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Chosen to Be Saved, February 2
According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the
world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love.
Ephesians 1:4
.
We are to believe that we are chosen of God to be saved by the exercise
of faith, through the grace of Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit; and
we are to praise and glorify God for such a marvelous manifestation of His
unmerited favor. It is the love of God that draws the soul to Christ to be
graciously received and presented to His Father. Through the work of the
Holy Spirit, the divine relationship between God and the sinner is renewed.
Our heavenly Father says, “I will be to them a God, and they shall be to Me a
people. I will exercise forgiving love toward them, and bestow upon them
My joy. They shall be to Me a peculiar treasure; for this people whom I
have formed for Myself shall show forth My praise” (see:
Jeremiah 30:22
;
31:1, 33
;
Exodus 19:5
).
Christ is calling souls to come unto Him, and it is for our present and
eternal interest to hear and respond to the call. Jesus says, “Ye have not chosen
me, but I have chosen you” (
John 15:16
). Then let all who would be called
children of God respond to the invitation of Christ, and place themselves
where the light of heaven will shine upon them, where they will realize what
it is to be hearers and doers of the words of Christ, what it is to follow the
Light of the world, and be accepted in the Beloved.
Everything that God could do has been done for the salvation of man. In
one rich gift He poured out the treasures of heaven. He invites, He pleads,
He urges; but He will not compel men to come unto Him. He waits for their
cooperation. He waits for the consent of the will, that He may bestow upon
the sinner the riches of His grace, reserved for him from the foundation of the
world.... The Lord does not design that human power should be paralyzed;
but that by cooperation with God, man may become a more efficient agent in
His hands.... The Lord holds out to man the privilege of copartnership with
Himself.—
The Messenger, April 26, 1893
.
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