What the Bible Says About Election

Bible

North Forest

In the Protestant doctrine of Calvinism God chooses those who are to be saved. The Bible does teach that God elects the chosen, but it also teaches that man must freely accept God's salvation. And it nowhere teaches that God elects some for eternal damnation.

It is true that God chooses us to be saved (John 15:16).

We are only saved because God reveals His plan and purpose to us (Eph 1:9). Apart from God's revelation there is no salvation. But this implies that we must freely choose to receive in faith God's revelation.

More on election.

Chosen for Holiness

We are chosen to be holy (Eph 1:4). It has always been God's purpose that one day we would all stand before God and give account of ourselves to Him. This verse does not say that God chooses some to be damned.

The Saints are Predestined

We are predestined to become members of God's family (Eph 1:5).

We are predestined to be saved (Eph 1:11). But as shown in the following section we are predestined for salvation in the context of God's plan to reveal the gospel of Jesus Christ when the time was ripe.

The Gospel is Predestined

God chose to hide (Col 1:26,27) the mystery of the gospel until a certain time in history and He chose when that time would be. He also chose that those who heard and believed the gospel would receive salvation. God does it all. The only thing God doesn't do is single out certain individuals for damnation.

The gospel of salvation through Christ was revealed in the time in history of God's choosing (Eph 1:10).

Perseverance

We must persevere in the faith (Col 1:23). This implies that we have free will. This verse does not teach "once saved, always saved."

Lose Salvation

Christians can lose their salvation by sinning after becoming a Christian (Heb 10:26).

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John Shepard

email: js16@northforest.org

http://www.northforest.org/bible/Election.html

Revised: July 29, 2005