God’s Choice of the Thessalonians

Transcript

GR 1115
11/27/1984
God’s Choice of the Thessalonians
1 Thessalonians 1:4
Gil Rugh

Looking at these opening verses of Paul's letters to the Thessalonians and we noted in verses 2 and 3 Paul offers thanks on behalf of the Thessalonians. This was his constant practice on behalf of all the Thessalonians. To thank God concerning them because they were the work of God, the Thessalonians, their very existence was a result of the gracious work of God in their lives and he said in verse 3 he was constantly bearing in mind 3 things that cause him to be motivated in thanksgiving. Their work of faith, labor of love and steadfastness of hope. Three elements here, work labor, and steadfastness and these 3 qualities are produced by love, faith and hope and so when faith is operating it will result in works and works will result in activity.

We note when you really come to believe in God and His Son Jesus Christ your trusting Him that produces a change in life that changes your activities. So your activities, the things you do evidence the fact that you have come to believe. That change has taken place. There is that labor of love and that labor as a dimension to work. It brings in the idea of toil. There is a cost of what is done here. There is strenuous work that is being done and this is produced by love. The love that we have for Him and He produces in us for one another, motivates us to toil and give of ourselves in ways that we would not otherwise do. Paul says this motivates him to be thankful for the Thessalonians and their steadfastness of hope there is a consistency stranger than just patience which is passive; steadfastness give the idea, there is a durableness, a steadiness under pressure in difficulty and that is produced by the hope we have in Jesus Christ and having our sight fixed on the hope we have in Him. This gives us a steadiness or a steadfastness under difficulties or trials, and trying times. The hope that we have in our Lord Jesus Chris in the presence of our God and Father, then He goes on in verse 4, knowing brethren, beloved of God His choice of God. Paul was giving thanks and in his giving thanks he always maid mention of them in his prayers. He constantly kept in mind their works, their labor, their steadfastness. He was knowing or he had in his mind the knowledge of their election by God, knowing brethren beloved by God.

That idea of being brethren, favorite expression of Paul’s through these epistles. He mentions it again and again. They are fellow heirs, and fellow members of the body and family of God. They are the beloved, those love by God, and that fits in the context of Paul saving knowing His choice of you, and that word choice is election. His election or selection of you. The word means the act of selecting or choosing. It is interesting to me we’ve talked about the little bit of time Paul spent with the believers in Thessalonica and yet here in what we have in the fourth verse of a letter he sends back is the oldest believer in Thessalonica is measured in the term of months and he refers to election. That blows away some of us who have been believers for years, and yet here in verse 4 he says knowing his election of you brethren. I wonder if they go beyond verse 4 in reading this letter. Part of it may be helped by at least some of the Thessalonian believers were Jewish in background, to the concept of God’s election was not new to the Jew. It pervades the Old Testament. The Jews prided themselves in being the elect nation of God. They were aware of the sovereign choice of God in electing Israel. So for the Jew that would not be a particularly difficult concept because it would not be new to them. Even the unbelieving Jews prided themselves in being the objects as a nation of God’s choice. Not they had corrupted it, misunderstood I, but the concept of God’s choosing them among the other nations of the earth was relatively fixed in their minds. We will see before chapter 1 is over a large portion, perhaps the dominant segment of the Church at Thessalonica was composed of those with pagan backroads. The concept of God electing would not necessarily come from their religious background as the Jews did.

Evidently Paul had a least touched on it in his time with them, and his presentation of his salvation of God. The sovereignty of God in His salvation, Paul could write back now and say knowing his election of you, beloved brethren. It is interesting Paul says he knows their election. It is something between God and individual, yet Paul says he knows, knowing his election of you and this had to do with his giving thanks always. How else could he do anything but give thanks for those that God had elected for Himself. Selected to be the recipient of His salvation. If God mad a choice of them then I ought to be appreciating them. We’ll talk about the reasons that Paul knew they were elect when we get to verse 5.

But I want to look a little bit at the concept of election. We have talked about it a little bit from time to time. I think it is basic to understand the Scriptures; That we understand something of the sovereignty of God and how election brings us to the issue of God’s sovereignty as its focus in salvation. I want to review some of what the Scripture teaches on God’s sovereign work of election.

On God’s sovereign election. When it talks about His election, His selection, His choice of you, he is talking about a choice or a selection that God mad, not when Paul preached at Thessalonica, but that God made before He ever created the world, back in in Genesis 1:1.

Look at it with me at a couple of passages that relate to the time of God’s election. Ephesians chapter 1, verse 3. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Chris. Not verse 4 just as He chose us in Him, he elected us. He selected us in Christ. When? Before the foundation of the world. That takes us back before Genesis 1:1 which is as far back as we can go. We know something of what transpired before Genesis 1;1 but things begin for us as we mark time as they are unfolded in Genesis. And yet before the foundation of the world we have been chosen in Christ for salvation.

Look over in 2 Thessalonians. We are going to come up to this again. I think if we followed something of Paul’s pattern in dealing with the matter of God’s sovereignty early in a person’s salvation experience dealing with ne Christians it would help set the pattern and tenor for their life, as Paul evidently did here. Verse 13 of Chapter 2 of 2 Thessalonians. But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord. Why? You not that is a key element. Paul is always giving thanks to God for the Thessalonians, because God has chosen you. There’s our concept again of election. God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation, so he expressed it in Ephesians 1:4 before the foundation of the world. Here he expresses it from the beginning, saying the same thing.

As far back as we go, God mad the plan. He sovereignly chose you for salvation and the process by which this is carried out is through sanctification. By the Spirit and faith in the truth. So God not orderly ordained or appointed the ends which is salvation. He is appointing the means to the end. The ministry of the Holy Spirit and the proclamation of the truth. The Holy Spirit sets apart those who have been elected to believe in the truth of the gospel as it is preached.

Over in Revelation chapter 17, again on the timing of election. You get this from the negative side. Here you are talking about those who were not elect. Not all are elect, obviously, because not all are save. In Revelation 17:8 we’re here in the context of the tribulation. The beast that you saw was and is not, and is about to come up out of the abyss and to go to destruction. And those who dwell on the earth will wonder. Now note who these are, whose name has not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world. Now you see what has happened? Before the foundation of the world God selected some for salvation and He wrote their names in the book of life and we are told over in Chapter 20 that whoever name is not is written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire, which is the second death, which is hell. So here you have it from the negative side. There are those whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world.

Now back up to Revelation chapter 13. Verse 8. And all who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain. The King James has it the Lamb has been slain for the foundation of the world, either are possible grammatically. If you have it as we have it in the NASB in verse 8 it is saying the same thing. We read in Revelation 17:8, the names being in the book of life from the foundation of the world.

We have talked about this before. The song that says there is a new name written down in glory and it is mine, yes it is mine. That song is not accurate biblically. There are no new names written down in glory. The names have been written in the Lamb’s book from before the foundation of the world.

Look back in Psalm 139. This concept is not new in the New Testament in the 139th Psalm. You see here something of the sovereign plan of God before eve the birth of a person. Now here in the Psalm we are talking about David, verse 13. For Thou didst form my inward parts, Thou didst weave me in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks to Thee, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. This is a verse that ought to be kept in mind in the context of abortions that are going on today. Wonderful are Thy works, and my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from Thee, when I was mad in secret. And skillfully wrought in the depts. Of the earth. Thine eyes have seen my unformed substance and in Thy book they were all written. The days that were ordained for me. When as yet there was not one of them. Here you see the Sovereign control of God even before the birth of a person, even in the forming of that person, all under God’s control. The days that would belong to that person all laid out before that persona was born. Not fatalism because it is in the hands of a personal God who is working with personal beings.

Jeremiah Chapter 1 as a concept of God working again before birth. In verse 5, Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you. I have appointed you a prophet to the nations. Before I formed you I knew you. That word in the context of the Old Testament has the idea of knowing with favor or choosing. God says of Israel, you only have to know of all the families of the earth. God’s favorable knowledge is selecting or choosing. Here before Jeremiah had been formed God had chosen him and set him aside as a prophet.

Now you read verse like that, right away the first concept that comes to our mind is, is this fair. When Paul writes to the Thessalonians and says, knowing his choice of you, in effect Paul is saying knowing that He chose you before the foundation of the world and wrote your name in His book of life that you might come through the work of the Spirit to believe in His Son Jesus Christ. Right away the question comes is this fair?

You know that God is making a choice and a selection, but we see it on a broader level before we look at the fairness of it going on all around us in the world. You and I were privileged to be born in a country where the word of God is available in abundance. You can go to the book store and buy a copy of the Bible. You can go and have people give you copies of the Bibles, there are places in the world where people can’t a copy of the Bible. There obviously was a decision made that had you born here and someone born over there that will never have the privilege of reading a portion of the Scriptures. So even on that level we have to acknowledge that there was a decision made that determined our opportunity just taking it that far. Now understand something of the importance of election. What election really does is reveal the mercy and grace and love of God, and cause you to appreciate it. That is why I think it is in the context we saw in Thessalonians. Paul mentions the choice and the election of the Thessalonians, and it causes him to give thanks to God. You know why? He knew there would have been no hope for all eternity for the Thessalonians if God hadn’t been so loving an intervened in the selecting them and bring them to himself in salvation.

Background for this information is the sinfulness of man. And if you don’t have the concept of the sinfulness of man the depraved humanity, then the doctrine of election will never make sense. God is not dealing with neutral, innocent people, but he is dealing with guilty sinners.

Turn back to Romans chapter 3. I want to make clear I don’t have all the answers to all the questions and no matter what the view of election is you don’t have all the answers either. The fact that God elected is and established biblical fact because the word is used over 30 times in a couple of different words, but the same concept is used over 30 times in the New Testament. So it is a matter of what your view of election not do you believe in election. The fact that God did something before the foundation of the world is established. We’ll talk about the basis of that in the moment.

But look over in Romans chapter 3 in the section here beginning with verse 10 and there are quotes from the Old Testament but we’ll take them here because Paul pulls them together. Romans 3:10 there is none righteous, not even one. There is none who understands, there is none who seeks forgot. I’ll have turned aside, together they have become useless. There is none who does good. There is not even one. Their throat is an open grave, with their tongues they keep deceiving. The poison of asps is under their lips. And so on, that is a description of the fallen sinful human beings. That’s us. Now that’s the quality that God is dealing with.

Chapter 6 verse 23 of Romans, all have send and come short of the glory of God, the wages of sin is death.

Ephesians 2 verse five, we were dead in our trespasses and sins and this is the realm we all formerly lived so that we are sinners, in bondage, and slave to our sin and this is the group that God is dealing with. Falling sinful human beings are accountable to God for their sin.

Mention hear something about free will. I think that is a misnomer. The idea of free will that everybody is free does not take into account the reality of sin. We have looked at some verses that indicate we are all sinners, but we are all guilty before God because we said, and Jesus said in John chapter 8 verse 34 he that sends is the slave of sand. I am responsible before God, but I am not free. I have used my will both too soon and I am a slave of sin in control and dominated by sin from birth, really. I was conceived in sin, David said, in San did my mother conceive me not talking about conception, but about being a sinner from conception and birth. That is where I am, I am in enslaved to that sin. So even though I am responsible and accountable before God I exercise my will in opposition to him. That is why it says in Romans three, there is no one who six God, not even one. We are exercising our will and rebellion against God.

Now from among sinful humanity God graciously selected some for salvation. Now that is different, and I hope you see the difference that is different than having a group of innocent people and God deciding he will save some of these and the rest he is going to send to hell. You have a group of people who are now justly condemned and worthy of hell, so if we just stop there and said God says all centers are going to Hell, none of us would have anything to say in our defense except that’s fair and that’s just and we all know the example of that which is what? That’s the result of the good teaching you get here. Fallen angels right? The angels of Hebrews chapter to send, did god ever provide salvation for the angels who sent? Hebrews chapter 2 says no.

Jesus Christ did not become an angel and die to pay the penalty for sin for angels who sent. Jesus Christ became a human being and died to pay the penalty for sin for human beings. You know what happened? Angel send against God, and forever consigned to a destiny of hell. No hope. Satan or none of the angels who followed him in their rebellion against God can ever change their mind to be safe. God never provided an opportunity for salvation. Now it’s not a fact that none of them want to, characteristic of what happens when you send. You don’t want God salvation. They don’t want salvation and God never provided any. Now we are all in the same boat from this standpoint. We are like the angels in that none of us want salvation. I read Romans chapter 3 verse 11 there is none who seeks after God, no not one. Now we understand that God is saving here, there is not one person on the face of the earth who is seeking after him. What happens? God seeks after us. So here you have fallen sinful humanity all in agreement. I don’t want anything to do with God, I don’t want anything to do with his salvation. God and his grace says I am a loving God in spite of their rebellion. In spite of their sinfulness, to demonstrate the greatness of my mercy, the greatness of my grace, the greatness of my love. I am going to have my son Jesus Christ go to earth and die for those wretched, sinful, human beings. But you know what? If God did that and left it there do you know what would have happened? We’d all still go to hell. You know why? There is none that seek after God, no not one. So it would not be enough that God would provide salvation for sinful Human beings, doesn’t matter that he provided salvation. We are still not interested.

So what he does in election is sovereignly in mercy and grace determined that he is going to choose some from among the fallen, sinful, humanity to experience salvation by faith in his son Jesus Christ, and those who will experience the irresistible grace. As it is called, the drawing ministry of the Spirit of God, and bringing them to the point of believing in Jesus Christ.

You see that is a declaration of God’s overwhelming mercy and grace not enough that we are sinners, or sinners that don’t want anything to do with God. We are sinners not interested in God salvation, but the greatness of the mercy, and Grace, and love of God. He says I am going to still save some of them. You say, why didn’t he save all of them? I don’t have the answer to that, and you don’t either, no matter what your view of election is. Because there can be no question. Should God have chosen me, He could have saved every person who ever lived. I mean, you know, there are questions we don’t have answers to, like Deuteronomy tells us that the things revealed and the things hidden are for God. Things we don’t have an answer to, you know it is like why did God placed Adam and Eve in the garden and put them in that situation when he knew they would sin? Well that was his plan to do it that way. Why has God not saved everyone? In the ultimate sense it’s because it will bring honor and glory to him.

God says in Psalm 116 verse 4 I have made all things for myself, even the wicked for the day of destruction.

No what happened. In the distraction of the wicked, God’s justice and righteousness and holiness will be clearly demonstrated. And his salvation of the elect, God’s love, and mercy and grace will be clearly demonstrated.

The real issue or question raised in Scripture is not why are some lost, the real amazing awesome fact in Scripture is that any are saved. I can understand that people would be lost, sinners deserve to go to hell, the wages of sin is death. The amazing thing is that God and his love and grace has provided redemption and salvation and his son that is adequate to save us. He is not obligated to save anyone, so the fact that he saves anyone is a testimony of mercy and grace. Now sometimes we get a little bit confused and say well, it’s not fair if he doesn’t save everyone, and every analogy breaks down. But if you all are in debt, if anyone here has owes, 1 million each, a good round figure to owe, and I am one of the billionaires of the day, and I walk in and I say I don't know any of you anything. You say, that’s right, and we don’t like you and we don’t want anything to do with you so please get out of here and besides we wouldn’t want any of your dirty, filthy money so leave us alone.

I say, that’s fine you feel that way but in spite of your attitude, in spite of what you say, I am going to pay the debts of you…..and go around and point out certain ones, and I proceed to do that, and those of you who have had your depts. paid recognize that it was grace and mercy and come to thank me, I don’t have the supernatural influence of the spirt to bring this analogy off. I don’t have the money to bring it off either, quite frankly. But no one here could leave saying that it wasn’t fair. He didn’t pay my debt, because I wasn’t obligated to pay anybody’s debt and nobody here go their debt paid because they were looking for me to pay it because nobody here wanted me to pay it.

So on what basis would anybody go out and say it’s just not fair? The only thing people could go out and say is can you imagine that anybody loving, some that way that he would be able to do that in spite of that kind of attitude. And anybody that had their debt paid would be a testimony of mercy and grace. The fact that the others are going to go to prison or whatever for not paying their debt is just an accepted fact. That is not hard to understand. That is the way it is with God’s salvation. It’s not hard to understand that people are going to hell that is what sinful beings deserve. The amazing thing is that God has intervened and decided in love that He won’t send everyone to hell as they deserve, but arbitrarily on the basis of Himself He has chosen some for salvation. And that is the basis for God’s choice.

Turn back to Ephesians 1:4. We read just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world this is all one sentence going through these verses in Chapter 1. We have it broken up in our Bible to help it flow a little better. He predestined us to adoption and predestination basically is what God does with those He elects. He chooses some to salvation then He predestines them to be placed as sons. He has done this, the last phrase in 5, according to the kind intention of His will or better yet think as you have it translated in the King James, according to His good pleasure.

Down in verse eleven having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will. Important to see here, just as I said in the analogy. When I would select some for salvation I wouldn’t do because I looked and said you serve, to have your debt paid, and you deserve to have yours paid, and you deserve, none of you do. So I have arbitrarily, sovereignly after the counsel with myself decided on the basis of my own council with myself that I am going to pay the debt of so and so, and so and so. That is what God says here. I counseled with myself and made the choice. Now that is important because it takes any merit out of our end of it. He didn’t select me for salvation because He saw that there was some good in me. That I was a little more worthy, a little more deserving, besides I was a good boy. Let’s save him. No. He counseled with Himself and mad the decision apart from anything I would do or not do. All there was was corruption to deal with and selected on that basis.

Look over in Romans 9:11. You can’t talk about the doctrine of election without going to Romans 9. In verse 11 for though the twins were not yet born, and had not done anything good or bad, now the point here is their works or their deeds did not come into play into God’s election had not done anything good or bad, in order that God’s purpose according to His election, according to His choice, according to election might stand, not because of works but because of Him who calls.

You see again, God takes us back and says the foundation of election is found in Me, Myself, and My character. Not in you. I don’t choose on the basis of what you do. I choose on the basis of my own personal decision.

You say, will that’s not fair. What else could he do? Remember He is dealing with fallen sinful, totally depraved humanity. If He had to look around for some good in someone none of us would have gotten elected. Why?
There is none that doeth good, no not one.

Back to Romans 3. So if he elected on the basis of some good in somebody, nobody is going to heaven. Because there is no one that does good, no not one. So that wouldn’t work so it is back to Himself.

Now this sometimes causes us to bridle a little bit. Because I don’t mind if it is 50/50 or 60/40, where God is concerned. I might bargain for 75/25. But when he says it is 100% Him and nothing of me, I bridle a little bit. Do you know what that is? That is rebellion against God. I am willing to deal with God. I am willing to negotiate. But when you tell me it is all You then I say ah, loo, we’re going to work out a compromise here. But you see that is what God says. It is not of works, but of Him who calls. So it is all found in Me and that is the basis and foundation for His electing work. I take it you can’t take it back any further than that. There are passages in the New Testament that speak of God Choosing on the basis of His foreknowledge. But foreknowledge when it is used of God in the New Testament always refers to for ordination. To determining and choosing beforehand. We use Acts 2 as a basic verse. You might want to turn there. I realize we are not answering all the question on election but this is just a reminder for us.

In Acts chapter 2:23 this Man, delivered up by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men. Grammatical construction there we call it Granville Sharps rule of grammar and basically what it say is that predetermined plan and foreknowledge refer to the same thing. They are say basically the same thing. When you talk about God’s foreknowledge you are talking about what God has foreordained. Peter talks about Christ being the Lamb of God that was foreknown. God doesn’t look ahead in time to see that Christ would be crucified and then decide to send Him to the cross. God had salvation to be provided in the death of His Son.

Foreknowledge there involves foreordaining because anything God foreknows He determines will happen, because nothing happens that he has not foredetermed. He is in total, absolute control. So we are back in the doctrine of election centering in the person of God, Himself. So the picture here, man is totally lost in his sin. Helpless, he is hopeless and he will not believe.

Now before God created the world then he sovereignly determined that from among this hopeless, fallen humanity He would graciously select some to experience His salvation. I do not believe that the Bible teaches a double election. Because He did not have to do anything with those He did not elect. They are left in their just position, what they deserve. The penalty for sin is death. All of this is to bring glory to God. Even what we don’t understand about it and much of it we don’t understand.

Paul carries us in Romans 9 where we finally get to the point. If God is in total control why does He find fault with me. It is all His responsibility. And you think Paul is finally going to give you the answer to the question you really have and he comes back with shut up, you don’t have any right to ask any questions on the subject. Who are you? You are the clay, He’s the potter, and if the potter wants to make a spittoon the clay doesn’t have anything to say about it. It is in the potter’s hands. You see the absolute, total sovereign control of God.

Would we want it any other way? All kinds of questions that come up. What if God has not chosen one of my children? What if I have 2 children and on is elect and on is not or I have 4 and 2 are elect or one is elect and 3 are not? You know it seems hopeless. Well I am far more comfortable to know that the eternal destiny of my children rest in the hand of God rather than in a human being.

In my faithfulness, in your faithfulness I am sure the sovereign God will do what is right. Shall not the God of all the earth be right? I don’t need to be afraid. It does not change your responsibility. We are going to talk about responsibility in 6 years when we get to the end of Chapter one of 1 Thessalonians.

We are going to look at the issue of human responsibility where Paul is going to talk about they turned from idols to God to serve God, but we understand it was God sovereignly at work and this ought to cause us to praise Him. Thanks Him for the salvation of everyone who comes to believe in Him. It ought to cause us to be much more thankful for one another as believers. That why in the world would God choose you from out among all fallen humanity to bring you to Himself. Why would He do that?

Why are we privileged to be here as a body of believers like this today? Why would God choose us for Himself? That ought to cause us to fall down and say thank you Lord for saving so and so. Thank you Lord for saving so and so. They sure didn’t deserve it. I can understand they ought to be in hell. If anybody should they should. But boy I am really thankful You saved me. What grace, what mercy, and you’d be saying the same thing about me. No wonder Paul could be thanking the Lord for the Thessalonians. They weren’t perfect yet. There were difficulties going on, there were problems but Paul still had to be amazed at the grace of God that brought salvation to sinful man.

Let’s pray.