Amos 7:7-15; Ephesians 1:3-14; Mark 6:14-29
Chosen in Love for Love
There
aren’t many doctrines of the Christian faith that are more confusing and
confounding as the biblical teaching of Election by Grace (also called
predestination). This very clear teaching of Scripture leaves no doubt that
those who are saved are saved because God chose them to be saved. As much as we
may struggle with it, question it, and even hate it, there’s no getting around
the reality that God chose whom He chose and that those whom He did not choose
cannot come to Him by their own choice. Ephesians 1:5 tells us that “He
predestined us to be adopted as His sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance
with His pleasure and will.” But this verse leaves off the phrase of the first
part of the sentence: “In love.”
How is
it that so many people, even Christians, have come to see Election by Grace as
portraying God as callous, harsh, or coldhearted? Perhaps it’s because so many
people today accept the lie that we are basically good by nature or have the
misunderstanding that we have the free will to choose God. When we properly
understand that our situation before God chose us was one of hopeless despair
and that we had no ability to change it by our choices or our actions, then we
can start to see how Election by Grace is an act of love. In love God chose to
rescue His elect from the death and everlasting condemnation that we deserved.
The
questions that we are inclined to ask when considering this teaching start with
“why.” “Why did He save some and not others?” “Why didn’t God save everyone?”
“Why me?” Ask as we may, God does not provide answers to our demanding “why”
questions. Instead He moves us to ask a question that He is eager to answer for
us: “For what reason has God chosen me?” Asking this question shows that we’ve
come to terms with Election by Grace and all of the unanswered (and
unanswerable) questions that we’ve asked beforehand. It means that we can move
beyond our insistence on God explaining Himself to accepting that He has chosen
us in love for love. In love He has rescued us from what we deserved and given
us more than we could have asked for or imagined. His incredible grace has been
given to us “in conformity with the purpose of His will,” which is for us to
love others with the love that has been given to us.
Audio file of the sermon "Chosen in Love to Love"
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