Does God elect His people to salvation based on any condition they have met?

Romans 9:14-16 (NKJV)

What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? Certainly not! For He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion.” So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy.

Biblically, there is no condition that people must meet in order to be elected for salvation by God. The doctrine of God’s election is a total mystery embedded in God’s love. 

The basis for God’s election is His unconditional, eternal, pure, and sovereign grace and love for us. This love of God is isn’t based on anything that believers do. 

As the scriptures record in 1 John 4:19, “We love Him because He first loved us.”

God’s elective degree is clearly visible in His election of the nation Israel. This is recorded in Deuteronomy 7:7 where He says, “I did not choose you because you were the greatest of all the nations, for you were the least.” 

The nation of Israel was a tiny sliver of land between the massive nation-states around it. Yet God did not hesitate to use them to display His majesty and power. Had any of us been in God’s position, we may have chosen Egypt during that time because they were a superpower.

God further says in Deuteronomy 10:14-15; (Paraphrasing), “to the Lord God belongs the earth and the nations and the heavens. And yet, I set my elective love on you.” 

The elective love of God is “unconditional”, and there is nothing we can do to deserve it. 

The doctrine of total depravity teaches that all of humanity is in a fallen state, and there is nothing we can do to merit His sovereign election.

In our fallen or spiritually dead state, while we still have the ability to make choices, still the choices we make are governed by our wicked hearts rather than God’s desires. 

Basically, fallen creatures lack a built-in desire for God. This is why Jesus said, “No man can come to me unless it is given to him by the Father.” (John 14:6). 

Salvation only begins when God graciously and sovereignly gives us a desire for Christ. It is God who reserves the right to elect and it is He who provides the faith and means of salvation.

This truth is reiterated throughout the New Testament. A good example is found in Paul’s statement in (Romans 9:15) where He iterates God’s right to have mercy upon whomever he chooses.

Even the Apostle Paul’s conversion is an excellent example of God’s election. On his journey to Damascus, Christ appeared to Paul in a marvelous way, transforming him from a persecutor of Christians into a follower of Christ. Unlike Pontius Pilate, who encountered Jesus but remained unmoved and untransformed, Paul was chosen by God for a radical change. This highlights the sovereign grace of God in calling Paul specifically, despite his previous hostility to the faith.

Although some people might find this difficult to swallow, it is important to note that God never treats anyone unfairly. The human race is fallen, and all God sees is our rebellion against Him.

If God were to exercised complete justice towards the whole world we would all perish. However, He does not do that. There are some who receive justice, and there are some who receive mercy.

“There’s a great debate on this, as you know, but I believe that the choice God makes is not based on my righteousness or on your righteousness but is based on his grace.”
~ R.C. Sproul