ELECT, CALLED, AND CHOSEN

Victor M. Eskew

 

            The words that title this article are not used by members of the church of Christ very often even though each one of them is found numerous times in the New Testament.  One of the reasons we do not is because Calvinism has highjacked the terms.  In fact, not only has Calvinism highjacked the words, but it has also attached meanings to them that are false.  In this article, we want to look at these terms in light of God’s holy Word.

            In Matthew 24, Jesus uses the word “elect” three times in His discussion of the fall of Jerusalem.  “And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved:  but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened” (Matt. 24:22).  In verse 24, He uses the words again.  “For these shall arise false Christ’s, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.”  Verse 31 carries the third time the Lord uses the word “elect.”  “And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” 

            The Greek word in each one of these verses is “eklektos.”  The prefix “ek” means “from” or “out of.”  The root word, “lego,” means “to gather, pick out.”  The elect are those who have been gathered out of the world.  Another way to describe these individuals is by using the words “the saved.”  Let’s insert the words “the saved” into Matthew 24:22.  “And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved:  for the saved’s sake those days shall be shortened.”  No one would deny that “the elect” and “the saved” are synonymous.  This is true in every instance where the words “the elect” are used.  Let’s look at one other verse.  In Colossians 3:12, Paul reveals the clothing of God’s elect.  “Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering.”  Now listen to the verse using the words “the saved.”  “Put on therefore as the saved of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering.” 

            The second word in our study is the word “called.”  To the saints in Roman, Paul wrote:  “Among whom ye also are the called of Jesus Christ” (Rom. 1:6).  The church at Corinth was also part of the called.  “Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours” (1 Cor. 1:2).  To be “the called,” there must have been a call that was issued to these individuals.  Was this call a personal God from God?  Was this a miraculous sign given to these individuals?  We are not left in the dark regarding the call.  Paul reveals that individuals are called by the gospel of Jesus Christ.  “Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Thess. 2:14).  Jesus wanted this call to go forth throughout the world.  He told His apostles:  “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15).  However, not all men are a part of “the called.”  In fact, Jesus tells that “many are called, but few are chosen” (Matt. 22:14). 

            This leads us to the third word of our study, “chosen.”  In the Revelation, Jesus is presented as being victorious over His enemies in Revelation 17:14.  In that verse, those who are with Him are “called, and chosen, and faithful.”  Peter referred to his readers as “a chosen generation” (1 Pet. 2:9).  Paul told the  church at Ephesus God had chosen them before the foundation of the world.  “According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love” (Eph. 1:4).

            There are two main views regarding these three words.  The Calvinist says that God elected CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS to be saved before He laid the foundations of the world.  These are the ones who experience God’s call.  They cannot resist the call because God has chosen them to be in the number of the redeemed.  Here is how one author sets forth the doctrine of election:

 

“Unconditional Election is defined in this manner through the catechisms

and confessions: God did, by His most wise and holy counsel, of His own,

freely and unchangeably ordain some men to heaven and some men to hell

by the nature of His good pleasure. In eternity, God has predetermined the

course of everything and everyone. He had foreordained the eternal destiny

of everyone whether to heaven or to hell for His glory. Men are unconditionally

elected by God for His purposes without any prior works (good or evil) by

which God would judge them good or evil. The election of men rests solely on

the counsel and purposes of God. God has not decreed anything which he

foresaw in the future, for that would place His decree upon foreseeing some-

thing in the creature” (Unconditional Election – compiled by Dr. C. Matthew McMahon | Reformed Theology at A Puritan's Mind (apuritansmind.com).

 

This view of election opposes the free moral agency of man.  Men are said to choose God because God has already chosen them.  Their election is unconditional.  They cannot resist God’s grace.  They will definitely be saved because God elected them to salvation. 

            The second view of election states that God elected a CERTAIN GROUP of individuals to be saved.  This group of individuals is composed of all who obey the call of the gospel.  This view is the one that is consistent with several teachings of the gospel.  First, the Bible teaches that men are free either to serve God or to reject God (Josh. 24:15).  Second, the Bible teaches that Jesus died for all and not just a select group of people only (2 Cor. 5:14-15).  Third, the Bible teaches God is not a respecter of persons who chooses to save one person and not another (Rom. 2:11).  Fourth, the Bible teaches that there are conditions of salvation that all can meet in order to be saved (Mark 16:15-16; Acts 2:38).  Fifth, this view is consistent with the teaching that God’s nature is love, that is, looking out for the best interests of all men (1 John 4:16). 

            Dear reader, are you part the elect?  Have you given heed to God’s call of salvation?  Are you part of the chosen?  You do not have to wonder whether you have been elected or not, or wait to be part of the saved.  God secured the salvation of all men through the death of Jesus on Calvary (John 3:16; 1 John 2:2).  However, God will not force men to be saved.  Thus, He gave conditions of salvation that must be obeyed in order to be one of the elect.  The terms are simple:  hear the word of God (Rom. 10:17), believe in Jesus as the Son of God (John 8:24), repent of sins (Luke 13:3), confess the name of Jesus Christ (Rom. 10:9-10), and be baptized for the remission of sins (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; 22:16).  Note:  God did not predetermine your eternal destiny.  He left that choice in your hands.