Discourse Concerning God's Decrees

The reason why one man believes, that is embraces the way of Salvation, and another doth not, is finally to be resolved into God's eternal Election of the one and Reprobation of the other; or more briefly thus, that only those who are ordained unto Eternal Life, either do or can believe...and the Apostle Paul doth everywhere assert faith to be a fruit and not a cause of Election, that we are chosen unto good works, not for them, that is that they who are predestinated shall certainly believe, not they who believe were therefore predestinated, which is the sum of his discourse in Ephesians chapter 1. So that in the Act of Election, men are to be considered as merely passive, that is, as recipients, not as believers, as such who were liable to be disposed by God how he pleased, but had no possibility of meriting anything from him.