THE FUTURE OF THE ELECT - PART 2

MONDAY 19 SEPTEMBER 2022

The elect are God's chosen people, set apart and sanctified for His eternal purpose. They are the well beloved of the Lord, saved by grace through faith in Christ Jesus.

Reference: 1 Peter 1:2 New King James Version (NKJV) "Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied."

God has put humanity on this earth for a reason and sent His only Son Christ as an atoning sacrificial for all sins, due to His great love for humans. However, as general as His love is, many are called but few are chosen (the elect). This is because God has created mankind with a free will to choose, and so not everyone will choose to accept Christ as Saviour and Lord during their lifetime. Some will choose to ignore God's love for them, and many who are called will choose to disobey God, which is still according to God's foreknowledge because the Bible says, "For those whom He foreknew [and loved and chose beforehand], He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son [and ultimately share in His complete sanctification], so that He would be the firstborn [the most beloved and honoured] among many believers. And those whom He predestined, He also called; and those whom He called, He also justified [declared free of the guilt of sin]; and those whom He justified, He also glorified [raising them to a heavenly dignity]" (Romans 8:29-30 AMP).

As the elect, our life on earth is not by chance; by foreknowledge of the Almighty God, we've been chosen as born again Christians to spend eternity in fellowship with Him. This is the reason Petrine epistle reminds us that we have come to the living Stone, namely, Christ. In fact, the Bible noted, "...You come to him, the living Stone - rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him..." (1 Peter 2:4 NIV). Christ as living stone denotes "firm foundation" upon which the elect rests. Moreover, according to the letter from Paul to the young Pastor, Titus, we've been chosen by God to know the truth that shows us how to live the godly life on earth. This truth gives us confidence that we have eternal life, which God - who does not lie - promised us before the world began (Titus 1:1-2 NLT).

For instance, Colossians 3:12 (NET) reads, "Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with a heart of mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience..." These are some of the truths listed for us to live by - in preparation of a glorious future with God. If you read the chapter further to verse 17, you'll gain adequate insight into more truths for our daily living. Our obedient response to all of this truth, as well as fellowshipping with the Divine, will grant us perfect peace and assurance of a glorious future with God. Besides, trusting in them and acting on their descriptions imply perfect submission to God's will.

Beloved, nothing in this life is more important than doing what is necessary to avoid eternal damnation, which is a permanent state of being condemned to punishment in hell fire. So we have all been put here on this earth by God to embrace salvation through Christ Jesus. And we can assuredly have peace with God and be certain of spending eternity with Him - only in Christ and through faith in Him. Otherwise, there is no hope for those who reject Christ during their lifetime on earth, bearing in mind that Revelation 20:15 reads, "And anyone whose name was not found recorded in the Book of Life was thrown into the lake of fire" (NLT). Please I humbly urge you to declare by faith, the prayer of salvation below, if you have not yet received Christ as Lord. Shalom!

Scripture Reading - Ezekiel 18:30-32; John 3:36; Romans 5:21; John 10:28-30; 1 John 5:11.

Guided Prayer: I acknowledge today that God demonstrated His unconditional love for me in this: While living without Christ, He sent Him ahead of time to die for me. Therefore I renounce the nature of sin and I accept Jesus as my Saviour. I believe and confess with all my heart that Jesus is the Son of the true living God, who died for me and was raised from the dead on the third day by God. I believe that Jesus is risen and He's alive forever. I accept Him into my heart and I declare His Lordship over my life. I'm now born again as a new creation. I have eternal life: my present-moment reality. Thank you Lord Jesus for saving me and taking full charge of my life, as my Lord. GLORY TO GOD!