The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

1 Thessalonians 1:4-5, “…knowing, brethren beloved by God, His choice of you; for our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction; just as you know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake.”

The Lord chooses us in love (v. 4). In Ephesians, Paul writes that the Father “chose us in Him (Christ) before the foundation of the world…” (Ephesians 1:4).

There are some who think they will get to Heaven by their own sweat (i.e., works), others believe that whatever is going to happen is going to happen and there’s nothing that can be done about it. These are the two extremities of the whole election discussion; and there are multiple variations of each.

Compromise is not the issue; balance is. Dr. C. Gordon Olson writes: “…if election is to salvation, and salvation is conditioned upon faith, then of necessity election must also be conditioned on faith….”

Whatever else might be said about the Biblical doctrine of “election,” one thing is certain: it is a doctrine that concerns the saved, not the lost. God does indeed elect to save some; otherwise, no one could be saved at all. Yet, He emphatically does not elect anyone to Hell!

Make no mistake about it, Hell is real enough! People who die without Christ go to Hell, according to the Scriptures. Matthew 25:41 tells us, “Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels….” Still, the Scripture says, “It is the will of God that none should perish, but that all might come to repentance” (II Peter 3:9).

There is no question but that we all deserve Hell; it is only by the grace of God that we are saved at all! It is “His choice of you,” as verse four tells us.

We accept the gospel by faith (v. 5). Ephesians 2:8-9 say,

“For by grace you have been saved through faith;

and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;

not as a result of works, that no one should boast.”

The concept of faith includes both revelation and response. God revealed His love by sending His Son, Jesus Christ, to die on Calvary’s Cross for our sins. The Bible says, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved…” (Acts 16:31). God the Father reveals His Son, and we respond by believing upon the Son as the Father’s sacrifice for our sin. Where revelation and response meet, FAITH occurs!

Paul says that The Gospel comes in word (v. 5a). That is, it comes through human proclamation (logos, word, speaking, always with rational content). It may come publicly, as in a sermon or a Bible lesson.

What I’m doing right now is proclaiming the Gospel to you in word. The Gospel coming “in word” may be through a Gospel tract or a Gideon Bible or a Christian film or an audio tape.

But, public or not, the Gospel always comes personally. While the Lord is concerned for the salvation of all mankind, He is vitally concerned for each individual that comprises all mankind. (cf. Mark 16:15, where “to all creation” (???? ?? ??????) is better translated “to every creature.”

For example, when you see television pictures of the emaciated people, say in Ethiopia, know that the Lord is personally concerned for the eternal salvation of each and every one of those poor souls you see.

When Paul wrote in Romans, “I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to wise and to foolish…” (1:14), he wrote in such a way that we might know the personal obligation he felt toward each and every person who comprised each group he mentioned. The absence of the definite article (the) in the Greek text denotes Paul’s self?assessed indebtedness to each and every person within the stated groups, i.e., Greeks and barbarians). Paul’s obligation was not greater than Christ’s, but it was heavy upon him.

Not only does the Gospel come publicly, Paul says that the Gospel also comes in power (v. 5b,d). Literally, the last of the verse says,

“…what kind of men we were made to be among you for your sake.”

Paul forcefully implies that he himself did not possess sufficient power to make himself what the Lord wanted him to be.

The same is true of us. A man approached me in an overseas crusade to say, “No one can live like you preached tonight. It’s just not humanly possible!” I surprised him by saying, “You are exactly right. Such a life is not humanly possible. That’s why the Lord works to bring it about in our lives.” Is He using your life? If not, why not? One day we will meet Him and give accountability. Start today and be “a good servant.”

My prayers are that you and I might each become more like Jesus!

Heartily in Christ,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas 72764

United States of America

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”