One day at work I was asked by a non-Calvinist friend of mine, “How do you know if you’re elect?” And I responded, “How do you know if you’re saved?” He told me what I expected, faith and the perseverance of bearing the fruit of salvation. So I replied, “That’s how you know if you’re elect.”
Last week we saw that “as many as were appointed to eternal life believed” (Acts 13:48). Today we see Paul making the reverse argum
Publish Post
Paul begins his letter to the Thessalonians talking about how he gives thanks to God for them. What specific thing is he giving thanks for? “…remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ” (1:3). He then moves on to say “we know… that He has chosen you…” (1:4). How do we know He has chosen them Paul? “…because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction” (1:5). The rest of the passage explains how this faith is being worked out in them. It appears that we are not only seeing unconditional election but also irresistible grace and perseverance of the saints.
I hope you’re beginning to see the beauty of this teaching and how close it is to the beauty of the gospel itself. Why is this? Well, at the risk of being controversial I present you with a quote from Charles Spurgeon:
I do not believe we can preach the gospel...unless we preach the sovereignty of God in His dispensation of grace; nor unless we exalt the electing, unchangeable, eternal, immutable, conquering love of Jehovah; nor do I think we can preach the gospel unless we base it upon the special and particular redemption of His elect and chosen people which Christ wrought out upon the Cross; nor can I comprehend a gospel which lets saints fall away after they are called (AUTOBIOGRAPHY, 168).
No comments:
Post a Comment