One of our statements in our State of Theology simply says this:
“God chose the people he would save before he created the world.”
Now that’s just another way of expressing what Paul says, that “God chose us in Him”—meaning
in Christ—“God chose us [in Christ] before the foundation of the world.”
Now, we would make the case that that’s a part of the Reformed faith. This is a
way of expressing God’s sovereignty and that salvation is an act of God’s election. And we
can’t peer into the divine mind and figure out why God chose some or chose not. What we’re told
in Scripture is that this is according to God’s good pleasure, that it is according to His will,
and that it is for His glory. And that’s what Scripture teaches.
But when we put that statement to evangelicals, we found that 44% disagree with that statement.
Now, that may surprise you, or it might not surprise you.
We’ve all bumped into those who are self-professing evangelical Christians
who love the Bible, and they stumble, they truly stumble, over this doctrine of God’s sovereignty.
You know, I was reading the other day in Jonathan Edwards’
Personal Account, or his Personal Narrative, which is the account of his conversion. And he talks
about, from the time he was a child, that he had a difficulty with the doctrine of God’s sovereignty.
And at one point he says, “It even appears to me,” or, “it appeared to me,” rather, “a horrible
doctrine.” That’s what Edward’s said about his pre-conversion state. But post-conversion,
he actually uses his newfound affection for that doctrine to express his conversion. He was
taught by God the sweetness of that doctrine of God’s sovereignty.
And for those of us who embrace, in all of its fullness, the doctrine of God’s sovereignty,
we have learned that we simply cannot live, and we cannot live the Christian life without it.
But sadly, there are many who do read their Bibles, and they attend evangelical churches,
and they call themselves an evangelical, who stumble over this doctrine and outright find
it offensive. They can not envision a God who would violate their free will, and they cannot
attribute to God this doctrine, which we would say is a biblical teaching, of divine election.
Well, here’s what this means. What this means is, we’ve got our work cut out for us, don’t we?
We need to teach this doctrine of election. We need to put in front
of people the biblical vision of who God is. You know, we could all read into the Bible
what we’d want to see there. We all can impose upon God what we want to see there.
But we can’t do that. That’s not a luxury for us; that is not an option for us. We must
come to the God who presents Himself. We must come to God as He is, as He has revealed Himself,
and as He has taught us who He is. And then, it’s our obligation to teach that to others.
We love this doctrine of the sovereignty of God. We know how important the doctrine of election is,
how biblical it is. But we’ve got our work to do.
And it’s incumbent upon us to teach this doctrine and to proclaim this doctrine,
because it’s biblical. And because, without it, we’re not being faithful to the biblical text.
So, as you think about this, and as you think about the people you meet
who stumble over this or who have difficulty with the doctrine of sovereignty,
well, just lovingly, kindly, but firmly, poke and prod. And just put in front of them
the biblical teaching. Because it’s very crucial, and it’s important that we do that.