God's Sovereign Choice in Salvation and Human Response
God's Sovereign Choice in Salvation and Human Response
The concept of God's sovereign choice in salvation is deeply rooted in biblical teachings. According to Easton's Bible Dictionary, the term "predestination" refers to God's plan or purpose of salvation, emphasizing the sovereign and unconditional nature of God's decree [1]. This doctrine is supported by various biblical passages, including Ephesians 1:5 and 11, which state that God predestines believers to adoption and salvation according to His purpose.
The Bible emphasizes that salvation is a gift from God, achieved through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. As stated in Torrey's Topical Textbook, salvation is "of God" and "by Christ alone" [4]. Psalms also affirm that salvation comes from God, describing Him as "the God of our salvation" and the One who "preserves man and animal" (Psalms 36:6, 65:5) [2, 5].
The interplay between God's sovereignty and human response is a complex one. On one hand, the Bible teaches that God's sovereignty is the foundation of salvation. According to the Tyndale House commentary on Ephesians 2:5, believers are "made alive together with Christ" by God's grace, highlighting the initiative of God in salvation [7]. Similarly, the commentary on Titus 3:5 notes that salvation is not due to human works but is a result of God's mercy and the washing away of sins through the Holy Spirit [8].
On the other hand, human response is also crucial. The same Ephesians commentary emphasizes that faith is a necessary component of salvation, as believers are "saved through faith" (Ephesians 2:8) [7]. The commentary on Colossians 3:9-10 further explains that believers must "strip off their old life and put on Christ's new life," indicating a transformative response to God's salvation [10].
Different Christian traditions have interpreted the balance between God's sovereignty and human response in various ways. For instance, the Reformed tradition, as represented by John Gill's commentary on Ephesians 3:11, emphasizes that salvation is according to God's eternal purpose and that the application of salvation to believers is also part of God's decree [11]. In contrast, other traditions may place more emphasis on human agency and response.
The biblical basis for God's sovereign choice in salvation is evident in passages such as Psalms 20:6, which states that "Yahweh saves his anointed" [6]. The Psalms also express trust in God's salvation, with Psalm 37:39 affirming that "the salvation of the righteous is from Yahweh" [3]. The theme of salvation being a divine act is consistent throughout the Psalms, underscoring God's role as the ultimate source of salvation.
The New Testament reinforces this theme, particularly in the Pauline epistles. Ephesians 2:10 states that believers are "created anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us," highlighting the transformative nature of salvation [9]. This transformation is not a human achievement but a result of God's work in believers.
Sources
- Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Predestination — This word is properly used only with reference to God's plan or purpose of salvation. The Greek word rendered "predestinate" is found only in these six passages, Acts 4:28; Rom. 8:29, 30; 1 Cor. 2:7; Eph. 1:5, 11; and in all of them it has the same meaning. They teach that the eternal, sovereign, immutable, and unconditional decree or "determinate purpose" of God governs all events. This doctrine of predestination or election is beset with many difficulties. It belongs to the "secret things" of God. But if we take the revealed word of God as our guid”
- Psalms “Psalms 65:5 (LITV) — You will answer us in righteousness by awesome things, O God of our salvation; the Confidence of all the ends of the earth and the sea, of those afar off.”
- Psalms “But the salvation of the righteous is from Yahweh. He is their stronghold in the time of trouble. -- Psalms 37:39”
- Torrey's Topical Textbook “Torrey's Topical Textbook: Salvation — Is of God -- Ps 3:8; 37:39; Jer 3:23. Is of the purpose of God -- 2Ti 1:9. Is of the appointment of God -- 1Th 5:9. God is willing to give -- 1Ti 2:4. Is by Christ -- Isa 63:9; Eph 5:23. Is by Christ alone -- Isa 45:21,22; 59:16; Ac 4:12. Announced after the fall -- Ge 3:15. Of Israel, predicted -- Isa 35:4; 45:17; Zec 9:16; Ro 11:26. Of the Gentiles, predicted -- Isa 45:22; 49:6; 52:10. Revealed in the gospel -- Eph 1:13; 2Ti 1:10. Came to the Gentiles through the fall of the Jews -- Ro 11:11. Christ The Captain of. -- Heb 2:10. The Author of. -- Heb 5:9”
- Psalms “Your righteousness is like the mountains of God. Your judgments are like a great deep. Yahweh, you preserve man and animal. -- Psalms 36:6”
- Psalms “Now I know that Yahweh saves his anointed. He will answer him from his holy heaven, with the saving strength of his right hand. -- Psalms 20:6”
- Ephesians (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Ephesians 2:5: 2:5 gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead (literally made us alive together with Christ): Joined with Christ, believers share in his resurrection, now and in the future (see 2:6; Rom 6:4-14; Col 3:1-4). • It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved: See Eph 1:2; 2:8-9.”
- Titus (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Titus 3:5: 3:5 not because . . . but because: The contrast is between human actions that might be thought to merit salvation and God’s grace (see Gal 2:16). Salvation is through faith in God’s mercy alone (Eph 2:8). • He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth: See Ezek 16:9; John 3:1-15; Eph 5:26; Heb 10:22; 2 Pet 1:9. • and new life through the Holy Spirit: This signifies a complete departure from the life of sin and death and a transfer into the realm of life and purity (see also Rom 12:2; 2 Cor 5:17; Col 3:10).”
- Ephesians (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Ephesians 2:10: 2:10 He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us: Good works are the result, not the cause, of salvation. God’s Spirit, working through a transformed heart, produces a good life (Gal 5:22-23).”
- Colossians (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Colossians 3:9: 3:9-10 your old sinful nature . . . your new nature: Paul contrasts old and new identities (see also Rom 5:12-21; 6:6; Eph 4:22-24). Believers strip off their old life and put on Christ’s new life, allowing him to be Lord and to guide the way they live.”
- Ephesians (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Ephesians 3:11: According to the eternal purpose,.... The whole of salvation, in which is displayed the great wisdom of God, is according to a purpose of his; the scheme of it is fixed in the council of peace; the thing itself is effected in pursuance of it; Christ, the Redeemer, was set forth in it; his incarnation, the time of his coming into the world, his sufferings and death, with all their circumstances, were decreed by God; and the persons for whom Christ became incarnate, suffered, and died, were appointed unto salvation by him; and the application of it to them is accordi”