Election and Free Will

Ok Amy, here it goes.

In response to Amy’s question concerning election "how do you reconcile election and free will?", I think I answer her question below, but indirectly so pay close attention. Let me first address free will and the non-believer:

When I see a sunrise over the Cascades, or a sunset over the Olympics, I cannot help but praise the God who created me. The Bible says that the Heavens declare the glory of God (Ps 19:1). God has made himself clear to all mankind though some refuse to recognize Him as God. Romans 1:20 says “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that [unbelievers] are without excuse.” (emphasis mine) This leads me to believe that the Lord has allowed those who reject Him some choice in the matter of Salvation. Go back and read Romans 1:18-23 to read more about how man seeks after idols because they don’t want to know God.

So, if man has some sort of choice to reject God does that mean that God has predestined some to hell? I personally don’t believe so. God told Israel in Ezekiel 18:32, “For I have no pleasure in the death of one who dies,…Therefore turn and live!” Now mind you, He was talking to Israel, but I believe the principle applies to this dispensation as well. 2 Peter 3:9 says that the reason Christ hasn’t returned for His saints is because he is “not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (Thank the Lord! I still have quite a few on my prayer list.) On the flip side, the question often arises concerning Romans 9:13 where it says that God said, “Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated.” A deeper look at the word hate (miseō) there is the same word used in Luke 14:26 where Christ says, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brother and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.” I would suggest that that word is intended to mean to place at a much lower value rather than to mean as in the American context to hate someone and wish for their worst. Ultimately though, it is still in God’s hands. God said “I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion” (Romans 9:15, Exodus 33:19) and, “My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways” (Isaiah 55:8).

Now, regarding the elect, it is obvious that God chose the elect before the foundation of the world for His glory and by His grace (Ephesians 1:3-12). Those chosen were told to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ to be saved and out of obedience they did (John 3:16; 6:40; Acts 16:31). They believed by their own free will, but they were already chosen (John 6:37-40). Don't you think that if non-believers are held responsible for their unbelief (above) that that would mean that believers would have also had the free will to believe? I am not suggesting, however, that believers are saved through any work of thier own. “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is a gift of God not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). Salvation was just through a simple act of obedience that God had already predetermined.

So then, how are some chosen to be saved and others not? I don’t know. Why does God ask us to pray if He already knows the future? And why do some get saved as a result of the faithful prayers of believers if they were already chosen? What if we stopped praying? Maybe our prayers wouldn’t be answered then. May I suggest that God has given us the wonderful privilege of praying for unbelievers that we may have a small part in changing the course of history? After all, wasn’t it Moses who petitioned God not to destroy all of Israel even though they deserved it? I don’t understand God, but I am thankful that He takes the time to hear my finite little mind out as I bring His promises to us back to Him in petition for the lost. And no, by suggesting that the Lord uses us to change the course of history, I’m not suggesting that He is a changing God because “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8).

Comments and suggestions greatly encouraged!