Romans 8 closed with the glorious assurance of the Golden Chain. God has chosen us, called us, and justified us in Christ. Because of that, nothing can ever separate us from His love and His good plan for us.
The Bible also tells us that God has chosen the nation of Israel. (Romans 9) He began by choosing Abraham and calling him out of his home to go to a land prepared for him and his descendants. Then He chose Isaac, Abraham’s son of promise. Abraham had other children, but they were not the ones through whom God intended to bless the nation of Israel and ultimately the world. After Isaac, God chose Jacob, the younger of Isaac’s twin boys. And His sovereign election continued. Throughout the Bible we see God choosing some and rejecting others based on His sovereign purposes not their deeds or position.
God does not choose a nation or a person because they are special, but they are special because He has chosen them. God chose the land of Israel and the Jewish people to receive His special calling and blessing and to serve as witnesses to the world of His glory. To this day, He continues to choose people. He calls them, He saves them, and He sanctifies them to be a light to the world.
It has always been God’s plan to choose for Himself a people from both Jews & Gentiles. And always through faith in Christ.
But that’s not fair!
We bristle at the doctrine of election because it seems “unfair.” We wonder, “Why does God only choose some?” But if we consider the human condition and the fact that we all fall short of the glory of God, the better question is, “Why does God choose any?”
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God. – Ephesians 2:8 ESV
God’s sovereign election is a demonstration of His great love. Through it, He reveals both His mercy (not giving us what we deserve) and His grace (giving us what we do not deserve). He sends His Holy Spirit to compel us to come, and He opens our minds and softens our hearts to respond. On our own, we would continue in a state of rebellion. We would not choose God.
“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.” – John 6:44 NASB
If you have put your faith in Jesus for salvation, you have been chosen by God – so rejoice in His mercy. Then join Him to reach others with the gospel of salvation. God has decided to use the redeemed to reach the lost, so we have work to do.
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. – Ephesians 2:10 ESV
