Every pastor knows that when he preaches on the doctrine of election, he is in for a rough morning and faces a week (at least) of emails, calls, and conversations.
I recently preached on a passage that drew me to touch on election and I found what many before me have found; some people loved it and some people were (very) uncomfortable with it. I learned a lot about why the doctrine of election is so hard to accept, and why it is supremely comforting, and why preachers need to preach it despite the backlash that it may bring.
Election Requires Great Faith
After I finished preaching on election the most common question I received was not about how to interpret key bible verses or the finer points of the Calvin vs. Arminius debate, but instead people asked things like, “What does this mean for my son/daughter that has run from the faith they had as children? Has God not chosen them? How could God not choose them? Does it mean I am not free to choose God?” This is where we preachers see how theology must (and does) speak to life.
I realized again why the doctrine of election is so hard to accept. It demands that we trust God with our deepest fears and that we leave our most beloved sin (our desire to be in control) behind.
Every pastor knows that when he preaches on the doctrine of election, he is in for a rough morning and faces a week (at least) of emails, calls, and conversations.
Election demands that we trust God (who does all things for the good of those who love Him) with everything including the souls of our most loved children and family. God is good and kind, but He is also our sovereign. He will have no rivals for our hearts. As C.S. Lewis says, God will not permit us to retain even the smallest souvenir of Hell.[1]
Trusting God is hard, it demands everything of us. Jesus has left us with His words about how hard it is to believe. He tells us that following His narrow path is difficult (Matt 7:13). He says a camel will have an easier time passing through the eye of a needly than we will have believing (Matt 19:24), and that if we want to be “perfect” we will need to give-up everything and follow Him (Matt 19:21).
Election asks that we trust God with the care of the souls that we most cherish and demands we lay down our illusion of control. There is a tension here – the doctrine of election seems to demand everything from us by demanding nothing from us. In telling us we have nothing but our sin to contribute to our salvation, and that God mysteriously and perfectly chooses a people for Himself, the doctrine of election asks nothing of us. But because we demand to have a say and to play a part in our own salvation, election’s insistence that we have no part to play demands too much of us! God demands that we surrender our deep-seated desire to have a hand in our own salvation.
It seems that in asking less of us, the doctrine of election demands too much for many.
It’s hard.
It seems that in asking less of us, the doctrine of election demands too much for many. I begin to see why Jesus seemed so astounded when he found faithful people among the crowds he ministered to (Matt 8:10; Lk 7:9).
Election is Supremely Comforting
I was reminded this week of the Latin root of the word, “comfort” – cum, meaning “with” and fortis meaning “strength”. To be comforted by something is to not only be put at ease (which is more of what we mean when we use the term today), but to be filled with strength.
The doctrine of election is a great comfort because it lifts the burden of anxiety we bear for salvation and heaps it on God. We resist the God of election in part because we are not convinced He can be trusted to make the right decision. It turns out that how we see the doctrine of election is connected to how we trust God.
I recall how I came to see election as a most comforting doctrine. I saw that if God was perfect and loved me and was committed to my good for the sake of His Son, then I not only had to trust Him, but I also had every reason to trust Him. I remembered Abraham’s words when he was questioning God about his decision to destroy Sodom, “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?” (Gen 18:25). I was at a moment of crisis, a crossroads: do I trust God to be just?
I have found that the more I have studied God’s Word and trusted Him to be just (after all he is my Judge but also my Saviour), the more I have been comforted by His election of His people. I am called to pour into and love my kids and my church, urging them to faith and praying for them regularly, trusting that God knows the sheep that are His own and will do what is just. I can rest now.
Preaching Election is Worth the Blowback
People don’t love this doctrine. After my sermon, many were encouraged and asked questions to deepen their understanding of election, but at least one couple wanted to leave the church and some others think I am a little off my rocker. I had someone who has attended our church for decades come to me and say that they had never heard election addressed from the pulpit before.
This was sad news.
Preaching election is hard work for us preachers because we need to anticipate objections and foresee the deep and personal reasons people resist it.
We need to choose our words carefully, study deeply and pray earnestly.
We need to also be prepared to lose our good reputation in the eyes of some (one person came to me and said with thinly veiled derision, “I knew you liked Calvin, but I didn’t think you were a Calvinist!”). But what do we expect?
If we offend people, then we should be concerned. But if the gospel offends people, we should be comforted.
If we offend people, then we should be concerned. But if the gospel offends people, we should be comforted. Why? Because the gospel has always offended people. If we preach the doctrine of election with clarity, biblical faithfulness and compassion, we ought to rest in the knowledge that we have honoured God and done the very best by our congregation. Don’t neglect this wonderful and merciful doctrine as you preach.
Don’t shy away from passages that speak about predestination and election because you are worried about the blowback. Instead, trust the Spirit to use the truth about God’s mercy to draw the elect from the world and into the Kingdom through the preaching of God’s love for His own.
[1] C.S.Lewis, The Great Divorce. https://www.fadedpage.com/books/20140726/html.php.
