Election of Grace. On the history of the doc- trine of Election, sec Arjiinianism ; Predestina- tion. We present here, I. A statement of the doc- trine from the Augustinian or Calvinistic point of view, by the Kev. C. Hodge, D.D., of Princeton ; II. A statement of the doctrine from the iSIethodist point of view; III. Some other conceptions of the doc- trine.
I. Election from the Calvinistic Point of View. — The Scriptures speak, 1st, of the election of individuals to office, or to positions of honor and ]irivilege. Thus Abraham was chosen to be the fatlier of the faithful, and the depositarj' of the promise of redemption. Thus Jacob was chosen, in preference to Esau, to be the progenitor of the chosen peojjle. In like manner, Saul was chosen by God to be king over Israel, and subse- quenth' David, and after him Solomon, were selected for the same high dignity. Thus also the prophets, and, under the new dispensation, the apostles, were chosen by God for the work assigned them. 2d. Tiie Bible speaks of the election of nations to special privi- leges. The Hebrews were chosen from all the nations of the earth to be God's peculiar people. To them were committed the oracles of God. They were his inheritance. Thej'' received from him their laws and their religion, and were under his special guidance and protection. In Deut. vii, C, it is said, "Thou art an hoi}' people unto tlie Lord thy God : the Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto him- self, above all people that are upon the face of the earth;" xxxii, i), "The Lord's portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritiince ;" Kom. ix, 4, " Who are Israelites ; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving to the law, and the service of God, and the promises." 3d. Besides this election of individuals and of nations to external advantages, the Scriptures speak of an elec- tion to salvation: 2 Thess. ii, 13, "We are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation, through sanctilication of the Spirit and belief of the truth."
Of this election to eternal life all Augustinians teach, first, that its objects are not nations, nor communities, nor classes of persons, but individuals. 1. Because neither the nations nor communities, as such, are saved. God did not choose all the nation of the Jews to salvation. Neither does he choose the nations of Christendom to eternal life; nor any organized Church,
whether Papal or Protestant. The heirs of salvation are individual men.
2. Because those chosen to salvation are chosen to " sanctilication of the Spirit and belief of the truth, They are chosen "to be holy and without blame be- fore him in love'' (Eph. i, -1). They are elect accord- ing to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprink- ling of the blood of Jesus Christ" (1 Pet. i, 2). But nations and communities are not sanctified, or obedi- ent, or unblamable before God in love.
3. We 'accordingly find that the elect arc always ad- dressed as individuals. Paul, when writing to a num- ber of persons residing in Thessalonica, says, "God hath chosen jou to salvation." Writing to the Ephe- sians, he says, "God hath chosen us," "having pre- destinated us." Our Lord (John xiii, 18) says, "I speak not of you all; I know whom I have chosen;" and again (John vi, 37), "All that the Father giveth mc shall come to me ; and him tliat cometh to me I will in no wise cast out." John xvii, 2, "Thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou liast given him." Yer. 9, "I pray not for the world, but for those which thou hast given me." The Scriptures, therefore, cleaih' teach that the elect are certain individuals chosen out of the world to be the heirs of salvation.
Secondly. Augustinians hold that the ground of this election is the good pleasure of God. That is, that the reason why one person and not another is chosen to eternal life is to be found, not in what he is or does, distinguishing him favorably from his fellow -men, but simply because so it seems good in the sight of God. All being equally guilty and unworthy, God, for the manifestation of his glory, and for the attain- ment of the highest ends, chooses seme, and not oth- ers, to be vessels of mercy prepared beforehand unto glorj'.
That such is the doctrine of the Scriptures on this subject is argued, 1. Because the Bible expressly says that election is of grace and not of works. It is not of works means that it is not what a man does that determines whether he is to be one of the elect or not. The apostle, in Rom. ix, 11, teaches that the choice of Jacob instead of Esau was made and announced before their birtli, "that the purpose of God, according to election, might stand, not of works, but of him that oalleth." It matters not whether the election hero spoken of be to eternal life or to temporal advantnges. Th3 apostle refers to this incident in proof of God's sovereignty, and therefore lie infers from it, "It is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy" (ver. IG). In like manner, in ch. xi of the same epistle, he refers to the declara- tion made in the Old Test, to Elias: "I have reserved unto mj'self seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal;" and adds, "Even so, then, at this present time there is a remnant according to the election of grace. And if by grace, then it is no more of -works ; otherwise grace is no more grace" (ver. 4-6). The mass of flic Jews were cast off. A remnant was saved. That remnant consisted of those whom God chose. His clioice was a sovereign one. It was of grace, and not of works. It was determined by the good pleasure of God, and not by what the ob- jects of that choice had done. Paul himself belonged to that remnant. He was an illustrious example of the sovereignty of God in election. lie had dona nothing to secure the favor of God. He was chosen to eternal life not because he repented and believed. He was converted not because he had faithfully used the means of securing a knowledge of Christ. On the contrary, he was converted in the midst of his wicked career of persecution. He was brought to faitli and repentance because, as our Lord says, " He was a cho- sen vessel unto me, to liear my name before the Gen- tiles, and kings, and the children of Israel" (Acts ix.