Understanding God’s election

[missmuffet]

9 minutes ago, BornAgain490 said:

Christian, follower of Christ, disciple of Jesus, all mean the same thing.  But it's not what you call yourself that matters, it's who you are that matters.  If you be Christ's, you'll live like you are His.  If you don't live like you belong to Jesus, the world will know. 

I prefer the term Christian because of its historical significance. The term was first used at Antioch in the first half of the 1st century, and it was used perjoratively, meaning it was not meant as a warm greeting to be referred to as Christian.  Even today, when I tell people I'm Christian, some look with disdain upon me, others make disparaging comments not only about me, but also about Jesus and the faith as a whole.  I love how the apostles reacted when they were beaten for exercising their faith: they counted themselves worthy to suffer shame for Christ's sake.  (Acts 5:41).  May the Lord grant us all such joy, strength, and endurance in our trials.  

But you did not quote all that I posted.

[BornAgain490]

33 minutes ago, missmuffet said:

I prefer " I am a follower of Jesus Christ"

Why do you prefer this?

[missmuffet]

4 minutes ago, BornAgain490 said:

Why do you prefer this?

Because that is truly what I am.

[BornAgain490]

Just now, missmuffet said:

Because that is truly what I am.

If someone referred to you as Christian, or disciple of Jesus, would it have a different meaning to you in your mind?

[missmuffet]

2 minutes ago, BornAgain490 said:

If someone referred to you as Christian, or disciple of Jesus, would it have a different meaning to you in your mind?

No, that is several references that I would prefer as a Child of God.

[BornAgain490]

17 minutes ago, missmuffet said:

No, that is several references that I would prefer as a Child of God.

I left a congregation whose pastor claimed to be a follower of Jesus, but who was a fornicator with women in his congregation.

Know them by their fruits. 

Edited October 31, 2024 by BornAgain490

[missmuffet]

5 minutes ago, BornAgain490 said:

I left a congregation whose pastor claimed to be a follower of Jesus, but who was a fornicator with women in his congregation.

Know them by their fruits. 

There are several Pastors who have dropped out of their Church that I know of because of their sins. Very sad.

[Marathoner]

This is precisely the sort of topic I studiously avoid. Why? Because it continues on and on and on until eventually, the topic is (mercifully) locked. 

I will, however, make an exception tonight because three brothers whom I hold in high regard are here riding on the merry-go-round. It's worth breaking my silence for this, my friends. I agree with all three of you, and I disagree with all three of you. Why?

We are not chosen by the Almighty to be spared from the lake of fire. We are not elected by the Lord just to spare us from condemnation; not at all. What are we chosen for? Why were we elected by the Holy One? Scripture informs us: it's so we might walk in those works that God ordained for us to walk in. I write about those good works we are created in Jesus Christ to do. 

One of my brothers points toward the foreknowledge of God. Absolutely. Nothing is hidden from the Lord who declares the end from the beginning; I have witnessed this unfold on more than one occasion. The Lord declares a matter before it ever begins, and I witness how His every word is true. Everything --- including my own words and actions --- proceeds exactly as He said. When the Lord told me to come to this city from the mountains a long time ago, He declared everything that would come to pass after I arrived. 

His foreknowledge is more profound than we can possibly perceive. I understand this in the following way: the Lord holds space and time like a scroll in His hand. Everything is finished in His sight. 

What can I possibly say? These discussions revolve around doctrines of salvation, but this is not what the election of God is about. Our election most assuredly has everything to do with the purpose and will of the Lord with regard to each one of us. Hell insurance? Certainly not!

As difficult as it is to wrap our minds around, it pleases the Lord to give us the capacity to choose. I'm not concerned with whether certain members believe my words or not; I'll share my example to communicate this to my brothers and those who read this topic. 

The Lord knew that I would be greatly afflicted in this life, and it pleased Him to claim me as His own. He knew that I would be afflicted with not one very rare malady, but three of them. It pleased the Lord to cover me even while I seemingly fell away in confusion and agony, for He knew what I warred against. My seemingly aimless path in this world led inexorably to that moment in the mountains, decades later, when the Lord displayed His power in me for the benefit of many:

For my adopted mother, who was bitterly angry with the Lord;
For certain people in the nearby village who urged my adopted mother to get rid of me before I expired on her land;
And for myself, as I believed that the Lord hated me and that I had failed Him utterly. 

The Lord knew that, when I received word of my adopted mother's peril in those mountains, I would drop everything and come to her aid. It pleased the Lord that I would do this for a stranger and what's more, it pleased Him that my adopted mother would welcome a stranger into her home and treat him like her own. He knew that being so close to death as I was, she would refuse to abandon me like those people in the village urged her to do. She said what my own mother refused to say: "I will never abandon you or throw you away. Never!"

What these eyes and minds of flesh cannot comprehend: this is why the Son of God loves my adopted mother for, regardless of how she was mistreated and abandoned by others, she refused to mistreat and abandon the least of His servants. She gave me shelter when I had none... she gave me food to eat when I was starving, water to drink when I was thirsty, and cared for me during sickness when I was dying. Does her previous bitterness and anger even matter? No, because that was her pain and ignorance. The Lord covers ignorance with love, just as He covered mine for all of those years. He sees the end from the beginning for nothing is hidden from His sight. We do not.

And did He choose me, knowing that I would be a failure in the eyes of men (especially in my own eyes)? He did indeed. When the Lord came to me after I had fallen to the ground to die, He knows how I cried out that I had failed Him. I expected the Lord to cast me into the fire, but I was mistaken. Very, very mistaken. The Lord unfurled space and time like a scroll, and I found myself witnessing that day when He revealed Himself to me. Then, I watched while the dream that the Spirit sent the night of my election happened all over again. I began to weep uncontrollably, because I had forgotten all of this over those long years of illness and wandering. All I did was survive. 

Then, the Lord revealed what I have written about here so I would understand how He knows all things before they come to be, just as He knew me and set me aside for His purpose before I was born. Many things are impossible to us, but nothing is impossible to the Lord God. 

Twenty years passed between the day of my election and the day that those works I was ordained to walk in by Him were revealed. The election of God is not about salvation; it's all about His purpose upon this earth. 

That's all I have to say about the matter. May the Lord bless you all richly, my friends.  

Edited October 31, 2024 by Marathoner

[Osterloh]

19 hours ago, Knotical said:

The elect are those who were chosen to follow Jesus Christ and were given saving faith upon conversion.

Perhaps you mean regeneration?

We need to have saving faith in order to believe

and to be born again.

[Knotical]

Just now, Osterloh said:

Perhaps you mean regeneration?

We need to have saving faith in order to believe

and to be born again.

Right, though all of that pretty much happens at the same time.  Quickening, repentance, regeneration, justification, conversion, and then the beginning of sanctification.