Why us? Part 4

Posted : Sunday August 26, 2007 |

This week we conclude our little study on Election. I want to give some exhortations to you from our study, hopefully they will encourage you to think pastorally about the great teaching of election.

If you’ve been a Christian for a while and can look back at all the victories God has given you—be careful not to boast. Don’t forget that the victories in your life are God’s, not yours. You’re still small, weak, and sinful. You didn’t defeat sin or Satan in your life—Christ did that. You need to always come back to simple truth that God set his love on you not because you’re all that, but because he’s all that! God’s blessings come to you only because he desires to be gracious to you. As soon as you forget that all that you are depends on grace, I can assure you, God will bring things into your life to remind you. But don’t be discouraged about that. It’s good to be reminded that we’re not as holy as we thought we were. It’s good to be reminded that God chose us in spite of us. It’s good to have a reality check and look again to the only reason for us being God’s child—Jesus.

If you’ve been a Christian for a while and you’re struggling with sin, be careful not to give up. God has called you to trust in his strength. He has called you to remember again the destiny to which he has promised to give you. You may look at your life, see the blessings all around, and say, “Why me?” Why is God blessing me when I’ve failed him so much? Look to the cross and see why! Look again to the grace of God that says, “I knew everything about you when I chose you. You can’t disappoint me. I already knew you were weak, foolish, and sinful. But I’m still going to bring you in to your destiny. So get up, and trust me again! God’s blessings in your life come to you only because he chose to be gracious to you. If you forget that, you’ll revert to the unstable reasons of self-esteem, self-reliance, or self-righteousness—and give up.

God knows our weakness. He knows that we’re prone to forget his grace. He knows that we’re easily tempted to look at ourselves to find the cause for his love. He knows that we’re easily tempted to look to our good works and become proud or desperate. So God gave us something to remind us over and over again that our salvation is not about us, but about him. He gave us his body and blood in the Lord’s Table. At that table, he’s proclaiming to you that something didn’t come from nothing—it came from Him!

Why does God love us this much? Look at 1 John 1:9. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Who is God being faithful and just to? It’s not to you, because if he were to be just to you, you’d be a goner. Deuteronomy 9 ends with an interesting story. Even though the people plead for mercy, God is so angry at the people’s sin that, in his justice, he’s ready to wipe out the entire nation and begin again with Moses. So why doesn’t he do it? Because Moses interceded on their behalf. He appealed to God on the basis of God’s own unchanging character. He appealed to God’s unfailing love, to God’s guaranteed covenant promises, and to God’s own immutable plan. Because Israel had a faithful intercessor, God continued to honor his promise.

When you come to the Lord’s Table, remember that the only reason God is faithful to forgive you is because he’s being faithful and just to Jesus. Listen to how John continues this, “If anyone does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense, Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the propitiation, the atoning sacrifice, for our sins.” When God forgives you, he is being faithful to the covenant that he made with Jesus that all those whom Jesus delivered from bondage, all those that he represents in heaven, all those who were given this new destiny, will always be forgiven. And if you’re trusting in his only Son, then this Table is given for you to remind you—he chose to save you and to bless you by grace alone because of Christ alone!

Pastor Suler Acosta