(Part of the Election, Sovereign Grace, Will, Salvation
bible study group.)
"Sirs,
what must I do to be saved?"
So they said, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ,
and you will be saved."
The following objection to Election is often raised,
"Acts 16:30-31, and similar verses of the Bible, say that to be saved all that is necessary is to believe in Jesus. Other verses say that it is only necessary to repent, obey, etc. These types of verses disprove the Doctrine of Election!"
This verse, along with all the verses, which say, "believe, repent, and obey" in connection with salvation, are often given as proof that the doctrine of election, salvation by God's Sovereign Grace & Will, is not a valid belief. It must be kept in mind that these are all spiritual acts, also that Holy Scripture is a spiritual document and that it deals with spiritual matters. We know the Bible teaches that to natural man spiritual matters are meaningless and cannot be discerned by him. Therefore the supposition that these types of verses disprove election is not valid. In addition, none of these types of verses indicate that all mankind has the capability to follow their admonition.
Then why does the Bible say to repent, believe, obey, etc. (See Refinement.)
There is no biblical basis for assuming that these types of verses disprove election, or show that salvation by God's Sovereign Grace & Will is not a valid belief. Rather, the Doctrine explains why some are moved to heed the verses' admoninitions, while others are not.
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Acts 16:30-31
page updated 03/15/2011.