And said, O man greatly beloved, fear not: peace be unto thee, be strong, yea, be strong. And when he had spoken unto me, I was strengthened, and said, Let my lord speak; for thou hast strengthened me.
~ Daniel 10:19
And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands:
~ Hebrews 1:10
Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth.
~ Romans 8:33
(For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;)
~ Romans 9:11
According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
~ Ephesians 1:4-5
Knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God.
~ 1 Thessalonians 1:4
Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,
~ 2 Timothy 1:9
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.
~ 1 Peter 1:2
Election, the Decree of God, by Robert Purnell. The following contains an excerpt from his work, “A Little Cabinet: Richly Stored with All Sorts of Heavenly Varieties and Soul-Reviving Influences”.
Election is the decree of God, of His free love, grace, and mercy, choosing some men to faith, holiness, and eternal life for the praise of His glorious mercy (1Th 1:4; 2Th 2:13; Eph 1:4-6; Rom 8:29-30). The causes of election were none other but His mere good will and pleasure (Luk 12:32; Rom 11:5; 9:11, 16; Eph 1:5; 2Ti 1:9).
The end of election is the manifestation of the riches of His grace and mercy (Rom 9:23; Eph 1:6).
Question: Were not Christ, faith, and holiness the causes of election? Answer: No, the sending of Christ, faith, holiness, and eternal life are only the effects of God’s love by which He manifesteth the infinite riches of His grace (Joh 3:16; 1Jo 4:10; Act 13:4; Ti 1:1; Col 1:12; Rom 6:23).
God—merely out of His good pleasure, without the foresight of any good in the creature, according to His unlimited sovereignty—elected a certain number by name unto eternal salvation, and He hath decreed to effect all the ways and means for them and in them to bring them there to (2Ti 1:9; 1Pe 2:8). So, some are elected unto life out of all sorts of people (Mat 20:16; Rom 9:24; Rev 7:9).
That unto which God hath elected them is (1) the adoption of sons; (2) sanctification of life here; and (3) eternal life hereafter.
The first and only moving cause of election is the good pleasure and love of God (Eph 1:5; Rom 9:18; Eph 1:11), so that faith is not the cause but the effect of election (Act 13:48).
God is no respecter of persons, and yet He elected some and left others when He found no difference.
A man may come to know in time that he was elected before time. We come to apprehend this (1) by faith (1Th 1:4); (2) by our effectual calling; (3) by our justification Rom 8:30); (4) by our sanctification (Rom 8:30); (5) by the testimony of God’s Spirit (Rom 8:9, 16-17; 1Co 2:10-12; 2Pe 1:2-3; 2Co 1:21, 23).
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