Knowing beloved brethren, your election of God. 1 Thessalonians 1:4
A brother was asked one time to explain the doctrine of election as found in the Scriptures. ‘Election works like this’, he said. ‘God votes for you, the devil votes against you, and however you vote, that’s how you are elected.’ Is that good theology? It’s rather simplistic, but it is much closer to the truth of the Word of God than the doctrine of Calvanism, that teaches the God elects some of us to salvation and chooses some others to wrath. That flies in the face of such texts as 2 Peter 3:9 that tell us that God is ‘not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance’. We know from 1 Peter 1:3 that God’s election is according to His foreknowledge; because of His perfect knowledge of the future, He has always known who will trust His son for salvation. But that’s not the election that our text is referring to.
Paul is addressing the Assembly in Thessalonika as to their godly character after they were saved and after the Assembly was planted. It was the will of God – their election – that as an Assembly they become followers of their Lord and Saviour. And they lived up to their election wonderfully. Paul praises them in the first chapter of his letter for their work of faith, their labour of love, and their patience of hope (verse 3). He spoke of how they became followers, not only of the Gospel workers who came among them, but also of the Lord (verse 6), so much so that they were outstanding examples to other believers in their province and elsewhere (verse 7). Knowing how well they submitted themselves to their election of God, it is little wonder that Paul could address them as ‘beloved brethren’.
We can see that the Christians in Thessaloniki were living according to the will of God concerning them. Are we doing the same? -Jim MacIntosh
Here is the link to the video of this message: https://youtu.be/ez2ta8QFSEM