Dennis Tuuri

# Sermon Transcript: 1 Thessalonians 1:1-4

Sermon scripture is 1 Thessalonians chapter 1. Read verses 1-4. 1 Thessalonians 1:1-4. Paul and Silvanus and Timothy to the church of the Thessalonians which is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace be unto you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers, remembering without ceasing your work of faith and labor of love and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the sight of God and our Father, knowing brethren, beloved, your election of God.

Heat up here. Yeah. Heat. Okay. At this time, the younger children may be dismissed. Go down to their Sabbath schools. Their parents desire that. Okay, we continue now with our series of sermons going through the book of First Thessalonians. Just to remind you of where we’re at, we’ve had a couple of weeks away from the book, and to remind you the general structure of this book, you remember that we said that after the salutation in verse one, we have a prolonged section from the second verse in chapter 1 through the 16th verse of chapter 2 where Paul gives thanksgiving for the Thessalonian church.

And so this whole section is centered upon thanksgiving that Paul gives for this church. And the first section we said runs from the second verse of chapter 1 through the 10th verse where he gives thanks for the evidence of their election by God. And that’s where we’re at today is the center of that where he’s giving thanks and he began by giving thanks for the actions and attitudes of the Thessalonians for their faith, hope, and love that took active form in work, labor, and patience.

And now he says that was an evidence. There’ll be more evidences later as we go through the next few verses of their election by God. So that’s the general context what we’re going to talk about today. Today specifically we’re going to be focusing on verse four knowing brethren beloved your election of God. And really that construction is not quite it would be more fitting to say that the brethren are beloved of God of God modifies beloved knowing brethren beloved by God. Your election would be a better way for the verse to read. There’s a strong statement there that they are beloved of God, which is important for consideration of election as we shall see.

Now, I’ve got kind of a long outline there in front of you with many scripture references, and we’ll just be making reference to some of those briefly, but I thought it’d be good for you to have in your reference file. If you’d like to file this for later consideration of the doctrine of election, it would be useful for you to have these verses compiled and ordered in that way.

Election is of course a central teaching of the scriptures throughout the Old and New Testaments. The chosen ones are very much the focus of what God is doing in history. It is an essential doctrine to understand for a couple of reasons and in spite of the complicated outline I probably have laid out in front of you.

Basically all I want to do today are three things and the first two are to combat various forms of humanism that can infect the church. And then having done that want to then stress and closing admonition to us in light of our election by God. So there’s two strains of humanism that attack the doctrine of election from really totally different perspectives and we’ll address both of those in the context of our talk.

## God’s Election Defined

First I thought it’d be good of course just to remind us all of a basic understanding what election is. We’ll be looking at the scripture texts we have listed there that talk about that but it might be good to quote from the findings of the Synod of Dort, which was the findings of a church synod held in 1618 to 1619 and they have an excellent definition of election in those findings and I’ll just read that to you to begin with here as you may know the Canons of Dort. They came to be called the findings of the synod held at Dort in 1618 and 1619 are one of what has become known as the three-fold form of unity which some Reformed churches hold as their secondary standards secondary to the scriptures of course the Presbyterian churches have used the Westminster standards other another branch of the Reformed church has used the three-fold form of unity which is the Belgic Confession the Heidelberg Catechism and the Canons of Dort rather from the Synod of Dort and so it is essentially a very much a standard of the Reformed churches and have been used for three or four hundred years now to define what Reformed theology is.

And I’ll just read you their definition of election. Election is the unchangeable purpose of God whereby before the foundation of the world out of the whole human race which had fallen by its own fault, out of its original integrity into sin and perdition, he has according to the sovereign good pleasure of his will, out of mere grace, chosen in Christ to salvation, a definite number of persons, neither better nor more worthy than others, but with them involved in a common misery.

He has also from eternity appointed Christ to be the mediator and head of all the elect and the foundation of salvation. And thus he decreed to give to Christ those who were to be saved and effectually to call and draw them into his communion through his word and Spirit. He decreed to give them true faith in him to justify them to sanctify them and after having powerfully kept them in the fellowship of his Son finally to glorify them for the demonstration of his mercy and the praise the riches of his glorious grace.

And then they go on to discuss this with other articles in this particular section. Now the Canons of Dort are the basis for what has become known as the acronym TULIP that defines Calvinism in terms of soteriology or salvation. The Synod of Dort was held to rebut or to think through and then decide whether it was orthodox or not the teachings of a man named Jacobus Arminius. He had since died, but his followers were still propagating his doctrines.

And he taught five specific things that the synod took up in opposition to what the followers of John Calvin thought should properly be taught. And those five things that Arminius taught was first of all conditional election on the ground of a foreseen faith. So God looks forward, sees faith and then elects people on the basis of their faith. Arminius also taught universal atonement that Christ died or made atonement for the sins of all the world.

Arminius also taught partial depravity, resistible grace and the possibility of a lapse from grace on the part of those who had been called to salvation. Now the Synod then developed these canons under five heads of doctrine. And the first head of doctrine that they address was this idea of conditional election. And the Canon said that is unorthodox and that is a heretical position and that the orthodox church believes and teaches unconditional election and really the other four heads of doctrine flow out of the unconditional election of God that is that is taught in the first head of doctrine in the synod the Canons of Dort the other four heads were limited atonement total depravity irresistible grace and perseverance of the saints now if you’ve been following that the first letters of those five heads of doctrine are ULIP.

And so for memorization’s sake, people simply exchange those first two heads of doctrine, turn them around, and you have TULIP. Then TULIP standing for the total depravity of man, unconditional election, limited atonement, that is that Christ died or paid the price for the sins of the elect only. Irresistible grace. When God calls the sinner, it is irresistible. He calls him to salvation. The sinner cannot resist to the point of not being drawn to salvation.

And then perseverance of the saints. The true saints will persevere in life that they won’t fall away and lapse. In other words, that if you’re a true saint, you can’t just pray the prayer as it were and then live a life totally demonstrative of a pagan and think that you’re a Christian. You were never elected all as is evidenced by your lapse from the faith. They taught perseverance of the saints. And that became known as TULIP.

And I bring all that out first just to remind you of what those points mean, but secondly to say that TULIP really its foundation is that first head of doctrine which we’re dealing with today election and that is unconditional election by God.

## Point One: God’s Sovereignty in Election

So and that is the first attack on humanism that I want to kind of stress in this first point the point of God’s sovereignty and election that is a frontal attack on humanism because humanism posits man’s ability to control his own destiny and that all things work together for man’s good and that is not what the scriptures tell us.

The scriptures tell us that our election is totally a result of God’s sovereign act, his purposes. It is interesting that two-thirds of the Old Testament occurrences of the word for chosen or election in the Old Testament, two-thirds of those words, God is the one doing the choosing. In the New Testament, the particular word election here is always used every time in terms of election. Now, the specific doctrine to refer to a choice made by God.

And indeed, the scriptures tell us quite clearly that election is totally a result of God’s choice. Now election is a kind of a you could another word you could use for election is to choose election I suppose one way to think of it is in terms of our civil elections we just had an election in November in this state and we chose certain people for office they didn’t choose themselves we chose them now they had to sort of choose to run so the analogy breaks down a bit but the idea of us choosing which one we want have in office.

Now, the analogy also breaks down because our choice is based upon conditions. But in any event, when we talk about election, we’re talking about that specific act of God in choosing people to be Christians to salvation and to a life that evidences that salvation. So, it’s God’s choice. In John 15:16, Jesus tells his disciples very, very clearly. He says, “You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you.” Our choice as it were, our decision to follow Jesus and our choice to do and act in obedience to God’s law as a result of that is the work of the Holy Spirit in us that occurs after God’s choice of us.

God chooses us first. Jesus says, “You didn’t choose me. I chose you.” The scriptures tell us then that, and this should not be overlooked, that God’s election is limited. First of all, it is God’s sovereign election and it is limited to a particular people. In Romans 9, it would probably be good for you to turn there to Romans 9. We’ll be coming back to Romans 9. You might want to mark that with a piece of paper or something.

We’ll be coming back to it a little later to look at it some more. But in Romans 9, we read in verses 10 and 11 and 12, he says that when Rebecca had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac, for the children being yet unborn, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand not of works but of him that calleth. It was said unto her, the elder shall serve the younger.

As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. And so God decided to choose Jacob while yet in the womb, and to love him, and to hate Esau. God’s election to salvation then is limited to a particular people. That is very important to point out. We live in a day and age in which many liberal churches I heard on the air this morning talk about unconditional election in the sense well I mean unconditional in the sense of unlimited that all people will eventually become Christians or go to heaven the scriptures teach that not to be the case there’s a heaven there’s a hell God’s election is limited to a particular people ultimately the ones that are elect are elect because they are in Jesus Christ and I’ve listed an awful lot of scriptures there which we won’t spend a lot of time on but what I wanted to show you there if you go through those scriptures starting in the Old Testament, you will see that the term my chosen one or my chosen ones is used in the Old Testament in several very interesting ways.

He refers to particular individuals first of all as his chosen one. Moses is a chosen one. Aaron is a chosen one. Jacob is a chosen one. by Jacob’s other name, Israel is spoken of as a chosen one as well. And David is called a chosen one. And King Saul is also a chosen one according to the scriptures. And it’s important that we see that all those men were prefigures as it were of Jesus Christ. Moses the prophet Aaron the priest, David the king, Israel, the chosen people.

Jesus is the true Israel. Another way that word is used is of the group of people that are Israel, the tribes of Israel, the ones that God has called as a people. So the word talks to individuals and it talks to groups. And then finally, one other very prominent way in which God’s choice is made evident in the scriptures and some of those passages in First Kings and later on refers to the choice of a place.

That place is Jerusalem. When they go into the land, you go through some of the scriptures in Deuteronomy and other places. And you see time after time, God says, “I’ll choose a place. I’ll choose a place. I’ll choose a place. That’s where you’ve got to go to worship me.” And in several of those scriptures, that choice of a place is linked to the choice of a king. First Kings 8:16, for instance, God says, “For the day I brought forth my people Israel out of Egypt, I chose no city out of all the tribes of Israel to build a house, but I did choose David to be over my people Israel. And then later he talks in 2 Chronicles 6:6, I have chosen Jerusalem that my name might be there and I’ve chosen David to be over my people Israel.

And so there are various scriptures that I list there that link the choosing of the place Jerusalem and the choosing of the king David together. And what I want to point out from that is again we see that God’s choice in the scriptures is essentially to be found in the person of Jesus Christ and then those who Christ calls unto himself and forms as it were a city a temple and the church is the temple of God individually and also in terms of the congregation he assembles Jerusalem around him as it were and so God’s choice of election is ultimately a people but they are elect because they are in Jesus Christ and so the scriptures tell us specifically that in various places, for instance, in the Old Testament in the book of Isaiah, God says, “Behold my servant whom I uphold, mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth, I have put my spirit upon him. He shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.” And there’s an obvious indication there that the elect are truly in Jesus Christ.

There are other New Testament references as well to Jesus being the elect of God. One is that passage from Luke 23:35, but there are other ones as well. In any event, so we are elect because we are in Jesus Christ. And so God’s election is limited to a particular people. And those people are elect because they’re in the elect one, the chosen one, Jesus Christ.

### God’s Election is Eternal

Secondly, God’s election is eternal. And by that I mean that his election is not limited to time. It occurred before the beginning of all things. Ephesians 1:4 says that he hath chosen us in him. There’s that concept. We are chosen. We are elect. Why? Because we’re in Christ. He has chosen us in him before the foundation of the world. Again, in 2 Timothy 1:9 talks about God has saved us and called us with a holy calling according to his purpose and grace which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began.

So God’s election or choice of believers is not something that happens in time over time. Psalm 65:4 says that God chooses people and then causes them to draw near to himself. His election happens before time before the foundation of the world. And the drawing of us to himself happens in time. But God’s election is eternal in respect to its time reference. It happens before the foundation of the world.

### God’s Election is Totally Unconditional

Third, God’s election is totally unconditional. And that should be obvious from the Romans passage we read in terms of Jacob and Esau. The whole point of that passage is God’s predestination, his election apart from works. He says there that he chose them while yet in the womb before they could do good or bad. they were already chosen. But if you put that together, the fact that God’s choice ultimately occurs before the foundation of the world, then it’s obvious to stress in scripture to no works being the basis or no conditions being the basis of our election.

We have other references as well. For instance, in Ephesians 1:4, we read that just a minute ago that we were chosen in him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and without blame before him in love. We were chosen not It does not say that we were chosen because we were holding without blame. It says that we should be holy and without blame. That these conditions should result as a result should come about as a result of our election, not as a condition of it.

Romans 9 again we said a little bit earlier there in terms of Jacob and Esau in verse 21 where he talks about in Romans 9 about it’s up to God to choose one particular people for wrath and another for mercy to demonstrate his love. And he says in the context of that, the analogy that he uses that is of a potter who makes different kinds of dishes out of the same lump of clay. And the important thing to consider there is it is one lump of clay.

There is nothing better about the group that are chosen in terms of their intrinsic characteristics. They’re not a different kind of clay. We’re not a different kind of clay than those that are not chosen by God to salvation. His choice, his election is not conditioned upon anything in and of ourselves.

1 Corinthians 4:7 he says, “For who maketh thee to differ from one another? And what hast thou that thou did not receive? If thou didst receive it, why dest thou glory as if thou hast not receive it? Even whatever giftings we have been given by God are the result totally of God’s grace and given them to us in the first place. It’s never of our of our condition or our choice, our works that is the basis for our salvation.”

Ephesians 2:8, by grace have you been saved through faith. In that, in other words, even the faith is not of ourselves. It is the gift of God. We can’t boast because there’s no condition to our choice by God. He chooses us unconditionally. Now, because this is an unconditional choice by God and happened before we were in existence, it is obviously an extension of grace to us. And so, God’s election is gracious. It is sovereign and it is gracious. It is totally his choice and it is totally a demonstration of grace to us.

### God’s Election is of Grace

And so, in 2 Timothy 1:9, we read that he has saved us and called us with an holy calling not according to our works. So he didn’t call us according to our works but according to his own purpose unconditional election and grace gracious election which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began. And so God’s election is of grace. Romans 11:5 says that there is a remnant according to the election of grace. So it actually uses a modifier to election or that election itself is the election of God’s grace. It is a demonstration.

Grace is an act of goodness and favor to ones who are otherwise deserve wrath and condemnation. Since God’s election of us is unconditioned, we were in the same fallen condition as everybody else as it were headed for hell and damnation. His election of us is gracious because there’s an extension of salvation and mercy to us who are deserving wrath and condemnation.

### God’s Election is Effectual

Fifth, God’s election is effectual. John 6:37, “All that the Father gives me, Jesus says, shall come to me.” The ones that God chooses and elects and he gives to Jesus Christ that are going to be in him, all of them shall come to me in time. Romans 11:7 discussing Israel’s states as Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for, but the election hath obtained it. All the physical nation of Israel were not elect, but those members that were elect have obtained it.

God’s election and calling and choice of us is efficacious. It will bring about what God has chosen to do in our lives. And that is where you can come up with the doctrine of irresistible grace. And that’s as I said all those other conditions really flow out of that first head of doctrine, God’s choice, unconditioned choice.

### God’s Election is Immutable

Next, God’s election is immutable. Romans 8:30 with this doctrine of course this fact that the immutability of God’s election would flow of course out of the person of God himself since God is the one who does the choosing and not us and God is a God who changes not so his election of people doesn’t change either but we have a specific evidence to that we it says in Romans 11:29 that the gifts and calling of God are without repentance God doesn’t change his mind on these things again in 2 Timothy 2:19 Nevertheless, the foundation of God standeth, having this seal, the Lord knoweth them that are his, and let everyone that nameeth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.

And so God’s election is immutable as well. It doesn’t change. And so both in the various confessions, including the Westminster Confession, the Westminster Confession, excuse me, the word language it says is that the number of the elect are so fixed as to number that they it will not change. There’s a specific number of individuals who are elect unto salvation. And that number is not subject to change.

It is immutable based upon the person of God and his choice in eternity.

### God’s Election is Just

And finally, we should point out that God’s election is just. It is a just election. There is no injustice in God. Romans 9:14 in a discussion of God’s election and God’s choice in salvation and his unconditional election of some says, “What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness? Is there injustice with God. And Paul answers the question, God forbid.

No, there is no injustice in this. The ones who are left, as it were, to sin in damnation, receive from God’s hand in punishment and in wrath and eternal damnation just what they deserve for their rebellion against God. That is the just reward for them. And God fulfills his justice to us in giving us Jesus Christ as our covenant mediator. There is no injustice in this. God cannot have charge brought against him.

God’s mercy is demonstrated to some. And as a result of that, we see also that while God’s election is just, it is also a result of his love. Again, here in 1 Thessalonians 1:4, he reminds them, brethren beloved by God, a very strong term only used a couple of times in the scriptures in this form. Usually brethren or the beloved are talked about, but here he says specifically beloved by God, a very strong form indicates again that election is tied to that being that act of love toward ultimately his only beloved son Jesus Christ and than us as we are in him.

Deuteronomy 7:7, “The Lord did not set his love upon you nor choose you because you were more in number than other people.” He says, in other words, God begins the elective process by setting his love upon us and then chooses us. And so his choice, his election of the of the community of Jesus Christ is a result of God’s love to mankind.

## Humanism’s Attack on God’s Sovereignty

Now, summing up all this, there’s a couple of points I want to make. This is just we going over this very briefly and quickly, but I want to say a couple of things here. First of all, in the doctrine of God’s election, we have at the heart of God divine discrimination. Divine discrimination. He discriminates. He chooses some to salvation and foreordains others to perdition and to eternal punishment. Now, that’s very important and as I said this first point of the outline really is to try to help us to see that humanism seeks to deny these things.

Humanism doesn’t want to have any discrimination. It says humanism sees man as the standard and the measure of all things. And so any god who would choose some people and not others to salvation is found wanting. And if you use man himself and his well-being as the standard, they’re right. God is not a humanist. But man isn’t here. God isn’t here rather to glorify man and to enjoy him forever. Man is here to glorify God and to enjoy him forever.

Now this is a doctrine that is very difficult for sinful man to bow his knee to but it is clearly taught in these various scriptures I’ve listed for you and it is a major element of what the Christian faith is all about. It is a major element of the Christian faith. Because it is that for this very reason that it sounds the death knell to humanism in our hearts. It tells us that if you think the purpose of creation is of the well-being of mankind, then you are in rebellion to the God who created you because he doesn’t see things that way.

His glory is the end goal of all mankind. Divine discrimination strikes a death blow to humanism in our hearts. And if you have trouble with that doctrine, I greatly urge you to go through these scriptures that I’ve listed here and to come to grips with it. It is essential for a correct relationship and understanding of the person of God.

I don’t know I have not done the Greek work myself but Reverend Rushdoony says that the term our English term heretic is based upon the Greek one of the Greek words that is used in the New Testament for choice. He says how can you get choice into heretic and he said that it’s a kind of a simplified version of how that happened. He said but essentially the heretic is the one who thinks that he chooses God instead of God choosing him. You probably heard it said, you know, some people have said that election is God votes for you, the devil votes against you, and then you cast the deciding vote. You see, that is totally out of sync with these verses we’ve just listed for you and with the word of God.

It is in sync with humanism, leaving all things up to man for his determination, but it’s out of sync with theism, with the God of the scriptures.

### Election Was Taught to Young Converts

Secondly, I very important we realize in the context of 1 Thessalonians 1:4 Remember this is the first letter that Paul writes back to this church after having spent a fairly short period of time with them. Now there’s difference in the commentators there a couple of weeks or a couple of months but he didn’t spend a lot of time with the Thessalonians and then later he writes this is the first letter he writes back to them and you notice in the very first in the in the very first section here in verse four he talks about election and he doesn’t define it.

What does that tell us? That tells us that the Thessalonians knew what election was and that tells us that election is not some kind of doctrine that we’re to hold back from proclaiming in terms of the gospel of Christ and discipling new converts. Some people think that the doctrines of predestination election are oh you don’t want to talk about those you’ll offend people and whatnot. But Paul didn’t see things that way.

He apparently was right up front with the Thessalonians. And I think it’s because of as I said the doctrine of election is what separates the theist from the humanist so to speak. And so it’s an important recognize that when we deal with young Christians or when we proclaim the gospel.

### God Chooses the Means of Grace

Third, it is important here in the context again of the book of Thessalonians to realize as the confession state that God’s election is not just of a people. He chooses the means whereby they come to grace as well. He predetermines all these things and he chooses in other words not just the people but the place of their birth, their circumstances. The fact that we were born as people and not cattle for instance is Loraine Boettner talks about in his book. he’s got a couple of good quotes in here on this and it’s particularly appropriate to talk about this in relationship to the Thessalonians.

Boettner quotes from a man named Cunningham who says the following. He says there is an invariable connection established in God’s government of the world between the enjoyment of outward privileges or the means of grace on the one hand and faith and salvation on the other. In this sense and to this extent that the negation of the first implies the negation of the second, we are warranted by the whole tenor of scripture in maintaining that where God and his sovereignty withholds from men the enjoyment of the means of grace and opportunity of becoming acquainted with the only way of salvation.

He is at the same time and by the same means or ordination withholding from them the opportunity and power of believing and being saved. So what he’s saying all that is that if God decides in his providence to withhold the gospel from a man or from a nation, then he is at the same time withholding the only means that he has given to man whereby men come to salvation. And so when God chooses men, he also chooses which particular peoples will receive the gospel.

Now I said it was important and appropriate to talk about this in terms of the Thessalonians. Do you remember how he got to Thessalonica? There was divine intervention. Miraculous intervention here that took Paul out of one course physical course of activity and took him into the European region instead. God chose the European region as a whole to receive the gospel at that point in time. And in so doing, another portion of the world did not receive the gospel.

Boettner talks about this. He says it was the sovereign choice of God which brought the gospel to the people of Europe and later to America while the people of the east and north and south were left in darkness. Now, you know, if you don’t like that, if that bothers you somehow that God decided to send Paul here and not there, well, then your quarrel is with the scriptures. Your quarrel is with the God who says that all thing exists not for our glory but for his glory.

God’s election is a reality in history.

## Point Two: God’s Purpose in Election

And then secondly, God has a purpose in election. God is election is sovereign and is seen in juxtaposition to humanism. in that sense. But secondly, God has a purpose in election. Now, it is certainly true and as one indication of this, Romans 8:28 says that we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called, who are the elect, who are the chosen according to his purpose.

Our calling is referenced there to the purpose of God. Might seem rather obvious. the the purpose of this then is that men bear fruit for him. Going back to John 15:16 where Jesus said, “You’ve not chosen me, but I’ve chosen you and ordained you that you should go and bring forth fruit.” We see there the purpose that Jesus tells them of this choosing of them. He ordained he chose and ordained us that for what reason? That we might go and show forth or bring forth fruit.

Again, 1 Peter 2:9 says that you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood and holy nation, a peculiar people. That sounds real neat. All privilege. But now comes the responsibility side of that verse. Why? That you should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Again, we can compare this to the idea of a civil election.

When we choose somebody or elect somebody in November, it’s not just to somehow that title. He is chosen for a purpose. And that purpose is to go to Salem or Washington DC or the county courthouse, wherever it is to do a job. And God’s election of man is said in these scriptures and other places to have a purpose and that purpose is to do a job. That purpose that fruit that we’re to bring forth as part of that job is internal in the first place.

Colossians 3:12 says that the elect of God are to put on bowels of mercy, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering. The fruits of the spirit are the internal fruits that God desires for us to bring forth in ourselves and manifest in ourselves as a result of our calling. But secondly, that internal fruit finds external actions. 1 Peter 1:2 says that we are elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father through the sanctification of the spirit.

There’s the privilege and now the responsibility unto obedience. Unto obedience 2 Peter 1:4, where whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises, privilege? What purpose? That by these you might be partakers of the divine nature. So we’re to be our purpose then is we partakers of the divine nature to manifest that as it were to the culture around us to the world around us. And so Second Peter goes on to say and he says add to all this give all diligence to add to your faith virtue and to virtue knowledge and to knowledge temperance and to temperance patience and to patience godliness and to godliness brotherly kindness and to brotherly kindness charity or love.

Moving from the inward manifestations of the spirit to the external actions. that are the reason for our election. He says in the next verse in Second Peter, don’t be unfruitful. Don’t be unfruitful. And goes on to say in verse 11, wherefore the rather brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure. So our calling and election is for a purpose and we are exhorted by God to have fruit to have that fruit come forward.

And finally in going back to John 15:16, he says, You’ve not chosen me. I chose you. I’ve ordained you that you should go and bring forth fruit and that your fruit should remain. Fruit that abides, that is internal and external, and doesn’t just pass away in a day. That isn’t bad fruit in that sense, but abiding fruit for the purposes of God’s kingdom. His will to be done on earth is the purpose really of his calling of us.

That he might be manifested that he might be manifested in our lives through our actions and attitudes, through our internal and external fruits and that your fruits might be permanent and have leave a lasting mark as it were upon the world to demonstrate God’s divine nature and who he is to the world. The result of all this is that the glory of God as we said election is not for the purpose of glorifying man ultimately it is for the purpose of glorifying God to reproduce the character to conform men a particular group of men and women to the image of his son for what reason that he might be glorified.

Ephesians 1:4-6. According as he hath chosen us, again stating his sovereignty and election before the foundation of the world, time reference, that we should be holy, the purpose is to be holy without blame before him in love, having predestinated us under the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, chose truly purely his choosing, to the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved in Jesus Christ.

And so the Thessalonians were beloved of God were in Jesus Christ and as a result had been chosen by him that they might manifest fruit and that all might be to the praise of the glory of God’s grace that God might be glorified.

## Point Three: Men Are to Manifest God’s Election

Men are to manifest God’s election. Now there are various scriptures and I’ve listed them there that talk about the sense of certainty that we are given as a result of the doctrine of election of the doctrine of election. And the scriptures also tie the concept of hope to our election as well. Indeed, these Thessalonians Paul says here that he could see knowing your election. The word know meant to see. I can see that you’re elect, he says. And he says why that is. You can see these things at work in your life. And we’re to see these things at work in our life as well. And we can see that. And so the doctrine of election brings a great deal of peace to us and calmness and joy and hope as well.

But along with all that I think it’s very important and by the way the just to stress that point the 39 Articles of the Church of England in Article 17 says the predestination and election are quote full of sweet, pleasant and unspeakable comfort. Sweet, pleasant and unspeakable comfort. And so it is when we understand it correctly. But along with these things as we said in the last section comes responsibility.

I said that there were two effects of humanism in the church that what I wanted to address today. And this second effect is essentially to see election again for the purposes not of all mankind now but of those who are elect. And election is frequently tied to our eternal state in heaven with no earthly relevance. And it seems that some people want to see election primarily as a vehicle whereby some people us get to have a life of pleasure and ease.

But that is not the purpose of election. Election is given that we might serve God, that we might bring forth that fruit, that we might obey his commandments.

### The Purpose of Our Election is Fruit-Bearing

Turn to John 15. John 15. You know, if we can’t be total humanist, we’ll be selective humanist. and think that our well-being is what’s at stake. Forget everybody else. And some people go to hell, okay? But what we really have going on here is something to affect our well-being ultimately.

But John 15 says in verse two, and he’s saying here, this is the context for those statements I read earlier about how he says, “I chose you to choose me.” That happens later in this section of scripture. He’s saying, “I’m the true vine. My father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit, he taketh away. And every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it that it might bring forth more fruit.

And I remember I haven’t told this story from the pulpit, maybe I shouldn’t, but when I when I first came back to the Lord and after a Christian, I had just been married, I think like six months or something, I before I returned to the Lord, I lived kind of the counterculture and whatnot, and I smoked marijuana. And I remember one night, actually it was New Year’s Eve, The first New Year’s Eve Chris W. and I had together, a friend of mine was up from California and he had a marijuana cigarette with him and we shared it.

First marijuana I smoked since I had dedicated my life to Christ. And I was not prepared for what had happened. I really felt very like I had taken some kind of strong drug or something. I just lost control of myself. I got extremely fearful and frightened. And I flipped open the Bible hoping to find some comfort in it somewhere. And I turned right to this passage. And I and I read, you know, every branch of me that doesn’t bear forth fruit, I pluck it off.

And he talks about thrown into the fire. And I was sure that’s what God was telling me is that I was being thrown into the fire. And so I closed my Bible up. But, you know, I didn’t realize till this minute, just as I was standing here from this text of scripture, that what God was telling me was that he was pruning me in relationship to my sin that I might bring forth more fruit.

Now, the point of verse two is, and for me referencing it now, is that our election and our choice is not so that we might have a life without pain or trial or tribulation. Our election is for the purpose of bringing forth fruit and that God might bring forth more fruit. Both people here, the elect to salvation and those who are chosen to go to hell eternally. Both people endure pain and suffering and trials. For some, it is pain under judgment and for others it’s pain under correction and chastisement that we might bring forth more fruit. But nobody gets out of all this as it were painless.

God’s purpose is to bring us through this process to increase fruitfulness for his purposes, not for ours. And so an election is seen not to refer just to the end product of where we’re eventually going to be with God in heaven, but to the fact that election is unto his purpose is to bring forth fruit.

Then we sound the death knell to that second form of humanism which says that man and his well-being, his personal peace and affluence is the goal. of God’s work in salvation. That is not the case. Then in verse in verse 5 of John 15, I am the vine. You’re the branches. He that abideth in me and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit. For without me you can do nothing. The whole point of this is not to talk ultimately about a relationship to Christ, but rather that relationship bring forth service from us and fruit for the kingdom.

And then in verse 10, if you keep my commandments, you shall abide in my love even as I have kept my father’s commandments. The way we bring forth fruit is to keep the commandments of God. So we have a responsibility to manifest God’s election in our lives.

### Our Choices Must Demonstrate Our Election

In the Old Testament, the term choose as God chose Moses and other people is used of David when he chose five stones to go about doing his work in terms of Goliath. David’s ultimate objective was not the stones. It was the destruction of Goliath. And so it is with us. God chooses us for his purposes to affect a purpose in the world.

Now, as part of that, all things do indeed work together for good to those who are called, who are the chosen. But we’re chosen for the purpose of manifesting God’s glory and obeying him. And so, we have, as a result, the idea of choices in front of us in our lives. Our lives are faced with the most multitude of choices and God then exhorts I give you many scripture references here in this section of the outline.

God exhorts us to make wise choices and by making those wise choices to bring forth fruit for him. I won’t go through them all but he goes through a very long section here various scriptures throughout where he tell