Call to Worship – December 14 2014
We worship the God who elected many to salvation by His grace and for His glory. The word election, in the biblical/theological sense has fallen on hard times. No word seems to foster more frustration, redefinition and denial among Christians. B.B. Warfield wrote, “It is sad to witness the death of any worthy thing, —even of a worthy word. And worthy words do die, like any other worthy thing —if we do not take good care of them. How many worthy words have already died under our very eyes, because we did not take care of them… The religious terrain is full of the graves of good words which have died from lack of care… It is a sad thing to see words die. But the dying of the words is not the saddest thing which we see. The saddest thing is the dying out of the hearts of men of the things for which the words stand.”[1] The understanding of the word “election” must not die in the hearts of believers. Election stands clear in the biblical record. Apart from true biblical election no sinners would repent and believe in Christ. Without the doctrine of election our worship falls flat. Election causes us; to worship, to worship rightly, and to worship submissively. The doctrine directs us toward honoring God His way in worship because we understand we were saved His way and His way only. Let us worship in exultation in knowing God loved us first.
Pastor Brandon F Smith
[1] Benjamin B. Warfield, The Princeton Theological Review, vol. XIV (Princeton,: Princeton University Press, London: Oxford University Press, 1916), 198-200. The chapter is entitled “Redeemer And Redemption”.