III. God’s Election. In our Confession, Chapter III., Section iii., verses 4 and 7, we have this description of it: 3d. ‘By the decree of God, for the manifestation of his glory, some men and angels are predestined unto everlasting life and others foreordained to everlasting death.’ IV. ‘These angels and men, thus predestinated and [...]
Unconditional Election
Unconditional election is a phrase that is used to summarize what the Bible teaches about the predestination—or the election—of people for salvation. It represents the second letter of the acronym TULIP, which is commonly used to enumerate the five points of Calvinism, also known as the Doctrines of Grace. Other terms for the same doctrine include “unmerited favor,” “sovereign election” or “adopted by God.” All these terms are good names for this doctrine because each reveals some aspect of the doctrine of election. However, more important than the term we use to describe the doctrine is how accurately the doctrine summarizes what the Bible teaches about election and predestination. Learn more from the articles and resources below.
Recommended Reading on Unconditional Election
- Living for God’s Glory: An Introduction to Calvinism by Joel Beeke
- Five Points of Calvinism: Defined, Defended, and Documented
- The Five Dilemmas of Calvinism by Craig R. Brown
- Chose for Life: The Case for Divine Election by Sam Storms
- Election and Free Will: God's Gracious choice and Our Responsibility by Robert A. Peterson
An Examination of the Five Points of Calvinism – Part II: Unconditional Election by Brian Schwertley
The Bible clearly teaches that God chose a people for Himself before the foundation of the world. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, [...]
Sovereign Election by Gise J. Van Baren
Election as a doctrine of the church is often either little understood, or emphatically contradicted. There is either ignorance of this truth, or a deliberate misunderstanding of it. What is the scriptural truth of election? We could define election as God’s eternal, sovereign, gracious decree by which He chooses a church as the body of [...]
