Chosen?

Yesterday at Mosaic Eddie talked a little about this idea of predestination/elect. I thought that I would share just a short thought on this. A few years ago when I started to take a real hard look at what is called Reformed Theology this doctrine was a hard one to swallow at first. The main thought towards this that people do not like is the idea that if everything is predestined for us then all we are all God's little puppets. This is so wrong it is not even funny.

John Piper has a great sermon that clearly shows much more on this beautiful doctrine.

1 Peter 2:9-10

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

In this text Peter comes right out of the gate and says that we are the chosen race. This is such a amazing thought. God ,who is perfect and holy in every way you can think, turns to some and calls them a royal priesthood. This is a such a sign of love and grace and mercy. At first this is a hard pill to take but if you really sit back and think about how amazing this doctrine truly is you will bend your knees and be so thankful.

God turns to some and pulls them out of the crappy life that they where in because of sin and rescues them from hell. We are adopted into his holy family. We are because of God's grace now called God's people. This goes back to moses rescuing ,not all but some, of the Israelites from pharaoh. Look at what He did through those people and they where called the chosen race/people. This is us and I am so thankful for it. Yes again this can be hard to think about but it is called the doctrine of Grace because by God's grace we are saved and called into His holy family.

Watch the above sermon and if you have any questions please feel free to email me and we can chat about it.

It is more then a religious action.

So as I have been studying and reading 1 Corinthians 10 today I stopped at 14-22 and it has caused me to do some thinking.

Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.I speak as to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say.The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ?Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.Consider the people of Israel: [fn] are not those who eat the sacrifices participants in the altar?What do I imply then? That food offered to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything?No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons.You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons.Shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?

Sadly in the church today most people come to the Lord's table a lot like the church in Corinth did. They come and take just because they have to. But the Lord's table is so much more than a religious act. But sadly most people do not get it.

I had a friend one time ask me why I take communion and at the time I really did not know and so he told me to go to the back of the line until I get it. Today I do not even think about coming to my Lord's table unless I have come in repentance an thankfulness. It is not just something you do in church but we should strive to come to the Lord's table humble and thankful and take it seriously because Christ does and so shall we.

Don't be like Men.

Tonight I will be preaching on be imitators of Christ (1 Corinthians 11:1 esv) and as I sit in my office and read I picked up Calvin's sermon on this text and wow it hit me. Check this out.

"The world is also of its own accord, inclined to a misdirection imitation and after the manner of apes, strive to copy whatever they see done by persons of great influence.We see,however, how many evils have been introduced into the Church by this absurd desire of imitating all the actions of the saints, without exception. Let us, therefore,maintain so much the more carefully this doctrine of Paul that we are to follow men, provided they take Christ as their grand model, that the examples of the saints may not tend to lead us away from Christ, but rather to direct us to Him."

John Calvin

What more needs to be said. There are to many people in the world trying to be other people and pastors trying to be like famous pastors. I will tell you what I heard John Piper say one time " I am a weak man and no one should want to be like me but strive to be like the one I strive to be Christ"