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God's Choice
by Adam Bennett We are accustomed to thinking of salvation in terms of our decision. In contrast, Paul wrote that God, "chose us in him [Jesus] before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him." (Ephesians 1:4 ESV) The emphasis in this verse is on God's choice to save us rather than our choice to believe in God. This doctrine of election, as theologians call it, is not easy to understand but as I've grown I am finding it easier to accept. Considering what we know of Paul's conversion I think it is clear why he would write this way. In Acts 9:1-2 we are told that, "Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem." (ESV) Then in verse 3, "as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him." Paul, heading one direction to do harm to the Church, was stopped by God himself, who from a blinding light and with audible voice, turned around the direction of his life. Is it any wonder Paul would write that God chose him? For Paul this was such a dramatic turn of events he could only believe God had chosen to intervene, and that it had always been his plan to do so. He said God, "set me apart from birth and called me by his grace." (Galatians 1:15 NIV) While we haven't all been converted in a Damascus Road experience the drama of our salvation is just as significant. Describing the reality for all of us Paul said, "God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ." (Ephesians 2:4-5 ESV) God's choice is an encouraging aspect of God's grace which reminds us to see salvation from God's perspective more than from our own. "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9 ESV) Copyright Adam Bennett 2009. More articles are available at http://godward-thoughts.blogspot.com/ Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |