Unconditional Election
There is much debate on this doctrine but I'm just going to deal with it from what I know the scriptures to teach.
Here is a list of verses that clearly teach the doctrine of election
Eph. 1:4; 1Pe. 1:2; 1Pe. 2:6; Joh.6:37; Joh. 6:44; John 13:18; John 15:16; John 17:6; Joh. 17:24; Mat. 20:16; Acts 13:48; Acts 22:14; 2Ti. 2:4; 1Th.1:4; 1Th. 5:9; 2Th. 2:13; Neh. 9:7; Gal. 1:15; 2Tim. 1:9; 2Tim. 2:10; Rom. 8:28-30; Rom. 9:11; Rom. 11:5; Rom. 16:13; Mar. 13:20; Titus 1:1; 2Jn. 1:13; 1Co. 1:27; Luke 18:7; Psa. 33:12; Psa. 65:4; Isa. 65:9; 2Pe. 1:10; Hag. 2:23;
Now this is not an exhaustive list of verses that speak about God's sovereign election. I didn't just want to deal with just one or two verses here and leave it at that. I wanted to show how extensive the doctrine of election is in the scripture. In order to get rid of the doctrine of election you might have to get rid of portions of every book in the bible. This doctrine is taught everywhere in the scriptures. It's amazing that for years I never seen it and I know of others that act like a "Calvinist" will just look at one or two verses. I find just the opposite to be true, the "Arminian" usually only grabs ahold of a verse or two. If this isn't the case with you I am sorry for lumping you into this category but this is what I have seen personally.
Now I will deal with one area of scripture extensively and it's the one chapter of the bible that made me very angry until I realized that God is God and I'm not. It's the popular Romans 9.
Rom 9:11 (For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;)
Rom 9:12 It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger.
Rom 9:13 As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.
Rom 9:14 What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid.
Rom 9:15 For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.
Rom 9:16 So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.
Rom 9:17 For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.
Rom 9:18 Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.
Rom 9:19 Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will?
Rom 9:20 Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?
Rom 9:21 Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?
Rom 9:22 What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction:
Rom 9:23 And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory.
If when you just read that you already had objections. Why don't you read it again and lose your presupposition. Just read it without objections and see what it say's, not what you want to read into it.
There are many people that say God chooses His saints by looking through the "corridors of time" and seeing who is going to choose Him then in response He chooses them. According to Rom. 9:11 it has absolutely nothing to do with the choice of the person. For it was before they were born or did anything at all.
I know you might have a problem with that. Paul knows you might have a problem with that and God knows you might have a problem with that. That is because of pride, it is simply pride that say's, "that's not fair." Who determines fair though, is it you or God? If we want to talk fair, we would have to say that for God to be fair we would all go to Hell, right? We have all violated God and He does not have to give mercy to anybody at all. Paul deals with this, he sees your argument in verse 14. God is righteous even when He chooses to love one and hate another.
Then Paul say's God will have mercy on whoever He wants to. Not only this but He hardens the hearts of whoever He wants. He looks back to Pharaoh in the exodus to prove his point.
Exo 4:21 "And the LORD said unto Moses, When thou goest to return into Egypt, see that thou do all those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in thine hand: but I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go."
Exo 7:3 "And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt"
Exo 14:4 And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, that he shall follow after them; and I will be honoured upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host; that the Egyptians may know that I am the LORD. And they did so.
Exo 14:17 And I, behold, I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them: and I will get me honour upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen.
Paul was brilliant. Being a Pharisee this man knew his old testament much better than any of us. They had to memorize the Pentateuch by the age of 10, the first 5 books of the bible, and a lot of them memorized the whole Old Testament. Can any of us say this about us? This makes me wonder if they had the "Calvinist vs. Arminianist" debate in the first century, of course by a different name. By Paul pointing back to Exodus 4-14 to prove that God chooses who He wants to is brilliant to me.
Paul then once again anticipates your argument in verse 19 against God having mercy on whom He desires and hardening whom He desires. His reply to you is what he say's in verse 20, it's pretty much in the vernacular, "zip your lip." Then follows by saying once again that God can do what He wants with whom He wants.
One last thing on this. The word for "church" in the New testament is "ekklesia" meaning the "called out ones" or "elect ones" or "chosen ones." So if you are part of the church you are a "called out one" whether you believe it or not.
This is all I will deal with here if you have any questions post it in the forum or email sgapologetics@gmail.com
