Your Choice

You may have seen this coffee mug on the pulpit last week. I thought someone had accidentally forgotten it. But no, some wise guy left it on the pulpit as a joke. The mug says:

How do I like my eggs? In a pie!

Those who know me know how much I love eggs. My most favorite way to eat eggs is in chocolate chip cookies. My second most favorite way is brownies. I think you understand. When I eat eggs I don’t want to see them or taste them. I don’t even like the way they smell. Mary Anne will often wait for me to leave the house before she’ll cook her eggs.

Having said that, I really do want to like eggs. Until recently, eggs have been a great inexpensive protein. Of course now the price of eggs has quadrupled or more. However, I really would like to like them. And so, every now and then I’ll try some. In December, I bought an omelet at Bojangles. I had one egg with sausage and cheese. It wasn’t too bad though it was even better with some Texas Peter hot sauce. I had another in January. While I could eat it, I didn’t enjoy it. But I sincerely want to. So, thanks for the mug. It’s my sentiment exactly.

Last week we looked at our identification in Jesus. Peter tells us that in Jesus we are:

Selected — chosen by God

Strangers — living in a world that is not our permanent home

Sanctified — or made holy by the Holy Spirit who sets us apart to serve God

Sprinkled — washed by the blood of the Lamb, and

Saved — God has freed us from our slavery to sin and promised us an eternal home in heaven with him

This morning I want to take a closer look at that first word. SLIDE 2 Peter says that he was writing to:

1 Peter 1:1-2 God’s elect . . . who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father. . . .

SLIDE 3 There are two words in that description that can cause problems: elect and foreknowledge. That we are God’s elect means that we are picked, chosen, or selected by God. As we will see, it is God’s will that everyone be saved and doesn’t want anyone to be destroyed. Foreknowledge means that God knew us long before we knew him. We see both of these ideas when Isaiah declared:

Isaiah 49:1b Before I was born the Lord called me; from my mother’s womb he has spoken my name.

Paul wrote the same thing to the Galatians:

Galatians 1:15 But when God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by his grace. . . .

God knew them and chose them before they were born. God told the prophet Jeremiah:

Jeremiah 1:5 Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.

The Bible talks often about God’s foreknowledge. God knew us before we were born, but God also knows the future before it happens. Last week I read from Isaiah where God said:

Isaiah 46:10 I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say, “My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.”

God says he knows the future before it happens. God can see how things will turn out even before they begin. But does God knowing how they will turn out mean they will turn out like he sees them? Does God knowing that an event will happen predetermine that it will happen? Or do we have a say in it? Do we have a choice?

Does anyone like to play golf? I like golf the way I like eggs. I’ll play when I have to, but I prefer non-golf golf games like miniature golf. It’s got “golf” in the name. It even uses a golf ball and a golf club, but it’s not really golf. Even better, I like disc golf. Again, it’s not really golf even though it has “golf” in the name. I wish I liked golf though. Most of my friends enjoy playing. I wish I’d taken a golf class at ETSU years ago. If I knew how to play maybe I’d enjoy it more. As a result, the only times I’ve played is when my father-in-law, who loves golf, has asked me to play.

I did play in a golf tournament when I was a youth minister in Kentucky. We played on four man teams and my team came in first. I can assure you it was not because of me. I had nothing to do with our win. They only used two of my shots which was the minimum requirement. So, I’ve finished first in every golf tournament I’ve played in.

I remember the first time my father-in-law took me to play. I’d never been on a golf course before. It was probably around the eighth or ninth hole. I was taking my second shot from the fairway and it was terrible. It didn’t go anywhere. After my swing my father-in-law commented, “I knew it would do that.” I just shook my head. That wasn’t helpful at all. If he knew that was going to happen, why didn’t he suggest I use a different club or hit the ball differently? That was my introduction to the wonderful game of golf.

Let me ask you, did my father-in-law knowing I was going to take a bad shot make me take the bad shot? Did I hit the ball badly only because he knew it was going to happen? The answer is no. His knowing what was going to happen before I swung my club didn’t force me to take a bad shot. His knowing it had nothing to do with it. And truth be told, he didn’t actually know what was going to happen, but because of his years of experience he had a very good idea what was going to happen and it did.

Here’s another question, does God knowing what is going to happen make it happen? Does God’s foreknowledge mean we don’t have a choice?

Turn with me to the twenty-third chapter of 1 Samuel where we find an interesting story about David. David is on the run from King Saul who wants to take David’s life. Even though David was running for his own life he took time to help others. The town of Keilah was being attacked by the Philistines. Keilah was located in the rolling hills of Judah about halfway between the Dead Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. When David heard the town was being attacked he prayed about what he might do to help.

1 Samuel 23:1-2 1 When David was told, “Look, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah and are looting the threshing floors,” 2 he inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I go and attack these Philistines?” The Lord answered him, “Go, attack the Philistines and save Keilah.”

When David told his men what God said they weren’t very excited. They were afraid of the Philistines. So, David prayed again.

1 Samuel 23:4 Once again David inquired of the Lord, and the Lord answered him, “Go down to Keilah, for I am going to give the Philistines into your hand.”

With this second affirmation that they should attack and with the knowledge that God said they would win, David’s men agreed to go with him. And what do you think happened? They won.

1 Samuel 23:5 So David and his men went to Keilah, fought the Philistines and carried off their livestock. He inflicted heavy losses on the Philistines and saved the people of Keilah.

It wasn’t long however, before Saul heard about David and his men fighting in Keilah. Saul had been searching for David and hadn’t found him. When he heard David was in Keilah, he gathered his army and went down to attack.

1 Samuel 23:7 Saul was told that David had gone to Keilah, and he said, “God has delivered him into my hands, for David has imprisoned himself by entering a town with gates and bars.”

Once he had the town surrounded, Saul was certain that he would be able to capture David. And notice who Saul attributed his success to. He attributed to God: “God has handed him over to me.”

When David heard that Saul had been told where he was, David prayed again.

1 Samuel 23:9-12 9 When David learned that Saul was plotting against him, he said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring the ephod.” 10 David said, “Lord, God of Israel, your servant has heard definitely that Saul plans to come to Keilah and destroy the town on account of me. 11 Will the citizens of Keilah surrender me to him? Will Saul come down, as your servant has heard? Lord, God of Israel, tell your servant.” And the Lord said, “He will.” 12 Again David asked, “Will the citizens of Keilah surrender me and my men to Saul?” And the Lord said, “They will.”

Saul thought he knew what would happen. He figured God had given David over to him. However, David knew he was going to be handed over to Saul because God told him it would happen. “Will Saul come down to Keilah?” “Yes.” “Will the men of Keilah betray me and hand me over to Saul.” “Yes.”

This was not the first time God told someone what would happen before it took place. Before he sent Moses to Egypt to deliver the Israelites out of bondage, God warned Moses that Pharaoh would not listen to him. In Isaiah 6, God asked, “Who will go for us,” and Isaiah volunteered. “Here am I, send me.” And then God told him that the people wouldn’t listen to him messages or respond to his warnings. And David declared:

Psalm 139:4 Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely.

God knows, as we read, the end from the beginning, but does his foreknowledge mean we have no choice? God foreknew that Saul would bring his men to Keilah and that the men of Keilah would turn David over to Saul. God knew what would happen before it happened. However, it never happened.

1 Samuel 23:13 So David and his men, about six hundred in number, left Keilah and kept moving from place to place. When Saul was told that David had escaped from Keilah, he did not go there.

Because God told David what would happen, David left. I would say that David decided to leave.

Our freedom to choose becomes even more significant when we start thinking about our salvation. It’s important to know that God wants everyone to be saved. We read in John 3:16

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

And Peter tells us:

2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

The Bible assures us that God loves and wants to save us, but it is also clear that we must make a decision about whether we will decide to follow him. Before he retired, Joshua challenged the people to choose to serve God:

Joshua 24:15 . . . choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.

After challenging the prophets of Baal, Elijah challenged the people of his day to finally make a decision:

1 Kings 18:21a Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.”

What’s particularly sad was the people’s response:

1 Kings 18:21b But the people said nothing.

When some of his followers turned away, Jesus even asked the twelve apostles what their choice was:

John 6:67-68 67 “You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve. 68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.”

Answering for the group, Peter said they had chosen to stay with Jesus because only Jesus could give them eternal life.

God has given us freewill. He has given us the ability to choose for ourselves whether or not we will serve him and obey him. We see free will in the Garden of Eden. God placed Adam and Eve in the garden and provided them with everything they needed. They had just one rule — they were not to eat from the tree in the middle of the garden. And what did they choose? They ate from the tree and we’ve suffered the consequences ever since.

The Bible undeniably states that God gave us freewill. Freewill means God gave us the right to make bad decisions just as he gave us the right to make good decisions. In fact, God was almost guaranteeing that sooner or later we’d made bad decisions. As one man put it, “Giving us freewill was a colossal risk on God’s part.” If that’s true though, why would God take such a big risk? Why would he allow us the ability to do bad or evil things and potentially destroy what he’d created?

We are God’s most important creation and he wanted us to love him and honor him by choice. God didn’t want us to be robots that have no choice and only do what they’ve been programmed to do.

There’s a story of two mothers who were talking about their sons. The first said, “My son is such a saint. Not only hasn’t he not looked at a woman in over three years, but he hasn’t touched a drop of liquor in all that time.” “My word,” the second mother said. “You must be so proud.” “I am,” the first mother replied. “And when he’s paroled next month, I’m going to throw him a big party.”

Why was her son such a perfect saint? He’d been in jail. He had no choice but to live a “saintly” life (for the most part). In jail he had little (if any) freewill. But once he left his prison cell he’d have to make a decision of whether he would live a good life or a bad one. Once he left prison he would the freewill to make that choice.

Because of his foreknowledge, God knows the decisions we will make. As I said last week, God knows those who will respond to his message and those who will accept Jesus. Before the beginning of time, God looked into the future and saw you, and chose you. The question is whether we will choose to follow him. Will you choose to accept the forgiveness for your sins that God offers through Jesus and be baptized in his name?

Several years ago there was a news report of a woman on a bus tour in Iceland that went missing. The frantic search to find her included more than fifty rescuers on foot and in the air. The news report said it started when:

The woman broke off from her tourist group and changed clothes. . . . When she returned to the bus in a different outfit, the rest of her tour group did not recognize her. Then when a description of the “missing person” was offered the woman did not recognize the description as of herself, so she began to assist the others in searching. . . . Hours later, around 3 a.m. Sunday, the search party finally realized that the woman they were looking for was with them all along, and the search was called off. The local police chief told [Iceland news] that the woman simply didn’t recognize the description of herself, and “had no idea that she was missing.”

Here’s our problem; the Bible describes us as spiritually lost and separated from God because of our sins. However, many fail to recognize that description of themselves. The result is they have no idea that they’re lost. The truth is, we are all a little thick-headed so we don’t readily recognize ourselves in the description of a sinner in need of salvation. Only through the light of humility can our blind eyes finally see how desperate our situation really is. Once we finally see ourselves in the pages of Scripture, the search can be called off. What decision will you make this morning? Will you decide to follow Jesus?