God's unconditional election has transformed your core identity!
Titus 3:3-7 (NIV)
3 At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. 4 But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. 8 This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.
Canons of Dordt
Point 1 - God's Unconditional Election
Articles 1-8
Article 9 - Election Not Based on Foreseen Faith
Your election took place,
not
on the basis of foreseen faith,
of the obedience of faith, of holiness, or of any other good quality and disposition,
as though it were based on a prerequisite cause
or condition in the person to be chosen,
but rather, your election took place
for the purpose of faith, of the obedience of faith, of holiness, and so on.
Accordingly, election is the source of every saving good.
Faith, holiness, and the other saving gifts, and at last eternal life itself, flow forth from election as its fruits and effects.
Summary
The description in v3 will hit harder for some of you than others - that at one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved. Some of you identify quickly and easily with these words that once describe you. For others, your Christian journey started at the earliest of ages, and while you've certainly hit bumps in the road, you've never really lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another.
The point that Paul is making here doesn't really have anything to do with how long you lived that way, but rather that this is the stock everyone has come from. Nobody was born with what's been called a tabla rassa - that is, a blank slate upon which you could freely choose a life of good or evil. All of us began life predisposed to sin.
But at some point - a very young age for many of you, at a later time in life for others - the kindness and love of God (literally philanthropa - love for mankind) appeared. This was that 'born again' moment in which you were regenerated, in which your heart of unbelieving stone was changed into a softened, believing heart of flesh.
What's key for you to understand today is that God's choice to graciously intervene in your life was unconditioned, meaning that he saved you, not because of the righteous things you had done, but because of His mercy.
Dig Deeper
Did you catch it? Remember to always be on the lookout for so that clauses in the passages we read. These so that clauses often don't just tell us what God did, but they also inform us as to why He did it. In other words, God did this so that you would be that. And there's a really big so that clause in v7.
God saved you through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit so that you might become an heir. The Spirit's washing and renewal didn't just clean you externally, it gave you an entirely new identity as a son of God! You now stand to inherit all that the Father has! This means that the temporary success and failures of this life are not your primary concern. After all, you've been made an heir of the One who created all things, so live with your sights set on the sure and certain hope of eternal life.
Of course, the heirs of worldly fortunes have a reputation for wild and licentious living, knowing that whatever expenses they rack up in their younger years will be more than covered by the immense sum they're set to inherit at a certain age. But as an heir of the King of kings, this is not at all how you are to live as you wait for your coming inheritance to be made complete.
Rather, Paul writes, those who have been trusted in God must be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.
ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, the ultimate philanthropist (lover of mankind)
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray for the wisdom to live into the new identity given to you in your Spiritual rebirth;
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:
Read the New Testament in a year! Today: Acts 25
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