God's Benefit of Election in Christ

Aim: To know where our salvation comes from.

Doctrine: The original cause of our salvation is God's election solely. Natural man finds this doctrine strange and hard; heretics separate and silence this doctrine from the gospel.

Exposition: The infinite treasure of God's election set before our eyes is Jesus. Why God's election must be preached (v. 3): to magnify God's as he deserves, and to assure us of our salvation. What God's election excludes (v. 4a): any deserving work in ourselves, and any excellence in one man compared to another.

Application: The purpose of God's election (v. 4b): to withdraw us from the evil in which we were plunged, and to call us to lives dedicated to God in all piety and holiness.

Key phrase: v. 4a ''... He chose us in him before the foundation of the world...''