I have posted this elsewhere but since you raised the question here it is again:
God in His omniscience foreknew that Adam and Eve would choose evil, choose sin and death rather than life and righteous obedience, thereby taking upon themselves the sin nature, becoming slaves to sin, and severing their fellowship with God. Unfortunately, through the rebellion of Adam all successive generations of mankind have been heirs to a nature in bondage to sin, also alienated from God and, therefore, subject to the wrath of God.
Romans 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
Foreseeing the disobedience of Adam and Eve and the fall of mankind, God the Father, before the foundation of the world, foreknew and chose, out of the mass of humanity, a people to be His own [Ephesians 1:4], thus fulfilling His role in the Covenant of Grace.
Scripture and theologians frequently use the term election to indicate the Sovereign Choice of God. Scripture speaks of election in three different contexts, only one of which is election unto salvation.
1. The first context in which the sovereign choice of God is demonstrated is the choice of Israel as a people through which the promised redeemer would come.
Deuteronomy 7:6,7, KJV
6 For thou [art] an holy people unto the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that [are] upon the face of the earth.
7 The LORD did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye [were] the fewest of all people:
Such election is not associated with personal salvation as shown in the following passage.
Romans 9:6,7, KJV
6 Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they [are] not all Israel, which are of Israel:
7 Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, [are they] all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called.
2. The second context in which the sovereign choice of God is demonstrated is vocational.
God called Aaron and his descendants out of the tribe of Levi to be priests but not all were called to salvation. Jesus Christ called twelve men to be Apostles but only eleven of them were chosen to salvation.
3. The third context in which the sovereign choice of God is demonstrated is election unto salvation: God the Father Chooses a People For His Own.
Scripture teaches that God the Father chooses or elects those who, in Jesus Christ, will be saved. That choice or election is the role of God the Father in the Covenant of Grace. Those who are chosen in Jesus Christ will become the Saints, the ‘true believers’.
The Apostle Paul, writing to the Saints at Ephesus, summarizes this doctrine as follows:
Ephesians 1:3-6, KJV
3 Blessed [be] the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly [places] in Christ:
4 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:
5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.
What does Scripture mean when it teaches that God has chosen us in Jesus Christ before the foundation of the world? We look again at the statement He chose us in Him [that is, Jesus Christ] that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love.
James P. Boyce, cofounder and first president of the Southern Baptist Seminary, defines election to salvation as follows [Abstract of Systematic Theology , page 347]:
“God, of His own purpose, has from eternity determined to save a definite number of mankind as individuals, not for or because of any merit or works of theirs, nor of any value of them to Him; but of His own good pleasure”.
John L. Dagg in his Manual of Theology [page 309] defines election to salvation simply as:
“All who will finally be saved, were chosen to salvation by God the Father, before the foundation of the world, and given to Jesus Christ in the Covenant of Grace.”
Dagg’s definition of election is greatly expanded upon in the text and presupposes an understanding of the Covenant of Grace. He does, however, show what Scripture means by the statement chose us in Him [that is, Jesus Christ]. The elect are given to Jesus Christ in the Covenant of Grace, that is they are saved only through the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ as atonement for their sins.
John I. Packer, an Anglican theologian, writes about the doctrine of election as follows [Concise Theology , page 149; see also the New Geneva Bible, page 1784]
“The biblical doctrine of election is that before Creation God selected out of the human race, foreseen as fallen, those whom He would redeem, bring to faith, justify, and glorify in and through Jesus Christ. This divine choice is an expression of free and sovereign grace, for it is unconstrained and unconditional, not merited by anything in those who are its subjects. God owes sinners no mercy of any kind, only condemnation; so it is a wonder, and a matter for endless praise, that He should choose to save any of us; and doubly so when His choice involved the giving of His own Son to suffer as sin bearer for the elect.”
W. T. Conner, a professor at the Southwestern Baptist Theological seminary early in the 20th century writes of election as follows [Christian Doctrine , page 155]:
“It [Election] means that God has decreed to bring certain ones, upon whom His heart has been eternally set, who are the objects of His eternal love, to faith in Jesus Christ as Saviour. When a man is saved he is not saved as a matter of chance or accident or fate; he is saved in pursuance of an eternal purpose of God. God saves man because He intends to. He saves a particular man, at a particular time, under a particular set of circumstances, because He intends to.”
We look now at the Scriptural basis for the above statements of the doctrine of election to salvation. The Scriptural basis for election follows the method presented by John Dagg, page 309ff:
A. God has a people that He has elected or chosen to salvation.
1 Peter 2:9, KJV
9. But ye [are] a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:
2 Thessalonians 2:13, KJV
13. But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth:
Acts 13:48, KJV
48. And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed.
B. Election is by the sovereign grace of God.
Romans 9:15,16, KJV
15. For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.
16. So then [it is] not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.
2 Timothy 1:9, KJV
9. Who 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,
C. Election is not of works.
2 Timothy 1:9, KJV
9. Who 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,
D. The election of grace is from eternity.
Ephesians 1:4, KJV
4. 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:
2 Timothy 1:9, KJV
9. Who 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,
Titus 1:2, KJV
2. In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;
E. Election is not on the basis of foreseen faith.
Ephesians 1:4, KJV
4. 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:
Ephesians 2:8-10, KJV
8.For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of God:
9. Not of works, lest any man should boast.
10. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
F. Election is according to the foreknowledge of God.
1 Peter 1:2, KJV
2. Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.
From the above Scripture we see that election is indeed according to the sovereign grace and purpose of God. These Scripture show the necessity of the sovereignty of God’s grace in salvation. Without election no one would be saved. The Second London Confession of Faith of 1689 states concerning the natural state of man [Lumpkin, page 264]:
“Man by his fall into a state of sin hath wholly lost all ability of will to any spiritual good accompanying salvation: so as a natural man, being altogether adverse from good, and dead in sin is not able, by his own strength, to convert himself; or to prepare himself thereunto.”
Dagg [page 322] comments on the natural man’s inability regarding salvation, as follows:
“Every proposed method of salvation that leaves the issue dependent on human volition is defective. It has always been found that men will not come to Christ for life. The Gospel is preached to every creature; but all, with one consent, ask to be excused. The will of man must be changed; and this change the will cannot itself effect. Divine grace must here interpose. Unless God works in the sinner to will and to do, salvation is impossible.”
Herein has been briefly described the doctrine of election, a most precious doctrine that magnifies the sovereign grace of God, a doctrine that was once the bedrock of Baptist beliefs but in recent years has come into disrepute. God’s purpose in election is summarized once again by referring to the passage from Romans:.
Romans 8:28-30, KJV
28. And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to [his] purpose.
29. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate [to be] conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
30. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.
CCASION OF GRIEF TO THE SAINTS IN HEAVEN.