Unconditional Election Part 1

As you may have already perceived from the title of this post we are beginning a series on the doctrine of Unconditional Election. Most of the posts in this series will center on specific texts but this first one will survey some terminology for the discussion.

I. Defining Terms.

Before we can even begin to see whether or not the Bible sets forth a doctrine of election that is unconditional there are several things that need to be defined.

Election- In its simplest, least biased terms, election is God’s choosing of His people from before the foundation of the world. In most cases (and this is what we will be discussing) this relates specifically to who will be saved.

Conditional Election- This is the view that I am arguing against. There are many different ways that Arminians and non-Calvinists might define election but it is always based upon a condition. We will look at two of them:

According to foreknowledge- That is to say that God knows the future so He looks into it, sees who will respond to the gospel in faith, and elects those persons to inherit the blessings of salvation. Biblical support for this can be found in 1 Peter 1:1-2, “To those who are elect… according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood…” Also Romans 8:29 (which we will look at later) says, “For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.” The problem with this view is that it assumes God’s foreknowledge is a passive taking in of facts as if God needs to learn something. Wayne Grudam also points out that this view of foreknowledge assumes that the Bible is speaking of God foreknowing facts about persons rather than the persons themselves (see Systematic Theology, 676).

In Christ- This view says that God has elected Christ (see Isaiah 42:1 in KJV) and all those who put their faith in him are made elect. Biblical support for this view can be found in Ephesians 1:4, “…even as he chose us in [Christ] before the foundation of the world… The problem with this view is that it basically ignores texts that point to election of persons to salvation, seeing them as an outworking of corporate election.

Certainly there is more than could be shown in defense of this view but that would make this a much longer series. You should know that these two views are not exclusive from each other. I have never seen or heard of a debate on the nature of conditional election.

Unconditional Election- This is the view for which I am arguing. It is that God elected individuals to salvation apart from foreseen obedience. Every person was seen in their state of deadness and enmity with God, yet God chose to save them by sending His Son Jesus Christ.

Predestination- This is a term that is often confused with election. They are very close relatives but still different actions. Predestination is God’s decree of something from before the foundation of the world. For example, in a previous series of posts I argued that God predestined the Fall of mankind. Election is an act of God’s predestination, however, predestination is a broader term.

Double Predestination- This is an even more controversial doctrine that unconditional election. It is that God has decreed both the salvation of His elect and the damnation of the “reprobate” (those who are not elect). Some simply refer to the doctrine of Reprobation. I do believe that this doctrine is biblical but only while making careful distinctions. I do not believe it what is called “equal ultimacy” which means that I do not believe that God is equally active in causing the reprobate to be lost as He is in causing the elect to be saved. As I said before everyone is at enmity with God and He has chosen to save some, while passively leaving others in their reprobate state.

I know this is difficult stuff to learn. I hope it makes sense. Feel free to comment, critique, and/or ask questions.

Grace and Peace,
Stephen