Overview
Welcome to Lifecycles Revealed, Part 2, the beginning of your discovery of the Lifecycles album which is based on the doctrine of salvation. The key elements of your discovery experience in Part 2 are:
† Specific Greek words associated with election.
† Biblical scripture associated with election.
† A working definition of election.
Mind Prep
† Why should anyone be concerned with election if God has already determined the "elected"?
Greek
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= ekloge (literal Greek)
God's determination of an individual or group.
= eklektos (literal Greek)
God's "elect" or "chosen", characterized as best of their kind or class.
Scripture
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† Romans 9:11 (NET): "…even before they were born or had done anything good or bad (so that God's purpose in election would stand…)"
Scripture
(continued)
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† Romans 11:5 (KJV): "Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace."
Scripture
(continued)
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† 1 Peter 1:2 (KJV): "Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied."
Scripture
(continued)
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† 2 Peter 1:10 (NET): "Therefore, brothers and sisters, make every effort to be sure of your calling and election…"
Unconditional & Conditional Election
Collectively, theologians and believers are generally divided into two groups with their beliefs on the concept of election:
† Those who believe in unconditional election
† Those who believe in conditional election
Unconditional Election
† Romans 9:11 and 11:5 are typically used to substantiate unconditional election, which is the belief that God elected solely on the basis of His own "purpose" and "grace".
Romans 9:11 (NET): "…even before they were born or had done anything good or bad (so that God's purpose in election would stand…)"
Romans 11:5 (KJV): "Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace."
Conditional Election
† 1 Peter 1:1-2 and 2 Peter 1:10 are typically used to substantiate conditional election, which is the belief that God elected on the basis of His "foreknowledge" that certain individuals would make their election "sure" by choosing Him.
1 Peter 1:2 (KJV): "Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied."
2 Peter 1:10 (NET): "Therefore, brothers and sisters, make every effort to be sure of your calling and election…"
Definition
The purpose of this discovery unit is not to persuade you to agree with any particular belief, but to challenge you to develop your own personal theology on the basis of biblical, historical, and doctrinal references. Accordingly, the purpose here is not to persuade you to agree with either unconditional election or conditional election, but to challenge you to develop your own biblically- and theologically-based definition.
Definition
Approach
A suggested approach to developing this definition is to (1) seek the common, biblical truths between unconditional and conditional election, and (2) align these truths with principles of salvation from Part 1.
Definition
Common Truths
The tenets of both unconditional and conditional election stipulate that:
† Salvation will only be given to a few, even though Christ's work on the cross was sufficient to provide salvation for all.
† Only God chooses the elect, whether by His own sovereign authority or foreknowledge of man's faith.
Definition
Salvation Principles
Part 1 demonstrated that:
† Salvation is a process from the beginning to end of time.
† The result of the process is man's living relationship with God.
† Election is the first step in the process.
Definition
Summary
Given the biblical, historical, and doctrinal context, we can define election as God's selective preservation from the beginning of time of those He chose to live with until the end of time.
Wrap Up & Quiz
You can continue to Part 3 using the sliding left menu, or refresh your mind with the quiz below. Hopefully, your discovery time has provided a fundamental foundation of election and encouraged you to explore this doctrine further in this discovery unit and beyond. Whether you're a believer or non-believer, you should now have a keen awareness of the following take-aways:
† God provides the gift of salvation to His elect, but the elect must still ask to receive it.
† Rise above fatalism and defeatism, and choose to be "chosen".
