Chosen in Him
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Chosen in Him
Chosen in Him
We discussed if you will remember last time the fact that we have been so blessed by God as Christians. If we have nothing of material wealth in this world at all, then we are still filthy rich in God’s eyes because of what Jesus did for us.
I come tonight to this passage humbled and bowed before God. I realize the difficulty and the weight of the doctrine that we are going to discuss tonight and it is heavy on me. I have a sense here of being way out of my league to even consider this next verse that we are going to study.
But then again, I have the Holy Spirit within me to illumine my heart to the Word and so it is with that fear and trembling that we approach these verses tonight.
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.
So tonight, we will discuss verse 4-6, but primarily verse 4.
The Bible says here quite plainly that “He chose us”.
I want to give you my outline that I am borrowing from a preacher across the pond, his name is Erik Alexander. He uses 3 main points to describe election and they are as follows:
My 3 main points in this sermon:
Election is a Biblical doctrine.
Election is a difficult doctrine.
Election is a profitable doctrine.
The Bible calls this the doctrine of election. I want to define election as we begin.
Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Bible Doctrine Explanation and Scriptural Basis > Chapter 32: Election and Reprobation: When and Why Did God Choose Us? Are Some Not Chosen?
We may define election as follows: Election is an act of God before creation in which he chooses some people to be saved, not on account of any foreseen merit in them, but only because of his sovereign good pleasure.
Definition of Election:
Election is an act of God before creation in which he chooses some people to be saved, not on account of any foreseen merit in them, but only because of his sovereign good pleasure.
Anytime we come to a verse such as this or a doctrine such as this, the temptation is to bring our thoughts and our pre-conceived notions to the text. And when we do that we do a disservice to the Word of God and to ourselves. Whenever we study the Bible, we must allow it to shape us, instead of the other way around.
“He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world”
The Bible speaks very plainly of this and I want to show you just a few verses to highlight it.
Election is a Biblical doctrine.
Verses that highlight the doctrine of election:
28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.
13 But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth.
6 But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, 7 and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” 8 This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring. 9 For this is what the promise said: “About this time next year I will return, and Sarah shall have a son.” 10 And not only so, but also when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, 11 though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad—in order that God’s purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls— 12 she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” 13 As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”
11 In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will,
4 For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, 5 because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake.
In all of those verses, you will find a recurring theme of God’s “chosen”
This word “choose” here is translated from the Greek word “eklegomai” which means to choose or select.
Tonight if you are asking yourself, “why am I a Christian?” - well then it is evident by the truth of God’s Word - that the reason you are a Christian - is because God chose you.
God chose to set His love on you. He chose to redeem you. He sent Jesus Christ to this Earth with the plan of redemption because He had a chosen people who He would redeem.
I just read you a few verses from the NT on this topic of election, but there are A LOT of verses in the OT that if we were to read them, we would be here most of the night.
So, I think we can all agree that is a Biblical doctrine. Can we agree?
Moving on...
2. Election is a difficult doctrine.
People with a much higher Bible IQ have been debating this topic for hundreds of years. I don’t profess to you tonight that we are going to solve all of the dilemmas that man has with this, but I hope to give some clarity.
This is a difficult doctrine. Why is it difficult?
Well, let’s go back to the question I asked earlier about “why you are a Christian”.
If you were to give an answer to that question off the cuff it would probably be something like this - “I believed in Jesus”, or “someone told me and I believed” or “I felt the conviction of sin and believed in Jesus as my redeemer”
And the main issue in all of those answers is that they are predicated on one thing - they are predicated on your part in all of this. Those answers all hinged on “your belief”.
So, what’s the problem with that you ask? Well, I’m glad you asked...
Order is the problem. The order of things.
Verse 4 says that “He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world”
What does that mean? What does it mean that He chose us before the foundation of the world? It means that you didn’t make the first move.
It means - go back to our definition - Election is an act of God before creation in which he chooses some people to be saved, not on account of any foreseen merit in them, but only because of his sovereign good pleasure.
The fact that God chose you before the foundation of the World to be saved is an amazing thought.
And again, we are forced to admit how small and fragile our thinking is when we are up against a doctrine as high and lofty as this one.
But someone says - I don’t like that. I don’t like the way that it portrays God in this image of Him choosing some and not others. That doesn’t seem like a very loving God.
Well we are going to discuss the objection to this making God “mean” or “unloving” but not just yet.
And yet, a part of this whole equation is the responsibility of man to respond and believe.
If you’ve heard people debate this, it inevitably comes down to a “Calvinism vs Arminian” debate. John Calvin and Jacob Arminius were two theologians in the 16th century who kind of pioneered this argument.
The Calvinist belief:
The first is to believe that we are chosen by God simply as the result of His own good pleasure, or, to use scriptural phraseology, ‘according to the good pleasure of his will’, and entirely apart from anything we have ever done or said or thought. Indeed it goes further and says that we are chosen by God out of the good pleasure of His own will in spite of ourselves, in spite of the fact that we were enemies, aliens, and even haters of God.
The Arminian belief:
The alternative explanation is that the Apostle is saying that Christians—those who enjoy these blessings—were chosen by God before the foundation of the world because God with His perfect foreknowledge saw that they would exercise faith, and thereby differentiate themselves from those who do not exercise faith. In other words God chooses those who of themselves have already chosen to be Christians, those who have decided to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and have sought salvation
Lloyd-Jones, D. M. (1978)
So, there you have the two views. One is that God has chosen us in spite of ourselves, the other is that God has chosen us because He has forseen that we would exercise faith.
I would like to make it clear that this question in no way determines your salvation. We are NOT saved by our understanding of our salvation.
I say clearly and plainly that I don’t ascribe to the Arminian view. I hold the Calvinist view, but I hold the sovereignty of God and human responsibility in the same hand.
Here’s why I believe that. I believe that the Arminian view leaves too much responsibility to man and limits the sovereignty of God.
What if salvation was left up to me?
I can say clearly based on my own experience that if we left the doctrine of salvation up to man and dependent on man, then he would surely mess it up. I say that with every good intention of my own heart, but I know if it were up to me and my sinful heart to make the final decision and save myself - I would mess it up.
So, I rely on the fact that God had a plan for all of eternity and that plan is to save me, and that any “goodness” that I have has no merit in this deal.
I don’t want salvation to be up to me, would you agree? If I “got myself saved” then the argument could be made that I could “get myself unsaved”.
The question always comes up - “if God is totally sovereign, then how does man have a choice?”
The answer: I don’t know. But the Bible clearly teaches both. It teaches that God is ultimately sovereign, but that man is responsible.
I think Spurgeon gives us helpful insight - “In the Bible, divine sovereignty and human responsibility are not enemies. They are not uneasy neighbors; they are not in an endless state of cold war with each other. They are friends, and they work together.”
That’s helpful. I think it’s both.
I think God's sovereignty and man’s responsibility run parallel to each other like train tracks. If one track crosses the other you run into big trouble.
God is sovereign. Mas has a choice. It’s not either, it’s both.
Man has a real choice. Not a robotic, puppet type choice. A real choice.
God enables us to believe, but God does not believe for us!
Questions?
Does God delight in choosing some and passing over others?
9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
11 Say to them, As I live, declares the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?
So, when the credit is given for the salvation of the elect - the credit always goes to God. But when it comes down to the refusal of God like in Ezekiel 33, the responsibility falls on man.
But what about those people who say that God is mean and that his “choice” is unfair!?!?
Let’s define fair by God’s truth though! What would be “fair” for God to do with us? To be “fair” and “just” would be to let us die in our sins as a just punishment for them (Romans 6:23)
God’s response to the critic that says it’s no fair that God chooses!
14 What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means! 15 For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” 16 So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. 17 For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” 18 So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.
19 You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?” 20 But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?” 21 Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? 22 What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, 23 in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory— 24 even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles?
God says - who are you? Who are you to say to me that I can’t do what I want to do? Who are you (the clay) to say to Me (the potter) that I have no right to do whatever I wish with the lump?
Has the potter no right over the clay?
Has the creator no right over creation?