It will take an extremely long time to analyze individual places. But you feel without a doubt, you feel with what clarity of the apostolic utterances this grace is defended, against which human merit is exalted, as if a man first gives something in order to be repaid to him. Therefore God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world, predestinating us to be adopted as sons: not because we were going to be holy and blameless in ourselves, but because He chose and predestined us to be. And He did this according to the good pleasure of His will, that no one should boast of his own will, but of God's will concerning himself: He did this according to the riches of His grace, according to His good pleasure, which He first set in His beloved Son, in Whom also we were made heirs, being predestined to it according to the intention, not ours, but Him Who does all things, even to the point of which the will itself accomplishes in us (Phil. 2:13). But He does according to the counsel of His will, that we may be to the praise of His glory. From this comes the fact that we cry out that "no one should boast of a man" (1 Corinthians 3:21), and, therefore, not of himself; but "he who boasts, let him glory in the Lord" (ibid., 1:31), so that we may be to the praise of His glory. For He Himself works according to His intention, that we should be holy and blameless to the praise of His glory, for which reason He called us, having predestined us before the foundation of the world. From this purpose comes the very calling of the faithful in the proper sense of the word, to whom all things work together for good: since they are called according to their intention (Rom. 8:28), and the gifts and calling of God are immutable (On the Predestination of the Saints, chs. 17-18).

Likewise, commenting on Rom. 9:11-13, St. Augustine says: If he (the Apostle) had wanted to point out the future works, either good of the one or the bad of the other, which God foresaw, he would never have said "not of works," but would have said "of future works," and in this way would have settled the matter, without raising any other question to be solved (Enchiridion, ch. 98).

God does not choose us for our purity (for we are very unclean), but makes clean those whom He has chosen: Are you not the only one who is pure? We can only be pure when you purify us. And Thou cleansest those in whom Thou wilt be pleased to dwell, whom Thou hast predestined without their merits before the world, whom Thou hast called out of the world, whom Thou hast justified in the world, and whom Thou hast glorified after the world.

Those whom Thou hast chosen for Thy temple out of many, Thou hast purified, pouring pure water upon them, whose names Thou knowest, written in the Book of Life, who cannot perish in any way, and to whom all things are made possible for good (Flowers of Grace-Filled Life, p. 133).

Thus the elect received freely what they received: there was nothing before them that they had given before, and they would have been recompensed: for nothing He saved them (On the Predestination of the Saints, ch. 6).

In our election there is no merit of ours and no glory of ours – it is the merit and glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. When we doubt, we do not humiliate ourselves, but Him.

Indeed, if we believed that God chooses us on the basis of some foreseeable virtues, then we would have to choose between self-conceit and despair. We would fall into a ridiculous conceit if we saw in ourselves some virtues that were supposedly the cause of God's election; And we would fall into despair if, looking at ourselves more realistically, we saw that we have no merits of our own.

Does not such an understanding destroy the reality of human freedom and responsibility? If by "freedom" we understand the ability of man to destroy God's plan at will, then man does not have such a possibility. God will certainly accomplish what He has determined to do (Isaiah 14:24). If the existence of free will implied that some sluggish angel, nimble demon, or sinful man could frustrate God's eternal plan, then it would be impossible to speak of any of God's promises, and the universe would plunge into chaos, from which no one and nothing could save us. In order that we may not be tormented by vain fears in this regard, the Scriptures repeatedly indicate that people, acting according to their own will, do only that which is predestined for them to do in God's pre-eternal plan. At the same time, people decide for themselves what to do, and they are responsible for their choices, they are in no way puppets. But whether they want it or not, whether they believe it or not, they do exactly what His hand and His counsel have ordained to be; In this way, God turns the snares of evil people and demons, against their will, to the fulfillment of His good purposes. By this truth the Apostles were strengthened for the fearless preaching of the Gospel: For verily Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, are gathered together in this city against Thy holy Son Jesus, whom Thou hast anointed, to do that which Thy hand and Thy counsel have ordained to be. And now, O Lord, look upon their threats, and let Thy servants speak Thy word with all boldness (Acts 4:27-29).

The prophets of the Old Testament also pointed to God's absolute dominion over all creation: the pagan kings who attacked God's people were instruments of His judgment, and those who protected them were instruments of His mercy. I will give just a few examples, although this teaching permeates the entire Bible: And it will come to pass, when the Lord has done all His work on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, He will say, I will behold the success of the haughty heart of the king of Assyria, and the vanity of his eyes lifted high. He says, "By the power of my hand and by my wisdom I have done this, because I am wise; And I set up the boundaries of the nations, and plundered their treasures, and cast them down from their thrones like a giant; and my hand has seized the wealth of the nations as nests; and as the eggs left in them are taken away, so I have taken away all the earth, and no one has moved a wing, nor opened his mouth, nor squeaked."

Does the axe boast before him who cuts it? Does the saw take pride in front of the one who moves it? It is as if the rod rebels against the one who lifts it; As if a stick is being lifted on someone who is not a tree! (Isaiah 10:12-15).

Have you not heard that I have done this long ago, ordained it in ancient days, and now I have fulfilled it by laying waste to fortified cities, turning them into heaps of ruins? (2 Kings 19:25).

For the sake of Jacob my servant, and of Israel my chosen one, I have called you by name, I have honored you, although you did not know me (Isaiah 45:1-4).

As C. S. Lewis famously put it, a good man serves God as a son, an evil man as an instrument. To some, it may seem that such a view of God's sovereignty destroys the moral value of human actions. But this problem exists only in our finite logic, not in reality. For who was freer than our Lord Jesus Christ? Who among the faithful will doubt that He gave Himself up of His own free will for the ransom of many? For He Himself says: Therefore the Father loves Me, that I lay down My life, that I may receive it again. No one takes it away from Me, but I Myself give it away. I have the power to give it up, and I have the power to receive it again. This commandment I have received from My Father (John 10:17-18).

However, He was predestined to do what He did from the foundation of the world: knowing that you were redeemed not with perishable silver or gold from the vain life handed down to you from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as a blameless and pure Lamb, predestined before the foundation of the world, but manifested in the last times for you (1 Peter 1:18-20).