| Salvation: Man's Choice or God's Choice?
by Stephanie Vanderhoof April 10, 2005 Can you choose God, or must God choose you? It seems there has been a great misconception among those professing to be Christians concerning the answer to this question. For a certain period of my life, I myself was caught up in the confusion. First, let me give a brief description of what is referred to as "free will". The doctrine of free will holds that men have the power in and of themselves to choose Christ and become saved. According to this idea, all you have to do is "accept the Lord" by saying the "Sinner's Prayer", and, as long as you really meant it, you're a child of God! Furthermore, to assure you later on if you should have doubts, you are encouraged to write down in the front cover of your Bible the date you said this prayer, so that you can look back at it and know you have nothing to fear. In this way, many people are deceived into believing they have a right relationship with God, when in truth, they do not. It also creates confusion for those who keep questioning whether or not they really "meant it". This is the situation in which I found myself for several years. As I was growing up, I listened to Family Radio, which supports the doctrine of election (that is, the idea that God chooses those people He desires to save, apart from any "good works" they might do). However, I also attended a church each week that taught the free will doctrine. When I was 8 or 9 years old, I prayed something similar to the Sinner's Prayer, and expected that I was saved, automatically. I went forward in a church service, and was later baptized. However, it was not long before doubts began to arise in my heart, and I wondered if I was in fact, truly saved. So I said the Sinner's Prayer again, hoping this time that I really meant it. Nevertheless, the doubts continued for several years. In high school, even though it was a public school, we had a Bible Study club that met after school once a week. Sometimes, teachers who professed to be Christians attended, or contributed material for review. Once, a teacher provided an article he had written in support of free will. By this time, I had a better understanding of the differences between election and free will. Thus, I was finding things in that article that I did not think were true, though I had not as yet made a firm decision either way. So one day after school I met with him and discussed the issue. I brought up certain verses, including these verses in Romans 9:13-16 that deal with God choosing Jacob instead of Esau: "As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid. For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy." These did not change his mind, however, and kept me in the same state of doubt about my salvation, and uncertainly about the issue of election vs. free will. Later on in high school, I went on a retreat with my church youth group. During the retreat, the individual church groups met together every night. On one of those nights, our leaders asked us on a scale of 1-10, how sure we were that we would go to heaven if we died. I was very honest in my reply, and said I wasn't really very sure. They suggested that I say the Sinner's Prayer again, making sure I meant it. Though I was skeptical, because doing this had not seemed to give me assurance before, I did. The following night, they asked me again whether I felt sure I was saved, and I said I was sure. However, it was only really a wishful reply, as I hoped that I was indeed truly saved this time, and tried to get myself to believe it. As before, however, I still doubted. It came time to fill out college applications, and I wanted to attend a Christian university. On one of the applications, it asked for the date I became saved, and how I knew I was saved. Well, even though I still was not completely sure, I was hopeful - plus I really wanted to be considered for admission to this college. Therefore, I filled out the date when I was 9 years old as the date I was saved, and said that my life displayed the "fruit of the Spirit" as the way I knew I was saved. In my heart, though, I still doubted. During the first term of my freshman year in attendance at that college, I had a Bible class called "The Christian Life," which taught the doctrine of salvation, among other doctrines. It, like my church, taught mostly from a free will perspective, along with a twisted view of election (that is, the idea that God chose people before the foundation of the world because He knew they would one day accept Him). Since I was still in doubt of my salvation, and really wanted to clear up the matter, I decided to meet with the professor. Unfortunately, he gave me pretty much the same advice as others I had consulted with before, so I said the Sinner's Prayer again. Then I again felt hopeful that perhaps this time it had "worked". But of course, the Sinner's Prayer does not save, so I was again disappointed. The doubts continued for another year or so, but then something happened - my approach to the issue changed. Instead of holding onto what I had done (saying the Sinner's Prayer), I let God work in me as He pleased: "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast". Ephesians 2:8-9 When this happened, I gradually came to see that God had indeed saved me; He had given me a desire to learn more about Him, to abhor sin in my life when I recognized it, and to follow His commands. Now I have the so-longed-for assurance that He has made me His child. "And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments." 1 John 2:3 Can we, of ourselves, choose God, or must He choose us? I'll let the Scripture speak for itself: "Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain" John 15:16 |