God's Chosen You for Salvation
Tom Shrader works through 2 Thessalonians 2:13–3:5, anchoring the passage in Paul's contrast between the judgment awaiting the lost and the salvation God chose for His people before the foundations of the earth. Shrader argues that fallen humanity is spiritually dead and incapable of responding to the gospel unless God first regenerates the heart, meaning salvation is entirely the work of the Father in election, the Son in redemption, and the Spirit in regeneration. The teaching closes with Paul's practical exhortations to stand firm, hold to sound doctrine, and pray boldly for the spread of the gospel, grounded in the confidence that the Lord is faithful to preserve those He has saved.
“God, before the foundations of the earth, chose those that would be saved. Christ died on the cross so that they would be redeemed, and the Holy Spirit applies that finished work to His people.”
— Tom Shrader
Series: 2 Thessalonians
Recorded: 2000 at East Valley Bible Church
Duration: 42 min
Themes: salvation, election, grace, perseverance, prayer, judgment, hope, standing firm, doubting salvation, new believer, struggling with assurance, questioning god's love, feeling spiritually lost, young adult, seeking answers about hell, mature believer deepening faith
Scripture: 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12, 2 Thessalonians 2:13, 2 Thessalonians 2:14, 2 Thessalonians 2:15, 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17, 2 Thessalonians 3:1, 2 Thessalonians 3:3, 1 Thessalonians 1:4, 1 Thessalonians 5:17, Ephesians 1:4, John 6:37, John 6:44, John 6:65, John 10:27-28, Romans 6, Romans 10, James 1, James 2, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Acts 18
Theological Themes: election, unconditional election, regeneration, total depravity, sanctification, becoming holy, trinitarian salvation, eternal security
Full Transcript
Context: The Contrast of Judgment and Grace
Open your Bibles this morning to the book of 2 Thessalonians, chapter 2, verse 13. The passage begins with the word "but," which tells us that Paul is contrasting what is in verse 13 with what has taken place before it. Last week we looked at chapter 2, verses 1 through 12. Paul introduced that section by encouraging the brothers and sisters at Thessalonica with regard to the coming of the Lord — the idea that Jesus Christ would come again — and there had been some confusion. He says he is writing so they will not be shaken, so their composure and frame of mind will not be disturbed, either by the Spirit, by a message, or by a letter.
There were concerning messages coming to the church at Thessalonica from people claiming to represent the Apostle Paul, asserting that Christ had already come again. Paul says that is simply not true. He does not want them shaken by a false prophet, by a word spoken in falsehood, or by a word written in falsehood. He then goes on, in verses 3 through 12, to speak about the destruction that will come to those who do not know Christ.
We sometimes focus so much on the love of God that we miss the truth that Christ will indeed come again, and with Him will come judgment. There will be those who rejoice at His coming, but there will also be those filled with dread, who will realize that Jesus comes to judge. There will be men and women, many of them, who have never come to Christ in repentance and faith, and they will spend eternity separated from God in a place called hell. Verse 12 states it plainly: "all of this takes place in order that all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but in fact took pleasure in weakness." Here is a God who is coming in the person of Christ to judge the world, and there will be retribution — suffering and eternal separation from God.
The Good News: Chosen from the Beginning
Then comes verse 13, and Paul says "but" — here is the contrast. That was the bad news. In contrast to that, here is the good news. "We should always give thanks to God for you, brethren." It is worth noting that Paul uses the word "brethren" twenty-seven times across these two letters. As we saw last week, it means those who come from the same origin — brothers and sisters. He says, "We should always thank God for you. You are brothers and sisters, just as we are, loved by God, loved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit in faith and in truth."
You have been loved by God, brothers and sisters, and the evidence of that love is that you have been chosen from the beginning for salvation. This is very similar to what Paul says at the opening of the first letter, in 1 Thessalonians chapter 1, verse 4, where he writes, "We know, brethren, that you are beloved by God. You are His choice."
This is where we will focus our attention this morning: the phrase "God has chosen you from the beginning." The beginning of what? Paul tells us in Ephesians chapter 1, verse 4, that He — God — "has chosen us in Christ before the foundations of the earth." Before the foundations of the earth, God chose us, and He chose us for salvation. We are going to look at what that truly means — this idea of God choosing us.
Salvation Is All of God
When we talk about salvation, if we are going to have a proper discussion of that topic, we must center on God, not on man. Salvation is about God and what God does. In this whole idea of salvation and redemption, the reality is that God redeems His people for His glory. In fact, even those who are punished with eternal damnation manifest the glory of God. Even those who reject the gospel and spend eternity in hell serve to glorify God, because His righteousness and His holiness are upheld in that judgment.
So we are going to talk about salvation in light of what Paul says here. It seems clear: you are beloved by God because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation. When we talk about salvation, it is essential to understand that it is God who initiates it and God who executes it. He sends His Son to die for us, and His Spirit regenerates our hearts so that we are born again. Salvation is all of God — it flows from Him from beginning to end.
As we work through this, we will use the phrase "fallen man" or "natural man." This refers to a man, a woman, a student, a boy, or a girl who does not know Christ — someone who does not know Christ as Lord and Savior. And here is what we want to see from the text.
The Natural Man Cannot Come to Christ
If God did not intervene in the life of a natural man or woman, they would never come to Christ in repentance and faith. They would never believe, no matter how many times they heard the message, no matter how eloquently the gospel was presented to them. Here is why.
Fallen man, on his own, apart from the work of God, cannot believe the gospel. He does not have the ability to do that. John chapter 6, verse 44 — we go back to this verse over and over again: "No one can come to me." No one can come to Jesus. No one can ask Christ into their life. No person, no human. The key word is *can* — it speaks of ability.
Here is what we hear all the time: "God so loved the world that whoever believes shall not perish but have eternal life." That is exactly right — whoever believes shall have eternal life. But that is not the issue we are looking at in salvation. The issue is: who *can* believe? We understand that whoever believes goes to heaven, but who can believe? This verse speaks to it clearly.
No person has the ability to come to Christ unless there is a preexisting condition — and in this case it is "unless the Father who sent me draws him." Now, some people will say, "Sure, God is drawing everybody. The Holy Spirit woos us." Here is the problem with that: that is not what the word *draws* means. It is used in James chapter 2, where it says the rich opposed the poor and had them dragged off to prison — not wooed to prison, not ushered to prison, but dragged off. It is the same word. It means to compel in an irresistible way.
So what does this tell us? A natural man — a person who does not know Christ, who rejects Christ, who has never come to Christ in repentance and faith — cannot believe the gospel unless the Father compels him.
Dead to Spiritual Things
We can go even a step further. A natural man cannot even understand these things. They make no sense to him. A natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him. He cannot understand them because they are spiritually appraised.
I can present the gospel to a man or a woman who does not know Christ. I can talk to them about spiritual truths. I can take a verse that meant everything in my life and read it to them, and they will just look at me blankly — because spiritually, there is nobody home. That is the whole point. A natural man cannot understand these things.
You have had that experience where you sit down, share the gospel, tell the truth, tell what Christ did in your life and the difference He has made — and then you look at the person and say, "Would you like to respond to that?" And they say, "What time is it anyway?" How can you sit and talk to two people and one will respond and the other will not? Because God is working in one life and not in the other.
Natural man is dead to spiritual things. This is so important for us to understand. He cannot respond until he is brought to life — and he is not brought to life by a decision of his will. I do not become a Christian because I decide to follow Jesus. I decide to follow Jesus because God has made me a Christian. I am regenerated, and that regeneration precedes my faith.
The Illustration of the Casket
When I was twelve, my grandfather died. I remember it like it was yesterday — Beardsley Funeral Home, Sheraton, Iowa. We went into a house that had been converted in purpose from a home to a funeral parlor. I walked into a room, up to the front, and there was a casket, and in that casket was the body of my grandfather.
I stood there for a few minutes, then went out onto the porch where my mom and her sister, my aunt, were talking. I heard my aunt say to my mom, "Didn't Dad look good?" I thought, I had better go check this out. So I went back in and scrutinized him closely. He did look good — a little smile on his face, his glasses straight, a little suit. He looked very nice.
But as I studied him closely, it became clear to me that grandpa had one overriding problem: he was dead. And at that moment there was only one thing he needed, and that was life.
Sometimes as dead people we think we need all sorts of other things. I could go to my grandfather's casket and fill it with hundred-dollar bills, and it would not have made any difference to him — because he was dead. I could hand him the deed to a new house — it would not matter. There was only one thing a dead man needed, and that was life.
Why This Matters for How We Understand Salvation
This is so important for us to understand. When you settle this issue — the issue of God choosing — the rest of it makes all the sense in the world. If natural man is dead, if natural man cannot come unless the Father compels him, if natural man cannot even understand spiritual truths, then it makes complete sense that a preacher can preach and preach and preach to a person and they will never respond unless God has moved in that life.
Maybe you are struggling with this. I spent three years trying to wrestle this issue to the ground, because I had come to Christ in a church that did not necessarily believe this and certainly did not teach it. I had to undo all the things I had heard. I even went to a church where they said, "We believe the Word of God and we believe it is absolutely true" — and then we would come to passages like this.
God's Choice as the Cause of Salvation
We would either have some goofy explanation, or we would ignore certain passages completely. Or we would say, "Well, if that's true, then..." and deal with all these "thens," but we never stop to ask: is it true? That is what we need to know. It is very important to understand that God's choice of a sinner is the cause of salvation.
Jesus repeats in John 6:65 what He said earlier: "Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father." John MacArthur writes this about that verse — and you need to listen very closely, because your tendency will be to want to argue with this statement, which is fine, but let's work our way through it. MacArthur says: "Scripture indicates that no free will exists in man's nature, for man is enslaved to sin, totally depraved, and unable to believe apart from God's empowerment. This drawing that we're talking about is selective, efficacious — meaning it produces the desired effect — upon those whom God has sovereignly chosen for salvation. Those whom God has chosen will believe, because God has sovereignly determined that result from eternity past."
Free Will and the Nature of the Human Heart
When people hear that, they ask, "Are you telling me I don't have free will?" That is exactly what we are saying. "Well, then I'm just a robot." We can set that objection aside for a moment. The point is this: you don't have free will. Someone might respond, "Yes I do — there was a point in my life where I chose Christ." And even those who reject Him seem to demonstrate free will by that very rejection. But here is what we are actually saying: your will never operates contrary to its nature.
Consider this illustration. Suppose a head of lettuce and a piece of meat are placed side by side, and a vulture is released from the back of the room. Every single time — two, three, five, ten, fifty, a hundred times — that vulture will go straight to the meat. Does he have free will? No, he does not. Does he have a free choice? In a sense, yes — the lettuce is right there as an option — but he is not even enticed by it, because he has the heart of a vulture. The only way to get that vulture to go to the lettuce is to perform a heart transplant and put the heart of a rabbit in him.
The same is true of man. Romans 6 tells us we are enslaved to sin. Left to our own nature, we will always go to the meat.
The Holiness of Christ and the Limits of Temptation
Let's stay on this point, because it unlocks so much. Consider Jesus Christ. Did He sin while He was on this earth? No — we all agree on that. He was perfect. But here is the deeper question: could Jesus have sinned? The answer is no. There was no way He could have sinned. He was tempted, yes — temptations were placed before Him — but as James 1 shows us, a temptation is something external that excites or entices something internal. When sin was offered to Christ, it held no attraction for Him whatsoever, because He is holy and pure. Not only did He not sin; He could not sin, because His nature was bound to holiness.
Can God lie? No, He cannot. Why? Because His righteousness and holiness determine that He will always tell the truth. Free will, in the absolute sense, does not exist. Free choice does. But the will always responds according to its nature.
"It Is Finished" — Salvation Accomplished, Not Merely Possible
No one can come to the Father unless the Father grants it, and when Christ died on the cross and cried out "It is finished," some believe He meant, "Okay, it's up to you now." That is not what we believe. We believe that when the Good Shepherd gave His life, He gave it for His sheep. When Jesus cried out "It is finished," He did not mean that salvation was now possible — He meant that salvation had been accomplished.
It was not Jesus dying and wondering, "Well, maybe they'll come, maybe they won't — let's see what happens." He said, "I came to save My people from their sin." When He cried out on the cross, He was declaring that all His work was done. Salvation is not made possible. Salvation is accomplished. When we look at God's grace, it always accomplishes its purpose.
John 6:37 says: "All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out." Every one of those for whom Christ died will come to Him. Did Christ die and pay the penalty for the sin of the whole world? No. Does everyone go to heaven? Obviously not. He died for those who were chosen, those who would respond. Those whom God chose, those redeemed by Christ, and those given faith by the Spirit are forever saved.
The Certainty of Salvation
One of the top two or three most frequently asked questions we receive at this church is: "Can I lose my salvation?" The answer is absolutely no. If you are here today and you are a Christian, you are as certain of heaven as the saints who are already there, because salvation did not depend upon you — it is a work of God.
Jesus Himself says: "My sheep hear My voice, I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand." God, before the foundations of the world, chose, redeemed, and secured His people — and that work is complete.
God Saves Sinners
The Father chose those who would be saved before the foundations of the earth, Christ died on the cross so that they would be redeemed, and the Holy Spirit applies that finished work to His people. Every person who is called by God will come to Him, and every person who comes to Him will stay with Him, because they are preserved to the end.
If you have been around Christian circles for any length of time, you believe this — you just have not quite figured it out completely yet. In fact, you have said it yourself: we believe the Bible is the Word of God, and in its simplest form, we believe that God saves sinners. A proper discussion of salvation begins with a focus on God.
You may be in churches that would take issue with what we have just said, but even they will say it: God saves sinners. So let us make sure we understand what that means. When we say God saves sinners, we mean that God — the triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — works together to save, doing everything necessary to redeem and deliver men and women to glory.
Sinners are people who are guilty before God, helpless, powerless, and unable to do His will. Some people may reject the idea that God chose them, but they will still say, "God saved me — while I was helpless, while I was hopeless, God saved me." The question then becomes: how did He save you when you were helpless and hopeless?
He saved you by ripping out your heart of rebellion and putting in a heart that loves Him. He changed your nature. He took away your desire for sin and gave you a desire for righteousness. God did that work, and believers have been saying it for years — what we want is for people to understand what they are saying and believe it, not because we say it, but because that is what the Bible teaches.
Diagramming the Sentence
When I was a child in school, they used to make us diagram sentences, and I thought it was the most pointless exercise imaginable. I went home and told my dad it was stupid, and he said, "If they tell you to diagram the sentence, diagram the sentence" — and made sure I understood him. So let us diagram this sentence.
We have a subject, a verb, and a direct object. "God" is the noun — the actor. "Saves" is the verb — the predicate. And the direct object, if you are a Christian, is your name. I remember thinking that if I could be any part of a sentence, I would want to be the direct object, because the direct object does not have to do anything — it just receives. That is what a direct object is: the recipient of the action that comes before it.
So here is how it comes together. God, the triune God, is the actor. He saves — that is the action. And you are the direct object. You are simply the recipient of what He has done, and you are glad to be part of the process.
The Work of the Trinity in Salvation
When we look at this triune God — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — we understand that the Father elects those who will be saved, the Son redeems them, and the Holy Spirit regenerates them, causing them to be born again. This is important because if God did not elect anyone, if Christ did not die for anyone, if the Spirit did not regenerate anyone, then no one would be saved.
If you are dead in your sins and trespasses, you cannot possibly believe unless God moves first. God saved you. He elected you before the foundations of the earth, Christ died on the cross to redeem you, and the Holy Spirit applied that redemption at a specific point in time to your life.
You are saved today not by an act of your will, but by an act of God. Not by a decision you made, but by an action of God in your life that changed your heart, so that at the appropriate moment in time — predetermined before the foundations of the earth — God said, "Now you will be saved." It is all of Him and nothing of you.
Do you see how this view magnifies God? If we are going to talk about salvation, we do not go back to our decision. We go back before the foundations of the earth and offer praise to Him.
Called Through the Gospel
Returning to the passage before us, 2 Thessalonians 1:13 says we should give thanks, brethren beloved by God, because He has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Holy Spirit and faith in the truth. Verse 14 continues: "It was for this that He called you through our gospel, that you may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus."
We have been changed. As 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, "Therefore, if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things have passed away." We are now reconciled to God, and this process was accomplished by God from beginning to end. But as verse 14 makes clear, it was communicated to us through the gospel.
One of the things I love to hear is when people describe this church by saying, "That is the church that believes God predestined those who would be saved." We believe it because the Scripture teaches it. Shall I read it again? "Beloved of God, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation." How else can you interpret that? God chose you for salvation. He did the work.
A Heart for the Lost
Some churches, I'm told, are what they call "the frozen chosen." That is, they believe God chose them from the beginning of the earth, and it's us three and no more, and they intend to keep it right like that. That is not our attitude, because we understand that God is at work in the world, that He is saving His people, and He does it through the proclamation of the gospel.
That is why on Wednesday morning I teach in a Luby's restaurant, because we know lost people hang out at Luby's — yes, the Luann platter is a very attractive evangelical tool, we understand that — but we know that people will come to a setting like that. On Thursday morning I teach in a bar, with a couple hundred people. On Thursday noon I am downtown, in a church setting now, with about 320 to 325 businessmen and women. I am in the marketplace, out of the pulpit, communicating to them the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
I share that not so you will say, "Wow, look at what he's doing." I share it so you will look at it and say, "I think that is what we are all supposed to do." Not all of us get a room and preach, but all of us are supposed to live in a way that communicates to lost people.
The Logic of Proclamation
Here is what Paul writes in Romans 10: *"Whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved."* Then follows a series of questions built on impeccable logic. *"How then shall they call upon Him in whom they have not believed?"* That is clear — I am never going to be able to trust Him if I do not believe in Him. *"And how shall they believe in Him whom they have not heard?"* That makes sense — I cannot believe something I have never heard. *"And how are they going to hear without a preacher?"* That is true — I cannot hear it if somebody does not tell it to me. *"And how are they going to preach unless they are sent?"*
We believe God has not only chosen those who will be saved, but He has also chosen the way in which He will save them, and it is through the proclamation of the Word. That is what we know. We do not know who. We do not know when.
A fellow came up after the first service today, just visiting, and he said, "You gave me a lot to think about." Then he asked, "What I don't get is this: if God is going to choose who He saves, then why would I share that message with anybody?" My answer was simple: because He told you to. That is one reason right there. You do not need an elaborate logical argument — the ultimate reason is that you are called to obey, and what God said to you was to preach the Word.
Consider this as well: God has chosen those He will save, and He has chosen to save them through the proclamation of His Word. Before the foundations of the earth, God may have chosen to save somebody within your sphere of influence, and He is going to use you in the midst of that process. I would think that would be deeply motivating.
It is also a very freeing thing. When I share the gospel, I no longer have to second-guess myself — "How much truth should I give him? Will I give him too much and scare him away?" No. It is God's job to save him. It is our responsibility, and I would add our privilege, to share the gospel.
Stand Firm and Hold Fast
Having said that, here is what Paul writes in verse 15: *"So then, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught."* Two commands. Stand firm — do not give in under pressure. Paul is writing back to the church at Thessalonica, a church enduring persecution and hardship, with even some division taking place within it.
Maybe you are here today feeling trials, persecution, and hardship. He says to you: stand firm. When you say, "I can't take it anymore," that simply is not true, because God will never test you beyond what you can endure. So you can endure it. You can stand firm.
The second command is to hold to the teaching. The paraphrase puts it this way: "Keep a strong grip on the teaching we gave you." These two commands go hand in glove — it is very difficult to stand firm if you do not hold to the teaching. Ray Stedman says it this way: "God expects His people to stand fast because they hold fast the traditions of truth. Weakness quickly follows when an individual or a church forsakes the Apostles' teaching." That is exactly right.
So here is what Paul says, not just to the church at Thessalonica but to us: since you have been chosen before the foundations of the earth, since you have been the recipient of God's special love, you now stand firm. You learn what God says, you hold on with a strong grip, and you do not let go of these teachings. And it is not merely so that you can win Bible trivia — it is so that you will know how to live. I can stand firm because I know Him. How do I know Him? I study and hold to the traditions that have been taught to me.
Paul's Prayer: Grace and Comfort
Now Paul prays in verses 16 and 17: *"Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father..."* He links them together as equals. *"...who has loved us and given us..."* God has loved us in the past and has given us something. This phrase is in the aorist tense in the Greek, and it carries the connotation of something that happened in the past but still holds present implication and present value for our lives today. God has loved us — does He currently love us? Certainly, but Paul is speaking about the
God's Faithfulness in Every Circumstance
That was the redeeming love. God has loved us, and He has given us now and forever comfort and hope. He does this by grace — not something we deserve, not something we earn, but God in His love has given us comfort. God in His love has given us hope so that we can comfort and strengthen our hearts in Him for every good work. What that means is we have everything that we need pertaining to life.
In the midst of hardship and difficulties — and here is the other side — in the midst of success and prosperity, whatever life brings, God says if you have His Word, if you have His Spirit in you, if you have this love, you can stand firm, you can be strong, you never quit. We talk about the perseverance of the saints, though that is not my favorite phrase. I turn it just a little bit: it is the preservation of the saints. It is not your persevering to the end in a self-directed, self-determined, self-disciplined way. You will persevere to the end because God preserves you to the end. His grace is given to you, and it is everlasting grace.
I will say it again: if you are here today and you know Christ, you are as certain of heaven as the saints who are already there. What a great thought that is.
Paul's Prayer Requests
After Paul has prayed, he says, now will you pray for me? Look at what he says in 2 Thessalonians chapter 3, verse 1: *"Finally, brethren, pray for us."* He has two prayer requests. Number one: pray that the Word of the Lord may spread rapidly and be glorified, just as it did also with you. That idea of spreading rapidly is an athletic term. It speaks of someone who runs swiftly so that they can win the race. He says, I want you to pray that the Word of the Lord will spread swiftly.
Remember, Paul is in Corinth — this decadent, evil town — and he faces all sorts of hardship. You can go and read Acts 18 to see what is happening to Paul in Corinth. This has great application for us. We should be praying that the Word of the Lord will spread quickly and rapidly through Gilbert and Tempe and Mesa and Chandler and Ahwatukee and Phoenix and all through the valley — and then around the state, and then around the world. That should be our prayer.
Then Paul says, pray that the Word will spread here in Corinth as it did there in Thessalonica. Here is the second request: pray that we may be delivered from perverse and evil men. This is not only a reference to perverse and evil men in Corinth. As you read Acts 18, you see a persecution coming from all around them, opposition surrounding them on every side. He also refers to opposition within the church from those who do not know Christ. Notice what he does not do — he does not say, Father, take it all away. He says, we want to be delivered in the midst of this, we want to stand firm in the midst of this, we want You to receive the glory.
Suffering and What God Is Teaching Us
I think it is a mistake that we make frequently: when somebody comes in hurting and suffering, the first thing we try to do is fix them. Somebody comes in with pain and hardship, and the first thing we want to do — and I understand the motivation — is make it right. I think we ought to stop and ask, what do you think God is trying to teach you in the midst of this?
Sometimes when people are suffering, I think we jump in too quickly and remove the consequence of what God is really teaching them. Nothing comes into your life that God does not allow. He either causes it or permits it, and if hardship comes in, one of the most appropriate questions we can ask is: why? Why do you think you are going through this right now? God will be glorified in the midst of that suffering. Those are the teachable moments.
Paul says, pray — pray that the Word spreads, pray that in the midst of this we will be delivered and will persevere. And here is the key for you if you are here today and life has almost swept you away, if you are barely hanging on, if you did not know whether you could make it in here today. All you need to do is remember this: 2 Thessalonians chapter 3, verse 3 — the Lord is faithful. That is all you need to know. The Lord is faithful. He will strengthen you. He will protect you so that we have confidence in the Lord concerning you.
Who Are We to Be Angry with God?
One of the most pitiful types of people I encounter are those who are angry with God. It is an awkward thing, because frequently it surfaces in times of great testing, and I understand that. Not long ago I had someone in my office who was very angry at God. The more they talked, the more I found myself frustrated on God's behalf. I tried to be the shepherd I am called to be — loving and encouraging — but finally I had to say: who do you think you are? What are you angry at God for?
Before the foundations of the earth, He chose you for salvation, and you are angry at Him for that? Are you angry because He has met all your material needs, given you everything you have, given you a magnificent family? Are you angry that He saved you, that He is in the process of sanctifying you and bringing you closer to Him, and that He is now giving you something through this trial? He is the potter and you are the clay. Who are you to be angry with God?
I do not mean to sound insensitive — I am not. I understand pain. I am not in denial about it. I see it. But your response is a great revealer of where you are spiritually.
Closing Prayer and Exhortation
Stop for a moment and say, "God, what are you doing?" I understand that. But to be disappointed and angry with God, bitter with God, not wanting to have anything to do with church because you are angry at God — who do you think you are? He is faithful. He will protect you.
Paul closes with more prayer: "May the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and the steadfastness of Christ." That is our prayer for you. Notice how Paul is praying and praying all through 1 and 2 Thessalonians. He really did believe what he wrote in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 — pray without ceasing. He said, "You pray for me and I'll pray for you." What we pray is that God will direct our hearts into love of Him and steadfastness.
We regularly pray that for the church: God, let the people You have here love You more. Do you want to know how you can tell if you really love God? Here is a simple test. It is not that you get tingles. It is not that some emotional experience sweeps over you. Here is how you know: Do you do what He tells you to do? Do you obey Him? Because Jesus said, "If you love me, you'll keep my commandments." If you love Him, you will obey Him. That is what Paul prays for.
Closing Prayer
Father, thank You that You indeed loved us and chose us from the beginning, from the foundation of the earth, for salvation. We thank You, God — Father, for electing us; Son, for redeeming us; Spirit, for regenerating us and causing us to be born again. We pray that each person here today would be drawn to You and love You.
God, I pray for the men and women, and the students who are here today, who say, "That's new stuff. That's hard stuff. You're telling me God chose me? I thought I played a role in that." I can identify with those questions because I had them. Help us see that salvation is all about You. That is why we are thankful. That is why we praise You.
God, if there is somebody here today who says, "I want to jumpstart my spiritual growth," help them understand that the best way to do that is to understand that You saved us while we were yet sinners, and we owe our life to You. We give You our praise, our worship, and our thanks this morning. In Jesus' name, amen.