In his sermon 'Chosen for Salvation,' Jason Dohm discusses the doctrine of election as outlined in 2 Thessalonians 2:13-17. The sermon contrasts those who believe the truth and are saved with those who reject it and are condemned. Dohm emphasizes that salvation is a result of God's sovereign choice, motivated by His everlasting love, rather than human merit. He explains that God brings about salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. The sermon also highlights that while the blame for condemnation lies with those who do not believe, the credit for salvation belongs solely to God. Dohm references other scriptures, such as Ephesians 1 and 2 Timothy 1, to further illustrate the concept of divine election. Ultimately, the sermon underscores the hope and joy found in God's choosing to save some, encouraging believers to be humble, bold, and holy, while offering hope to non-believers through the doctrine of election.

Sermon text today is 2nd Thessalonians chapter 2 verses 13 through 17. I'll start right at verse 13. But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you brethren, beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the spirit and belief in the truth, to which he called you by our gospel for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether by word or our pistol. Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and our God and Father who has loved us and given us everlasting consolation and good hope by grace comfort your hearts and establish you in every good word and work.

Let's pray. Oh God, I thank you Lord for the salvation you have given to us. I thank you Lord that you have chosen many of us here. You have made us your sons and daughters. I pray that you would help us as we hear the Word of God preached.

Lord I pray that you would give Jason wisdom. Give him the right words to speak. I pray that You would give Him power and that the preaching would be as if it were coming straight from Your mouth. God, I pray that You would help us to not be distracted throughout this sermon. Thank You so much for blessing us with this time.

In Jesus' name, Amen. The title of the sermon this morning is Chosen for Salvation. It's lifted right out of the text. And our text Today is about election. How it is that some believe and are saved, while others will not receive the love of the truth, and so they don't believe and so they're condemned.

We're given such a clear explanation of that in our text today. Last week we were in verses 9 through 12 and I think it's important to say that because our two verses today are in many ways just a contrast to what we saw in last week's text. The first word of our text is but. It's setting up the contrast between those who would not receive the love of the truth, and so they didn't believe, and those who were saved because they believe in the truth. And so there's a sharp contrast that is being drawn between those who are set before our eyes in last week's text and those who are set before our eyes in last week's text, and those who are set before our eyes in verses 13 and 14 today.

There were two primary points to the sermon last week, again, verses 9 through 12. The first was this, Satan is the power behind the man of lawlessness and his deceptions. And it's said that he'll come in the workings of Satan with all power and lying works, lying wonders. So the man of lawlessness is going to have signs and wonders, sort of in the way that Jesus had signs and wonders to authenticate Him, and the apostles had signs and wonders to authenticate that their doctrine actually came from God. The man of lawlessness is going to have lying wonders.

There are going to be signs that accompany Him as well. The second major point last week was that those who will not receive the love of the truth are given over by God to those delusions and so they're lost, they're condemned. When we will not receive the love of the truth, then over time God gives us over to those deceptions. And we saw that so clearly. If you want to see that expanded on and clearly taught, you just go to Romans 1 and It talks about the darkening of the mind and the giving over to untruth, to delusions.

This week we get the other side of the coin, and so it's a breath of fresh air. We've sort of been in these dark texts about the man of lawlessness, the man of sin, the son of perdition, and now we come out of the clouds and here it is about those who receive salvation through the work of Jesus Christ. And we get to just see those who do believe the truth. And here's the conclusion drawn by Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy. God deserves to be thanked for that.

They get right to that. So there's the contrast. Those who won't receive the love of the truth, then those who do believe the truth, and Paul and Silvanus and Timothy go right to giving credit where credit is due. God ought to be thanked when people believe. And so that's where we're headed today.

Enjoy. As we go to the text, let's go to the text in prayer. God, all we can do is come before You and thank You that there are so many, throughout the ages and at the current time, who aren't given what they deserve. God, I know this one heart, the heart that beats in my own chest, better than anyone else's heart, and I know what I deserve. And I know that if you needed it out to me, if you gave me what I richly deserve, I would have to accept it with my mouth closed.

I would never be able to rail against it, because I would know that I richly deserve your condemnation and to be cast away from you. But you have said that because of your own will and because of your love, you have desired to save the people out of their sins, out of their spiritual deadness, to raise them from the dead, and lavish Your love and Your grace upon them. Thank You for this, God. I pray that our hearts would sing as we consider the truth of Your Word. I pray in Jesus' name, Amen.

I just want to take it verse at a time, so I'm going to read verse 13. Please follow along, and then I'll talk about verse 13, and then we'll do the same with verse 14. 2 Thessalonians 2 verse 13. Paul and Silvanus and Timothy write, But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord. Because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth.

Here in verse 13, we have the debt of gratitude for the gracious choice of God. So if you're taking notes on your handout and you're filling in blanks. The blanks are debt and choice. The debt of gratitude for the gracious choice of God. This verse begins with these words, but we are bound to give thanks to God always for you.

And the first thing that's obvious about this verse is that it uses almost exactly the same words that we've already seen in chapter 1 verse 3. Our authors have already said, we're bound to give thanks. And in chapter 1 verse 3 they were bound to give thanks for the tremendous growth in faith and love that is evident in the lives of these new believers. Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy look and they see they've been growing leaps and bounds in faith and love. Beholding that, they say, we're incurring a debt of gratitude for that.

That's what the word bound means. It means that you've incurred a debt that you now owe. We owe gratitude to God in chapter 1 verse 3 because we can see that you are growing leaps and bounds of faith and love here in our text because God chose them for salvation. In other words, you've been saved. And someone ought to be thanked for that.

And it's not the Thessalonians believers. They're not responsible for their salvation. God Almighty, The Sovereign God who made them is also sovereign over them being saved. So God is the one who should be thanked. And because they can see that they are saved, they know that they owe a debt of gratitude.

Be thankful to God that God chose them for salvation. God gets the credit. God deserves the credit. And so these Thessalonians have become a source of continual thanksgiving. We are bound to give thanks to God always for you.

A continual source of thanksgiving for Paul and Silvanus and Timothy. I want to consider two texts that really expand upon this. Of course, we're just looking at one verse here. We're in verse 13. And so, there are other places where Paul teaches the same thing, but he expands on it.

He gives us additional information about The choice of God in salvation. So the first one I'd like to look at is in Ephesians chapter 1. Please turn there. Ephesians chapter 1. And I'm going to be reading verses 3 through 6.

So same author, right? Ephesians is written by Paul, and 2 Thessalonians is written by Paul and Silvanus and Timothy. Ephesians chapter 1 beginning in verse 3, follow along. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love.

Having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace by which He made us accepted in the beloved." Wonderful truth, but a lot in one sentence. This could use some untangling, As Paul's sentences sometimes can use a little untangling. So let's just look at some key phrases. Here in this verse I think we have Paul blessing God for blessing us, and the us is the elect. In verse 4 we see this phrase, He, God the Father, chose us in Him, God the Son, before the foundation of the world.

Paul is explaining how people get saved. God the Father chooses them to be saved in God the Son before the foundation of the world. So this is exactly like our text that we're looking at in 2 Thessalonians. In our text it's God from the beginning chose you for salvation. In Ephesians 1, it's before the foundations of the world.

In other words, before you think a thought, before you say a word, before you do anything, Back up. Before the world was made. Back up. Before the foundations of the world. All the way to the beginning.

God has decided, I'm going to save some. In verse 5 we see this phrase, having predestined us to adoption. So think about the two key words there. Predestined here means to predetermine, to decide beforehand. So again, he's finding different ways to say the same thing.

Beforehand. Before you think those thoughts and say those words and do those things. Before the foundations of the world had been laid, all the way back at the beginning. Before that, God pointed you out for adoption. To be his children.

So this is something altogether different. Yes it is to be saved, but what does that mean? Fundamentally it means to be brought into his family and to be his child and to receive his love as a father lavishes his love on his children. Every good father has the deepest love for his children and every good mother. So that is the nature of the salvation that has been determined before the foundations of the world.

All the way back at the beginning. The nature of it is, I'm adopting you into my family and I'm going to lavish the love on you like a father lavishes on his children. I'm adopting you. Again in verse 5 we see this phrase, according to the good pleasure of his will. Why?

Because you're smart. No. Because you do good. No. According to the good pleasure of His will.

Because God takes pleasure in it. It is not us, something in us that attracts the election of God. No, this happened beforehand. It's according to the good purpose of His will, the good pleasure of His will. Verse 6, we see this phrase, To the praise of His glory.

Why does God do this? So that He would be acknowledged as glorious. To the praise of His glory. So that he would be praised for being glorious. He is a glorious God and he desires to display himself so he would be known for being as glorious as He is.

He wants to show himself off. If I do that, it's arrogance. But if God does that, it's wonderful. It's fitting that He should show Himself off. We should never show ourselves off like that.

We never deserve it like God deserves it. God is of infinite worth. He is infinitely worthy of our praise. And so He's determined ways to show off His magnificence. And this is one of them.

He's putting Himself on display to the praise of His glory. That is why. And Finally in verse 6 we see this phrase which explains how this salvation is accomplished. By which He made us accepted in the Beloved. Capital B, Beloved.

What is the capital B for? It means God is in view there. Jesus Christ, the Lord Jesus Christ, is in view there. The people of God are accepted in themselves. No, they're accepted in the capital B beloved, in Jesus Christ.

By being joined to Jesus Christ. You are out of Jesus and God lavishes His mercy and His grace on you and joins you to his son. He grants you repentance and faith. Yes, you have to repent. Yes, you have to believe.

But if you've repented and believed, know this, God gave that to you as a gift. That's not you. You're not going to be able to take credit for that. You're not going to stand before God and say, look, I repented and believed. We're going to praise God for all eternity.

We're going to admire Him forever for having given us repentance and belief. He makes us accepted in the beloved, in the Lord Jesus Christ. This is a great text, Ephesians 1 verses 3 through 6, it tells us a lot of what we have in our text but it expands on it. Here's another place and I want you to turn here as well, at 2 Timothy chapter 1. So again, same author.

The Apostle Paul is writing to Timothy now. In fact, two of our authors from 2 Thessalonians are represented here. One is the writer and one is the recipient. 2 Timothy chapter 1. I'll be reading verses 8 through 11.

I'll be reading verses 8-11. Verse 8, Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the Gospel according to the power of God, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began. But has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel to which I was appointed a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles. Again, let's look at some of the key phrases here. Verse 9, God has saved us and called us with a holy calling.

He's talking about the elect here, and he's saying, God saved us and God has called us with a holy calling and then he says this in verse 9, according to his own purpose and grace. In fact, right before he said that he said not according to our own works, but according to His own purpose and grace. Could it be more clear? Could He find more ways to say it? It's not you saving you.

Now we know that it's the work of Jesus Christ. It's His blood that atones and brings together a holy God with sinners through the cleansing of His blood. So we know it's Jesus, But how is that affected? Did you believe to lay hold of that work? No, it's not of works.

It's but according to His own purpose and grace. In verse 9 we see this phrase, which was given to us by Christ Jesus before time began. It's just like Ephesians 1. It's just like our text. Before time began.

These are things that are predetermined by God. See this phrase in verse 10. Through the gospel. So there's a channel for this work. It's not magic.

It's through the gospel. There is a message to be heard and to be believed and to be trusted and that is the channel through which God works to save sinners. He has the gospel preached and he saves one and then he turns that one who has been saved into a preacher to become a channel for others to be recipients of the Gospel. So I do think these two texts expand on and shed light on our text, but more than anything I wanted to bring you here to see how Paul uses the same language and says the same things over and over again. Paul couldn't be more clear and he couldn't be more consistent in teaching How sinners are saved by God.

It says the same thing over and over again. Believe me, we haven't exhausted the text which say the same thing. We can go to other places as well. Now, what is behind God's choice of people who He will save for His glory. What's behind all that?

We're told in our text, so back to 2 Thessalonians, what's behind it? God has chosen to save people for His glory. What is undergirding that? What is foundational to that? Love, God's love.

God's love motivates Him to choose sinners to be saved. We have this beautiful phrase, brethren beloved by the Lord. When it says God chose you for salvation, The Greek word that has been rendered chose literally means to take for oneself. To take for oneself. What does that mean?

You're mine! That one. Mine. I take that one for myself. That is the sense in which you're chosen for salvation.

God marked you out to be His. So the idea is God takes a person as an object of His love. He takes them for Himself. To display His love. To show His love.

Listen to Jeremiah chapter 31 verse 3. Jeremiah 31 verse 3 is about God's dealings with Israel. And of course, God's dealings with national Israel is a picture of how he will deal with the elect, how he does deal with the elect. Jeremiah 31 verse 3, The Lord has appeared of old to me saying, yes I have loved you with an everlasting love. Therefore, with loving kindness, I have drawn you." I want to read that again.

Jeremiah 31 verse 3, The Lord has appeared of old to me, saying, Yes, Israel, I have loved you with an everlasting love, a love not bound by time, everlasting love. Therefore, with loving kindness, I have drawn you." So why did God make Israel an object of His love and draw them with His loving kindness. So he's saying, my loving kindness was an enticement to Israel. I've drawn them with my loving kindness. Now, why did he do that?

We get it in the verse. Because He has loved them with an everlasting love. Just like we're learning in our New Testament text. This is not New Testament theology, not restricted to the New Testament certainly. God's character has never changed, and so God has always been this way.

He's always had an everlasting love for His people. It doesn't have a beginning at the front end and it doesn't have an end at the back end. It's an everlasting love and therefore He draws his people with his loving kindness. Paul is really saying this. Paul and Silvanus and Timothy are saying this in our text.

It's beautiful. Friends, I definitely want to say this today in multiple ways. The doctrine of election is not a doctrine to be feared. Certainly not a doctrine to be despised. It's a doctrine to be loved.

It means there's hope. Without God choosing to save some, all will be lost. You must understand this about mankind. That all deserve condemnation. And none have a spiritual capacity in their deadness, being dead in sin and transgression, to even reach out for the grace of God.

Dead means dead. And unless the Lord had left a remnant for himself for his glory we would have been come we would become like Sodom we would have been made like Gomorrah It is easy to get stuck in the mindset that you are God's science project. God's been working on the science project and he wants to do some neat things, and so he says, well there's Jason Dome, and I want to see if I can accomplish some neat things in his life. So I'm somehow playing a role in God's science project. No!

God loves me! And it's an everlasting love. And He's drawn me with His loving kindness not to be his science project and see if he can do some whiz bang things in my life. No! If you are part of the Lord's people, you are brethren beloved by the Lord.

A love that doesn't have a beginning, and that doesn't have an end, and He's drawing you with His loving kindness. You're not His science project. I don't know if you struggle with that thought. I struggle with that thought. To Completely lose sight of the love of God for me.

That's madness! That cheats us of the sweetness of the gospel. To view yourself as God's little project. If God doesn't view you that way, you shouldn't view you that way. We're loved by God, an everlasting love, an unquenchable love, a drawing love.

Finally Paul and Silvanus and Timothy speak of two mechanisms that God uses to bring to fruition his choice of salvation. Before time began, he chose some to be saved. Now how does he bring that to fruition? There are two mechanisms that we're given. The elect, those who were chosen from the beginning for salvation, are not born saved.

This is so important. Nobody's ever been born saved. The elect are not born saved. They're born members of a race in rebellion. The whole race plunged into rebellion and they want nothing to do with God.

God repulses them. They want to be God. They don't want to serve God and love God. They want to be God. So they jam their eyes shut, and they stick their fingers in their ears, and they say, I can't see you, I can't hear you, I won't follow you, I will say what is right.

That is the condition of all of mankind. That's how you're born. And then as you grow older you just get better at it. You get more subtle at it. You get more sophisticated about your rebellion.

So that if you get really good about it people don't even think you're in rebellion. But in your heart of hearts you are at war with God. You are saved in time. God reaches into that to save people. So the elect aren't saved from birth.

The elect are marked out to be saved at a point in time in their life. Here are the mechanisms. Number one, through sanctification by the Spirit. Number two, through belief in the truth. I'm just going phrase by phrase through verse 13 now.

So the first mechanism, Let's look at it. Through sanctification by the Spirit. There are two meanings for sanctification. So anytime you see that word in the New Testament, you've got to get clear. Are they talking about this or are they talking about that?

Because it's not the same thing and if you get the meaning wrong, you're going to have no end of confusion. So here's the first meaning of sanctification. Consecrated to something. Set aside for a very specific purpose. For a very specific purpose.

So in this context, sanctification would mean God says you're mine. Chosen. Taken out for oneself. Remember that was the definition of chosen. So I'm going to be arguing it is this first meaning, this meant consecrated to something, consecrated to God, set apart to be God's and only God's, marked out you are mine.

And the Spirit does that, sanctification by the Spirit. The other meaning is the results of that consecration. In other words, When you're marked out to a specific purpose, when you're sidelined for this purpose, then that purpose is fulfilled. And so you grow into fulfilling that purpose. So in that sense it would be sanctification by the Spirit.

The Spirit of God is working in your life so that you continually are growing and maturing and becoming less disobedient and becoming less disobedient and becoming more obedient. So it's the results of your being consecrated to God. So it can either be consecrated to something or the results of it. And here to me at least, it is clear that the first meaning is being used here. You're marked out by the Spirit and set aside to be gods.

And the Spirit has been assigned that work to set you aside to be only gods. That's consistent with the text, especially with what we saw in the words chose, to take for oneself. And if you make it the other meaning, the ongoing growth that it can mean, then you've put ongoing growth before belief in the truth, grammatically. That doesn't work for me. Does that work for you?

I don't think we want to talk about growth and progress before we talk about belief in the truth. That is the wrong order. And Paul is very precise. However, the other is absolutely true. It is the Spirit who sanctifies us in that other sense as well.

So you do find commentators saying that that is the proper interpretation. The Holy Spirit is given the job of consecrating you to God. It's his job to call you out of the world, to call you from death to life. To raise you from the dead and mark you out to be the Lord's. That's the Holy Spirit's job.

So it's not that the smart people at some point figure it out, but the dumb people are left to languish in their ignorance. Early on in your salvation, you might have thought that. I figured it out! Where's someone who can pat me on my back? Like, I'm smarter than all of unregenerate mankind.

Okay, but then you learn over time, no, that's not exactly how this works. What I was calling me being smart is actually the gift of God showing me things that in my dead condition I never would have been able to see. Never. The Bible teaches us that there are no smart people in that sense who are going to figure it out. Because those dead people don't want to figure it out.

Figuring it out means I need to repent and turn away from the things that I love. Unless God comes and gives you a new heart and changes the affection of your heart, you don't want to know anything about that. It is willful ignorance. It's not just ignorance, it's willful ignorance. You don't want to know.

So there are many brilliant people in this world who understand astrophysics. But in spiritual things they have no ability to discern them, because they're dead in sins and transgressions. That's the first mechanism for God bringing to fruition His choice in salvation, through sanctification by the Spirit. Here's the second mechanism that we're given. Through belief in the truth.

Through belief in the truth. Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, through belief in the truth. Now contrast this with verse 10. You had those who would not receive the love of the truth. And then in verse 12 it says they did not believe the love of the truth.

That's how it works. If you won't receive the love of the truth, you don't believe the truth. And they're therefore condemned. And now we have before us in verse 13 those who do believe the truth and they are saved. It is by faith, it is by belief in the truth that we lay hold of the work of Jesus Christ.

In other words, Jesus did die for sinners And His blood does cleanse from the stain of sin. But how do you participate in that? Is it universalism? Because Jesus died, all the stain of sin on everyone is removed? No, it's through faith.

By grace, through faith, you lay hold of the work of Jesus Christ and His cleansing blood by faith, by belief in the truth. And as James says, It's not simply intellectual agreement, that's a dead faith that even demons have. It is a thorough transfer of trust that works its way out so you can see it in your life once you have it. Once you have real belief in the truth, it transforms your life. So How do you know whether I have real saving belief in the truth or not?

Like has there been any transformation in your life? That's what the author of the book of James would ask us. Is your life different? If it's not different then you have an intellectual faith that is not a saving faith, it's a dead faith. So this is real live belief in the truth, saving faith that is in view here.

Now here's an amazing verse, one verse that shows how belief fits within election. In other words, what is the relationship between belief and the truth and election? Turn to Acts chapter 13. I normally won't have you turn for single verses. I'll just read it.

This was a really critical verse. I think it's best if our eyes All rest on Acts chapter 13 verse 48. Acts chapter 13 verse 48. Paul and Barnabas had been preaching in Antioch and they end up preaching to Gentiles about the grafting in of the Gentiles and it makes the Jews really mad. Okay, but here's what it says is the result of that preaching of the Gospel.

Acts 13 verse 48. Now when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord. And as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed. So it's preaching to a multitude. Some believe, receive, and are saved.

Some don't believe, will not receive the love of the truth, and are condemned. What's the difference? Some have been appointed to eternal life. They believed. People sit in the same place, they hear the same sermon, they hear the same free offer of the gospel, and one guy believes and his life is completely transformed.

The lady sitting right next to him says that makes no sense to me and goes away, no different. Another place, the same sermon, The blood of Jesus Christ for the cleansing of sin is offered. A woman says, yes, this is the word of Almighty God. Her husband sitting next to her says, that's the most absurd thing I've ever heard in my life. How can any lunatic believe this?

This happens all the time. This is happening this morning in churches all over the country. That very thing is happening. A wife is converted and a husband thinks it's the stupidest thing he's ever heard, or vice versa. Why?

Acts 13, 48. As many as had been appointed to eternal life believed, and not one more. The Nelson Study Bible has this note that I think brings these two mechanisms together. Again, what are our two mechanisms? The first one was through sanctification by the Spirit.

The second one was through belief in the truth. And this note in Nelson brings them together. Listen to this note. Note the balance of the Spirit and the truth. The Spirit without the Word is mute.

He has nothing to say. The Word without the Spirit is lifeless. It has no power to act. The work of the Spirit is always united with the work of the word to convict the believer of the truth. Now I'm a little bit uncomfortable with how it says that the Spirit without the Word is mute.

So I think that may be going a little far. But the major point remains completely intact which is that the Spirit and the Word act hand in hand and you could never pull out one of those and have salvation. The Spirit acts with the Word of God to convict the sinner of sin and to offer Jesus Christ. He brings the Word alive. The Word without the Spirit is dead.

The Spirit makes it alive to the sinner. And the Spirit without the Word, what is the definition of the truth? The Word defines the truth, and the Spirit comes alongside that and floods it with light. Makes it so that it can be understood. I think that's how these mechanisms work together, always works together.

You'll never find one without the other in Have Saving Faith. That's not possible. Now we're back to 2 Thessalonians and we're moving on to verse 14. 2 Thessalonians 2 verse 14. To which the last words of 13 were belief in the truth, so that's what's in view.

All of verse 14 has belief in the truth in view. To which He called you by our gospel for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ." Here in this verse, we have the cause and effect of belief in the truth. So if you're filling in blanks on the handout, the blanks are cause, effect. The cause and effect of belief in the truth. Verse 14 says, there's something that causes you to believe in the truth.

It gives it to us. And it says, belief in the truth results in something, there's an effect from it, and it gives it to us. Here's the cause of belief in the truth. Being called by the gospel, Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy here call it our gospel. Why is that?

Because that's what they've been preaching. It's the gospel that they preached. It is the gospel of Jesus Christ. It's not a gospel about them, but it's a gospel offered by them. That's why they call it our gospel.

Being called by the gospel causes belief in the truth. Now this has to be taken in conjunction with what we already saw in verse 13, sanctification by the Spirit. This is not apart from the work of the Spirit of God. Calling by the Gospel is part of the work of the Spirit of God. It's how He sanctifies.

It's how He marks out and pulls out people out of their deadness to Himself. It's by calling them by the Gospel. And 1 Thessalonians, we had a verse that explains this maybe better in any other place. So just flip back to 1 Thessalonians chapter 2 briefly. 1 Thessalonians chapter 2 verse 13, you'll instantly recognize this verse.

For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe." Here in 1 Thessalonians 2 verse 13, Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy are reflecting back on their time in Thessalonica and their preaching of the Gospel in Thessalonica. And in reflecting on that, they thank God that when they were preaching this gospel that they were supernat... The Thessalonians were supernaturally given the ability to recognize this isn't just the words of man, this is the words of God. That's why they're thanking God for it, because they recognize, we said this is truth, but people reject what is offered as the truth all the time. These people had the ability to recognize God is speaking these words, this is not just these men.

So God should be thanked for making it plain to them that it's really God speaking to them. This is the work of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit did that, so God is praised for that in 1 Thessalonians 2. This is why the Thessalonians believed. Yes, the Gospel was preached, but the Holy Spirit was present so that it was received with power of the Holy Spirit.

Here's what Matthew Henry says, I think he hits the nail right on the head as he frequently does. Matthew Henry says the outward call of God is by the Gospel. And this is rendered effectual by the inward operation of the Spirit. Matthew Henry says, when the gospel is preached and someone is saved, there's something happening on the outside and there's something happening on the inside. What's happening on the outside?

The gospel is being preached. The good news about Jesus dying for sinners is being declared with authority and hopefully clarity. That's what's happening on the outside. But there's something also happening on the inside, and it's the Spirit making the person able to recognize this is truth. These are the words of God.

So that was the cause of belief in the truth being called by the gospel. The effect of belief in the truth is this, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. When you savingly believe the truth, you become a partaker of Jesus' glory. I know I can't believe it either. I can't believe something so wonderful would be true either.

Actually, I do believe it. I can believe it, I guess. But It's hard to believe that something so wonderful could be so true that when we savingly believe in the truth, living faith, that we become partakers of the glory that Jesus deserves. Jesus himself said this so clearly. In John chapter 17, it's the end of Jesus' life, and he's praying for the twelve disciples, and then he starts praying for all who will believe after them.

Listen to this, John 17 verse 20 and verse 22. Jesus says, I do not pray for these alone, I don't pray for just these twelve, but also for those who will believe in me through their word. Verse 22, And the glory which you gave me I have given them. Jesus says that. Jesus is praying to his father and he says, Father, all the glory that you gave me, merited glory deserved glory, fitting glory that God did give to Jesus.

Jesus says I'm giving it to those who believe the truth. We are partakers of Jesus' glory. He deserved it. We enjoy it. You don't deserve that glory.

You didn't earn that glory. It's not fitting if you just look at you and yourself. Again, back to Ephesians 1, we're accepted in the beloved. All this comes to us through being joined to Jesus. I want to make two final observations, and then give you a few applications.

Two final observations. First, looking at last week's text and this week's text, the blame for condemnation is laid squarely at the feet of those who don't believe, and the credit for salvation is given exclusively to God." Not the people who are saved. This is big stuff. You cannot miss this. These are such foundational, essential truths, and if you don't get this, the recovery is long.

You'll have to go back and rip that wrong understanding out and replace it with this at some point. This is going to be the source of grief in your life. Okay, I'm going to say that again. The blame for condemnation is laid squarely at the feet of those who don't believe. If you are condemned in the end, it's your fault for not receiving the love of the truth, for refusing to believe the truth.

And the blame goes to you and people think they'll stand before God and offer complaints, but Romans says that's not true. Every mouth will be stopped. Your mouth will be stopped. You will not rage against God for your condemnation. You'll see how just your condemnation is.

If you're condemned, it is your fault you're to blame. But, the credit for salvation is given exclusively to God, not the people who are saved. What can that mean? How can that be? Wait a minute, I get the blame if I'm condemned, but I don't get any of the credit if I'm saved.

Yes, that is exactly correct. And here's why that is. If God gave everyone what they deserved, everyone would be lost. Everyone would be lost. Not one person would be saved.

There's something like seven billion people on planet Earth right now. But there have been many generations that came before us and maybe there will be many generations that come after us. We don't know when Jesus is going to return. That's a lot of people. That's an adequate sample size.

We've got a good sample size to see what's true. Of the seven billion people that are currently alive right now, all of them will be lost unless God reaches in to the deadness of being in sin and pulls them out of that. Every one. So your sample size is seven billion and every single one will be lost. So understand that.

Our text is teaching so clearly with no wiggle room that if you're condemned, you're to blame. If you're saved, God should be glorified. God gets all the glory for it. Secondly, my final observation. Think of the original recipients of this letter.

This was not written to Americans who are 200 years into spending a rich spiritual deposit. Spending a rich spiritual deposit. So the Thessalonians get this letter, were their parents chosen for salvation? If we took a poll in the room we would say, it appears to us some of our parents were, some of our parents were. What about the Thessalonians if they took a poll?

Any of our parents chosen for salvation? Any of our grandparents chosen for salvation? Darkness had been on Thessalonica for thousands of years leading up to Paul and Silvanus and Timothy coming there with the gospel. So the answer to this question is almost certainly, no, my parents weren't marked out for salvation. They were not chosen from the beginning for salvation.

And neither were my grandparents, and neither were my great-grandparents, and neither were my great-great-grandparents. The Gospel is coming anew to Thessalonica. Remember Acts chapter 16. Paul is not even planning to go there. But he has a vision in the night.

And it's a man from Macedonia saying, come over here and help us. It's God. It's All God. The reason why people in pagan Thessalonica are bowing the knee and receiving the work of Jesus Christ. It's God.

So it might be more dramatic for them, but that's not fundamentally different for us. In other words, your salvation story might not begin with God giving someone a vision, go over and help Gary Orr. But at the root of it, it's the same story. God is choosing objects of love from the beginning, before the foundation of the world with an everlasting love. Applications.

Completely taken from Charles Spurgeon. Which means they're going to be better than usual, probably. So if you read Charles Spurgeon on this text, he preached on these two verses in isolation, and it's wonderful and fantastic. You can Look it up and enjoy it if you'd like. Charles Spurgeon says that the doctrine of election should have three effects on believers.

Number one, Spurgeon says nothing is more humbling than the doctrine of election. It strips away all credit from us and leaves us separated from the pride we would take in being saved. What did you have to do with your salvation? Nothing. How much of the credit goes to you?

None. It's good to be humbled before God and not raised up against the unregenerate as if something that you have that is good wasn't given to you. If you have something good, it's been given to you. Number two, Spurgeon says, elections should make every Christian very fearless and very bold. How so?

I've been chosen for salvation from the beginning Because of an everlasting love now, what am I afraid of again? Why am I afraid of that again? What would keep me from a holy boldness if I've been chosen because of an everlasting love from the beginning? It should make us very fearless and very bold. Yes, I hope we're emboldened by what we're learning in 2nd Thessalonians.

Number three, Spurgeon says, election will make Christians holy. How so? If God, for a reason that you cannot explain other than it was his own purpose and he wanted to display his love, chose you through no merit of your own. You never deserved it. In fact, He withheld what you did deserve to give you what you didn't deserve.

How can you sin against this God? How can you not live so that He would be glorified and praised and honored? How can you roll around in the defilements of the world when God has sent His Son to shed His blood? Not because you earned it, but because He just wanted to display His love for you. This should make us a holy people.

Finally, for unbelievers, Charles Spurgeon says this, I'll just quote him. And now lastly to the ungodly. So far from dispiriting and discouraging thee, it is a very hopeful and joyous thing that is there in election. What if I told thee, perhaps none can be saved, none are ordained to eternal life. Wouldst thou not tremble and fold thy hands in hopelessness?

Then not only take heart, but go and try the Master." This is Charles Spurgeon's exhortation to those who do not yet believe. Don't be dispirited, don't be discouraged by the doctrine of election. It should give you hope. If not for election, all would be lost. But there is election, which means that some will be saved and God has put you where there are the means of grace and it should give you hope that maybe He's using these things in your life to bring you to salvation.

Again, there are these mechanisms, sanctification by the Spirit, belief in the truth. God keeps putting you in a place where you're hearing the truth. Could it be that the reason for that is God is having mercy on you? That God has loved you with an everlasting love, and now He's calling you by the Gospel. Anyone who's being brought into regular contact with the Gospel has the right to hope that it's because of the everlasting love of God towards their soul that He keeps bringing them into contact with the truth so that they might believe in it and lay hold of the work of Jesus Christ on their behalf.

God, it's humiliating to come to the edge of a well that you look down into, and you know you're not even seeing anywhere near the bottom of it. And then to try to communicate these things in a way that are helpful. But I thank you that your Word speaks for itself, and I pray that your Word would do its work, that your Spirit would have been present here today and will continue to be present in our hearts to press these truths home to us. Oh God, please have mercy on us. Please grant salvation to many, many, many who are hearing God the words of the free offer of pardon through Jesus Christ.

Send Your Spirit among us to convince us that these are not the words of man, but the words of God. May we receive the love of the truth and believe and be saved. In Jesus' name, Amen.