Predestined for Adoption

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him.” With these words, St. Paul begins his letter to the saints at Ephesus, giving thanks to God that He had called the Ephesian Christians to faith, as He had planned to do from before all ages.

Like the Ephesians, you too have been chosen before the foundation of the world. What a wonderful comfort this message gives! God has chosen you! Of all the people who have ever lived, God has foreknown your life and being, and He has chosen that you should be saved from sin, death, and hell.

God has chosen you, that He might bless you “with every spiritual blessing” through Jesus Christ. He has predestined you to be created, redeemed, and sanctified by His holy Word and Spirit. He has predestined you “for adoption as sons”, that you might be His own dear children, just as He is your own dear Father. He has elected you for salvation, that you might “be holy and blameless before Him” by the forgiveness of your sins in Jesus Christ. What a wonderful, comforting, hope-giving message St. Paul preaches.

However, there are those lurking about who pervert and subvert this glorious hope which God has given to His saints. A number of false teachings about predestination and election have spread about, threatening the peace of the faithful.

In the first case, some teach that predestination has two paths. On its face, this may seem logical. Consider, they say, that if God has predestined some to heaven, then those not so predestined, God must have ordained to be condemned to hell. In His divine sovereignty, God has the power to choose some for salvation, and some He simply chooses to send to hell. This distinction is preserved purely in the mind of God, the ruler of all things, and is entirely beyond the control or influence of man, even the Man Christ Jesus.

However, God is not the cause of sin, and neither is He the cause of any man's condemnation. Holy Scripture proclaims that God desires the death of no one, and that all should be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. The root of a man's condemnation lies in his own unbelief and hardness of heart, not in the lack of provision for his salvation made by God. After all, our Lord Christ is the Lamb of God who bears the sins of the whole world, not only a select few. For God so loved the world, not just some people.

In the second case, some falsely teach that election is a license to sin. As the apprehend it, since God elects His saints to salvation, nothing can change your final destination. If you are elect unto salvation, then nothing you do, no matter how wild and reckless your life, can deter you from heaven. On the other hand, if you are predestined for hell, then no amount of holy living will amount to anything. So, eat, drink, and be merry.

However, Christ our Lord has not come to abolish the Law, but to fulfill it. The Law of love still applies to each and every Christian. You may not abdicate your responsibilities in this life and society. You may not ignore the needs of your neighbor or the demands of God's Law upon you. Your husband still needs his supper made. Your wife still needs you to bring home the paycheck. Your children still need education and provision and discipline. Your community still needs your citizenship and your taxes and your votes. Fear God, and do not despise His Law.

In the third case, some teach that you cannot be sure of your election. They would have you believe that since the eternal decree of election is secret, known only in the mind of God, then you cannot ever know until you die whether you will be saved or condemned. You ought to live a morally chaste and decent life because that is what God commands, and it is a sign of obedience to God to live according to His Law. Furthermore, it is your duty as a Christian to set a good example in society. But, when the rubber hits the road, all you can do is wish and hope. You have no security, because you cannot know whether you will be saved.

This is perhaps the worst and most serious of these errors. For this false teaching entraps many an innocent soul and consigns many who would be faithful to a life of doubt and despair. But doubt is entirely incompatible with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. What God has done in Jesus Christ, He has done openly and certainly, that you may know and be sure of your salvation, of the forgiveness of your sins, of God's good will and favor toward you. Do not doubt, do not despair, but believe and know.

Do not wish upon the star of a secret decree, but receive the Holy Sacraments, which the Lord has given to you that you may know that your sins are forgiven. Do you wonder if you are saved? Well, are you baptized into Christ? Then look to your Baptism as proof of your salvation. Do you doubt whether your sins are forgiven? Listen to the words and feel the hand on your head as your pastor pronounces the word of Holy Absolution. As surely as you hear the words declared, your sins are forgiven. Do you feel unsure of God's will toward you? Then receive the Holy Body and Blood of Christ your Savior, and as surely as the wine rolls down your throat, the mercy and blessing of God come upon you.

For your election to salvation depends not on the hidden decree of a capricious God, but upon the merits of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God who bears away the sins of the whole world. “In Him, we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses.” You need look no further than the cross of Christ for your salvation.

In His eternal foreknowledge, God has predestined that all who believe in Jesus Christ and Him crucified and risen shall be saved. This is what the doctrine of election teaches you. Not that you should fear the secret decree of a disconnected deity, but that you should cling to the verdict of the judge who has declared you righteous on account of the blood of Christ, which washes you clean of all your sins.

Rather than wonder about your election, simply hold fast to the knowledge that “you also, when you heard the Word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in Him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance.” Do you wonder whether you are saved? Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you are already saved. For when you believe in Him for the forgiveness of your sins, you already have all the spiritual blessings in the heavenly places, which God has predestined for you.

God desires that all be saved. He sent His Son into the flesh to bear your sin and be your savior in order that you be saved. Do not spend time pondering God's secret will or His hidden decrees, but hold fast to the blessed hope of eternal life which is yours in Christ Jesus. If you wonder, doubt, or despair, then look to the signs which He has given. When the Holy Sacraments are administered to you, then you shall know that God loves you and has elected you to salvation. Do not doubt, but believe.

In the Name of Jesus. Amen.