God chose and empowers us to holiness

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English: Icon of Jesus Christ
English: Icon of Jesus Christ (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The Spirit of God is the Holy Spirit. Wherever He comes, He comes with holiness and sanctification. Here we see that the loving goal of our sanctification is that the Spirit will change us. God is making us new. The purpose in election is not just eternity with God in sinless bliss, but it is the everyday outworking of our salvation with the fear of God in our lives. If we are elect, it will show in our progression toward God in holiness and reverence: "he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him" (Eph. 1:4). God chose us in holiness and He chose us to holiness. Election is the love and grace of God to us. Sanctification is the Spirit of God working through us to make that election, calling, and choice sure (2 Peter 1:10).

Yet, as we all know, often before we can make something new, we have to tear down the old. As God is making us new, He is also tearing down the old, and it does not always feel good. He is giving us new minds, new affections, new priorities, even new habits of speech. As Paul says: "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come" (2 Cor. 5:17). Joyful obedience is the only faithful response to the gospel

Joyful obedience is the only faithful response to the gospel and the right response to election. The Bible reminds us that our obedience is an obedience of faith (Rom. 1:5; 16:26). It is the necessary and faithful consequence of the love of God in choosing sinners to be saved in Christ Jesus. If we love Christ, we joyfully obey Him (John14:15). The commands of Christ are the loving edicts of a faithful Master. Like Peter (2 Peter 1:1), Paul (Rom. 1:1; Phil. 1:1), and James (James 1:1), we have no problem in calling ourselves slaves of Christ, who alone is worthy of our loving, unquestioned obedience.

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