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2 Thessalonians 2:13-14, But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth. [14] It was for this He called you through our gospel, that you may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
There couldn’t be a stronger, sharper contrast between the character and destinies of two groups of people than in this passage. One group, in verses 10-12, is perishing, deceived, deluded, no love for the truth, no faith in the truth, under God’s judgment, and taking pleasure in ungodliness. You don’t want to be in that group. Rather, you want to find yourself in verses 13-14 where you are loved by the Lord, chosen from the beginning to be saved, set apart by the Spirit, believing the truth, called by God, and destined for glory. Two groups – two opposite destinies.
But what makes the difference? If you are a genuine, born again, Christ-loving, truth-believing Christian, why are you not deceived? Why are you not perishing? Why are you not under God’s judgment? Why do you no longer find your greatest pleasures in ungodliness but rather in growing and knowing God? There’s only one reason: God chose you from the beginning! While nearly the whole world is being carried to destruction as in a wild storm, the one great, stabilizing, comforting, strengthening truth is that God has chosen you to be His and will see you through it all! You were chosen from the beginning and destined for glory. How exhilarating!
Do you believe in the great doctrine of election or being chosen by God for salvation? Spurgeon preached a sermon on these verses (13-14) on September 22, 1855. He began with this, “If there were no other text in the sacred Word than this one, I think we should all be bound to receive and acknowledge the truthfulness of the great and glorious doctrine of God’s ancient choice of His family.”
My goal from this passage this morning is to make this doctrine of election so biblically persuasive that you’ll know beyond the shadow of a doubt the Bible clearly teaches it. If you are perplexed and struggle with this doctrine, you’re not alone. Many of us have struggled with it. And yet, once you see it, you realize that it is all over the Bible. And it becomes one of the most precious doctrines in the Bible.
WHICH COMES FIRST, OUR FAITH OR GOD’S CHOICE?
Here’s the issue. Are we saved because we are chosen or are we chosen because we are saved? Did God choose us to be His because He saw that we would believe? That belief is what we call Arminian. Notice is written with an “i” not an “e.” Armenian with an “e” are people who live east of Turkey, north of Iran. Arminian with an “i” stands for Joseph Arminius (1560-1609) who lived back in the Reformation Days. He didn’t like the idea that God chose us before we chose God, so he promoted the idea that God chose us because He looked down the corridor of time in His foreknowledge, saw who would choose Jesus, and therefore chose them to be His. It’s really completely backward from what the Scripture teaches. The Bible is clear and so we believe that God chose us in eternity past to be His. There are so many wonderful verses that clearly teach this great truth. Here are several.
- John 15:16, “You did not choose Me, but I chose you, and appointed you, that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask of the Father in My name, He may give to you.
- Acts 13:48, When the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord; and as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed.
- Romans 8:33, Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies.
- Ephesian 1:4, …just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him.
- Colossians 3:12, Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
- 2 Timothy 2:10, For this reason I endure all things for the sake of those who are chosen, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus and with it eternal glory.
- Titus 1:1, Paul, a bond-servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the faith of those chosen of God and the knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness…
- 1 Peter 1:1-2, Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who reside as aliens…who are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, that you may obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be yours in fullest measure.
Now this doctrine of election is clear and plain. But for some, as Spurgeon said, if they were to meet a lion in their way they would not be more terrified than they are when they see this doctrine in Scripture or hear it from the pulpit. And it can be perplexing to our natural minds. A few years ago someone tried to explain to me how to cut crown molding for a corner. “Turn it upside down and cut backward.” That perplexed me at first. But it worked. The doctrine of election may seem perplexing at first. But as we read and study God’s Word, God combs the perplexities out of our hearts and minds.
The reason people don’t like this truth is that it takes away man’s so-called freedom to choose. If God chose us before we chose Him, where does that leave our will? We all know we freely choose things in this life. I freely chose to get a shower this morning. I freely chose my wife. Of course there are limits. I didn’t have freedom to choose Cleopatra. Here’s the key to understanding our will and our choices – we choose according to our nature. Dogs don’t live on the bottom of the lake; catfish do. Why? It’s not dogs’ nature to live under water. Our nature determines our choices. And here’s the problem. Man’s nature does not allow him to choose God. Our natures are sinfully corrupted in Adam and not one of us was born with a nature to seek God. Romans 3:11 says “There is none who seeks for God.” No one of his own free will chooses God. You cannot come to Christ until God gives you a new heart, raises you from spiritual death, takes the sin blinders off, and shines into your heart the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ. That’s why the Bible teaches that regeneration precedes faith.
Here’s another illustration that’s been helpful. Let’s call it the Ironside Arch, after the Bible teacher Harry Ironside. The doorway arch over the entrance to salvation has these wonderful words, “Whosoever will, may come.” You’re a “whosoever” and you want to be saved, so in you come, repenting of your sin and putting your faith in Christ freely without any pressure from outside. But after you walk under the doorway arch into the salvation in Christ and look back, there are these amazing words over the arch, “Chosen before the foundation of the world.” So why did you come into salvation? Because God gave you a new heart to believe because He had chosen you from the beginning to be saved. If God hadn’t chosen you, you would never have chosen Christ.
Let’s see this great truth right here in 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14. Remember, these believers are going through trials and opposition and so Paul comforts them with this great assuring doctrine. We’ll just walk our way through these verses.
GIVE THANKS FOR GOD’S CHOSEN PEOPLE
Vs. 13, We should always give thanks to God for you…
Paul already gave thanks in 2 Thessalonians 1:3, but here he gives thanks to God because God chose them from the beginning. We should always give thanks for our own salvation, but with Paul we can never thank God too much for the people He has chosen. Instead of grumbling and complaining or finding fault with God’s people (which none of you do), start thanking God for them. Why? We’re only here because of His sovereign grace in choosing us in eternity past to be His.
We elders thank God for you. Just like the Thessalonian believers, we realize you are beloved and chosen from the beginning! Go over that directory of members and friends on your phone and give thanks to God for each and every one. God didn’t have to choose us. He had every reason to condemn us. But how kind and good of God to give us to His Son and then to save us from the guilt and condemnation of our sin. Our hearts should exude gratitude to God for His people each and every day, or as Paul says, “We should always give thanks to God for you!” God didn’t choose us because we were better or smarter or more holy or better looking than anyone else. He chose us out of His grace.
ALL GOD’S CHOSEN PEOPLE HAVE BEEN BELOVED BY CHRIST
Vs. 13, Brethren beloved by the Lord…
This is not a general love God has for all people. This is a personal, redeeming, adopting, saving love, an electing love, a redeeming love from God for His chosen people. Ephesians 1:4 says, “In love He predestined us to adoption as sons.” God’s chosen people have been beloved by Him from all eternity and that love never wavers. He’ll never love us more or less. It’s an absolute love. Even when we falter and fail, God’s electing love never fails. When Peter denied Jesus at the trial, Jesus didn’t look at Peter in anger or disgust. No, Jesus looked at him with heart melting love (Luke 22:61). If you are in Christ, you are loved with an everlasting love. Romans 8:35 asks, “Who will separate us from the love of Christ?” Then in verses 38-39 Paul piles up every conceivable obstacle to God’s love and he ends, “Nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” God began loving us with His eternal love in the eternal ages past and He will love us for endless ages to come.
GOD CHOSE YOU FROM THE BEGINNING
Vs. 13. Because God has chosen you from the beginning…
When did God choose you to be saved? He didn’t choose you when He realized you would believe in His Son. His choice of you happened way before then. Even before the time Christ died on the cross for you. Even before Genesis 1 when God created the universe. But you must go back farther even before then. Paul says God chose you from the beginning. When did that “beginning” begin? Ephesians 1:3 says, “He chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world.”
Spurgeon gets our heads spinning with his explanation. “We go back to years gone by, when worlds were made and systems fashioned, but we have not even approached the beginning yet. Until we go to the time when all the universes slept in the mind of God as yet unborn, until we enter the eternity where the triune God the Creator lived alone, everything sleeping within Him, all creation resting in His mighty gigantic thought, we have not guessed the beginning.” This was when the Father chose you and gave you to His Son. He wrote your name in the Lamb’s book of life in that eternal council of the everlasting trinity! Check this out.
Revelation 13:8, All who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain.
THE SPIRIT SETS APART GOD’S CHOSEN PEOPLE FOR SALVATION
Vs. 13, For salvation through sanctification by the Spirit…
What did God choose you for from the beginning? Here is one of those beautiful, golden words of the Bible. He chose you for salvation. What a big and weighty word. You’ll find the word “salvation” in the Bible 156 times. We are too used to it. It’s the salvation Peter spoke of.
Acts 4:12, And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.
In this context, “salvation” contains all the redemptive words of the Bible. You’ll find regeneration in it. You’ll find justification in it. You’ll find redemption and reconciliation in that massive word. You’ll find your adoption in it. He chose you from all eternity past for your salvation, to forgive your sins, to deliver you from every spot and stain of your guilt, and to prepare you for the glories of heaven.
Now, how did God do this? He did it through the sanctifying work of the Spirit. Sanctification means set apart. The Father chose you, the Son came to redeem you, and the Spirit brings this great salvation to you personally and sets you apart from the lost world. The Spirit sovereignly by His grace alone worked in your heart to regenerate you, to draw you to Christ, to give you that new heart, that new capacity to believe in Jesus as your Savior.
Titus 3:5-7, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, [6] whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, [7] so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
There it is. The Spirit at some point in your life came to your address (yes, God knows where you live) and regenerated and renewed you spiritually. He took out your heart of stone and convicted you of your sin, gave you that new heart, sealed you in Christ forever, and baptized you into the body of Christ. He makes us a temple of the living God and begins that work of progressive sanctification by giving us a desire to grow and pursue holiness, a desire to please and glorify God. This is the sanctifying work of the Spirit. Thank you God for the Spirit’s work in us.
ALL GOD’S CHOSEN PEOPLE RESPOND TO THE TRUTH OF THE GOSPEL
Vs. 13, And faith in the truth.
God chose us for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth. How do you know you’ve been chosen by God to be saved? You know if you have faith in the truth of the gospel given in the Bible, His words. Do you believe in Christ as your only hope of salvation? Do you trust Him to forgive you and give you eternal life? You know God has chosen you for the Lord because the Spirit hunted you down, gave you a new heart, and enabled you to believe the message of truth, the gospel of Jesus Christ. Have you confessed with your mouth Jesus is your Lord and believed in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead? If so, what does God say? “You will be saved.” This means God chose you from the beginning in His eternal love to be His child. Your faith in Christ is the proof of your election.
ALL GOD’S CHOSEN PEOPLE ARE CALLED TO GAIN THE GLORY OF CHRIST
Vs.14, It was for this He called you through our gospel, that you may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
This verse is simply packed with incredible truth. First, God called you through the gospel. The gospel is the message. If God chose you, do you have to hear the gospel? Absolutely. That’s how we know we’re chosen. You hear the gospel, you know you can’t do enough on your own to be saved, the Spirit brings someone your way to explain the gospel of the grace of God, “By grace are you saved, through faith, and that not of your own, it is the gift of God, not by works, that no one should boast” (Eph. 2:8-9). God didn’t pick you because He knew He got a good one here, like when we go pick out lumber and examine each board to see if it is straight, not warped. Just the opposite. God called you by the Spirit and the gospel to confess your sin like that publican in the temple, “God, be merciful to me, the sinner!” Left to ourselves we would never seek God.
God chose from the eternal beginning all those who would be saved, but no one is saved without believing the gospel. That’s why we must preach the gospel. Paul said in 2 Timothy 2:10, “I endure all things for the sake of those who are chosen, so that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus and with it eternal glory.” There you have both sides – God’s sovereign choice of sinners and our responsibility to repent and believe the gospel.
And notice what God calls His people to gain? The glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. This takes us to the great prayer of Jesus in John 17. What does Jesus ask the Father in John 17:24?
John 17:24, Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.
Jesus prays to the Father that those who have been given to Him may be with Him so they may see His glory. Whatever His glory is, it is certainly His brilliant, beautiful, eternal loving sovereignty, holiness, majesty, power, wisdom, honor, glory, and blessing! (Rev. 5:12).
God says every believer is destined for glory. Let’s put it like this. We were destined in eternity past to gain the glory of Christ for all eternity future! No wonder Paul began verse 13 with, “We should always give thanks to God for you.”
SO WHAT?
Spurgeon called this great doctrine of election a stripping doctrine. It strips us of all self-righteousness, all pride, and all self-reliance. It humbles us and makes us completely dependent on God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. God gets all the glory. By God’s rich and sovereign grace, if you are trusting in Christ as Lord and Savior, you have been chosen from the beginning for your salvation and are destined to gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. If you wonder if God has chosen you from the beginning to be His, you have one thing to do. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved (Acts 16:31).