How Do We Explain the Doctrine of Election to Kids?

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Hello friends! Today's podcast question says:

"How do we explain the doctrine of election to kids? We are going through the New City Catechism where it says that not all will be saved, but only those whom God elects. This brought my child to tears wondering what will happen if she is not elect. Thank you for your help with this."

This is an important question for us to think through because election is a term that is used in Scripture, and we want to make sure that we are always helping our kids have a biblically correct understanding. So I think the first thing we need to do is make sure that we have a correct understanding of the doctrine of election and where it appears in Scripture before we can help our kids talk about it.

That's what we're going to dive into today on the Foundation Worldview Podcast, where we seek to answer your questions so that you can equip the children that God has placed in your care to carefully evaluate every idea they encounter and understand the truth of the biblical worldview.

Understanding the Greek Word for "Election"

As we think through the concept of election, the term that is translated "election" into English is the Greek noun eklogé (spelled E-K-L-O-G-E). This is defined in Greek lexicons as "the act of picking out or choosing." This Greek word is used three times in Scripture.

I'm going to read longer passages simply because if I only read the verse where "election" appears, it might be a little more difficult to understand what's being discussed.

Romans 9:10–13

The first passage where the term "election" is used is Romans chapter 9, verses 10 through 13:

"When Rebecca had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad — in order that God's purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls — she was told, 'The older will serve the younger.' As it is written, 'Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.'"

Romans 11:25–31

The next passage is also in the book of Romans — chapter 11. I'm going to read verses 25 through 31:

"Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written, 'The deliverer will come from Zion. He will banish ungodliness from Jacob, and this will be my covenant with them when I take away their sins.' As regards the gospel, they are enemies for your sake, but as regards election, they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers. For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. For just as you were at one time disobedient to God but have now received mercy because of their disobedience, so they too have now been disobedient in order that by the mercy shown to you, they also may now receive mercy."

2 Peter 1:3–11

The third passage is in 2 Peter, chapter 1, verses 3 through 11:

"His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."

Election Is a Biblical Concept

Now, this is not going to be a thorough teaching on the doctrine of election, but I just wanted to walk through where this term appears in Scripture. It's clear from reading these passages that election is a biblical concept. No matter what someone believes about election, it would be unbiblical to say that election is not a concept — because it's very clearly stated in these three passages.

Everyone who holds to the historic Christian faith should believe that election is something biblical. What Christians can disagree over is what election means.

Some take it to mean that God has chosen some and not others simply because it was his good pleasure to choose those whom he chose. Others take it to mean that God, in his foreknowledge, knew who would choose him, and he elected those who would choose him unto salvation.

In this podcast, I'm not going to go through the nitty-gritty ins and outs of the different beliefs, or even which one I hold. No matter which is the correct understanding of election, there is another important truth that pertains to this question — a truth we have to understand in order to explain it well to our children.

Those Who Seek the Lord Will Find Him

That truth is this: those who seek the Lord will find him.

I'll say that again — those who seek the Lord will find him. This is made clear throughout the Old and New Testaments. I'm going to take us through a whole smattering of different Scripture passages where this truth is evident, and then we'll dive into how we can translate what we see in Scripture into explaining this to our children.

Deuteronomy 4:29 — "From there you will seek the Lord your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul."

Psalm 34:10 — "The young lions suffer want and hunger, but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing."

Jeremiah 29:13 — "You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart."

Joel 2:32 — "And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the Lord has said, and among the survivors shall be those whom the Lord calls."

Matthew 7:7–8 — "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened."

Acts 2:21 — "And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."

Romans 10:13 — "For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."

Hebrews 11:6 — "And without faith it is impossible to please God, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him."

These are just a smattering of passages from both the Old and New Testaments that show very clearly: those who seek the Lord will find him.

How Can We Support Foundation Worldview?

Before we talk about how to explain this to our children, I wanted to answer another quick question that people have reached out to us with before: How can I support Foundation Worldview?

There are a lot of people who listen to this podcast and say, "I know you have great resources for kids, but I don't have kids in this age range yet, so I'm not going to support you by purchasing a curriculum. How can I help?"

If that's you and you've been blessed by this content, there are three quick ways you can support us:

First, pray for us. We are on the front lines for the hearts and minds of children, and there is a lot of spiritual warfare that we face. Please pray for us regularly — daily, if you can. We would greatly appreciate that.

Second, spread the word about Foundation Worldview within your sphere of influence. You might not have children in the age range we're trying to help parents disciple, but there are people in your church and in your neighborhood who do. Usually the most common way people find us is through word of mouth — somebody else saying, "Hey, I know this resource. I think it would really help you." So please share us within your circle of influence.

Third, leave a review. If you've purchased one of our books — whether it's the adult book Helping Your Kids Know God's Good Design or one of our children's books like What Is Truth? or Our Feelings Truth — if you could hop on Amazon and write a review, that would be hugely helpful. We've had thousands of people purchase our books, but as I'm recording this, all of our books currently have under 60 reviews on Amazon. Those reviews make a real difference in how our books appear in search engines, whether on Google or on Amazon. So if you could help us with that, it would be a tremendous blessing.

Explaining Election to Your Child

Now let's talk about how we can take what we just saw about election in Scripture and translate it down for a child.

Step 1: Define Election

The first thing we need to do is talk about what election means. For this parent who wrote in, you've gone through the New City Catechism, so you can say, "Okay, let's talk about this word election."

A simple way to explain it to kids: election means to choose. An easy parallel is to say, "Whenever there's an election in our state or in our town or in our country, we go as adults to vote for the person that we want to be in that office. So we choose them. To elect someone means to choose them."

Step 2: Read Romans 9 Together

Then I think you can take your kids right to that first passage I read — Romans chapter 9, verses 10 through 13:

"When Rebecca had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad — in order that God's purpose of election might continue, not because of works, but because of him who calls — she was told, 'The older will serve the younger.' As it is written, 'Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.'"

Then you can say, "This passage clearly says that God chose Jacob. God elected Jacob. He did not elect Esau."

You can then explain what different Christians believe about that. Some Christians believe that God knew Jacob would choose to trust him, so God chose to elect Jacob. Other Christians think it didn't have anything to do with what Jacob or Esau would do — that God simply chose Jacob because God chose him.

Step 3: Point to God's Character

Then you can say, "You know what? No matter which understanding is correct — whether God knew ahead of time that Jacob would choose him, or whether God chose Jacob simply because God chose Jacob — there are other truths about God from Scripture that should help us understand this."

We know that God is good. The Scriptures tell us that God is good and all he does is good. The Scriptures also tell us that God is just — that God will always do what is right. So if God is good and God is just, we know that we can trust him.

If you've taken your kids through the Foundation Worldview Attributes of God curriculum, this is where you can go back to the lesson where we focused on God's goodness — what it means for God to be good, for him to be kind — and go back to the lesson on God's justice — what it means for God to be just. Dive into those Scriptures, play those games, and talk again through those attributes and how they lead us to trust him.

Step 4: Share the Promise That All Who Seek God Will Find Him

After you've established the definition of election, acknowledged that Christians disagree on the specifics, and affirmed that we can trust God because he is good and just, then you can say, "There's another important truth for you to know — the Bible tells us that all who seek God find him."

Two especially good passages to take your kids through are:

Deuteronomy 4:29 — "From there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul."

Ask your child, "What does this verse reveal?" It reveals that those who seek the Lord will find him.

Romans 10:13 — "For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."

Ask, "What does this reveal?" This reveals that every single person who calls on God for salvation, trusting in him, will be saved.

Step 5: Apply It Personally

For this questioner — if your daughter is crying, worried about whether she is elect — you can ask her directly:

"Are you seeking God? Are you seeking to know more about him?"

Yes, she is.

"And you know what? God has promised that as you seek him, you will find him."

Then you can ask, "Have you called on Jesus? Have you trusted in Jesus to be the payment for your sins, to be the only one who can bring you back to God? If you have, then you are saved — because Scripture clearly tells us that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord Jesus will be saved."

The Doctrine of Election Should Bring Peace

The truth of the matter is this: the doctrine of election should cause us great peace. God is good. God is just. God always speaks the truth. So if we are seeking him, we will find him. And if we have called on him for salvation, we can know that we are saved.

By walking our kids through the definition of election, through these passages of Scripture, through the attributes of God — knowing that God is good and just — and through the promise that all who seek the Lord will find him and all who call on the name of the Lord Jesus will be saved, we can clearly explain that even if we can't be 100% certain what election means or what God's mode of election is, we can be certain of who God is and the promises he has given us.

There's no need to cry over election. Election is not a doctrine that should lead to fear — it's a doctrine that should lead to great peace.

Don't Miss Future Episodes

If conversations like this one are helping you navigate tough theological questions with your children, I'd encourage you to sign up for the Foundation Worldview email community. It's the best way to get practical resources, new episode alerts, and biblical worldview insights delivered straight to your inbox — so you never miss the content that equips you to disciple the kids in your care.

And if you have a question that you would like for me to answer on a future Foundation Worldview Podcast, you can submit that by going to FoundationWorldview.com/podcast.

Thank you to all of you who have submitted questions — we truly couldn't do this podcast without you.

As we leave our time together, my prayer for you is the same as always: that no matter the situation in which you and the children that God has placed in your care find yourselves, that you would trust that God is working all things together for your good by using all things to conform you more into the image of His Son. I'll see you next time.