10.10.06
Election and Limited Atonement: Resting in God’s Grace
Election and Limited Atonement:
Resting in God’s Glory and Grace
Recent I had the opportunity to engage in a discussion over my favorite topic of conversation, the sovereignty of God. The discussion arose during the bible study that I am currently leading with Bobby Fleck this past week when only one person came who was interested in discussing this issue. Both Bobby and I are reformed Calvinists who hold firmly to all five point whereas the other member of this discussion, a dear friend, is defiantly not reformed and had serious issues with the reformed doctrines. The substance of that discussion drove me to outline a brief teaching on the doctrines of election and limited atonement as they are taught by the scriptures for the glory of God Almighty. May this teaching be humble and edifying to the Lord of Hosts.
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Note: To do a serious study of scripture it is necessary to use a literal translation of the scriptures, preferably either the English Standard Version (ESV), New American Standard Bible (NASB), King James Version (KJV) or New King James Version (NKJV) for those who don’t speak old English. Translations such as the New International Version (NIV), Today’s New Internal Version (TNIV), New Century Version (NCV), New Living Translation (NLT) or the Message are either paraphrase or thought-for-thought translations which are not conducive to the expositional study of scripture. As such I will be using the English Standard Version.
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The Doctrine of Election
To “elect” means to choose or select whereas to be “elected” means by extension to be chosen or selected by someone or something. The Christian doctrine of election teaches that God Himself is the one who elects (or chooses) those people who will be saved to inherit salvation. Given that not all peoples are saved, if God is the one who elects those to salvation He must also be the one who elects those who are not saved to in fact never become saved. The point is that God is the one who chooses the believer to inherit faith and salvation instead of the conventional belief held by most Christians that it is the believer who, upon their own free will, chooses to accept God’s offer of salvation which is only offered by never forced.
Election is not a doctrine that arose from the wisdom of man but instead is the teaching of scripture itself. I would like to examine some verses of scripture to show that the holy scriptures do in fact teach that God is the one who elects.
Ephesians 1:3-12
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight 9 making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. 11 In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, 12 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory.
From these verses from the Apostle Paul there are many things to be learned concerning the doctrine of election. Verse 4 teaches us that He (being God) chose us in Him before the foundation of the world. What is to be learned is that our salvation was secured not only before we were born but before the world was even brought into existence before the idea of free will was even constructed. Verse 5 reinforces that we were predestined for adoption according to God’s will and not our own meaning that it is not from our will that our salvation comes but from the will and action of God through the work of Jesus Christ’s sacrifice. Verse 9 shows us that God’s will is made known to us which is Jesus Christ through whom we receive salvation meaning that God is the one who makes our salvation known to us and not us who comes to know of how to receive salvation. Finally, verse 11 again reinforces that the inheritance we have obtained which is our salvation in the Lord came from our predestination according to God’s purpose who what? Who works all things according to His will meaning that God is the one who wills us to be saved and God is the one who carries our the process of us obtaining our salvation.
Romans 8:28-33
28And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 29 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. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. 31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? 33 Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies.
These verses from the letter to the Romans are so eloquent and yet so profound in regards to teaching on the doctrine of God’s sovereign election. Verse 29 teaches that those whom He (God) foreknew he conformed to the image of His son. To foreknow means to know something before sometime which, when taking in the context of the following verses, means to know who would be saved before the time that we would be saved. Now, some would argue that God can know who would be saved by looking down the corridors of time and seeing who would accept Him but that is not what scripture is teaching here. The verse is teaching that not only did God know but he conformed meaning he did the work to make those who become saved into the image of His Son through whom we receive salvation, Amen! Verse 30 continues by saying that those whom God foreknew before time, he predestined, and those whom he predestined he called, and those whom He called he Justified and those whom He justified by also glorified. Here we see the beautiful picture of how salvation comes to the believer. Before time God knew who would be saved but He didn’t only know be seeing or learning of who would accept Him, he knew because He was the one who called us unto salvation and He was the one who justified us when re received the salvation He gave us. The language is active on God’s part teaching that He is the one doing all of the work and that the one who is being predestined, called, and justified is playing the passive role of receiving the work of salvation done completely by God Himself.
2 Thessalonians 2:13-14
13But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the first fruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. 14 To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Who does the choosing? God is the one who chooses us. Scripture unabashedly teaches that God is the one who chooses those to be saved. Again, in verse 14 we see that God is the one who called us through the gospel so that we could attain salvation through faith in the Lord of all creation Jesus the Christ.
Romans 3:11-18
18 no one understands; no one seeks for God. 12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” 13 “Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.” “The venom of asps is under their lips.” 14 “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.” 15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood; 16 in their paths are ruin and misery, 17 and the way of peace they have not known.”, 18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
I will be concise because the teaching here is concise yet profound. Verse 13 teaches us that NO ONE seeks for god and that ALL have turned aside becoming WORTHLESS. How can anyone in such a state come to God or have anything to offer God? If NO ONE comes to God then how can anyone chose to inherit salvation by their free will? Clearly, God has to be the one who works fully in us to enable us to receive the work of salvation as ALL have turned away from Him and fail to ever seek Him on their own.
I have outlined only three verses here which teach clearly the doctrine of election from the scriptures. This truth of scripture, though, is not limited to these four verses but instead the scriptures are rich in this teaching throughout both the old and new testament. The following are additional verses to cite in the study of God’s sovereign election from the scriptures:
Genesis 18:17-19,
Deuteronomy 4:35-38, 7:6-8, 10:14-15, 14:2, 18:4-5,
1 Chronicles 28:4,
Psalms 33:12, 65:4, 78:67-71, 100:3, 105:6, 135:4,
Ezekiel 16:16
Isaiah 40:23, 41:8, 44:1-2, 45:4, 65:9
Jeremiah 1:5, 17:9, 27:5, 31:35-36
Matthew 11:25-27, 20:15, 22:14, 24:24, 24:31, 7:21-23, 13:20
Mark 13:20
Luke 6:45, 18:7,
John 1:4-5, 5:21, 6:37, 6:65, 8:43-44, 10:11-27, 13:18, 15:16, 15:19, 17:9
Acts 9:15, 13:48, 16:14, 22:14, 10:41
Romans 7:5, 8:29-8:33, 9:11-13, 9:23, 11:5-7, 11:28, 13:1, 16:13
1 Corinthians 1:26-27
Galatians 5:17
Ephesians 1:3-14, 2:4-10
1 Thessalonians 1:4
2 Thessalonians 2:13-14
2 Timothy 1:8-11, 2:10, 5:21
Titus 1:1
James 2:5
1 Peter 1:1-5, 1:20, 2:4-10
2 Peter 1:10
2 John 1:13
Revelation 13:8, 17:8
The Doctrine of Limited Atonement
Atonement is defined as the reconciliation between God and humans made possible through the sacrificial death and victorious resurrection of Jesus the Christ. Limited atonement simply means then that the number of people who will be reconciled to God is effectively limited by God Himself. You cannot separate the discussion of election from that of limited atonement so I would like to show how this doctrine arises from scripture itself. Before preceding, I would like to offer a change in thinking. Instead of approaching limited atonement as God limiting the number who would be saved I would encourage you to instead focus on the fact that God even saves one of us who are by nature sinners and of no value to Him is in itself compelling beyond degree showing His love, mercy, grace, and power.
Again, in the same format I will offer only three texts of scripture that outline this teaching with brief commentary along with many additional verses for independent study since one of the verses is quite long.
Romans 9:6:-24
24 But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, 7 and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” 8 This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring. 9 For this is what the promise said: “About this time next year I will return and Sarah shall have a son.” 10 And not only so, but also when Rebecca had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, 11 though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad–in order that God’s purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of his call– 12 she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” 13 As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.” 14 What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means! 15 For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” 16 So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. 17 For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” 18 So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills. 19 You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?” 20 But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?” 21 Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honored use and another for dishonorable use? 22 What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, 23 in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory– 24 even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles?
This is a large chunk of scripture so I will try and be brief on the points from this passage. The passage starts with a discussion of God’s covenant with Abraham and the reference to the verse of Genesis where God states “Jacob have I loved, but Esau I have hated” in verse 13. Here we see an OT example of God’s differential love between two people before they were even born. The question we ask ourselves is, how can God be just in this, in explicitly choosing some to be saved and some not to be saved? Paul deals with this is verse 14 when he asks if there can be found any injustice in God to which he definitively answers no! As God said to Moses, “I will have mercy on who I will have mercy and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion”. God is the one who chooses to whom he will show mercy and compassion and He is just in choosing some to whom He purposely chooses not to show mercy and compassion. As Paul addresses in 19, we ask then how can God find fault in us and still condemn us when only He can save and He purposely chooses to save some but not others? Paul’s answer is profound in stating that how can we as human’s possibly raise our fists at God and question Him when He is all that is pure and holy and we are weak and lost in our trespasses after falling from a state of living in God’s grace in the garden. Paul extends the argument in verse 21 that God is just to make from one substance some for good use (salvation) and others dishonorable use (disobedience to God without salvation). Finally, and most importantly, in verses 22 and 23 the point is made that for God to even show mercy on one person from all time with patience enduring us while we were in our sin apart from Him He is completely just. The thinking we have is that God is unjust because He chooses some to be condemned but this thinking can only come from the idea that we have something to offer God to which He is obligated or obliged to act upon. The truth is that we are worthless to God as we saw in Romans 3 and that we can offer nothing to Him and for Him to save one person is a sign of His grace, love, and power. Paul reminds us in verse 23 that we must not lose focus of that, that God’s work of salvation is for His glory, not ours!
1 Peter 2:6-8
6 For it stands in Scripture: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” 7 So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,” 8 and “A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.
Who lays the cornerstone that is a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense? God says that He is the one who lays the cornerstone who is Christ Jesus. And why do those who disobey the word stumble over the Lord Jesus Christ? It is because they were destined by God Almighty to do so. The do not stumble over the cornerstone because they choose to do so. They continually will fall from the Christ who is Jesus because God Himself appointed them to do so that His glory would be manifested among those whom he had chosen as we saw earlier in Romans 9:23.
Jude 1:4
4For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.
Again, the point is being made that those who are ungodly, those who pervert the gospel of truth were designated for condemnation meaning that they are set aside for destruction and condemnation by God for eternal punishment in hell.
The following are additional texts to cite in your study of the doctrine of limited atonement from the scriptures:
Exodus 7:3, 9:16
Deuteronomy 29:4
Joshua 11:20
1 Sam. 15:3
1 Kings 20:42
Job 12:24-25, 21:30
Proverbs 16:4, 31:8
Isaiah 6:9-10, 41:9, 44:21-24, 45:9, 53:8-12
Daniel 9:24
Habakkuk 1:12
Matthew 11:25, 13:13-15, 20:28
Luke 4:25-29
John 9:39, 10:11-15, 10:26, 11:51-52, 12:39-40, 17:2
Acts 4:27-28
Romans 5:11, 5:15, 8:33-34, 9:18, 9:21-22
2 Corinthians 3:13-15, 4:3-4, 5:21
Ephesians 5:25
1 Thessalonians 5:9
Hebrews 2:10, 2:14-15, 9:12, 9:28
James 1:18
1 Peter 2:8, 2:21
2 Peter 2:12
Jude 1:4
I think the issue that causes so much conflict for those people who so adamantly deny this teaching is that they are either attempting to apply human logic to the work of God or they are not focused on the right thing. Many people try to but fail to reconcile how a loving God can choose some to live and others to die eternally. Again, from Romans 9:23 Paul reminds us that this work is done for God’s glory and that logic need not apply in that we only need to be concerned with attributing all the glory to God as we are taught from the holy scriptures. Remember, our faith does not rest on the wisdom (or logic) of this world (1 Cor. 2:5) but by the power of God which is shown fully through the patience, might, grace, and love brought about by the salvation of even one undeserving sinner who is completely unable to come to God and who is completely worthless to God on his own merit (Rom. 3:11-18). If we are really, honestly focused on the truth of scripture with a desire to honor God there should be no issue in attributing the work of salvation fully to God and accepting what the scriptures teach about limited atonement.
I would like to make two other points before closing; one about scriptural interpretation and another on missions.
Scriptural Interpretation
As bible-believing Christians we hold to the inerrancy of scripture meaning we believe that every word of scripture is true and that scripture never contradicts itself. Given that scripture itself is the only full proof, never failing source of truth we should always allow scripture to interpret scripture. In discussing limited atonement and election the non-reformed third member of the party brought up John 3:16 which says:
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
The person made the point that this verse seems to teach that all persons anyone can be saved and that they can be saved by their own choice in that whoever means anyone and believes means to choose to believe. When we come to issues such as this we must apply the easy verses to the more complex ones even when it seems as if they are contradictory knowing that scripture never contradicts itself. When we read John 3:16 in light of Romans 9:15-24 and Romans 8:28-30 which teaches that only some are saved and that those who are saved are only saved by the work of God we are can only interpret John 3:16 as meaning those who are elected when saying whoever and that belief is a product of God, not ourselves acting on our own free-will.
Take for example Colossians 1:6 where Paul says the gospel has come to the whole world. Does he really mean that the gospel has reached the whole world? Well, lets look at Matthew 24:14 to see. In Matt. 24:14 Jesus says that the end of the world will come when the gospel has reached the whole world. So either the scriptures are contradictory in these two verses and we should pack our bags and go home or we should, and must, say that Paul is referring to the whole world simply as an exaggeration because if the gospel had truly reached the whole world Jesus’ second coming would have occurred already. This is only an example of how to allow scripture to interpret scripture but it is an integrally important method to apply when approaching verses such as John 3:16 which seem to imply that man chooses God or that anyone can be saved.
Missions in Light of Election and Limited Atonement
Finally, the question everyone asks; if God has already chosen who will be saved then why bother risking my life to missions work to reach the lost if they are going to be saved anyway? This is a very fatalistic view on the work of salvation and missions and is at its root a serious error in one’s view on salvation and missions. The bottom line is that scripture teaches two things among many others. One, that God is the only one who saves and that He only chooses some to be saved and two that we are to go out and share the gospel at all times to every tribe, tongue, and nation (Matthew 28:16-20). It is again an issue of who are we as lowly sinners to question God’s commands as Paul addressed in Romans 9.
True faith bears fruit and a desire to want to serve and honor God (Colossians 1:6 and James). How do we honor God? by keeping him commandments in humble obedience (Romans 16:26) and adhering to the truths we learn from scripture and desiring to reach the presently lost whom God has elected. To lose motivation or a desire for missions in light of election and limited atonement reflects an incorrect view in one’s approach to the glory of God in that it reflects that they in some way want to have a part in the conversion of the lost and their salvation. I say that one should be more driven to adhere to the great commission with a reformed doctrinal background because it is reassuring to know that scripture teaches that God has already done they work and they even though we were once worthless to God (Rom. 3:11) that He has now chosen us to work in the reaching of the lost when he Himself is completely capable of removing us from the picture and bringing out conversion from the elect. Instead, He graciously allows us to serve in the work He has already completed by His power and grace to the glory of His name, Amen!
In conclusion, we must be willing at all times and in every way to humble ourselves to the teaching of scripture and to the glory of our God. I pray that these words were not my own as a product of my own works, thoughts, or desires but only a result of the work of God in me. I pray that this teaching was made humbly and that those who receive it would do so humbly and that God would soften their hearts to receive it. I pray that these teachings are in accordance with the truth of scripture as the Lord of Hosts has revealed it to us and that His name ultimately is glorified in this work that He would be lifted up and praised as the Holy one for all eternity, AMEN!