JOHN 15:16\u201317<\/b><\/p>\n
\u201cYou did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n
(John 15:16a).<\/i><\/p>\n
It is a telling sign that in a day when people clamor for \u201cfreedom of choice,\u201d our society is willing to grant such freedom to any man or woman who demands it, but not to God. We can choose, but for some reason God cannot. What an indictment against a rebellious people! Of course, the theological dogma that denies God His sovereign grace has been around much longer than modern individualism. Still, the doctrine of God\u2019s sovereignty in salvation has been around even longer, reaching back into the history of Scripture. There we find in the unfolding plan of man\u2019s redemption the decisive actions of our sovereign Lord.<\/p>\n
In the days of Abraham when paganism ran its destructive course through the city of Ur, God called a single man to follow Him and in doing so, a nation was given birth. From that point on, we see, as has been the case since the beginning, the divine initiative setting history in motion and determining the destinies of men. Isaac was chosen; Ishmael was not. Jacob was given the inheritance, while Esau was left with nothing. Later, David, with whom God made His royal covenant, was chosen from among his stronger brothers to lead a nation, while others who were of greater standing in more noble families were refused such honor.<\/p>\n
In the New Testament, we see Jesus choosing who would be His disciples. We read of Him opening the eyes of some, but leaving others to their blindness. And here, we read Jesus\u2019 own testimony of the authority of His own choice: \u201cYou did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit.\u201d Notice the goal of that divine appointment: that we should \u201cbear fruit.\u201d Jesus does not choose His followers so they can live as the world. He plucks them out of the fire to live godly lives, to bear fruit, to obey His commands, to love as Christ has loved, faithfully and sacrificially.<\/p>\n
Of this we can always be sure, that if Christ has chosen us, has regenerated our dead hearts by His Spirit, then we will be sanctified. God predestined us \u201cto be conformed to the image of His Son\u201d (Rom. 8:29). And the fruit that we bear will be lasting fruit as we grow in love and holiness until the day we are glorified.<\/p>\n
CORAM DEO<\/b><\/p>\n
Proverbs 5\u20136<\/p>\n
1 Corinthians 14:21\u201340<\/p>\n
Read Romans 8:28\u20139:29. How do these passages bring more light to Jesus\u2019 words in John 15:16? Why has God chosen some men to salvation? Can we trust that His choice is the best one? How does election make certain the salvation of those God has chosen? Praise God today for His sovereignty over our hearts.<\/p>\n
For further study: Gen. 12:1\u20139; 25:12\u201334 \u2022 Mal. 1:1\u20135 \u2022 1 Peter 1:2; 2:8<\/i><\/p>\n
friday<\/p>\n
september<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
JOHN 15:16\u201317 \u201cYou did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit\u201d (John 15:16a). It is a telling sign that in a day when people clamor for \u201cfreedom of choice,\u201d our society is willing to grant such freedom to any man or woman who demands it, … Continue reading “THE DIVINE INITIATIVE”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13058","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13058","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13058"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13058\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13058"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13058"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13058"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}