Election simply means a choosing. It is an undeniable fact that our Lord Jesus Christ elects, chooses, accepts every one that truly repents or turns his heart from evil to good. "Him that cometh unto me," says he, "I will in no wise cast out." "He that believeth and is baptized, shall be saved." "Whosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely." Truth is the broad platform on which the elect of God forever stand; and love is the golden chain that first drew and forever binds them there.
PREDESTINATION.
There is not a living thing upon the face of the earth but is predestinated to a certain end. The horse, in his very creation, is predestinated to be the horse in kind, and to serve the end of his creation; and his nature and characteristics as such admit of no change. Predestination is one of the essentials of God's eternal order. If the horse, or the ox, or anything else which God has created, could be changed from the nature and order of its creation, confusion would be the inevitable result.
I do not wonder that Paul wrote what he did upon predestination, because it implies the immutable, eternal order of God's love and wisdom. Heaven and earth may pass away, but Christ's love shall never pass away from the lowliest and poorest soul that loves and obeys him. His love to Christ is the seal of his predestination to eternal life.
"He that believeth the Son hath life; but he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him." This is the sum of election and predestination. God's eternal love has given to man the way of man's salvation. All who choose that way are on that very account elected and predestinated to eternal life in heaven. Elected, because this fits them for heaven: predestinated, because it is God's eternal purpose to save all such. Predestination applies equally to the impenitent; because, according to the same plan and the principles involved in it, they must be forever lost.
Nothing can be more reasonable than that God's elect, the people of his choice, should be holy and without blame before him in love; that they should be followers of God as dear children, and walk in love. This is both the cause and the proof of their election to eternal life.
If you will take the pains to look into a dictionary for the word walk, you will find that it means: To conduct one's self; to order one's life. Every man feels in himself the power to order his own life according to what is just and right in the sight of God and men. To regard man in any other light would be to place him on a level with the brute. It would be taking away from him his moral feelings, and depriving him of the just exercise of his will through the understanding. Whilst man feels in himself this power, still he must not forget that all life is from God, and that without God man is nothing. "Herein is love; not that we loved God, but that he loved us." And every true child of his can say: "I love him because he first loved me."
Sinner, let me say to you that God loves you and wills your salvation. But he cannot save you without your will to be saved by him. You must reciprocate his love. You must answer his call. You must obey his voice. His Holy Spirit is now saying to you: "Be thou reconciled to God. Turn thou, turn thou, for why wilt thou die?" You need not pause and wonder whether or not you are one of his elect. I can answer this myself. I say to you that in your present state you most assuredly are not one of his elect. But if you truly repent of your sins by giving your heart to him in love and obedient faith, just as surely as his Word is true, you will become to be one of his elect; for election is salvation. But if you stay away, who is to blame? "He that will not plough by reason of the cold, shall beg in harvest." If you fail to sow, where will your ingathering be? But note this: "He that soweth to his flesh, shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit, shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting." To sow to the Spirit is to do the will of God from love to God; and to all who do this, the promise is sure.
Brethren and sisters, I must exhort you to remember the text. Don't forget it as you go home after meeting closes. When you get home look for it. Some of you, I fear, have already forgotten the place where it is found; so I will tell you again. It is the first, and part of the second verse of the fifth chapter of Paul's letter to the Ephesians. These are the words: "Be ye therefore followers of God as dear children; and walk in love."
You know that good children imitate good parents. They follow their examples. Now ye are called to follow the leadings of God, to imitate the examples of love he has set before you. Let me present to you some of these: "If any of you have a quarrel against any, even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye." This is the best way to settle a quarrel I have ever found.