The deliberation
Before I reference the title, Called. I need to give some explanation. It wasn’t that I set out to be controversial this morning! And, anyway, I am not even sure why being called is controversial, given its prominence in scripture. Here’s what happened, so you can understand how we arrived here:
I have been contemplating which book to study next. Clearly, there is no shortage of available books. We’ve only covered one, after all! Having gone through James, citing so many excellent verses from so many books, the obvious choices to next study seem to be: Romans, Colossians, Philippians, Peter, Job, Corinthians, or Matthew.
I began this morning assuming I would go onto Colossians, but then an idea struck me. What if I cover all the epistles that were not written by Paul first, then go through Paul’s epistles? Or, maybe I will cover the gospels and the non-pauline epistles first, and then cover Paul. Why? I have no idea, it’s just an idea. As long as we eventually cover them all, I can’t see that it really matters. There is the added advantage too, that having spent two weeks burrowing into James, my Bible opens quite automatically to those pages, and 1 Peter just happens to be the very next book. Wars have been fought over less sensible reasons than that!
And, so, to Peter!
When I started this morning to read 1 Peter, I thought I would study to discover just where Peter was, and to whom precisely he was writing. I love Biblical and early church history, after all. But, then it occurred to me that the thrust of this site is not really anything historic, unless it be the history of how the word of God has changed and continues to change the inconsistent rascal I have been. Really, as we go through these letters what we want to be asking is what does the living and active word say to us? How can we, as James put it, receive with meekness the implanted word? Thus, and therefore, I am going to leave the history to the side, and sally forth as it were toward the application.
Salutations
That said, it is a letter. Letters are written from someone to someone else. So, even if we dispense with the particular persons to whom the epistle was originally addressed, there is some really meaty stuff in the salutation from which we might gain insight. Let’s start at the best place to start, the beginning.
Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
To those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, 2 according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood:
May grace and peace be multiplied to you.
1 Peter 1:1-2
Why don’t you get on with it?
If you have read any of Paul’s epistles, this all seems standard. What has it got to do with me? You ask. You are very self-interested this morning, aren’t you? But, then, when we are reading the Bible, that’s not a bad question to be asking. In fact, if you read the Bible and never ask that question, then you likely have missed the point. If we dispense with the historical analysis, and want to get down to brass tax about who this was written to as concerns me the writer and you the reader, it ends up like this:
Breakdown, go ahead and give it to me
To those who are elect, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood: May grace and peace be multiplied unto you.
If you do not believe in election or the foreknowledge of God, then you need to spend some time reading the Bible. I promise references are there in abundance. The following will not be exhaustive, but it will definitely challenge those (I know many) who say, “I believe the Bible is the inerrant word of God.” but who also say, “I do not believe in election or predestination.”
What do you really believe?
If you really do believe the Bible is the inerrant word of God, please read the inerrant word of God as reproduced below.
28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.
Romans 8:28-30
- For a bit more on this verse, and its improper use in the Prosperity movement, please see Day 1.0: Steadfastness. Let’s focus on verses 29-30.
Building blocks, from the top
These verses are a bit like building blocks, each is stacked upon the other.
The Glorified were first Justified
Let’s start with the top block. These are Christians whom God glorified. Whom did God glorify? Those He justified. Well, justification is by faith alone. Sola fide, if you will.
Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God.
Romans 5:1-2
yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.
Galatians 2:16
8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith…
Ephesians 2:8
You’ve earned nothing
Faith, yes, faith is the key. And, I have many an old friend who would say, who will still say if you ask them, “That is my faith. I chose Christ.” They have even quoted Ephesians 2:8 to me. But, they forget the rest of the verse (omitted above for dramatic effect. ) Now, let’s read the rest of that verse, and then let’s read the verse following:
8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Ephesians 2:8-9
Again, what do you really believe?
Is the Bible the inerrant word of God? If so, then your faith, which some of you claim to have ginned up within yourself from some sort of nascent spring of self-willed goodness (which does not exist, See Psalms 14), was not yours at all. It was a gift of God. There was no work done by you.
Otherwise you could boast about it. Which, honestly is what you seem to be doing. Knock it off. Verse 9 even covers election or calling – we are God’s handiwork? You and I were crafted by God. What for? To do good works. What good works? The ones God prepared for us to do before we were even born!
The Justified were first Called
So, we have the glorified who were justified, but what is the building block beneath that? Those whom He called. Please, do not protest that you called out to Christ of your own accord.
Your resume did not land you this job
If you are still looking for recognition and meritorious effort as regards your own salvation, then the God you believe in is too small and too human. This isn’t a business transaction where you are a new (or old) employee working for a divine sort of Warren Buffet, resting secure in the contract you signed after the process of filling out your resume, interviewing, and the tedious hiring process. You play no part. You didn’t do it. God did it through Christ. He called you. You did not call Him. You’re not trying to play God are you?
13 But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. 14 To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
2 Thessalonians 2:13-14
8 Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, 9 who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began
2 Timothy 1:8-9
Thin ice, or blasphemy?
Looks like you are on thin ice, perhaps even on the verge of blasphemy, when you take the credit for your own salvation. What’s more, many people deny there is any calling, while maintaining the Bible as inerrant. Why? Because, they say, it wouldn’t be fair if God chose some people and not others! God does not have to explain himself to anyone, least of all you or me. He calls whom He calls.
God has a purpose
In Exodus 33, God tells Moses, I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. If we would sit in the judgment seat and proclaim our ruling, “God has acted unfairly!” then we are certainly guilty of blasphemy. If you accept the calling, you can see right there in Romans 8:28 that those whom he called were called according to his purpose. We don’t get to dictate to God His purposes. They do not require our approval.
Isaiah wrote this concerning those who would question the justice of God:
13 Who has measured the Spirit of the Lord,
Isaiah 40:13-14
or what man shows him his counsel?
14 Whom did he consult,
and who made him understand?
Who taught him the path of justice,
and taught him knowledge,
and showed him the way of understanding?
Who cares what Paul wrote? I only accept Christ’s words!
But, you might protest, “These are just Paul’s interpretations of things he didn’t understand. I understand them differently. I don’t believe in Paul. I believe in Christ alone! If Jesus said it, I would believe it!” Very well, but remember what you just said.
16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.
John 15:16
31 And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
Matthew 24:31
God has chosen whom He has chosen. They are called His elect.
The Called were first Predestined
So, then, whom did He call, or whom did He elect? That’s the block on which the last three stand. He called those he (wait for it) predestined. Do you hate that word? If so, you should go to God in prayer on your knees and ask him to deliver you from hate.
We should not hate the word of God. When we do, we must recognize that we are in error, not the scriptures. Let us conform ourselves – our minds, our affections, and our wills – to the scriptures, not mold the scriptures into a form that suits us. Beware of finding yourself scoffing at the word of God. The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. (1 Corinthians 2:14)
- See Philippians 2:12-13. Fear and trembling, my dear reader. Fear and trembling.
Predestination is un-American
But what of this pesky word, predestination? What about my self-determination? What about my manifest destiny? Surely, I am the captain of my own vessel!
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.
Ephesians 1:3-6
Checking the OT
Again, you will protest, this is just Paul writing more of the same old thing. What of the Old Testament? What of Christ? I am glad you asked. David and Solomon wrote the following:
Blessed is the one you choose and bring near,
Psalms 65:4
to dwell in your courts!
We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house,
the holiness of your temple!
The Lord has made everything for its purpose,
Proverbs 16:4
even the wicked for the day of trouble.
But, what of Christ?
And Jesus, himself, said the following regarding the second coming and the judgment to come:
32 Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
Matthew 25:32-34
So, God prepared a kingdom for His people – His elect, if you will. When did He prepare it? Well, a few years before you or I were born, I think. Let’s see, Oh! At the foundation of the world! What does the “world” mean here? The Industrial Revolution? 1950s America? Planet earth? Nope. The word in Greek is κοσμου, kosmos, or our cosmos, meaning He prepared the kingdom since the creation of the universe.
So, what do you really believe?
Can you say you believe the Bible is the inerrant word of God and simultaneously claim that election and predestination are false? Would you call Christ a liar? Maybe you wouldn’t go that far. You might, instead, say that Matthew and John misquoted him. But, that only brings us back, in a circular fashion, to the question, Is the Bible the inerrant word of God?
It’s our time down here. Down here, it’s our time.
I want to close with more from Paul in Romans. In Romans 9 Paul ties the revealed works of God in the Old Testament to the predestination, election, and calling of Christ’s followers in his present time, and in the time to come. That includes our time. Please read it through, and pray that God will open your heart and mind to not only recognize His sovereignty, but also come to love it with a thankful heart.
The Sovereignty of God
6 But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, 7 and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” 8 This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring. 9 For this is what the promise said: “About this time next year I will return, and Sarah shall have a son.” 10 And not only so, but also when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, 11 though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad—in order that God’s purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls— 12 she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” 13 As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”
14 What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means! 15 For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” 16 So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. 17 For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” 18 So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.
Romans 9:6-18
Baby steps
Well, I only got through the first verse, and the first qualifier of the second verse. We may be in 1 Peter for a long, long time. Praise God for His word! Lord willing, we will spend some more time in 1 Peter 1:1-2 tomorrow. God bless you!
