Does Barth’s construal help make sense of election as an act of God’s love and not just wrath (something Eph. 1:4-5 demands: “In love he predestined us…)?
Barth's interpretation certainly speaks of God's incredible love, but while it is a love without conditions, we must first embrace His son before we may accept His grace. According to my interpretation of what Barth is saying, one of those concepts seems too remarkable to be true. He appears to be suggesting that we have been saved and that we do not need to do anything further.
It is not even necessary to believe in the Savior. Barth states, "Rejection cannot again become the
portion or affair of man" (McGrath, 2017, p. 381). He implies that because Christ incurred the punishment of rejection, we are spared from dealing with it ourselves. The Son of God is chosen to give of himself in order to join with the Son of Man for the express goal of saving sinful people. When God provides love most straightforwardly, that is, when he reaches down to bring humanity to himself, this is the act of free grace. I believe Barth confuses people when he states, "Barth thus eliminates any notion of a predestination to condemnation on the part of humanity. The only one who is predestined to condemnation is Jesus Christ who 'from all eternity willed to suffer for us" (McGrath, 2017, p. 381).
Is Barth faithful to Scripture in formulating his approach?
Even though it sounds pleasant, claiming that grace will prevail over disbelief directly contradicts Scripture. Brunner makes this point quite apparent in his contradiction, noting that Barth “departs from the ground of biblical revelation” (McGrath, 2017, p. 383). According to Scripture, this assertion is also false. We must first embrace Christ as our Savior in order to be saved and to receive grace. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever
believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16, ESV). As a result, I do not believe Barth is Scripture-faithful. “Brunner’s fundamental point is that, if Barth is right, nobody
can fail to be saved” (McGrath, 2017, p. 383). I feel he is reading the Word incorrectly in order to make his argument.
References
McGrath, A. E. (2017). The Christian theology reader
. CCU Electronic Resources
(5th ed.). Wiley Blackwell. https://platform.virdocs.com/r/s/0/doc/504438/sp/21825015/mi/76233113?cfi=
%2F4%2F2%2F68%2F12%2C%2F1%3A235%2C
%2F1%3A248&menu=search&q=infallibility%20in%20teaching%E2%80%9D. The Holy Bible, English Standard Version
. (2001). Crossway.
