Word of Salvation – Vol. 37 No. 03 – January 1992

 

Divine Election Or Human Responsibility?

 

Sermon by Rev. John TerHorst on Ephesians 1:11-14

Reading: Psalm 33 & 1Peter 2:1-10

 

Congregation, friends and visitors,

John Stott once wrote that man, ‘…imprisoned in his own little ego, has an almost boundless confidence in the power of his own will, and an almost insatiable appetite for the praise of his own glory.’  After all the lessons of history, mankind persists in believing he does not need God to build a better society.  However, the sad reality speaks for itself.  Human relationships are marred and broken.  On the world scene we no sooner have peace on one continent, when strife flares up on another.  How we rejoiced when the Berlin Wall came down.  The promises of ‘perestroika’ and ‘glasnost’ gave new hope for a nation locked in the prison of communism.  But then Saddam Hussien invaded Kuwait.  And we are all familiar with the aftermath of that invasion.

I admire people like Mr Gorbachov, Mr Bush, even our own Prime Minister, Mr Hawke.  I admire them because they have vision for a better tomorrow.  And they are working toward that vision.  Sadly, that vision is not always aligned with God’s vision.

Yes, God too has a vision, a plan, for a new and better society.  A society where all men are considered equal.  A society where there exists an equal distribution of the world’s wealth.  Congregation, let us see today that the letter to the church at Ephesus holds before us such a vision.  A vision for a renewed community.  A community full of people who belong to the Lord Jesus.  A community in which people depend on God’s will.  A community of people who live for God’s glory.

I am sure most of us, including the children, have been through the process of choosing a pet.  There was the visit to the pet shop, or perhaps to someone’s home.  Once there, you were confronted with a choice.  Maybe there were many little puppies, or kittens from which to choose.

You looked at them all, the colours, the shape.  Then you chose one to become your pet…!  You passed over all the others.  You may have wanted to take them all, but you picked one, which after that belongs to you.  Your ownership of that pet was sealed by your choice.

Congregation, the comparison is a little simplistic, and has some flaws.  Yet we read of something similar in our text.  ‘In him we were also chosen.’  ‘In him’ – that is in Jesus Christ!  Because Jesus Christ is at the centre of God’s plan, whether that be for the individual Christian, or the whole universe!  In Jesus Christ, and only in Him, will both the creation, and God’s people be renewed.  We read of that in Romans 8.  ‘We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.  Not only so, but we ourselves, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons.’  ‘In him we were also chosen, having been predestined’.  (We broached the whole concept of predestination last week in our afternoon service.)  Here in these verses it is further elaborated.  The Berkley version of the Bible translates those words in this way.  ‘In him we, too, were made His heritage’ – God’s desire in election is to make people His very own possession.  That is confirmed again in verse 14, ‘…of those who are God’s possession.’

The concept of God choosing a people for Himself has a rich background in the Old Testament.  In Psalm 33 we read, ‘Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people he chose for his inheritance.’ (vs 12).  Or we could go to Psalm 135:4, ‘For the Lord has chosen Jacob to be his own, Israel to be his treasured possession.’  We read the same in Deuteronomy 7:6.  The New Testament confirms it in places such as 1Corinthians 1:26, 1Peter 2:10.  And listen to what James writes, ‘Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith…’ (2:5a).

To you who are believers I say, you have been selected, chosen by God to be His very own, special possession!  As such, we have received, ‘…a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance…!’ (vs.14).  For the Ephesian believers the use of a seal denoted ownership.  The Bible says that Christians have been chosen by God!  What a joy that brings to the heart.  What hope in days of discouragement.  What comfort when undergoing trial and temptation.  We belong to the Lord!

Congregation, God’s plan for a new and better society is no utopian dream.  It is a reality.  A reality that is being worked out amongst those whom God has chosen.  Chosen, ‘…to the praise of his glory.’

The second matter addressed by our text is the following question.  How does a person become a member of God’s new society?  And the answer is found in God’s will.  Paul began with that thought in vs 5, ‘…to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will!’  And again in our text, verse 11, ‘…having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will.’

People become members of God’s new society by the sovereign and divine will of God.  And that sovereign and divine will is worked out through election.  We noted that last week.  Congregation, the decisive factor in every conversion is the will of almighty God!  Or to use another term, predestination.

However, the Bible’s teaching on predestination stands alongside of the Bible’s teaching on human responsibility!  Look at verse 13, ‘And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth… Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal.’  That is where human responsibility comes in; hearing the word of truth, believing in that word of truth.

Congregation, the sole purpose of the work of missions and evangelism lies here in this truth.  God has elected people to salvation.  Now those people need to hear the word of truth, that is, God’s love for them, from other Christians.  When they do not hear, they cannot believe.  That is what Romans 10 points out in the verse 14 & 15.  The Bible’s teaching on predestination does not rule out the necessity for evangelism, it is the only ground for it!  It is because God has elected people to be saved that our evangelism has any hope of success.

And so the church continues to send out missionaries.  The church continues to be active in evangelism.  It encourages every believer to be active in witnessing.  The church sends us out with the love of God in our hearts.  It sends us out with the Gospel on our lips.  And all the time it is inviting people into God’s renewed community.  A community that daily grows as people accept Jesus Christ as their Saviour and Lord.  A growing group of God’s citizens who proclaim and live God’s truth.

It is difficult for us, as finite creatures, to reconcile the doctrine of predestination with that of human responsibility.  It’s like trying to fit 100 cars into a garage built for 50.  We squeeze and squash and rearrange but it is impossible to get them all in.  The only answer the Bible gives is this, ‘Faith’.  While not understanding it completely, we believe it because God says it is true!  Both truths are clearly taught in Holy Scripture.  Foolish is the person who denies one because reconciliation of the two is impossible for him.  It is by the Divine and Sovereign will of God that people enter God’s new society.  But that does not happen without those people having heard the Gospel and responding to it by faith!

Congregation, boys and girls, most people say that the dog is man’s best friend.  What do you think?  Do you agree with that?  A lot of people prefer a cat to a dog.  But you must admit, a dog at least gives the impression he is happy to see you after you have been away.  His tail is usually wagging.  He waits for that pat on the head, or to have his back scratched.  It seems the dog lives to see his master happy.

The Bible says we are to live to make God happy!  The Westminster Catechism asks, ‘What is the chief end of man?”  And the answer is, “To glorify God and enjoy him forever.’  The believer, the child of God, lives to see God happy.  Look at our text again, ‘In order that we… might be for the praise of his glory.’ (vs.12).  Or again in 14, …of those who are God’s possession to the praise of his glory.’

Congregation, we have been privileged enough to have been chosen by God to be His own possession.  That choice was by grace, not any merit on our part.  Having been chosen, we are to live to God’s glory.  Are God’s purposes being realised in you?  Are you allowing the Mighty Spirit of God, who has been given as a deposit of better things to come, to transform you more and more to the image of Jesus?  Having chosen you, God wants to continue working in you.  As we read in Philippians 2, ‘for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.’ (vs.13).

We can be guilty of trying to frustrate God’s plan for our lives.  The Bible warns us against that by saying, ‘Do not put out the Spirit’s fire.’ 1Thessalonians 5:19  Let us rather walk in step with the Spirit, showing the fruit thereof in our daily lives.  That is God’s desire for a renewed society.

Congregation, the world has many strategies for a new world order.  Many people have plans and visions of how societies ought to be organised.  All have been tried.  All have failed in one regard or another.  All will continue to fail if God and His Word are left out of the thinking and planning.  God too has a vision, a plan.  That plan is summarised in our text.  It begins with people who have been chosen by God to be His dear possession.  And these chosen people live to glorify their God and Saviour!  Let us, as believers, show the world it can be done!

AMEN