What you missed is that God did not "randomly establish FAITH in Him as the criteria for HIS election of who to save.
Where does Scripture say that faith is the criterion of ELECTION?
Establishing human FAITH in Him as the criteria was intensely purposeful, and only those with such personal FAITH in God are spared from the Lake of fire of Revelation 20:14,15.
Then this begs the question of why some believe and others do not. Ultimately, they are elected for something intrinsic in them, and faith becomes a matter of merit, and thus God is playing favorites and showing partiality.
Scripture says we are justified by faith. It does not say that we are elected on the basis of foreseen faith. We are chosen, called, justified...We are justified AFTER we are chosen and as a natural consequence of being chosen (elected). We are PREDESTINED, not POSTDESTINED.
Why are election and justification not the same?
One is the result of the other, because they have different definitions. See below. If nothing else try to actually understand what Calvinists teach about these definitions, because, brother, when we read some of the things you say, we are all likely sitting here saying, "Wes, buddy, slow down, those are different ideas...related...but different."
I suppose you may be right, Justification is what Jesus did for us by Atoning for our sins.
Not exactly, but very close. Atonement is the ground of justification, Wes. Do you remember when the there was a gold standard for the dollar? Way back before Nixon, in theory, one could exchange a dollar for the equivalent of gold. That's what the atonement is to justification. Jesus atoned for the sins of the persons who are justified by faith. In other words, He "mined the gold" (e.g. paid the price). The atonement is the gold standard of justification. We are justified in space and time in our individual lives by faith. Our sins, however, were actually paid for by Jesus in the atonement. Justification is just a legal term for being declared righteous
as a result of the atonement.
Here is a pretty good article that might help explain what I mean here:
http://www.carm.org/doctrine/atone.htm (Lots of Scripture too).
and here:
http://www.carm.org/doctrine/justification_verses.htm (Lots of Scripture too)
I think you might be blending some theological terms. They are related terms, but they are not synonymous terms.
That justification only enables us to have everlasting life if we meet the election criteria which is "FAITH in God". It is our faith that SANCTIFIES us.
Well, there is a faith that justifies and another that sanctifies. Here is a discussion re: justification and sanctification:
http://www.carm.org/questions/justification.htm
Glad you realize that election and justification are not the same, now.
Election does not however require that each and every human being that God saves, be foreknown.
Um, it has to, or God is not omniscient. Also, "foreknow" means to know relationally or intimately, to forelove. God foreloves those whom He predestines. Both Arminians and Calvinists agree with this, except for Open Theists. Be careful. That statement you made basically says that God does not forelove His own children. You might want to modify it.
Don't forget, the entire chain goes: foreknow, predestined, called, justified, glorified. It must mean ALL, not SOME, or you end up either in denying eternal security, denying justification by faith in the gospel (for all of us have to be called either generally or individually, on this Arminians and Calvinists also agree), or God is not omniscient or all three. Some are foreknown, some are predestined, some are called, of those, some are justified, of those some are glorified.
Look carefully at this from your own perspective that God loves everybody, since the word in Greek means to "forelove or intimately know." That denies that principle. Thus, you could say that All He foreknows, some He predestines...but then you are inserting different terms that are not there at all. In short, if "some" not "all" is meant, then you've got a problem supporting omniscience and / or God's love. One is heresy. The other a Calvinist might agree with, depending on what you mean by the way God loves people, but that's another thread. There is nothing in Romans 8:29 -30 that would indicate shifting "all" and "some."
Election can also be the establishment of the Criteria for election which in God's case is human FAITH in HIM!
Maybe, but Scripture says that God elects PEOPLE, not the means. God does ordain the means, that is true. However, election, salvifically, regards a people, not an idea, action, or "criterion" or else you end up with "foreknow" meaning something like, "God chose persons on the basis of foreseen faith," which no text supports.
Election is defined as "choosing," in Scripture. "To elect" is "to choose." Remember Eph. 1:4...The direct object of "chose" is "us," not "Christ" or "faith in Christ." To say otherwise is to add to the text. The text says exactly what it says.
The criterion for election is in God, not in man. That is why we talk about unconditional election. I personally prefer to use the term "election anchored in God." The anchor or ground or "stake driven in to the ground" is in God. In other words, the ground of election is a person, God, not man or anything in man. Justification, is a legal term, meaning "to declare righteous.' Justification IS conditional. There IS a criterion to meet, faith. Persons are not elected because they are justified. They are elected/given to Jesus by the Father and as a result they are called, drawn, come, believe, are justified, and raised up on the last day, without exception. This is John 6 in a nutshell.
That is dumb, why would Jesus say that only the "believing ones" need to believe in Him? He is saying that only those who meet the Father's established Election Criteria shall have everlasting life. Take the blinders off!
You are arguing against the language of the text itself. This text is not an invitation to believe, it is a statement about something God did for the world of Jews and Gentiles in order that the believing ones would have eternal life. There is no Greek word for "whoever" or "whosoever" that infers and invitation. That is solely a modern construct of your own tradition. I am just telling you the literal reading of the text from Greek.
I have said that the playing field is level for all mankind because EACH and ALL of mankind have the capability of having FAITH in God...HE MADE US THAT WAY!
You have no exegetical basis for this statement.
John 6:44
No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent me draws Him, and I will raise Him up on the last day.
Man lacks the moral ability to conform to any natural ability he has. That's the point.
Your way in no way levels the playing field, because people come from different backgrounds, temperaments, and all may have different abilities to understand, comprehend, and believe. In short, why do they believe? The only way to ensure there is a completely level playing field is to say that election is unconditional, not with respect to ANYTHING intrinsic in man, not even foreseen faith. Likewise, reprobation, the passing over of those that condemned is equally unconditional as preterition. It also has absolutely nothing to do with any foreseen unbelief/disbelief or wickedness in man. Justification, however, IS conditional, by faith. Condemnation is also conditional, because of sin.
God's ELECTION of man is RANDOM, and dependent upon man's faith in God!
Wes, first, your fellow Arminians here will not like to see this. Bob Ryan is saying that the Calvinist view is random, not the Arminian view.
Second, by saything this, you prove the truth of what I said, because you are saying God uses a random means to accomplish His will. God is, by definition, is pure actuality with no potentiality in Him, acting in a contingent manner. This is illogical. First, "contingecy" is "dependence." We depend on God to sustain our existence. We do not exist independent of His sustaining power. "In Him we live and move and have our being." Second, in a being of pure actuality without any contingency in Him, there can be no use of a random process. This would be a logical contradiction, because what is random and anchored outside of self is dependent. God is not illogical, He can not make rocks He can not lift. He can not sin. His acts, actions, motives, etc. are not ever contradictory to His nature.
quote:
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Turn OFF your CALVINIST FILTER for a moment
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Time out, Wes. You need to go take a look at a text on Theology Proper, that is, the Study of God. What I have said about logic, potentiality, and actuality is not Calvinism. It is the theology of God's nature that orthodox, evangelical Christianity shares. It forms the basis of our understanding of God, and it is derived directly from Scripture. I point your attention to The Living God, by Thomas C. Oden, who is, as a point of fact, an Arminian. There is no "Calvinist" filter on this point.
. The faith of a sinner can never be perfect, but the sinless life of Christ and His sacrificial death it lays hold of is perfect. “A small and weak hand, if it be able to reach up the meat to the mouth, as well performs its duty for the nourishment of the body as one of greater strength, because it is not the strength of the hand but the goodness of the meat which nourishes the body.”