The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1918, Page 34

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34

giving tidings to a world blind unto the truth. The
printing-presses are busy sending forth the deadliest
spiritual poison by the ton; from thousands of lec-
ture platforms the seed of infidelity is sown with
honeyed words; the railroads are laden with the
messengers of sin; and the air of our cities is pol-
Inted with the sound of ribald laughter and loud
profanity proceeding from thousands of dens of in-
iquity. Surely, never since the fateful day in Eden,
when Satan with his guileful words misled our first
parents, has there been a time when it was such
a reprehensible, such a cruel, such a criminal thing
for the servants of the Great King to be slothful in

' their sacred duty of spreading the Gospel of the
crucified and risen Savior.

13)

Oh, may the ascending Savior’s “Go” be promptly
answered by a glad and willing obedience! May the
Master’s spirit of willing service and unselfish sacri-
fice impel us to go into the streets and lanes of the
cities, and out into. the hedges and highways. and
everywhere carry the reviving, comforting, strength-
ening, and saving message of Him who purchased

* a sinful world with His precious blood! Yes, “go

ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every
creature.” F. J. L.

>

The Election of Grace.

: I.

The election of grace is taught in numerous texts
of Holy Writ, as, for instance, Matt. 20,16; 24, 22.
24.31; Luke 18,7; Acts 13,48; Rom.8,33; and
others: But the two passages in which St. Paul ex-
plicitly dwells on this doctrine are Eph. 1, 3—6 and
Rom. 8, 28—30. The former of these two passages
begins with these words: “Blessed be the God and
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed
us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in

Christ.” Our heavenly Father, the Giver of every

good and perfect gift, has richly and abundantly
‘blessed us Christians with spiritual and eternal
treasures. In the words of the following verse (4)
-the Apostle mentions one of thes gifts. Speaking of
the election of grace in which all true believers
should rejoice and take comfort, he says: “God
hath chosen us.” The word “chosen” designates a
selection. God has selected a certain number of
people from Adam’s fallen race in order that they

‘ should be His own. Thus Jesus said to His dis-
__ ciples: “I have chosen you out of the world.”
_ Who are the persons whom God has chosen?

The Lutheran Pioneer.

Paul writes: “He hath chosen ws,” the Christians,
all true believers, all that He has so richly blessed
according to verse 3. For the Apostle first states
that God has blessed us spiritually, and then con-
tinues, “according as He hath chosen us.” Hence
every Christian should have the joyful assurance
that he, having partaken of God’s spiritual bless-
ings, will also be kept in faith unto salvation, yea,
that he is one of God’s elect. Not only Paul, but
also the other Apostles simply address the Chris-
tians as the elect.

What God decides to do will assuredly come to
pass. 'Those whom Te has chosen unto salvation
will unfailingly reach heaven. Therefore Jesus says
concerning His sheep, His elect, whom the Father
has given Him: “I give unto them eternal life, and
they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck
them out of My hand. My Father, which gave them
Me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck
them out of My Father’s hand.” Paul was certain
that the elect would be saved. He exclaims: “Who
shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect?”
and then, in the same connection, asserts concerning
these elect: “Who shall separate us from the love
of God?” and: “I am persuaded that neither death,
nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers,
nor things present, nor things to come, nor height,
nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to
separate us from the love of God which is in Christ
Jesus, our Lord.” We also read that the angels
will gather together Christ’s elect from the four
winds, from one end of heaven to the other (Matt.
24, 31). Also compare Matt. 24, 24 (“if it were
possible”). ;

When has God chosen His own? “He hath chosen

us... before the foundation of the world,” Eph. 1,4.

God chose us before He had created heaven and earth
and all things therein,” according to the eternal pur-
pose which He purposed in Christ Jesus, our Lord.”

. “Before all time, when nothing beside God existed,
the election of grace was enacted.” ‘Thus the plan | +

of a building may be, in all its details, in the archi-
tect’s mind for months or even years before the build-
ing itself is erected according to such plan. But

the human architect’s plan may never be executed.

A competitor’s plan may gain the preference. But
what God plans will be executed. It cannot be over-
thrown.” Oh, the depth of God’s love! He took

our eternal welfare into loving and merciful con- -

sideration long before we were born, yea, ere the
world had been created, and chose us for His own.

The spiritual blessings mentioned Eph. 1, 3 are ~