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Romans 9:1–16
“What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means! For he says to Moses, ‘I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.’ So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy” (vv. 14–16).
In the ordo salutis—the order of salvation—God’s foreknowledge and election of some sinners to everlasting life are virtually indistinguishable. This is because both involve a choice on our Creator’s part. Foreknowledge, we have seen, consists in the Lord’s free choice to set His love on a person, whereas election is God’s choice flowing from that love to save particular sinners. Foreknowledge does not mean that God looks into the future, sees that a sinner will believe the gospel, and then chooses to save him. Moreover, in light of the Bible’s teaching on sin and election, making God’s choice of sinners contingent on His knowing something about them does not truly answer the concerns of those who would deny the Reformed doctrine of unconditional election. Petrus van Mastricht addresses this when he notes that if we make election dependent on God’s knowing something about a person, we still have to determine the source of those things that God makes the basis for His choice. He writes, “If our election depends upon the foreknowledge of our faith, works, or perseverance, it is necessary for those things to be foreknown either as arising from us—and thus we made ourselves differ, against the apostle [who says no gift comes from us] (1 Cor. 4:7)—or arising from God, who accordingly decreed to give those things through election.”
Note how van Mastricht assumes that our faith, good works, and perseverance—things that in theory could be the basis of election—cannot arise from sinners but must be the gift of God. Texts including Ephesians 2:8–10 and Philippians 2:12–13 teach as much. Since they are the gifts of God, they must be the fruits of God’s gracious election of sinners. If it were otherwise, if we ourselves could generate faith and its accompanying virtues, we could not say that the work of salvation is the Lord’s work from first to last. This would ground salvation in our goodness, not in the goodness of God.
Scripture plainly teaches that election unto salvation is based on nothing good in us. As Paul tells us in today’s passage, the Lord chooses to save people long before they can do anything good or bad (Rom. 9:1–13). There is no injustice here, for by definition God owes mercy and grace to no one. God has the sovereign right to choose from the mass of fallen sinners only some for salvation. He does no wrong when He has mercy only on some, for sinners deserve only condemnation (vv. 14–16).
Coram Deo Living before the face of God
Unconditional election—the doctrine that God chooses individuals for salvation based on nothing in them but only on His good pleasure—is a hard doctrine for many people to accept. Without it, however, we take some of the glory of God in salvation and give it to human beings. A God-centered doctrine of salvation will wholeheartedly embrace unconditional election.
For further study
- Deuteronomy 9:1–5
- John 15:16
- Romans 11:1–6
- 1 Thessalonians 1:4
The bible in a year
- Ecclesiastes 4–6
- 2 Corinthians 11:1–15