Christ said, "I know my sheep" (John 10:14). Our salvation is in the hands of a loving Savior who not only chose us, but offered his body as a human sacrifice for our sins! That is why it is so important to frame any discussion of election within the scope of Christ's person and his work. Throughout Ephesians 1, prepositional phrases such as "in Christ," "in him," and "in the One he loves," occur frequently. God did not just choose us; he chose us in Christ. Christ, then, is the center of our election. That means we do not discover our election by looking anywhere but to Christ. Do we trust in him? Is he alone our Savior? Are we in him through faith in his finished work? This is the only infallible test we have of whether "he chose us in him before the creation of the world" (Eph. 1:4). We must not look to our works or to our success or failure, or to anything or anyone outside of Christ for confirmation of our election. Any discussion that places anything at the center of the discussion—even every good and holy thing—is bound to be distorted and unbiblical.
— Michael Horton, Putting Amazing Back into Grace (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2002), 63-64 (italics original).
— Michael Horton, Putting Amazing Back into Grace (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2002), 63-64 (italics original).
"We must not look to our works or to our success or failure, or to anything or anyone outside of Christ for confirmation of our election."
ReplyDeleteThat is ALWAYS a good reminder! Even someone who has been in the faith for decades. Our flesh tends to gravitate to a cosmic scorecard of some kind.
It is the comfort and assurance afforded by the gospel, sir. :-)
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