The upcoming “Building Bridges Conference” at Ridgecrest on Calvinism got me to thinking: Am I chosen?
Here are just a few Bible verses dealing with the word “chosen” in regards to Salvation and office.
Israel was Chosen
"For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.
Deuteronomy 7:6
O offspring of Israel his servant, sons of Jacob, his chosen ones!
1 Chronicles 16:13
Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD,the people whom he has chosen as his heritage! Psalm 33:12
"But now hear, O Jacob my servant,Israel whom I have chosen!
Isaiah 44:1
And the LORD said to Satan, "The LORD rebuke you, O Satan! The LORD who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is not this a brand plucked from the fire?"
Zechariah 3:2
So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace.
Romans 11:5
Moses was chosen
So when the LORD saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!”
Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.”
11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?”
Exodus 3: 4,10-11
Therefore he said he would destroy them—had not Moses, his chosen one, stood in the breach before him, to turn away his wrath from destroying them.
Psalm 106: 23
The Apostles were chosen
until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen.
Acts 1:2
I am not speaking of all of you; I know whom I have chosen. But the Scripture will be fulfilled, 'He who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me.'
John 13:18
Paul was Chosen
But the Lord said to Ananias, "Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel.
Acts 9:15
We are Chosen
In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will,
Ephesians 1:11
Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies.
Romans 8:33
For many are called, but few are chosen."
Matthew 22:14
But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty;…” 1 Corinthians 1:27
Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience,…”
Colossians 3:12
For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you,..”
1 Thessalonians 1:4
Jonathan Edwards said this about the word chosen in the Bible:God has chosen the godly out of the rest of the world to be nearly related to him, to stand in the relation of children, to have a property in him, that they might not only be his people, but that he might be their God. He has chosen these to bestow himself upon them.
He has chosen them from among others to be gracious to them, to show them his favor. He has chosen them to enjoy him, to see his glory, and to dwell with him forever.
He has chosen them as his treasure, as a man chooses out gems from a heap of stones, with this difference: the man finds gems very different from other stones, and therefore chooses, but God chooses them, and therefore they become gems, and very different from others,
Mal. 3:17, “And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.”
God has different uses for different men. Some are chosen for the most noble use, for serving and glorifying God, and that God may show the glory of divine grace upon them.
Charles Haddon Spurgeon said this:
“…because I am quite certain that, if God had not chosen me, I should never have chosen Him; and I am sure He chose me before I was born, or else He never would have chosen me afterwards; and He must have elected me for reasons unknown to me, for I never could find any reason in myself why He should have looked upon me with special love.”
He goes on to say:
“…in the fullness of time, He purchased me with His blood; He let His heart run out in one deep gaping wound for me long ere I loved Him. Yea, when He first came to me, did I not spurn Him? When He knocked at the door, and asked for entrance, did I not drive Him away, and do despite to His grace? Ah, I can remember that I full often did so until, at last, by the power of His effectual grace, He said, "I must, I will come in;" and then He turned my heart, and made me love Him. But even till now I should have resisted Him, had it not been for His grace. Well, then since He purchased me when I was dead in sins, does it not follow, as a consequence necessary and logical, that He must have loved me first?”
God Thank you for Grace!! Help me to never take too much credit for the saving of a soul, even my own.
3 comments:
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When people first begin to learn about the biblical doctrine of election, one question that often occurs to them is, “Am I elect?” And the more they think about whether or not they are elect, the more uncertain they become. So, if you believe in the doctrine of election, how do you know if you are elect?
The answer is really quite simple: You continue believing in Christ.
“But,” you reply, “you didn’t answer my question. I want to know if I am elect.”
So I will ask:
* Do you believe that you have offended the all-holy Creator (Rom. 3:10-18; Ps. 51:1-4)?
* Do you believe that your sins cry out to heaven itself for justice, and that you deserve to perish under the wrath of the God you have offended by your sins (Isa. 59:2-3; Ezek. 18:4)?
* Do you believe that you are, in fact, dead in your sins and unable to make yourself alive (Eph. 2:1-3; Rom. 8:5-8)?
* Do you believe that nothing you could ever do - no good deeds, no mighty acts of faith, no church attendance, no niceness of character - will ever be sufficient to appease the wrath of your holy Creator against your sins (Mic. 6:6-7; Isa. 59:12-14)?
* Do you believe that God, the God you have offended by your sins, has himself provided the way of escape through his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ (Titus 3:5-7; Col. 2:13)?
* Have you been united to Christ by faith, a faith you did not earn, but received as a gift from God? Do you believe that, having been savingly joined by faith to the Son of God, your sins are finally and fully paid for, and that you are forgiven and declared righteous, as though you had never sinned (Gal. 2:16, 20; Rom. 8:1-4)?
* Do you believe that, by the grace of God, having turned from your sins and turned to the Son of God to pay for your sins and to give you his own righteousness, you will be received by God as his own dear child, to be loved and blessed by him throughout eternity�that is, that you are saved by God’s unmerited grace (Rom. 3:21-28; 5:1-11)?
If you believe these things, you are exhibiting a key characteristic of the elect: the elect believe the gospel of Jesus Christ and continue in faith.
By the way, I am go to that conference in a few weeks, along with three other guys from Western Avenue. Hope to see you there.
I will see you there Jeff.
By the way -- Go Heels?
UNC>State!!!!!
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