Romans 1:16 - "I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile."


Sunday, February 25, 2007

Unconditional Election


Unconditional Election -Man cannot save himself neither in whole nor in part. Only God can save man. The good news of the Gospel is that God out of His love, mercy and grace for us has provided that way.

1 Corinthians 15:1-4 1Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.
3For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance
: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures


Before God had created anything, God had foreordained that He would choose (Eph 1:4-5) some of mankind to be saved from the sin that Adam had cast on all of us. God called these people His elect (Mark 13:20) and they are sinners who have been chosen to receive salvation.

Ephesians 1:4-5 4For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—

Mark 13:20 20If the Lord had not cut short those days, no one would survive. But for the sake of the elect, whom he has chosen, he has shortened them.

In a general sense God does call all people to come to faith and be saved (1 Tim 2:3-4), but in another sense God does only choose some sinners to be saved (John 17:2).

1 Timothy 2:3-4 3This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 4who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.

John 17:2 "Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. 2For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him.

God did not choose the elect on the basis of anything they had done or will do, it was a free gift by His grace alone.

Ephesians 2:8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—

If you think that in some way God is unfair in His choosing those that will be saved, God says this.

Romans 9:20 But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? "Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, 'Why did you make me like this?' "