The Doctrines of Grace - Unconditional Election

First off, if you did not review my notes on Total Depravity, Unconditional Election will not make much sense to you. So please review those notes first. The Doctrines of Grace build upon each other starting with the doctrine of Total Depravity. Here is the Link to Total Depravity:

http://systematicmaniac.blogspot.com/2012/11/the-doctrines-of-grace-total-depravity.html

Lets start by a reading the first couple verses of John 17.  This is a glorious text that Martin Luther called the “Holy of Holies”.  It is the high priestly prayer of our Lord Jesus.

John 17

¹ Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, ² as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him. ³ And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. ⁴ I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do. ⁵ And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.

Introduction
George Mueller is one of the great bright spots in the history of the Christian church.  He was a contemporary of Charles Spurgeon (Mid 1800s).  He was a man that Spurgeon himself considered a great model of faith and prayer. He was the founder of orphanages in England that provided for thousands of children and to this day around the world Christians still recognize his name.  It is unfortunate, however, that very few of these same people who identify his name are mindful of the theological underpinnings that sustained his great work of faith.  In 1829, when he was just 24 years of age, he had an experience that profoundly changed his life.  In his autobiography he recalls it as the occasion, I quote; “I came to prize as the bible alone as my standard of judgment”.  Here are the words of his own testimony:
Reflecting on the Doctrines of Grace, Muller wrote his diary (1829) the following:

"Before this period I had been much opposed to the doctrines of election, particular redemption, and final persevering grace; so much so that, a few days after my arrival at Teignmouth, I called election a devilish doctrine. I did not believe that I had brought myself to the Lord, for that was too manifestly false; but yet I held, that I might have resisted finally. And further, I knew nothing about the choice of God's people, and did not believe that the child of God, when once made so, was safe for ever. In my fleshly mind I had repeatedly said, If once I could prove that I am a child of God for ever, I might go back into the world for a year or two, and then return to the Lord, and at last be saved. But now I was brought to examine these precious truths by the word of God. Being made willing to have no glory of my own in the conversion of sinners, but to consider myself merely as an instrument; and being made willing to receive what the Scriptures said; I went to the Word, reading the New Testament from the beginning, with a particular reference to these truths. To my great astonishment I found that the passages which speak decidedly for election and persevering grace, were about four times as many as those which speak apparently against these truths; and even those few, shortly after, when I had examined and understood them, served to confirm me in the above doctrines. As to the effect which my belief in these doctrines had on me, I am constrained to state for God's Glory, that though I am still exceedingly weak, and by no means dead to the lusts of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life as I might be, as I ought to be, yet by the grace of God, I have walked more closely with him since that period.  My life is not been so variable, and I may say that I've lived much more for God then before.” 

Now as we begin, I realize that not every Christian will agree with what I have to say on the doctrine of election.  It is the doctrine that carries with it much baggage of controversy.  And for that reason alone, some Christians think it's the better part of wisdom to avoid it at all costs.  But let me ask you, are there any significant Biblical teachings that have remained without controversy?  If you have any acquaintance with the Christian church at all, than your answer will be; "of course not"!  Whether we're talking about the triune nature of the Godhead, justification by faith alone, the personhood of the Holy Spirit, the deity of Jesus Christ, or the content of the canonical scriptures, as Christians, we have never had the luxury of living in a world where the most nourishing of Biblical truths have lived without opposition.  And so, when someone expresses the sentiment such as the following...  "I don't like to talk about a particular doctrine because it is controversial", we are not confronted, at that point, with an expression of great piety or Godliness, but rather in most cases the display of Biblical laziness, and in all cases, a manifestation of immaturity and ignorance.  If your commitment is to feed your soul on only those spiritual truths that have been or are presently noncontroversial, you'll find yourself staring at an empty plate.

I readily acknowledge the controversy surrounding the doctrine of election.  I readily acknowledge that it is possible for a Christian to not embrace the doctrine of election.  I readily acknowledge that John Calvin will not be at heaven's gate to determine your fitness for entrance into heaven, by means of your ability to adequately articulate the doctrine of election.  Yet after all my concessions let me say this:  The doctrine of election is to be sure, one of the most foundational truths in all of the sacred scriptures.  And for this very reason you can be absolutely certain of one thing; to either ignore this truth or to disagree with it is to inevitably impede the ongoing maturity of your spiritual life.  That is true with any significant doctrine in the scriptures.  If you ignore it, if you disagree with it, you will suffer of the consequences of that.  It is never wise to assume that there is no cost associated with the neglect of the truth of the Word of God.  Whether that neglect is intentional or inadvertent, there is a price to be paid when we distance ourselves from God's truth.  This is what fuels my passion on your behalf.  I have no burden to get you to pass a theological examination on the Westminster confession of faith.  My burden for you is far more rudimentary. 

Let me put it to you this way...”Teach Me”

Jack Nicholas, who until the last maybe 10 years, was considered to be the most dominant player in golf.  In fact many called him the most dominant player that the golfing world had ever known.  Every year before the golf season began, Nicholas would return to his original golf instructor, he handed him his golf clubs, and said..."Teach me to play golf".  Take me back to the basics.  Take me back to the things that are rudimentary for sure, but without which, all the advancement is compromised.  That is all I'm saying to you.  This is the very thing that we as Christians have to repeatedly do.  We have to return to our teacher, the Spirit of Truth. We have to place the Word of God into his hands, as it were, and say to him, “teach me again to think like a Christian”.  I need the most rudimentary things.  This means to allow the plain and simple truths of the scripture to have their way with me.  And this is what the doctrine of election is.  It is a plain and simple truth of scripture, that if left out, the Christian will be stunted in adolescence.  This is why we began by reading the testimony of George Mueller.  This has been my own testimony.  You've heard it said that there's nothing more obnoxious then a converted drunk...  Try a converted Armenian!  Converted Armenians become flaming Calvinists.  And why is this the case?  Because they come to discover that not just the doctrine of election is the plain and simple teaching of the Word of God, but they come to experience, in a firsthand way, that this doctrine feeds the soul, it expands the mind, it strengthens the heart.  It fuels our worship. It intensifies our courage.  It motivates our efforts.  

So, as we began to study the doctrine of election, we need to do so with a measure of precision.  What do I mean by this?

In a very real sense, every Christian believes that God chooses some people to be saved.  Unless a person is a Universalist; believing that all people everywhere will be eternally saved, in which case, I wonder if they could even be a Christian.  So, unless a person is a Universalist, he believes the testimony of the Word of God, which indicates, that not all people will be saved.  Moreover, as he gives himself to reading the Word of God, he can't help but notice the frequency in which certain words appear over and over again.  For example, in the Old Testament the Hebrew word “Bahar” translated "to choose", "to elect",  "to decide", is used nearly 100 at times, with clear reference to God's sovereign choice, God's divine initiative.  It is used to express the choosing that carries with it ultimate eternal significance.

And when you come to the New Testament, will find the Greek word, Exelexato, and its related terms used nearly 50 times.  Translated "to elect", "to choose", "the elect", "election".  So, as we think about all these things, even though every bias of our being might incline us to think to the contrary, we can't bring ourselves to deny the obvious language of the bible.  The question then for the honest reader of the scriptures is not..."Does God choose some and not others" but rather "On what basis does God choose some and not others.

In 1610, the followers of James Arminius gave a novel answer...  God has chosen certain individuals to be saved on the basis on his foreknowledge of what they will do by their own powers of self determination.  That is to say, God's choice of a particular person is conditioned upon that person's prior choice of him.  Listen to the explanation of the more contemporary Armenian. A former professor at Dallas theological seminary…

He writes: “by election, we mean that sovereign act of god in Grace where by he chooses those in Christ Jesus, for salvation, all those whom he foreknew would accept him.”  

This is classic Armenian theology.  This view is flawed at two obvious points:

1. It fails to recognize what we've discussed already about total depravity.  Namely, that Sin has rendered a person unable to respond to God in any positive fashion. This is why an Armenian must always direct their assault against total depravity.
2. Such a view makes a mockery of plain and simple language.

I'm not trying to be unduly harsh but there is no other way of saying it.  The bible clearly and repeatedly uses language of "choosing" to speak of the saving action of God.  In the Armenian understanding, God in the end, does no real choosing at all.  He simply ratifies the sinner’s pre- known choice.  The most we can say is that God places his stamp of approval or lends his agreement to what he foresees will happen.  In other words, God looks into the future and he sees that I will believe the gospel, and in response to my foreknown decision. God then says “that's great David! Because of your choice to exercise faith in Jesus Christ, I now have a basis upon which to choose you to be saved.”  Does this reflect the teaching of the word of God?

Again, we need to be very precise concerning the real question to be answered.  The state of the question itself is very important.  

It is not: Does God choose some sinners to be saved?

But rather: Is God's choice conditioned upon the foreseen faith of a sinner?  Or to state it more simply... On what basis does God choose to save some?

Is it something in the Sinner? A virtue of some kind?  An expression of faith that ultimately proves to be meritorious?  

Or, is this choice of God altogether unconditional, and is determined by nothing other than His own good pleasure, purpose and will.

I will take a stab at answering this question for you beginning in the Gospel of John.  In part, because often the claim of the Armenians is that the Gospel of John, like no other book and the bible, presents the freewill of man in the clearest possible terms.  I personally find it to be amusing because it’s the Gospel of John, in my opinion, that clearly states the doctrine of election.  It's probably the biggest reason I stand today as reformed.  Like no other book in the bible, the Gospel of John speaks about the electing purposes of God.  If a person were to cut out all the verses that speak about God’s sovereign election, he'd need to cut and paste on most every page of the bible but the one book that would need to be most radically altered would be the Gospel of John.  Let's understand something that's very important. The doctrine of election is not John's ax to grind.  All of these words about sovereign election come at us from the words of Jesus himself. 

You know the setting of John 17. The public ministry of the Son of God has come to a close.  His much more intimate and private ministry with the disciples has also come to an end.  They leave the upper room and by the light of the moonlight they make their way to a familiar spot the garden of Gethsemane.  But before Jesus crosses the Kidron brook, into the garden of Gethsemane, he stops to pray, John tells us.  Did you ever wonder why?  According to the Jewish historian Josephus, the Kidron brook was, at this moment, running red with the blood of lambs. It was Passover week.  Thousands upon thousands of lambs were being sacrificed in the Kidron brook. The brook was the dump site for all of that residual blood.  Now, I speculate, but it may be that the sudden site of that blood stopped Jesus in his tracks.  A graphic vision of a violent death that foreshadowed His own, as the ultimate sacrificial lamb, and so he turns to pray. He says “Father the hour has come”.  This saving purpose has arrived on the calendar of redemptive history, at this predetermined moment… Jesus stops and prays.

Bear with me as I try to get this picture into your head.

Let's look at it… Jesus has a request that comes in two parts, an immediate part, and an ultimate part. 

The Immediate Part
1.) Glorify your Son
      Why? For what reason??  

Here's the Ultimate part.....  

2.) That Your Son may glorify you.  
      What does Jesus mean when he says “glorify your Son”?  

He's saying quite simply, put my Glory on display.  Reveal my Glory, expose my Glory, display my Glory, manifest my Glory.   

What does he mean by this?  

Well, whatever this means, you'll notice that it has direct relationship to this hour that had now come; the hour of his death. 

So, how is it that God glorified his Son in relationship to His sacrificial death?  What happened just a few hours after Jesus prayed this prayer?  

1.) The Pharisees and the army led by Judas, came to arrest Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane.  Jesus spoke one phrase... I AM...  And down they go!  It was a revelation of His Glory!
  
2.) What was the repeated testimony of Pontius Pilate to the jeering crowds in relationship to Jesus?  "I find no fault in this man".  It was a revelation of His Glory!  

3.) What was the repeated word of Pilate's wife after that nightmare?  "Have nothing to do with this righteous man".  It was a revelation of His Glory!  

4.) Even though it was the intention of Pilate's to take a shot at the religious leaders of Jerusalem, what did the plaque above Jesus read to the world? "The king of the Jews".  It was a revelation of His Glory!  

5.) What was the testimony of the thief on the cross? "we are receiving what we deserve, but this man has done nothing wrong." It was a revelation of His Glory!  

6.) And then that same thief turns to Jesus and says "remember me when you come into your kingdom." How does Jesus respond to that most simple expression of faith?  "Today you will be with me in paradise".  It was a revelation of His Glory!  

7.) Finely, when all was finished, John tells us that he pillowed his head and gave up his spirit.  But then what happened? The temple veil was torn in two, signifying that the old way to God was now obsolete. That one man's limited access to God through the sacrifice of an animal had now given way to a universal and unending intimacy with God through the sacrifice of his own son, Jesus Christ. It was a revelation of His Glory!  

8.) What was the conclusion of the roman centurion? "Truly this man was the Son of God".  It was a revelation of His Glory!    

"Father, the hour of atonement has come. Glorify me."  Did His Father respond to his prayer?  Everything that surrounded the cross served to reveal the Glory of Jesus Christ.  But of all I have reminded you, does this reflect the totality of the Father’s glorification of the Son? No!  The greatest revelation of the Glory of Jesus Christ came three days later when His Father raised him from the dead. Signifying what?... That the Father had accepted the Son's redemptive work.  He raised His Son from the dead, and for the next 40 days, put him on display for hundreds of witnesses to see, took him into heaven, set him at a place of supreme dignity in all of the universe, from which place, he then poured forth the purchased gift of a new covenant, the indwelling Holy Spirit.  What was it that John told us of the ministry of the Holy Spirit? Back in John chapter seven; in relationship to the ministry of Jesus, Jesus spoke of the Rivers of water that would flow from within a person. John says by this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believe in him, were later to receive.  Up to that time, the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.  
We hear this, "glorify me", and think from our flesh, isn't this a little self serving? Self promotion?? Not hardly! The answer to this request is the means to accomplishing a far greater objective. 

John 17:1
 ¹ Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You,

“Glorify your son”...  Now look at this, there is a purpose clause...  “So that your Son may glorify You.”  

Think of it this way.  It as if Jesus is saying...  Glorify me father, raise me from the dead, so that in turn, I will be able to glorify You. But how will the raising of Jesus from the dead be a means of glorifying his Father?  Because of the consequence of the resurrection of the dead. Jesus Christ would grant God's gift of eternal life to a particular group of people.  Look at it in verse 1...
Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, ² as You have given Him authority over all flesh (which can be translated all people), (so..(purpose statement)) that He should give eternal life to as many (or, all those) as You have given Him.

In eternity past, the triune God head, designed the plan of salvation and anticipated its accomplishment.  God the Father gave to his Son authority over all flesh.  And Jesus pronounces this most emphatically at the end of Matthew chapter 28:

¹⁸ And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 

This "authority" literally means absolute power, all rights to control, absolute authority.  But why has Jesus been given an absolute authority over all flesh? 

The answer is in the second part of a verse two in John 17...
"that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him."

Look with a measure of precision here...  Two gifts from the Father to the Son are mentioned in this verse.  

What is the first gift?

1.) Authority.  "You have given him authority"
Authority over whom?  Authority over all flesh.  To be precise at this point, Christ has not been given all flesh.  He has been given authority over all flesh.

Now notice the second gift that has been given from the Father to the Son.

2.) A group of people.  
A subset of people from the “all flesh” group mentioned in the prior phrase.  They are mentioned specifically as, "many as You have given Him".

So we have these two groups: all flesh, and those you have given him.
Let me ask you… What is the distinct relationship between Jesus Christ and both of these groups?  The group defined as all flesh, and the group defined as those that the father has given him? 
What is the relationship of the resurrected Christ to all flesh?  
Answer: Over them he has been granted authority.
What is the relationship of the resurrected Christ to the group defined as those who the Father has given him?  
Answer: To them, Jesus grants the gift of eternal life.

The logical structure of this could not be any more simplistic.  God has granted, to Jesus Christ, authority over all flesh so that in turn Jesus could grant eternal life to all those that the Father had given Him to save. 
There is an authority that is universal in order to effect a salvation that is particular.

All through this prayer we see the same idea conveyed.  

Take a look at vrs 6
⁶ “I have manifested (or revealed...that is, revealed you in a saving way) Your name (To whom?) to the men whom You have given Me out of the world. (notice… larger group - smaller group) They were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word.

Verse 9
⁹ “I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours. 

Verse 24
²⁴ “Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. 

This appears to be clear as day to me.  There is a small group taken out of a larger group to whom Jesus gives the gift of eternal life. Who are these people?  In every case it's the same.  “Those who the father has given to the son.”

Is this conditioned upon the foreknowledge of their faith?  We don't see that here by any stretch of the imagination.  It is very much like Eph 1 3-6

³ 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, ⁴ just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, ⁵ having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, ⁶ to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.

The source of election?  
He chose Us. 
Who is "He"? 
The Father.
The sphere of election?  
He chose us in Him.  
Who is “Him”?
Christ Jesus. 
The time of this Election? 
Before the foundation of the world.
The intention of this Election? 
That we should be Holy and blamless.
The basis for this election?
In accordance to his pleasure and his will.  Not anything within us.
The ultimate consequence of this Election?
To the praise of his glorious grace.  It is an election that is conditioned upon nothing but the pleasure of God himself.

So let’s summarize to this point…

The Father gives to his son authority over all flesh. For any reason in particular? So that Jesus may give eternal life to a group of people that were given to Him by His Father. Does anything we do factor into this arrangement? No! I would submit to you what we have going on here is an inter-Trinitarian transaction. Our faith is not a factor at all.

Lets look at John chapter 5...

In the first few verses Jesus performs a great sign. He heals a man who had been paralyzed for many years and he does so on the Sabbath day and that sparks a great controversy with the Pharisees. Jesus says I'm just doing what I see my father doing. In so doing he put himself on equal standing with God. Calling God his father. This of course makes the Pharisees very mad. Verse 19 we pick up the scene...

¹⁹ Jesus gave them this answer: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. ²⁰ For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, and he will show him even greater works than these, so that you will be amazed. ²¹ For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it. 

In the mind of a Jewish person one of the activities that defines God to be God is his ability to raise corpses from the dead. Jesus here draws an analogy between that and what he does. Notice verse 21... How much does the dead participate in this raising from the dead? Another words, just as corpses depend on the fathers sovereign voice to raise them from the dead, the recipients of eternal life depend on the Sovereign pleasure of the Son.

Mathew 11

Here we have Jesus preaching to the towns throughout Galilee and very few people respond to his preaching or the miracles. And suddenly Jesus stops cold in his tracks and he begins to worship. Listen to the content of his worship in verse 25...

²⁵ At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,(there is no spear in which God does not rule.) because (listen to the content of his Praise)you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. ²⁶ Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do.

What an amazing statement. Some say; “well you might believe in the doctrine of election but you should not ever talk about it.” Or; “you can believe in the doctrine of election but you shall never teach that doctrine.” Let me tell you this, after reading this verse, to Jesus, election was a cause for worship. Notice in this verse. God's sovereign revealing and his sovereign concealing. 'I praise you because you have hidden these things from the wise'. And because you have revealed them to the little children this was Your good pleasure. So Jesus gives the Father worship for those he chooses to save and those he does not choose to save.
Jesus goes on to say…

²⁷ “All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.

Is this election conditioned upon God's foreknowledge?  How could it be? You cannot know the father unless the Son is pleased to reveal him.

John 6:37

³⁷ All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. 

By the way, I find it very interesting that Jesus often speaks of the doctrine of Sovereign election in evangelistic context.  There are many that say you should not talk to unbelievers about election, we might not even want to talk to new Christians about election. Jesus totally blows those ideas out of the water. 
Who is it that Jesus will never drive away. Those who come to him. But who comes to him?  All those the Father gives to him. Here's the language of John 17 again.

I don't believe this to be rocket science. Which comes first people coming to Christ in faith or people being given to Christ by the father? These Verses make it very clear people come to Christ because they have been given to Jesus by the father hence election cannot be conditioned up on foreseen faith. 

John 6:44

⁴⁴ “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day.

Do you see the necessary precondition? Something must happen to a person before he possesses the ability to come to Christ. He must be drawn by the father. And if he is not drawn, the words of Jesus are simple, he cannot come in faith. This eliminates faith as a precondition of Election. In all that we have looked at, the initiative is always God's.

John 6:65

⁶⁵ He went on to say, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled them.”

This is very obvious language. However, please do not miss understand me.  No one will ever be saved who does not come to Jesus Christ. The doctrine of election in no way, undermines this fact. The doctrine of election simply states that those who come to Jesus Christ don't come by accident. They come by divine intention. In this case God's enablement triggers the human decision to come to Jesus Christ.

Next we read the Gentiles are converted… Luke writes....

Acts 13:48

⁴⁸ When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed.

Notice how different this is from the Armenian argument that wants to say the the converse.  “All who believe were appointed to eternal life.”

Again in Acts chapter 16....
When Lydia is converted Luke says...

Acts 16:14

14 One of those listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth. She was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message. 

Faith is not the precondition to the divine initiative. The divine initiative is the precondition of Faith.

John 8:45-47

45 Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! 46 Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? 47 Whoever belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.”

Jesus is challenging the Pharisees to their very core saying that their ethnic relationship to Abraham is not a basis for their confident standing before God. In this passage she says you belong to your father the devil in vrs 44.

From the Armenian perspective the logic of Jesus is backwards. From their perspective Jesus should have said. The reason you do not belong to God is because you do not hear and believe. Instead what Jesus says it is you do not hear and believe because you don't belong to God.

John 10:24-29

This is the passage about the Good Shepherd and his sheep. Here we have Jews surrounding Jesus saying ...

24 The Jews who were there gathered around him, saying, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.” 25 Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify about me, 26 but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. 27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.”

Notice that Jesus does not say you do not come to me because you do not believe. It’s the other way around. The reason that you do not believe is that you do not belong to me. Again, faith is not the cause of Election. Election is the cause of faith. There is a group of people who belong to Jesus Christ. How is it that they have come to belong to him? The message is clear they have been given to him by His Father.

Who are the “They and Them in this passage? The Sheep …and the evidence their election is believing in the Lord Jesus Christ. Faith is not the cause of election it is the evidence of election. 

Mathew 11

25 At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. 26 Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do.

To Jesus, election, was a cause for worship. Notice in this verse. God's sovereign revealing and his sovereign concealing. 'I praise you because you have hidden these things from the wise'. And because you have revealed them to the little children this was your good pleasure. So Jesus gives the father worship for those he chooses to save and those he does not choose to save.
Jesus goes on to say…

27 “All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.

Is this election conditioned upon God's foreknowledge? How could it be? You cannot know the Father unless the Son is pleased to reveal him.

John 6:37

37 All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. 

In the same Chapter a few verses later…

John 6:44

44 “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day.

In the same Chapter again as Jesus clarifies in case there was a misunderstanding….

John 6:65

65 He went on to say, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled them.”

Whatever your thoughts on what drawing in verse 44 means we can see without a doubt that The Father must initiate the process. But let me illuminate the word draw for you…

This verb (Gk. helkuō) helkuo, helko /hel•koo•o/ to draw, drag off. , to draw by inward power, lead, impel. is also translated “draw” in the sense of dragged (Acts 16:19; 21:30). 

19 But twhen her masters saw that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to the authorities.

30 And all the city was disturbed; and the people ran together, seized Paul, and dragged him out of the temple; and immediately the doors were shut. 

This thread weaves itself through the entirety of biblical revelation.

When we go to Genesis what do we see? God chooses one man. This is the very language that is used. God chose Abraham. Was it because Abraham was such a good guy? Was it because God foresaw that Abraham one day would exercise his faith? What do we see in Joshua chapter 24? Abraham and his family were idle worshippers. What we do see as the story of Abraham unfolds is not just the calling of one man, but the sovereign call of a nation through which God would bring Salvation to all the people groups of the world. 

So over and over again, particularly, in the book of Isaiah this nation, Israel, is referred to as “the chosen of God”. Why did God choose Israel?

1.) Because she competed with all the other nations and she won his favor? 
2.) Because God has anticipated the great faith said she would express toward him? 

No…. Deuteronomy 10 says the LORD set his affections on your fore fathers and loved them and he chose you.

Over again this testimony gets replayed. The reason that God chose Israel had nothing to do with anything good in Israel. It had everything to do with God's own holy heart. In Deuteronomy Chapter 7 God says “why did I love you?” “I love you because, I love you”. This is the language of romance.  This is the language of love… it doesn't matter if it makes sense. But it expresses the heart and here is what God is saying… I love you because I love you. 

So Israel becomes the chosen of God. Two things are clearly conveyed in the Old Testament… Israel is God's chosen son and God's chosen servant. But as more of the story unfolds, we discover that Israel fails miserably. This elect nation, as we learn, is not characterized by people who generally belong to God. Apostasy takes place, judgment occurs, the nation is taken into captivity with only a remnant of people belonging to God. 

Finally, in His mercy, God brings the exiles home, but as the New Testament opens up we are very mindful of the fact that there are promises given to Israel that are not yet fulfilled and then we come to the gospel of Matthew and good news is heralded. There is a man that God has chosen to be his Messiah. This language is used about Jesus over and over again as “the chosen one”. The true son of Abraham and David. He is set forth as God's Son, and He is set forth as God's servant. He is the true Israel, succeeding where the nation had failed. When His ministry begins He chooses 12 disciples, reconstituting the nation of Israel. Consequently, the people that belong to Him are referred to by designation… The church, the true sons of Abraham, the children of God. But perhaps the most definitive name of all… again and again in the New Testament, Christians are given the title from the Old Testament they are called “the chosen ones”.
I believe this doctrine is clearly here in the Old and New Testament if we bow our pride to it.

Finally, in Romans chapter 8, maybe the most glorious text on this doctrine, but I felt it necessary to make sure you heard this all from the mouth of Jesus himself… we all probably know this verse very well but sometimes misquote or strip it from its context.

Romans 8:28-30

²⁸ And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called(the original text reads… to those that are the called ones.) according to his purpose.(Paul now tells us what he means thus the next word “for”. This is where we strip the meaning right out of the correct contect.) ²⁹ For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. ³⁰ And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

Now you say; “oh I got you now!” “There it is God’s Foreknowledge”. “There’s the word right there.” I grant you that God knows all things ahead of time. You need to appreciate the fact that why God knows all things ahead of time, is because he ordained all things ahead of time. One can only foreknow what one has been predetermined. What does the text say? For those that God foreknew. Does it say that God foreknew the faith of the people and that they would exercise faith in His Son? No! Look very carefully here.The text says nothing about what(ie faith) God foreknew. It only speaks about whom he foreknew.  He knew a group of people. And whoever these people are, it is also said God predestines them, and justifies them, God calls them, God glorifies them. Another words, this is a group of people for whom God does everything. 
So what does the word “Foreknow” mean? Les’t break it down…What does the word “know” mean? 

Very often in the scriptures the word “Know” means so much more than mere cognition. It means to know in an intimate way. The very first use of the verb in the Old Testament…. Adam knew his wife. This word, in correct form, is talking about intimacy. Intimate relations… intimate knowledge… ect. . God uses the same word in regards to Israel. He says Amos 3:2 “you only have I known among all the families of the earth”. We know God is omniscient. He has all knowledge of all things. So the word “Know” is not about his knowing details. He is saying something different. He is saying of all the nations of this planet, I have entered into intimate relations with only you. 

Of course God knows all things past present future, but he is saying something different here in Romans.  Jesus uses this same word in Matthew chapter 7 when he says “depart from me you workers of iniquity I never knew you”. Of course he knew their name, he knew where they lived, but he never “knew” them intimately. No intimate relationship.

Foreknowledge defined correctly is…” to love before time”.

This is what the word means in this passage… “for those God loved intimately before time”.

Let’s read the passage again with this definition in mind…

²⁸ And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. ²⁹ For those God loved intimately before time, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. ³⁰ And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

I hope this clears up the misconception on what Foreknowledge is. It is not God just simply knowing what we would choose. In context and looking at what the word actually means brings great illumination to this passage.

Look at the next Chapter…

Paul says let me draw upon the illustration just gave to you.
Abraham had a couple of children God didn't choose the first born, Ishmael, he chose the second born Isaac. In the same way Isaac had a couple of children verse 10.

Romans 9:10-18

¹⁰ And not only this, but when Rebecca also had conceived by one man, even by our father Isaac ¹¹ (for the children not yet being born, nor having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works but of Him who calls), ¹² it was said to her, “The older shall serve the younger.” ¹³ As it is written, “Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated.”

Is God unjust? Paul is refuting the thought that an Armenian might have. “That's just not fair!”
Is God unjust? Not at all. Paul goes on to say….God says to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion. 

¹⁴ What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? Certainly not! ¹⁵ For He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion.” ¹⁶ So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy. ¹⁷ For the Scripture says to the Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth.” ¹⁸ Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens. 

It does not depend on man's desire or effort, but on God's mercy. This election is unconditional. I believe that embracing the “U” in the tulip acrostic means nothing more than you have come to a basic understanding of one simple biblical phrase “Salvation is of the Lord”.