Called, or Not? Fair, or Not?

The famous American Bible teacher Donald Grey Barnhouse (1895-1960) often used an illustration to help people make sense of election...

"Imagine a cross like the one on which Jesus died, only so large that it has a door in it. Over the door are these words from Revelation: "Whosoever will may come."

These words represent the free and universal offer of the gospel. By God's grace, the message of salvation is for everyone. Every man, woman, and child who will come to the cross is invited to believe in Jesus Christ and enter eternal life.

On the other side of the door a happy surprise awaits the one who believes and enters. From the inside, anyone glancing back can see these words from Ephesians written above the door: "Chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world."

Election is best understood in hindsight, for it is only after coming to Christ that one can know whether one has been chosen in Christ. Those who make a decision for Christ find that God made a decision for them in eternity past.

https://blogs.thegospelcoalition.org/justintaylor/2010/06/11/two-views-of-the-same-door/

Rom 9: What Is Fair?

(v20) Who in the world do you think you are to second-guess God? Do you for one moment suppose any of us knows enough to call God into question? Clay doesn’t talk back to the fingers that mold it, saying, “Why did you shape me like this?” Isn’t it obvious that a potter has a perfect right to shape one lump of clay into a vase for holding flowers and another into a pot for cooking beans? If God needs one style of pottery especially designed to show his angry displeasure and another style carefully crafted to show his glorious goodness, isn’t that all right?