Chosen By Grace

“For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.” (Eph 1:4 NIV). A title or name can say a great deal about a person or what someone is committed to or believes. The name for this blog was specifically selected because it reflects biblical truths that we affirm and exult in, namely the sovereign electing grace of the Triune God towards undeserving sinners such as ourselves. Election is a biblical idea as is clear from Ephesians 1:4 and many other passages that speak of God choosing or electing a people. Election is also a great comfort to many saints and yet raises great consternation to many other saints! The debates on election can be simplified to this simple issue, what is God's choosing or election based upon? Some argue God's choosing is based upon God's foresight in history/time of those who would choose Jesus as their Savior. Yet, texts like Acts 13:48 which indicates faith flows from or follows God's decree of election or Romans 9:11-12 that teach that election isn't based on any human work or response should settle the issue. Ephesians 1:5 clearly states that election is based upon God's purpose and divine will/pleasure, as we read, “In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will...”. This is why we believe and rejoice in God's sovereign election of sinners to salvation! A helpful read on this issue of election is Robert A Peterson, Election and Free Will (Presbyterian & Reformed, 2007)

It is not my purpose to enter into a lengthy defense of the biblical teaching on God's sovereignty in election but rather to simply “lay our cards on the table” and make it clear that those of us associated with this blog are committed to the “doctrines of grace” which have also historically been described as the five points of Calvinism or summed up with the acronym “TULIP”. We are associated with the Christian & Missionary Alliance denomination and we understand that isn't where one would typically go if you were searching for strong supporters of the “doctrines of grace” but such is the case for at least the leadership of this one Alliance church. Our commitment is to the doctrines of grace and I don't use the term “Calvinism” because it is anachronistic since these biblical truths of God's saving grace were revealed by Jesus long before John Calvin was born and secondly, we don't embrace all that John Calvin taught. It is my understanding, the Alliance has simply not made issues such as the doctrines of grace [Calvinism or Arminianism] a point of contention but has focused on missions and living a holy life, which all Christians can agree are good areas to focus upon!

So, why even mention this commitment? Simply because it speaks volumes about our biblical understanding of God, man and the way in which God saves fallen, sinful mankind. Those are essential issues that comprise the heart of the gospel and the doctrines of grace are about the gospel! The bible teaches that mankind sinned against God in Adam and consequently all humans are born as sinners in rebellion against God (Rom 5:12-14; Ps 51:5; Ps 58:3). Sinful mankind doesn't understand God's ways or seek God for deliverance from the bondage of sin but lives under God's wrath alienated from God due to sin (Rom 3:10-12; Eph 2:1-3). If no one seeks God as the bible teaches, than how can a sinner be saved? Mankind doesn't even seek such salvation but thankfully God has chosen to exhibit his great love to sinners by providing all that is necessary for their forgiveness and reconciliation to himself through the Divine Son coming in the Incarnation [Jesus] to achieve a free [to sinners] but costly [to God] salvation for sinners!

Ephesians 1:4 means that in eternity, God having determined to create, seeing the rebellion of Adam and fall of the human race into sin, determined out of that fallen humanity to save a multitude [the exact number known only to God] from every race, nationality and people group to be to the praise of His inexplicable grace. Since all mankind was rightly deserving of God's just punishment of eternal death due to its sin in Adam and its corrupt sinful nature, God was under no moral obligation to show mercy to any sinners, not even one (!), but lovingly chose to show mercy to a multitude of rebellious sinners. God's choice wasn't based upon the talents, abilities or efforts of the sinners chosen or anything connected to them, but God's choice was simply and solely in accordance with his sovereign and free choice to “show mercy to whom he would show mercy” (Rom 9:10-16).

This great plan is worked out in time and space in Jesus' righteous life and death for God's sheep so that these chosen ones receive the benefits of Jesus' righteousness and substitutionary death for them and they become by faith in Jesus a people forgiven and adopted as children into God's family. God's Spirit moves like the wind wherever God sends it to stir dead sinners to spiritual life so that they are “born again or born from above” (John 3:6-8). They are by God's Spirit powerfully and effectively through the gospel drawn to Jesus and have a desire for God's forgiveness as they see for the first time the inexplicable loveliness of Jesus as the one who is their Savior and Lord (Jn 6:37, 44, 65).

This has been my experience. Early in September of 1972 while riding home on the school bus I “providentially” overheard my neighbor telling a friend about her brother's conversion at university. I'd attended Sunday school but I hadn't been to church in several years since starting high school. I wasn't wrestling with any conviction about sin or seeking to re-establish some type of relationship with the church or God. I wasn't “seeking God” but for some reason I wanted to talk with this fellow, who was slightly older than myself and a neighbor. I convinced my mother to let me skip school the next day and she consented since many students were going to see a Shakespearean play in Stratford, Ontario but I hadn't signed up to attend. There are no coincidences in life only the perfect providential leading of a sovereign God! Little did I realize that the conversation the next day would be the beginning of three weeks of a growing and intense concern for my eternal salvation as I gave myself over to prayer and bible reading realizing for the first time that I wasn't a Christian and I didn't know the peace and forgiveness of God through Jesus. That peace and assurance came late in September as I read through the Gospel of John & realized God loved me so much that Jesus had died to pay the penalty for my sins against God.

My experience illustrates the wonderful truth that sinners are chosen by grace to salvation in Christ in eternity (Eph 1:4-6). God's sovereign electing grace to me in eternity was manifest in time while I was still a sinner uncaring and unconcerned about my soul. God arranged the circumstances providentially to begin drawing me to himself in repentance and faith. All who are “chosen by grace” can't help but be a thankful, humbled people, who desire to live their lives in expressions of eternal gratitude as Paul says, “to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves” (Eph 1:6).

Randy