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"For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren . And those he predestined he also called; and those he called he also justified; and those he justified he also glorified." (Romans 8:29-30)
Many theologians confuse the doctrine of election and predestination. But everything is defined in the text of scripture itself, which says that election is "according to the foreknowledge of God". That is, God chose the saved not by mere pleasure, but by his sovereign prescient vision, knowing perfectly who his own were, in whom faith existed from eternity.
Being God sovereignly prescient, he chose them , in his Son, from the beginning, by the foreshadowing of the faith that would exist in them. Hence it is necessary for the saved to be tried, that the truth concerning God's perfect election may be confirmed and made manifest. God does not take away free will, as many argue. He doesn't need to do this, and he doesn't. He sees our works from eternity. God's wisdom is supreme. He is greater than free will and sees everything within the heart from the beginning.
The election of the saved was made beforehand, before their passage on this world, because they were gathered together, before God, in eternity. What happens on Earth has already been determined in eternity. And this is within the heart of each one. Whoever is elected knows this from the beginning, for the Spirit of God testifies to it within his heart.
Whoever is elected does not need to worry about free will, for the elect do not feel pleasure in sin, he neither seeks it nor is interested in it, for his pleasure is to do the will of God and to seek His kingdom and His righteousness. He takes pleasure in practicing justice and speaking the truth. He doesn't need to question God.
Everything is by God's sovereign foreknowledge. Not even the fall of man escaped his foreknowledge. This is why it is written that he chose us from "before the foundation of the world" (Ephesians 1:4). Before Adam sinned, election had already taken place.
God's purposes are eternal. He plans everything with amazing accuracy and wisdom. And all his plans are carried out exactly and at the appointed time. The hand of God directs everything and everyone so that his glory, his truth and his power prevail and his eternal purposes are fulfilled.
If you feel God's direction within your heart, you have the election, and if it is true, no one can take it away, as long you remain in faith to the end, for it is an eternal gift from God, in Christ. Therefore, it is necessary that you go through various trials and overcome, so that God may be glorified by the victory of your acts of faith and justice, in subjection to his sovereign will.
Election is not subject to time. It is a sublime gift from God, begotten in Christ, the "Lamb of God slain before the foundation of the world" (Revelation 13:8).
Before Adam sinned , Christ had already taken upon himself the atoning death to redeem us from our sins.
The election is due to the fact that God sees perfectly the destiny and the development of his project from the beginning. And more than that, He sees the inside of the heart. Election does not fail, and cannot fail. It was determined by the designs of God from eternity.
