Are We Chosen by God ?

Does God randomly chosen some people for salvation and choose others for damnation? Some Christians have this view, but on this side of heaven I don’t believe it is the right approach according to the scriptures.

If this is not the case, what is it? How does God make the choice about who is to be saved? Jesus said, “Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice” (John 18:37). In other words, it has a lot do with how you handle the truth. I believe, the scripture taken as a whole state that God is drawing all men to Himself and therefore, there is no excuse for not coming to the truth. Jesus said, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day” (John 6:44) Jesus also said, “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself” (John 12:32) This is another good reason to go to church so that you can learn about the gospel. Another good reason also to read the Bible.

The Chosen one is Jesus Christ. He is the Messiah the one “who came to save us from our sin.” He took the penalty of our sin on the cross. He died in our place that we might have life. Only if this gift is received are we counted among God’s elect. (John 1:12) We are only chosen if we are in Christ.

How are we chosen than? Are there conditions for being chosen? The Bible tells us that we must repent of sin and chose Jesus as our substitute for our eternal punishment and sin and place our faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord. We must repent of trying to be God and receive the one true God in Jesus Christ. We must turn from loving sin to loving truth and God.

God looks at the heart. You cannot love sin and still be born again of God’s spirit. You must love truth and God, much more than sin. When you heart is right and you pray that God would come in your life, confessing yourself a sinner, asking for forgiveness and believing Jesus died and rose from the dead to forgive your sin and give you abundant and eternal life than, God converts your heart. If you don’t really mean it will bring no result.

C.S. Lewis gives us good illustration to clarify the gospel. Let say someone gives you a gift. Someone close to you that you love. You are grateful for the wrapped gift, but when you open it, it is a bottle of mouthwash. In the same way the gospel reveals to us our desperate condition of us in our sin. We can appreciate our love ones caring for us or we can resent becoming aware of our need. In the same way the cross reveals our need and our condition and the astounding goodness of God. We are destined for an eternity lost and God in His mercy offers us the gift of salvation in Jesus Christ. Only if we admit our need will this gift be received with gratitude instead of resentment. In like manner placing your faith in Jesus Christ goes along with repentance of sin.

Salvation is a mighty miraculous work in our life where He converts our heart and gives us a new heart with a new orientation and new desires and power to live out those good desires. (Ezekiel 36:26)

If you are not yet born again it is urgent that you seek out the truth with all your heart. Your eternal destiny hangs in the balance. Jesus said, “You must be born again to see the Kingdom of God” (John 3:3) You will not see things clearly or experience the truth, until you are born again. God’s Kingdom is now and to eternity. His kingdom has to do with life here and into eternity. The Kingdom of God primarily has to do with prominence and loyalty and love of God in the hearts of men and women.

Those who are born again are the chosen of God, because they have received the chosen one. Why some are chosen, and some are not, when it is “so great a salvation” is beyond our comprehension. Why would anyone choose to go hell rather than heaven when there is a remedy? Only God can save us and it is God’s desire that all would be saved, but He does not force His will on people to be saved. As the Bible says, “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance” (2 Peter 3:9)

Are we chosen. Yes, all those who are born again are chosen. Some however, are chosen for servant leadership like Noah, Moses, Abraham, Jacob, the Israelites, Elijah, the apostles and Jesus.

Moses said, “ I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. , choose life, that you and your offspring may live” (Deuteronomy 30:19). Chose Christ in sincerity and He will choose you.

Each is responsible to respond to the invitation of God in Jesus Christ. To not receive Him as your Savior is the sin that will separate you in eternity from heaven. Come as you are. Come as a sinner like everyone who comes to Christ. Jesus said, “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out” (John 6:37).