“The Scriptural Conundrum of Election”
(From the writings of John Broadus of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. His writings are in the Public Domain.)
Concern for the salvation of others is not prevented by a belief in what we call the doctrines of grace; not prevented by believing in the divine sovereignty, and predestination, and election. . .. [Many argue] if predestination be true, then it follows that a man cannot do anything for his own salvation; that if he is to be saved he will be saved, but he has nothing to do with it, and need not care, nor need any one else care. . .. [But] Paul himself, the great oracle of the doctrine in the Scripture, has uttered these words of burning passionate concern for the salvation of others, so close by in the passage in which he has taught the doctrines [of election] in question (emphasis added) . . .. [1]
[W]henever you find your heart or the heart of your friend inclined to shrink away from these great teachings of divine Scriptures concerning sovereignty and predestination, then I pray you make no argument about it, but turn to this language of concern for the salvation of others, so intensely passionate that men wonder and think surely it cannot mean what it says. . .. I say that whatever be true, for or against the apostle’s doctrines of predestination and divine sovereignty in salvation, it is not true that they will make a man careless as to his own salvation or that of others; seeing that they had no such effect on Paul himself (emphasis added) . . .. [2]
Many are called to share the Messianic benefits, but few are selected [or elected] actually to attain them; a large portion of the called utterly refusing to accept and some even of those who profess acceptance not developing the corresponding character of life. This selection of the actually saved may be looked at from two sides. From the divine side, we can see that the Scriptures teach an eternal election of men to eternal life, simply out of God’s good pleasure. From the human side, we see that those persons attain the blessings of salvation through Christ who accept the gospel invitation and obey the gospel commandments. It is doubtful whether our minds can combine both sides in a single view, but we must not for that reason deny either of them to be true (emphasis added).[3]
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[1]Broadus, “Intense Concern for the Salvation of Others,” in Sermons and Addresses, (Philadelphia: H.M. Wharton & Co., 1886), 117ff. [2]Broadus, “Intense Concern,” Sermons and Addresses, 117ff.
[3]Alvah Hovey, gen. ed., An American Commentary of the New Testament, vol. 1, Commentary on Matthew by John A. Broadus (Philadelphia: The American Baptist Publication Society, 1886), 448.