God's Election and Human responsibility

Yesterday I posted a question a friend of mine recently asked me. I also posted the answer I gave to the question. That question and answer was the beginning of a longer conversation with many more questions and answers. Over the next few posts, I will continue to gives the question asked and the answer I gave. I pray these questions and answers are helpful, because they were extremely helpful for me, as I thought through what was asked and how the Bible answered the question.

What is the relationship between the electing work of God and the responsibility of man?

If I was to describe the relationship between election and human responsibility, I would turn to the illustration C.H. Spurgeon gave. This relationship is like standing on train tracks. Clearly, right at our feet, is two separate rails that are tied together by wood planks. This is how the Bible points to salvation. God clearly has His sovereign hand over His salvation and elects those unto salvation. Without the election of God, man would never be saved. But there is also a second rail in human responsibility. The Bible is clear with man’s responsibility and points to what man must do to be saved. Spurgeon then point to the fact, that if we look down the track towards the horizon, the two rails meld into one train track seen. This is how salvation works when looking at it from a distance. Salvation is not found apart from the election of God, yet humans are clearly responsible to do something.

God’s part in salvation, is made clear all throughout the Bible, specifically in the act of regeneration or “new life”. God the Holy Spirit regenerates people. Without the work of regeneration, no human would be saved. Regeneration produces faith, belief, and a new life full of new desires and affections in God. Regeneration is an act of God, that is part of the salvation process, which is also being born again (John 3:3-8). As R.C. Sproul so helpfully reminds us, in his book, Chosen by God, “dead men cannot make themselves come alive. Dead men cannot create spiritual life within themselves” (Ephesians 2:1-3) As he states later, “He [God] regenerates us; we cannot do it ourselves or even help Him with the task” (2010 pg. 220). Regeneration is an essential act of God in the salvation of His elect. God elects those whom he will regenerate (Titus 3:5). This is one, of multiple acts, that God alone will preform in the salvation of His elect. Regeneration, along with justification, adoption, election, redemption, propitiation, and reconciliation, showcase God’s sovereign hand over His salvation.

But the Bible is also clear, man is responsible to believe and have faith in God. The Bible repeatly calls man to repent of his sin. To repent is to “change your direction.” A sinner comes to the point of seeing his sin as God sees it. He turns from his sin to embrace salvation from sin in Christ (Acts 3:19, Acts 26:20). Repentance is part of the human responsibility. The Bible also is clear, man needs faith in God for salvation. Saving faith is an active trust in the redemptive work of Christ (Acts 16:31). It operates exclusively apart from works or the keeping of the law (Romans 3:28), because it is a free gift of God in regeneration. Faith is a response to the conviction of the Holy Spirit as described in John 16:8-11. Saving faith is the only means for salvation (salvation by faith alone) and is also a daily part of the life of a believer. Finally, the Bible is very clear on the good works that must be produced in the life of one who believes in Jesus. After the acts of repentance and saving faith, a person must bear fruit as they are now grafted into the vine of Life. As James teaches, faith without works is dead (2:14-26). John the Baptist shows the connection between repentance and bearing fruit as the assurance of salvation (Luke 3:1-14). I am not stating by this that you can know for sure a person is saved by the bearing of fruit in their lives, but that works along with the claim of faith is a good indicator. Works are simply the fruit of God’s salvation in the life of a person. The Bible is clear, humans are clearly responsible.

The relationship between God’s election in salvation and human responsibility will never be fully or perfectly understood. As Ephesians 2 states, “we are saved by grace through faith, but this is a gift from God”. As Sproul shows, “when God regenerates a human soul, when He makes us spiritually alive, we make choices. We believe. We have faith. We cling to Christ. Go does not believe for us. Faith is not monergistic” (2010 pg.222). The Bible is clear. God is sovereign over salvation and without his work, we would be lost. But we are also responsible to believe and have faith and without belief and faith in God, we stand condemned. Oh, what a beautiful things salvation is as God works in us for His good will and pleasure.