All whom God chooses to save are lost sinners, dead in their trespasses and sins, captives not only to their own sins, but to Satan himself, not one bit different from those who will spend eternity in hell (see Ephesians 2:1-3). Those whom God saves do not seek Him; they are saved apart from seeking to be righteous (Romans 9:30-33). They are saved not because of what they are or because of what they will be or could be (Romans 9:11). They are chosen and saved, not because of any decision they make for God; rather the decision to trust God is the result of His doing, not man’s (John 1:12: Acts 13:48; 16:14; Philippians 1:29; 2:12-13). Through His Spirit, God regenerates the one dead in his trespasses and sins, giving both life and faith so that the individual is now drawn to Him (John 6:44) and expresses faith in Jesus Christ for salvation, a faith which also comes from God (Ephesians 2:8-9; 1 Corinthians 4:7); salvation is thus regarded as the work of the sovereign God—not men (Romans 9:11, 15-16; 11:36; 1 Corinthians 1:30-31; Hebrews 12:2).
Are some distressed that God chooses some and not others? They should not be! When God chooses to save anyone, He chooses one who would never have first chosen Him.
Michael Horton puts it this way, “Essentially, election is God’s making the decision for us that we would never have made for Him."
We should be grateful that God elects some to salvation; otherwise, no one would ever have been saved. If God looked down the corridors of time and chose those who would choose Him, He would have chosen none, for none would have chosen Him (see Romans 3:10-18). Amen and Amen.
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