Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will. [Ephesians 1:3-5]
It’s popular for evangelists to preach that you must come to Christ and repent and accept Christ’s sacrifice on the cross for salvation, and that it is this act of repentance and faith that saves you. All of this is true, but did you know that even your faith is a gift from God?
Ephesians 1:3-5 tells us in absolute terms that God specifically chose those who would be saved, those whom He would choose for eternal salvation to belong to Him, and that he did that “before the creation of the world.” That’s an amazing thought, isn’t it?
This means if you are a genuine Christian, God chose you. You did not choose God. He chose you. Granted you trusted Christ as your savior, but your faith to trust Him was predestined. Wow! Try to figure that out! You can’t.
Even repentance must be granted. Our flesh has nothing to offer God, and we cannot possibly conjure up the righteousness to get right with God. It is all God’s work. Repentance is a gift from God, too.
For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death. [2 Corinthians 7:10]
Here’s what we can say to this deep Biblical doctrine of predestination and God’s gift of repentance and faith:
Thank you God for choosing me. Thank you for choosing me before the foundation of the world. Thank you for sending Jesus and for His sacrifice on the cross for me. Apart from you choosing me, and apart from Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, I would have no standing before you God. But in Christ, I am all things, and I stand righteous and holy before my God. Amen.
Taken from Chuck Marunde’s book, Living For God: Pursuing Christ With Passion.