You’re chosen…but don’t let it go to your head.

Steve Brown:
You’re chosen…but don’t let it go to your head. Let’s talk about it on Key Life.

Matthew Porter:
That was Steve Brown. He’s an author, seminary professor, and our teacher on Key Life, a program all about God’s radical grace. We’re committed to bringing you Bible teaching that’s honest, straight-forward, and street-smart. Keep listening to hear truth that’ll make you free.

Steve Brown:
Thank you Matthew. If you’re just joining us, we’re looking at Philippians 3:12 through 14. And we’re looking at hallway Christianity. I told you yesterday what Jerry Parries said. He said, whenever God closes the door, he opens another one. But the problem is, what do you do in the hallway until he opens another door. Well, that’s kind of what we’re looking at. Paul is looking to the future in this text and it’s Philippians 3:12 through 14. And as he looks to the future, he decides what he’s going to do right now. So, what do you do in the hallway? What do you do in the between times? And if you were listening yesterday and last week, we talked a lot about Paul’s realistic evaluation of himself. In the between times, don’t pretend that you’re as good as you’re going to be when you get to heaven. John said this.

It doth not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when he appears we shall be like him.

That means I’m not going to have to deal with sin, someday. It means that I’m going to be as pure as the driven snow, someday. It means I won’t have to struggle with my besetting sins, someday, but not yet. Paul had a realistic understanding of who he was and what he could accomplish. Alright, let’s go on to another one. Secondly, this is what you do in the between times. Please note not only Paul’s realistic evaluation of himself, note also Paul’s joyous proclamation of his being chosen, his election. Look at Philippians 3:12b.

But I press on to take hold of that

and here it comes

for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.

Let me tell you something. One of the greatest family secrets that we have is the doctrine of election. Now, I’m going to talk about it for a while, maybe even a couple of programs, because it’s kind of important. Because it’s so important to our walk with Christ in the hallway, our walk with Christ in the between times. Now, let me state it for you, but don’t turn off the radio until I explain it, okay? Because if you do, you won’t get it. And I need this, and you need it too. The doctrine of election says that before God hung the stars, before He created the earth and hollowed out the valleys and made the mountains, before all of that, He knew your name, He chose you, and He loved you beyond anything that you can imagine. Now, a couple of things need to be said about that. First, and this doesn’t make any sense, but I’m going to do my best to have it make a little bit of sense. You are free and God is sovereign. And you say, no, no, no, you can’t have your cake and eat it too. If God is sovereign, I’m not free. If I’m free, God is not sovereign. Well that’s cause you’re Aristotelian in your thinking. And that gets us into all kinds of trouble. There’s the principle, Aristotle’s principle, of non contradiction. 2 plus 2 can’t be 3 and 5 and 4 at the same time. And because we buy into that theologically and Biblically, we are sure if God is sovereign, we’re not free. And if we’re free, God is not sovereign. Now, you know, in the Book of Corinthians, I Corinthians, the apostle Paul, early on, says the Jews demand signs, and the Greeks, that would be the Goyim, that would be those who are not Jews, demand wisdom. But we preach Christ crucified, which is folly to the Greeks and crazy to the Jews. What was he saying? He was talking about exactly what we’re talking about right now. You are free and God is sovereign. And I don’t know how you put those things together. There are ways that I try to do that. I kind of believe in a system that God created. And at the moment of creation he knew that if he created that particular way, you would be saved and somebody would turn away from Christ and have nothing to do with him. It was a cause and effect system at the moment of Creation. Bible doesn’t say this, but it’s one of the ways I try to work it out. Cause any doctrine of election that doesn’t have God’s tears involved in it, isn’t Biblical.

For God so loved the world.

So, I kind of think, and you may find it helpful, maybe not, that at the moment of creation, God could have created a million different ways. And every way would have presupposed something that would happen as a result of that. And the way He created meant that you would know Jesus, and I would know Jesus, and others wouldn’t. And when we get home, and He created anyway. So, that is His election. When we get home, I think when we ask God about election, he’s going to say, if I could have done it any other way, I would have done it a better way, but there was no better way. And you lived in the best of all possible worlds, where the greatest number of people would know me. Now, that’s not totally satisfying to me, but I find it quite helpful when I think of it that way, because I believe God’s essence is love. It’s his attribute, it’s who he is.

God is love.

John says. And because he is, he doesn’t look at the way you part your hair and say, I’m gonna send you to hell cause I don’t like you. He doesn’t look at somebody else and say, I like the way you smile, so I’m going to choose you. It’s not that at all. It’s God’s amazing mercy and grace. And you say, well, what about those that are not elect? I don’t know? That’s way above your pay level. I’m not exactly sure about it. And what about your election? Let me tell you what Charles Spurgeon said. He said.

If you wonder if you are, you are. Cause if you weren’t, you wouldn’t even think about it.

But underneath all of that is the Biblical teaching, and J.I. Packer calls it an antimony. Those are two truths that can’t both be true, but both are. The Bible teaches that you are responsible, that you are free, and that your decisions make a difference. The Bible also teaches that God is absolutely sovereign over every molecule and he’s in charge of everything. And we say, oh no, you can’t have your cake and eat it too. And God says, oh, yes I can. I’m God. And I’m infinite, and you are finite. And as a finite human being, you have no idea how this thing works. So, why don’t you just lean on me and trust that I’m just and loving and that I will do it right? Now, I don’t know about you, but that works for me. Okay, I’ve spent a lot of time talking about it. I just thought of some more stuff to say, but I’m not going to do that to you. I think we need to come back to the practical teaching that Paul had when he said this.

But I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.

That’s the proclamation of election. I sometimes will talk to people about whether, when they came to Christ, was it new or was it old? And they always say, if they know what the Bible says, oh no, it was new. I am a new creation, the Bible says. And then they stop and they say, but you know, now that I think about it, it was kind of like coming home. In other words, he knew me before I knew him. And if he knew me before I did anything good or bad. If he knew me and all of that, he will never ever let me go because I’m his chosen. And so, as I said at the beginning, you are chosen. Just don’t let it go to your head and don’t become self righteous about it. And rest in it and rejoice and dance and laugh. You think about that. Amen.

Matthew Porter:
Thank you Steve. Boy did we recover some ground today discussing election, God’s sovereignty. And tomorrow, we’ll hear about learning about Paul’s golf ball. What in the world does that mean? Well, tune in and find out. Well, you know that we offer a lot of free stuff here on Key Life, but what about Three Free Sins? Three Free Sins is a booklet based on Steve’s book of the same name. The book is about what Key Life itself is about, what the gospel is about, grace. If you’re frustrated with a religion that’s simply a failed sin management program, it’s time to discover that you not only have three free sins, you have unlimited free sins because of Jesus Christ. Get your booklet now by calling us at 1-800-KEY-LIFE that’s 1-800-539-5433. You can also e-mail [email protected] to ask for that booklet. To mail your request, go to keylife.org/contact to find our mailing addresses. Again, just ask for your absolutely free copy of the booklet called Three Free Sins. One last thing, if you’re blessed by the work of Key Life, would you help share that blessing with others through your giving? Just charge a gift on your credit card or include a gift in your envelope. Or simply text Key Life to 28950 and then follow the instructions. And please remember that big or small, monthly or one time, every gift matters and every gift helps. Key Life is a member of ECFA in the States and CCCC in Canada. And as always, Key Life is a listener supported production of Key Life Network.