Election – A Difficult Doctrine
Sermon Review
22 October 2000

Introduction

For many years I have had an interest, a passion even, for the body of Christ (in the form of the local church) – how it lives, how it grows, how it should serve God. This was one of the areas I particularly focused on as an elder – we spent much time praying for the people of the church and how they fit together to form the "body", and seeking God’s guidance on how to provide leadership to the body.

Of course, the Body of Christ is the entire Christian church worldwide – and we are just one small part of that. As members of that body, we each have an important part to play in Christ’s church. My interest for a long time now has been to develop my understanding if this theme, with view to being able to encourage and exhort others to seek and fulfil their place in the body. So, it was with some interest that I found a book by John MacArthur, Jr., entitled "The Body Dynamic: Finding where you fit in today’s church". However, as I started to read this book, I found myself confronted by some disturbing theology.

Read Ephesians 1:3-5.

This idea of being predestined to adoption as His children, is often referred to as the "doctrine of election". However, the idea that only some people have been chosen by God to spend eternity with him, seems to be at odds with the ideas of free will and humans making the decision to following Christ. John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life". This scripture plainly teaches that anyone can believe and therefore have eternal life. This seeming contradiction is what is known as a paradox.

Paradox

Definition: a statement of proposition seemingly self-contradictory or absurd, and yet explicable as expressing a truth

Light – behaves as both a wave and a particle, and physicists tell us that it can not be both of these things at once!

Its wave nature can be shown when a light is shone through a card with two pinholes – the light falling on a screen behind this shows dark spots and light spots. This can only come about as two wave fronts run into each other – when crests meet, a bright spot is seen, and when troughs meet, a dark spot.

Light acts as particles when a light beam is shot at a target in a vacuum tube – the target spins around and around. This can only be caused by particles (which have weight and can therefore exert a force), and never by a wave.

We might conclude from this that light does not exist, it is just the figment of someone’s imagination! And yet it does, and the only way it can is through a paradox – it is two things at the same time and it can’t be and yet it is!

Descartes Duality: A And Not A.

Descartes was a mathematician of some note. Modern maths have many concepts attributable to him – they have stood the test of time. He also championed a system of logic based upon the notion of ‘duality’ – the notion that a thing can be this, or it can be that, but it can’t be both things at once. A perfectly reasonable sounding idea at first glance (although having just learnt about light, you might not be so sure).

Formally, duality is expressed as follows:

If there is some set of things we can call A, then all things that are not part of the set of things we call A, can be called the set "not-A"! Further, there can be no thing, say x, that is a member of the set of A and not-A at the same time. (Give an example using things in the room).

This all seems perfectly reasonable – but there is a branch of metaphysics that proposes just the opposite!

The Included Middle, and Levels of Reality

Proponents of the "included middle" argue that there is some thing, x, that can at the same time be a member of the set of things A, and the set of all things that are not in the set A. This seems to be an absurd position, not even remotely grounded in reality.

Yet, it comes about not from the wild imaginings of nutty philosophers, but rather from the most grounded and fundamental scientists of them all – the quantum physicists. As it happens, absurdities and paradoxes are the only way they can explain some of the behaviours of the most fundamental components of matter.

The way they explain it is through the notion of ‘levels of reality’. They propose that whereas something appears to be a paradox at some particular level of reality (and understanding), the paradox vanishes if some higher view of reality is taken (e.g. the three ‘views’ of the elephant by the blind men – trunk, side, leg – different views, one elephant).

The parallel to be drawn for us, is that whereas some things about God and His works might not make sense to us (or even be a paradox), to God (at His higher level of reality and understanding) it is all perfectly reasonable. This suggests that perhaps we should not even try to resolve God-given paradoxes, because we can never really do this simply because we do not have His perspective – period.

A Triune God – 3 Individuals And Yet One Being.

Probably the best know paradox in Christendom is the trinity of the Godhead. We have God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit – all personal (individual), each with his own purpose (God to be God, Jesus to provide the means for people to come to God through salvation, and the Holy Spirit to be a helper and counsellor to us, and point us towards Jesus). And yet, even though each has His own role and person, they are yet one God. Surely a paradox this! In fact, it is this seeming worship of three Gods that the Muslims point to as a major heresy of Christendom (the Muslims believing explicitly that there is just one God, Allah). And yet we all know that there is just one God (we do, don’t we?). I don’t know whether all of you have come to terms with this paradox, or indeed, how you have come to terms with it. I think each of us deals with this ‘difficulty’ of Christianity in our own way. (If Christianity had been invented by man, do you think he would have included a paradox such as this in his religion?)

However we deal with this, the paradox remains – seemingly contradictory ideas, and yet both are true. In the final analysis, all we can really do is to recognise that God is sovereign and all knowing, He chooses to reveal to us what He chooses, and not to reveal to us what He chooses. It is with this recognition of paradox in God’s kingdom, that we must approach the doctrine of election.

Scriptures pointing to election

John 15: 16 You did not choose me, I chose you.
2 Tim 1:9 Called not by our works, but according to God’s purpose and grace, from all eternity
2 Thes 2:13 … because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation
Eph 1:4 … God chose us before he made the world
Eph 1:5 … In love he presdistined us to be adopted as His sons through Jesus Christ (NIV)

Being adopted as a son, means that everything that is God’s is ours – Gal 4:4-7. All His love, his spiritual blessings – surely this is a reason to give God thanks and praise? Eph 1:12 we have been chosen by God so that "we might be … for the praise of His glory".

Scriptures pointing to free will

Romans 10: 9-11, 13
John 1:29; John 3:16; 1 Tim 2:6a; Heb 2:9; 1 John 2:2

Resolution Of The Paradox?

It’s tempting to explain it in human terms: i.e.; Man chooses then God foreknew – with God outside of time, everything happens for Him as though it is ‘now’. This used to be my view – after preparing for this sermon, I not sure I want to attempt to ‘explain’ it, anyway. Rather, it is better to accept the paradox for what it is.

The Biblical "Resolution"

Matthew 25: 31-46 In the final judgement before God, he will remind us that some he chose and some he didn’t, but also that all had an element of free will in either caring for their brothers and sisters (before God) or not.

Isn’t it unfair?

Would you be prepared to stand up in front of God and tell Him He was being unfair? Romans 9:10 - 24

So what?

This does not mean that we do not have to tell other people about salvation through Jesus Christ. Jesus said "… when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, you will receive power and will tell people about me everywhere …to the ends of the earth". Acts 1:8. (Also Acts 14:48)

If you have already responded to God’s call on your life, it is a reason to praise Him

If salvation depends on us, then praise to God is ridiculous – "Thank you God for letting me work hard to earn my salvation?" I think not. Actually, our praise to God is completely appropriate, because in forming the Body before the world began, He chose us by His sovereign decree apart from any of our works. This is something we really can praise Him for!

If you haven’t responded, but you wonder if you should, then the Holy Spirit is probably at work in you even now!

In Christ

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