Follow up to question on salvation and election
Thank you for your Q&A site. It is a valuable resource for understanding the truth of God’s word. A recent posting (“Election and salvation”) indicated that God’s desire that all be saved (1 Timothy 2:4; 2 Peter 3:9) and God’s election to salvation (Ephesians 1:3-14) when taken together constitute a mystery that human minds cannot comprehend. But a general desire by God for the salvation of all need not be in conflict with God’s specific actions on election, even to a human mind. For example, they might be reconciled as follows: 1. God wants all people to be saved (1 Timothy 2:4) by living perfect and holy lives (Matthew 5:48), but unfortunately none do (Romans 3:23). 2. So God sent His Son Jesus into the world to so that people could be saved by believing in Him (John 3:16; Romans 3:24). 3. God wants all people to be saved (1 Timothy 2:4) by believing in Jesus of their own free will (Matthew 23:37a), but unfortunately none do (Matthew 23:37b; 1 Corinthians 2:14). 4. So God sends His Spirit into the world to build faith in the hearts of those he elects (1 Corinthians 12:3; Ephesians 1:3-14) in order to build His church on earth. Do you see a problem with this interpretation? Thanks again.
Thank you for your kind words. I have no problem with people having a better grasp of the Bible’s mysteries than I do. We can always grow in our knowledge of the Bible and our Christian faith (2 Peter 3:18).
You certainly are correct in noting that people fail to live holy lives that God demands, that God provides forgiveness of sins through Jesus’ redeeming work and that the Holy Spirit is responsible for bringing people to saving faith. (With regard to your third statement, people do not have free will to believe in Jesus. All people can do by nature is reject Jesus as their Savior.)
What I wonder about is the intended meaning of your fourth statement. The wording (“So…”) can lead to the understanding that God’s election was in response to people’s actions of some kind. Election took place in eternity, before God ever said, “Let there be…” Election took place before sin entered the world and before Jesus carried out his redeeming work. Your fourth statement seems to put election “in time” rather than in eternity.
The previous question that you referenced laid out the two biblical statements, “God wants all to be saved” and “God has elected some,” to show how the Bible’s doctrine of salvation and doctrine of election present challenges to our understanding.
What is clear to minds that have been enlightened by the Holy Spirit is that God’s word remains true even if we cannot fully grasp its meaning. Christian faith does not mean that I understand perfectly what God has said in his word; it means that, through the power of the Holy Spirit, I believe what God says in his word (Hebrews 11:1). May that faith always be ours!