Saturday, March 18, 2023

If God Chose You

If God chose you, it's in Christ alone. He foreknew you as justified and glorified in Christ. God foreknew your salvation as done. In Romans 8:28-30, God's purpose in salvation is a prolepsis (i.e., to see before). God foreknew all who shall be in Christ (1 Peter 1:2).

If God chose you, it's through the gospel of Christ. That includes everyone who repents and believes the gospel (Luke 13:3, 5; Acts 16:31). Only those who repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ will be saved. As believers, we experience the gospel in power with assurance. That was the Holy Spirit working in our hearts (Romans 1:16; 1 Thessalonians 1:5).

If God chose you, it's unto faith in Christ. You are justified through the death of Jesus Christ for your sins. Justification is by faith in the power of his resurrection. Justification means all your sins are taken away through the blood of Jesus (1 John 1:7). The righteousness of Christ is accounted to you (2 Corinthians 5:21). God declares you justified by faith in Christ. "It is God who justifies" (Romans 8:33).

If God chose you, it's to be glorified into the image or likeness of Christ. Glorification is salvation complete. "We shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is" (1 John 3:2). What is future for you as a believer in Christ is now in the foreknowledge of God. Therefore, God foreknew you as glorified in the very image and likeness of our Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 8:28-30).