How is Your Campaign Going? – (Make your calling and election Sure)

Scriptures: 2 Pet 1:10; 1 Thess 1:4

Election: The act of choosing / deciding / bestowing favor upon

A lot of campaigning leads eventually to an election, which is good for four years. God’s election took no time at all but in fact all of history has unfolded based on that one decision. Someday history will end …the campaign will be concluded. All things will have come together under one Head even Jesus, and at some point He will return to wrap the campaign up and reward all those who have campaigned for Him and punish those who have campaigned against Him. Rev 13:8-10

Now look at 2 Pet 1:3-10 and let us think about our “election”.

The “doctrine of election” usually sounds like “once saved always saved”

That is not what the Bible teaches, but neither does it teach “once saved barely saved.”

2 Pet 1:10 denies the doctrine of irresistible grace, but it certainly does not teach overwhelming sin either.

What does it mean to make my election sure?

1. Think of election as escaping corruption 2 Pet 1:4

2. As participating in divine nature

3. That is a tall order but God has given us everything necessary v.3

a. Through the knowledge of Him and His Glory and goodness

b. By which He bestows upon us very great and precious promises.

How far away from corruption do you want to be?

I want to walk a different path altogether, but the narrow path seems to be very uphill. That’s because it leads to Heaven!!! Why would anyone decide to build a house on sand and not on rock?

Because it seems to be easier.

Christians walk the path for the joy of the destination not for the pleasure of the path. And they ask, seek, knock for God’s help and He gives it to them.

We cannot make calling and election sure for others, can we? Do we have any part in the salvation of others? Hasn’t God already decided about them?

Work out your own salvation Philippians 2:12

Yes, of course, but we can no more choose for someone else than can God. All we can do is give them the choice, the rest is up to them. The gospel does that. It makes the choice clear and sets up the voting booth so each one of us can vote on our own salvation.

How far away from Corruption does Jesus want to be?

And aren’t you glad that in the heart of Jesus there was something more important than His own personal piety? Aren’t you glad He was willing to leave the ivory palaces to come into this world of corruption? People were troubled, even offended by His willingness to get involved in this world.

Why didn’t He just come to the cross and have done with it? Why the years of involvement?

Getting down and dirty with a bunch of fishermen

He threw in with a tax collector

“He is a glutton and a drunkard”

“Doesn’t He know she is a sinner?”

“He is a friend of sinners!!” Luke 7:34

Do you ever worry about being too good at making your own election sure?

Is it possible we love our own goodness more than the One who decided to share His goodness with us?

Ask the Samaritan woman how she got saved. (John 4)

“I came to church and heard the good news” Not really.

The disciples saw a lapse in judgment. This was a credibility issue. How unseemly!

She saw the “savior of the world” Jn 4:42

We seem to think people will come to church by a process of “motive flow”

(I worked on Navy jets that used this process to get fuel to move from one fuel cell to the engine. A small stream of fuel was pumped through the system and it passed through venturis in each fuel cell where it would basically suck fuel along with it into other fuel cells and to the engine eventually.) We cannot suck people along with us as we go to church just by our going to church.

She did not let unseemliness stop her telling everyone she could about Jesus. And something about the way she went about it changed their vision of who she was.

1 Thess 1:2-10 The Thessalonians connected their election with their mission.