Spurgeon on Election

"But there are some who say, "It is hard for God to choose some and leave others." Now, I will ask you one question. Is there any of you here this morning who wishes to be holy, who wishes to be regenerate, to leave off sin and walk in holiness? "Yes, there is," says someone, "I do." Then God has elected you. But another says, "No. I don't want to be holy. I don't want to give up my lusts and my vices." Why should you grumble, then, that God has not elected you?"

"If you love religion, He has chosen you to it. If you desire it, He has chosen you to it. If you do not, what right have you to say that God ought to have given you what you do not wish for?"

"If you believe them to be good and desire them, they are there for you. God gives liberally to all those who desire--but first of all He makes them desire--otherwise they never would."

"Then the decree of election could not have been formed upon good works. "But," say others, "God elected them on the foresight of their faith." Now, God gives faith, therefore He could not have elected them on account of faith which He foresaw. There shall be twenty beggards in the street and I determine to give one of them a shilling. Will anyone say that I determined to give that one a shilling—that I elected him to have the shilling—because I foresaw that he would have it? That would be talking nonsense."

"In like manner to say that God elected men because He foresaw they would have faith—which is salvation in the germ—would be too absurd for us to listen to for a moment. Faith is the gift of God. Every virtue comes from Him. Therefore it cannot have caused Him to elect men, because it is His gift. Election, we are sure, is absolute and altogether apart from the virtues which the saints have afterwards."

"I never knew a saint yet of any denomination who thought that God saved him because He foresaw that he would have these virtues and merits."

"I tell you there have been thousands of men who have been ruined by misunderstanding election—who have said, “God has elected me to Heaven and to eternal life”—but they have forgotten that it is written, God has elected them “through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the Truth.” This is God’s election—election to sanctification and to faith. God chooses His people to be holy and to be believers." (UNCONDITIONAL ELECTION - NO. 41-42)