04-Chapter 4
CHAPTER IV - UNCONDITIONAL ELECTION
The U of the TULIP stands for Unconditional Election. Election has been dealt with in an earlier chapter of this study, so it will not be dealt with in depth in this chapter. Unconditional Election, as set forth by the Hyper-Calvinist, has a two-fold problem. The first problem is that it has been inappropriately applied to individuals in salvation, which is not found in Scripture. These has never been an individual elected to salvation nor has there been one elected to damnation. Man is destined to an eternal Hell because of his own personal choice to sin, not because he is not one of the selected few that God has elected to Heaven. Election in the Bible is applied to the Body of Christ as a whole. The second problem with Unconditional Election is the word unconditional. Since election has nothing to do with the individual, it would seem preposterous to even deal with the second part, but the word unconditional presents problems when left alone. The Hyper-Calvinist, in Unconditional Election, was trying to show that salvation has nothing to do with the free will of man, but is entirely dependent upon the sovereignty of the Lord. God’s Word declares that salvation is of the Lord and that man is responsible for exercising that faith that God has given to him. Can salvation, in any sense of the word, ever be called unconditional? Salvation is a gift from God to fallen man and, because it is a gift, cannot be either earned or bought. God, in His love and mercy, extended to sinful man both mercy and grace through our Lord Jesus Christ. Divine love was manifested in the incarnation and substitutionary death of our Lord on Calvary’s cross. John 3:16 shows penalty and price for sin: the penalty being death and the price being God’s Son. Man’s sin brought about death and God’s love brought about the Mystery of Godliness, the manifestation of the God-Man, Christ Jesus. The freeness of this gift does not come without condition! There are several conditions that are mention in the Bible dealing with man’s salvation. There is the condition of repentance in salvation. The doctrine of Repentance has been denied throughout the centuries, but the most fervent attack has come within the past few decades. The liberal theologians have always denied repentance, but the strongest attack in these latter years has come from the fundamental ranks. Men have tried to define and redefine the word in order to prove or disprove the theories of other men. Webster’s 1828 Dictionary defines repentance as:
REPENTANCE, n,
1. Sorrow for any thing done or said; the pain or grief which a person experiences in consequence of the injury or inconvenience produced by his own conduct.
2. In theology, the pain, regret or affliction which a person feels on account of his past conduct, because it exposes him to punishment. This sorrow proceeding merely from the fear of punishment, is called legal repentance, as being excited by the terrors of legal penalties, and it may exist without an amendment of life.
3. Real penitence; sorrow or deep contrition for sin, as an offense and dishonor to God, a violation of his holy law, and the basest ingratitude towards a Being of infinite benevolence. This is called evangelical repentance, and is accompanied and followed by amendment of life. Repentance is a change of mind, or a conversion from sin to God. Godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation. 2 Corinthians 7:1-16. Matthew 3:1-17. Repentance is the relinquishment of any practice, from conviction that it has offended God.1
Men try to explain or explain away the term, but the sinner―when confronted with repentance―has no problem with its definition. The best definition, to which Noah Webster alluded, is found in 2 Corinthians 7:8-11 which says: For though I made you sorry with a letter, I do not repent, though I did repent: for I perceive that the same epistle hath made you sorry, though it were but for a season. Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing. For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death. For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter.
There are several things that need to be mentioned in these verses. One, repentance is more than mere sorrow for sin. It is clearly seen in these verses that the “sorrow of the world” brings about no true forgiveness, but death. The term Jail House Repentance has been applied here because the world is sorry for some things, but there is no heart change. Godly sorrow is a condition of the heart whereby man is not only sorry for his sin, but sees sin as God sees and there is a heart change. The word worketh is also noteworthy in these verses. If godly sorrow “worketh” repentance to salvation, then it is not the Unconditional Election that manifests itself in salvation, but the change of a sinful man’s heart. The results of true repentance are listed in the last verse of the text. Repentance brought about carefulness in the sinner. Carefulness means to be diligent or earnest. This is no frivolous attempt by the condemned to appease a holy God, but a heart-felt sorrow and desire to correct the situation. The phrase clearing of yourselves comes from a word meaning defense. The Lord becomes our Advocate and our defense rests in His hands because of the godly sorrow expressed. There is indignation, or a hatred for the act committed. There is the word fear which denotes a godly, reverential fear of the Lord. The next three words―vehement desire, zeal, and revenge―have to do with the sinner’s desire to make a permanent change in his behavior. Repentance is a condition that God has set forth in order for sinful man to have eternal life.
There are two kinds of substitution, namely: Unconditional, which grants full and absolute deliverance to those for who substitution is made; and Conditional, which grants deliverance to those for whom substitution is made only on the terms agreed upon between the one who makes the substitution and the one who accepts it. Christ’s substitution was conditional, dependent upon the repentance and faith of sinners, with reference to the sins of men (personal sins), and unconditional with reference to the “sin of the world” (the guilt of the Adamic sin, collective sin).2
There are many references dealing with repentance in the Bible, but only a couple will be dealt with in this chapter. The Bible is clear on the subject and no real argument can be offered to negate it. The first mention of repentance in the New Testament came from the lips of the greatest preacher (other than the Lord Jesus Christ) ever born of woman. John the Baptist was the “voice of one crying in the wilderness” and preached repentance in Matthew 3:1-12. Jesus, speaking of John the Baptist said in Matthew 21:32, “For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not: but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and ye, when ye had seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might believe him.” Jesus said that the preaching of John was the “way of righteousness.” The message of repentance was also the first to be preached by our Lord in Matthew 4:17 and very clearly set it forth in Luke 13:3 when He said, “I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.” In both Matthew 9:13 and Mark 2:17 (the wording is very similar in each), our Lord said, “I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” It is either repent or perish! This is evidently a condition for salvation. The word except means unless. Unless a man repents, he will certainly perish and the repentance is up to him personally. The apostles also preached repentance as a condition for salvation, Mark 6:12 says, “And they went out, and preached that men should repent.” Possibly one of the greatest salvation messages was preached in the second chapter of Acts, when the day of Pentecost was fully come. The believers were filled with the Holy Ghost and Peter stood forth and preached a salvation message to all who were in Jerusalem. In verse 38, Peter said, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” The word repent in this verse is actually a one word sentence with the subject, “you,” being understood. Paul preached repentance as a condition for salvation in Acts 20:21. The Bible said, about Paul, “Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.”
In studying the Bible, it is evident that repentance was a condition for salvation to all. To the Jew, in Acts 5:31, the Bible says, “Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.” In Acts 11:18, the same condition was applied to the Gentiles, “When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.” The Bible does not say that He gave repentance to the Gentiles, but simply granted them their request for repentance. Acts 17:30 summed up repentance as a condition for salvation when it said, “And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent.” Can any sinner repent, or is repentance something that only the elect can do. 2 Peter 3:9 says, “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” A good definition of the word all is this: All means all and that is all all means. When the sinner truly repents of sin, God graciously grants their request for forgiveness. Repentance is clearly a condition for salvation. Another condition for salvation is that of believing God’s report of His Son, Jesus Christ. In Romans 10:16, Esaias saith, “Lord, who hath believed our report?” The report is found in the preceding verses and deals with the incarnation and substitution of God’s Son, Jesus Christ. Possibly the most well known verse in the Bible is John 3:16. This verse sets forth salvation in such a unique way that a child should be able to understand and be saved. It is of interest that liberal theologians always used difficult passages of Scripture to interpret the simple ones instead of the other way around. The first word of the verse is for which ties it to its context. Jesus is talking to a religious man about the new birth and explains that birth in this manner. The word for ties the verse back to man’s sinful state and sets forth God’s remedy. Man has fallen and God has to initiate reconciliation. He does this out of His great love with no initial initiative from fallen man. God must do the seeking, which is typified in the parable of the Ninety and Nine. Though God does all of this for fallen man, it is still the responsibility of the individual to exercise the faith that God has given. Many verses can be cited to easily prove this point. In Acts 16:30-31, the requirement of believing is clearly set forth. When the Philippian jailor asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved.” The apostles said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.” The subject of their answer is understood to be you. The answer was not that he could do nothing to be saved, but that he had both responsibility and choice in his salvation. For the sinner not to exercise faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is to bring about eternal damnation. The Hyper-Calvinist may counter with the statement that “faith is a gift that God gives to the elect.” Ephesians 2:8-9 does say that faith is a gift from God, but does not say that it is given to a select group of people. In Romans 12:3 the Bible says that God gives to every man “the measure of faith.” This faith is given by God, but must be exercised by fallen man. Otherwise, faith is in vain, as it says in James 2:20. In Acts 8:1-40 the Ethiopian Eunuch, upon receiving the witness of Phillip, asked, “What doeth hinder me to be baptized?” Phillip answered, “If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” The Eunuch had been to Jerusalem to worship and was reading in the Book of Isaiah when Phillip expounded the Scriptures to him. He then personally placed his trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and was saved. John 3:16 says, “Whosoever believeth in him.” There are several things that the sinner must be believe in order to be saved. First, a sinner must believe that Jesus Christ is the only way of salvation. Verses such as John 14:6, John 10:9, Acts 4:12, and 1 Timothy 1:15 teach that the only way to Heaven is through God’s precious Son, Jesus Christ. To come to the Father any other way is to be a thief and a robber. Many are trying to go through other religions that set forth man as a savior and many are trying to get to Heaven through the works of their own hands, but Christ is the only answer to the sin problem.
Secondly, a sinner must believe the gospel. The gospel is defined in 1 Corinthians 15:3 as the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. In Genesis 4:1-26, the Lord told Cain that if he would bring the sacrifice required, he would be accepted. The death of the lamb was a type of the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. The sacrificial death (John 1:29 : Romans 3:25; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 Peter 3:18; 1 John 2:2; 1 John 4:14; etc.) and resurrection (Matthew 28:6; Romans 8:34; Romans 10:9; 1 Peter 1:21) of our Lord are given in detail in the New Testament, and was understood by the Old Testament saints. The sinner must also believe that the Lord Jesus can and will save. In Hebrews 11:6, the Word of God says, “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” (cf. Acts 16:31; Romans 15:12; 1 John 3:23; 1 John 5:13) Therefore, the conclusion must be that faith is a condition for salvation.
Then, there is the condition of coming to the Lord. The Lord invited men to come to Him in Matthew 11:28, when He said, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (cf. Matthew 19:21-22; John 6:37; Revelation 22:17) The sinner is invited to come to the Lord for salvation and is indicted in John 5:40 for not coming. Jesus told the Pharisees, “And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.”Chafer’s Systematic Theology differentiates between election and redemption this way: The highway of divine election is quite apart from the highway of redemption. With respect to election it is declared that “whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and who he justified, them he also glorified” (Romans 8:30), and in this great certainty every believer may rejoice. In respect to redemption it is written that Christ died for fallen men and that salvation, based on that death, is proffered to all who believe; and that condemnation rests on those who do not believe, and on the ground that they refuse that which has been provided for them. It would seem unnecessary to point out that men cannot reject what does not even exist, and if Christ did not die for the nonelect, they cannot be condemned for unbelief (cf. John 3:18). Both salvation and condemnation are conditioned on the individual’s reaction to one and the same thing, namely, the saving grace of God made possible through the death of Christ.3 To say that God has unconditionally elected some to Heaven and others to Hell does not make biblical sense. In the book What Love is This?, David Hunt said,
Why so few were chosen by the God who “is love” (1 John 4:8) and the rest damned is, as we have already seen, a major problem which Calvin himself recognized. Yet throughout his Institutes he offered no satisfactory explanation. “That is a question for which I have no answer,” admitted one of the staunchest critics of the first draft of this book. Unable to integrate God’s love into the process of Unconditional Election, Calvin simply struck back sharply at his critics while pleading Augustine’s authority: I admit that profane men lay hold of the subject of predestination to carp, or cavil, or snarl, or scoff. But if their petulance frightens us, it will be necessary to conceal all the principal articles of faith, because they and their fellows leave scarcely one of them unassailed with blasphemy . . . . The truth of God is too powerful, both here and everywhere, to dread the slanders of the ungodly, as Augustine powerfully maintains . . . . Augustine disguises not that . . . he was often charged with preaching the doctrine of predestination too freely, but, as it was easy for him to do, he abundantly refutes the charge . . . . The predestination by which God adopts some to the hope of life, and adjudges others to eternal death . . . is greatly caviled at, especially by those who make prescience its cause.4
The second point of Hyper-Calvinism must be rejected because the Bible declares that salvation is conditional, not unconditional. Men do not go to hell because of election, because of rejection! If Unconditional Election were the case, how could a child of God ever have assurance of salvation? The saved cannot see the Book of Life. The Lord does not come and personally tell a man that he is saved, therefore, the Hyper-Calvinist can nave no real assurance. Assurance of salvation comes through the word whosoever. A song put it this way: “Whosoever surely meaneth me!”