The Integration of Choice and Election (simplified)

I used to be quite confused because I couldn't understand how anyone could be to blame for failing to choose Jesus (which the scripture clearly teaches) while at the same time God receives glory for being gracious and choosing the people whom He is going to save, excluding all others (which the scripture also clearly teaches).

During my first year at Washington State University, a calvanist minister came to the house that I later moved into and admitted that we all get to choose Jesus or Satan, sin and death! Now is when you are all supposed to draw your breath in quickly because of your suprise. After he said that, I began to think of this little line of reasoning, and before long it was finished.

I know that this line of reasoning is quite simplified and that is has been torn apart by sharp people like James (whom I haven't had the pleasure of speaking to in some time) and Warren, but I don't remember how they did it. Perhaps they will comment.

It works like this: We all must choose. Choosing Jesus brings glory, honor and immortality. Choosing pride, sin, or anything else brings well... Satan, sin and death in Hell.

Now a believer might read this and think to himself, "Well then, why doesn't everyone just choose Jesus right away?"

Inconveniently, this choice is not a free choice because all of the people who are making this choice now are influenced by sin which has been programmed to preserve itself by the one who knows that Jesus will smash sin if He is chosen (Yes, I know that He will smash it later anyway). So the sin inside of people is a serious impediment to logical decision making -- so much so that the choices which are made can be predicted correctly in every instance. I.e. because of the sin that is in them, people will always choose pride, self, Satan, sin, death, anything but Jesus. But Jesus is not to blame because Jesus did not choose Satan, sin, or death or anything else for anyone (alright, He did choose death for Himself once, but not for anyone else).

Conveniently, Jesus has decided to be nice to some people whom He chose beforehand. These people are sometimes called the elect. Jesus opens the eyes of these people so that they can see reality (kinda like the eyes of Elisha's servant were opened) and they are given wisdom to know where pride and sin and so on will take them. Then they choose Jesus and they are translated to the kingdom of light.

How it is that Jesus is able to save people is another topic.