Queen Valley Community Lutheran Church
26 February 2012
Picked and Purchased

Among the things that are ours in Jesus, what we are calling the “Precious Promises for Princes and Princesses” besides our salvation, forgiveness of sin, and eternal life, the Bible talks about two wonderful things: we are picked (chosen, elected); and we are purchased.

To pick, choose, or elect something, means “to select by preference”, “to choose carefully, fastidiously”, “to designate by preference from a list of possibilities”.

First the Bible talks about how God chose the Israelites to be His own people. He chose one place for His name to abide: the temple mount in Jerusalem. In Psalm 68:18 it says He chose the mountains of Jerusalem to dwell in. In Psalm 65:4 the Bible says that God chose certain men to draw near to him. He chose David to be king and his line to bring the Messiah into the world.

When Jesus came, He had a lot of disciples, but He chose twelve of them to be with Him and to be sent out by Him as His own special representatives, called the Apostles. In John 15:16 He says to them, and to all of us, “You did not choose me, but I chose you, and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should abide.”

Do you remember the times as a child when you were the one not picked for a team? Or maybe grudgingly being accepted as the last one still not picked, “Oh, well, I guess we’re stuck with you, then.” That hurt, didn’t it? I think a lot of kids carry a hurt the rest of their lives from those rituals! On the other hand, do you remember times when you were chosen for a special job, in preference to others? Didn’t that feel wonderful? “They wanted me! They picked ME!” Even as adults, that feels really good when it happens. It feels like you’ve been approved, like you’re worth something to somebody. It’s a nice feeling, to be valued by somebody.

The Bible says in Ephesians 1:4 “He (God) chose us in Him (in Christ) before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him, in love.”

God chose you in Jesus from before the foundation of the world. That means that before time began, He had chosen you to be his special possession. He selected you out of all the people in the world, to be his own. And you weren’t chosen any later than Peter, John, or Paul; since it was done before time began, you might say that we were all chosen first. You were His first pick! After that, He created the world and started the clock of time.

The world makes its choices based on good looks, talent, popularity, and based on what they will get out of it. We pick a President that we think will give us what we want. We pick employees who will give a good image to our company and result in profit.

God chose us for His own, not based on anything in us, but “according to His great mercy”, in love (ἀγάπη).

Now, whom did He choose? According to Ephesians 1:1 he chose those who believe in Jesus. For what purpose? “That we should be Holy and blameless before Him.”

This “choosing before the foundation of the world” is sometimes called predestination in the Bible. Ephesians 1:5 says, “having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself...”

Now if God chose you and me as believers to be His own, does that mean that He has chosen everyone else, at least by default, for condemnation?

That is a question that some of the greatest theological minds in the world have argued for centuries. Whole books - whole libraries of books - have been written to debate that question. But remember that we can’t always apply human logic to the things of the Spirit. To come to a logical conclusion about anything, you have to have all the facts. And in the spiritual realm, we only have the facts that God has chosen to reveal to us in His Word.

One of the facts revealed to us is that there is no other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved (Acts 4:12). Another fact revealed to us is that “God wills that all should be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth” (I Timothy 2:4). and in II Peter 3:9 “God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” And yet, even while the Bible reveals that God wants to save everyone, it also makes it clear that not everyone will be saved, but only those who trust in Jesus.

I had a wonderful professor in Bible School many years ago, who explained it like this: “There is a room of salvation, the banquet hall of the wedding feast of the Lamb. On the outside there is a sign that says, ‘All who will may enter.’ But having made the choice to trust in Jesus and follow Him, you enter that room, and then you turn around and look over the door where you came in, and there on the inside of the room you see another sign that says, ‘Chosen in Christ from before the foundation of the World.’”

Another thing that is ours in Jesus is this: We were purchased. God paid the most wonderful and terrible price for your salvation.

I heard the story just this week of a five year old boy whose sister had contracted a terrible, life-threatening disease. He had already had this disease himself, but had recovered from it, so his body had somehow built antigens to the disease that his sister didn’t have, and she would certainly die of it.

The doctors talked to his parents, and together they explained to him that his blood had something in it that could save his sister’s life. Knowing that little kids are usually afraid of big needles, they explained this very carefully and then asked him if he would be willing to give some of his blood so his sister could live. After thinking it over for a minute, he agreed. So they put him on the table and stuck a needle into his arm and drew out quite a bit of blood, to make a serum for his sister.

The little boy didn’t yell or anything, but he got very pale, when they asked if he was all right, he asked, “Will I start to die right away?”

They had forgotten to explain exactly how much of his blood he would be giving. He thought he was giving all of his blood and that he would die so that his sister would live; but he was willing to do that because he loved his sister.

The Bible says, “...you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you...” (I Peter 1:18-20). So just as He chose you and set you apart to be His from before the foundation of the world, He also chose to be your own redeeming sacrifice before time began.

Jesus was not God’s “Plan B”. He knew all about our sin before He made us, and He knew all about the price He would pay to save us and buy us back, after we sold ourselves as slaves to the lowest bidder.

You are twice His; He made you, and He redeemed you. His claim on your life is complete, and when you surrender your life to Him you discover that He who designed you knew all along what was best for you. He knew all along what He destined you to be and to do. That’s why St Augustine wrote, 400 years after Christ, in his own personal testimony, the Confessions of Augustine, “You have made us for Yourself, Oh God, and our souls are restless, until they find their rest in You.”

Have you experienced that? Do you know what it’s like to find your rest in Jesus? If not, now is the time to find it. Let Jesus be the Lord and Savior of your life.

If you have known this rest for a long time, join me in thanking Him for these two wonder promises: Picked and Purchased in Jesus.