In Ohio today is election day. Not only do we respond to national issues, but we also respond to local issues and candidates. The consequences of this primary will have far reaching results on to decades and maybe centuries until Jesus returns. This is a reminder of the use of the words election, chose, and selected in the Bible which are often used interchangeably. The first election day occurred before creation.
One of the most poignant verses in the Bible is 1 Peter 1:10-11 that says, “Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if you do these things, you shall never fall: for so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” In other words, God established a program of election in a similar way that we have the process of election today. The system was set up to enable candidates to serve the general public. God’s system was set up to enable believers that they might participate in the kingdom of God.
In that verse, Peter connects the words “calling” and “election” together. That means that God set up a means by which we can know salvation through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. It is that each and every one of us is called to come into that system of salvation. Peter says to make certain that our calling and election are sure. In the same way that an individual enrolls himself as a candidate, so is the believer enrolling himself in the method of salvation that is his responsibility to make it sure.
Because of Jesus dying on the cross, God implemented an election for all of mankind to come into his kingdom. Through the evangelism of the Holy Spirit and the human vehicles that he chooses every person is called but not every person will respond. God knows ahead of time who will respond and who will not respond. God is a gentleman and will not force his will on human beings. It is our privilege and our responsibility to heed the invitation and participate in what God established as being elected or chosen into the kingdom.
In John 3: 18 Jesus explains that certain people are condemned already because they refuse to believe him as Savior. They have in effect condemned themselves to hell. We know the Bible says that Jesus is the only way to eternity with God. To reject Jesus is the ultimate sin about which sends a person into eternal damnation. There is a distinct difference between the person who responds to the bidding of God and to the person who rejects his bidding. The ultimate eternal place will be the abode of the person who brings condemnation upon himself or who relies on the salvation that Jesus brought on the cross.
This means that God set up a system of election for all people of all times. It was a method originally that involved faith and obedience in the Old Testament. In the New Testament it is still a matter of faith and obedience to what God has created for our eternal security. In the eons of time God looked ahead to his creation and knew that mankind would be disobedient, and that mankind would need a means of salvation. The first verse in the Bible that points to God’s plan of election is in Genesis 3:15 that is a prophecy of Christ on the cross. Got elected for all mankind to be saved, but not all mankind will be saved because they condemned themselves by rejecting Christ. We are all chosen and elected. We are all given the opportunity for heaven. The determining factor lies on the shoulders of each individual. Peter said for us to make sure for our calling and election that we might enter into everlasting joy with God. An intentional and specific response is required of each of us to accept Christ thereby making sure of our place with him.
Christian Writer 