Election & Predestination

The doctrine of the week for this

Sunday is election and predestination. The Bible says in Ephesians 1, 4 and 5 that God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to himself according to the good pleasure of his will.

So the word elect or election simply means to choose.

In the Old Testament, Jacob the man was chosen by God and his descendants, the

Israelites, were a chosen people and a chosen nation. Then in the

New Testament, Christians are called God's elect. Christians have been chosen by God.

And you might ask, chosen for what? Well, we are chosen for service.

The Bible says we're also chosen for salvation through sanctification. The apostle

Paul writes in 2 Thessalonians 2, 13 and 14, but we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren, beloved by the

Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the spirit and belief in the truth to which he called you by our gospel for the obtaining of the glory of our

Lord Jesus Christ. Now, as you know, this is a deep subject and it really creates more questions sometimes than it does answers.

But I want to comment or read one last thing. Already in Ephesians chapter one, we see that predestination is tied in with election.

And you think of that word predestination. It kind of strikes fear into the heart of some people.

But what does that mean? Pre means before. We know what destination means. So predestination basically means that God has determined beforehand that his people would be adopted as sons.

God has foreordained that his people, us, that we would be conformed to the image of Christ.

Romans 8, 29. Therefore, and here's the wonderful takeaway about the doctrines of election and predestination.

Uh, God's elect because God's people are elect and predestined.

Therefore, we are secure in Christ. That's the result of it. So here's this last thing that I want to read.

As Jesus said in John chapter 10, speaking about his sheep, he says, I give them eternal life and they shall never perish.

Neither shall anyone snatch them out of my hand. My father who has given them to me is greater than all and no one is able to snatch them out of my father's hand.