The word “election” refers to the process of choosing. The Bible teaches that God chooses those who believe. But is God’s choice unconditional, based only on his own will? Or is God’s choice conditional, based on some quality or action of the person who is saved? Calvinists hold that God’s choice to save people has nothing to do with them. To Arminians, God chooses people because he knows in advance that they will have faith in Jesus.
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Notes
Because of our fallen human condition, we are completely dependent on God to initiate salvation for us. Calvinists believe that God did this in eternity past by choosing to save some, without any condition, work, or effort on their part. Those whom he has chosen (called “the elect”) will eventually be made alive spiritually by the power of the Holy Spirit. As a result they will come willingly to put their faith in Christ. Does God’s choice of some and not others make him arbitrary? No, because God chooses people for reasons we don’t know or understand.
The choice to save some and not others rests solely in God’s own sovereign plan and purpose. God is the absolute king over his entire creation, with complete and absolute rule over all things. So in the end, his choice of the sinner - not the sinner’s choice of Jesus - is the ultimate cause of that person’s salvation.
Related to this is the idea of “predestination” where God pre-determines a person’s final destiny. Some Calvinists believe in “double predestination” - meaning that God chooses certain individuals to save and chooses others to condemn. But all human beings are already under God’s condemnation, not because of his decision, but because of their sin. God doesn’t have to save anyone. He can righteously condemn all sinners for their sin. But thankfully God graciously does select some for eternal life.
Calvinists point out that unconditional election preserves the glory of God in salvation, assuring that salvation is 100% a work of God. God does not provide something essential while humans also provide something essential (faith). According to Ephesians 2:8-9: “God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.” If salvation is based on a person’s faith decision, that person has something to take credit for. If one person has something another person doesn’t have, which allows him or her to exercise faith, then salvation ultimately depends on something meritorious about them - not on the merits of Christ alone.
Calvinists have been criticized for not engaging in evangelism. But God’s plan is that the elect come to faith through the preaching of the gospel. In fact, election provides great encouragement when we tell others about Jesus, knowing that some will, in fact, accept the message...
