Session 1 God’s Will and My Will
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4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.
Predestination, Election and Free Will
Predestination, Election and Free Will
What is predestination?
Predestination is God determining certain things to occur ahead of time. What did God determine ahead of time? According to , God predetermined that certain individuals would be conformed to the likeness of His Son, be called, justified, and glorified. Essentially, God predetermines that certain individuals will be saved.
In its broad definition, the theological affirmation that God has sovereignly and graciously planned for the unfolding history of all things. It is more commonly known according to a narrower definition, that God has decreed either the final salvation or the final reprobation of each person. Election and reprobation, then, are subcategories of the doctrine of predestination. This doctrine is associated primarily with John Calvin and Calvinism, although it finds its biblical roots in a variety of OT and NT texts, was given classic form by Augustine, and was treated by many Patristic and medieval theologians as well as the Reformers. The doctrine of predestination has a number of vexing logical difficulties, having to do mainly with the issues of divine sovereignty and human freedom. It also raises acute pastoral difficulties. Because of these difficulties, the doctrine has frequently come under attack.
The classic predestination texts include ; ; , ; . In these texts the background of predestination is humanity’s disobedience and rebellion against God; humanity thus earns God’s rightful condemnation. However, God does not leave humanity bereft. God graciously elects those whom God wills to elect. The implications of election, for humanity, are gratitude and service to God and all God’s people.
Several options exist in the Christian tradition on stating and understanding the doctrine of predestination. One version, which might be called the “softer” version, states that God elects on the basis of God’s foreknowledge. That is, either election or reprobation is contingent on God foreseeing how each person would freely respond to the gospel. On this reading of the doctrine, the justice and fairness issues are somewhat mitigated. Each person, so to speak, gets what he or she deserves. An example of a theologian who has taken, or has tended to take, the approach of identifying God’s foreknowledge with predestination is John Wesley, as well as the broad Arminian tradition.
Another option in the history of this doctrine can be identified with Martin Luther. Although Luther had a very strong understanding of election, with related affirmations of the sovereignty of God, he did not wish to state a corresponding doctrine of reprobation. His can perhaps be called a “middle” position, a position with the necessary ingredients for a stronger stand, but one which avoids the most excruciating questions and dilemmas by simply moving them off to one side.
The “harder” version of predestination asserts that God does not merely foresee but actually foreordains. That is, God’s election or reprobation is a primal divine decree and does not depend on God’s foreknowledge of free human action or decision. Calvin is the name most identified with this position. Although Calvin constantly emphasized the primary purpose of the doctrine of predestination as a call to gratitude and praise, he did not hold back from a full statement of both election and reprobation. The pastoral difficulties of this version of predestination are immediate and extremely difficult. Why does God choose only some and reject others? Calvin said that to ask such questions was to stretch well beyond the limited capabilities of the human mind. The best course of action, according to Calvin, is for believers to thank God for their election and not to probe further the mysteries of God. Calvin’s approach to predestination affirms a full and undiluted divine sovereignty; it nonetheless holds human beings responsible and then warns against the folly of a morbid curiosity about these matters.
A bold new approach to the doctrine of election was offered by Karl Barth. As a theologian of the Reformed tradition, Barth shared with Calvin the convictions concerning God’s sovereignty and the reality of sin. However, he interpreted election as accomplished through Jesus Christ, who is the elect of God. Humanity, as united with Jesus Christ, shares in that election.
At its best, the doctrine of predestination emphasizes the free gracious saving activity of God and the grateful response of the believer. At its worst, it suggests that God arbitrarily saves some and condemns others, thus implying a God with lower standards of neighborly love than Christians are enjoined to display. The most helpful way of approaching the doctrine of predestination is to cast its conceptual net widely: it affirms a divine plan and determination for all humanity that conforms to God’s eternal will. In these terms, predestination doctrine is not so much interested in the final fate of individual persons, but is a broad affirmation that the love of God, the wisdom of God, and the righteousness of God are the underlying realities of all created life, including each human person. It is God who has made us, and we belong to God.
Is it something we do?
Scripture consistently teaches that predestination or election is not based upon something that we do or will do. God predestined people based on His own sovereign will to redeem for Himself people from every tribe, tongue, and nation. God predetermined or predestined this from before the foundation of the world () based solely on His sovereign will and not because of anything that He knew the people would do.
Separate Foreknowledge from Omniscience
The word foreknowledge is never used in terms of knowing about future events, times or actions (God’s omniscience). What it does describe is a predetermined relationship in the knowledge of God whereby God brings the salvation relationship into existence by decreeing it into existence ahead of time.
29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.
What is Election?
Before God ever created the heavens and earth, and a long time before we were ever born, God knew His elect in a personal way and chose them to be His sheep. His knowing them and choosing them is the reason they follow Him, not the other way around. The issue really is not whether or not God knows who will believe, but why some believe and others do not. The answer to that is God chooses to have mercy on some and others He leaves in their sinful rebellion.
Christian Beliefs: Twenty Basics Every Christian Should Know Chapter 12: What Is Election?
Election is an act of God before creation in which he chooses some people to be saved, not on account of any foreseen merit in them, but only because of his sovereign good pleasure.
Election
God chooses Abram (Abraham) and promises that through him all the nations will be blessed ().
Election to Salvation is Corporate and Individual
The Bible describes election as both corporate and individual. Following the account of God’s good and glorious creation, the Bible presents the story of human rebellion and alienation from their Creator (). By , we see God’s strategy for redemption taking shape: God chooses Abram (Abraham) and promises that through him all the nations will be blessed (). In doing so, God essentially embraces all of Abraham’s offspring (); Abraham will be the father of the Israelites and, eventually, of all who trust in God as Abraham did. Numerous Old Testament references reiterate God’s gracious choice of Israel to be His people, such as: “You only have I chosen of all the clans of the earth” (). Another example comes from Deuteronomy: “It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you … but it is because the Lord loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers” ().
This marvelous choice makes us holy and blameless in his sight. Because we have believed in and received Jesus as our Savior, all our sins are forgiven in him. This does not mean that true Christians never sin. It means our sin is paid for by the death of Christ. Jesus was holy and blameless. We are in Jesus; therefore, we are holy and blameless in God’s sight.
Yet God’s election of Israel as His chosen people did not equate to the personal salvation of every Israelite. That required a heart commitment to God ().
And the Lord said:
“Because this people draw near with their mouth
and honor me with their lips,
while their hearts are far from me,
and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men,
Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone,
Why might some ethnic Jews forfeit the salvation obtained by Abraham? In Paul’s words, “Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if by works. They stumbled over the stone that causes people to stumble” ().
So why the need for evangelism?
So why the need for evangelism?
Christian Beliefs: Twenty Basics Every Christian Should Know What This Means
When God chooses people to be saved, he carries this out through human means. That is why Paul worked so hard at preaching the gospel. He said, “I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory” (2 Tim. 2:10). Paul knew that God has chosen some people to be saved, and he saw this as an encouragement—not discouragement—to preach the gospel, even if it meant enduring great suffering. Election was Paul’s guarantee that there would be some success for his evangelism,
Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.
2 tim
So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
God spoke to Paul in a dream as Paul visited Corinth:
for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many in this city who are my people.”
The New Testament’s teaching on election stands in continuity with the Old Testament, but with a crucial shift—one that was anticipated by the Old Testament prophets: God’s chosen are no longer identified by ethnic or national markers, but spiritually by faith.
See how Paul defines a “spiritual Jew”: “For the Jew is not one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward, in the flesh. But the Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter, whose praise is not from people but from God” ().
For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God.
Are people believers because they are elect, or are they elect because they believe?
Peter, for example, speaks of the election of the Church in terms equally applicable to Old Testament Israel. He says, “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s possession, so that you may proclaim the virtues of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light, who once were not a people, but now are the people of God, the ones who were not shown mercy, but now are shown mercy” (; compare ; ).
Differing Interpretations of Individual Election
Historically, nearly all Christian interpreters have agreed that God’s electing choice flows entirely from His grace, that human beings are moral agents responsible for our actions, and that personal participation in the community of the elect is by faith. But interpreters fall into two major approaches to the question of how God’s electing purpose comes to expression in the salvation of individuals: what might be called election unto faith versus election in view of faith. Are people believers because they are elect, or are they elect because they believe?
Because people are dead in sin if left to themselves, they cannot and will not embrace God’s gift of salvation apart from God’s own enabling power (; ).
What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, as it is written:
“None is righteous, no, not one;
no one understands;
no one seeks for God.
All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;
no one does good,
not even one.”
“Their throat is an open grave;
they use their tongues to deceive.”
“The venom of asps is under their lips.”
“Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.”
“Their feet are swift to shed blood;
in their paths are ruin and misery,
and the way of peace they have not known.”
“There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God.
but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.
But what about.........
But what about.........
Many other interpreters (like Arminius and Wesley) have understood the biblical data differently, taking it to mean that God does not elect unto faith, but desires to give all people equally the ability to receive His offer of salvation (; ) Everyone who believes is (therefore) included among the chosen.
who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
Whichever approach is taken, the biblical theme of election should lead all believers to praise God, like Paul does, for graciously choosing—even before the foundation of the world—to love us and save us in Christ (; ).
What about our own Free Will?
This takes us beyond our understanding, but the final consequence is easy to grasp: In Christ, we have his righteousness imputed to us at the moment of salvation; and the day will come when, standing before God holy and blameless, we will be totally separated, freed, and redeemed from any vestige of sin.
If God is choosing who is saved, doesn’t that undermine our free will to choose and believe in Christ? The Bible says that we have the choice—all who believe in Jesus Christ will be saved (; ).
Somehow, in the mystery of God, predestination works hand-in-hand with a person being drawn by God ()
No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
God predestines who will be saved, and we must choose Christ in order to be saved. Both facts are equally true.
Christian Beliefs: Twenty Basics Every Christian Should Know Are We Really Free?
We aren’t forced to make choices contrary to our own will. We ultimately do what we desire to do. Making choices is part of what it means to be a human being in God’s image, for we imitate God’s own activity of deciding to do things that are consistent with his character.
Paul wants believers to understand that salvation is the result of God’s purposes, which is independent of time, hostile forces, and personal achievement.
Implies that God made His choice at some unidentified time in the past.
This phrase is found elsewhere in the nt: John speaks of the Father’s love for the Son “before the foundation of the world” (John 17:24); 1 Peter refers to God’s plan of salvation through the lamb being known “before the foundation of the world” (1 Pet 1:20); Revelation describes the names in the “book of life” as being written “before the foundation of the world” (Rev 13:8).
1:4–5 chose … adoption to sonship. Already in the OT, because of God’s great love, he chose his people (Dt 4:37; 10:15) and made them his children (Dt 14:1; 32:19).
Believers should not worry about spiritual powers and authorities, nor should they take credit for being chosen by God; rather, they should recognize God’s mercy and give Him praise.
1:5–6. He made us his full-fledged children by formally adopting us into his spiritual family. In adoption, a child is brought into a family and given the same rights as a child born into that family. God did this through Jesus, and it pleased him.
We have two spiritual blessings from God the Father: We have been chosen and adopted by him to be his spiritual children. He made this choice before the creation of the world with the result that we will someday stand before him holy and blameless. God the Father accomplished this through the work of his Son, Jesus, motivated by his desire to be kind to us and by his desire to receive praise for his grace.
Is it fair to those not chosen?
Is it fair to those not chosen?
Christian Beliefs: Twenty Basics Every Christian Should Know Are We Really Free?
As Jesus said in John 8:43–44, “Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires.” To some who rejected him earlier, Jesus said, “You refuse to come to me that you may have life” (John 5:40). And Paul in Romans 1:20 says that all who reject the clear revelation of God given to all mankind are “without excuse.” This is the consistent pattern in Scripture: People who remain in unbelief do so because they are unwilling to come to God, and the blame for such unbelief always lies with the unbelievers themselves, never with God.
1:5 The Greek word used here, proorizō, means “to choose” or “to decide beforehand.”
Paul uses the verb proorizō five times in his letters (Rom 8:29–30; 1 Cor 2:7; Eph 1:5, 11). In every instance, God is the one who predestines; salvation as an overall plan depends on His will and authority. In Paul’s time, many people believed that various supernatural forces controlled human destiny, and some used magic, believing they could manipulate these forces to escape harm and secure good fortune (e.g., Acts 8:9–25; 19:11–20). In this letter, Paul addresses the need for people to stand firm in the Lord against all other forces (Eph 6:10–20). Paul wants believers to understand that salvation is the result of God’s purposes, which is independent of time, hostile forces, and personal achievement. Believers should not worry about spiritual powers and authorities, nor should they take credit for being chosen by God; rather, they should recognize God’s mercy and give Him praise.
Do we have to really completely understand how all of this works?
Adoption was a well-known legal procedure in the Roman Empire. It also is a common concept in the ot: God adopted Israel as His children when He delivered them from slavery in Egypt (Exod 4:22–23; Hos 11:1).
1:6 glorious. God promised to restore his people at least in part for his glory, or honor (Isa 60:21; 61:3; Jer 13:11).
1:6 A reference to Jesus.
Is it okay to say God is smarter than us? does our ego allow for that?
In the ot, the Israelites (or specific tribes) are sometimes referred to as beloved to emphasize their status as God’s chosen people (e.g., Deut 33:12; Isa 5:1; Jer 12:7). The Gospels use similar language to refer to Jesus as God’s beloved son (e.g., Matt 3:17; Mark 9:7; Luke 3:22; compare 2 Pet 1:17), and Paul describes Jesus similarly elsewhere (Col 1:13). Paul often applies similar terminology to believers (e.g., Eph 5:1; 1 Thess 1:4; Rom 9:25).
A unique phrase found only in this blessing (Eph 1:12, 14) as a liturgical expression of praise to God.
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33 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!
34 “For who has known the mind of the Lord,
or who has been his counselor?”
35 “Or who has given a gift to him
that he might be repaid?”
36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.
The hymn begins with an awestruck exclamation at “the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God.” There are three, not two, attributes here—riches, wisdom, knowledge. “Depth” refers to the inexhaustible immensity of God’s attributes. All the universe is summed up in them, and none can comprehend the vastness of who he is. His “riches” looks back to 2:4; 9:23; 10:12; and 11:12, detailing his mercy and grace, the spiritual blessings of the heavenly realm that according to Ephesians 1:3, 7–8, are “the riches of God’s grace … lavished on us.” Through these riches God brought salvation to us.
The next two lines develop further the theme of God’s wisdom and knowledge. The two parallel each other in a chiastic fashion, that is, A (unsearchable), B (his judgments), B (his paths), A (beyond tracing out). God’s judgments are not his acting as judge (as in 2:2; 5:16) but his decisions in general, especially his decision to bring salvation to humankind, both the sternness and the kindness of 11:22. These actions of his will are “unsearchable” or “inscrutable,” impossible for the human mind to fathom (see Job 42:3; Ps 147:5; Isa 40:28). God knows us, but we do not understand God. All we can do is trust his greater wisdom as we encounter the mysteries of life. We will never solve them, but he will lead us over the rough roads.
The phrase “paths of God” (niv “his paths”) describes the action side of his “judgments.” As his decisions act themselves out in our lives, they are “beyond tracing out,” meaning they are beyond our ability to understand or control. We, believers and nonbelievers alike, will never fully comprehend God’s sovereign work, especially his salvation-historical actions. The mysteries Paul has explored in Romans will only be fully clear when we get to heaven. For now we must leave it all with God, be thankful for all he has done, and accept his greater wisdom.
I have spent some time in this commentary working on the divisive issue of divine sovereignty and human responsibility (see the comments at 8:28–30 and at the end of ch. 10), and this verse is an important reminder about such debates. Human pride makes us not only certain about our own theological preferences but also judgmental toward others. We do not know the mind of the Lord on many issues, and we must recognize that all truth does not begin with us. One scholar has even said that all Arminians are going to hell because by definition they have to deny the sovereignty of God. This is not true theologically, and such hubris and pride is a sin in itself.
We must all work out our views on critical doctrines like eternal security or predestination, but we also must remain humble and realize God has not given us final answers on many issues. The cardinal doctrines like the Trinity, the deity of Christ, and substitutionary atonement are taught unambiguously in Scripture, but many others are not because God wants us to wrestle and find the balance between issues like sovereignty and responsibility. There are important passages that speak of both, and we must respect each other and become “iron sharpening iron” as we debate the sides. It is time to quit going to war and realize we “know in part and we prophesy in part” (1 Cor 13:9) on many issues. This does not mean we cannot take a strong stance (I do on this issue in this commentary), but we must be humble and show respect to the other side. Some of my closest friends are Calvinists, while I am more Arminian. I tell them I am predestined to be right on this!
11:33–36 Paul presents a doxology about God’s wisdom using two quotations from the ot (; ). Both quotations celebrate God’s exalted status and wisdom over His creatures.
13 Who has measured the Spirit of the Lord,
or what man shows him his counsel?
11 Who has first given to me, that I should repay him?
Whatever is under the whole heaven is mine.
Is it okay to not understand fully everything in the Bible?
We do not fully understand election.
We do not fully understand election. We do not fully understand hardening. We do not fully understand God closing the eyes and ears of people who need his truth, people whom he wants to receive it. We do not fully understand his timetable. We do not fully understand (though we try because we want to) the eternal destinies of those who live and die in the period of Israel’s hardening. We do not fully understand what makes those who live at a time when Israel’s disobedience is removed more “deserving” of mercy (to speak in human terms) than those who did not receive mercy. And least of all, we do not understand why those who write about Romans, and teach others about Romans, have received mercy, knowing ourselves as we do. Paul was right. The riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God are too deep for us.
We do not fully understand hardening.
We do not fully understand God closing the eyes and ears of people who need his truth, people whom he wants to receive it.
We do not fully understand his timetable.
Paul’s praise and worship of God is prompted by what he does not know as well as by what he does.
A person can go down only so far into the ocean before the capacities of the human body are tested to the breaking point. We were made to operate at only a certain depth in water; beyond that, the pressure is too much to bear. So it is with the depth of God’s wisdom and knowledge. We cannot bear what he can bear, nor can we follow his paths. But there is praise and glory in our distance from him. We know that we are saved, and by that fact we know that what Paul is writing is true. Paul’s praise and worship of God is prompted by what he does not know as well as by what he does.
The Inability of Humanity to Comprehend His Thoughts (11:34–35)
In ourselves we cannot cope with the complex world around us. But God in Christ gives us the Spirit, so the ability to cope with this world rests on a trinitarian act. God’s knowledge of salvation history, that is, how God’s salvation guides us through world history, is absolute while ours is finite and inadequate. No one of us can be “his counselor.” Instead, we depend on his knowledge and his will, so we must conduct our lives in complete Christ-dependency and follow the Spirit’s guidance in every area of our lives.
The third rhetorical question (v. 35) is Paul’s paraphrase of the Hebrew text of Job 41:11, “Who has ever given to God, that God should repay them?” In Job this is found near the end of Yahweh’s speech (Job 38–41), telling Job that he is sovereign over everything. This could almost be called the moral of the story in Job: “Everything under heaven belongs to me.” Job is confused, asking God why and how everything in this world has turned against him. As Job doubts God’s wisdom, God declares that he alone has the wisdom to oversee this world and the affairs of Job as well. Job is being told to surrender his life to God’s superintending wisdom.
Paul is faithful to Job here, for “given” means to “give beforehand,” thereby obligating God to repay us. No one has ever been able to give anything to God in such a way as to create a debt requiring God to pay them back. God owes no one. God’s wisdom and knowledge (v. 33) are completely beyond us (v. 34), yet they come to us as a free gift on his part (v. 35).
11:35–36. Paul then turns to as the basis for praising the self-sufficient glory of God.
11 Who has first given to me, that I should repay him?
Whatever is under the whole heaven is mine.
20 But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?”
This last quote from Paul, plus his own words reminding us that everything begins and ends in God, is enough to silence those who are not satisfied not knowing all that God knows. In truth, no one can make a claim on God for anything since no one except God owns anything. As one contemporary preacher said, “We are change in God’s pocket for him to spend as he pleases.” While that may wrinkle the brow of the nobility-of-man set, it is nonetheless true. God owns everything and everyone—Jews, Gentiles, the world they live in, and the means and ends of their salvation. Paul’s words here are a just, though gentler, reminder of his question in Romans 9:20, “But who are you, O man?”
The success of the Gentile mission, far from a judgment meant to keep Israel from God, was intended to make Israel envious and lead to a renewed Jewish mission that would culminate in national salvation at the return of Christ.
Being self-sufficient, God is not required to answer man. His glory begins in himself and ends in himself and encompasses all of his purposes and actions. To the degree humans are included in an awareness of the glorifying purposes of God, they should offer him praise. To the degree humans are excluded from an awareness of the purposes of God, they should likewise offer him praise. In the first degree we praise him for what we understand, in the second for what we do not understand. After all, how much motivation would there be in worshiping a God whose purposes were totally exhausted by the finiteness of our intellect?
The Universal Majesty of God (11:36)
All Paul has said in this doxological hymn (vv. 33–35) is grounded (hoti, “for”) in the fact that God is the source (ek, “from”), instrument (dia, “through”), and goal (eis, “for”) of “all things” (cf. 1 Cor 8:6 of God, Col 1:16–17 of Christ). This undergirds the sovereignty of God over all things in creation and provides a fitting climax not only to this doxology but also to all of Romans 9–11. God determines everything in his created order, so while no one can know his mind, they can rely on his greater wisdom made available to his followers. He alone reveals all truth, so none can be his counselor, but they can listen to and follow his counsel. He is the sole giver and is sovereign over salvation history.
There can be only one conclusion: “to him be the glory forever.” The One who has given us salvation and made us his children, who has brought Jew and Gentile together and united fallen humanity in Christ, is the one who deserves glory above all else. As the Westminster Confession says, God created humankind to “glorify God and enjoy him forever.” It is our privilege to magnify his name and to enjoy his loving presence every moment of our life here on earth. Paul closes with “amen,” which affirms the validity and echoes the truth of the doxology (see 1:25; 9:5).
This final paragraph in Romans 9–11 is the most astounding promise yet, a truly apocalyptic revelation of the true future for Israel. It is the final piece of the puzzle, telling us not only that God will keep his covenant promises to his chosen people but also that there is a national future, a God-sent revival that will ensure an eternal reward for the faithful. The promised reality, which had to bring tears to Paul’s eyes, was that even the present hardness experienced by the vast majority of Jews had a redemptive purpose. The success of the Gentile mission, far from a judgment meant to keep Israel from God, was intended to make Israel envious and lead to a renewed Jewish mission that would culminate in national salvation at the return of Christ.
The key is to recognize that all truth is God’s truth, and we must yield ourselves to God’s greater wisdom on such issues. God has all truth, not us, and we have to surrender to the mind of God.
At what point does debate become fruitless?
As we engage in debate over issues like the security of the believer or predestination, we must keep in mind this wonderful doxology and quit destroying the harmony of the church with endless debate over theological dogma we can never know fully.
Finish with
1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Another “therefore”. What does that telly you in your study?
Look at previous verses. The passage begins with a “therefore,” reminding us that what Paul is now about to say depends on everything he has been doing to this point in Romans. In a sense, Paul’s gathering up everything he’s taught in chapters 1–11 and saying, “Therefore, in light of those things, in light of the truth about what God has done for you in Jesus Christ, here is now, brothers and sisters, where you find yourselves.”
The Exhortation to Personal Sacrifice (12:1–2)
SUPPORTING IDEA: Sacrificing oneself to God is accomplished by applying a renewed mind to the pursuit and achieving of the will of God.
Paraclete is translated by “Helper” in the NASB and NKJV, “Comforter” in the KJV, and “Counselor” in the NIV. As is widely understood, the paraclete’s ministry is pictured from the formation of the word para (along, beside, together) and kaleo (to call). Therefore, the paraclete is one called alongside to do that which the verb, parakaleo, suggests—exhort, urge, comfort, counsel.
It is striking how closely Paul fulfills the ministry of the Holy Spirit predicted by Jesus: “But the Holy Spirit … will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you” ().
26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.
Paul has certainly taught the Roman Christians “all things,” and is now about to remind them of the consequences and application of what he has taught them. Paul is going to urge them to act on the truth they have received, letting that truth be the foundation of their Christian practice.
Prior to this verse in Romans, Paul has mentioned the mercy of God ten times ( [twice], 16, 18 [twice], 23; 11:30, 31 [twice], 32), and mentions it two more times following this verse (12:8 [the mercy of God manifested by human instruments]; 15:9).
32 For God has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all.
The only thing that saves a human race lost in sin is the mercy of God.
In view of God’s mercy. Paul urges his readers (and us) to offer [their] bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God. What would be a reasonable (logikos) response to the cancellation of judgment? Offering oneself in gratitude for the grace that has been shown would not be unreasonable. F. F. Bruce quotes Thomas Erskine, who said that ‘ “in the New Testament religion is grace, and ethics is gratitude’ (Letters, 1877, p. 16). It is not by accident that in Greek one and the same noun (charis) does duty for both ‘grace’ and ‘gratitude’ ” (Bruce, p. 213).
The reason that offering oneself to God is both reasonable and spiritual is based partly on the meaning of logikos and partly on Paul’s context. Logikos derives from logos, the Greek term for word or reason. But Paul is also drawing a contrast here between the physical sacrifices of the Old Testament and the spiritual sacrifice of the New Testament. The spiritual act of worship which Paul is encouraging is one that springs from the inner man, the realm of the mind (see v. Heb. 12:2). It is therefore a reasonable as well as spiritual form of worship.
Worship has always been accompanied by sacrifice, but the form of sacrifice has changed under the new covenant:
In the Old Testament, there were sacrifices for sin as well as sacrifices of gratitude and praise. Christ has obviously fulfilled the sacrifice for sin once for all (; , , ), and there is nothing that the believer can add to that sacrifice.
Paul does not tell believers to “make” a sacrifice, but to “be” a sacrifice.
God is not asking the believer to dedicate his gifts, abilities, money, time, ideas, creativity, or any such thing. He is asking the believer to sacrifice himself or herself.
So what does it mean to be a sacrifice? Paul tells us in verse 2
It takes many times of hearing this truth for the contemporary believer to get it right. God is not asking the believer to dedicate his gifts, abilities, money, time, ideas, creativity, or any such thing. He is asking the believer to sacrifice himself or herself. Oswald Chambers says, “We have the idea that we can dedicate our gifts to God. However, you cannot dedicate what is not yours. There is actually only one thing you can dedicate to God, and that is your right to yourself. If you will give God your right to yourself, He will make a holy experiment out of you—and His experiments always succeed. The one true mark of a saint of God is the inner creativity that flows from being totally surrendered to Jesus Christ” (My Utmost, June 13).
That characteristic is the unwillingness to be conformed to the pattern of this world.
NT331 Book Study: Paul’s Letter to the Romans Be Transformed, Not Conformed
Paul says “There is an old realm that has been judged by the cross and resurrection of Christ but continues to exist and to influence us in our thinking and acting. This age or this world has not gone away with the coming of Christ. It’s still ever present with us, even though we’re converted and now citizens of heaven.” And so Paul warns us about the pattern that this world could so easily implant in our thinking, our values, [and] our living.
NT331 Book Study: Paul’s Letter to the Romans Proper Worship as Rational Beings
“Whatever we are doing,” Paul says, “needs to be done in such a way that we are offering worship to God throughout.”
12:2a. The person who has truly sacrificed himself or herself to God will be distinguished by one overriding characteristic that informs the rest of life. That characteristic is the unwillingness to be conformed to the pattern of this world. Or, as J. B. Phillips put it in his widely-known translation of this verse, “Don’t let the world … squeeze you into its mold.” Paul gives the offensive key to this defensive posture—but first a closer look at that which the believer is committed to avoiding.
Is your sacrifice like Cain or like Abel?
Common theme for falling under the trap of this world: look at ; ; ; ;.
4 who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,
4 who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,
4 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
4 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
20 Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?
20 Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?
Paul elsewhere calls this age “evil” (Gal. 1:4), and says that “the god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers” to the gospel (2 Cor. 4:4). This age has wise men, scholars, and philosophers who believe that their answers to life are to be preferred over God’s (1 Cor. 1:20), but whose wisdom will lead them to nothing (1 Cor. 2:6). Paul warns believers against being deceived into measuring true wisdom by “the standards of this age,” and suggests instead that believers become “fools” with regard to this age so that they might become truly wise (1 Cor. 3:18). This age (world) is a dangerous place: “We know … that the whole world is under the control of the evil one” (1 John 5:19).
6 Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away.
6 Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away.
18 Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise.
18 Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise.
Is peer pressure still a thing for adults? How does social media use peer pressure?
4 With respect to this they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you;
The forces of “this age” are invading and gaining control, forcing believers and unbelievers alike to conform to its ideals—consumerism, the desire for status and success, the pleasure principle, sex and good looks, and so on.
How does relate?
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
The Spirit is the change agent, enabling us to overcome temptation and live victoriously in service to God. This is a trinitarian event, part of the process by which we become Christlike () and Spirit-filled () children of God.
13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,
5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. 6 For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. 8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
9 You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. 10 But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.
12 So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.
How do we renew our minds? Is it a “once done, always done”?
Paul here uses the noun, renewal, anakainosis, instead of the verb anakainoo, to make new) is a combination of “new” (kainos) and “again” (ana). Paul uses the verb form in where he says “we are being renewed day by day,”
And what offensive measure keeps the believer from being conformed to this present evil age? The consistent and deliberate renewing of the mind. To make new (Paul here uses the noun, renewal, anakainosis, instead of the verb anakainoo, to make new) is a combination of “new” (kainos) and “again” (ana). Paul uses the verb form in 2 Corinthians 4:16 where he says “we are being renewed day by day,” and in Colossians 3:10 where he says that the new self “is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.”
16 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.
Transformation (“conformation” to the image of Christ) happens when the renewed mind begins to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. It is the will of God—his standards, his desires, his motives, his values, his practices—which gradually pull the monarch butterfly of the believer out of the world’s cocoon into which he or she has been squeezed. It is a knowledge and practice of the will of God that leads to spiritual growth and maturity in the Christian’s life.
The ongoing, repetitive nature of the renewal is drawn from the present passive imperative of metamorphoo, to change form. It is from this Greek word that our “metamorphosis” derives—“a transformation; a marked change in appearance, character, condition, or function” (American Heritage Dictionary). The English definition describes perfectly the “metamorphosis” which took place before the disciples’ eyes as Jesus was transfigured (metamorphoo) before them: “His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light” (Matt. 17:2), “whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them” (Mark 9:3).
These dramatic images are a picture of how different the believer is to become as, day after day, he or she is being transformed by the renewing of the mind. Instead of being conformed to the present evil age, believers are to be transformed into the image of God insofar as knowledge and behavior are concerned. Paul has already stated that it is God’s ultimate goal for believers “to be conformed to the likeness of [God’s] Son” (Rom. 8:29). But in this verse, the “conformation” is of a different sort than the “conformation” to the world that we are warned against in our present verse. We are warned against being shaped into (suschematizo) the patterns and schemes of the world, system in which we live.
Do you test your spiritual growth often? How?
On the other hand, Paul says that we are being “made like” Christ. Here the word conformed is summorphos, made up of sum (with) and morphe (shape or form). The former word for conformed has to do with exterior structures and designs, things which are changeable, not permanent. The latter word, suggesting how we are being conformed to Christ, has to do with being made like something else in essence or in form, something that is durable and not just an exterior structure. W. E. Vine clarifies, saying “Suschematizo could not be used of inward transformation” (Vine, p. 122).
12:2b. But how exactly is the renewing to take place? What is to “fuel” the metamorphosis that takes place in the believer’s life? Transformation (“conformation” to the image of Christ) happens when the renewed mind begins to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. It is the will of God—his standards, his desires, his motives, his values, his practices—which gradually pull the monarch butterfly of the believer out of the world’s cocoon into which he or she has been squeezed. It is a knowledge and practice of the will of God that leads to spiritual growth and maturity in the Christian’s life.
12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, 13 for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. 14 But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.
Test and approve in the NIV is actually one word, dokimazo, which means to test and (by implication or extension) to approve. Both words can be subsumed under the idea of “prove,” as rendered by the NASB—“that you may prove what the will of God is.” The idea here is that the renewed mind can discover and put into action—thereby proving or demonstrating—the will of God. His will is good, pleasing and perfect, and in doing his will, the believer demonstrates sacrificial living.
That is, when a person chooses to sacrifice the preferences of the flesh (the normal human disposition), and chooses to do the will of God instead, the life of sacrifice is seen. It is as the seventh-century Spanish archbishop and scholar Isidore of Seville said: “The whole science of the saints consists in finding out and following the will of God” (Ward, p. 45). And is one whose safety was threatened on many occasions said, “The centre of God’s will is our only safety” (Betsie ten Boom, sister of Corrie ten Boom, in Ward, p. 239).
This concludes Paul’s introductory exhortation following eleven chapters of doctrinal foundation. It would not be off the mark to say that all of Romans 1–11 could be summarized under the rubric of “the mercy of God.” Starting with the initial chapters when the utter sinfulness of humans is revealed, it quickly becomes obvious that mercy is all that can save the human race. By the time we get to the end of chapter 11, Paul declares that God’s grand purpose is to have mercy on all (the elect) without exception. Therefore, when Paul says in Romans 12:1, “in view of God’s mercy,” he is saying, “in view of Romans 1–11”; “in view of your sin, God’s salvation, your sanctification, and God’s sovereignty, it really is a spiritually reasonable thing for you to sacrifice yourself for him.” That is Paul’s conclusion to Romans 1–11 and his introduction to Romans 12–16.
If the first eleven chapters of Romans demonstrate God’s mercy, the next four chapters are how believers respond to God’s mercy by demonstrating sacrificial living. In the rest of chapter 12, sacrifice is expressed and evidenced in the body of Christ and in personal relationships. In chapter 13, sacrifice is seen as believers submit to civil authorities and to the dual commands to love God and neighbor. And finally, in chapters 14 and 15, sacrifice is seen as believers give up their personal preferences in the church so as not to cause a weaker Christian to stumble and sin.
To return to the point made in the introduction to this chapter, the contents of the next four chapters contain much practical advice for Christian living. But to disconnect these chapters from Romans 1–11 is to disconnect them from their power source, for the motivation to sacrifice in the Christian life is the mercy of God.
THE CHRISTIAN LIFE INVOLVES TOTAL TRANSFORMATION (12:1–2)
These two verses provide a transition from the meaning of the gospel to its implications for Christian conduct and is certainly one of the most profound and meaningful passages in all of Scripture. The introductory “therefore” (oun) tells us this is a conclusion or inference from all that has come before (1:18–11:36). The strong verb “I exhort” (parakalō) is a better translation than the niv “I urge” in this context. This is an authoritative proclamation that demands serious attention. It is a favorite verb of Paul in teaching contexts and tells the reader both to listen and to act on what is being said.
Offer Your Whole Self as a Sacrifice to God (12:1)
The phrase “in view of God’s mercy” hearkens back to the emphasis on the mercy of God in 11:30–36 but actually sums up all eleven chapters on how God has brought salvation to humankind through the death of Christ. Though Paul mentions God’s mercy only in chapters 9–11, it is the basis of everything in Romans. Grace is often defined as “undeserved mercy,” and the gospel itself can be labeled the results of God’s mercy to sinners.
Our total commitment to God is based on the totality of his mercy to us. Paul expresses this in sacrificial imagery, “offer your bodies as a … sacrifice.” The verb “offer as a sacrifice” has sometimes been misunderstood as a “once-for-all” action. This has contributed to a “second work of grace” view of salvation, which encourages believers to seek a crisis-induced spiritual transformation that (like conversion) occurs only once. This is erroneous. As an infinitive (“to offer”), this verb draws its force from the main verb, the present-tense “I exhort,” and it is followed by two present-tense imperatives in verse 2. This means there is no one-time action in it. If anything, it has an iterative (repeated) force, exhorting us to frequently consecration ourselves to God.
The metaphorical force of the image pictures us at God’s altar baring our necks as a sacrifice to him. This word picture is frequent in the Bible—for instance, “sacrifice thank offerings to God” (Ps 50:14, 23); “may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice” (Ps 141:2); the “sacrifice of praise” (Heb 13:15); and “spiritual sacrifices” (1 Pet 2:5). The content of the sacrifice is “your bodies,” which some think is the physical body dedicated to God, but more probably it refers to the whole person. This better fits the context of the dedication of every aspect of our beings to God. We must offer every area of our lives to God and let him infuse us with his Spirit (v. 2) in order to empower us for service to him.
There are three aspects of this sacrifice:
1. It is a “living sacrifice,” looking at the dedication of ourselves not only as a dynamic process and an ongoing force but also as a spiritual state, a new “life” in the Spirit. As in 6:3–6, we die with Christ and then live in the Spirit. The sacrifice of ourselves to the Triune Godhead is part of that dynamic act.
2. It is “holy,” meaning that we are wholly consecrated to him, “set apart” from the world and completely belonging to God. As a holy sacrifice, there is a sacredness to our service to God and his church.
3. It is “pleasing to God,” building on the image of the sacrifice as giving off a “pleasing aroma” for God (see, for example, Exod 29:18, 25, 41; Lev 3:16; Num 28:6). The idea is divine pleasure, both in the Old Testament and the New (2 Cor 5:9, “we make it our goal to please him”; also 2 Cor 2:15; Eph 5:10; Phil 4:18).
Each of these is an important aspect of the Christian life, and we must strive always to live out the new life of the Spirit so we might be set apart for him so as to bring him pleasure.
At the close of this verse, this sacrifice of our total self to God is defined as “your true and proper worship.” A great deal of discussion has attended the meaning of the Greek logikēn (translated as “true and proper”). It was a popular term in Greek philosophy for a concept that was logical, based on rational truth. It was borrowed in Hellenistic Judaism (for example, Philo) to combine the spiritual and rational sides of worship. There are three main possibilities: “spiritual” in the sense of proper and rational worship; “spiritual” in the sense of heart worship; “rational” in the sense of logical or reasonable worship. Probably the best is to combine the rational and spiritual sides and see this as a spiritual act that is the only logical way to live the Christian life.
Our whole life should be considered an ongoing act of worship.
NT331 Book Study: Paul’s Letter to the Romans Be Transformed, Not Conformed
But ultimately, let’s not forget that God has made His fundamental will for us known in the words of Scripture. The most important things in our lives (the values we live by) have been revealed to us by God. And it’s by engaging in this process of transforming ourselves, allowing God’s Spirit to pattern our ways of thinking, that we will be able to do God’s will, to put it into practice, to be people who daily walk in the way God has laid down for us.
In verse 1 Paul describes the what of the Christian life (offer yourselves as a sacrifice to God), and in verse 2 he describes the how (by refusing to conform to this age and letting yourselves be transformed by the Spirit). The two interdependent aspects of the sacrificed life involve both the negative (not conformed) and positive (be transformed). Scholars used to define “conform” (syschēmatizō) as the outward side dealing with appearances and “transform” (metamorphoō) as the inward, powerful side, but that has been disproved. The first means to pattern oneself after another person or thing; J. B. Phillips translates this well: “stop letting the world squeeze you into its mold,” as does the nlt, “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world.”
Paul describes this process as “the renewing of your mind,” meaning our mindset is renewed (literally “made new again and again”) by the Spirit, a lifelong process in which our thinking is rescued from the influence of the world and reprogrammed to “have in mind the concerns of God” (Mark 8:33). There is a great deal in Romans on the mind. According to Romans 1:18–32 the mind is the center of depravity, and in 7:23, 25, the mind is the sphere of battle between the desire to serve God and the fleshly proclivity to sin. In 8:5–7 this war takes place in the mind between the flesh and the Spirit. But the mind is also the place where spiritual growth takes place. There we make decisions that determine our spiritual direction and destiny.
The ongoing conduct of each one of us is based on our reaction to input from both the world (v. 1) and the Spirit (v. 2). We can label this conflict “mind-control versus the Spirit-controlled mind.” This determines whether we live lives of spiritual defeat (7:14–25) or Christian victory (8:1–8, 37). In fact, this is one of the primary purposes of Christian fellowship, which counters the temptations of the world.
The purpose (eis to, “so that”; “then” in niv) of the renewing of our mind is so that we can “test and approve what God’s will is.” The verb means to examine something so as to live according to it, involving both discernment and practice. We observe what gives us the strength to rise above these earthly pulls and to decide to follow what truly helps us. “God’s will” connotes the direction and guidance that comes from God, that moral and ethical leading regarding proper Christian thoughts and conduct in his eyes.
God’s will is “good, pleasing and perfect.” We should seek God’s will because it will always be best for us (8:28). So long as we seek what is convenient and advantageous we will fall short and be disappointed. Only when God is in charge and we are following his directives can we be sure we are doing the right thing. The meaning of “pleasing” is difficult to determine. In verse 1 “pleasing to God” meant that we seek to please him in all things. Does this word echo that thrust (as most scholars believe), or does it go the other direction—what is pleasing to us? It makes a great deal of sense to say that as we please God, he pleases us. Since the other two are directed to us—God’s will is good for us and perfect for us—we can say that as God’s will works in our lives to accomplish what is perfect in our lives, this brings us pleasure.
Christian teaching on election has drawn from a number of related biblical themes pertaining to God’s choice in salvation. Fundamentally, then, election is about selection (the English word “election” comes from the Greek verb to choose). Election is key for understanding the Bible’s grand narrative—the account of God’s plan to redeem and restore, through Christ, a holy people who had been lost in Adam. Unfortunately, election has also been at the center of considerable disagreement in biblical interpretation and theology.
Election to Salvation is Corporate and Individual
The Bible describes election as both corporate and individual. Following the account of God’s good and glorious creation, the Bible presents the story of human rebellion and alienation from their Creator (Gen 3). By Genesis 12, we see God’s strategy for redemption taking shape: God chooses Abram (Abraham) and promises that through him all the nations will be blessed (Gen 12:2–3). In doing so, God essentially embraces all of Abraham’s offspring (Gen 13:16); Abraham will be the father of the Israelites and, eventually, of all who trust in God as Abraham did. Numerous Old Testament references reiterate God’s gracious choice of Israel to be His people, such as: “You only have I chosen of all the clans of the earth” (Amos 3:2). Another example comes from Deuteronomy: “It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you … but it is because the Lord loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers” (Deut 7:7–8).
Yet God’s election of Israel as His chosen people did not equate to the personal salvation of every Israelite. That required a heart commitment to God (Isa 29:13). Why might some ethnic Jews forfeit the salvation obtained by Abraham? In Paul’s words, “Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if by works. They stumbled over the stone that causes people to stumble” (Rom 9:32).
The New Testament’s teaching on election stands in continuity with the Old Testament, but with a crucial shift—one that was anticipated by the Old Testament prophets: God’s chosen are no longer identified by ethnic or national markers, but spiritually by faith. See how Paul defines a “spiritual Jew”: “For the Jew is not one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward, in the flesh. But the Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter, whose praise is not from people but from God” (Rom 2:28–29). Both Jews and Gentiles—non-Jews—who believe in Jesus are the true children of Abraham (John 8:38–40, 56–59; Rom 4:16–17).
Peter, for example, speaks of the election of the Church in terms equally applicable to Old Testament Israel. He says, “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s possession, so that you may proclaim the virtues of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light, who once were not a people, but now are the people of God, the ones who were not shown mercy, but now are shown mercy” (1 Pet 2:9–10; compare 1 Pet 1:1; 5:13).
Differing Interpretations of Individual Election
Historically, nearly all Christian interpreters have agreed that God’s electing choice flows entirely from His grace, that human beings are moral agents responsible for our actions, and that personal participation in the community of the elect is by faith. But interpreters fall into two major approaches to the question of how God’s electing purpose comes to expression in the salvation of individuals: what might be called election unto faith versus election in view of faith. Are people believers because they are elect, or are they elect because they believe?
Many interpreters (like Augustine and Calvin) have understood the biblical data on election to mean that God has chosen to save an unknown number of specific individuals from the deserved consequences of all humanity’s sin—a choice based solely on God’s undeserved mercy. Because people are dead in sin if left to themselves, they cannot and will not embrace God’s gift of salvation apart from God’s own enabling power (Rom 3:9–19; John 10:26–29). God supplies His elect with a gracious and undeserved capacity to believe; election is unto faith, since faith is a gift of God (Eph 2:4–9).
Many other interpreters (like Arminius and Wesley) have understood the biblical data differently, taking it to mean that God does not elect unto faith, but desires to give all people equally the ability to receive His offer of salvation (1 Tim 2:4; 2 Pet 3:9) Everyone who believes is (therefore) included among the chosen.
More recently, some interpreters (like N. T. Wright) have sought to refocus this traditional emphasis on the basis of the election of individuals toward the purpose of the election of the community: The people of God are called to be holy and to participate in His mission of reconciling the world to Himself (Eph 1:4; 2:10; 2 Cor 5:17–20).
Whichever approach is taken, the biblical theme of election should lead all believers to praise God, like Paul does, for graciously choosing—even before the foundation of the world—to love us and save us in Christ (Eph 1:4–5; 2:14–22).
In its broad definition, the theological affirmation that God has sovereignly and graciously planned for the unfolding history of all things. It is more commonly known according to a narrower definition, that God has decreed either the final salvation or the final reprobation of each person. Election and reprobation, then, are subcategories of the doctrine of predestination. This doctrine is associated primarily with John Calvin and Calvinism, although it finds its biblical roots in a variety of OT and NT texts, was given classic form by Augustine, and was treated by many Patristic and medieval theologians as well as the Reformers. The doctrine of predestination has a number of vexing logical difficulties, having to do mainly with the issues of divine sovereignty and human freedom. It also raises acute pastoral difficulties. Because of these difficulties, the doctrine has frequently come under attack.
In the OT the doctrine of predestination is related to call or election. God corporately calls the people of Israel to be the covenant people (cf. Deut. 7:6–10) and individually calls persons (cf. Exod. 3, Moses; Judg. 2:16, judges; Jer. 1:4–8, Jeremiah). This election was for the purpose of fulfilling the will of God, for blessing the nations, and for executing the judgment of God. Several Psalms also express the confidence, comfort, and wonder of God’s election and foreknowledge (e.g., Ps. 139:16; 115:1, 3, 12, 13). In the NT the several Greek words which are translated variously as “predestine,” “decree,” “foreordain,” or “foresee” indicate a wide range of God’s activity which centers on Jesus Christ as the means of salvation and includes human persons in this saving plan. The classic predestination texts include Rom. 8:28–30; Gal. 1:15; Eph. 1:4, 5; 2 Thess. 2:13. In these texts the background of predestination is humanity’s disobedience and rebellion against God; humanity thus earns God’s rightful condemnation. However, God does not leave humanity bereft. God graciously elects those whom God wills to elect. The implications of election, for humanity, are gratitude and service to God and all God’s people.
Several options exist in the Christian tradition on stating and understanding the doctrine of predestination. One version, which might be called the “softer” version, states that God elects on the basis of God’s foreknowledge. That is, either election or reprobation is contingent on God foreseeing how each person would freely respond to the gospel. On this reading of the doctrine, the justice and fairness issues are somewhat mitigated. Each person, so to speak, gets what he or she deserves. An example of a theologian who has taken, or has tended to take, the approach of identifying God’s foreknowledge with predestination is John Wesley, as well as the broad Arminian tradition.
Another option in the history of this doctrine can be identified with Martin Luther. Although Luther had a very strong understanding of election, with related affirmations of the sovereignty of God, he did not wish to state a corresponding doctrine of reprobation. His can perhaps be called a “middle” position, a position with the necessary ingredients for a stronger stand, but one which avoids the most excruciating questions and dilemmas by simply moving them off to one side.
The “harder” version of predestination asserts that God does not merely foresee but actually foreordains. That is, God’s election or reprobation is a primal divine decree and does not depend on God’s foreknowledge of free human action or decision. Calvin is the name most identified with this position. Although Calvin constantly emphasized the primary purpose of the doctrine of predestination as a call to gratitude and praise, he did not hold back from a full statement of both election and reprobation. The pastoral difficulties of this version of predestination are immediate and extremely difficult. Why does God choose only some and reject others? Calvin said that to ask such questions was to stretch well beyond the limited capabilities of the human mind. The best course of action, according to Calvin, is for believers to thank God for their election and not to probe further the mysteries of God. Calvin’s approach to predestination affirms a full and undiluted divine sovereignty; it nonetheless holds human beings responsible and then warns against the folly of a morbid curiosity about these matters.
A bold new approach to the doctrine of election was offered by Karl Barth. As a theologian of the Reformed tradition, Barth shared with Calvin the convictions concerning God’s sovereignty and the reality of sin. However, he interpreted election as accomplished through Jesus Christ, who is the elect of God. Humanity, as united with Jesus Christ, shares in that election.
At its best, the doctrine of predestination emphasizes the free gracious saving activity of God and the grateful response of the believer. At its worst, it suggests that God arbitrarily saves some and condemns others, thus implying a God with lower standards of neighborly love than Christians are enjoined to display. The most helpful way of approaching the doctrine of predestination is to cast its conceptual net widely: it affirms a divine plan and determination for all humanity that conforms to God’s eternal will. In these terms, predestination doctrine is not so much interested in the final fate of individual persons, but is a broad affirmation that the love of God, the wisdom of God, and the righteousness of God are the underlying realities of all created life, including each human person. It is God who has made us, and we belong to God.
When the Bible presents seemingly irreconcilable information, such as human free will and divine sovereignty, rather than trying to force the two ideas together, it is more helpful to understand them as antinomies.
Webster defines antinomy as “a contradiction between two equally valid principles or between inferences correctly drawn from such principles.” More simply, we might say that an antinomy contains two apparently mutually exclusive truths which must be held simultaneously. The sovereignty of God and the free will of people represents an antinomy.
The Bible teaches that God is sovereign. The Bible also teaches that people can make choices.
It is not intellectual suicide simply to believe them both. Here is why.
It is not intellectual suicide simply to believe them both. Here is why.
1. An infinite revelation will always take a finite mind beyond its intelligence. That is the case with antinomies in general, and this truth in specific. With an infinite revelation, we are simply not able to understand everything we know.
2. Antinomies exist outside Scripture. Take “light,” for example. Matter cannot be energy, and energy cannot be matter. Yet light has properties of both energy and matter. That is impossible. Yet it is true. The character of light is an excellent example of an antinomy because while the inherent contradiction within light cannot be resolved with our present laws of physics, every morning the sun comes up. Every evening we switch on lamps. And there is light.
3. If we are to know anything about God, he must reveal himself to us because he exists in a realm beyond our five senses. God did reveal himself. Through miracles, visions, dreams, direct conversation, and then, through Jesus. Much of this revelation was written down in the Scripture and superintended by God so that it was without error in the original manuscripts. We have found this God to be utterly trustworthy. We know of no errors in this revelation, and it has stood for thousands of years.
Therefore, (1) if infinite revelation, by definition, will take a finite mind beyond its intellectual capacity, and (2) unexplainable things exist all around us in the world of science and nature, and (3) God and Christ have demonstrated themselves to be reliable, it is not intellectual suicide to say, “The Bible teaches both human free will and divine election. Therefore, I will embrace them both.”
Remember also that our ability to comprehend God’s truth has been radically affected by the fall of man. First Corinthians 13:12 reads: “Now we see but a poor reflection; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.” When we stand before God in heaven, we will smack our foreheads and say, “Oh, I understand.” Until then, we suspend judgment: we hold the truths in tension, understanding who God is and who we are.
When we do that—when we accept both truths fully, without letting one diminish the other—we can rise up in glory at the fact that we have been known and chosen by God from before the creation of the world; and, at the same time, we can commit ourselves unreservedly to the spread of the gospel message, knowing that among those who hear the gospel some may choose salvation.