2 Thessalonians 2:14. “Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
CHOSEN AND CALLED. In the purposes of God, a man in a far-off place – Even though, at first, he was in opposition to those who were saved by grace. But God did His work first in him, and then unto distant people, he went To those chosen before they were born would hear the Gospel, to those he was sent.
Wherever he went on his journey, the Holy Spirit was there to guide. One place led to another; some believed and were saved, others did the message deride. Eventually, he reached the city where some more chosen ones heard the Word. Many were “called” by the Gospel; only some of them believed in the Lord.
It still is hard for me to fully understand why many are called, but few are chosen. The free will of man is part of the answer, but why, when it is plain God loves them Would sensible, thinking men and women refuse to respond to such great grace – And instead, most would turn away and choose sin in place of faith.
The words before do clarify the matter quite clearly to me – Some do not know God because His Gospel they will not obey. Instead of receiving the love of the truth that they might be saved They believe not in the message, and pleasure in unrighteousness is all they have.
There is a divine order in all of this: God, at the beginning, chooses. Then he gave the Gospel message to Paul; for the sake of the Gospel, his life loses So, he can go where God sends Him, to those whom the Spirit sanctified – And when they hear the message, he preaches; the hearers believe in the Christ who died.
Soon, following salvation by grace, people learn they are sanctified by the truth. The sanctification through the blood of Christ reveals what God’s grace is worth. So that new lives that begin with only a glimpse of what it is to live by faith – See unfolding before them day by day the riches of redeeming grace.
Then they, too, tell others they know what they have heard and learned. And in testimony tell of the calling to salvation which no man ever earned. The more a believer tells the Gospel to others, the greater his own sanctification. And as he separates himself from sin, the more he’s assured of salvation.
“Heavenly Father, there are many things about Thy grace and all it has brought me I cannot explain or fully understand. But I do know Thee and so am totally assured that Thy purposes will be fulfilled and perfectly righteous in every way. I thank Thee for choosing me, calling me, and others through me. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.”
We should not be moved by what people may say or the pressure that comes from persecution. False teachers, worldliness, and apathy toward the things of God will continue. We must stand firm and hold the truth of God without being shaken or made afraid. The things that are happening will not change what God says. It is up to us to compare what others say with what the Bible says and teaches. What God has taught us through those we know and trust has not changed. The truth taught by trusted men who have been tried and proven in life and death has not changed and works for us.