So, What Does It Mean -- Part 2

So, What Does It Mean? Part two

“But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth, to which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether by word or our epistle.” 2 Thessalonians 2:13-15

Today I continue on with what I covered on a chapter called “What does it mean to become a Christian?” from Wayne Grudem’s book Christian Beliefs. I had a few points that I shared with a men’s bible study I had been part of. Yesterday was my first point “Effective Calling” today I will cover “General Calling and the Gospel Calling.”

Now Grudem comes out and states “Not all gospel calls are effective. The job of believers is to explain the gospel message; it is God’s job to make that message or call effective.” So with that out of the way it is up to us to go forth and preach and the Gospel. We have to go out and share what the Gospel of Jesus Christ has done for us in our lives.

The Bible verse I have used today was written to the Thessalonians who were told by Paul in his first epistle that they needed to live their lives in anticipation of Christ’s return. So they did what they thought they should do and that was to quit their everyday routine and wait for Jesus. But that lead to all kinds of mischief that arose in their boredom. Paul had to adjust his Gospel call in his second epistle. He had to encourage them to live holy and connect with God, not stand around and wait.

Verse 14 begins with “To which He called you by our gospel”. This is God choosing us to salvation and His calling us to it in time. This means that from the moment you believe the truth you go on doing. There is nothing there that says “Hold on, wait a minute.” When Lydia heard what Paul was preaching in Philippi she and her household became baptized and persuade Luke, Silas, Timothy and Paul to more than likely open her home to these men for prayer meetings. Philippi needed this, didn’t it?

So the end result was a general/Gospel calling that had been presented to all and becoming an effective call to someone who’s time it was to receive. To borrow something from my Bible commentary what we have here is “a system of theology in miniature,” God has shown us that salvation “originates in a divine choice, is wrought out by divine power, is made effective through a divine message, and will be perfected in divine glory.”

Are you ready to receive? And then are you ready to do? -- Chris Hughes is a graduate of the Colony of Mercy and a frequent Freedom Fighter contributor

God's WORD for YOU: Proverbs 4

Great Quote: “Conversion is the lifelong transformational process of being remade into the image of God. It is so much more than simply trying to avoid sin. The focus of repentance and conversion is Jesus, not my sin nor my self. My attachment to sinful ways of being is much too strong to ever be undone by mere willpower. There is no substitute for surrender to divine love as the fuel to propel such undoing. Divine love (accepting of the Gospel- my note) transforms both my heart and my will. Divine love enables me to choose God’s will over mine. Without this, repentance will be nothing more than a self-help scheme based on effort and resolve.” David Benner, Surrender to love