CHOSEN UNTO HOLINESS By Elder Mark Green "According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love" (Eph. 1.4). That there is such thing as election none who believe the Bible would dare deny. Paul has just stated it. Also, anyone who can understand plain language can easily date the "time" of election; it was before the creation, before the "foundation of the world." Therefore none can deny that election happened before any good works had been done by those who were elected. Here some will say, however, that the election was because of the good works, God having foreseen them with His all-seeing eye, and He consequently elected those people based upon their foreseen faith and obedience. Notice the order of Paul's logic, for it plainly refutes the argument of election upon foreseen faith: "chosen . . . that we should be holy and without blame." The holiness and blamelessness flow from the election. That is the obvious intent of the passage. If it had been the opposite, it would have been stated "holy that we should be chosen." The logical order that Paul intends is that holiness is the result of election, and not vice versa. The same argument is made by these folks regarding regeneration: that it flows from faith and/or obedience. We are required by the Arminian doctrine to believe, and then we are born again as a consequence of that. Paul also dealt with that when he told these same Ephesians that they were "created in Christ Jesus unto good works." This creation is the new birth, or regeneration. "If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new" (2 Cor. 5.17). The reasoning is the same as in the passage in Chapter One. Paul is establishing that our good works result from the new birth. In fact, he plainly established to Titus that good works were not the cause of regeneration when he he said, "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost" (Tt. 3.5). If good works result from regeneration, and not the other way around, then it could not be that the new birth is because of or through good works. By Elder Mark Green ... Article from Banner of Love • Back to Table of Contents