The doctrine of election states that God has an elect people whom he chose in Christ before the foundation of the world according to His purposes. Election teaches that God has chosen who he will save from sin and therefore give undeserving grace. It also teaches that he has chosen who he will not give undeserving grace to but instead let them justly perish. It is a doctrine which is strongly based on the idea that God is totally free to do what He wishes with His creation.

Because the doctrine of election teaches that God has predestined a specific group of people to salvation, one of the most commonly asserted objections this doctrine is that if it is true then we have no reason or motivation to preach the gospel to the lost. After all, if God has predetermined who will be saved then it follows that no matter what we do or don't do they will still be saved. This argument is completely flawed in almost every aspect. It is very important that we remember that God has not only ordained the ends but also the means to those ends.

The above argument is assuming that the doctrine of election teaches fatalism, which is the idea that the ends are fixed and all of our actions have no affect on them. The doctrine of election does not teach fatalism, but instead teaches determinism. Determinism makes it clear that God has not only determined the ends but also everything that happens in between including the actions of men. God has commanded us to preach the gospel to all the earth because this is the means by which God saves men. God does not magically zap people with a bolt of lightning to save them, He uses the Holy Spirit and the Word of God.

In addition to this, the idea that God has an elect people should motivate us even more because we know for a fact that when we go to an area and preach the gospel that God has elect people all throughout the earth and people will be saved. We do not know who God's elect are, so we are commanded to preach to every man. God knows His elect and He will save all of those whom he has chosen in Christ. If there is no election and salvation is left up to the free will of man, what guarantee do we have that anyone will ever be saved by our preaching the word of God?