“ELECTION”, Part Two A
“And as the gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of God, and AS MANY AS WERE ORDAINED to Eternal Life believed.” (and not one more!) (Acts 13:48).
Jesus said, “I pray not for the world, but for those whom thou hast given me, for they are Thine.” (John 17:9). “I speak not of you all: I know whom I have chosen.” (John 13:18) “You did not choose me, but I chose you.” (John 15:16). “God commended His love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (the Elect). (Romans 5:8) “”Blessed is the man whom Thou choosest, and CAUSEST to approach unto Thee, that he may dwell in thy courts.” (Psalms 65:4) “They also that erred in spirit shall come to understanding, and they that murmured shall learn doctrine.” (Isaiah 29:24). “I will give them a heart to know Me, that I am the Lord: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart.” ( Jeremiah 24:7).
From all of these Scriptures shown, the Elect are indeed a special breed of people, to say the least. Peter referred to them as a “peculiar people and Royal priesthood.” (I Peter 2:9). One thing is quite certain: The Elect of God are holy. They are not pure, perfect, spotless, but, taking life as a whole, they are holy persons. They are MARKED and distinct from others, and no man has a right to conclude himself elect, except in his holiness.
Peter instructs for us to always check ourselves to see if we are elect in 2nd Peter 1:10, “Brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if you do these things, you shall never fall.: The plainest way to examine ourselves as to whether we are one of the Elect is laid out for us by Paul in Colossians 3:12-17. It reads “Put on therefore, as the Elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long-suffering; forebearing one another and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do you. And, above all these things, put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which you are called in one body; and be ye thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you, richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatsoever you do in word or deed, do all in the Name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him.”
If YOU are one of the Elect, you will be able to identify those traits in your own lives. Finding the truth of being one of the elect is a very humbling experience, to say the least! If we want to be humbled, then study the Doctrine of Election, as it will humble us under the influence of the Holy Spirit.
Therefore, those who refuse to accept the Doctrine of Election and say “why preach the Gospel to every creature if only a “few” are chosen”, can be answered Biblically, because the Atoning sacrifice of Christ is sufficient for ALL, IF ALL will accept it. “Whosoever” will MAY come”, but all are not willing. The vast majority of people have no desire to come to Christ. Had God left it entirely to man’s will, none would have accepted Him. However, God has to work in us, “BOTH TO WILL AND TO DO of His good pleasure that brings election, or in essence, a “limited Atonement” in His work on the Cross. Even though He purchased the “whole world” by dying on the Cross, He did it to redeem those Elect scattered among every nation in the whole world.
That Doctrine is taught throughout the Bible if closely examined, and would require a sizable volume just to examine all the scriptures dealing with the subject. Since it is by the PREACHING of the Gospel that the Elect are called out from the world, we are commanded to preach the Gospel to all nations.” And it pleased God by the FOOLISHNESS of PREACHING to SAVE them (the Elect), that BELIEVE.” (I Corinthians 1:21) “God, in due times, has manifested His word through PREACHING.” (Titus 1:3) Jesus commanded “Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature. He that believeth (the Elect) and is baptized, shall be saved, but he that believeth not (the reprobate) shall be damned.” (Mark 16:15,16).
Those who believe are called by God with irresistible force: they hear the call and they cannot help, BUT respond. Jesus identifies them. “The sheep hear His voice: and He calleth His own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. And when He putteth forth His own sheep, He goeth before them, and the sheep follow Him: for they (the Elect) know His voice. And a stranger they will not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.” (John 10:2-5). That illustration is the first mark of election. The Shepherd CALLS, and those who are His sheep, (the Elect) hear, recognize, and respond!
In the parable of the sower given by Jesus in Matthew 13, there are four kinds of ground on which the seed (the word of God) falls, but only one bears fruit. The first three represent various classes of unbelievers who hear the word of God, and have one thing in common: they are all barren, and do not retain the seed, which is actually the Shepherd’s call to salvation!
But, the fourth class, the good ground (the Elect) bearers, bring forth fruit in varying degrees. Galatians 5:22,23 gives examples of this “fruit” which are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, self-control. The most certain thing is, when the great Shepherd gives the call, the sheep respond. Jesus said in John 6:37, “all that the Father giveth me SHALL COME to me.”
Human elections are always conditional elections, based on the merits of the elected, however Divine Election is always UNCONDITIONAL election.
God never bases His choice on what man thinks, says, does, or is. Thank God I finally came to the knowledge of this truth given in the Bible, that since He did not elect me to eternal life by any good merits or performance He foresaw in me, but only by His love and unmerited GRACE, I can now rest in Him knowing if He started this love affair in the first place, He will continue it, if it is to continue. Therefore, I can rest in His love!” I can forever trust Him because of HIS CHOICE of this sinner, rather than THIS SINNER’S choice of Christ, was the initial and ultimate cause of salvation.! I would have never chosen Him, if He had not first chosen me. I never chose Christ on my own initiative, but when the Holy Spirit illuminated the word of truth to me, and I found that God the Father would declare me NOT GUILTY, by looking only to Christ, and His work on the Cross alone, for the sole means of my salvation, I could do nothing except believe He was the sole sacrifice for my sin!
The moment I believed, I knew He called me! The outward call had been given many times when I heard the Gospel, but I never understood it enough to believe and receive until the inward call was given by the Lord Himself! The work for my sin had been done at the Cross, but my personal call did not come until He called ME.
Paul described my condition the moment God called me. Paul described my condition the moment God called me. perfectly, in Colossians 2:13-14, when he said, “And you (me), being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, both He MADE alive together with Him, having forgiven you ALL (not just some, but ALL, past, present, future) trespasses; blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that WAS against us, which WAS contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to His Cross.”
CONT>>>>>>>>>>>>
Blessings!
Marked Elect
No comments:
Post a Comment