2) False Standards (Andrew Mitchell)
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\u201cMany Are Called, But Few Are Chosen\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Tom Edwards<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In His parable of a king giving a wedding feast for his son, in which many individuals had been invited, but turned down the offer, the Lord then concluded by saying, \u201cFor many are called, but few are chosen\u201d (Matt. 22:14).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The parable reminds us of the many in real life whom God desires to come to salvation \u2013 but they are unwilling and reject His gracious invitation! For \u201cThe Lord is\u2026not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance\u201d (2 Pet. 3:9). And Paul speaks of the Lord as being One \u201cwho desires all men to be saved\u2026\u201d (1 Tim. 2:4); and through Isaiah, God had implored people to \u201cTurn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other\u201d (Isa. 45:22). Even to that wicked one called \u201cJezebel\u201d in Revelation 2:20-21, who was leading God\u2019s \u201cbond-servants astray so that they commit acts of immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols,\u201d the Lord declares, \u201cI gave her time to repent\u2026\u201d (v. 21). But He also goes on to point out that \u201cshe does not want to repent of her immorality.\u201d And think of all the people in Noah\u2019s day whose minds were only on evil continually (Gen. 6:5), yet God was also patient in giving them time to repent (Gen. 6:3; 1 Pet. 3:20; 2 Pet. 3:15).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In thinking how his life had been prior to his conversion, the apostle Paul referred to himself as being the \u201cchief\u201d of sinners because of his persecution toward the church and even consenting toward the death of Christians. But he also cites himself as an example of the mercy of God. For if the Lord could pardon Paul of all his past sins, then the Lord can pardon anyone who will meet His conditions \u2014 for \u201cChrist Jesus came into the world to save sinners\u2026\u201d (1 Tim. 1:15-16). And \u201cwhosoever will\u201d may come (Rev. 22:17). So, yes, many are called because God does not want anyone to be lost; but, sad to say, many will be lost for rejecting the call of the Lord. And all who reject Him will also have to be rejected by Him (cf. Matt. 10:33; Luke 9:26).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But for those of us who have accepted the Lord\u2019s gracious invitation, we can know that God \u201chas saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity, but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death, and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel\u201d (2 Tim. 1:9-10).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This does not mean that every saved person was arbitrarily chosen to be saved before the world began, and apart from any necessary belief and obedience on the individual\u2019s part. For salvation has always been based on meeting certain conditions that no one \u2013 not even God \u2013 can do for us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Paul makes this calling clear. He explains: \u201cBut we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren, beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth. And it was for this he called you through our gospel, that you may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ\u201d (2 Thess. 2:13-14).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Again, we see of the desire God has had from the very beginning toward saving the lost. Yet, we also see in this passage that one\u2019s salvation involves not only the Lord, but also the individual\u2019s response toward God. So, according to this passage, one\u2019s salvation was not totally brought about before the world began or prior to the birth of that individual. But, rather, it was the plan of salvation that was prior. And that plan would involve the need to hear God\u2019s word to acquire faith (cf. Rom. 10:17), to believe in Christ (Jn. 8:24), to repent of sins (Luke 13:5), to acknowledge faith in Jesus (Acts 8:36-38; Rom. 10:9-10), to be baptized in water (Acts 2:38; 22:16; Rom. 6:3,4; 1 Pet. 3:21), and to continue in the faith (Rev. 2:10). In other words, these steps can be clearly seen as that which we are each to make in faithfully responding to God\u2019s plan of salvation and benefiting from it. For look again at 2 Thessalonians 2:13: We must not only be sanctified by the Spirit, but also have faith in the truth in order to be saved, which indicates our responsibility in that. So our salvation is not totally up to God \u2014 though without His love, His grace, and His mercy, all the believing, repenting, and meeting other conditions on our part would be to no avail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The need for our involvement in our calling can also be inferred from 2 Peter 1:10. For here Peter exhorts, \u201c\u2026give diligence to make your calling and election sure.\u201d Such exhortation would be unnecessary, if one\u2019s calling were totally up to God and separate from any necessary action on the believer\u2019s part. But living a life unto the Lord is part of God\u2019s purpose for His people \u2013 and that which He had planned from all eternity (cf. 2 Tim. 1:9). For Jesus \u201cdied for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf\u201d (2 Cor. 5:15). \u201cFor God has not called us for the purpose of impurity, but in sanctification\u201d (1 Thess. 4:7). The King James Version renders \u201csanctification\u201d in this passage as \u201choliness.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So our calling from God leads to a new way of life. As Paul instructs: \u201cTherefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace\u201d (Eph. 4:1-3).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And the importance of living this new life can be seen in Hebrews 12:14-15: \u201cFollow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord: looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And when does that new life begin for the penitent believer who has confessed his faith in Christ? \u201cOr do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life\u201d (Rom. 6:3-4). So baptism is in order that \u201cwe too might walk in newness of life.\u201d Compare also the following: \u201cFor all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ\u201d (Gal. 3:27). \u201cTherefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come\u201d (2 Cor. 5:17). Again, we see baptism in connection with receiving the new life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yes, Christians are \u201ccalled to be saints\u201d (1 Cor. 1:2); and, as the term denotes, a \u201csaint\u201d is one who is \u201cmade holy\u201d and \u201cset apart\u201d for a special service unto God. May all of us who are Christians ever live to carry out our calling from the Lord. For by meeting His conditions of salvation, that were in His mind before the world even began, He is then able to accept us as His chosen ones who are on that narrow road that leads to eternal life, though few there be that find it (cf. Matt. 7:13-14).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, yes, many are called, but few are chosen. And as we have seen in all this, the choice is really up to us. For God wants us to be saved, to be one of His chosen \u2014 for He loves us more than we can fully realize and wants no one to be lost. But in order to be one of His chosen, we must accept the Lord Jesus Christ by submitting to His plan of salvation (as mentioned above).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
God is lovingly calling through His gospel message \u2014 but we must obediently respond to that gracious call.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(All Scripture from the NASB unless otherwise indicated.)
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False Standards<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Andrew Mitchell<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I often hear people trying to establish right and wrong based on the wrong standard. Here are some examples: Our Conscience<\/strong> (Ac. 23:1; 26:9-11; 1 Tim. 1:12-13). Even though our conscience can be useful, we may still be wrong even though our conscience doesn\u2019t bother us. Paul had followed his conscience even when he was a persecutor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Emotions & Feelings<\/strong> (Pr. 14:12; 28:26; Jer. 10:23). Just because something \u201cfeels\u201d right to you, that doesn\u2019t necessarily make it right. Sin can even \u201cfeel\u201d right. Preachers & Religious Leaders<\/strong> (2 Cor. 11:13-15; 2 Pet. 2:1-3). Your preacher may be a great guy, but that doesn\u2019t mean he is right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tradition<\/strong> (Mt. 15:1-9; Col. 2:8). Truth is not established by how long something has been around. Sin has been around a long time, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Good End<\/strong> (Rom. 3:8). The end doesn\u2019t always justify the means. Something is not right just because we may think it is causing \u201cgood.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n What is the \u201cRIGHT\u201d way to tell right from wrong? God\u2019s WORD, and HIS word ALONE (Jn. 12:48).<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2013 via the bulletin of the Collegevue church of Christ, July 23, 2017 1) Hear<\/strong> the gospel, for that is how faith comes (Rom. 10:17; John 20:30,31). Tebeau Street \u201cGo therefore and make disciples of all the nations\u2026teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age\u201d (Matthew 28:19-20, NASB).\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013 Contents: 1) \u201cMany Are Called, But Few Are Chosen\u201d (Tom Edwards)2) False Standards (Andrew Mitchell)\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013 -1- \u201cMany Are Called, But Few […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-522","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","post-preview"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/522","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=522"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/522\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":524,"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/522\/revisions\/524"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=522"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=522"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=522"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Our Parents<\/strong> (Mt. 10:21,34-37).\u00a0 As much as\u00a0 we should love and respect our parents, we cannot establish right and wrong on the basis of our parents alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Majority <\/strong>(Mt. 7:13-14). Don\u2019t ever think that something is right simply because most believe it. The majority is headed to destruction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe Steps That Lead to Eternal Salvation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
2) Believe<\/strong> in the deity of Christ (John 8:24; John 3:18).
3) Repent <\/strong>of sins (Luke 13:5; Acts 17:30).
4) Confess faith<\/strong> in Christ (Rom. 10:9,10; Acts 8:36-38).
5) Be baptized<\/strong> in water for the remission of sins (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; 22:16; Rom. 6:3,4; Gal. 3:26,27; 1 Pet. 3:21).
6) Continue in the faith<\/strong>, living for the Lord; for, if not, salvation can be lost (Heb. 10:36-39; Rev. 2:10; 2 Pet. 2:20-22).
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CHURCH OF CHRIST
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Sunday<\/strong> services: 9:00 a.m. (Bible class); 10 a.m. & 5 p.m. (worship)
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evangelist\/editor: <\/strong>Tom Edwards (912) 281-9917
Tom@ThomasTEdwards.com<\/strong>
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