not just save everybody, you know, and we assume that, or, you know, again, we want to sort of over-explain things, and we're not content to say, well, Here's where scripture starts and stops, and the Bible doesn't tell us why God chooses this person and not that person, but he's God. And we have to surrender to, okay, this is the edge that we can't go beyond. That's great. Yeah, I don't think my grandson would appreciate that answer. Because he's God. Yeah, yeah. Rachel? Yeah, and let me just kind of flip this and kind of keep pressing in because, you know, we've been thinking, why is this hard to accept? But let's think about the other side of this. Why is this really a doctrine we should cherish? Like, why is this something that, you know, we don't just sort of acknowledge Scripture teaches, but we should be thankful for? Robert? It removes me from the equation. To speak also to what the sister Rachel just said, you know, R.C. Sproul said, do you love God? He asked somebody a question that came up to him at one of his Q&As. And they said, yes. Do you love him perfectly? No. But do you love him at all? He says, yes, I love God. Do you think you love him on your own? The fact that you love God and are struggling over this question is evident. It doesn't mean stop pressing into the Scriptures and examining your faith, but it truly takes the burden off of me. It's not about how sanctified I was today versus tomorrow. It doesn't mean I stop trying to be sanctified, but I don't look at myself for my salvation, I look unto Christ. Amen. I think I saw David. Yes. Yeah, and just to piggyback on what Robert was saying as well, yeah, I think it really should be a great source of assurance. And sometimes, yeah, there can be issues where we need to counsel someone and is kind of misapplying it in a way Scripture never does. You know, Scripture never tells someone, oh, well, you God didn't choose you, so the gospel doesn't really apply to you. But actually, scripture uses it very much to encourage us that, hey, I believe, and that means God chose me, and that means God's gonna keep me. As Jesus says in John 10, my sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me. I give them eternal life and they will never perish and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father who has given them to me is greater than all and no one is able to snatch them out of my Father's hand. What are some other reasons we should cherish this? I was just going to say that the positive side, even if it's difficult, I feel like it's a little bit easier to digest. Like some things Robert has said, it's not us, like you just explained of staying in God's will, but could you repeat the verses that were the negative side of predestined to die? at least for me to digest, of like, this fresh baby's born, that baby's going to hell right now, is already like, that's a harder thing to accept than, just because Christianity's about restoration. And I was wondering if you could list off the negative verses before. Yeah, the couple I mentioned, so I think Jude 4, and I think it was 1 Peter 2, 8, and then Matthew 11, 25 to 27. Dennis? So, yeah, I just, you kind of, It's hard to understand why God would make someone and not give them the opportunity to be saved. We have a hard time understanding that. But really, on the flip side, I don't understand my salvation. I don't deserve that. I can't comprehend it. It's the same problem. Yeah. And we're not going to have time to get into the fray of this too much, but one just point to keep in mind. You know, Reformed theology insists that election is unconditional, but it doesn't sort of apply, you know, in a symmetrical, equal way that reprobation is unconditional. So it's not, it's not that, you know, like Scripture gives no reason why God should save us, but it's not that Scripture then says, and there's, it's just all God why we're condemned. It emphasizes our sin. So I think it's helpful to keep that distinction in mind. How does this relate to evangelism, to praying for other people's salvation? And again, it's one of those that I think we could seem, there's some very seemingly logical Well, if God predestined, then it's already fixed, so what I do doesn't matter, and therefore it's just going to happen as if it's this fatalistic thing, which actually is not at all the way scripture applies it. And I think one thing we have to remember is that God is a God of means. So the God who has elected some has also ordained the means through which those people would come to faith. the preaching of the gospel, the prayers of God's people, our lives, serving others, loving others. These things do matter. And I actually think we should think of this doctrine of election as an encouragement toward evangelism. Because if I don't believe in that, and I think, okay, at the end of the day, it's up to people. And I have to somehow convince them to make the decision. Well, I think that's often going to be very discouraging. In my experience, you're reaching out to somebody and you realize how hard the heart is. It's like nothing I could ever do or say, no matter how clearly I present it, they're not going to change. And what gives me hope is, but God can change the heart. And then how quickly I think we burn out. I mean, just the pressure of thinking like, as if it ultimately depended on us and our ability to be compelling, if that's what saves people, it's a crippling pressure. Where I think election encourages us that at the end of it, we just need to be faithful. We need to be faithful to do what God's commanded us to do. God is the one who saves, and the hope is that God will. I think of what God tells Paul when Paul's afraid, he's in Corinth, and in Acts 18 it says, and the Lord said to Paul one night in a vision, Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, for I am with you and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many in this city who are my people." It's striking. It's not, well, I have many in the city who I chose, so what you do doesn't matter. It's go on. and be encouraged. I'm with you because I have many. And so I think in that same spirit, we should go forth being faithful to share. Keith? We've got to wrap up, but just a couple other things to mention real quick. We should cherish it because it humbles us. I mean, just as we think about this, it is a reason to be humble, to realize I've contributed nothing to my salvation, that God is the potter, I'm the clay. It also shows us how everlasting God's love is. that he loved us from before the very foundation of the world. It's an everlasting love, as Paul writes in 1 Thessalonians 1, for we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you. And then finally, Election is a reason to praise God for His grace, just to realize everything in salvation is a gift of God's grace. As Ephesians 1 told us already, He predestined us, according to the purpose of His will, to the praise of His glorious grace. So this should prompt us to praise God for how gracious He is. All right, I know there's lots of other good questions and discussion, but I'm gonna go ahead and pray for us, and then we'll love to continue offline. Let's pray. Father, we thank you that we can wrestle with these deep and profound truths of your word together as a body. We pray that you would give us humility to do so graciously, to do so with a teachable spirit. And Lord, we pray that as we do so, Ultimately, you would use these things to point us to Christ and His grace, to strengthen us in the glory of the salvation that you have wrought, and disperse onto faithfulness, to love others well, to share your word boldly, and to glorify your name. It's in Jesus' name we pray.