"The rest of mankind that were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the work of their hands; they did not stop worshiping demons, and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood—idols that cannot see or hear or walk. Nor did they repent of their murders, their magic arts, their sexual immorality or their thefts."
The heart of man is desperately wicked even unto the end of the world. It is a sad reality we must realize that some men and women will die in their sin because of their stubbornness and hardheartedness. These people are seeing but never perceiving, hearing but never understanding lest they turn and be healed. Goats cannot be turned into sheep anymore than weeds can be wheat, but Christ knows the difference and will sort them out in the last days.
So what is the difference? The elect, upon hearing the truth of Jesus Christ, will love him for they know the voice of their master intuitively. However, the rejected will resist Christ and his gospel until the day they die.
So how can you tell if you are elect? All of the elect want to be elect and all of the rejected could care less about Christ and his gospel. So if you want to be elect, chances are that God has already chosen you from before time began to be elect and has instilled in you the desire to follow Christ. All that's left is to actually follow Him.
Showing posts with label Election. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Election. Show all posts
Friday, September 30, 2011
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Isaiah 1:24-26
"Therefore the Lord, the LORD Almighty,
the Mighty One of Israel, declares:
“Ah! I will vent my wrath on my foes
and avenge myself on my enemies.
I will turn my hand against you;
I will thoroughly purge away your dross
and remove all your impurities.
I will restore your leaders as in days of old,
your rulers as at the beginning.
Afterward you will be called
the City of Righteousness,
the Faithful City."
God never ceases to amaze. God vents his wrath not for the sake of destroying sinners, but to restore his holy people. His turning of his hand against us is the same as his removing all unrighteousness. He wants to restore us back to what were were at the beginning so that afterward we would be called the City of Righteousness, the Faithful city.
However, the restoration and purification of God's elect involves the removal of those who are not God's elect. All who have sinned and gone astray will be purged as dross so that only the faithful remain. But not one of us is elect. All have sinned and are unrighteous, only to be purged, had not God sent His Righteous One to intercede for us. Only one has been faithful and obedient, Jesus Christ, and it is only as we find ourselves in him that we take part in the life of the elect for only Christ is elect. For the sake of one righteous man, God spared the world.
the Mighty One of Israel, declares:
“Ah! I will vent my wrath on my foes
and avenge myself on my enemies.
I will turn my hand against you;
I will thoroughly purge away your dross
and remove all your impurities.
I will restore your leaders as in days of old,
your rulers as at the beginning.
Afterward you will be called
the City of Righteousness,
the Faithful City."
God never ceases to amaze. God vents his wrath not for the sake of destroying sinners, but to restore his holy people. His turning of his hand against us is the same as his removing all unrighteousness. He wants to restore us back to what were were at the beginning so that afterward we would be called the City of Righteousness, the Faithful city.
However, the restoration and purification of God's elect involves the removal of those who are not God's elect. All who have sinned and gone astray will be purged as dross so that only the faithful remain. But not one of us is elect. All have sinned and are unrighteous, only to be purged, had not God sent His Righteous One to intercede for us. Only one has been faithful and obedient, Jesus Christ, and it is only as we find ourselves in him that we take part in the life of the elect for only Christ is elect. For the sake of one righteous man, God spared the world.
Monday, June 6, 2011
Hosea 2:23
"I will show my love to the one I called 'Not my loved one' I will say to those called 'Not my people', 'You are my people' and they will say, 'You are my God'."
Originally this verse is taken in the context of the election of Israel over all other nations, however now all who were non-elect have access to this God who takes for himself a people to worship him eternally because Christ. God's purpose for us, then, is for us to realize the glory he has given us in causing us to be elect in Christ.
And this realization is not a "choice". We don't choose to recognize if our houses are on fire or not. We could deny the reality but our houses will burn down regardless. Our job as Christians is to tell of this glory and grace that all might recognize the world as it truly is.
Everything God does is so that he might be revealed to us as God. God has, throughout history, revealed himself through Human instrumentality. He has revealed himself through the history of the Jewish people as preserved in the Old Testament and through the humanity of Jesus Christ, the image of the invisible God, and now through his Church, the Body of Christ in the present age. He lifted us up out of our sin. Once you realize the totality of the grace you have been given, you will be brought to faith by God.
Originally this verse is taken in the context of the election of Israel over all other nations, however now all who were non-elect have access to this God who takes for himself a people to worship him eternally because Christ. God's purpose for us, then, is for us to realize the glory he has given us in causing us to be elect in Christ.
And this realization is not a "choice". We don't choose to recognize if our houses are on fire or not. We could deny the reality but our houses will burn down regardless. Our job as Christians is to tell of this glory and grace that all might recognize the world as it truly is.
Everything God does is so that he might be revealed to us as God. God has, throughout history, revealed himself through Human instrumentality. He has revealed himself through the history of the Jewish people as preserved in the Old Testament and through the humanity of Jesus Christ, the image of the invisible God, and now through his Church, the Body of Christ in the present age. He lifted us up out of our sin. Once you realize the totality of the grace you have been given, you will be brought to faith by God.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Romans 3:25
"God displayed [Jesus Christ] publicly as a Mercy Seat through faith in His blood. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed;"
We have a public mercy seat for the forgiveness of sins, but not everyone realizes what it is. They see it clearly, but they do not understand it because it is not of this world, but now that this mercy seat has been revealed, there is no excuse not to come to it other than a failure to recognize it for what it is, that is a failure to recognize the goodness of the revealed Christ because it is foolishness to the wise and incomprehensibly foreign sinful man.
This is why we Christians must lead others to the mercy seat and testify to it's goodness. The grace is publicly available to all and is not resisted but simply not understood as grace. God's sovereign work is not recognized and is his basis for judgment because now that there is no condemnation in Christ, there is no justification for remaining condemned. The world must be brought to recognize Christ and confess that He is Lord and He is for them. They only need to come to the mercy seat empty-handed.
This is the good news that we take part in sharing: That God has elected himself for suffering and damnation and that God has elected us for salvation through Christ. Salvation has come to all men, so come to salvation!
We have a public mercy seat for the forgiveness of sins, but not everyone realizes what it is. They see it clearly, but they do not understand it because it is not of this world, but now that this mercy seat has been revealed, there is no excuse not to come to it other than a failure to recognize it for what it is, that is a failure to recognize the goodness of the revealed Christ because it is foolishness to the wise and incomprehensibly foreign sinful man.
This is why we Christians must lead others to the mercy seat and testify to it's goodness. The grace is publicly available to all and is not resisted but simply not understood as grace. God's sovereign work is not recognized and is his basis for judgment because now that there is no condemnation in Christ, there is no justification for remaining condemned. The world must be brought to recognize Christ and confess that He is Lord and He is for them. They only need to come to the mercy seat empty-handed.
This is the good news that we take part in sharing: That God has elected himself for suffering and damnation and that God has elected us for salvation through Christ. Salvation has come to all men, so come to salvation!
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