Election is a biblical teaching that every serious student of the Bible must address at some time. It addresses issues related to God’s sovereignty and human volition, predestination and foreknowledge, sin and salvation, justice and mercy, love and faith. Election is a difficult doctrine to fully understand, and when discussing it with others, it’s always best to keep an attitude of love and grace during the discussion, as this will generate more light than heat. According to Norman Geisler, “The mystery of the relationship between divine sovereignty and human free will has challenged the greatest Christian thinkers down through the centuries.”^[1] Lewis Chafer states, “The doctrine of Election is a cardinal teaching of the Scriptures. Doubtless, it is attended with difficulties which are a burden upon all systems of theology alike.”^[2] Charles Ryrie adds, “No human mind will ever harmonize sovereignty and free will, but ignoring or downplaying one or the other in the interests of a supposed harmony will solve nothing.”^[3] Warren Wiersbe states, “The mystery of divine sovereignty and human responsibility will never be solved in this life. Both are taught in the Bible (John 6:37). Both are true, and both are essential.”^[4]

God is Sovereign

The Bible reveals God is sovereign over His creation, declaring “The LORD is King forever and ever” (Psa 10:16), and “Whatever the LORD pleases, He does, in heaven and in earth, in the seas and in all deeps” (Psa 135:6), and “All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, but He does according to His will in the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of earth; and no one can ward off His hand or say to Him, ‘What have You done?’” (Dan 4:35). God Himself declares, “My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please” (Isa 46:10b; cf. Psa 33:11), and this because He is the “only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords” (1 Tim 6:15), Who “works all things after the counsel of His will” (Eph 1:11b). All this is true; however, the Bible also reveals God sovereignly created both angels and people with intellect and volition, and has granted them a modicum of freedom to act as free moral agents. According to McChesney, God’s sovereignty “is not to be viewed in any such way as to abridge the reality of the moral freedom of God’s responsible creatures or to make men anything else than the arbiters of their own eternal destinies. God has seen fit to create beings with the power of choice between good and evil. He rules over them in justice and wisdom and grace.”^[5]

At all times, and without external restraint, God remains in constant sovereign control, guiding His creation through history. He interferes in the affairs of mankind, and His unseen hand works behind all their activities, controlling and directing history as He wills. We know from Scripture that God possesses certain immutable attributes and that He never acts inconsistently with His nature. For example, because God is righteous, all His actions and commands are just. Because God is immutable, His moral perfections never change. Because God is eternal, He is righteous forever. Because God is omniscient, His righteous acts are always predicated on perfect knowledge. Because God is omnipotent, He is always able to execute His righteous will. And because God is love, His judgments can be merciful toward the undeserving and humble.

God Has Elected to Limit His Sovereignty

Shortly after God created the heavens and earth (Gen 1:1), He sovereignly chose to create Mankind in His image (Gen 1:26), as finite analogues to Himself with intellectual and volitional capabilities. God’s intention was that they would function as theocratic administrators to “rule” over His creation (Gen 1:26-28). When God made His decision to create people in His image, He willingly limited His sovereignty over them so as to allow them freedom to operate as responsible moral creatures and not mere automatons. This self-imposed restraint by God is not unusual, for He has restrained Himself in other ways. For example, every time God made a promise or covenant, He bound Himself to His Word such that He cannot do otherwise. Scripture reveals that “God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should change His mind; has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?” (Num 23:19). This is why even though “we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself” (2 Tim 2:13), and “it is impossible for God to lie” (Heb 6:18; cf., Tit 1:2).

God has given people volition and freedom to act, and He holds them accountable for their actions. As the Sovereign of the universe, God will judge everyone fairly, for “there is no partiality with God” (Rom 2:11). Peter said, “I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality, but in every nation the man who fears Him and does what is right is welcome to Him” (Acts 10:34-35). And Paul wrote, “For he who does wrong will receive the consequences of the wrong which he has done, and that without partiality” (Col 3:25).

Though all mankind is fallen, being corrupted because of their sinful flesh (Rom 5:12, 6:6; 7:19-23; Gal 5:17, 19; Col 3:9), they still retain the image of God and the ability to function intellectually and volitionally (Gen 9:6; 1 Cor 11:7; Jam 3:9). This means that mankind is able, in a limited way, to understand God’s general and special revelation, and to respond volitionally if they choose (Psa 19:1-2; Rom 1:18-32).

Election

Election derives from the Greek verb eklegō (ἐκλέγω) which, according to BDAG, means “to make a choice in accordance with significant preference, select someone or something for oneself.”^[6] According to Norman Geisler, “The word election (or elect) occurs fourteen times in the New Testament. An elect person is a chosen one; election (or elect) is used of Israel (Rom 9:11; 11:28), of angels (1 Tim 5:21), and of believers. In relation to believers, election is the decision of God from all eternity whereby He chose those who would be saved.”^[7] Geisler further states, “The words chosen and chose are used numerous times. The terms are employed of Christ (Luke 23:35; 1 Pet 1:20; 2:4, 6), of a disciple (Acts 1:2, 24; 10:41; 22:14; John 15:10), and even of Judas (John 6:70; 13:18), who was chosen to be an apostle. Soteriologically, a chosen one is a person elected to salvation by God.”^[8]

Election is that free choice of God from eternity past in which He chose to save and bless some (Eph 1:4-5). The elect are the ones chosen. God elects groups (Luke 6:13-16; John 6:70) and individuals (1 Ch 28:5; Acts 9:15). Election is to salvation (Acts 13:48; Eph 1:4-6; 2 Th 2:13), spiritual blessing (Eph 1:3), holy and righteous living (Col 3:12; 1 Pet 2:9), and service for the Lord (Jer 1:4-5; Gal 1:15-16; cf. Acts 9:15). In election, God is sovereign and people are free. Both are true. This is why Jesus said, “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out” (John 6:37). Here we observe the coalescence of God’s sovereignty and positive human volition as the Father gives and people come of their own choice.[9] We observe something similar in Acts where Luke wrote, “When the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord; and as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed” (Acts 13:48). Here we observe Gentiles who were appointed to eternal life, and that they personally exercised their volition and believed in the Lord for salvation.[10] Robert B. Thieme Jr., states:

“[Election is] the recognition by God, before the foundation of the world, of those who would believe in Christ; the sovereign act of God in eternity past to choose, to set apart, certain members of the human race for privilege, based on His knowledge of every person’s freewill decisions in time. While God is sovereign, having the right to do with His creatures as He pleases, never has He hindered or tampered with human free will. He did not choose some to be saved and others to be condemned. Instead, in eternity past, God first chose to accomplish the work of man’s salvation through the Son. Then, He looked down the corridors of time and elected for salvation everyone He knew would believe in Jesus Christ (Eph 1:4). God elected believers in the sense that He knew ahead of time that their free will would choose for Christ….Moreover, God did not elect anyone to hell: unbelievers are condemned to eternally reside in hell only because they have used their volition toward unbelief (John 3:18).”[11]

Predestined by God

When writing to the Christians at Ephesus, Paul said, “He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will” (Eph 1:4-5). The word predestined translates the Greek word proorizō (προορίζω), which means, to “decide upon beforehand,  predetermine.”^[12] Harold Hoehner defines the word similarly as, “to determine beforehand, mark out beforehand, predestine.”^[13] Geisler notes, “Just as God predetermined from all eternity that Christ would die for our sins (Acts 2:23), He also predestined who would be saved. As Paul says, ‘Those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son’ (Rom 8:29).”^[14] According to Paul Enns, “Even though election and predestination are clearly taught in Scripture, man is still held accountable for his choices. Scripture never suggests that man is lost because he is not elect or has not been predestined; the emphasis of Scripture is that man is lost because he refuses to believe the gospel.”^[15]

Predestination refers to what God purposes for us. The Bible reveals that God has predestined us to adoption as His children (Eph 1:5), to our ultimate conformity to Christ (Rom 8:29–30), and to the blessings of our future inheritance (Eph 1:11). Warren Wiersbe states, “This word, as it is used in the Bible, refers primarily to what God does for saved people. Nowhere in the Bible are we taught that people are predestined to hell, because this word refers only to God’s people. Election seems to refer to people, while predestination refers to purposes.”^[16] According to Robert B. Thieme Jr., predestination refers to “God’s predetermined, sovereign provisioning of every believer for the purpose of executing His plan, purpose, and will in time (Eph 1:4-6, 11).”[17] Thieme further states:

“In eternity past God decreed, or established with certainty, the believer’s destiny for time and eternity. However, the divine act of predestination is never to be confused with the ideas of kismet [the idea of fate] or any other human-viewpoint system of fatalism. God did not negate free will or force anyone into a course of action. Rather, He only decreed and provisioned what He knew would actually happen. He predestined believers based on His eternal knowledge that they would, by their own free will, accept Jesus Christ as Savior. Long before human history began, sovereign God determined that every Church Age believer would be united with the resurrected Jesus Christ, the King of kings. Those who believe are predestined as heirs of God and joint heirs with the Son of God—sharing the eternal destiny of Jesus Christ Himself (Eph 1:5). Furthermore, God predestined believers with everything necessary to fulfill His plan in time. No Christian is dependent upon human energy, personality, or human effort, because God established a grace way of life and furnished the divine means of execution (2 Tim 1:9). Every believer in this age has equal opportunity to either accept or reject God’s predestined provision. Regardless of personal failure or success in time, all believers are predestined to be completely “conformed to the image of His Son” in resurrection bodies in heaven (Rom 8:29).”[18]

Foreknowledge

Peter wrote of God’s elect as those “who are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father” (1 Pet 1:1-2). Here, the word foreknowledge translates the Greek noun prognōsis (πρόγνωσις), which means “to know beforehand, know in advance”^[19] Foreknowledge simply means that omniscient God, from eternity past, knew in advance all that would happen in time and space, and He knew the actions of every person and whether they would be saved or not. Jesus communicated His foreknowledge when He said to His disciples, ‘“There are some of you who do not believe.’ For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who it was that would betray Him” (John 6:64). God also knew His own actions in time and space, either to direct, permit, or overrule human or angelic decisions, and to judge everyone fairly for their actions. According to Norman Geisler:

“Being omniscient, God also eternally foreknew those who would be saved: “Those God foreknew he also predestined” (Rom 8:29). Indeed, they were “elect according to the foreknowledge of God” (1 Pet 1:2). Since His foreknowledge is infallible (He is omniscient), whatever God foreknows will indeed come to pass. Hence, His foreknowledge of who would be saved assures that they will be.”^[20]

In his letter to the Romans, Paul wrote, “For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son” (Rom 8:29). The word “foreknew” translates the Greek verb proginōskō (προγινώσκω) which, according to BDAG, means “to know beforehand or in advance, have foreknowledge.”^[21] Here, the word connotes God’s knowing people in an intimate sense and not merely what they will do. This speaks to the richness of the relationship God has with each individual. Though we exist in time and space and live our lives in a chronological manner with one experience sequentially following the next, God exists in the eternal realm, beyond time and space, in the eternal now. This means that God is present at all times and places in human history simultaneously. Scripture speaks of what God foreknew from eternity past as it relates to the choices of His elect, but His foreknowledge is not detached or impersonal; rather, it is intimately connected to the formation of His family and the execution of His purposes in the world (see Jer 1:4-5).

Prevenient Grace

Prevenient grace refers to the grace of God that precedes and prepares a person’s heart and will for salvation. The term “prevenient” means “preceding” or “coming before.” According to Geisler, “Prevenient means ‘before,’ and prevenient grace refers to God’s unmerited work in the human heart prior to salvation, which directs people to this end through Christ…This grace is also seen in the fact that ‘the goodness of God leads you to repentance’ (Rom 2:4). Thus, prevenient grace is God’s grace exerted on our behalf even before He bestows salvation on us.”^[22]

Because God “desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim 2:4), and is “not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance” (2 Pet 3:9), He works in a preparatory manner to convince the fallen human heart to welcome Christ (2 Tim 1:9). Jesus spoke of the role of the Holy Spirit in the dispensation of the church age, saying, “And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me” (John 16:8-9). According to Geisler, “The act of convicting, then, is that by which God persuades a person that he is a sinner and, thus, is in need of the Savior.”^[23] This prevenient work of God is necessary because of the sinfulness of mankind. It is not considered to be salvific in itself but rather a preparatory grace that allows individuals to cooperate with God’s saving work in Christ. In this perspective, salvation is seen as a cooperative process where individuals have the ability to accept or reject God’s offer of grace.

Christians are Elect in Christ

From eternity past, God intended for His grand plan of salvation for all humanity to be achieved through His Son. Scripture reveals “the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world” (1 John 4:14), and “the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10), and He is “the Lamb who has been slain” from the foundation of the world (Rev 13:8). Jesus is the Father’s Chosen One. God said, “Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold; My chosen One in whom My soul delights” (Isa 42:1). And He said of Jesus, “This is My Son, My Chosen One” (Luke 9:35). And Peter describes Jesus as “chosen and precious in the sight of God” (1 Pet 2:4). Jesus was chosen by God before the foundation of the world to be the Savior of all mankind, and Christians are elect because we are in Christ. Geisler states:

“Christ is eternal, and the universal church was chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world (Eph 1:4); hence, in the mind of God, the church of God is eternal. Further, Christ is the elect of God (Matt 3:16–17), and we are elect in Him; not only is Christ the elect One, but in the New Testament those “in Christ,” the church, the members of His body, were elect in Him before time began.”^[24]

Scripture reveals that Christians “are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father” (1 Pet 1:1-2), that Christ “was foreknown before the foundation of the world” (1 Pet 1:20), was “chosen and precious” in His sight (1 Pet 2:4), and that God “chose us in Him before the foundation of the world” (Eph 1:4). The prepositional phrase “in Him” (ἐν αὐτῷ) speaks to our election and union with Christ (Eph 1:4). According to L. B. Smedes, “This strongly suggests that God elects people for salvation in the same decision that He elected Christ as their Savior.”^[25] Because Jesus is God’s Chosen One, it is asserted that we, God’s elect, were chosen at the same time as Christ, and He “saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity” (2 Tim 1:9). When we believed in Jesus as our Savior, God placed us into union with Christ, for “by His doing you are in Christ Jesus” (1 Cor 1:30). Paul wrote, “I endure all things for the sake of those who are chosen [eklektos], so that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus and with it eternal glory” (2 Tim 2:10).

The prepositional phrase, “in Christ” (ἐν Χριστῷ), emphasizes the idea of believers being in union with Christ. This union is not merely a metaphorical expression but signifies a profound spiritual reality. The Apostle Paul frequently uses this expression to convey the intimate and transformative relationship that believers have with Christ (Rom 8:1; 12:5; 1 Cor 1:2, 30; Gal 3:28; Eph 1:3-4; Phil 1:1; Col 1:2; 2 Tim 1:9; 2:10). Being “in Christ” signifies that believers are, in a real spiritual sense, united with Him. This identification includes sharing in His death, burial, and resurrection, for we have been “crucified with Christ” (Gal 2:20), and “we died with Christ” (Rom 6:8), were “buried with Him” (Rom 6:4), and “have been raised up with Christ” (Col 3:1). In a real way, we were with Him on the cross, in the grave, and at His resurrection. In the eyes of God, His experience has become our experience. This identification with Jesus is real, even though we were not physically alive at the time of His crucifixion, burial, resurrection, or ascension into heaven. Furthermore, “In Him we have…forgiveness of our trespasses” (Eph 1:7), “have been sanctified in Christ Jesus” (1 Cor 1:2), have “eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom 6:23), and are told there is “no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom 8:1). This kind of identification in and with another is true in other instances. For example, it was said of Rebekah, “Two nations are in your womb” (Gen 25:23), even before Israel was called into being as a nation. Similarly, the writer of Hebrews speaks of Levi who “paid tithes” (Heb 7:9), and this while “he was still in the loins of his father” Abraham (Heb 7:10). This means that Levi paid tithes to Melchizedek, even before he existed, as he was in the loins of his father, Abraham.[26]

Furthermore, being “in Christ” reflects a believer’s new position before God. It signifies that, through faith in Christ, believers are accepted and justified before God. Their sins are forgiven (Acts 10:43; Eph 1:7), and they are seen through the righteousness of Christ (2 Cor 5:21; Phil 3:9). The phrase also emphasizes that believers participate in the benefits of Christ’s redemptive work. This includes reconciliation with God (Rom 5:10), adoption as children (Gal 4:5; Eph 1:5), the indwelling of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 3:16), and the status of being a new creation in Christ (2 Cor 5:17). Believers are seen as co-heirs with Christ, sharing in the inheritance of eternal life (Eph 1:3-14; Rom 8:17). This positional truth is foundational to the concept of salvation by grace through faith. While being “in Christ” has personal implications, it also has a corporate dimension. It speaks to the collective identity of the Church as the body of Christ, with believers being interconnected and sharing a common life “in Christ.” Robert B. Thieme, Jr., states:

“Through the baptism of the Spirit at salvation, every believer of this age is removed from his position in Adam and secured in his position “in Christ” (1 Cor 15:22; Eph 2:5–6; cf. Gal 3:27). The believer, no longer spiritually dead, is made a “new creature” with a totally unprecedented relationship with God (2 Cor 5:17a). The “old things” that once kept him alienated from God have passed away; phenomenal “new things” have come by virtue of his position in Christ (2 Cor 5:17b). The believer shares Christ’s eternal life (1 John 5:11–12), His righteousness (2 Cor 5:21), His election (Eph 1:3–4), His destiny (Eph 1:5), His sonship (John 1:12; Gal 3:26; 1 John 3:1–2), His heirship (Rom 8:16–17), His sanctification (1 Cor 1:2, 30), His kingdom (2 Pet 1:11), His priesthood (Heb 10:10–14), and His royalty (2 Tim 2:11–12). This new position can never be forfeited.”[27]

In summary, the prepositional phrase “in Christ” encapsulates profound theological truths about the believer’s union with Christ, identification with His redemptive work, a new positional standing before God, and the communal identity of the Church as the body of Christ. It serves as a key concept in understanding the richness of Christian salvation and the transformative impact of faith in Jesus Christ.

God’s Sovereignty and Human Volition at the Cross

One can see God’s sovereignty and human volition working simultaneously at the crucifixion of Jesus. In the sovereignty and wisdom of God, without overruling human volition, the Lord accomplished His will by means of the wills of wicked men who sought to oppose Him. Luke tells us, “this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death” (Acts 2:23). Here, wicked men did their worst against God and His Messiah, and yet, what was done to the Messiah, was done “by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God.” Luke states something similar when he recorded Peter’s prayer to God, saying, “For truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose predestined to occur” (Acts 4:27-28). These wicked men were “were gathered together against” Jesus, to oppose and crucify Him. Yet Peter says to God they did “whatever Your hand and Your purpose predestined to occur.” These wicked men—whose pride and power were threatened by Jesus—sought to destroy Him by means of false witnesses and illegal trials, and to put Him to death in the most horrible way possible; crucifixion. But God is sovereign, and by means of His invisible hand, used the very actions of those who opposed Him to accomplish the thing He desired; the death of Messiah for everyone. Here is a mystery that brings awe and bewilderment, as the wills of wicked men became the vehicle of divine destiny to produce exactly what God intended. God was in no way the author of their sin. Those who crucified Messiah acted freely. Yet their free actions were the modus operandi to accomplish His will, and so Messiah was crucified and bore the sins of those who placed Him on the cross.

Human Choice to Believe

God is sovereign, and He created people with volition, which is the ability to choose. One should not seek to press sovereignty or free will to an extreme. Arnold Fruchtenbaum correctly notes, “if one goes too far with sovereignty, he ends up teaching that there is absolutely no free will. He would teach that people are saved whether they willed it or did not will it. Some of the elect are dragged into the Kingdom kicking and screaming. That has gone over to the sovereignty extreme.”^[28] In Scripture, we observe clear statements where people are called to exercise their volition and personally trust in Christ as Savior (John 3:16-18; Acts 16:30-31; Rom 10:12-15; Eph 2:8-9). Fruchtenbaum continues:

“On the other side of the coin is human responsibility, where the Bible also just as clearly teaches that people are individually responsible for their moral choices. They are somehow responsible for their eternal destinies. Whether they end up in the Lake of Fire or the New Jerusalem, that is somehow relevant to the choice they make. Throughout the Bible, God calls upon people to make a choice. Joshua declared to the people of Israel, in the closing days of his life, Choose you this day whom ye will serve (Josh 24:15). It is obvious that the Israelites were able to make some kind of a choice and were challenged to make it. Thus we have this same concept of human responsibility. Even when we have statements in the Bible about God hardening the hearts of certain ones, like the heart of Pharaoh, it also indicates in the same context that somewhere along the line Pharaoh also hardened his own heart. We believe God holds us morally responsible for the choices we make, and He expects us to make moral decisions. If we are not able to make any moral decision, if we really do not have such a will, it is inconsistent for God to hold us responsible for choosing things that He Himself predestined us to choose. Yet the Bible constantly exhorts us to believe, and in becoming believers, the Bible exhorts us to live godly lives. The Bible holds us responsible for the choices we make, either as unbelievers or as believers. If there is no real free choice of some kind, then how could God justly reward us or punish us for the choices we make?”^[29]

Election does not remove the responsibility to believe in Christ as Savior (Rom 10:13-14). Faith is non-meritorious, having no saving value in itself. Christ alone saves. In order for people to be saved, they must believe in Jesus as the Savior (John 3:16; Acts 4:12; 1 Cor 15:3-4). From the human side of salvation, faith in Jesus is the necessary response to God’s call, and no one can be saved any other way (John 14:6; Acts 16:31). According to Robert Lightner, “God the Father is sovereign. He must be to be God. Human responsibility is just as biblical as divine sovereignty. Jesus stressed both. Jesus said no one can come to him unless drawn by the Father but he also said none who come to him would be cast out (John 6:37).”^[30]

There are a number of passages that emphasize human volition. Concerning unbelieving Israel, Jesus said, “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling” (Matt 23:37). The Bible teaches that God “desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim 2:4), and that “the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men” (Tit 2:11), and the Lord is “not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance” (2 Pet 3:9). If someone perishes eternally, it is because they failed to respond to God and His drawing them to Himself. Jesus said that one is judged eternally, “because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” (John 3:18b). And when speaking to unbelievers, Jesus said, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me; and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life” (John 5:39-40). Stephen, when about to be stoned to death, said to his attackers, “You men who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit; you are doing just as your fathers did” (Acts 7:51). All who end up in the lake of fire are there by personal choice and not because God failed to love them or make provision for their eternal salvation. According to Lewis Chafer, “If men go to perdition it will be because every possible mercy from God has been resisted.”^[31]

The spiritual condition of unbelievers is that they made the choice not to believe. Also, Satan imposes spiritual blindness upon them. As Paul wrote, “And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Cor 4:3-4).

God saves everyone who is positive to Him and believes in Christ as their Savior (John 3:15-16, 18, 36; 5:24, 39-40; 6:47; 20:31; Rom 3:28; 4:3-5; 5:1-2; 1 Cor 1:21; 15:1-4; Gal 2:16; 3:26; Eph 2:8-9; Phil 3:9; 1 John 5:10-13), and condemns forever those who are negative to Him, who suppress His truth in unrighteousness (John 3:19; 12:37; Rom 1:18-32), and who reject His offer of eternal life, leaving them to suffer for their own choices (John 3:18; 5:39-40). This means God sovereignly chooses to elect those who believe in Christ as their Savior.

What About Children who Die Before Reaching the Age of Accountability?

What about babies and little children? Are they among God’s elect? Do they go directly to heaven whey die? Yes. All babies and little children go to heaven if they die before reaching the age of accountability. Concerning this doctrine, Robert B. Thieme Jr., states:

“Age of Accountability – The point in life when an individual is capable of recognizing the existence of a Supreme Being, capable of understanding the Gospel, and responsible for his own decision toward a relationship with God. This is also called the point of God-consciousness. Scripture is clear that God makes His existence evident within the world (Rom 1:19-20). Accountability is reached when, through simple thought and reasoning, a person can consider that existence and draw conclusions. The specific age at which this occurs varies among individuals and depends on several factors, including geographical location, social conditions, education, and individual mental capacity…Individuals who die before reaching accountability, including infants and the severely mentally handicapped, are taken directly into the presence of the Lord (2 Sam 12:22-23). In grace, God automatically saves anyone who lacks the mental ability to reach God-consciousness and make a responsible decision about Christ.”[32]

The age of accountability is a theological extrapolation that is born out of certain passages of Scripture. For example, Moses wrote of “little ones… have no knowledge of good or evil” (Deut 1:39). And God spoke of Isaiah’s son, Shear-jashub (Isa 7:3), that “before the boy will know enough to refuse evil and choose good, the land whose two kings you [Ahaz] dread will be forsaken” (Isa 7:16). According to Norman Geisler, “These texts seem to imply that there is an age of moral accountability. Even of adults, Jesus said, ‘If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains’ (John 9:41). How much more would this apply to infants who cannot yet know right from wrong.”^[33] Another revealing passage is found in 2 Chronicles where we’re told, “Jehoiachin was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned three months and ten days in Jerusalem, and he did evil in the sight of the LORD” (2 Ch 36:9). Here we see an eight year old whose actions were called “evil in the sight of the LORD.” It reveals that an eight year old with normal cognitive function could be held morally responsible for his actions before the Lord.

Moral accountability before God seems to assume normal sensory and cognitive function, such that a person who has the sensory and intellectual capacity to know that God exists through creation (Psa 19:1-2; Rom 1:18), can then make a decision to pursue Him, or to “suppress the truth in unrighteousness” (Rom 1:18). It would seem that those who suffer from an intellectual or developmental disability (i.e., Down syndrome, severe autism, etc.) are granted a special dispensation concerning their moral accountability before God, and they are granted free access to heaven. The command to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation presupposes intelligence and the ability to exercise one’s volition. Children and those who are mentally disabled lack the intellectual and volitional capacity to make a decision for or against Christ; therefore, they are not made accountable for sin. Robert Lightner states:

“In the Bible, infants, little children, and others who cannot believe are neither told to believe nor expected to do so. They are not classified as wicked evildoers and rejecters of God’s grace. It is always adults who are addressed, either directly or indirectly, regarding these matters. Because the Bible has so much to say about those who cannot believe and yet says nothing about their being eternally separated from God because of their inability, we conclude that they have heaven as their home. They die safely in the arms of Jesus.”[34]

An often-cited biblical passage on this matter is found in the life of King David who lost a newborn son as a result of his adulterous affair with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband, Uriah. David was guilty of horrible sin, but he had a sensitive heart and was very concerned for his child. After the death of David’s son, he said, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept; for I said, ‘Who knows, the LORD may be gracious to me, that the child may live.’ But now he has died; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me” (2 Sam 12:22-23). While the child was alive, David prayed to God to be gracious “that the child may live.” However, after the child died, David expressed optimism by saying “I will go to him, but he will not return to me.” David was thinking of heaven, where he knew his infant son had gone. Concerning this passage, Robert Lightner states:

“Life after death was a certainty for David. That he would be with his son again in the future was his firm belief. He never doubted that fact for a moment. David was rightly related to the Lord, and he did not question that he would spend eternity with Him. Nor did he have any doubt that his infant son, taken in death before he could decide for or against his father’s God, would be there also. Some people argue that David’s declaration meant merely that he would one day join his son in death. As the child had died, so would the father in due time. But such a view does not account for the anticipated reunion and fellowship with his son that is strongly implied in the statement and in the context. David’s act of worship in the house of the Lord is inexplicable if the death of his son merely reminded David of his own certain death.”^[35]

That heaven welcomes little children is stated in Jesus’s Words, when He told His disciples, “Permit the children to come to Me; do not hinder them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these” (Mark 10:14; cf., Matt 18:3). John Walvoord notes, “The case of those who die before reaching the age of responsibility is a different problem. The proper doctrine seems to be that infants are regenerated at the moment of their death, not before, and if they live to maturity, they are regenerated at the moment they accept Christ.”^[36]

Summary of Election:

In summary, God’s election is a sovereign act from eternity past and is predicated on love and grace (Eph 1:3-6), and not on any foresight of worth or good works (Deut 7:7-8; 1 Cor 1:26-31; Rom 9:9-16). God elects based on His foreknowledge, as Peter states, we are “chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father” (1 Pet 1:1-2), and the elect are saved through the preaching of a gospel message (Rom 10:14-17), and believing in Christ as their Savior (John 3:16; Acts 4:12; 16:31). The basis for condemnation is always a person’s unbelief (John 3:18; 5:39-40; Eph 2:3), as it is negative human volition that keeps people from coming to Christ (1 Tim 2:4; 4:10; John 5:40; Acts 7:51). Election is not merely to salvation, but to a holy and righteous life that honors the Lord (Col 3:12; 2 Th 2:13; 1 Pet 2:9). Election agrees with unlimited atonement (John 1:29; 3:16–17; Heb 2:9; 1 John 2:2), and produces humility because it reveals that salvation is completely of the Lord and that people have nothing to boast about (Rom 4:2; Eph 2:9), and God preserves eternally those who are saved (John 10:28-29). Lastly, babies and little children are not held accountable for their actions, as they do not know right or wrong (Deut 1:39; Isa 7:16), and are counted among God’s elect and enter heaven when they die, for, as Jesus said, “the kingdom of God belongs to such as these” (Mark 10:14; cf. 2 Sam 12:22-23).

Dr. Steven R. Cook

Related Articles:

• The Gospel Explained
• Free Grace Salvation
• Challenging Calvinism’s Perspective on Salvation  
• What is Free Grace Theology? 
• Knowing and Doing the Will of God 
• Total Depravity, Faith in Christ, and Regeneration 
• The Cross & Crucifixion of Jesus
• Two Kinds of Forgiveness with God
• Jesus’ Substitutionary Atonement in Salvation
• Defining Salvation in the Bible
• Who is the One Who Saves?

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^[1] Norman L. Geisler, Systematic Theology, Volume Three: Sin, Salvation (Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House Publishers, 2004), 137.

^[2] Lewis S. Chafer, “Biblical Theism Divine Decrees” Bibliotheca Sacra, 96 (1939): 268.

^[3] Charles Caldwell Ryrie, Basic Theology: A Popular Systematic Guide to Understanding Biblical Truth (Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1999), 359.

^[4] Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 11.

^[5] E. McChesney, “Sovereignty of God,” ed. Merrill F. Unger and R.K. Harrison, The New Unger’s Bible Dictionary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1988).

^[6] William Arndt et al., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 305.

^[7] Norman L. Geisler, Systematic Theology, Volume Three: Sin, Salvation (Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House Publishers, 2004), 220–221.

^[8] Ibid., 221.

[9] Other passages that emphasize God’s sovereign choice: “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day” (John 6:44), and “no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father” (John 6:65). Paul wrote, “He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will” (Eph 1:4-5). And to Christians living in Thessalonica, Paul wrote, “We should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth” (2 Th 2:13).

[10] Romans 9:1-18 is often cited when discussing election to salvation; however, when one looks at the context of Roman 9, it does not pertain to salvation, but to God’s selection of the progenitors of the nation of Israel. In a similar way, God sovereignly selected Nebuchadnezzar to be the king over Babylon (Dan 2:37-38; 5:18), and Cyrus as king over Persia (Ezra 1:2). In fact, God’s sovereignty is supreme when it comes to selecting all human rulers, for “It is He who changes the times and the epochs; He removes kings and establishes kings” (Dan 2:21), and “the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind, and bestows it on whom He wishes and sets over it the lowliest of men” (Dan 4:17). At times, He even raises up young foolish kings to discipline His people, as He told Isaiah the prophet, “I will make mere lads their princes, and capricious children will rule over them” (Isa 3:4).

[11] Robert B. Thieme, Jr. “Election”, Thieme’s Bible Doctrine Dictionary, (Houston, TX., R. B. Thieme, Jr., Bible Ministries, 2022), 81.

^[12] William Arndt et al., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 873.

^[13] Harold W. Hoehner, Ephesians: An Exegetical Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2002), 193.

^[14] Norman L. Geisler, Systematic Theology, Volume Three: Sin, Salvation, 221.

^[15] Paul P. Enns, The Moody Handbook of Theology (Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1989), 329.

^[16] Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 11.

[17] Robert B. Thieme, Jr. “Predestination”, Thieme’s Bible Doctrine Dictionary, 203.

[18] Ibid., 203-204

^[19] Moisés Silva, ed., New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology and Exegesis (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2014), 138.

^[20] Norman L. Geisler, Systematic Theology, Volume Three: Sin, Salvation, 221.

^[21] William Arndt et al., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 866.

^[22] Norman L. Geisler, Systematic Theology, Volume Three: Sin, Salvation, 222.

^[23] Ibid., 222.

^[24] Norman L. Geisler, Systematic Theology, Volume Four: Church, Last Things, 50–51.

^[25] L. B. Smedes, “Grace,” ed. Geoffrey W Bromiley, The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Revised (Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1979–1988), 551.

[26] These two analogies with Rebekah and Levi help convey the idea of a connection or representation that transcends mere physical existence. In the case of Rebekah, the passage refers to the statement, “Two nations are in your womb” (Gen 25:23), highlighting that this declaration occurred before Israel was called into being as a nation. This serves as an example of a connection that existed before the actual historical formation of the nation. Likewise, the reference to Levi paying tithes while still in the loins of his father, Abraham (Heb 7:9-10), is another analogy used to illustrate a connection that goes beyond the immediate physical existence of the individual. It suggests a representation or identification that precedes the individual’s own existence.

[27] Robert B. Thieme, Jr. “Position in Christ”, Thieme’s Bible Doctrine Dictionary, 200.

^[28] Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum, God’s Will & Man’s Will: Predestination, Election, & Free Will, ed. Christiane Jurik, 2nd Edition. (San Antonio, TX: Ariel Ministries, 2014), 2.

^[29] Ibid., 3–4.

^[30] Robert P. Lightner, Handbook of Evangelical Theology: A Historical, Biblical, and Contemporary Survey and Review (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1995), 191.

^[31] Lewis Sperry Chafer, Salvation (Philadelphia, PA: Sunday School Times Company, 1922), 40.

[32] Robert B. Thieme, Jr. “Age of Accountability”,  Thieme’s Bible Doctrine Dictionary, 4.

^[33] Norman L. Geisler, Systematic Theology, Volume Three: Sin, Salvation, 448.

[34] Robert Lightner, Safe in the Arms of Jesus (Grand Rapids, Mich. Kregel Publications, 2000), 15-16.

^[35] Ibid., 55.

^[36] John F. Walvoord, The Holy Spirit (Galaxie Software, 2008), 135.