Where We Stand 08: You Can't Lose
Artwork: "Brothers in arms - Invasion" Artist: Jakub Rozalski
The Biblical teaching of Election is a first principle of knowing God. What you believe about it determines how you will hear, read, and inwardly digest everything else, from the story of Micaiah the prophet (1 Kings 17) to the "unbanning" of #45 on the diabolical time-sink of Twitter.
Election as the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the righteousness of God applied to you. He is good, and you are chosen. Period. End of story. (How do you know you are chosen? Because you are hearing it. You are in Jesus now. You are awake. Stop arguing like a sophomore and get onto the more exciting parts of what it means.)
The righteousness of God applied to you means that now and forever even the vilest chaos that you see, hear, and feel, even the greatest evils that you experience, are compelled by the Creator's design to subject themselves to your ultimate benefit.
That is, "Because of who Jesus is, nothing can actually go wrong. Ever."
Again, there are many ways you can scoff at this if you insist on it. But it is real ultimate power in an instant. It is super-juice in a bottle. It is a foundational assumption that can enable you to live with a superhuman confidence in the face of all manner of griefs that would cripple any mere mortal.
The Bible presents this teaching of Election in order to drive you more deeply into its source: the Word. The impact is trust. Armed with such regeneration, all other teachings such as repentance, godly living and holiness all remain built upon the everlasting foundation of promise.
It's not up to you. This positive future is what God has decreed is going to be.
The only thing you can do to mess it up is refuse to believe it.
Why in hell would you want to do that?
"We know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose."Â (Romans 8:28)
"I am confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ."Â (Philippians 1:6)