God calls all people to salvation, but not all respond. How do divine sovereignty and human choice coexist? The election of grace reflects God’s sovereign authority—yet invites every soul to answer His call. The choice remains ours.
God’s Sovereign Plan of Salvation
God reigns supreme. His will, purpose, and plans cannot be overruled. As the prophet Isaiah declared, “My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure” (Isaiah 46:10). God directs all things according to His divine wisdom and purpose. As Daniel proclaimed, “He doeth according to his will… none can stay his hand” (Daniel 4:35). This includes God’s plan of salvation. God purposed to redeem mankind before the foundation of the world. Salvation was not random—it was God’s deliberate plan, designed to reach all people.
A Universal Invitation to All
The gospel is a universal call. God loves the whole world and made salvation available to “whosoever believeth in him” (John 3:16). God “will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4). Peter stated God’s will: The Lord is “not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). The invitation of the Spirit is extended to all: “Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely” (Revelation 22:17).
John the Baptist proclaimed, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). Forgiveness is not reserved for a select few. Jesus “gave himself a ransom for all” (1 Timothy 2:6) and became the atoning sacrifice for “the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:2). He “died for all” (2 Corinthians 5:15) and tasted “death for every man” (Hebrews 2:9). No one is excluded!
Salvation Through Grace
Though freely offered, salvation is neither automatic nor universally received. “For by grace are ye saved through faith… not of works” (Ephesians 2:8-9). Salvation is not granted by status, works, lineage, or merit, but by grace—God’s unmerited favor. “Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:24). Redemption is available exclusively “through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 15:11). Though not received by all, this grace is offered to all. “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men” (Titus 2:11-12).
Power of Free Will
God wills all to be saved, and Christ died to fulfill this divine purpose. Yet it was also part of His sovereign plan to create mankind with free will—the ability to choose. God’s creation of humanity as free moral agents is fully consistent with His sovereign authority. Though people may choose to act outside of God’s will, that freedom exists by God’s design.
Scripture affirms humanity’s responsibility of choice. “I have set before you life and death… therefore choose life” (Deuteronomy 30:19). Likewise, Joshua challenged the people: “Choose you this day whom ye will serve” (Joshua 24:15). Without choice, there is no true worship or love.
Hebrews 3:15 urges a personal response: “Today if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.” As free moral agents, we have the capacity to obey or reject God. Paul wrote, “To whom ye yield yourselves servant to obey… his servants ye are” (Romans 6:16). Each one is responsible for their soul’s destiny. Peter exhorts, “Give diligence to make your calling and election sure” (2 Peter 1:10). If there were no free will, such appeals would be unnecessary.
Receiving or Resisting Grace
Human choices outside of God’s purpose do not undermine His sovereignty—they demonstrate it. Free will exists by His decree, and the responsibility of choice rests fully on each soul. By God’s sovereign design, it is up to each individual to receive or resist the grace of salvation. Christ stands at the door of every heart and knocks: “If any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him” (Revelation 3:20). Salvation must be accepted. Each person must choose: “Receive not the grace of God in vain” (2 Corinthians 6:1).
Jesus looked over Jerusalem with grief: “How often would I have gathered thy children together… and ye would not” (Matthew 23:37). The Lord desired to be their Savior, but they rejected Him. Stephen rebuked the religious leaders, “Ye do always resist the Holy Ghost” (Acts 7:51). Felix was under conviction and was drawn to repentance, yet he chose to resist (Acts 24:25). Thank God, we also have the ability to yield to the Lord. Jesus “became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him” (Hebrews 5:9). God calls every individual, but each person must accept or reject salvation.
Election by Grace
While salvation is offered to all, and every person must choose how to respond, the Bible also speaks of God’s election—His sovereign choice by grace. Consider how God’s invitation and man’s response work together within His eternal purpose and foreknowledge. Salvation was not an afterthought—it was divinely designed by God before time began. God’s redemptive plan was preordained. As Paul wrote, God hath “saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began” (2 Timothy 1:9). Before creation, God instituted a plan of grace through Jesus Christ. Though sovereignly established, it included the means by which individuals could receive salvation—through faith and obedience.
Predestination
Ephesians 1:4-5 states, “He hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world… having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself.” The chosen, or the elect, are those that come to Christ by faith. Verse 11 adds, “In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will.” God predestined the plan by which believers receive the inheritance—not a predetermined list of individuals, but His predetermined purpose for all who respond to Christ.
Salvation was never for one group only. Paul taught throughout his writings that God’s plan included both Jews and Gentiles. Romans 8:28-30 describes those whom God foreknew, He also predestinated. The gospel call was determined before Christ’s appearing and extended to all. The avenue of salvation is fixed: “For there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). God did not predestine who would believe, but that those who believe would be saved.
2 Thessalonians 2:13 says, “God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth.” God’s election—His choice—is not separate from human response. Those who are chosen are those who believe. Peter confirms this in 1 Peter 1:2, calling the saints “elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father.” God’s decision to grant salvation to all who believe—Jew and Gentile—reveals the mystery of election and predestination. No longer based on lineage or nationality, God’s children are now chosen by grace through faith.
This truth is echoed in John 1:11–13: “He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” Though the Jews as a nation rejected Christ, all who received Him became children of God, not by birthright or human will, but through faith in Christ.
The Choice Is Yours
Paul concluded in Romans 11:5: “Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace.” The election of grace refers to those who believe according to God’s plan. Election is not an arbitrary decree, but God’s gracious design for all who respond to the gospel. The call is universal, but those who answer it are the elect.
The election of grace harmonizes God’s sovereignty with man’s response—those who believe are chosen, not by coercion, but by grace. The plan is set, the sacrifice made, salvation offered—now, the choice is yours! ■
