Chosen by God: "Elect" 12-14-25

Overview

Chosen by God: Understanding "Elect"

Among the rich vocabulary of the Christian faith—gospel, Trinity, redemption, justification, sacraments—stands the word elect. Advent, with its dual focus on Christ's first coming to save and His second coming to judge, brings this word to the surface. In Mark 13:24-27, Jesus describes cosmic upheaval at His return and promises that He will "send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds." The elect are those chosen by God before creation to believe in Jesus Christ and to receive the benefits of the cross and the empty tomb.

To understand election, we must first reckon with our spiritual predicament. Scripture testifies that by nature we are hostile to God and unable to submit to His law Romans 8:7, "by nature children of wrath" Ephesians 2:3, inclined to evil from youth Genesis 8:21, unable to do the good we know we should Romans 7:18-19, sinful from conception Psalm 51:5. Into that condition, God by sheer grace acts. He "foreknew" and "predestined" us to be conformed to the image of His Son Romans 8:28-29—the word predestined picturing a fence set around what is His. He "chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world" and "destined us for adoption" Ephesians 1:4-5. He saved us "not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace" 2 Timothy 1:9. We bring nothing to the table.

Two truths stand side by side here, and Scripture never resolves them. God desires all to be saved 1 Timothy 2:4—Jesus Himself laments over Jerusalem, "How often would I have gathered your children… and you were not willing" Matthew 23:37. And yet election is a finite number, those whom God chose. The result is this paradox: if you believe, it is solely God's work in you; if you do not believe, it is solely your own fault. Any attempt to neatly resolve these truths imports a solution Scripture does not give. God has it figured out in His mind, and that is enough.

This is exactly where Luther struggled, asking whether he was among the elect. His mentor Johann von Staupitz answered, "Find yourself in the wounds of Christ, and then you will be sure of your election." Don't look inward, where you will only see the depth of your sin—look to Jesus. He came down to us. He lived the perfect life we could not, took our sin upon Himself, accomplished our redemption, and made us just as if we had never sinned. He gives us tangible assurance in the sacraments: in Baptism He says, "You are mine," and promises that no one will snatch His sheep from His hand John 10:28-29; in Communion He places forgiveness on our lips. Find yourself in the wounds of Christ, and with confidence pray, "Come, Lord Jesus."

Transcript

Would you open up your Bibles, please, with me to the 13th chapter of the gospel of Mark. 2s

Mark the 13th chapter for our time in God's Word. 8s

If you're using a Pew edition, you'll find in the Pew rack in front of you. 11s

You'll find that on page 44, page 44 in the New Testament. 15s

Church words. 23s

Church words. 25s

There's a host of church words that are rooted in Scripture, 27s

that are important for us to understand. 33s

They're important for us to have a working knowledge of. 35s

So that we can use those words to form our witness to others. 39s

For example, the church word of gospel. 45s

The good news of Jesus Christ gospel. 50s

It's a church word. 58s

Or another church word. 60s

One God in three persons. 64s

The Holy Trinity. 69s

It's a church word. 70s

The church word. 72s

The two natures that Jesus Christ was truly divine and truly. 74s

The Holy human. 80s

The church word. 84s

Redemption. 86s

To be bought back from sin death and the devil. 88s

The church word. 96s

To be justified. 98s

To be made just as if we never sinned. 101s

The church word. 108s

Rooted in Holy Scripture. 110s

Sacraments. 113s

Baptism. 115s

And communion. 117s

There's a host of church words. 120s

Aren't there? 121s

And it's important for us to understand them. 121s

They have that working knowledge to use them as we witness to others. 125s

Well, I want to explore a church word with you today. 130s

It's really important to understand. 136s

As you recall, as we've talked about in this glorious season of Advent, 141s

there's an emphasis on the first coming of Christ as the people anticipated and they waited for the Messiah to come. 147s

So also we wait and we prepare for the celebration of Christmas as as 156s

the present is that time of preparation for Easter. 163s

So also Advent is that preparation for Christmas. 167s

And also another emphasis with regard to Advent is on the second coming of Christ. 172s

And it's in one of those second Advent. 180s

Second Advent texts. 184s

The second coming of Christ that we find this word. 186s

I want to examine with you. 193s

Look with me, please. 198s

At verse 24 of our text, Mark 13. 199s

Jesus said, but in those days after that suffering, 203s

the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light. 207s

And the stars will be falling from heaven. 211s

And the powers in the heavens will be shaken. 215s

This is literally referencing the destruction of the universe. 219s

And what are given here are signs of the second Advent of Christ. 224s

Remember, he came the first time to save. 229s

He'll come the second time to judge. 233s

And Jesus goes on and the scripture says, then they will see the sun of man coming in clouds with great power and glory. 237s

Remember, after the cross and after the resurrection, Jesus is ascension. 247s

And the scripture tells us that Jesus was taken up in the cloud. 253s

Here's the image of his second coming. 258s

He's going to be coming out of the clouds. 261s

And then he says, then he will send out the angels. 266s

And gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven. 271s

He's going to gather what? 284s

He's going to gather the elect. 288s

The elect. 295s

Who the elect that he's going to gather when he comes? 300s

Again, the elect are those chosen by God before creation to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and to receive the benefits of the cross and the earth. 308s

Well, if we're going to understand election, if we're going to understand this church word, 345s

root it to the root of the Lord Jesus Christ. 356s

We've been in scripture elect. 356s

We have to understand our predicament, don't we? 359s

Scripture tells us, in Romans the 8th chapter, for this reason the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God. 363s

It does not submit to God's law indeed it can not. 375s

All right, it's in Ephesians, the second chapter. 382s

All of us once lived among them in the passions of our flesh following the desires of flesh and senses. 385s

And we work by nature children of wrath. 393s

Genesis 8th chapter says, the inclination of the human heart is evil. 401s

From youth. 412s

Paul says in Romans 7, for I know that nothing good wells within me, that is in my flesh. 414s

I can will what's right, but I cannot do it. 421s

David says in Psalm 51, indeed I was born guilty, a sinner when my mother conceived me. 427s

Those verses are just a small sampling of who we are by nature. 436s

That's our spiritual condition. 442s

And God, by his grace, chooses the elect to believe. 446s

Romans the 8th chapter. 460s

Paul says, we know that all things work together for good, for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. 461s

For those whom he for new, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his son. 471s

In order that he might be the first born within a large family, here that word predestined there, 481s

you can use that interchangeably with election. 488s

It's fascinating word. 493s

That word predestined means the setting of offense or the setting of a boundary over what is yours and around what's yours. 495s

Listen to that text. 507s

Again, for those whom he, God, for new, he also predestined. 508s

He set offense. 513s

He set a boundary around them. 515s

To be conformed to the image of his son in order that we might be the first born within a large family. 519s

Paul says in Ephesians the first chapter, he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blame-loved. 529s

He has given us before him in love. 543s

He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ before the foundation of the world. 546s

And it's solely by the grace of God. 560s

We bring absolutely nothing to the table. 563s

Nothing. 569s

First Timothy, or second Timothy, the first chapter says that God saved us and called us with a holy calling, 571s

not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace. 579s

So when Jesus comes again, that second coming, he's going to gather. 588s

He says the elect, the elect. 592s

So who are the elect? 595s

It's those that God chose before creation to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord and to receive the benefits of the cross and the empty two. 599s

All right. 621s

So let's go deeper here. 625s

Let's go deeper with this word. 628s

Elect is a finite number, right? 633s

It's a finite number. 638s

Because there are the elect, that means there is a limited number of those that are the number of those. 641s

That were chosen before the very foundations of the world. 651s

Elect is a finite number, but yet, first Timothy, the second chapter, it says that God desires everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 656s

So elect is a finite number, but scripture also tells us that God desires all to be saved. 679s

So does that mean then that we've got some kind of double predestination then going on here? 689s

A double predestination where God chooses some to be saved and some to be damned. 697s

Is that what we have going on here? 707s

No. 710s

No. 712s

Listen to what Jesus says in Matthew the 23rd chapter. 714s

He says Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it. 719s

How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen, gathers her brood under her wings. 727s

And you were not willing. 737s

He says, do you hear that? 744s

Jesus says, and you were not willing. 748s

There's two truths here. 760s

There's two truths. 764s

The one is that God desires all to be saved and the other truth is that God elects a few to be saved. 767s

There's two truths here. 780s

That God desires all to be saved and God elects a few to be saved. 783s

There's two truths here. 791s

That's scripture tells us that if you believe it is solely solely the work of God in you. 793s

Transforming your heart from a heart of stone by nature we want nothing to do with him. 803s

We are by nature enemies against God. 808s

There's not an encling of us that want God. 811s

By nature we want nothing to do with him. 814s

So if we believe it is solely the work of God and then here's the other truth that scripture tells us that if you don't believe it's solely your own fault. 821s

There are two truths here. 833s

God desires all to be saved and God elects a few to be saved. 836s

That if you believe it is solely the work of God and if you don't believe it's solely your fault, these two truths here. 842s

And scripture never ever resolves those truths. 855s

They stand side by side in scripture. 866s

And the Bible never ever resolves it. 875s

So that means that if we resolve it we import a solution. 882s

That doesn't come from scripture. 894s

We're the hold those two truths together. 902s

God's got it figured out in his mind. 911s

And that's enough for me. 914s

You too? 922s

Oh Luther struggled with this. 930s

Luther really struggled with this. 934s

Luther wondered whether or not he was of the elect. 936s

I mean he had a lot of angst over this. 940s

A lot of angst. 945s

And his supervisor, Johann Van Staupitz. 948s

So when Luther was a monk here, he's in the August Indian monastery. 952s

His supervisor, Johann Van Staupitz went Luther's going on on this and he's saying, I don't know whether I'm the elect. 956s

God does ours all to me saved, but yet God will actually only a few to be saved. 967s

Luther understood. 973s

He understood the two truths there. 974s

He understood that scripture doesn't resolve it here. 976s

And so Luther is saying, how do I know if I'm elect and stop it, turn to him and sit. 980s

Luther? 987s

Find yourself. 990s

In the wounds of Christ. 992s

And then you will be sure of your election. 1001s

Find yourself. 1009s

In the wounds of Christ. 1013s

And there's your assurance. 1018s

Now let me loosely paraphrase that. 1026s

Don't look to yourself. 1033s

Look to Jesus. 1040s

You look to yourself. 1045s

You're going to see scripture just breathing out of all of your sinfulness. 1051s

All of the sin and thought were indeed. 1059s

You look at yourself and do an honest assessment of yourself. 1063s

When we do that of each one of us, when we do that about ourselves, we see the depths and the breath of the sin. 1065s

And stop it. 1077s

Don't look to yourself. 1078s

Find yourself in the wounds of Christ. 1083s

Look away from yourself. 1089s

And look to Jesus. 1093s

Several years ago now, there was that billboard campaign of these supposed sayings from God. 1099s

You can be traveling in the middle of nowhere. 1109s

And then there's this billboard with these quotes. 1111s

And then underneath it it said, God, remember that? 1114s

We're on some trip. 1117s

We're in the middle of nowhere. 1118s

And there's one of these billboards. 1119s

And I still remember it this day. 1123s

It just so struck me. 1125s

It said, quote, don't make me come down there. 1128s

God. 1136s

Don't make me come down there. 1138s

God. 1143s

But you see. 1145s

That's just what he did. 1149s

That's just what he did. 1152s

Jesus Christ came and lived out this glorious, good news, this glorious gospel. 1156s

And on the cross, Jesus Christ took all of our sin and paid the debt for every single person that ever 1164s

lived, lives or will lived, he paid the debt. 1173s

The second member of the Holy Trinity came to earth to die for us. 1180s

The two natures of Christ, he had to be divine so that he could live the perfect life that we could never live. 1191s

So it could be credited to our account and he had to be human but without sin so that he could take the sin of the world upon him. 1200s

And what he accomplished was redemption. 1213s

He bought us back through his blood. 1216s

He bought us back from sin death and the devil. 1220s

And what he brought about was justification. 1226s

He made us just as if we never sinned. 1231s

And God in his grace has provided the sacraments. 1237s

Where God comes to us and gives us the victory of the cross and the empty tomb. 1243s

Where we're washed in the promises where we come to the rail and we receive the very body and blood of our Lord. 1248s

And we swallow the forgiveness so that we know that indeed it is ours. 1258s

Find yourself in the wounds of Christ. 1265s

Don't look to yourself but look to Jesus. 1275s

And here what he says about you, for in your baptism, Jesus says, you are mine. 1282s

You are mine today and forever. 1292s

In communion he says, receive the forgiveness that I have won for you. 1298s

Jesus says to us that you are my sheep through the waters of baptism. 1305s

And he promises in John the 10th chapter that no one will snatch his sheep from his hand. 1315s

See yourself in the wounds of Christ. 1329s

Jesus said, the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light. 1343s

And the stars will be falling from heaven and the powers and the heavens will be shaken. 1352s

Then they will see the sun of man coming in clouds with great power and glory. 1359s

Then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven. 1366s

And finding ourselves in the wounds of Christ we say, come Lord Jesus. 1382s

Thank you. 1411s