Making sense of choice 3

In the last two posts, we looked at when salvation happened and how it was accomplished. Today I would like to spend a little time with how salvation become effective in our lives. As I researched this a few years ago, I came upon an AHA moment. Because I had always struggled with the reality that God has chosen us in Christ before the foundation of the world. If He has chosen us, is there anything left for us to do? If God has chosen His people, why do we have to do evangelism, outside of the fact that we are being obedient? But there is a reason for evangelism, a very important reason. And as individuals, we have an important and vital part in this whole process.

At this point in our discussion, salvation is just sitting there, It is ours, we have it, but it is meaningless unless we do something about it. This is where our choice comes in. For that great gift that is ours, we have to make a conscious choice to activate it. Thhrougout the Bible, we hear that we must choose: Choose you this day whom you will serve; Now choose life, so that you may live; choose my instruction; If anyone chooses to do my will. Plus there are many places where there is the negative choice mentioned and the consequences of such a choice.

So even if we are chosen in Christ, we have a vital and important choice to make, to choose to make salvation an effective part of our lives. And may I be a bit of a heretic when I say this: Even if we do not make that choice, we are still saved!!! Because we don’t save ourselves, that is God’s work. What we miss is the life long experience of the joy of salvation.

Let me also say this, however, that the above little scenario will not happen. Because God will move us to that place where we can no longer ignore the choice we must make. The elephant will be in the room and we will talk about it. That is the work of the behind-the-scenes member of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit. He is constantly at work in the hearts of people, softening, leading, guiding to that place where it is inevitable we will make the right and only choice. Does that sound a bit manipulative? Well, I can live with that. And because of that, I really and truly live.

Now a little aside, one that I have had issues with over the many years of my life and ministry. In Revelation 3:20 we read; Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. For years we have seen this as an evangelistic verse and it has been used by many as an altar call. If you look at the context, Jesus is not talking to unbelievers, He is talking to the church. This is not calling unbelievers to make the choice, it is Jesus telling the church to get off its collective butt and get a life going. Just before this He says: Those whom I love, I rebuke and discipline. You wonder why I mention this at all? It is because I get the heebie-jeebies when verses are taken out of context and used for purposes other than what they were written for. I may make a whole study on those in the future.

So anyway, now we have looked at when salvation happened-before the foundations of the earth were laid; how salvation was accomplished- in the death and ressurection of Jesus Christ; and how salvation becomes effective in our lives-we are led to choose life, to choose whom we will serve. And there is more, stay tuned.