Audio Transcript

Unconditional election. Isn’t this just a dry doctrine for eggheads to discuss and debate? No, it’s not. We all need this doctrine, unconditional election, and that’s why unconditional election is a theme we’ve studied a dozen times on the podcast over the years. It’s this precious fact that “God’s choice of one person and not others is not based on any good deeds or any bad deeds in the persons themselves.” Let me say that again. “God’s choice of one person and not others is not based on any good deeds or any bad deeds in the persons themselves” (APJ 1302). God chooses his children unconditionally. That’s unconditional election.

But what practical value does such a doctrine hold for my life? That’s Chase’s question today: “Pastor John, hello and thank you for this podcast. My question is this: Can you tell me why believing in unconditional election matters? Isn’t this doctrine nitpicking, and divisive, more than edifying?”

Yes, it matters. No, it is not nitpicking. Yes, it could be divisive, but that’s not the fault of the doctrine; it’s the fault of the human heart. And yes, it is edifying. So, let me give ten reasons to answer Chase’s question, “Does it matter?”

“Grace is the very meaning of unconditional election — God’s free, gracious choice, not our qualifications.”

Now, what we mean by unconditional election — you could use the word selection if election has political sounds to you — is God’s free, gracious choice, before creation, of who it is that he will give faith and repentance to and thus pardon their sin and adopt them into his everlasting family. It’s an election or a selection not based on anything — not anything in us, not foreseen faith, not good works, not parentage, not national origin or race or ethnicity, not religious ritual like baptism or the Lord’s Supper. God’s selection is unconditional, based only on his all-wise, good pleasure — or as Ephesians 1:11 says, “The counsel of his will.”

So, just as you can pack an atom bomb into a very small missile, let me pack ten reasons that unconditional election matters into ten minutes.

1. Unconditional election is true.

It matters because it’s true. It’s what the Bible teaches.

Though [Jacob and Esau] were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad [they admit no conditions] — in order that God’s purpose of election might continue unconditionally [I added that word, but that’s implied], not because of works but because of him who calls — [Rebecca] was told, “The older will serve the younger.” (Romans 9:11–12)

[God] chose us in [Christ] before the foundation of the world. (Ephesians 1:4)

Jesus said,

All that the Father gives me will come to me. (John 6:37)

Yours they were, and you gave them to me. (John 17:6)

They were the Father’s, and he gave them to Jesus.

2. Unconditional election exalts God’s grace.

It matters because the aim of unconditional election is that we are destined for eternal joy and praise of the glory of the grace of God. That’s our destiny. Grace is the very meaning of unconditional election — God’s free, gracious choice, not our qualifications.

And the whole design of election is to get joy for our souls and praise for God’s grace. “He chose us in him before the foundation of the world. . . . to the praise of his glorious grace” (Ephesians 1:4, 6). That’s the whole design of unconditional election: grace, grace, glorious grace will be praised forever.

3. Unconditional election humbles us.

It matters because it humbles our proud hearts.

First Corinthians 1:27–29 says, “God chose what is foolish in the world . . . God chose what is weak in the world . . . God chose what is low and despised in the world . . . so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.” God gets praise; we get humbled by unconditional election.

4. Unconditional election secures our faith.

It matters because it makes clear that our faith is a gift of God, a gift of grace that follows election rather than grounding it.

“The Gentiles . . . began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed [that is, chosen, elected] to eternal life believed” (Acts 13:48). They believed because they were appointed. No one can boast that he originated his own believing and so won his election. No. “As many as were chosen” — as many as were chosen, appointed, elected — “believed.” Faith is a gift rooted in the eternal, unconditional election of God.

5. Unconditional election silences accusations.

It matters because it secures the reality that no one can successfully bring any charge against us.

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 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? Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? (Romans 8:31–33)

Let me say that again: “Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect?” And the answer is nobody. God’s chosen are secure from all accusation.

6. Unconditional election births compassion.

It matters because it is the deepest ground of our own compassion for other people.

Paul calls for compassion from Christians like this in Colossians 3:12: “Put on then, as God’s chosen ones [elect ones], holy and beloved, compassionate hearts.” Precisely because we are aware of being freely, graciously, undeservedly chosen, owing to nothing in ourselves, we are moved to treat others the way we’ve been treated.

7. Unconditional election removes despair.

Despair at being unsavable is torpedoed by the doctrine of unconditional election.

“Despair at being unsavable is torpedoed by the doctrine of unconditional election.”

If a person says to me, in my office as a pastor, “Pastor, I’m just too evil to be saved. God could never, never set his favor on me. You don’t know what I’ve done. What I have done is all so terrible,” to that person we can say, “God did not choose anybody because of what they had done or not done. Your history of sin is absolutely irrelevant for the question of whether you can be one of God’s chosen ones. God’s choice was unconditional — absolutely. The only question is, Will you believe? If you will believe, you will be saved, and you will confirm your election before the foundation of the world.”

8. Unconditional election destroys racism.

Unconditional election puts an end to racism among God’s people when they grasp what it means.

Racism is rooted in a sense of ethnic or racial superiority. God ignores all such conditions and chooses his people from every ethnicity, and unconditionally he chooses them. Peter wrote, “You are a chosen race . . . a holy nation” (1 Peter 2:9). Christianity is a new race of people. No others — no other races, no other ethnicities — are the basis of belonging. He ransomed people from every tribe, every tongue, every people, every nation. He stops the mouth of all ethnic boasting by choosing unconditionally.

9. Unconditional election brings assurance.

It matters because we can know we are chosen, with all the blessings that implies.

“We know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction” (1 Thessalonians 1:4–5).

10. Unconditional election shapes God’s action in history.

It matters because God shapes all of history for the sake of his elect. To make sure that we come safely home into his presence, he controls the world.

Jesus said about the end of history (and I think it applies to all of history in principle), “If those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short” (Matthew 24:22).

So, Chase, in answer to your question, yes, it matters. It matters a lot. And the church would be stronger if pastors fed their people on this rich food for our faith.

In many ways, we were a natural fit. My would-be husband and I both loved Jesus, studied his word, cherished worship through song, desired many children, longed to be hospitable, and valued the home and the wife’s joyful place in it. We both had Scandinavian heritage and understood the barbs that flew between Swedes and Norwegians. We both prized hard work — with an openness to risk-taking endeavors.

As an engaged couple, with all we had going for us, it was hard for me to imagine what bumps we might face as we started down the road together. But that’s only because I underestimated how real and stubborn indwelling sin is. I thought external bumps in the road would be the obstacles — circumstances like finances or health issues or job difficulties — when really it was our own flesh that presented the biggest problems.

Reflecting back on the first years of marriage and family, I commend three principles to ease the bumps and grease the wheels of joy in Christ in your marriage and family.

1. Let God Define ‘Normal’

We all come from unique backgrounds. Even two people who share a similar heritage, like my husband and I, have had vastly different childhoods. I grew up with 27 first cousins. I became an aunt at 14 and can’t really remember a time we didn’t have young children around our home (even though I was the youngest child in my family). My husband had four cousins and had rarely encountered an infant or toddler at close range prior to marrying into my family.

This made for very different ideas of what “normal” felt and sounded like. I grew up on an acreage in a blue-collar town that bordered several rural communities. My mom grew up on a farm. My husband grew up in a first-ring suburb of a major metropolis. His dad grew up in the big city. We had very different conceptions of what the “outdoors” was for. For him, it was mainly for recreation and enjoyment — for hiking or biking or kayaking. For me, it was mainly for work — for mowing or burning the burn pile or doing animal chores.

Our former “norms” can enrich our marriage, adding interest and laughter and providing opportunities to take something that’s been passed down and make it new. Or they can threaten the allegiance of our hearts. If what was normal to us in our childhood becomes the ultimate standard for our marriage, we have misplaced our loyalties. We need to be led by the only authoritative and inerrant guide to life and marriage that we have:

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16–17)

Including every good work in the sometimes thorny first years of marriage.

In marriage, God is making something new: a new one-flesh union, that is, a new family. And when a husband and wife let God’s word define normal, the wife willingly comes under the leadership of her husband in submission, as Scripture directs her to reflect Christ’s church (Ephesians 5:22–25). Her family of origin may aid that process or hinder it, but in either case, a reprioritizing happens. For the husband, it means looking to Christ as the standard by which he loves and leads his wife, and adopting his previous family’s practices only inasmuch as they accord with Christ.

“If God’s word is the norm, the authority, you will have solid common ground on which to stand, come what may.”

When I was young, my mom gave me one primary piece of advice when it came to choosing a husband: “God’s word must be his authority.” It’s key advice for men and women, and I gladly pass it along to you. If God’s word is the norm, the authority — not the culture, not your friends’ opinions or your family’s traditions, not Netflix or social media — you will have solid common ground on which to stand, come what may.

2. Stay in Step with the Spirit

Paul tells the Galatians, “If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another” (Galatians 5:25–26). It may seem unlikely for two people who love each other and have committed their lives to one another “for better or worse” to fall into conceit, envy, and provocation of one another — and yet it’s common enough in marriage.

The lies of the world have primed us to believe that men and women are on two separate teams in life. Team Women must advocate for women, and Team Men (in a bit of irony) must also advocate for women (although many rebel against this). This means that, at least for those of us raised in the United States or the West, women are expected to compete with men. From a young age, girls are taught that how they rank is a function of whether or not they are beating the boys. This way of thinking infects both boys and girls.

And while that attitude may lie dormant during dating or courtship, it will rear its head if not dealt with. In a husband, this can look like unrealistic expectations for his wife — treating her like another man who shouldn’t have any significant differences from him. For example, he may expect her to earn what he earns, or overlook the inherent vulnerability of pregnancy and caring for small children. In a wife, this can look like pulling out the measuring stick to keep track of all the ways she’s getting a raw deal compared to him. For example, she may envy the occasional out-to-eat work lunches while she eats with the kids at home, or she may resent that the care of small children falls mainly to her.

These are deadly attitudes to maintain in a marriage. When we marry, the Spirit of God does something amazing: he makes us part of a new team. I was blessed to join Team Dodds — not Team Women, or Team Men, or Team Me. When something wonderful happens to the husband, the wife rejoices as though it has happened to her, because it has. When something difficult happens to the wife, the husband nurtures and defends her as though it has happened to him, because it has.

How do we keep in step with the Spirit in marriage? By prayerfully and regularly confessing our sins, and by setting our minds on the things of the Spirit, with a special focus on Christ — his life, his words, and his ways (1 John 1:9; Romans 8:5). We walk in the Spirit of Christ when we conform to the way he’s designed the marriage: “‘a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate” (Matthew 19:5–6).

3. Share Your New Life with Others

My husband and I were married in June 2002. By October, we were taking a class to join our local church. At the same time, we opened our home (the upstairs of a duplex) to host a small group of singles and couples. I was 21 and still finishing college. It may have seemed a bit premature for us to join a church we were so new to, or to host a small group made up of mostly strangers, but the church had a need and we were eager to help. We didn’t join the church or host a small group primarily as ways to establish a stronger marriage, but looking back, they were important in shaping the patterns and priorities of our life.

“The hospitable people I know are hospitable with little and with much, in small spaces and in big.”

Many young families think that hospitality will sprout when the timing is right — when they get a bigger place, or when the kids aren’t so little, or when the finances aren’t so tight, or when they get that one room cleaned out. I’ve never seen it happen that way. The hospitable people I know are hospitable with little and with much, in small spaces and in big, among babies and boomers, in a dirty kitchen and a clean one.

Sharing your home with others — making food for them, stretching your grocery budget on their behalf, letting them into your bathroom, cleaning up after their messes, inviting them into your thoughts through conversation and listening to theirs — is shockingly intimate in a world where embodied presence is becoming rare. Paul tells the Thessalonian church that “being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us” (1 Thessalonians 2:8). When we invite others into our home, we give them a bit of “our own selves.”

When a husband, wife, and their children offer their home and their “own selves” to others through hospitality, they are not robbing time or resources from each other; they are gaining by giving. Hospitality forms a family identity that is not navel-gazing, but focused on sharing the love of God in practical ways with others. I can think of little else that will form and establish a Christian family to be joyful and robust in the Lord for decades to come than to practice sharing your life with others. Don’t let your home or marriage or family be only private.

“Welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God” (Romans 15:7). A husband and wife who have made God’s word their norm and who are keeping in step with the Spirit will have much to share with others. Open your doors and welcome many to come taste of Christ’s goodness at your table.

Your home may be someone’s hallway out of hell. There’s a spiritual power that pulses through the floors and walls and furniture of a Christian home — a strong, even overpowering aroma, a wild and compelling story unfolding for anyone who comes close enough to hear. Beneath the dirty clothes, behind the unwashed dishes, just below the dusty surfaces, a glory hums and unsettles and woos. A 1,500-square-foot sermon.

When God saves us, he takes our ordinary homes and renovates them with purpose, love, and power. The place may have lain spiritually dormant for years, even decades — utterly dark and cold — but then a voice suddenly calls, “Let there be light.” The walls, the appliances, the paint colors might all look the same, but the home soon becomes almost unrecognizable. A flag has been planted, an address transfigured. And within these four walls, eternities are altered.

This phenomenon is the call and wonder of Christian hospitality.

Humanity and Home

Home has always been a vital part of being human. When God made man, he “planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed” (Genesis 2:8). In other words, he gave the man a home.

And at the end of time, how will humans cross over into a new and renewed history? “Behold, the dwelling place of God” — his home — “is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God” (Revelation 21:3). The human story begins and ends in homes. We’re all born into a home, and we all live to find home. It’s no wonder, then, that so many find healing, forgiveness, redemption, and true life in a normal house filled with faith.

“Your home may become someone’s hallway out of hell.”

Rosaria Butterfield has captured such hospitality as well as anyone I know. “Radically ordinary hospitality is this: using your Christian home in a daily way that seeks to make strangers neighbors, and neighbors family of God” (The Gospel Comes with a House Key, 31). Have you ever thought about your home, your neighborhood, your schedule that way? Have you imagined your home as a hallway out of darkness and into Christ?

Hospitality to the Church

Effective hospitality to the lost, at least in Scripture, often begins with effective hospitality to the church. Much of what the New Testament has to say about hospitality is, first and foremost, about life together in the family of God — how well we welcome one another into our hearts and households (Romans 12:13). “Welcome one another,” the apostle Paul writes, “as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God” (Romans 15:7). Those who have been invited into heaven become people who love to open their front doors, especially to others who have already been welcomed home by God.

That the apostle needs to give the command, though, suggests that our welcoming, even within the church, won’t always feel warm and cozy. There are obstacles to hospitality, lots of them. Those obstacles are the context of Paul’s command to “welcome one another”: “We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves” (Romans 15:1). Open homes invite the weak and often failing — the kinds of weaknesses that will inconvenience us, the kinds of failings that will disappoint and wound us. Faithful, consistent welcoming of one another will mean faithful, consistent bearing with one another.

“Those who have been invited into heaven become people who love to open their front doors.”

This patient and resilient love is actually the special ingredient in the recipe. It’s what makes ordinary Christian hospitality extraordinary — why the divine drama of the gospel seeps through everyday interactions and simple meals. Godless people don’t bear with one another, not for long. They get angry. They hold grudges. They grumble. Until God brings them home, and then makes their homes into a home for others.

In a world bereft of Christian hospitality and crowded with grumbling, Peter encourages the church, “Show hospitality to one another without grumbling” (1 Peter 4:9). Surprise your neighbors by regularly opening up your home, despite the costs that come with open doors. And then confound them by bearing those costs, again and again, without complaining. They’ve likely never met someone who rejoices to spend and be spent like this, who welcomes the discomforts of hospitality with a warm smile (and a fresh pot of coffee).

Front Door of Escape

This kind of hospitality within the church bears lots of good fruit, but one often overlooked is in the war against temptation. Butterfield presses on the sin-defying power of an open front door:

Consider with me the tension of 1 Corinthians 10:13: “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” This passage speaks to the intensity, the loneliness, and the danger of temptation. . . . Have you ever thought that you, your house, and your time are not your own but rather God’s ordained way of escape for someone? (109–10)

Ordinary hospitality undercuts Satan and his schemes in a hundred ways and more. Sin is horribly deceitful, and all the more so when we’re distant or disconnected from one another. A brief greeting in passing on Sunday probably isn’t penetrating through those lies. However, just an hour in your home might be enough to convince a brother or sister to say no (and keeping saying no) to sin.

Another conversation at your table or on your couch might be the spiritual escape route someone desperately needs.

Hospitality to the Dead

As we welcome one another within the church, the world will be drawn to this unworldly love. It’s happened since the first doors opened:

Day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved. (Acts 2:46–47)

The kind of community that practices hospitably is irresistible. Even just reading about the early church, and imagining what it was like, makes me want to join them — day-by-day friendship, familiar meals shared and enjoyed, prayers asked and answered, spontaneous singing, and sweetest of all, real people meeting and following Jesus for the first time. Strangers became neighbors, and neighbors became family, all because someone opened the front door.

As we begin to see our homes through God’s eyes and loosen our grips on our schedules, our budgets, and our possessions, we might begin to think of our homes as spiritual hallways — for fellow believers, out of sin and into deeper freedom and joy — and for not-yet believers, out of hell and into life.

Perhaps the word that finally draws someone out of sin, shame, and eternal destruction would simply be “Welcome.”