When can someone comprehend God's teaching on election?
A person can comprehend God's teaching on election only after becoming a believer. Before faith, even though God's Word states it, it cannot be grasped. Once believed, election becomes a point of assurance and rejoicing, securing the believer in the body of Christ because God chose them.
Les explains that this teaching on election must always be tempered with the fact that we cannot comprehend it, even though God's Word says it, until we become believers. Once we believe, it becomes a point of assurance and rejoicing, because we are secure in the body of Christ due to God's choice. He illustrates this with the analogy of ten men on death row, all equally guilty of murder. The governor pardons three, and they go free, not because they deserved it—they were just as guilty as the other seven—but by the grace of the governor. The other seven have no right to demand release because they still deserve their sentence. In the same way, election is understood only by faith, and it brings assurance, not because of merit, but because of God's gracious choice.