Whereunto
He Called You By Our Gospel
2 Thessalonians 2:13-14
In these two verses, God the
Holy Spirit tells us that the only reason any of us are found worshipping our
great and glorious, almighty, sovereign God, rather than kneeling before a
stump, the only reason we are not deceived with the rest of the world by the
idolatrous, free-will, works religion of antichrist is the fact that we have
been chosen by God the Father, redeemed by God the Son, and called by God the
Holy Spirit. Let us ever ascribe the whole of this great work to God alone and
praise God alone for it! "Not unto
us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for
thy truth's sake."
Pay
close attention to the Words of Holy Scripture. Too often we read the Word of
God like we would read a newspaper, just scanning for the highlights. In the
Book of God the highlights are in the details. Here the Apostle Paul, writing
by divine inspiration, tells us five things which go right to the heart of the
gospel. The things here described are words of assurance given to every sinner
who trusts Christ alone for redemption, righteousness, grace, salvation, and
eternal life. If you have been granted faith in the Son of God, here are five
things of which you ought to be assured by the Word of God. As surely as you
trust Christ, these five things are true of you.
“God hath from the beginning
chosen you!” What blessed, good news that
is! The holy Lord God chose you as the object of his special love and
distinguishing grace in Christ before the worlds were made by his hand. Indeed,
the reason why he made this world is that he chose you. God chose “you to salvation”! The Lord did
not choose you to have a chance at salvation. He did not choose you to receive
an offer of salvation. He did not choose you to hear about salvation. He chose
you to save you! Election is for salvation. God chose “you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit”. The
Lord God chose to save his elect in Christ, upon the grounds of justice
satisfied, by the irresistible grace and power of the Holy Spirit, in
regeneration. He has saved you, not only by imputing righteousness to you in
justification, but also by imparting righteousness to you in regeneration. The
Holy Spirit, in regeneration, sanctifies God’s elect by giving us a new, holy
nature, a nature created in the image of Christ in true holiness. God chose “you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth”. Faith
in Christ, who is the Truth, is as essential to salvation as election,
redemption, and regeneration. And this
faith in Christ, who is the Truth, is inseparably connected with believing the
truth of God revealed about Christ in the gospel. We believed on the Son of
God only “after that we heard the Word of
truth, the Gospel of our
salvation”. God chose “you to salvation through sanctification of
the Spirit and belief of the truth, whereunto
he called you by our gospel.”
It is absolutely essential that we understand the teaching of Holy Scripture in
this regard. Chosen, redeemed sinners are brought into the blessed experience
of God’s grace in salvation only by the effectual call of the Holy Spirit,
which comes only through the preaching of the gospel.
AMEN.
Grace For Today Radio Message #558
Grace
Baptist Church of Danville - Danville, KY 40422 -
9438 - Donald S. Fortner, Pastor