Latest / Pastor John Piper's answers / Do You Use ‘The Elect’ as a Normal Name for Christians Titus 1:1–4, Part 4

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Do You Use ‘The Elect’ as a Normal Name for Christians Titus 1:1–4, Part 4 · Pastor John Piper's answers

• 0:06
  Speaker 1: This is the fourth part of our study of Titus
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  Speaker 1: one one to four. Paul, a slave of God and
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  Speaker 1: an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the
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  Speaker 1: faith of God's elect and their knowledge of the truth
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  Speaker 1: which accords with Godliness. It's amazing how many rich, deep
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  Speaker 1: realities Paul names in this first sentence of the letter,
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  Speaker 1: and every one of them has had books written on it.
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  Speaker 1: So what are we to do here's another one, God's Elect.
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: What I want to do here is linger over this
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  Speaker 1: fact that the elect here are a noun. Election is
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  Speaker 1: an action. It's God's action in choosing a people for himself.
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  Speaker 1: But it is very telling, is it not that today
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  Speaker 1: very few people, in a natural, unassuming way, without making
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  Speaker 1: war on any doctrine, simply speak of God's elect as
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  Speaker 1: if it was an identifier, a synonym for Christian, which
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  Speaker 1: it was. So Father, as we ponder that that the
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  Speaker 1: elect was a very common New Testament way of referring
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  Speaker 1: to Christians, and today very few people say that. Show
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  Speaker 1: us why that might be and what we might be losing?
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  Speaker 1: A praying Jesus name. Amen. So Paul does his slave work,
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  Speaker 1: his apostle work for the sake of the faith will
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  Speaker 1: come back to that of God's elect ones, God's elect. Now,
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  Speaker 1: let me just point to how frequent it is to
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  Speaker 1: talk of the elect a noun. The elect this way,
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  Speaker 1: Mark thirteen, twenty two. False Christs and false prophets will
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  Speaker 1: arise and perform sons and wonders to lead astray, if possible,
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  Speaker 1: the elect Matthew twenty four, twenty two. If those days
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  Speaker 1: had not been cut short, no human being would be saved.
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  Speaker 1: But for the sake of the elect, those days will
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  Speaker 1: be cut short Verse thirty one of Matthew twenty four.
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  Speaker 1: And he will send out his angels with a loud
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  Speaker 1: trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the
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  Speaker 1: four winds, from one end of heaven to the other
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  Speaker 1: Luke eighteen. And will not God give justice to his
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  Speaker 1: elect who cried to him day and night? Will he
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  Speaker 1: delay long over them Romans eight thirty three. Who shall
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  Speaker 1: bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who
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  Speaker 1: justifies Colossians three. Put on then, Christians put on then,
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  Speaker 1: as God's elect elect ones, holy ones, beloved ones, compassion,
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  Speaker 1: compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, or one more
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  Speaker 1: revelation seventeen, They will make war on the Lamb, and
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  Speaker 1: the Lamb will conquer them. For his Lord of lords
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  Speaker 1: and King of kings, and those with him are called
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  Speaker 1: elect and faithful. So over and over in the New Testament,
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  Speaker 1: it is simply natural to refer to Christians as God's elect.
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  Speaker 1: They were blown away by the glorious truth that, owing
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  Speaker 1: to nothing in themselves, God had chosen them. When when
• 4:35
  Speaker 1: had he chosen them? Here's Ephesian's one God chose us
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  Speaker 1: in Christ before the foundation of the world. God elected
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  Speaker 1: us in Christ in relation to Christ. He saw us
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  Speaker 1: fallen sinners, all of us and those whom he chose,
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  Speaker 1: he saw in relation to Christ, and chose them that
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  Speaker 1: we should be holy and blameless before him in love.
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  Speaker 1: He predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through
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  Speaker 1: Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will. So
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  Speaker 1: it happened before the foundation of the world. What was
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  Speaker 1: the basis of it? On what basis did he choose us?
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  Speaker 1: Here's Romans nun trying to bring clarity to that though
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  Speaker 1: they Jacob and Esau were not yet born, not yet born,
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  Speaker 1: had done nothing good or bad in order that God's
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  Speaker 1: purpose of election might continue. God's purpose of choosing might continue.
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  Speaker 1: Not because of works. They hadn't done anything, but because
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  Speaker 1: of him. It doesn't say not because of works, but
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  Speaker 1: because of faith. But not because of works, but because
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  Speaker 1: of Him who calls what she was told, the older
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  Speaker 1: will serve the younger. In other words, God chooses the
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  Speaker 1: younger against all expectation, and he did it in order
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  Speaker 1: that the purpose of election might stand. It simply resides
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  Speaker 1: in the basis of Him who calls. Was it individual
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  Speaker 1: or corporate? Sometimes people argue from chose us in Christ.
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  Speaker 1: Here in feesans to say he didn't choose individuals. He
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  Speaker 1: chose Christ. Then we get ourselves into Christ, and thus
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  Speaker 1: we are chosen derivatively. But he didn't choose any individuals.
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  Speaker 1: He just shows Christ. That's absolutely not what Paul means.
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  Speaker 1: You can see the individual nature of it here in
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  Speaker 1: first Grintans one, consider your calling, brothers. Not many of
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  Speaker 1: you were wise, Not many not wise according to worldly standards.
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  Speaker 1: Not many of you were powerful, Not many were of
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  Speaker 1: noble birth. God chose what is foolish in the world
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  Speaker 1: to shame the wise. God chose what is weak in
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  Speaker 1: the world to shame the strong. God chose what is
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  Speaker 1: low and despised in the world, even things that are
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  Speaker 1: not to bring to nothing, things that are so that
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  Speaker 1: no human being might boast in the presence of God.
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  Speaker 1: He chose foolish individuals, He chose weak individuals. He chose
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  Speaker 1: low and despised individuals so that there would be no boasting.
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  Speaker 1: It is not merely a vague corporate election of Christ,
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  Speaker 1: and we do the decisive electing work to get ourselves
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  Speaker 1: chosen into Christ. On the contrary, he selects individuals out
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  Speaker 1: of all the world before the foundation of the world
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  Speaker 1: and saves them, owing to nothing in themselves. What's the
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  Speaker 1: relationship then, to faith Acts thirteen forty seven. For so
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  Speaker 1: the Lord has commanded us, saying I have made you
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  Speaker 1: a light to the gentiles. So gospel is coming to
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  Speaker 1: the non Jews, that you may bring salvation to the
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  Speaker 1: ends of the earth. And when the gentiles heard this,
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  Speaker 1: that the good news of Christ crucified forgiving for sins,
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  Speaker 1: escaping wrath, having eternal life. When they heard the good
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  Speaker 1: news applied to them, they began rejoicing and glorifying the
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  Speaker 1: word of the Lord. And as many as were appointed
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  Speaker 1: to eternal life believed it's not the other way around.
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  Speaker 1: They were chosen, They were among the elect. As many
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  Speaker 1: as we're chosen believed. You don't believe to make yourself elect.
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  Speaker 1: You believe and thus prove that you are elect, show
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  Speaker 1: that you are elect. So how does evangelism work? Then?
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  Speaker 1: How do we proceed with evangelism? Here's what Jesus said
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  Speaker 1: to Paul in Corinth concerning his evangelistic work. There, the
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  Speaker 1: Lord said to Paul one night in a vision, do
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  Speaker 1: not be afraid, but go on speaking. So get on
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  Speaker 1: with gospel preaching. It's not in vain. I'm going to
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  Speaker 1: save people through preaching, not through staying in bed pretending like, oh,
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  Speaker 1: if they're elected and going to come to Jesus anyway,
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  Speaker 1: they're not. They're going to come to Jesus through your speaking.
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  Speaker 1: Do not be silent, for I am with you. No
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  Speaker 1: one will attack you, to harm you. For I have
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  Speaker 1: many in this city. Who are my people? That's your hope.
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  Speaker 1: I have elect people in this city many. If you
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  Speaker 1: will open your mouth, and this applies to us today.
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  Speaker 1: If you will open your mouth and speak, the sheep
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  Speaker 1: hear my voice and they follow me. One last question,
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  Speaker 1: what's the relationship to Paul's larger ministry in us. Before
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  Speaker 1: I put another text up here, let's go back to
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  Speaker 1: the to the beginning. Paul a slave of God, an
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  Speaker 1: apostle of Jesus Christ, and my work for God as
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  Speaker 1: a slave and my apostleship of Jesus all is for
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  Speaker 1: this that for the sake of the faith of God's elect.
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  Speaker 1: I think that means to bring the faith about and
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  Speaker 1: to sustain the faith through ongoing ministry. God saves his
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  Speaker 1: elect through apostolic ministry or through evangelistic ministry today. So
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  Speaker 1: here's what Paul says about his entire life and work
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  Speaker 1: Sawo Timothy two ten. I endure everything for the sake
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  Speaker 1: of the elect, that they may obtain the salvation that
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  Speaker 1: is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. In other words,
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  Speaker 1: if you think that election makes people inactive in prayer
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  Speaker 1: and evangelism and world missions, you don't understand the New Testament.
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  Speaker 1: It had the exact opposite effect on Paul, since he
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  Speaker 1: knew that there were elect in car many of them,
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  Speaker 1: and they're all over the world. God has his people.
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  Speaker 1: He endures everything, Oh what sufferings. He endured to preach
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  Speaker 1: the Gospel faithfully so that the elect would obtain salvation.
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  Speaker 1: If it doesn't have that effect on you, you don't
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  Speaker 1: understand the doctrine. Yet, the doctrine of election, which is
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  Speaker 1: so natural, normal, ordinary that Christians were called the elect
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  Speaker 1: in the New Testament, was so in their skin, in
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  Speaker 1: their mind, and in their souls. It humbled them. It
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  Speaker 1: caused them to rejoice in the free grace of God.
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  Speaker 1: And oh how it and Emile empowered and gave endurance
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  Speaker 1: to everything they suffered, in order to bring the elect
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  Speaker 1: into the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.