Thanks so much for your thoughtful question! When it comes to the issue of salvation, there probably isn't a more-engaging -- and more-debated -- topic that predestination.

First, you are to be commended in the Lord for your focus on salvation in Christ. Regardless of a person's denominational affiliation, there is nothing as important as his or her standing before the Lord -- the One who created you and me to know, to love and to serve Him. And according to Scripture, the only way a person is declared acceptable in the sight of God is by the atoning work of Jesus Christ at Calvary, which work one appropriates by faith in Christ as one's Savior and Lord.

Also, it would be useful to clarify one term at the start of our discussion: "Presbyterian." Presbyterianism is perhaps the purest expression of the Reformed faith, but there are many Christians who hold to Calvinism and are Reformed -- yet they're a part of the Baptist Church or the Episcopal Church or another denomination. But yes, *conservative* (also known as traditional) Presbyterians always have held to the doctrines of grace, which include predestination.

A person can be a genuine, regenerate Christian yet not believe in unconditional election. The issues in salvation are one's belief in the God who is revealed in Scripture; one's understanding of sin and of God's holiness and final judgment of all people; one's faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as Redeemer; and one's desire to live for God out of gratitude for His gracious work of salvation.

But if that same person takes the Bible seriously, he would be hard pressed to deny unconditional election!

So why believe in unconditional election?
* First, because the Scriptures plainly teach that only God can save a sinner. To believe in unconditional election is to be faithful to the clear meaning of the Word of God.

Consider, for example, the Lord's choice of Israel in the Old Testament to be His people. Did Abram choose God? Of course not! St. Paul, for example, in the New Testament is only picking up on Old Testament theology when he writes of God's elective grace.

Next, examine our Savior's words in St. John 6:44: no one can come to Christ unless the Father draws that person to Christ. Why is this so? Because of what Paul teaches in Ephesians 2:1,5. When Adam and Eve chose to rebel against God, they had to suffer the consequences of His punishment -- which included physical AND spiritual death for all their descendants (everyone who's ever lived).

Stop for a moment and meditate on these words, which Paul repeats in Epehsians 2: "You ... were DEAD in trespasses and sins." Dead! Unable to think, to speak, to act, to move toward God in any way. In the county where I live, there is a dangerous intersection where numerous small cars are crushed by fast-moving tractor-trailers. Sadly, many drivers of those tiny cars have been killed in the accidents. They are dead in an instant; they can't even call for an ambulance. That's the picture Paul is painting of you and me: dead -- and without hope of helping ourselves.

That's why Jesus says that only the Father can draw sinners to himself.

Look also at Ephesians 1:4-6. Paul's unmistakable point is this: God has chosen YOU for His good purposes before He ever created the world or those who in it dwell. Those who believe that humans have the free will -- or even partial free will -- to choose Christ must do tremendous violence to this passage (among countless others) to make their argument.

Further, consider who's doing what in Ephesians 2. When the apostle writes of what *you and I* have done, he speaks only of something embarassing and horrid: sin. When he writes about salvation, though, he emphasizes that *God* does all the work! Even saving faith in Jesus, Paul teaches, is the gift of God (2:8).

We could continue searching the Scriptures on this point, but those passages underscore that unconditional election is the teaching of the Bible. Let's let St. John sum it up for us: "We love him, because he first loved us" (I John 4:19).

*Second, the biblical doctrine of unconditional election gives you confidence in your salvation, because it's the work of God.

Human beings have accomplished some amazing things through the course of history: erecting intricate and massive buildings, composing majestic operas, landing a man on the moon, and performing
heart transplants -- to name a few.

But buildings crumble. Operas always can be improved and sometimes are performed horribly. The moon is but a small part of the solar system, and heart patients -- like all of us! -- eventually pass away.

And when it comes to "doing good," we're especially "good" at following one nice action with 20 selfish ones. For every kind word, there is an angry argument. For every song of praise we lift to God, there is an ungrateful thought that crosses our minds and dishonors Him.

Aren't you glad God does for you and me what we cannot do for ourselves?! (See Romans 3:10,23 and 6:21-23, as well as Ephesians 2:1-10).

*Third, unconditional election upholds the integrity of God's power and love.

Think for a moment what it would be like to have a God who wasn't in control of His world. None of us likes to feel out of control, but to think that God couldn't control His creation would be more than unnerving! God is indeed sovereign in all the worlds He made, and His purposeful and gracious choosing of some sinners for salvation is proof that He is more powerful than sin or death or the machinations of men (Psalm 2:1-4).

This doctrine also overwhelms you and me with the depth of God's love for us. Election is "unconditional" because God alone chooses sinners out to be His children through adoption and grace. Your salvation isn't conditional on your choosing of Christ or on how nicely you treat others or on where you were born or on your skin color. Your salvation (faith in Christ as your Savior) instead is rooted in God's love -- His *great* love wherewith He hath loved us, as Paul writes in Ephesians 2.

To think that the Holy Lord would choose out ungrateful, hard-hearted, bickering, self-absorbed rebels to be His children is absolutely astounding. But the biblical teaching of unconditional election means that God knew what callous rebels we would be, but He still -- before the world was created -- chose to pour out His love and mercy on some undeserving sinners.

May God impress you with His grace, power and love as you continue to search His Word on this momentous subject.