The Point Of It All
6/22/2007
"God did not sovereignly choose you so that the idea of his choosing you might merely bounce around in your brain. He chose you for worship, which I define as the proclamation of His excellencies and your extravagantly affectionate and inexpressibly joyful delight in them." - Sam Storms, Chosen For Life
The sovereign electing grace of God is one of those theological ideas that can simply bounce around in our head without ever making it down to our heart. We can know that God chose to save us without ever feeling the slightest inkling of gratefulness. At times I think of election just like I think of stock prices or the weather - with the cold intellect.
But the doctrine of election is intended to set our hearts aflame with passion for Jesus. Think about it for a moment, God chose to save you. Why? Why did He spare you from a torturous, blistering eternity in hell? Why did He choose to pour out lavish blessings on you? Only because of His sovereign grace. We've done absolutely nothing to deserve it, nothing to merit his kindness.
What's the appropriate response to the glorious doctrine of election? Loud, extravagant, joyful, heartfelt, worship. When we think of God's saving grace at work in our lives, we should be filled with gratefulness to Him and the joy of our salvation.
As you go about your day, take time to meditate on the fact that God saved you, and let your heart be filled with joyful devotion.
3 comments:
Another great post Stephen. I was thinking this morning about Romans 11:1-10, but especially about 5-6 where Paul has just finished reflecting on God's encouragement to Elijah from 1 Kings 19 that HE had Kept (active process)a group of believing Jews for His purposes.
"So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace. But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace" -Romans 11:5-6
How often I need this reminder from God that grace is only what God means for it to be when I receive it freely and worship Him for giving it. Instead I call something grace that I have actually perverted and turned into Erik's proud quest for boasting and self-righteousness. By being too focused on what I am doing rather than what the Father did to save me through Christ Jesus I make grace into idolatry. But the best news is that God DID choose me, He DID save me through the Cross of Christ and this act of His IS outside of me, it was ordained from before my birth and it is guaranteed to go exactly as God has planned for it. Therefore, I must follow hard after him [Phil. 2:12-13] in order to echo with Peter to “be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure (2 Peter 1:10).” But again I do not do these things in order that I should be saved but they come as an out flowing of the fact that God the Father chose to save me. They are my worship to God and my standing before him does not change in the slightest because of anything I do since that was achieved entirely by the perfectly obedient and sinless life and sacrificial death of Jesus whose perfect and infinite righteousness is now mine. This is what then makes my heart sing in praise and worship to the God of Hosts, as it did for Paul also (Romans 11:33-36)…
“Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways, ‘For who has known the mind of the Lord,
or who has been his counselor?’ ‘Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?’ For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.”
Sorry this was so long man, I just got excited and kept going.
Thanks for your encouragement Erik!
really good reminder stephen. thank you. reminded me of a verse i read this morning - is. 43:1
"But now thus says the Lord,
he who created you, O Jacob,
he who formed you, O Israel:
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are mine."