{"id":7292,"date":"2026-08-20T20:59:34","date_gmt":"2026-08-20T20:59:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/?p=7292"},"modified":"2026-08-20T21:53:02","modified_gmt":"2026-08-20T21:53:02","slug":"episode-69-predestination-the-comforting-doctrine-of-election","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/index.php\/2026\/08\/20\/episode-69-predestination-the-comforting-doctrine-of-election\/","title":{"rendered":"Episode 69: Predestination: The Comforting Doctrine of Election"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-spotify wp-block-embed-spotify wp-embed-aspect-21-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"Spotify Embed: Episode 69: Predestination: The Comforting Doctrine of Election\" style=\"border-radius: 12px\" width=\"100%\" height=\"152\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/embed\/episode\/5G5uPaHVRto4Kpbzd75p9j?si=e96c7d0ebf694e16&amp;utm_source=oembed\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/index.php\/2026\/08\/06\/episode-68-should-christians-welcome-jws-and-mormons-into-their-homes\/\">Previous Episode<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\">Next Episode<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Pastor James Preus| Trinity Lutheran Church| August 20, 2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Heavenly Father,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">May the doctrine of election taught, in Holy Scripture drive us closer to Jesus through the ministry of the Holy Spirit in Word and Sacrament, so that we may be evermore confident in our eternal salvation, because you chose us in Christ Jesus from before the foundation of the world. Amen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Scripture<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Matthew 22:14<\/strong>: \u201cFor many are called, but few are chosen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Matthew 24:31: \u201c<\/strong>And He will send out His angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather His&nbsp;elect&nbsp;from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Matthew 25:34:<\/strong> \u201cThen&nbsp;the King will say to&nbsp;those on his right, \u2018Come, you&nbsp;who are blessed by My Father,&nbsp;inherit&nbsp;the kingdom&nbsp;prepared for you&nbsp;from the foundation of the world.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>John 15:16<\/strong>: You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in My name, He may give it to you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Ephesians 1:3-14:<\/strong> <sup>3&nbsp;<\/sup>Blessed be&nbsp;the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing&nbsp;in the heavenly places,&nbsp;<sup>4&nbsp;<\/sup>even as He&nbsp;chose us in Him&nbsp;before the foundation of the world, that we should be&nbsp;holy and blameless before Him. In love&nbsp;<sup>5&nbsp;<\/sup>He predestined us<sup>[<a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Ephesians%201&amp;version=ESV#fen-ESV-29195b\">b<\/a>]<\/sup>&nbsp;for&nbsp;adoption to Himself as sons through Jesus Christ,&nbsp;according to the purpose of His will,&nbsp;<sup>6&nbsp;<\/sup>to the praise of His glorious grace, with which He has blessed us in&nbsp;the Beloved.&nbsp;<sup>7&nbsp;<\/sup>In Him we have&nbsp;redemption&nbsp;through His blood,&nbsp;the forgiveness of our trespasses,&nbsp;according to the riches of His grace,&nbsp;<sup>8&nbsp;<\/sup>which He lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight&nbsp;<sup>9&nbsp;<\/sup>making known<sup>[<a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Ephesians%201&amp;version=ESV#fen-ESV-29199c\">c<\/a>]<\/sup>&nbsp;to us the mystery of His will,&nbsp;according to His purpose, which He&nbsp;set forth in Christ&nbsp;<sup>10&nbsp;<\/sup>as a plan for&nbsp;the fullness of time,&nbsp;to unite all things in Christ, things in heaven and things on earth in Him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><sup>11&nbsp;<\/sup>In Him we have obtained&nbsp;an inheritance,&nbsp;having been predestined&nbsp;according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to&nbsp;the counsel of His will,&nbsp;<sup>12&nbsp;<\/sup>so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be&nbsp;to the praise of His glory.&nbsp;<sup>13&nbsp;<\/sup>In Him you also, when you heard&nbsp;the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in Him,&nbsp;were sealed with the&nbsp;promised Holy Spirit,&nbsp;<sup>14&nbsp;<\/sup>who is&nbsp;the guarantee&nbsp;of our&nbsp;inheritance until&nbsp;we acquire&nbsp;possession of it,&nbsp;to the praise of His glory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>2 Thessalonians 2:13-14:<\/strong> <sup>13&nbsp;<\/sup>But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God&nbsp;from the beginning&nbsp;chose you for salvation&nbsp;through&nbsp;sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth,&nbsp;<sup>14&nbsp;<\/sup>to which He called you by our gospel, for&nbsp;the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.&nbsp;<strong>(NKJV)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>1 Thessalonians 1:4-5a:<\/strong> For we know,&nbsp;brothers&nbsp;loved by God,&nbsp;that He has chosen you,&nbsp;<sup>5&nbsp;<\/sup>because&nbsp;our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and&nbsp;in the Holy Spirit and with full&nbsp;conviction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Summary<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>God chose the elect from before the foundation of the world to be saved through faith in Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 1 above)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>This does not mean that God chose some from the foundation of the world to go to hell.<ul><li><strong><sup>41\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>\u201cThen He will say to those on His left,\u00a0\u2018Depart from Me, you\u00a0cursed, into\u00a0the eternal fire prepared for\u00a0the devil and his angels. <strong>Matthew 25:41<\/strong><ul><li>\u201cIf men go to hell, they go to a place originally not prepared for them. \u2018Hell was originally not built for men.\u2019\u201d Pieper, III:498.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><ul><li>How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! <strong>Matthew 23:37<\/strong><\/li><\/ul><ul><li>\u201cAll day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people.\u201d <strong>Romans 10:21 (Isaiah 65:2)<\/strong><\/li><\/ul><ul><li>\u201cWhat if God, desiring to show His wrath and to make known His power, has endured <em>with much patience (longsuffering)<\/em> vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of His glory for vessels of mercy, which <em>He prepared <strong>beforehand<\/strong> for glory.\u201d<\/em> <strong>Romans 9:23-24.<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Compare Acts 13:46 and 13:48.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The doctrine of election regards only the elect to salvation, not those who go to hell.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Election can never be removed from Christ\u2019s suffering, death, and resurrection nor from the means of grace, God\u2019s Word and Sacraments, nor from faith in Christ through the ministry of the Holy Spirit through the Word and Sacraments. See Third Article of the Apostles Creed in Small Catechism.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The doctrine of election protects the doctrine of justification by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone, apart from our works.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong><sup>4\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>But what is God&#8217;s reply to him?\u00a0\u201cI have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.\u201d\u00a0<strong><sup>5\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>So too at the present time there is\u00a0a remnant, chosen by grace.\u00a0<strong><sup>6\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace. <strong>Romans 11:4-6.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The doctrine of election affirms <em>universal grace<\/em> and <em>grace alone.<\/em><ul><li>Universal grace is the doctrine that God sent Christ to die for the sins of the whole world, that Christ made atonement for all sins, and that God desires all people to be saved.<ul><li><strong>John 3:16<\/strong>:For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten\u00a0Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li><strong>1 John 2:1-2<\/strong>And if anyone sins,\u00a0we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.\u00a0<strong><sup>2\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>And\u00a0He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but\u00a0also for the whole world.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li><strong>1 Timothy 2:3-4:<\/strong> For this\u00a0<em>is<\/em>\u00a0good and acceptable in the sight\u00a0of God our Savior,\u00a0<sup>4\u00a0<\/sup>who desires all men to be saved\u00a0and to come to the knowledge of the truth.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li><strong>2 Peter 3:9:<\/strong> The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li><strong>Ezekiel 33:11:<\/strong> \u2018<em>As<\/em>\u00a0I live,\u2019 says the Lord\u00a0God,\u00a0\u2018I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked\u00a0turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For\u00a0why should you die, O house of Israel?\u2019<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Grace alone means that only those chosen by God and led by the Holy Spirit can persevere in the faith and be saved.<ul><li><strong>John 6:44: \u201c<\/strong>No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me\u00a0draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.\u201d<\/li><\/ul><ul><li><strong>Acts 13:48:<\/strong> And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and <em>as many as were appointed<\/em> to eternal life believed.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li><strong>1 Corinthians 12:3:<\/strong> no one can say \u201cJesus is Lord\u201d except in the Holy Spirit.<\/li><\/ul>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>1 Corinthians 2:14:<\/strong> The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are\u00a0folly to him, and\u00a0he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The seeming conflict in these two doctrines, universal grace and grace alone, cannot be reconciled through human reasoning. Scripture does not reveal to us why the damned refuse God\u2019s grace while others are saved by God\u2019s grace.<ul><li><strong>Romans 11:33-35:<\/strong> 33 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!<br>34 \u201cFor who has known the mind of the Lord,<br>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 or who has been his counselor?\u201d<br>35 \u201cOr who has given a gift to him<br>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 that he might be repaid?\u201d<\/li><\/ul>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Isaiah 55:8-9:<\/strong> For my thoughts are not your thoughts,<br>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0neither are your ways my ways, declares the\u00a0Lord.<br><strong><sup>9\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>For as the heavens are higher than the earth,<br>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0so are my ways higher than your ways<br>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0and my thoughts than your thoughts.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>This doctrine comforts Christians who trust in the Gospel, yet also warns those who would forsake the means of Grace, God\u2019s Word and Sacraments, or who would continue in sin as if it doesn\u2019t matter. (2 Peter 1:10)\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? 33 Who shall bring any charge against God&#8217;s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died\u2014more than that, who was raised\u2014who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written,<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cFor your sake we are being killed all the day long;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. <strong>Romans 8:31-37<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>See also John 10:29 and Matthew 16:18<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Formula of Concord<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Epitome<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\u201cTo begin with, the distinction between God\u2019s foreknowledge and His eternal predestination ought to be kept accurately.\u201d 2.<ul><li>\u201cGod\u2019s foreknowledge is nothing else than this: God knows all things before they happen, as it is written in Daniel 2:28, \u2018But there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries\u2026\u2019 This foreknowledge extends over the godly and the wicked alike. \u2026 it is not what causes people to do wrong\u2026 Nor does it cause their ruin, for which they themselves are responsible. But foreknowledge only regulates this and fixes a limit on their ruin\u2026.\u201d 3.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>\u201cPredestination, or God\u2019s eternal election, covers only the godly, beloved children of God. It is a cause of their salvation, which He also provides. \u2026 Our salvation is founded so firmly on it that the gates of hell cannot overcome it. (John 10:28; Matthew 16:18)\u201d 5.<\/li><\/ul>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\u201cIt is not to be investigated in God\u2019s secret counsel. It is to be sought in God\u2019s Word, where it is revealed. God\u2019s Word leads us to Christ, who is the Book of Life, in whom all are written and elected who are to be saved in eternity. For it is written in Ephesians 1:4, \u2018Even as He chose us in Him [Christ] before the foundation of the world.\u2019\u201d 6-7.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u201cChrist calls all sinners to Himself and promises them rest. He is eager &lt;seriously wills> that all people should come to Him and allow themselves to be helped.\u201d 8.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u201cWe should not reach conclusions about our election to eternal life based on reason or God\u2019s Law.\u201d 9.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u201cThe true judgment about predestination must be learned alone from the Holy Gospel about Christ, in which it is clearly testified, \u2018For God has consigned all to disobedience, that He may have mercy on all [Romans 11:32]; not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance\u2019 [2 Peter 3:9, and believe in the Lord Christ. (See also Ezekiel 18:23; 33:11, 18; 1 John 2:2.)\u201d 10.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The Proper Order of Looking at Predestination.<\/strong><ul><li>\u201cNow, let whoever is concerned about God\u2019s revealed will act on the order that St. Paul has described in the Epistle to the Romans. Paul<ul><li>First directs people to repentance [Romans 1-2],<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>(2) to knowledge of sins [Romans 3:1-20],<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>(3) to faith in Christ [Romans 3:21-5:21],<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>(4) to divine obedience [Romans 6-8).<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>(5) Then he speaks of the mystery of God\u2019s eternal election [Romans 9-11].<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>This doctrine is useful and consolatory to the person who proceeds in this way.\u201d 11.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u201cHowever, \u2018many are called, but few are chosen\u2019 [Matthew 22:14]. This does not mean that God is unwilling to save everybody. \u2026 There wickedness is responsible for this&lt;that they perish>, not God or His election (2 Peter 2:1-3; Luke 11:49-52; Hebrews 12:25-26) 12.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u201c<strong><em>A Christian should concern himself &lt;in meditation> with the article about God\u2019s eternal election only as far as it has been revealed in God\u2019s Word.<\/em><\/strong> His Word presents Christ to us as the Book of Life, which He opens and reveals to us <em>by the preaching of the Gospel<\/em>, as it is written in Romans 8:30, \u2018And those whom He predestined He also called.\u2019 In Him we are to seek the eternal election of the Father, who has determined His eternal divine counsel [Ephesians 1:11-12] <em>that He would save no one except those who know His Son Christ and truly believe in Him.<\/em>\u201d 13.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u201cIn other words, we know that out of pure grace, without any merit of our own, we have been elected in Christ to eternal life. No one can pluck us out of His hand [John 10:29]. He has not only promised this gracious election with mere words, but has also certified it with an oath and <em>sealed it with the Holy Sacraments.\u201d<\/em> 13.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u201cOut of pure mercy alone, without any of our merits, He saves us according to the purpose of His will. No reason is given to anyone for despair or a vulgar, wild life.\u201d 15.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u201cTherefore, we reject the following errors: 16.<ul><li>God is unwilling that all people repent and believe the Gospel. 17.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>When God calls us to Himself, He is not eager that all people should come to Him. 18.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>God is unwilling that everyone should be saved. But some\u2014without regard to their sins, from God\u2019s mere counsel, purpose, and will\u2014are chosen for condemnation so that they cannot be saved. 19.<\/li><\/ul>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Something in us causes God\u2019s election\u2014not just God\u2019s mercy and Christ\u2019s most holy merit\u2014because of which God has elected us to everlasting life. 20.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>This statement precludes <em>intuitu fidei<\/em>, \u201cin view of faith,\u201d which teaches that God chose us according to His foreknowledge that we would have faith in Christ.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Solid Declaration<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\u201cFirst, the distinction between God\u2019s eternal foreknowledge and the eternal election of His children to eternal salvation is to be made carefully.\u201d 4.<ul><li>\u201cForeknowledge or prevision means that God sees and knows everything before it happens.\u201d Cites Matthew 10:29; Psalm 139:16; Isaiah 37:28<\/li><\/ul>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\u201cGod\u2019s eternal election, or predestination, means God\u2019s preordaining to salvation. It does not include both the godly and the wicked, but only God\u2019s children, who were elected and ordained to eternal life before the world\u2019s foundation was laid.\u201d Ephesians 1:4-5<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u201cGod\u2019s foreknowledge foresees and foreknows what is evil, yet not in the sense that it is God\u2019s gracious will that evil should happen. Everything that the perverse, wicked will of the devil and of people wants and desires to try and do, God sees and knows before it happens. His foreknowledge preserves order also in wicked acts or works, since a limit and measure is fixed by God for the evil that God does not will. He limits how far it should go, how long it should last, and when and how He will hinder and punish it.\u201d (Psalm 103:19; 1 Corinthians 2:7) 6.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u201cThe beginning and cause of evil is not God\u2019s foreknowledge. (For God does not create and do evil, neither does He help or promote it.) The cause of this evil is the wicked, perverse will of the devil and of people,\u201d (Hosea 13:9; Psalm 5:4) 7.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u201cGod\u2019s eternal election does not just foresee and foreknow the salvation of the elect. From God\u2019s gracious will and pleasure in Christ Jesus, election is a cause that gains, works, helps, and promotes our salvation and what belongs to it.\u201d (Matthew 16:18; John 10:28-29; Acts 13:48) 8.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>This too precludes <em>intuitu fidei<\/em>, that God chose us because he foresaw our faith. \u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u201cIn this matter we should not judge according to our reason, or according to the Law or from any outward appearance. Neither should we attempt to investigate the secret, concealed depth of divine predestination. Instead, we should listen to God\u2019s revealed will. For He has made \u2018known to us the mystery of His will\u2019 (Ephesians 1:9) and made it clear through Christ so that it might be preached (2 Timothy 1:9). 26.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u201cThis is revealed to us in the way Paul says \u2018those whom He predestined [elected and foreordained] He also called\u2019 (Romans 8:30) <em>God does not call without means, but through His Word<\/em>.\u201d (Luke 24:47; 2 Corinthians 5:20; Matthew 22:2-14; Matthew 20:3-6) 27.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u201cJust as the preaching of repentance is universal, so also the promise of the Gospel is universal, that is, it belongs to all people.\u201d (Luke 24:47; John 3:16; John 1:29; John 6:51; 1 John 1:7; 1 John 2:2; Matthew 11:28; Romans 11:32; 2 Peter 3:9; Romans 10:12; Romans 3:22; John 6:40; Mark 16:15) 28.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u201cIf we abide by this teaching and cling to it, it is a very useful, saving, consoling teaching. It establishes very effectively the article that we are justified and saved without any works and merits of ours, purely out of grace alone, for Christ\u2019s sake. Before the time of the world, before we existed, yes, even before the foundation of the world was laid\u2014when, of course, we could do nothing good\u2014we were chosen by grace in Christ to salvation, according to God\u2019s purpose (Romans 9:11; 2 Timothy 1:9). <em>Furthermore, all opinions and erroneous teachings about the powers of our natural will are overthrown by this. God in His counsel, before the time of the world, decided and ordained that He Himself would produce and work in us by His Holy Spirit\u2019s power. Through the Word, He would do everything that belongs to our conversion.<\/em>\u201d 43.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Again, refutes <em>intutitu fidei.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u201cNo injustice is done to those who are punished and receive the wages of their sins.\u201d 61.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u201cAs soon as [Paul] comes to the point where he shows what God has reserved for His hidden wisdom about this mystery, he suppresses and cuts it off with the following words, \u2018Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and how inscrutable His ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord?\u2019 [Romans 11:33-34] In other words, we cannot know about matters outside of and beyond what God has revealed to us in His Word.\u201d 64.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u201cThis eternal election of God is to be considered in Christ, and not outside of or without Christ. For \u2018in Christ,\u2019 the apostle Paul testifies, \u2018He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world,\u2019 as it is written, \u2018He has blessed us in the Beloved\u2019 (Ephesians 1:4, 6).\u201d 65.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u2018\u201cNo one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him.\u2019 (John 6:44) However, the Father will not do this without means, but has ordained His Word and Sacraments for this purpose as ordinary means and instruments. <em>It is not the will of the Father or of the Son that a person should not hear or should despise the preaching of His Word and wait for the drawing of the Father without the Word and Sacraments.\u201d<\/em> 76.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u201cEvery poor sinner should therefore attend to the Word, hear it attentively, and not doubt the Father\u2019s drawing. For the Holy Spirit will be with His Word in His power, and will work by it. That is the Father\u2019s drawing.\u201d 77.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u201cThe reason why not all who hear the Word believe, and some are therefore deeply condemned, is not because God had begrudged them their salvation. It is their own fault.\u201d 78.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u201cGod punishes sin with sin.\u201d 83.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u201cGod did harden Pharaoh\u2019s heart. In other words, Pharaoh always sinned again and again and became more hardened the more he was warned. That was a punishment of his earlier sin and horrible tyranny that in many and various ways he acted inhumanly toward the children of Israel against his heart\u2019s accusations. God caused His Word to be preached and His will to be proclaimed to Pharaoh. Nevertheless, Pharaoh willfully stood up immediately against all rebukes and warnings. Therefore, God withdrew His hand from him, Pharaoh\u2019s heart became hardened and stubborn, and God executed His judgment on him.\u201d 85.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Therefore it is false and wrong when it is taught that not only God\u2019s mercy and Christ\u2019s most holy merit, but also something in us is a cause of God\u2019s election, on account of which God has chosen us to eternal life.\u201d 87. Romans 9:11-13<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u201cIf anyone presents the teaching about God\u2019s gracious election in such a way that troubled Christians cannot get comfort out of it, but are pushed to despair; or if anyone teaches it so that the impenitent are confirmed in their sinfulness, then it is undoubtedly sure and true that such a doctrine is not taught according to God\u2019s Word and will.\u201d 91.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Christian Dogmatics, by Francis Pieper<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\u201cChristians can and should know and be certain of their eternal election.\u201d III:481.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u201cNo one can have any assurance of eternal election so long as he in one way or another limits universal grace.\u201d III:482.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u201cEvery poor sinner, therefore, who keeps his faith focused on the Gospel, without any side glances in the direction of the Law, is <em>eo ipso<\/em> believing in his eternal election. <em>In short, the recognition of one\u2019s election and faith in the Gospel are identical<\/em>.\u201d III:483.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Romans 8:32-33. \u201cAnd only this fact, that the knowledge of one\u2019s election <em>coincides<\/em> with faith in the Gospel, explains the other fact, that Scripture addresses the believers in the Gospel as the elect.\u201d III:483.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Intuitu fidei<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">(Lat. \u201cin view of faith\u201d). Phrase often used in the Predestinarian* Controversy that burst upon conservative Lutheranism in Am. ca. 1880. The expression had been adopted by Luth. theologians chiefly through influence of A. Hunnius.* In opposing the Calvinistic view that the election of God is absolute, Hunnius and others taught that divine election is not absolute, but that God chose people for eternal life \u201cin view of faith.\u201d The term may have the meaning that God, in electing people to salvation, included faith in the decree of election, resolving to lead men to heaven through faith. But it came to mean that God chose certain people for salvation because of the faith which He foresaw they would have; in this view, faith is a cause of election, the factor which \u201cexplains\u201d the mystery of predestination*; this contradicts complete and free grace. The terra fell into disuse in the Missouri Synod as a result of the Predestinarian Controversy. There is no Scripture warrant for it, and though the phrase is capable of correct interpretation, it can be seriously misunderstood. The Chicago* Theses, in the 1928 revision, opposed use of the term, as did the 1938 Declaration of the Representatives of the Am. Luth. Church (see American Lutheran Church, V). The Brief* Statement of the Doctrinal Position of the Missouri Synod, par. 36: \u201cNor does Holy Scripture know of an election &#8216;by foreseen faith,&#8217; &#8216;in view of faith,&#8217; as though the faith of the elect were to be placed before their election; but according to Scripture the faith which the elect have in time belongs to the spiritual blessings with which God has endowed them by His eternal election.\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/cyclopedia.lcms.org\/definitions?filter=INTUITU%20FIDEI&amp;mode=filter&amp;page=0&amp;definition=1197DF84-B266-EE11-9148-0050563F0205\">https:\/\/cyclopedia.lcms.org\/definitions?filter=INTUITU%20FIDEI&amp;mode=filter&amp;page=0&amp;definition=1197DF84-B266-EE11-9148-0050563F0205<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\u201cOn the relation of faith to election there has been much dissension since the end of the sixteenth century. \u2026 We must distinguish between the relation of faith to the eternal decree of predestination and the relation which Scripture assigns to faith in the execution of this decree in time.\u201d Pieper, III:485.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u201cLater Lutherans and Calvinists miss the mark. The former (later Lutherans) regard abiding faith, as logically preceding the eternal election and as its cause, for they teach that God chose those persons of whom He foresaw that they would remain in faith to the end (election <em>intuitu fidei finalis<\/em>). The latter (Calvinists) date faith, even in eternity, <em>after<\/em> the election, claiming that faith, like Christ\u2019s merit, is solely a part of the execution of the <em>absolute<\/em> predestination. Over against both these positions it must be maintained that in electing the Christians, God resolved to favor them with the gift of faith in the Gospel and thus to single them out of the world.\u201d Pieper, III:485.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u201cGod chose them by deciding to bless them by faith. Accordingly, God did not choose them absolutely, that is, without means, but, \u2018through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth\u2019 (2 Thess. 2:13).\u201d Pieper, III: 486. \u00a0\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/jackkilcrease.com\/justification-after-the-formula-of-concord\/#0bfa8054-8edd-4d5a-957c-5e90edb3e406-link\">https:\/\/jackkilcrease.com\/justification-after-the-formula-of-concord\/#0bfa8054-8edd-4d5a-957c-5e90edb3e406-link<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Conclusion<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The doctrine of election is the biblical teaching that God chose us in Christ Jesus to have faith in Him through the ministry of the Holy Spirit through the Gospel and Sacraments. This doctrine maintains universal grace and grace alone. It does not explain why some are not elect. It is supports and reaffirms the Gospel, and so gives great comfort to those who believe the Gospel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Pastor James Preus| Trinity Lutheran Church| August 20, 2026 Heavenly Father, May the doctrine of election taught, in Holy Scripture drive us closer to Jesus through the ministry of the Holy Spirit in Word and Sacrament, so that we may be evermore confident in our eternal salvation, because you chose us in Christ Jesus&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/index.php\/2026\/08\/20\/episode-69-predestination-the-comforting-doctrine-of-election\/\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[642],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7292","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-latest-bible-study-podcast"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7292","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7292"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7292\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7295,"href":"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7292\/revisions\/7295"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7292"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7292"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7292"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}