Many Christians today bristle at the doctrine of election, but the Scriptures do not. Both Jesus and the Apostles blatantly call God’s people the elect or chosen, not to mention God's choosing of Israel from among the nations in the Old Testament. Ephesians 1:4 specifies that God made this choice “before the foundation of the world.” As Romans 9 displays, such a teaching is an undoubtedly bitter pill for our finite and worldly minds to swallow, but as Ephesians 1-3 displays, once accepted it becomes a foundation of great comfort and blessing for Christians.