The Argument Published by Monergism

Monergism.com publishes an article by Loraine Boettner titled "Faith and Good Works are the Fruits and Proof, not the basis, of Election." Boettner's main argument is clear: God did not choose people because He foresaw that they would believe or perform good works. Instead, God chose them first, then regenerated them, gave them faith and repentance, and produced holiness in their lives. In this model, the order is: God unconditionally elects particular people, Christ redeems those people, the Spirit regenerates them, regeneration produces faith and repentance, faith produces good works, and those works provide evidence that election and regeneration were genuine.

Boettner is correct about several important matters. Good works do not earn election. They do not earn justification. Faith is not a moral achievement that places God in a sinner's debt. Salvation rests on God's grace and Christ's work. The problem comes when faith and good works are placed in the same category and treated as identical effects of a prior, unconditional election. Scripture distinguishes them. Good works are the expected fruit of saving faith. Faith is the non-meritorious means through which a person receives Christ and His saving benefits.

Where Beyond Tulip Agrees

Boettner is right to reject every form of salvation by merit. God did not look through history, discover unusually virtuous people, and reward them with election. No one deserves salvation because of moral discipline, religious service, intelligence, ancestry, church involvement, future obedience, or superior spiritual insight. Election is never God's reward for human goodness. Paul says salvation is not from works, so no one may boast. He also says believers are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works. The order matters: Christians are not saved by good works; they are saved for a life of good works. Beyond Tulip therefore agrees with Boettner that holiness and good works are fruits and evidence of a living relationship with Christ. The disagreement is whether saving faith must also be treated only as evidence that an individual was already unconditionally elected and regenerated.

Faith and Good Works Are Not the Same Kind of Thing

Boettner repeatedly groups faith and good works together, arguing that neither can be a condition connected with election because both are fruits of election. That reasoning moves too quickly. The New Testament contrasts faith with works. Paul says a person is justified by faith apart from works. He describes the one who does not work but trusts God as being counted righteous. Faith is not one especially important work among many — faith is reliance on someone else. Good works involve actions of obedience. Faith receives Christ, trusts His promise, and abandons hope in personal merit. A person does not help accomplish the atonement by trusting the One who accomplished it. A person does not become the basis of justification by receiving justification through faith. This is why Scripture can say salvation is by grace, through faith, not from works — grace is the source, Christ's work is the ground, faith is the means of reception, and good works are the resulting fruit.

Basis, Condition, Instrument, and Fruit

Much confusion disappears when four terms are separated. The basis of salvation is Christ's life, death, and resurrection. A condition identifies how the promised benefit is received — the New Testament repeatedly connects salvation with believing, receiving Christ, and calling on the Lord. The instrument is faith as the empty hand receiving Christ. The fruit is good works that follow living faith. Faith and works are related, but they are not interchangeable.

Chosen "That We Should Be Holy"

Boettner appeals to Ephesians 1:4: God chose believers in Christ before the foundation of the world so that they would be holy and blameless. His argument is that holiness must be the result of election, not its cause. Beyond Tulip agrees. The disputed question is different: did God choose particular unbelieving individuals and then cause them to believe, or did He choose Christ and the people identified with Christ, determining beforehand what all who are united to Him would become? Beyond Tulip defends the second reading. God chose a people in Christ. Those joined to Christ through faith share in the identity, blessings, and destiny of the Chosen One. Ephesians 1:13 says the readers heard the word of truth, believed, and were sealed in Christ.

Does Conditional Election Make Faith the Cause of God's Plan?

Boettner argues that election based on faith would place God's eternal purpose under the control of human decisions. But corporate election does not teach that human beings designed God's plan. God sovereignly chose Christ as the covenant head, salvation by grace, the cross as the basis of redemption, faith as the means of reception, the people in Christ as His covenant community, and their destiny of holiness and glory. Every part of that plan comes from God. A person's faith does not cause God to invent election. Faith is the condition God chose for participation in the people He elected in Christ.

Beyond Tulip's Assessment

The choice is not between salvation by God and salvation by human merit — that presents a false dilemma. Beyond Tulip affirms salvation by God from beginning to end. God designed the plan, the Father sent the Son, Christ accomplished redemption, the Spirit reveals truth and gives life, and the gospel is God's message. The believer contributes no atonement, righteousness, or merit. The real disagreement is narrower: did God unconditionally choose which individuals He would cause to believe, or did He choose Christ and the people in Christ, graciously calling all people to enter that elect community through faith? Beyond Tulip finds the second answer more consistent with Scripture's corporate election language, universal gospel invitations, warnings against unbelief, and repeated presentation of faith as the means through which life is received.

Works Cited

Abasciano, Brian J. "Romans 9 and Calvinism." In Calvinism: A Biblical and Theological Critique, edited by David L. Allen and Steve W. Lemke. Nashville: B&H Academic, 2022.

Boettner, Loraine. "Faith and Good Works are the Fruits and Proof, not the basis, of Election." Monergism.com. Adapted from The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination.

Flowers, Leighton C. The Potter's Promise: A Biblical Defense of Traditional Soteriology. Trinity Academic Press, 2017.

Geisler, Norman L. Chosen But Free: A Balanced View of Divine Election. 2nd ed. Minneapolis: Bethany House, 2001.