Did God Choose Which People He Would Save?

If God were not absolutely sovereign over salvation, all hope and assurance in the Christian life would be lost. Watch as Ligonier Teaching Fellow Dr. Stephen Nichols addresses the fact that only 38% of American evangelicals* agree with the biblical doctrine of sovereign election.

* Evangelicals were defined by this survey as people who strongly agreed with the following four statements:
- The Bible is the highest authority for what I believe.
- It is very important for me personally to encourage non-Christians to trust Jesus Christ as their Savior.
- Jesus Christ’s death on the cross is the only sacrifice that could remove the penalty of my sin.
- Only those who trust in Jesus Christ alone as their Savior receive God’s free gift of eternal salvation.

[reformedcatholic]

Of course He did, if it wasn't for God's electing grace I would still have been living in sin.

[annemartin]

True it's mind boggling and it's a mystery we can't fathom how He chose some, but want to thank God every day for making me His child.

[jessielee]

Supposing that God would violate my free will to make me a child of His and be with Him forever. Well, I'm certainly okay with that. 😁

[harrymurray]

So the words of Jesus, again are 100% true. Jesus said quite plainly, John 6:44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.

[jaojmnhzhzm]

If my salvation depended - even partly - on me, my salvation would be in a sorry state indeed. Thank God that He is the author and perfecter of our faith and what He has begun, He is faithful to complete.

[teejay]

Well said Dr. Nichols, I struggled with this doctrine when first introduced to it, not because it’s not in the scriptures but because I had an imbalanced view of God and His holiness and of my own bondage to sin, when you understand this doctrine it is certainly one that gives Glory to God and that is where it belongs.

[Ryan-]

I was born again in June of 2017. Not until recently have I struggled a bit with the predestination doctrine. I got to the point to where I asked God to remove my doubt and leave certain mysteries of the “Why’s & How’s” pertaining to this to his Sovereign will. Prayer has helped tremendously. Hope this helps with anybody who has struggled with this. God Bless

[kathleenbenson]

Wow!!! Many things God will show us that we do not understand... we pray for understanding and the Holy Spirit brings us these gifts of understanding 🎁

[rocketsurgeon]

God gave us all a choice via free will. God shows sovereignty, love and justice by allowing the creature free will. If salvation were based on election, the creature would not be blameworthy.

[stephaniedekinger]

Jesus reached down from heaven and chose me on June 7, 2018. I was changed instantly along with my circumstances! He’s real! Hallelujah!

[billreal]

God is sovereign and I am not! Not my will, but Thy will, O Lord!

[Rossi]

What makes the sovereignty of GOD such a sweet doctrine is the doctrine of the fall of man, in man, there is NO GOOD. Man is EVIL TO THE CORE. If we study the OT we would see that GOD constantly speaks to Israel through the prophets to come back to HIM. Jesus even wept for Jerusalem. God desires all man to come to repentance but the problem is that man does NOT WANT TO because he HATES GOD with all of his heart. So GOD ELECTION is all of GRACE.

[mjazzguitar]

When I was addicted to alcohol, I'm glad I wasn't a Calvinist, or I would have thought that God didn't choose me.
When I was addicted to alcohol, I'm glad I was not Arminian, or I would have thought that I had lost my salvation.

[larryrhea]

1Ti 2:3 This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior,
1Ti 2:4 who desires ALL men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

[sdgarrison]

God’s Sovereignty includes giving man free will to choose life, or choose death. 2 Peter 3:9 - “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”

Notice, He is not willing for any to perish. For someone to say God alone chose unchangeably some to be saved and others to be lost, is to contradict this Scripture and SO many others.

[mattd]

I’m not quite sure of your premise ... ? I believe God is Sovereign, so are you saying we don’t have free will ..? I believe God knows all things .. and when Paul was saying that we’ve been predestined before the foundation of the earth .. he is talking about the body of Christ no matter how unlimited it might be ... So who ever accepts the lord Jesus Christ has become that part of the body of Christ ... some people reject the lord Jesus ... and that is their bad choice.. that is free will .. Gods desire is that all would come to be saved and to knowledge of the truth..1 tim 2:3-4 ... of course God knows all ... but that choice he gave to man... meaning humanity all humans . Our God is a powerful all knowing loving God .. amen

[daisy]

I stumble over this doctrine, not because I feel it violates my free choice, but because I think about those who, according to this doctrine, God has NOT chosen to save. I can't understand, no matter how hard I try or how many sermons I've listened to, how God can choose who He will save - and they have nothing to do with it - He gave them the ability to believe and receive Him - through grace - and others He did not give this ability - yet it's their fault if they suffer eternal damnation. How can a person love a doctrine such as this when it means that so many souls are perishing for all eternity? How is that something a loving Father would allow? And why teach this doctrine to evangelical Christians? If God chose them, they'd already believe it and if He didn't, no amount of preaching to them about it will change their minds.

[gwinenine]

notice at the 3:00 minute mark he said we must come to God..that one sentence just contradicts his whole one sided theology...God resist the proud but gives grace to the humble...its just that simple

[shortpants]

I do not believe God just forced some to come to salvation, and others to go to hell. The Bible makes it clear that the person who accepts the doctrine of Jesus's divinity, his teachings, and his death on the cross are saved from that moment they make the choice to accept the truth shown by the holy Spirit. God commands all men everywhere to repent, but if it is God who chooses who repents, then why is God commanding all men to repent, and then not forcing all men to repent? It just doesn't make sense. In terms of the sovereignty of God, I believe that nothing is out of his control. But we see in the Bible that he gives authority to certain people, for certain reasons. He gives authority to the government to punish evil men. Does that mean God's sovereignty is breached? No, because it is his authority that dictates who has what authority. Then those people in authority are held accountable for how they chose to handle their authority. As men we have been given the authority to choose or reject God. All of us choose to reject God at one point in our life. Then we are bound by the law of sin and death. But then he gives us the authority to choose the free gift of salvation, or to reject what we know to be true. So then you can see that it is God giving us the authority to choose salvation, or choose the rejection of the truth. But then you might ask why he it says he has chosen us in him from before the beginning? Because he knew the way events would unfold when he decided to create our world the way he did. So then God set the terms of salvation, knowing who would accept them. So in a sense he did choose us. Yet how is it that sinners come to the Father? Through God's sovereign choice over and we have no say in the matter one way or the other? No through accepting the truth, which is defined in scripture as faith in Jesus Christ. We get to God through Jesus Christ, and God has made himself evident so that no man is without excuse. Yet he also gave us the choice to accept or reject. That's the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit and why it is unforgivable. Because it is in man's power, given to us by God, to make the decision to accept or reject. So here, I believe I have reconciled the sovereignty of God, with the free will of man. Because God gave man free will, He is sovereign. It is not some device man made up, it is God given and exactly why we can be held accountable for sin. Because it was in our control, and we chose the bad anyway. Hope this keeps someone from going to deep into this doctrine of calvinism, because this doctrine of "God chose some for salvation, and most for hell." Does a disservice to the love of God, and it will kill evangelistic encounters with people who have heard it. If God is no respecter of persons, meaning he does not esteem one man higher than the other, how then is it not a contradiction to say that he forces salvation on some, and leaves the rest of men unable to choose Christ. Now if you disagree, please show me the scripture that proves me wrong.

[rickreynolds]

We had a discussion on this last night. My friend said it was prideful to believe in election, but it's really the opposite. Humility says I take no credit for any of this and give all glory to God for choosing me in eternity, and doing so not for any cause on my part but for His sovereign good pleasure. It gives us confidence to understand that He has given us a gift that we cannot lose because we did not earn it.