The basis of God's choice is a complete mystery to us. The only "hints" we have from Scripture is that the elect are

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not many wise, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish to shame the wise, the weak to shame the strong, and the base, and the despised God has chosen; the nobodies that He nullify the somebodies, so that no man may boast before God (1st Corinthians 1:26-28, paraphrased).

And we know from Scripture that their number is greater than the number of stars (because He said so to Abraham) in the sky and grains of sand on every beach. Yet from among the fallen race of Adam, only a fraction. We also know that His choice was not based on any foreseen faithfulness or obedience in those elected, since they could not have been faithful or obedient until and unless He first acted [/i]upon[/i] them, giving them the ability to believe and to obey.

Would Saul of Tarsus have turned out differently if God had not interrupted him, blinded him, and "forcibly" turned him around? Not likely. And why doesn't God strike everybody blind if that's what it takes to turn them around? What about Saul's "free will?" Saul wouldn't have chosen to become one of the people he had been hunting down to imprison. No, God first acted upon Saul of Tarsus - by a sovereign choice rather than "foreseen" righteousness on Paul's part.

The only faithfulness and obedience forming the basis of our salvation is Christ's obedience and faithfulness, not ours!

We are the foolish, the weak, the base, the despised, the nobodies. God has not chosen those best qualified for Christianity, but those least deserving. And if God can transform us lowlifes into the image of His own Son, then He is certainly powerful to save everyone He wants to save, despite themselves. Those who are left to His justice rather than His mercy do not receive justice rather than mercy because God failed somehow to accomplish what He wanted. He is not thwarted by puny human willfulness.

Those who receive His mercy do not qualify for it in any way at any time. They do not cooperate and get rewarded for it. They are acted upon by a God who rerscues them from sin, gives them a new supernatural nature that is uniquely free to believe and obey the gospel.