Chosen According to HIs Foreknowledge

Monday evening, May 12, 2008
Yesterday my message came from 1 Peter 1-2 and it had to do with our having been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father. As you probably know, there are at least two words in these verses that have been the subject of much debate throughout the years of church history—chosen and foreknowledge. Most believers accept the fact that God is all-knowing from eternity to eternity, but for some reason many of them want God’s foreknowledge to have determined His choice in election (oops, another of those “words”). In their minds, God looked down through the corridors of time and saw those who would believe the gospel and, consequently, chose them for Himself. The question that never seems to get addressed is this: How did those He “saw” come to believe? Was it some meritorious act of their own initiative? If you accept the foundational truth of Christianity, that each of us comes into this world in Adam, dead to God, and alive to sin, then, obviously, this cannot be the answer. Acting on our own initiative, there is not one of us who would choose to believe the gospel and we would not because in our lost condition we have absolutely no interest in or inclination toward Jesus; in fact, we are repulsed by Him.
If, however, we accept this foundational principal of Christianity, namely, that the ONLY way any of us could ever choose to believe the gospel is for God to act first and give us not only the faith to believe, but also an inclination for Jesus, then we must conclude that what God “saw” (His foreknowledge) was what He had already predestined to occur—the redemption of His elect. Yes, I know that this is offensive to many because it eliminates man from the “equation” and makes God both the author and the finisher of our faith; man is simply the beneficiary of God’s sovereign choice! Whether or not we like it, God is free to show mercy to whom He shows mercy and He is free to harden whom He chooses to harden; after all, He is God! By the way, be very thankful that He isn’t fair; if He were, then all of us would be eternally lost and destined for hell.
Just for the fun of it read the following passages: Mark 13:20; John 13:18; John 15:16; Acts 10:40-41; Romans 11:7; Ephesians 1:4; Colossians 3:12; 2 Thessalonians 2:13; and 1 Peter 2:9. Enjoy!
` Now, check this one out: “For the promise is for you and your children, and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God shall call to Himself” (Acts 2:39; emphasis added).
Now read Romans 8:28-30—every word carefully. Follow Paul’s logic to its conclusion— “whom He called, these He also justified, and whom He justified, these He also glorified!”
In my opinion, the glorious truth that God saw me in my lost condition—sinful, depraved, helpless, hopeless, and disinterested—and, yet, He chose to intervene in my life, completely against my will, and give me the gift of faith, faith that created an incredible inclination for Jesus that resulted in a love for Him I could have never imagined, is the greatest story ever told—an indescribable gift, indeed.
As for me, I am very thankful that God did not leave the choice up to me!