The Order of Salvation. Election (Part 1).

The Bible is an amazing book; not only does it reveal to us the future, but it gives us knoweldge about the past. The past shouldn't be neglected or counted unimportant. God designed His creation to have a cause and effect relationship. What happened in the past affects the future. The first two points actually have to do with things that happened in one's past, which absolutly affect his historical life, and life eternal.

Historically, when the Church talked about God's work, it was divided into three parts:

Decree
Creation
Providence

Each term is very useful.

Decree speaks of God's purposed plan before creation. From eternity past God produced blueprints of the creation and history of the world. These designs were created solely according to God's counsel, good pleasure, and purpose.

Creation speaks of the six days where God crafts out of nothing everything we see and know. God's blueprints now have a foundation to begin buidling the finished building. In order to get things started God creates man and places him in the garden with a certain tree. He gives Him one Law - do not eat of this certain tree - and allows Satan to approach Eve.

Providence speaks of God sovereignly, and very carefully, guiding the events that take place in order to accomplish His purpose. "Things happen", but they don't just happen; they happen because God's mysterious and awesome purpose is being unfolded.

It's important to acknowledge each of these aspects about God. First that He had a plan. God wasn't taken by suprise, or accidently let things get out of control. He knows and orchestrates all things. Two) that God created all things out of His power with a purpose. Three) that God is sovereign, and has all things in control. As the pilgrims would say, history is an unfolding of God's decree.

Right now we're talking about God's decree. This decree happend far before your birth, and even before the foundations of the earth. This decree affects, in every way, your life. The Bible allows us to journey to the void of eternity past where God alone sits in His own counsel.

God's Decree: Jesus Christ
In the Revelation we find the there was a Book of Life. This book of life belonged to one called the Lamb. Everyone who's name was written in this book will be saved, and all who are not perish. So when was this book written? Is it being written as the pages of history turn? As men come to Christ, do their names get eternally inked onto the pages of this precious book of the Lamb?

Also the beast was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them. And authority was given it over every tribe and people and language and nation, and all who dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb that was slain.
(Rev 13:7-8)

God shows us that something more than ourselves is going on here. Our names, us who are in Chrsit, had our names written down on this book even before the world excisted. This is no small truth to pass over unimpressed! Who wrote it there? Why was it written there? What does it mean to have it written in this book? What's the purpose of this?

Moreso, this verse doesn't just speak of us, but shows us that this Lamb too was forordained to undergo a certain task in order to accomplish the High One's great purpose.

Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know-- this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.
(Act 2:22 -25)

The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers were gathered together, against the Lord and against his Anointed'-- for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place.
(Act 4:26-28)

So here we see that God's decree was for this Jesus Christ, the Lamb, to die a horrible death. But why? Well, the answer to God's purpose in this will lie in our next session, where we'll look at

God's Decree: A People Given to Jesus Christ