Who Are The Chosen? God's Invitation to Everyone

Jesus Our Ransom

Who are God's chosen?  It is a question Christians have debated for centuries, yet Scripture repeatedly points us back to God's desire to save all who come to Him through Christ. Those who believe in Him are His chosen ones. According to 1 Timothy 2:4-6 God wants everyone to be saved because Jesus died as a ransom for who? He died as a ransom for all! A ransom is a payment so that someone will be released. The price someone paid to release a person from slavery is an example of a ransom.

Why is Jesus referred to here as a ransom? Jesus is our ransom because we were slaves to sin. His death was the price paid to release us from the bondage of slavery that we lived in. Isaiah 53:10 prophesies that His soul would be a sin offering.

Who Are The Chosen?

If Christ gave Himself as a ransom for all people, the next question naturally follows: Who are God's chosen? John 3:17 plainly says,

" For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved."

God sent His Son so that who could be saved? The whole world. His invitation extends to every person willing to believe, and through Him everyone can escape condemnation.

1 Peter 2:9-10 says we are a "chosen people" belonging to God, brought from darkness into light, who hadn't received mercy but now have. If God's invitation is extended to everyone, another important question arises. Does He force anyone to accept it?

Forced To Serve?

Are we forced to serve Him? Jesus certainly has the power to force us to serve Him but He chose not to. For Jesus came not to be served, but to serve (Matthew 20:28). He puts Himself in the service of His creatures ultimately by ransoming us through His death and resurrection (Mark 10:45).

Since we are all sinners, we are only justified by God's grace which is a gift for all because we have been redeemed by Christ (Romans 3:24) our Redeemer from everlasting. To be redeemed here means to be delivered from sin. And what is grace? Grace is a completely undeserved favor. We aren't forced to accept this gift but it is offered to us. If salvation is offered freely, how do we respond to God's invitation?

Seek And You Shall Find

Deuteronomy 4:29 says if we seek God, we will find Him. Jeremiah 29:13 reinforces this thought that God is found when we seek Him with our whole heart. As someone once said, God should be our whole purpose and our destiny. Those who don't believe have been blinded by the god of this world, Satan (2 Corinthians 4:4). They aren't seekers. God promises that He will draw near to those who fervently seek Him.

God sincerely invites all people, draws all people through Christ, and those who believe become His chosen people. When we respond, He places before us an open door of faith, for even our faith is God's gracious gift (Ephesians 2:8).

At this point someone may ask, "But doesn't Romans 3:11 say that no one seeks God?" What is Paul saying? Simply that we can't seek God on our own. God must first draw us to Himself. We are only responding yes or no to the call that goes out to all people.

Rewarded For Seeking

Hebrews 11:6 tells us that God rewards those who "diligently seek Him." In John 6:44 Jesus says no one can come to Him unless He is drawn by the Father first. Later in John 12:32 Jesus says that, "And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself.” All will be drawn, but not all will choose to follow. God's drawing and our response are not competing ideas. Responding to His call is not earning salvation; it is accepting the gift He freely offers. Jesus Himself illustrates this truth repeatedly in His parables.

Like Lost Sheep

In Luke 19:10, Jesus says that He comes to seek and to save the lost. We are all lost in our sins. He comes to save us all. He offers us a free gift which we can accept or reject. In Matthew 18:12-14 and in Luke 15: 3-7, Jesus tells the parable of the lost sheep,and like sheep we all need a Shepherd. In Luke the focus is on the poor and rejected. All are sought by God, not just the socially acceptable or the powerful. In Matthew and Luke it is clear that even while we may be lost in sin Jesus seeks us. He encourages us through his Holy Spirit to repent and believe. If Christ seeks the lost, what is the responsibility of those He has already found?

What Are We Called To Do?

As Christians we have a role to play in all of this. We are called "ministers of reconciliation" by Paul in 2 Corinthians 5: 18-21. We are the ones charged with spreading the Good News of salvation to all. Jesus has flung open the prison doors but the world doesn't know it. We are, as Paul calls us, "ambassadors for Christ". We who were once blind can tell those who are still blind who it is that can save them. As I Corinthians 3: 5-6 states it was through the means of Paul and Apollos that the people believed, but it was always God that "gave the increase".

Jesus Is...

When we truly understand who Christ is and what He has done for us, our response becomes one of worship. The words of St. Louis de Montfort beautifully express that truth: When we seek God with our whole heart, we can agree with St. Louis de Montfort who says,

"He (Jesus) is the only teacher from whom we must learn;

the only Lord on whom we should depend;

the only Head to whom we should be united

and the only model that we should imitate.

He is the only Physician that can heal us;

the only Shepherd that can feed us;

the only Way that can lead us;

the only Truth that we can believe;

the only Life that can animate us.

He alone is everything to us

and he alone can satisfy all our desires."

Enjoy the song "Jesus Is" by Leanna Crawford here.