Really? Here is what the Scripture tell us:
"Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also ( kai ) may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory" [2 Tim 2:10]
Imagine that: "...that they (the elect) may too (KJV) obtain salvation..." This must be the "other" Paul, the one Protestants don't seem to quote, for obvious reasons.
You Protestants take elect/chosen to mean something superior. No, it's a commandment. God chooses people to do good work in His name, to baptize, to spread the kowledge of the God of Abraham so that all nations would know Him.
"And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached throughout* ( olh ) the world for a witness unto each* ( pasin ) nations; and then shall the end come**" [Mat 24:14]
* both words translated as one word, all, in KJV
** In otherwords, if you (elect) do what God commanded of you, His Plan will be finished. I guess, you have some work to do! :-)
"Go ye therefore, and teach all ( panta ) [Gentile]* nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost[Mat 28:19]
* according to Pualine usage
The chosen are the people who bring the Good News so that all nations may be saved, not just the chosen ones.
Who goes to heaven except God's elect?
Maybe this is why you are so comfortable with Rome. You seem to agree on a hierarchy among mortal men, in direct opposition to Scripture.
There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one."As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
I've never known anyone who divided the redeemed into the "elect" and the "others who also go to heaven."
I've learned a lot on this thread.
?????
You'll find few Protestants will address themselves as "the elect" anymore. It's not fashionable. Those who truly understand the term "elect" find within it a sense of humility since it means that for no understandable reason God had mercy on us.
I do not understand what you mean by it being a commandment.