Dispensationalism and the Doctrine of Election
Refutation of Calvinism,
Arminianism, and Covenant Theology
Principle of First Mention
“GENESIS is the book of beginnings. It records not only the
beginning of the heavens and the earth, and of plant,
animal, and human life, but also of all human institutions
and relationships. Typically, it speaks of the new birth,
the new creation, where all was chaos and ruin. With Genesis
begins also that progressive self-revelation of God which
culminates in Christ. The three primary names of Deity, Elohim, Jehovah, and Adonai, and the five most important of
the compound names, occur in Genesis; and that in an ordered
progression which could not be changed without confusion.
The problem of sin as affecting man's condition in the earth
and his relation to God, and the divine solution of that
problem are here in essence. Of the eight great covenants
which condition human life and the divine redemption, four,
the Edenic, Adamic, Noahic, and Abrahamic Covenants are in
this book; and these are the fundamental covenants to which
the other four, the Mosaic, Palestinian, Davidic, and New
Covenants, are related chiefly as adding detail or
development. Genesis enters into the very structure of the
New Testament, in which it is quoted above sixty times in
seventeen books. In a profound sense, therefore,
the roots
of all subsequent revelation are planted deep in Genesis,
and whoever would truly comprehend that revelation must
begin here. The inspiration of Genesis and it character as a
divine revelation are authenticated by the testimony of
Christ Mt 19:4-6; 24:37-39; Mr 10:4-9;
Lu 11:49-51;
17:26-29,32. Genesis is in five chief divisions: I. Creation (1. 1-2.25)
Although Scofield is laying the foundations for his
erroneous Gap Theory in this statement, he is accurately
establishing a critical truth to Biblical hermeneutics in
this introduction to the book of Genesis in the statement;
“In a profound sense, therefore, the roots of all subsequent
revelation are planted deep in Genesis, and whoever would
truly comprehend that revelation must begin here.” If we
want to understand God’s choosing or election according to
His sovereign purpose, we must begin with the first
occurrence in its use in Scripture (the Principle of First
Mention) and build inductively from that point forward. In
this inductive approach, we should be able to discover a
common meaning if a common meaning occurs consistently in
the Scriptures (the Principle of Recurrence).
The most common word translated “chosen” in the Old
Testament books is the Hebrew word bachar (baw-khar'). There
appears to be two parallel ideas communicated by the use of
this word: to choose and to test. The key word in the
criterion of God’s choice is that God’s calling is
“according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28).
The Theological Workbook of the Old Testement2 makes the following comment on
the meaning of this word: “. . . [T]he word is used to express that choosing which has
ultimate and eternal significance. On the one hand God
chooses a people (Ps 135:4), certain tribes (Ps 78:68),
specific individuals (I Kings 8:16; I Chr 28:5; I Sam 10:24;
II Sam 6:21), and a place for his name (Deut 12:25; etc.).
In all of these cases serviceability rather than simple
arbitrariness is at the heart of choosing. Thus Yahweh chose
Israel to be holy and thereby to serve as his witnesses
among the nations (Duet 14:6).”
In an inductive evaluation of the use of the Hebrew word
bachar (baw-khar'), it appears to be apparent that the
purpose of God’s choosing is service, ministry or, a
specific task. The word always carries with it vocational
connotations (not salvational; Eph. 4:1). This is the common
usage regarding God’s electing throughout Scripture.
Innumerable Scriptural examples in usage bear testimony to
this common meaning. Since this election is vocational and
not salvational, and since God selects certain groups and
individuals for specific tasks, He can unselect them if they
fail in His covenant requirements and He can then select
others, or another, to fulfill His purpose. This is what
happened with the Old (Mosaic) Covenant priesthood of Israel
(Malachi chapters 2 and 3; compare Romans Chapter 11). None
of the covenants carry salvational connotations or
conditions. All of the covenants are between God and are
with God’s elect. In other words, God elected and
then made
covenants with those He elected. Although some covenants are
conditional for God’s blessings, none of the covenants are
conditional for salvation.
The question we must ask ourselves is if, in God’s choice of
the nation of Israel, their salvation is implied or
presumed? We will answer this question in some detail in
later chapters as we look at Romans chapters eight through
eleven. We must also look at this as it unfolds in Scripture
to see if salvation is implied or presumed in any recurrence
(the Principle of Recurrence). The use of the word “chosen”
in the Old Testament books is almost always used to refer to
the choice of groups, not individuals. The exceptions would
be the references that refer to Messiah, individual prophets
chosen by God, individual kings chosen by God or, Mary
chosen by God to be the birth-mother of Jesus. The word
“chosen” is also used in the Old Testament books to refer to
the city of Jerusalem or Mt. Zion (Deut. 16:11). However, I
have not found one occurrence in the Old Testament books
where the word “chosen” is ever used to refer to individuals
elected to be saved. The word “elect” in the Old Testament Scriptures is from the
Hebrew word bachiyr (baw-kheer'; used 13 times in the OT3
).
It is the Noun form of bachar (baw-khar'; used 164 times in
OT4) and is used of the Messiah (Isaiah 42:1) and the nation
of Israel (descendents of Jacob; Isaiah 45:4; 65:9 and
65:22). Again, the word is never used to refer to someone
chosen to be saved.
The following portions of Scripture are intended to be
representative (not exhaustive; although an exhaustive study
has been done, it will not be presented here due to space)
of the uses of the word “chosen” as translated from the
Hebrew word bachar (baw-khar') as defined above. The
following texts inductively reveal that God’s choosing is
always vocational in scope and never salvational
in scope.
The Children of Israel as a Nation of People
“1 When the LORD thy God shall bring thee into the land
whither thou goest to possess it, and hath cast out many
nations before thee, the Hittites, and the Girgashites, and
the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, and
the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and
mightier than thou;
2 And when the LORD thy God shall
deliver them before thee; thou shalt smite them, and utterly
destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor
shew mercy unto them:
3 Neither shalt thou make marriages
with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son,
nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son.
4 For they
will turn away thy son from following me, that they may
serve other gods: so will the anger of the LORD be kindled
against you, and destroy thee suddenly.
5 But thus shall ye
deal with them; ye shall destroy their altars, and break
down their images, and cut down their groves, and burn their
graven images with fire.
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:
8 But because
the LORD loved you, and because he would keep the oath which
he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the LORD brought you
out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of
bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.
9 Know
therefore that the LORD thy God, he is God, the faithful
God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love
him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;
10
And repayeth them that hate him to their face, to destroy
them: he will not be slack to him that hateth him, he will
repay him to his face.
11 Thou shalt therefore keep the
commandments, and the statutes, and the judgments, which I
command thee this day, to do them” (Deuteronomy 7:1-11).
“1 The priests the Levites,
and all the tribe of Levi, shall
have no part nor inheritance with Israel: they shall eat the
offerings of the LORD made by fire, and his inheritance.
2
Therefore shall they have no inheritance among their
brethren: the LORD is their inheritance, as he hath said
unto them.
3 And this shall be the priest’s due from the
people, from them that offer a sacrifice, whether it be ox
or sheep; and they shall give unto the priest the shoulder,
and the two cheeks, and the maw.
4
The firstfruit
also of
thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the first of
the fleece of thy sheep, shalt thou give him.
5
For the LORD
thy God hath chosen him out of all thy tribes, to stand to
minister in the name of the LORD,
him and his sons for ever”
(Deuteronomy 18:1-5). “And Samuel said to all the people,
See ye him whom the LORD
hath chosen, that there is none like him among all the
people? And all the people shouted, and said, God save the
king” (Saul; I Samuel 10:24).
“10 Again, Jesse made seven of his sons to pass before
Samuel. And Samuel said unto Jesse,
The LORD hath not chosen
these. 11 And Samuel said unto Jesse, Are here all
thy
children? And he said, There remaineth yet the youngest,
and, behold, he keepeth the sheep. And Samuel said unto
Jesse, Send and fetch him: for we will not sit down till he
come hither.
12 And he sent, and brought him in. Now he
was
ruddy, and withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to
look to. And the LORD said, Arise, anoint him:
for this is
he.
13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in
the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the LORD came
upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and
went to Ramah” (David; I Samuel 16:10-13). “7
And now, O LORD my God, thou hast made thy servant king
instead of David my father: and I am but a little child:
I know not how to go out or come in.
8
And
thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou
hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor
counted for multitude.
9
Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to
judge thy people, that I may discern between good and
bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a
people” (Solomon; I Kings 3:7-9)? “44
If thy people go out to battle against their enemy,
whithersoever thou shalt send them, and shall pray unto the
LORD toward the city which thou hast chosen, and
toward the
house that I have built for thy name:
45 Then hear thou in
heaven their prayer and their supplication, and maintain
their cause” (I Kings 8:44-45; see also verse 48; 11:13, 32
and, 36). “2 Then David the king stood up upon his feet, and said,
Hear me, my brethren, and my people: As for me, I had in
mine heart to build an house of rest for the ark of the
covenant of the LORD, and for the footstool of our God, and
had made ready for the building:
3 But God said unto me,
Thou shalt not build an house for my name, because thou hast
been a man of war, and hast shed blood.
4 Howbeit the LORD
God of Israel chose me before all the house of my father to
be king over Israel for ever:
for he hath chosen Judah
to be
the ruler; and of the house of Judah, the house of my
father; and among the sons of my father he liked me to make
me king over all Israel:
5 And of all my sons, (for the LORD
hath given me many sons,) he hath chosen Solomon my son to
sit upon the throne of the kingdom of the LORD over Israel.
6 And he said unto me, Solomon thy son, he shall build my
house and my courts: for I have chosen him to be my son, and
I will be his father.
7 Moreover I will establish his
kingdom for ever, if he be constant to do my commandments
and my judgments, as at this day” (I Chronicles 28:2-7). “3 I have
made a covenant with my chosen, I have sworn unto
David my servant,
4 Thy seed will I establish for ever, and
build up thy throne to all generations. Selah” (Psalm
89:3-4).
There is conclusive and dogmatic evidence from the Old
Testament Scriptures that God’s choosing (election) is
always used to refer to God’s vocational choices to fulfill
His purposes. God’s choosing is never used in the sense that
God chose someone to be saved from condemnation. This
meaning should be consistent with God’s use of these terms
in the New Testaments books as well. The primary word translated “chose,” “chosen” and “choice”
is the Greek word eklegomai (ek-leg'-om-ahee). The word
“elect” is translated from the Greek word eklektos (ek-lek-tos'),
of which eklegomai is a derivative. The Principle of First
Mention should result in the same categories of use in the
New Testament books as those we find in the Old Testament
books. The Children of Israel as a Nation of People
“14 But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation,
spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought
not, (let him that readeth understand,) then let them that
be in Judaea flee to the mountains:
15 And let him that is
on the housetop not go down into the house, neither enter
therein, to take any thing out of his house:
16 And let him
that is in the field not turn back again for to take up his
garment.
17 But woe to them that are with child, and to them
that give suck in those days!
18 And pray ye that your
flight be not in the winter.
19 For in those days shall be
affliction, such as was not from the beginning of the
creation which God created unto this time, neither shall be.
20 And except that the Lord had shortened those days, no
flesh should be saved:
but for the elect’s sake {Israel
during the seven year Tribulation prior to the second
coming}, whom he hath chosen, he hath shortened the days.
21
And then if any man shall say to you, Lo, here is Christ;
or, lo, he is there; believe him not:
22 For false Christs
and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and
wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect”
(Matthew 13:14-22). “15 Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you
friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I
have made known unto you.
16
Ye have not chosen me, but I
have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and
bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that
whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may
give it you.
17 These things I command you, that ye love one
another” (John 15:15-17; although these words are spoken to
the apostles, their application is for all believers). “26 For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many
wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble,
are called:
27
But God hath chosen the foolish things of the
world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak
things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
28 And base things of the world, and things which are
despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to
bring to nought things that are:
29 That no flesh should
glory in his presence.
30
But of him are ye in Christ Jesus,
who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and
sanctification, and redemption:
31 That, according as it is
written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord” (I
Corinthians 1:26-31). “1
Chapter Seven
Election as Defined by the Hermeneutic
The
1917 Edition of the Scofield Reference Bible1
introduction to the book of Genesis gives us some great
insight into God’s introduction to the whole of His
Scriptural revelation and the purpose of that inspired
revelation.
II. The fall and redemption (3. 1-4, 7).
III. The Diverse Seeds, Cain and Seth, to the Flood
(4.8-7.24).
IV. The Flood to Babel (8.1-11.9).
V. From the call of Abram to the death of Joseph
(11:10-50:26).
The events recorded in Genesis cover a period of 2,315 years
(Ussher).” (Underlining added)
The first two uses of the word “chosen” in the Bible are
used regarding the vocational choice of Aaron as High Priest
(Numbers 16:4) and God’s choice of the children of Israel
(as a group) to be His chosen people (Deuteronomy 7:1-11)
for the transference of inspired revelation and knowledge of
God and a faithful remnant of believers from generation to
generation. The Principle of First Mention and an inductive
methodology lead us to understand that this is the way the
word “chosen” (election) is to be understood throughout
Scripture. If this is true, we should be able to
conclusively show that this is the common usage of the term
and the common meaning.
“1 Ye
are the children of the LORD your God: ye shall not
cut yourselves, nor make any baldness between your eyes for
the dead.
2 For thou
art an holy people unto the LORD thy
God, and the LORD hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people
unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth”
(Deuteronomy 14:1-2).
“13 O ye seed of Israel his servant, ye children of Jacob,
his chosen ones.
14
He
is the LORD our God; his judgments
are in all the earth” (I Chronicles 16:13-14).
“Blessed is
the nation whose God
is the LORD; and
the people
whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance” (Psalm 33:12).
The Tribe of Levi as the Old Covenant Priesthood
“And the priests the sons of Levi shall come near;
for them
the LORD thy God hath chosen
to minister unto him, and to
bless in the name of the LORD; and by their word shall every
controversy and every stroke be tried:” (Deuteronomy 21:5).
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