Unconditional Election (Part 1)

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Unconditional Election I. What is election? 1. The words election and elect (both noun and verb) are used 27 times in the Bible. 2. One would think that the words never appear in the scripture based on how often the are mentioned in sermons in most churches these days. 3. Election is the action of God whereby He chose a portion of the human race to save from their sins. A. Election - 1. a. The formal choosing of a person for an office, dignity, or position of any kind; usually by the votes of a constituent body. 2. a. The exercise of deliberate choice or preference; choice between alternatives, esp. in matters of conduct. 3. Theol. a. The exercise of God's sovereign will in choosing some of His creatures in preference to others for blessings temporal or spiritual, esp. for eternal salvation. doctrine of election: the doctrine that God actually exercises this prerogative with regard to mankind; in popular language often identified with the (Calvinistic) doctrine of ‘unconditional election’, i.e. election not conditioned by the conduct or disposition of the individual. B. God elected sinners and predestinated them to be justified, effectually called from spiritual death unto spiritual life, conformed to the image of Christ, and glorified (Rom 8:29-33). C. God chose them in Christ before the foundation of the world for Him to make them holy in order to adopt them as His children (Eph 1:4-5). D. God chose sinners to be sprinkled by the blood of Christ to purge them of their sins (1Pe 1:2). II. The necessity of unconditional election. 1. The doctrine of unconditional election is plainly declared in the scriptures as will be shown in this study. 2. It can also be logically deduced given what the Bible teaches about the depraved nature of man. A. The natural man, unchanged by the grace of God, is incapable of changing his nature or of saving himself from his sins. i. He is born spiritually dead in trespasses and sins (Rom 5:12; Eph 2:1). ii. He is without strength to change his nature (Rom 5:6; Eph 2:3; Jer 13:23). B. He is also incapable of meeting any condition that men say is necessary for God to be able to save him, such as: i. Believing on the name of his Son Jesus Christ (1Jo 3:22-23 c/w Rom 8:8; Joh 10:26). ii. Believing the gospel (1Co 1:18). iii. Seeking God (Rom 3:10-11). iv. Understanding and believing the scriptures (Rom 8:7; 1Co 2:12-14). v. Doing good works (Rom 3:12). C. Therefore, if any man is to be saved from his sins, God must save him unconditionally by His grace and mercy. D. Since some men are saved eternally (Tit 3:5-7) and some men are not (Jud 1:7), this demands that God chose to save some and leave others in their sins. E. That is precisely what the Bible teaches.