Beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ,

This morning we will close off the project "God’s House – Open House" with a sermon focussing on God’s election from eternity. This link might not straight away be understood. For in the project the emphasis was on how to win our unbelieving neighbour for Christ. Yet if the number of the elect is fixed – and that’s what we confess in the Canons of Dort, I,17,

"according to the sovereign good pleasure of His will, out or mere grace God chose in Christ to salvation a definite number of people . . . "

So the number of the elect is fixed. Well, from this statement one could conclude that the offer of salvation is obviously not for everyone. Which probes the question whether the call for the gospel is still seriously meant, if the preaching of the Word works faith in the hearts of some but hardens the hearts of others? Yes, what sense does it have to call people to repentance and conversion when God has determined already beforehand who will believe and who not? Isn’t it somewhat cruel to say to the reprobate "Repent and believe" when they cannot do it anyway, since God has not chosen them? Isn’t that like telling a blind man to see or a crippled man to walk?

It was for this reason that the Arminians, and later on the Methodists and Evangelicals such as John Wesley and Billy Graham taught, the call of the gospel can only be taken seriously if the decision to be saved is left to man. Any person who is willing to trust Jesus as his personal Saviour can be born again, as long as there is the desire to commit your life to Jesus. Summarizing this means, the Lord Jesus will work in our hearts if we allow Him to.

A man like Billy Graham starts from the premise that the love of God is for all people. Whether you believe and accept God’s love is your choice. This same thought you will also meet in many a novel sold in our bookshop. Man has to make a commitment to Jesus. That’s our decision.

Yet, beloved, Scripture teaches differently. When it comes to mission and evangelism, one should not start with the response of man but with God. He is the one who according to the sovereign pleasure of His good will has determined whether or not a person will come to faith. The temptation is always there to think that by our efforts, our zeal and prayer people may come to faith, whereby in the event that there is no result one gets frustrated. Why don’t we see any fruits upon our work?

Yet the point is, Br. & Sr., that we have to leave the growth to God. We are to submit to His good pleasure. We will never understand why the one responds to the call of the gospel and the other not. And we should not try to figure this out either. Instead when calling people to salvation we are to submit to God’s grace and judgment. After all, faith is a gift of God, who from eternity has decided who will be included and who not.

I preach you

I The text chosen for this morning’s sermon, Br. & Sr., starts with speaking about God’s election from eternity: God chose the elect before the foundation of the world. In the Canons of Dort this election from eternity is defined as follows, I,17,

‘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 specific persons, neither better or more worthy than others, but involved together with them in a common misery."

As to this definition there are a few elements to which I would like to draw the attention. First of all it reads God made this choice "before the foundation of the world." This expression is taken from our text, where we read exactly the same. This means God already thought of His chosen ones, of you and me and all the other believers, before He poured the foundations of His creation.

This makes it quite clear that this choice of God can never be related to anything to be found in man. For man was still to be created. His being and all that man would receive in this life, God still had to give him.

Moreover after this had been given to man, what did man do with these precious gifts of God? Often he wasted them away in sin.

And, beloved, God knew that this would happen. And yet His love still went out to us. How great a miracle this is. God chose us in Christ, even though he knew beforehand that as His children time and again we would transgress His commandments. A great miracle indeed!

Somewhere I read, when we as human beings make choices we choose what attracts us. In business we choose employees on whom we think we can count. A boy looks for a girl whom he likes, who has interest in him and with whom he hopes to share life with joy. That’s how we make choices. Yet God chose people of whom already beforehand He knew that they would grieve Him, people by nature not any better than all those others who daily trample God’s commandments under feet and dishonor His holy Name. God chose people, on whom we – if we had stood in God’s place – would have turned our back. After all, which boy would look at a girl who by nature hates him? Who would ever employ a person who would ruin the business?

From this we may conclude that God never chooses a person because of his faith. As far as God’s choice is concerned this doesn’t come into the picture at all. The love of God does not find, but instead creates the object of love in us. It’s God’s work only when people come to faith. Faith is a gift, a miracle, which we can’t grasp. It finds its origin in love, which came totally from one side.

This is what Scripture teaches regarding God’s election from eternity. It’s based on grace only! Well, this now also has implications for our view on mission and evangelism.

Often when it comes to bringing people to Christ the doctrine regarding election is considered as limiting the scope somewhat. At times the thought may cross one’s mind, "But if this person has not been elected, what then?"

But, beloved, this is an approach contrary to what the Bible teaches us. Since it is exactly because of God’s election that people will come to faith. If this decree of election had not been there no one would come. Then all mission work and evangelism would be in vain. But now we may know that God wants people to be saved. Well, this should also make us active in His service.

Again, being active to win our neighbor for Christ we should never think that it depends on our zeal, on the smartness of our methods. Such thoughts will only bring frustration. It then happens that in case there is no result, no fruits, we blame our methods. Yet we should start with God. Also in choosing methods for evangelism and mission we should always keep in mind that it is God’s work. Only He can work faith and He will work this faith only in those whom He from eternity has chosen in Christ.

Yet nowhere does Scripture or the reformed confession draw the conclusion that therefore we can sit back seeing what God does. On the contrary in Scripture we read that God gives us the command to go out into this world to preach the gospel of salvation in Christ to all nations. In the Canons of Dort – a confession which so strongly emphasizes God’s election from eternity – in this same confession we also read,

"So that men may be brought to faith, God mercifully sends heralds of this most joyful message to whom He will and when He wills. By their ministry men are called to repentance and to faith in Christ crucified. For ‘how are they to believe in Him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without a preacher? And how can men preach unless they are sent.’"

Summarizing it is all God’s work. Yet God uses us as instruments in His service to pass the joyous message of salvation in Christ on also to others. And this has to happen, as it reads in the Canons of Dort, "universally and without discrimination to all peoples and to all men, to whom God in His good, pleasure sends the gospel, together with the command to repent and believe."

This teaches us two things. First, the doctrine of limited atonement may not make the church negligent in her calling to preach the Word. However, the command to preach is bound by God’s sovereign good pleasure.

In the context of the project we have been busy with over the last two months this means that we should use the opportunities to speak with others about Christ. In the place where God has set us we should make the most of these opportunities. God wants us to be a speaking church. After all, how would you unbelieving neighbor – that work mate you work with, that class mate you speak with every day – how would they ever come to faith, if they never hear you speak about your riches in Christ. Don’t worry about the fact whether she or he has been elected or not. You may leave that to God. God calls us to be living witnesses who never feel ashamed to speak of the hope that is in them.

II I now come to my second thought. In our text we read God chose us in Christ. This is a very important element. It teaches us that the grace and love of God in Christ and the eternal sovereign decree of election are interrelated and intertwined. For not only did God decree that election would be accomplished, but He also ordained how it would be accomplished, namely in Christ.

Christ is the name, which points to the office of the Son of God, the name which tells us that He has been ordained by the Father, LD 12 HC. Ordained, i.e. appointed by God Himself to carry out the task as Saviour.

When before the foundation of the world the Three Persons within the Holy Trinity took counsel together to lay out the plan of salvation, the Son stepped in for our sake and promised to give Himself up to save from perdition those whom the Father had given Him. He promised to take care of the realization of the plan of salvation. He promised to pay the price, in order that the elect could be blessed and saved. He also promised to work faith in their heart through the Holy Spirit.

See there, beloved, how already before the foundation of the world Father, Son, and Holy Spirit worked out the plan of redemption. Then already the Father decided to give up His own beloved Son, whilst the Son offered Himself in the likeness of man to become obedient unto death, in order that those who were chosen could be saved, could be adopted for God’s children and heirs. God would do all this in Christ, who as the Mediator of the covenant promised to lay the foundation for this election.

Thus one cannot speak sensibly and scripturally about election apart from Christ. He is the mirror of election. God’s love comes to us in Christ. He chose us in Christ. It is only through faith in Christ that I experience the love of God extended to me. And then I marvel at so great a love, marvel at the fact that I may belong to God’s elect, despite the fact that there still are so many sins and shortcomings in my life.

This aspect of marveling is very important also as regards our attitude to those who are outside, to those who not belong. Then overwhelmed by the grace you have received in Christ you want them too to share these riches. It makes one realize that we have something to offer.

The point now is, do we indeed realize this. I’m afraid that this is not always the case. So often we take all these things for granted. And as a result we don’t radiate the riches from which we may live.

Speaking about this issue with the youth some weeks ago I used the following example. Just imagine that from some rich uncle you would inherit a million. All of a sudden you are rich. And no doubt you would speak about it with friends, work- or schoolmates. A million! Just imagine that you had that!

Yet, beloved, we are much richer. We have received eternal life and yet sometimes it seems as if it doesn’t do us anything. We don’t see the riches of it and as a result we keep silent about it.

In Christ we have received a new life. Through the power of His Spirit Christ will work this new life in us. Let us never think light of this power. For it is the same power by which Christ rose from the dead. Thus by power from above we are able to live a different life, a life which should make us conspicuous in this world.

In our text we read that this is all part of our election. For God did not choose us because we were better than others, but to make us better. God is the source of our new life. In our text we read, "He chose us (not because we were, but) that we should be holy and blameless before Him." Thus through power from above we are indeed able to live a different life. God will work this in us.

Sometimes people find it difficult to speak about their faith. We are scared that others will laugh at us, or even scared that we may loose friends, that work mate with whom I get on so well. What will he say when all of sudden I would start speaking about Christ as Saviour. He may not like this and perhaps turn his back upon me. And so I keep silent.

How to overcome this. First of all, beloved, speak about it with the Lord in prayer that He may help you. Yet there is still another way provided by the Lord to help us in this. For we are just elect on our own, but we live in a communion where the Lord has given us as a hand and foot to another. That communion will function as a training school how to speak with others about our riches in Christ, e.g. at the meetings of the Bible Study societies, or when we visit each other as members of the congregation.

Often even within this communion we lack confidence to speak about these riches in a personal way. How come? Perhaps it has to do with the way in which we are church. Oftentimes we are more a listening church than a speaking church. We listen to a sermon, are silent, and go home. Full stop! Now it is good when we are silent when God speaks to us. Yet about what God says to us we should not keep silence, but speak with one another. That’s important. For faith lives not only from hearing, but also from speaking. Perhaps that’s something we have to learn again to put the riches from which we may live into words. You would have no difficulty to do this when you would inherit a million. But as I said before, we are much richer.

Well, if we learn to speak about these things more directly with one another within the communion of saints, it becomes also easier to testify to outsiders when they ask us why we live differently. I think together we could improve on it that faith becomes more living, a thing more of every day life in which we are really rejoicing. Then from the fullness of the heart the mouth starts speaking. Yet this is only possible when first we have seen how rich we really are.

A next point now is how to speak with outsiders about God? In the Canons of Dort we confess that Christ’s sacrifice is "abundantly sufficient to expiate the sins of the whole world." Often this is interpreted in the wrong way, namely as follows. What Christ did was enough for everyone. Who now will benefit from it? Those who take it.

Yet the danger is here that we degrade God – if I may use that example – to someone standing behind a market stall selling salvation. Many pass by and are not interested. Only the odd one stops and takes what is available from the stall of salvation. That’s the Arminian thought, which makes God dependent on man. How come that the one takes it and the other not? That’s the choice of man. God has to sit back and wait.

But, beloved, that’s not what Scripture teaches. For no one makes a choice for God by his own free will. Just ask people who later on in life came to faith. They will not patch themselves on the shoulder for making the right choice, but instead they will speak of God’s wonderful work in their life. They will magnify God. Faith is indeed a gracious gift of God, worked by God through the preaching of the gospel.

Well, God will use us to pass the riches of this gospel on also to others who as yet have not heard of it and then we leave the outcome to God. Him we may trust that those who He has chosen will also positively respond to the gospel.

Summarizing I can say, God will use us as His instruments. In the place where He has set us we should make the most of the opportunities to make also others aware of the riches in Christ. That’s our responsibility. And, Br. & Sr., let the opportunities God has given you never testify against you.

Yet on the other hand God also makes us humble, for ultimately we can not give people faith, only God can do this through the regenerating work of His Holy Spirit. And so all honor and glory goes to God alone. This brings me to my third and last thought.

III Regarding God’s election from eternity we have spoken about the origin of this election, how it is realized, finally we will answer the question with what purpose?

The answer to this question we read in the concluding part of our text. God chose us in Christ with the aim to glorify Himself, vs. 6a, "to the praise of the glory of His grace." This means, by choosing in Christ to salvation a definite number of people, and in sending His Son to this earth to die for these people, God wanted to demonstrate His mercy and the riches of His glorious grace, in order that He would receive all honor, praise, and glory.

To receive this glory God will overcome all obstacles in bringing spiritually dead people into a living relationship with Him. God will make sure that the final harvest will be gathered in freed from sorrow, freed from sin, when the elect forever purified in His presence will abide.

We can be sure of this, beloved, since God will never let Himself be deprived of this glory He will not forsake what His almighty hand began. Instead God will finish perfectly what He has undertaken.

When you let all this sink in for a moment, beloved, one can only marvel at the greatness of God, marvel at such great miracle, marvel also at the fact that we may share in such tremendous riches, share in this love for sinners. Yes, then from the fullness of the heart the mouth will speak.

From the fullness of the heart the mouth will speak. Br. & Sr., and also you young people, this is only possible when our heart is indeed full of these riches, when we are indeed overwhelmed by God’s grace in Jesus Christ.

After all, it can also be that we lack confidence to speak about Christ, since our faith is no more than an empty shell. We do all the right things, but it does not really live in our hearts. And then speaking about it also becomes difficult.

Where this is the case we have to repent, so that by the power of God faith may once again become living in our life. And why should it not be living when we think of all that we have received. In Christ God has chosen us to salvation. This also means, because of Christ’s accomplished work nothing in this world is able to separate me from God’s love.

Beloved, should this not cause us to sing for joy. And then this joy will also be reflected in our life so that others can see it. Yes, then our life becomes indeed a sacrifice of thankfulness to God for His electing love, whereby He chose us in Christ to be His. What a miracle!

Beloved, what now is your response to this miracle?

Amen.

Last modified: December 01, 2002