ELECT

Who Are the Elect in the Bible?
The English "elect" derives from a compound Greek term, eklektos (ek -- "out of," and lego -- "to gather"). It suggests the idea of being selected or chosen. 

The New Testament uses the term in various senses. 
  • God elected the nation of Israel to be the instrument through which Christ would come to earth (Dt. 7:6; Isa. 45:4). 
  • Jesus was God's chosen person to implement the plan of redemption (1 Pet. 2:4, 6). 
  • Angels are elect in that God uses them for specific roles in his providential plan (1 Tim. 5:21). 
  • Christians are frequently called God's elect or chosen (Mt. 24:22; Rom. 8:33; Col. 3:12; 2 Tim. 2:10). 
When the New Testament refers to Christians as God's elect, it does not mean that each child of God was explicitly chosen "before the foundation of the world" for salvation and that God predestined all others for condemnation. This idea that God arbitrarily chose specific individuals to be saved or condemned is embraced by the doctrines of unconditional election and limited atonement, which are significant errors in Calvinism.

How absurd it is to argue that God commissioned the apostles to preach the gospel to every creature when, supposedly, God already chose a vast number of them for eternal damnation!

The truth is, God chose a specific type of person: those who are obedient and who would themselves determine to enter the "in Christ" relationship (see Eph. 1:4 "chose us in him") by obedience to the truth (Rom. 6:3-4; Gal. 3:26-27).
 
The "elect" are defined by their acceptance or rejection of the gospel. When the gospel is preached, individuals judge their worthiness or unworthiness for eternal life based on their response (cf. Acts 13:46).

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Adapted from the book "Bible Words and Theological Terms Made Easy" by Wayne Jackson