Ask Anything

We’re getting off to a fast start in our new series “Ask Anything” with a difficult question. Our students submitted questions and then voted on what I would teach on. The question I will be teaching on this week is:

 “Is election biblical? If so, what happens to aborted babies since they cannot verbally become a Christian?”

 I’ll give a simple answer to the first question, then go into some detail about that before turning my attention to the second part of the question. Is election biblical? Yes, election is without a doubt biblical, but, so is the desire in God for all to be saved. Off the bat it is important for us to remember that God is not human and he isn’t confined to operate like us. After discussing the unsearchable majesty of God, Job said, “These are but the outskirts of His ways, oh how small a whisper do we hear of Him! The thunder of His power, who can understand (26:14)?” We know God through the Bible, but that is but a whisper of who God is. It is confined to human thought and human language. Consider that a cockroach knows something of humans, but is it capable of understanding all? So are we limited in our knowledge of God. That’s important for us to remember as we discuss some pretty difficult things today and it should give us all some humility.  

 However, in spite of this weakness, God has revealed to us all that we need to know in His Word. Moses says in Deuteronomy 29:29, “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.” We are responsible to believe the Word of God and submit our lives to it. The things we cannot understand we are to leave to the secret counsel of the Lord.

 However, election is a biblical concept and is a theme that runs throughout scripture. In Romans 11:8-13 Paul writes, “This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring. For this is what the promise said: “About this time next year I will return, and Sarah shall have a son.” And not only so, but also when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad—in order that God’s purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls— she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.’” So election shows that our salvation is due not to our choice or our works, but is due to the one who calls us.

 Election is not simply a New Testament concept, but a consistent theme in scripture. Consider the people of Israel. God chose Abraham, made a covenant with him and thus chose the people of Israel. He did not choose the Philistines or the Amalekites or the Ishmaelites. Was he unjust to choose Israel and not the Philistines? Was he unjust in clearing out the promised land so that his people Israel could have it? God loves the world, but as the Old Testament shows with Israel and the New Testament shows with the Church, God has a special love for his elect.

 Paul writes in 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14, “But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers, loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. He called you to this through the gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.” We see then that God chose people from the beginning to be saved by first being sanctified by the spirit, then believing the gospel. So we see that election does not destroy free will, rather God purifies our will so that we can freely choose Him.

 The apostle Paul isn’t the only one to write of election. Peter writes, “To God’s elect…who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkled by His blood.” Once again we see clearly from Jesus’ closest disciple that election is a biblical doctrine.

 Finally, consider the words of Jesus himself. In John 15:16 he says, “You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you.” In John 6:44 he says, “No man comes unto me unless the father draws him.” In John 6:37 he says, “All that the father gives me shall come to me.” In John 6:65 he says, “I tell you, no man can come to me unless it is granted to him by my father.”

 There are numerous verses that describe this same basic idea. If you have time, check out Romans 1:6-7, 8:28-30, 1 Corinthians 1:23-24, 26, 6:11, Galatians 1:6, 15-16, Ephesians 1:4, 2:4-6, 1 Timothy 1:9. These are just a few that come to me quickly, and scripture is full of many more.

 But I also believe that God has a desire for all to be saved. Using logical human reasoning, election and God’s desire for all to be saved might seem to contradict one another. However, the Bible teaches both! 1 Timothy 2:4 clearly states that God, “desires all people to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth.” 2 Peter 3:9 notes that the Lord is, “patient towards you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” An finally, Ezekiel 18:23 shows clearly that God takes no delight in the death of the wicked.

 How do these two truths from scripture stand side by side? God chooses whom he saves, yet he hates to see the wicked perish and wishes that all people would be saved? There is definitely some of the mystery here that Job and Moses were talking about, and I don’t claim to be smart enough to understand the inner workings of God, yet, I think there is a solution to this.

 It isn’t free will that God tampers with when he elects his people. Our free will is intact. Throughout scripture people are exhorted to believe, to repent, to trust God, to obey God, etc. What God changes through election is our desire. Because of sin, no human will freely choose God (Romans 3:9-20). The sanctifying work of the spirit that we read about in 2 Thessalonians is the transformation of our heart and our desires so that we can see God as He is, ourselves as we are, and then are able to place our faith and trust in Jesus. So, people freely choose to rebel against God through sin and thus earn their just judgment of hell. However, God loves us so much that he sent Jesus so that whoever believes will not perish, but have eternal life. And how do people believe? They believe through the drawing work of the Holy Spirit as a result of their election.

 There are other theories on how election works or is applied to humanity, but there is no disagreement over whether or not election is a biblical doctrine among Baptists. To deny election is to deny the Bible, which is central to all Baptist faith and practice. The Baptist Faith and Message, which is the adopted set of beliefs for Mabel White Baptist Church, reads clearly, “Election is the gracious purpose of God, according to which He regenerates, justifies, sanctifies, and glorifies sinners. It is consistent with the free agency of man, and comprehends all the means in connection with the end. It is the glorious display of God’s sovereign goodness, and is infinitely wise, holy, and unchangeable. It excludes boasting and promotes humility.”

 I believe that what I have taught is completely consistent with scripture and with the Baptist Faith and Message. However, there are people in this church who would disagree with my interpretation, including many of your parents. Talk with your parents about this, listen to them and honor and respect them in these matters because that will honor God. One of the great things about being Baptists is that we can hold to different interpretations of scripture without separating as long as we hold Christ and the Gospel central and God’s Word our final authority.

 Now, to the other part of the question. I’m sure that this discussion will bring up many other questions, and I’ll do my best to answer them in a minute, or at least in the blog afterwards if you fill out a card or go online and ask a follow up question. However, one common question that comes up when discussing election was the question asked by the student on the card. “What happens to aborted babies.” Well, I will try to answer not just for aborted babies, but for miscarried babies, infants and young children as well. Obviously this is a question close to my heart as Emily and I lost a child to miscarriage just over a year ago and we’re about to have a son.

 First I would like to point out that not believing in election doesn’t really help you answer this question much either, in fact, it might put you further away. If you believe that salvation is by our effort and choice without the help of God, then babies, infants and small children don’t stand a chance there because they are incapable of making that decision. However, I think there is a biblical argument that infants, aborted babies and young children do go to heaven.

 We have to understand that even babies in the womb aren’t “innocent.” In Psalm 51:5 David makes this clear by writing, “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.” We know that humanity is sinful at birth, sinful in their nature, and this does not exclude infants. So their salvation also depends on the gracious love and mercy of God and the sacrifice of Jesus.

 That being said, I believe that he extends it to them. We see clearly that God can elect someone and set them apart in the womb as he did in Luke 1 with John the Baptist. He clearly knows babies in the womb because he is the one who knits them together. We see an overwhelming love that Jesus has for children as he makes time for them in his busy schedule and rebukes his disciples for keeping them from him. We might can make a circumstantial argument about the character of God, but I believe there is a stronger biblical argument.

 I base my belief on Romans 1:19-20 which reads, “For what can be known about God is plain to them (to mankind) because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. Therefore, they are without excuse.”

 Anyone who can see what God is like in the created world has no excuse not to believe. The “therefore” is the key that tells us that. But it also seems to imply that if it were impossible for someone to have that perception they would have an excuse. It doesn’t mean they aren’t deserving of judgment, but I believe it means that anyone without the mental faculty to believe, whether an unborn baby, an infant or small child or even a mentally handicapped person, has an excuse and that God, in his mercy, will save them by the blood of Jesus. This is my hope that I will one day see my unborn child again and the hope of all who lose someone without the mental capacity to believe. Our hope rests on the love of God and the blood of Jesus.

 Now I will take any questions on any of what I’ve talked about tonight.