I've chosen to talk about God's election on Sunday, November 17.
Let me be clear: "God's election" is not about how we choose God (or, indeed, which God any one of us chooses) - when I say "God's election" I mean how God chooses us.
In a human, political, democratic free election, when I vote for a particular candidate I am also probably not voting for other candidates. That may not mean I am voting against them. In a human, political, democratic free election, I am not voting to condemn certain people to an eternity in some place like Lower Slobbovia >>, for instance. It may happen that one or more of the folks I don't vote for today will turn up again in a future election, and I may have another opportunity to vote for them.
Some Christians read the word "predestined" in the Bible ("predestinated" in the King James Version) and think that this word is like a double-edged sword - if we are saying that God "predestined" some people to salvation, then we must also be saying that God "predestined" other people to damnation. Lutherans rejected this idea, and preferred to talk about "election" rather than "predestination," saying that when God does elect individuals to be among the saved, He is not also condemning others to eternal damnation.
In my sermon for Sunday, November 17, I want to focus on what the Bible says life can look like for those who are the elect, so we'll spend time listening to the words of Jesus in Mark 13:20-27 and to the words of the Apostle Peter in 2 Peter 1:1-11.
If you want to go more into depth about what Lutherans teach about "election" you can check out the Book of Concord, the book that contains the defining documents of the Lutheran faith like the Creeds, Catechisms, the Augsburg Confessions, and the Formula of Concord, which contains these two articles on "Election":
God bless us everyone!
Pastor Cahill
