The
Oxford dictionary defines sovereign as: supreme ruler, a monarch. As an
adjective means possessing supreme or ultimate power.
The
word elect means to pick out, to be chosen. In regards to salvation we have the Supreme Ruler with absolute power,
God Almighty choosing totally independent of any outside influence, those who
would be recipients of his saving grace. Ephesians 1:4 tells us God chose us
(the elect) before the foundation of the world. This was the predetermined plan
of God. It must be understood that God’s choosing us was for his own good
pleasure and intention (Ephesians 1:5). There is nothing inherently good in man that prompted God to choose him. God
did this so that he will be glorified; man is a wholesale benefactor of the
grace and mercy of the Father God and the Savior Jesus Christ.
Now, we need to discuss in detail,
who did Jesus die for? This is the question that most Christians are confused
and divided on.
If
you ask the majority of Christians who did Christ die for, they’ll say
everyone; meaning everyone that’s ever lived, without distinction. I ask the
reader, is this true? Because if it is, we run into some serious problems. Let me explain.
If Jesus died for everyone that
will ever live, then he shed his blood needlessly for those who would never
believe. What this also means is that he died for the non-elect just like he
did the elect. So what then is the distinction between the two groups if they
both receive the same benefit, the shed blood of Christ?
One
of the objections to this line of reasoning would be that, “since every man is a
sinner, and needs to be saved, why wouldn’t Christ die for all men?”
That’s
a valid question, but you must understand it comes with a very hard
answer. Christ didn’t die for all men,
because that is not what the Father commanded him to do. That was not the plan
of God. Only those whom the Father gave to the Son will be granted eternal
life. John 6:37-41 says this, “All that the
Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one that comes to me I will by
no means cast out. For I have come down from heaven not to do my own will, but
the will of Him who sent Me. This is the will of the Father that sent Me that of all that He has given Me I should lose nothing, but
should raise it up at the last day. And this is the will of him that sent Me
that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life,
and I will raise him up at the last day.” Jesus makes the same declaration
in John 17:12 in His High Priestly prayer to the Father. John 10:27-30 says, “My sheep hear My voice and I know them and
they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish;
neither shall any pluck them out of My hand. My Father who has given them to me
is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand.
I and My Father are one (Emphasis added).
These powerful verses speak to
the salvation and eternal security of the believer. We’re in the grip of the
Father and the Son. It’s impossible for that secure bond to be broken. The true
believer will not stray ultimately from that which God the Father predetermined
would happen to him. When God saves sinners, he saves them forever. That
salvation can not be lost or else it’s not eternal. God is not leaving his
salvation plan in the hands of sinful men to perfect or finish what He started.
If that were the case, we would lose our salvation everyday, and Jesus would
have to be crucified again and again for us to be forgiven over and over again
which is lunacy! Philippians 1:6 says, “Being
confident of this very thing that he that began a good work in you will
complete it until the day of Jesus Christ”. Also in Philippians 2:12-13 it
reads, “work out your own salvation with
fear and trembling. For it is God (emphasis added) who works in you both to
will and do of His good pleasure”. These are powerful verses proving that
although we’re chosen, we have to be an active participant in the ongoing
sanctification process of our own salvation. The beautiful part is that we do
not do this alone, we’re being superintended by God himself via the Holy Spirit
so we will be victorious in pursuing
holy living.
It’s very important to understand
that Jesus is making reference to only the elect, the chosen of God the Father.
These are the ones that Jesus was commanded by His Father to come and save.
These are the ones that will be granted repentance
and faith to believe unto salvation (i.e. everlasting life). Those that have
the power to believe have been predestined to believe by God the Father; not
against the chosen sinner’s will, but according to God’s sovereign will.
Remember, God can soften who’s heart he desires so that the sinner will become
willing. This divine intervention must take
place or else the sinner will not have the willingness or ability to believe.
So,
what about the non-elect? We as humans do not know who’s not elect until they
die in unbelief – only God knows who they are. That’s why preaching the gospel
is so essential. The gospel is the means by which all can know the
righteousness of God revealed to them. It is the power of God unto salvation
(Romans 1:16). For the elect, the gospel will be the cause of their eternal
salvation; it’s through this great gospel, that when they hear, they’ll be
convicted of sin to the degree that’ll they confess that sin in genuine repentance
and contrition, be granted saving faith and will believe unto salvation
(emphasis added). The elect of God can not thwart that plan. Those not chosen,
will hear the same gospel, but will not believe unto salvation.
Many will agree with the scripture, but because they’re left in their
depravity, will ultimately reject the Truth, will never be saved and die in
their sins because they’re condemned already (John 3:18). Understand that those
who die in sin are getting what they deserve for that’s the direction of the
whole world. The Father in his sovereign will has chosen to save some from his just wrath which he
has every right to do. Some receive
mercy, and others receive justice. No one is a recipient of injustice from the
hands of God.
Why did God choose some for salvation and not all? That’s not fair!
Before answering that question, I
will reference two texts of scripture in the old testament. Deuteronomy 7:6-8 says, “For thou
art an holy people unto Himself, above all the earth. The Lord did not set his
love upon you, nor choose you because you were more in number than any people;
for you were fewest of all people. But because the Lord loved you, and because
he would keep the oath which he had
sworn unto your fathers, the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand, and
redeemed you from the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh king of
Egypt.”
Here
we see clearly God exercising sovereign election in selecting the nation Israel
above all the nations of the earth. Not because they were better than any
nation; it was solely because the Lord chose
to set his love upon them in a special way – that’s it! Israel did not have to
do anything to receive this grace. God did this because it gave him pleasure in
doing so. God said to Moses in Exodus 33:19, “I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have
compassion on whom I will have compassion.” God selecting some and not all has always been part
of God’s character. It’s not that he began to exhibit this behavior in the
church age. We must accept the Lord on his terms, not ours. We must not design
God in our image; meaning some create a god (even in Christendom) that thinks,
acts and fits their instincts. They create a god that’s more palatable to them.
Sadly, that’s not the God of the bible. That’s in essence idolatry, the worship
of self!
Jesus
speaking to the Father God said these words, “I thank You Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden
these things (i.e. the gospel truth) from
the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes (The disciples) Even so Father, for it seemed good in
your sight. For all things have been
delivered to Me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. Nor
does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills
to reveal Him” (Matthew 11:25-27; Luke 10:21-22).
What
Jesus is declaring that the Father God has given complete authority to the Son
to disclose who he is and who he will reveal the truth to. This is a painful
verse to endure if you reject the doctrine of divine election, Sovereign choice.
I for one am glad the
Lord is not fair. For if he were, we’d all get exactly what we deserve, eternal
damnation. Praise the Lord that while we were sinners, Christ died for us
(Romans 5:8).
Romans
11:33-35 reads, “Oh the depths of the
riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his
judgments and his ways past finding out! For who has known the mind of the Lord
or who has become his counselor? Or who has first given to Him and it shall be
repaid Him?
Summing
it all up
The doctrine of sovereign
election is a wondrous, mysterious, misunderstood doctrine. Admittedly, it’s a
hard doctrine to accept with our corrupt finite minds. We can’t deny it’s truth
though, it’s clearly taught in scripture, in the old and new covenants. In
fact, sovereign election is the only way God has designed salvation to occur;
he has to be the aggressor in the process in order to effectually call sinners
to repentance. It’s also important to know that God doesn’t choose based on
foresight, but on foreknowledge. Let me explain the two.
Foresight
says that God looks through the annals of time and sees who will choose Him
before they are born; since he knows all things, and based on what the unborn
sinner will do, he chooses them before the foundation of the world. This view
is unbiblical. Why? Because this predicates choosing and election on man, and not
God. Man gets the credit for having something virtuous in him to merit God’s
favor. This in essence deifies man and humanizes God…this is blasphemy! No.
What actually occurs is foreknowledge.
God independent of any human agency, influence or foresight chooses those he
wants to become recipients of his saving grace. In other words, election
dictates faith, not faith (of men) dictating election. God is the Alpha Male
(if one permits the expression) in this process of election. Man is the beneficiary
of such love. ”For whom he foreknew, He
also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that He might be the
firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he predestined, these He also
called; whom he called, these he also justified; and he whom he justified,
these He also glorified (Romans 8:29-30). Notice how predestined, called,
justified and glorified are all past tense verbs. This is done already in mind
of God. His plans are never circumvented because of man’s unbelief. Those whom
God has set His irresistible grace upon will receive that grace in their lives.
Jesus died only for those who would
believe, not for those who would never believe. For Jesus to suffer, shed his
blood and die for the sins of all the world without exception, means he paid
the penalty for those suffering in hell right now for their own sins! That’s
double jeopardy. What about the countless perhaps millions of people who died
in unbelief and are suffering for their own sins prior to his arrival? Did
Jesus die for them knowing they’ll never have any hope of redemption? If you
believe he died for their sins, then you would have to be an Arminian and a Universalist.
That’s the doctrine of unlimited atonement which says Jesus died for all people,
but saves no one in particular. It’s an ineffectual atonement because it leaves
it up to the sinner to activate his own salvation.
The scriptures teach a limited atonement. What this means
is the atonement is limited to whom it reaches, but it’s unlimited to whom it
is to effect; that is the elect, chosen of God, the called out ones, the “ekklesia." The atonement’s power is
unlimited to the chosen; it saves them from their sins forever. That
my friends is an effectual atonement. That’s why the Father sent His Son to
come to the earth to do. Jesus perfectly accomplished this task.