Election Not Based on Foreseen Faith -- Article Nine, First Head of Doctrine, Canons of Dort

Article 9: Election Not Based on Foreseen Faith

This same election took place, not on the basis of foreseen faith, of the obedience of faith, of holiness, or of any other good quality and disposition, as though it were based on a prerequisite cause or condition in the person to be chosen, but rather for the purpose of faith, of the obedience of faith, of holiness, and so on. Accordingly, election is the source of each of the benefits of salvation. Faith, holiness, and the other saving gifts, and at last eternal life itself, flow forth from election as its fruits and effects. As the apostle says, He chose us (not because we were, but) so that we should be holy and blameless before him in love (Eph. 1:4).

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The authors of the Canons move on to make the point that since the Scriptures teach that election is based upon God’s good pleasure and purpose (and nothing good within us), election cannot be based upon anything external to God (i.e., something good that God sees in the creature). It is equally clear that God does not elect any as the consequence of some action that the creature takes which causes or motivates God to respond (in this case, the exercise of faith). The view of election set forth in the Canons assigns all glory to God when we believe the gospel, and all blame to us if we do not.

Many have tried to evade the force of this critical point by arguing that God’s election is based upon factors external to God, i.e., something which the creature does. God sets things in motion (by providing a generic, universal, and non-saving grace), and he then reacts to what his creatures do with the grace he’s made available to them. But this amounts to nothing more than a practical deism and mistakenly assumes that Adam’s fall has left us with the ability to choose Christ apart from prior regeneration.

The most common objection that we encounter to the doctrine of election as set forth in the earlier articles of the Canons, is that God elects individuals unto salvation in Christ based upon foreseen faith. In other words, God elects those whom he knows will believe the gospel when it is preached to them. You’ve probably heard the common analogy that election operates like a movie God has already seen. He knows what each of the characters will do, and therefore he elects them on that basis.

Of course, this is seriously flawed, and is not in any sense what the Scriptures teach. God does not merely know in advance what we will do under certain conditions. God knows what we will do because he has ordained whatsoever comes to pass, and yet he does so in such a way as to establish human freedom, not destroy it. God knows what we will do in the movie of life because he wrote the screenplay and the script, he created the actors, the cameras, the film . . . You get the point.

While the Greek word proginosko, translated as “to foreknow” in Romans 8:29, can mean that God knows in advance what his creatures will do, the term is probably better understood here in the sense of “knowing the person in advance.” God does not merely know in advance what actions a person whom he foreknows will take under certain circumstances, and then reacts to that action. Rather, proginosko is better understood in light of Psalm 139, where God’s intimate knowledge of us (as our creator) is the basis for his knowledge of what we will do. He who formed us in our mother’s womb, determined who our parents would be, how tall we are, how long we live, etc., knows us vastly better than we know ourselves. This is why it helps to understand the word “foreknow” in terms of personal intimacy (God’s knowledge of us since he created us), rather than in terms of sterile metaphysics (God knows in advance what we will do with the various options available to us–a sort cosmic chess match).

Furthermore, according to Romans 8:28-30, God’s calling is not based upon God’s foreknowledge of future events, but upon “his purpose.”

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

This fits perfectly with other biblical texts such as Ephesians 1:3-14, which we have already discussed in some detail when addressing previous articles.

It is also important to notice that the Canons teach that election is always unto something (holiness), not because of something in us (the presence of faith, the virtue of faith, or any personal holiness which might result from faith). This point is vital to understand. We are sinful and fallen and can do nothing to soften our own hearts, regenerate ourselves, or even incline ourselves to believe the gospel. When we are chosen by God, we are chosen “in Christ,” so that when we come to faith in him, we are also delivered from our bondage to sin and death. We are also set aside for God’s sovereign purposes. We become his workmanship, appointed to do good works (Ephesians 2:10). It is because we have been chosen in Christ that the fruit of the Spirit develops within us and God produces holiness in our lives.

We are not numbered among the elect because God knows that we will believe when the gospel is preached to us. Rather, we have been chosen by God in Christ in eternity past, therefore we will believe in Jesus when the gospel is proclaimed to us because God calls us to do so. So too, we are not numbered among the elect because God knows that we will perform a certain number of good works once we are Christians. Rather, because we are elect in Christ (Ephesians 1:3-14), we will perform good works as the fruit of that faith which he graciously gives to us.

As the Canons make clear, election is the only basis for the manifestation of any of the Christian virtues in us (faith, obedience and so on), since otherwise, we would still be slaves to sin and unable to perform a single good work, because without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). It is because of divine election that we respond to the gospel in faith when we hear it. It is because of divine election that we perform good works and demonstrate true holiness.

This is a cause and effect relationship. Election is the cause, and faith, repentance and obedience are the effects—not the other way around.