All Articles For Studies in Election

The Bible is the Book of Election, not a book of Jewish fables, nor a collection of tribal myths, nor a collations of ancient moralisms. It is full of election from Genesis to Revelation. The Book of Beginnings is full of it. The Lord had respect to Abel, but not to Cain. The Lord was called upon among the Sethites, not among the Cainites. The seed of the woman continued in the sons of God, not in the daughters of men. God established His covenant, not with the wicked world before the flood, but with Noah and his family. The...

No truth suffers more the attack of man’s natural hatred, enmity and opposition than the truth of election. It has its foes both in the house of its friends and in the doubting castle of those who know the least about it. It is denied both by those formally acquainted with its mysteries, and by others never having made it the object of fair investigation. It is held down in unrighteousness both by the master of Israel and by the hewer of wood or drawer of water. Where evident in the young, it is castigated as youthful dotings in imagined...

15. Its Resistance, (Continued) 

In the first installment of this series it was shown that all spiritual blessings go to the elect, and only to the elect, and that all blessings flow from the one fountain of election. Now hear Calvin on this point. “We shall never be clearly convinced as we ought to be, that our salvation flows from the fountain of God’s free mercy, till we are acquainted with His eternal election, which illustrates the grace of God by this comparison, that He adopts not all promiscuously to the hope of salvation, but gives to some what He refuses to others.

(Editor’s note: For an explanation of the publishing of this large installment of Rev. Harbach’s department, see Editor’s Notes.) 

In the previous article we saw that election has its origin, according to Scripture and one of the Reformed confessions, in the decree of God. The purpose or aim of God’s decree is His own glory. Since this is God’s own ultimate end and aim which He has in mind, it must also be man’s chief end. There is no higher purpose or goal than the glory of God, and He will have nothing less than the highest (than himself) for man’s aim. God must always be man’s aim. He must have his sights always, unwaveringly, on God.

Its Resistance  Another objection to the truth of predestination is that it precludes the use of God-ordained means. The objection arises from a wrong inference, inferring that predestination means that something is bound to happen entirely apart from any means. Some, then, think that there are people who will be saved although remaining utterly ignorant of the gospel, never see a Bible, never hear a preacher of the Word, nor ever hear the name of Christ.

ELECTION: 1. Its Origin (concluded) In the previous article we noted that the origin of election is the sovereign will of God. This is important, since it will keep us from the error of seeking any root of election in man. Having only in this way the proper perspective of the truth, we will see that election is not to be conceived of as made on the basis of foreseen faith (Canons I, 9). What possible good is there to foresee, in the spiritually dead and totally depraved sinner?

This truth is not a part of modern-day evangelism and its methods. In the last two generations, the revivalistic evangelists never referred to it, except, perhaps, to deal it a backhand slap. Modern mass evangelism, mainly, preaches a humanistic religion, based, as it is, on free will. Modern evangelists regard those as naive and narrow who: think of their cause as a compromise. Their “co-operative” evangelism is no compromise.

 Instances of God’s predestination we showed from both Old and New Testament. Also we indicated how this truth is opposed, especially by those of Arminian thinking. We proposed to show also how this opposition to true Presbyterianism has and does appear in some of the Presbyterian bodies. In the recent confessional perversions being perpetrated in the United Presbyterian Church. USA, the doctrine of predestination was the first marked for extinction. Sometimes mother-tender intimidation is employed against this truth.