Divine Election

At the time we received John MacArthur's sermon on man's depravity, we also received his sermon on divine election, the second doctrine of grace. If you've been a regular reader of my blog, you know I have posted a number of times and in various ways on this topic. It's not my intent to go through all the scriptural support again, but to share MacArthur's teaching on the obstacle most of us must overcome to embrace that truth.

There is no denying that the idea of God choosing some to salvation while overlooking others is a difficult concept to accept. It violates our human reason, emotion, and will. Bottom line, it just doesn't seem fair or right that we don't get to make that choice. But we quickly forget that what satisfies our sense of reason, emotion, and will does not determine truth. From the time of the fall of Adam and Eve, we have had corrupted reason, emotions, and wills. We must take great care not to "create" God in our own image...how we think He should be. Any corruption or diminishing of God robs Him of some of His glory and will ultimately corrupt our worship of Him. If we don't see Him for who He truly is, we won't worship Him for who He truly is. So for our reason, emotion and will to function properly, they must be brought under the authority of Scripture - God's uncorrupted description of Himself.

One thing is for certain, God never intended to save everyone from the penalty for their sins. If He did, everyone would be saved; it's that simple. Although we don't understand why God chose this plan for redemptive history, or by what means He chooses some to salvation, we can know it is for His own glory. If we claim to have some part in our salvation (even by our will), we are robbing God of some of that glory. All the prerogative belongs to the Trinity. "All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him."