2 Thessalonians 2:13-14 "But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth: Whereunto He called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ."
These two verses give us the total spectrum of salvation.
In other words, they give us salvation all the way from the past, the present, and down into the future.
"Chosen you to salvation" -
Looked back to the past
This is so clearly taught in Romans 8:
"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.
"For whom God did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.
Moreover whom He did predestinate, them He also called: and whom He called, them He also justified: and whom He justified, them He also glorified.
What shall we then say to these things?
If God be for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:28–31).
That is exactly what apostle Paul was writing in 2 Thessalonians.
"God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation."
That looks back to the past.
God chose those He would call before they were born.
This means that we do not surprise God when we trust Christ.
But there is another side as well.
"Whosoever will, may come."
The "whosoever wills" are the chosen ones, and the "whosoever won’ts" are the nonelect.
Our Lord Jesus said,
"… If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink" (John 7:37).
That is a legitimate offer of salvation - a sincere, definite offer with no complications attached. If we do not come, the reason is not because we are not elected.
Not at all.
The reason many do not come to Christ is that they are not thirsty; that is, they do not think they need a Savior.
All those who are thirsty come to Christ.
"Through sanctification of the Spirit" - looks to the present.
We are sanctified both as to position and as to practice.
When we receive Christ as our Savior, we are placed in Christ - this is positional sanctification.
Then there is also the practical side of sanctification which concerns our life. We are to grow in grace through the Spirit.
"Belief of the truth."
That means that a believer will study the Word.
The Lord Jesus Christ brings comfort and consolation to our hearts.
He does this through His Word.
That will establish us in every good word and work.
The study of the Word of God will lead to the work of the Lord.
That is the way a believer will grow in grace.
Our minds and hearts will be centered on Him and that will keep us from going after every trend of the day and reading every new book that comes off the press. Nor will we be running to little study courses here and there to be built up for the moment.
If we really believe in our hearts that Christ is coming again, we are going to be busy working for Him.
We know that we will have to give an account to Him someday.
If He is going to be here tomorrow, we want to be busy today.
We should be looking around us and doing the work of the Lord right where He has placed us.
That is the greatest proof that we believe He is coming again.
We, those who are called, chosen in Him before the foundation of the world, preach Christ.
The gospel is Christ - what He has done for us in His death and resurrection and what He is going to do for us in the future.
We warn every man, and teach every man in all wisdom.
These are the 2 commands for those who seek to do God's work in this world today - these are 2 things we should be doing if we have heard God's call. We are to preach the gospel in order to win sinners to Christ and to save them from the wrath that is to come, and we are to teach every man in all wisdom.
In other words, we are to seek to build up men and women so that they may grow in grace and be faithful members of the body of Christ;
We are to encourage one another to serve Christ.
Colossians 1:28 " ... warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus."
This is the goal of the teaching of God's Word.
These are the 2 things the church is to do.
Colossians 1:29 "Whereunto I also labour, striving according to His working, which worketh in me mightily."
We ought to be striving - striving means to agonize.
Apostle Paul gave us his personal testimony:
"This is what I am laboring, striving to do."
Oh, this should be the desire of everyone today who desires to work for Christ Jesus in this world - we ought to pray that He would work in us mightily to do these 2 things:
We are to get the gospel to men and woman, boys and girls, that they might be saved and then we are to build them up in our most holy faith.
Jude 20 "But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost."
Oh today we need to be established in the faith.
We are to study all sixty-six books of the Bible.
Both Peter and Paul urged believers to study the Word of God in days like these in which we are living.
Apostle Paul wrote in his swan song:
"Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed …" (2 Timothy 2:15).
Then in the next chapter Paul said that
"all Scripture is given by inspiration of God."
Dear reader, the only resort we have as the children of God in days like these in which we live is the Word of God.
Apostle Peter in his second epistle, wrote
"We have also a more sure Word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation" (2 Peter 1:19–20).
We simply cannot just pull out one or two little verses and think we have a good knowledge of the Bible. It is a tragedy to build a system of doctrine based on a few isolated verses drawn out of the Scriptures.
"Your most holy faith" does not refer to our own personal faith.
It is the faith, the body of truth which has been given to us in the Word of God.
When the church first came into existence, this was called the apostles’ doctrine.
Of this Mayor says,
The faith here is called ‘most holy’ because it comes to us from God, and reveals God to us, and because it is by its means that man is made righteous, and enabled to overcome the world.
If we will open our hearts to Christ we may come to Him.
That is all we are to do.
Now if we come to Christ, it means we will have to turn away from our sin, and many people do not want to turn from their sin.
Those who are called by the gospel, were chosen by God before the world began - whom God foreknew - would turn away from sin
"Whereunto He called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ."
There
is forgiveness, God doth say,
Thro' the blood, Thro' the blood;
Both sin and guilt are put away,
Thro' the blood, Thro' the blood:
And sinners fitted for the sky,
Yes, unto God Himself bro't nigh,
Made meet to dwell with Christ on high,
Thro' the blood, Thro' the blood!
'Tis not your work puts sin away,
But the blood, But the blood;
Nor is it gold, God's Word doth say,
But the blood, But the blood:
Yes, 'tis the blood, the precious blood
Of Christ, the chosen Lamb of God,
That clears away sin's heavy load:
Precious blood, Precious blood!
You may be washed as white as snow
In the blood, In the blood;
And then to glory bright will go,
Thro' the blood, Thro' the blood:
So come to Christ; O come today!
That you may praise— yes, praise for aye,
The Lamb who washed your sins away
In His blood, In His blood!
Thousands of souls in heav'n will be,
Thro' the blood, Thro' the blood,
Praising the Lamb, who on the tree
Shed His blood, Shed His blood:
All white and pure, all glorious fair,
They praise the Lamb, whose joy they share;
Oh, happy throng! will you be there
Thro' the blood, Thro' the blood?
Thanks: SermonAudio.com
Amen!
1 Peter 1:2 "Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ.…"
The interesting thing is that election and sanctification seem to go together and they are both in the Lord Jesus Christ.
If God has saved you, He hasn’t saved you because you are good but because you are not good.
When this
passing world is done,
When has sunk yon radiant sun,
When I stand with Christ on high,
Looking o'er life's history,
Then, Lord, shall I fully know,
Not till then, how much I owe.
When I stand before the throne,
Dressed in beauty not
my own,
When I see Thee as Thou art,
Love Thee with unsinning heart,
Then, Lord, shall I fully know,
Not till then, how much I owe.
Chosen not for good in me,
Wakened up from wrath to flee,
Hidden in the Saviour's side,
By the Spirit sanctified,
Teach me, Lord, on earth to show
By my love how much I owe.
Oft I walk
beneath a cloud,
Dark as midnight's gloomy shroud;
But, when fear is at its height,
Jesus
comes, and all is light;
Blessed Jesus, bid me show
Doubting
saints how much I owe.
When the praise of heav'n I hear,
Loud as thunders to the ear,
Loud as many waters' noise,
Sweet as harp's melodious voice,
Then, Lord, shall I fully know,
Not till then, how much I owe.
Thanks: SermonAudio.com
Amen!
Apostle Paul puts it in such a marvelous way:
"What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid. For He saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy" (Romans 9:14–16).
Moses had gone to God in prayer, and God had answered,
"Moses, I am going to hear and answer your prayer, but it is not because you are Moses and the deliverer. It is because I will show mercy on whom I will and I will show compassion on whom I will. It is not to him that wills nor to him that works but it is I who shows compassion."
Do you want to experience the compassion of God?
Then please may I beseech you in Christ Jesus to turn to Him.
A good illustration of this is found in Acts 27.
Remember that Paul was in a ship and there was a terrific storm so that the ship was about ready to go under. They had already thrown some of the cargo overboard to lighten the ship.
Then Paul went to the captain and said,
"And now I exhort you to be of good cheer: for there shall be no loss of any man’s life among you, but of the ship. For there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve, Saying, Fear not, Paul; thou must be brought before Caesar: and, lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee" (Acts 27:22–24).
That was God’s foreknowledge.
That is election.
God had elected that nobody on that ship would be lost.
Just a little later, Paul found a group of the sailors about to let down a lifeboat into the sea. They intended to go overboard, hoping to get to land in that way.
Then Paul said to the captain,
"… Except these abide in the ship, ye cannot be saved" (Acts 27:31).
The captain could have said,
"Wait a minute. You already told me that none would perish," and he would have been right.
That is what Paul had said.
That was God’s side of it - none would perish.
But the condition was,
"Except these abide in the ship, ye cannot be saved."
That was man’s side of it - they had to stay in the ship.
God knows who the elect are.
God told us to preach the gospel to every creature and that whosoever will hear Him may come to Him.
That is our marching order, and this is what we are to be doing in this present world in this God's marvelous day of grace, until God gives us the roll call of the elect, we are to continue preaching the gospel and allow the Holy Spirit to convict the hearts of those who are willing to turn from their sin - the "whosoever will hear the gospel" and turn to Christ Jesus for His gift of salvation.
Someone else has put it like this.
On the door to heaven, from our side, it says,
Whosoever will may enter.
"I am the door: by Me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture" (John 10:9).
The entrance is narrow, but after the entrance the way gets wider and wider, leading to an abundant life here and on into the light of heaven itself.
Dear reader, we have to enter in at the narrow end of the funnel, and that end is labeled, The Lord Jesus Christ.
In Him we find pasture and we find abundant life.
When one day we get on the other side of the door in heaven, we are going to look back, and on that door we will find written,
"Chosen in Him before the foundation of the world."
No one has seen that side of the door yet; therefore, we are to give God (since He is God) the right to plan His church.
"Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is" (1 John 3:2).
We have a glorious hope in Christ Jesus.
Then there is this glorious statement in
Colossians 1:27 "To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory."
The moment we put our trust in Christ Jesus, the Holy Spirit baptizes us and places us in the body of believers. You and I have been brought into something new, the church, and the church has a glorious prospect ahead of it.
What a glorious, wonderful prospect we have before us!
We see in these 2 verses in 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14 that apostle Paul has given to us the full spectrum of salvation:
we have been saved,
we are being saved, and
we shall be saved.
It is all the work of God.
"Being confident of this very thing, that He who hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ" (Philippians 1:6).
If dear reader you are a genuine born-again child of God there may be days when you may think you are falling, but
He will hold you on His wings.
"Underneath are the everlasting arms" (Deuteronomy 33:27).
He will not let you fall.
If, when you are reading this, you are at your wit’s end and do not know where to turn or what to do, let me give you this verse:
"They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run, and not be weary, and they shall walk, and not faint" (Isaiah 40:31).
Please will you pray this verse in your heart and meditate upon it.
Ask God to fill you with His wisdom through the Lord Jesus Christ
" .. who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption (1 Corinthians 1:30).
Rise,
my soul! behold 'tis Jesus,
Jesus fills Thy wond'ring eyes;
See Him now in glory seated,
Where thy sins no more can rise.
There, in righteousness transcendent,
Lo! He doth in heav'n appear,
Shows the blood of His atonement
As thy title to be there.
All thy sins were laid upon Him,
Jesus bore them on the tree;
God, who knew them, laid them on Him,
And, believing, thou art free.
God now brings thee to His dwelling,
Spreads for thee His feast divine,
Bids thee welcome, ever telling
What a portion there is thine.
In that circle
of God's favor,
Circle of the Father's love,
All is rest, and rest forever,
All is perfectness above.
Blessed,
glorious Word "forever!"
Yea, "forever!" is the Word;
Nothing can the ransomed sever,
Naught divide them from the Lord.
Thanks: SermonAudio.com
Amen!
1 Peter 2:9 "But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvellous light."
Those who are chosen are an elect race.
Back in the Old Testament God chose, Israel as His people, and in the Scriptures there are two elect groups of people: the nation Israel, called an elect nation, and the church, called an elect nation and an elect people.
Now keep in mind that Peter is writing to his own people, the Diaspora, Jewish Christians who were scattered throughout the Roman Empire and even beyond it. In effect he is saying,
"Although right now you certainly do not look like a chosen generation, an elect race, you are. Because you have come to Christ, you are a chosen generation, you are an elect nation, just as the children of Israel were elect.
The keys of the kingdom have been given to the church, and we today are to give out the gospel because the church is the chosen instrument.
This honor has been conferred upon believers.
It is as if God had stamped out for you and me a wonderful medal on which is inscribed:
You are an elect race; you are a chosen generation.
Many vain attempts are being made in our day to identify certain people of this earth with the ten "lost" tribes of Israel.
They are said to be the gypsies, the Mormons, the Adventists, or the British-Israel group - which is probably the most vocal.
Well, if they could prove that England and America were settled by the ten "lost" tribes of Israel, what have they proven?
God has temporarily set aside the nation Israel
and He is doing a new thing.
He is calling out an elect race, a chosen generation, from every tongue and nation and people - both Jew and Gentile - and they are brought into a new relationship to God in the church.
Although we like to say that we have come to Christ,
God says that He has chosen us.
I like that.
We who were poverty-stricken little urchins in this world, when we received Christ Jesus as our personal Saviour find that He has already chosen us long before we even got here.
How wonderful that is!
Our Lord Jesus said of His own apostles,
"Ye have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in My name, He may give it you." (John 15:15-16).
And since He has chosen me, I do believe that He is entirely responsible for me. The responsibility is His because I belong to Him. I can rest in Him and trust Him every step I take in this present world.
Are you resting in Him today dear reader?
Why not with me make this hymn your prayer?
Jesus,
I am resting, resting,
In the joy of
what Thou art;
I am finding out the greatness
Of Thy loving heart.
Thou hast bid me gaze upon Thee,
And Thy beauty fills my soul,
For by Thy
transforming power
Thou hast made me whole.
Refrain:
Jesus, I am resting, resting,
In the joy of what Thou art;
I am finding out the greatness
Of Thy loving heart.
Oh, how great Thy loving kindness,
Vaster, broader than the sea!
Oh, how marvelous Thy goodness,
Lavished all on me!
Yes, I rest in Thee, Beloved,
Know what wealth of grace is Thine,
Know Thy certainty of promise,
And have made it mine.
Simply trusting Thee, Lord Jesus,
I behold Thee as Thou art,
And Thy love, so pure, so changeless,
Satisfies my heart;
Satisfies its deepest longings,
Meets, supplies its ev'ry need,
Compasseth me round with blessings:
Thine is love indeed!
Ever lift Thy face upon me,
As I work and
wait for Thee;
Resting
'neath Thy smile, Lord Jesus,
Earth's dark shadows flee.
Brightness of my Father's glory,
Sunshine of my Father's face,
Keep me ever trusting, resting,
Fill me with
Thy grace.
Hallelujah!
Amen!
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THIS PAGE UPDATED: 31-8-2008.