Biblical Soteriology: An Overview and Defense of the Reformed Doctrines of Salvation by Ra McLaughlin Unconditional Election, Part 2 OBJECTIONS TO THE DOCTRINE OF UNCONDITIONAL ELECTION Opposed to the doctrine of unconditional election is the doctrine that hereinafter will be referred to as conditional election. It states that God did indeed elect unto salvation those whom he would ultimately save, but that he did so based on the fact that he foreknew they would ultimately come to a saving belief in him. That is, God, being omniscient, looked down the corridor of time and foresaw who would come to believe the gospel, and based on this foreknowledge God declared these future believers to be elect. As part of this argument, it is sometimes asserted that the biblical adjective elect does not mean chosen, but rather choice. This definition circumvents the unconditional election argument by framing election as a statement of human quality rather than of divine action. Yet another aspect sometimes included in the conditional election argument suggests that Christ alone is elect, and that people are elect only when they are in Christ. In this view, one is not elect until he savingly believes, but becomes elect when he is united to Christ by faith. This position affirms that God eternally declared that the elect would be saved, but adds that God did not necessarily identify or even know who the elect would be. In effect, God elects a class of people, but does not choose who will belong to that class. The determination of class is left to the individual who must exercise his own saving faith to include himself in the elect class. In those forms which assert that election is based on God s foreknowledge of future faith rather than on God s intimate affection for future people, the conditional election position frequently appeals to a pair of texts which deal with the concepts of both predestination and divine foreknowledge: And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He
also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the first-born among many brethren; and whom He predestined; these He also called; and whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified (Rom. 8:28-30). Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who reside as aliens, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, who are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, that you may obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be yours in fullest measure (1 Pet. 1:1-2). Several arguments based on logic are also fairly common: 1) Unconditional election requires that God sovereignly predetermines both election and reprobation. If God sovereignly appoints man to reprobation and creates him anyway, then man cannot help but be reprobate and therefore is not responsible for being reprobate. Since man is not responsible for being reprobate, man cannot be blamed for being reprobate. If man cannot be blamed for being reprobate, he cannot be justly condemned. Since some men are reprobate and justly condemned, unconditional election is false. 2) God desires every person ever to be saved, but not every person ever is saved. This implies that God has chosen not to impose salvation on anyone it implies that election is not God s sovereign determination of who will be saved. Rather, election is an eternal recognition that God has foreseen faith in certain individuals. Election is conditioned upon belief. 3) Salvation is conditional, and election to salvation must respect this condition. 4) God is not arbitrary. Unconditional election requires that God prefers some individuals over others for arbitrary reasons. 5) God is not a respecter of persons, and he is fair. Therefore, he must treat everyone equally. Unconditional election requires that God treat people unequally. 6) God desires that every person be saved, but not every person is saved. Therefore, either God is not sovereign, or he chooses not to exercise absolute sovereignty in election. Assuming that God must be sovereign, he must choose not to exercise absolute sovereignty in election. If God does not choose to 69
exercise total sovereignty in election, he must require something on man s part to complete the equation if anyone is to be saved. 70 ANSWERING THE OBJECTIONS TO THE DOCTRINE OF UNCONDITIONAL ELECTION I. ARGUMENTS BASED ON SCRIPTURE, AND/OR THE DEFINITION(S) OF FOREKNOWLEDGE AND/OR PREDESTINATION A. And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the first-born among many brethren; and whom He predestined; these He also called; and whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified (Rom. 8:28-30). The conditional election viewpoint offers this verse as proof that God predestined/chose those in whom he foresaw faith when he looked down the corridor of time. There are significant problems with this interpretation: 1. The text clearly reads whom He foreknew, not what He foreknew, or of whom he foreknew, or whom He foreknew would believe. Knowing a person, biblically speaking, is a very different thing from knowing something about a person. Knowing a person includes knowing at least some things about a person, but it also means much more. It refers to a personal, intimate knowledge or love. of people, not on omniscience which allowed him to know certain things about all individuals. This concept of foreknowledge also appears in the Sermon on the Mount: Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. Many will say to Me on that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles? And then
I will declare to them, I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness (Matt. 7:21-23). On the day of judgment, Jesus will claim not to know certain people (Matt. 7:34), even though it is clear that he will know something about them, namely their practice of lawlessness. The Greek verb know (ginosko) here is the same as that used in Romans 8:29, save for the addition of the preposition before (pro, rendering the verb proginosko) in the Romans text. In this passage from Matthew, those who are never known by Christ are not admitted into heaven. Those who are never known by Christ are those who are never saved. In contrast, the text implies that being known by Christ belongs to those who are saved. Compare this with John 17:3 which also uses ginosko: And this is eternal life, that they may know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent. Knowing in these instances is not factual foresight, but intimate familiarity and salvation. 2. The meaning of predestined, as interpreted by the conditional election view, is not compatible with the other occurrences of the word in the New Testament. The Greek word which is translated as predestined in the Romans text appears a total of six times in various forms in the New Testament. Two of those six times are in the Romans passage at hand. The other occurrences are as follows: a) For truly in this city there were gathered against Thy holy servant Jesus, whom Thou didst anoint, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever Thy hand and Thy purpose had predestined to occur (Acts 4:27-28). This passage obviously refers to the crucifixion of Christ. The crucifixion, of course, is not just something God acknowledged beforehand would happen, it is something God appointed to happen. In fact, the Scriptures show that even minute details of the crucifixion were appointed to happen (cf. Pss. 22; 110. If by appointed here the Bible means only that God foresaw it and thereby eternally acknowledged it, then the problem remains that God foresaw his own act of incarnation and atonement. Clearly, God had to determine to do the thing before he could 71
foresee himself doing it. The meaning of predestined in this case must be that God rendered it certain to happen. b) Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature; a wisdom, however, not of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away; but we speak God s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom, which God predestined before the ages to our glory; the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory; but just as it is written, Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and which have not entered the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him. For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God (1 Cor. 2:6-8). This passage states that God predestined his hidden wisdom. It defines its meaning in the verses immediately following the statement about predestination. As the text says, this hidden wisdom has been prepared by God for those who love him. To predestine is to prepare. This meaning of predestine perfectly coincides with the meaning of the word under a system of unconditional election. To interpret this usage of the word in terms of conditional election, one would have to assert that it describes God foreseeing and recognizing his own wisdom. Again, God must clearly have determined this wisdom prior to having been able to foresee it. Therefore, the conditional election position leads to God s predestining after (and based upon) his determination to perform this work of wisdom (which is the gospel), contradicting the very assertion made by the conditional election argument. c) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will (Ephesians 1:3-5). 72
Also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will (Ephesians 1:11). Both of these passages treat predestination, but neither mentions it in light of foreknowledge. Instead, both mention it in light of God s purpose and will. Verse 11 specifically places predestination in reference to God s working all things after the counsel of his will. This is particularly pertinent to Romans 8:29, because there also predestination has to do with God working all things. The conditional viewpoint must import the idea of foreknowledge of belief to these passages from Ephesians in order to affirm its position. In summary, predestination is, in all it s New Testament uses, consistently interpreted only by those asserting the unconditional position. 3. Since the meaning of the Greek word translated predestined is not acknowledged beforehand or recognized beforehand, but rather determined beforehand, appointed beforehand, or ordained beforehand, it means that God rendered something certain to occur. If God merely predestined those whom he foreknew would believe, then his act of predestining was not one of appointing, determining, or ordaining. If God predestined only on the basis that he foresaw belief, then his act of predestining really didn t render anything certain to happen. According to the conditional election position, the belief must be certain before God predestines. God s predestination renders it certain that those whom he has predestined will come to saving faith. This concurs with the interpretation mentioned above that God predestined not because he foresaw belief, but because he intimately foreknew those whom he chose. B. Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who reside as aliens, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, who are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, that you may obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be yours in fullest measure (1 Pet. 1:1-2). 73
This verse is also offered as proof that election is based on God s foreknowledge of who will come to repentance. Here are two problems with this argument: 1. Like the Romans text above, this passage does not say that God foreknew something. However, it also does not say that he foreknew someone. Rather than using the language of predestination, this verse speaks of God s choice. A choice by God that is based on his foreknowledge of future salvation or belief, though, is actually only a response to a choice made by the one chosen. According to the conditional view, God s choice is really not a choice, but an obligation God is obligated to reward with election those who believe. As there was before a problem with the interpretation of the word predestine, now there is a problem with the interpretation of the word chosen. If, indeed, God is obligated to choose all those, and only those, who first choose him, then God has not really made a choice. In the absence of any compelling textual reasons for interpreting chosen to mean something different from its traditionally understood meaning, it makes most sense to interpret it to mean exactly what it appears to mean: God, not man, chooses whom he will save. 2. This text says that God predestines, not to belief, but to obedience and salvation: Who are chosen... that you may obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood. Predestination does not merely recognize beforehand, but it has an actual effect. God predestines for the specific purpose of ensuring that the elect may obey Jesus Christ, and, more to the point, be sprinkled with His blood. Christians are predestined to salvation, but they are also predestined in order that salvation may be made possible. To put it another way, apart from them first being predestined, there is no possibility that one may be saved. Predestination is instrumental in accomplishing salvation, therefore it is not just an acknowledgment, but a powerful work of God whereby he makes salvation certain for the elect. Salvation results from being chosen, which makes it impossible that being chosen is somehow the result of foreseen salvation. 74