Most likely you were in a situation while growing up where you were in a group of people who were being selected by rotation. This often occurred when teams were being chosen.
In those situations the best were chosen first and the worst were chosen last. In some situations there were more candidates than positions leaving the worst not being selected at all.
When we talk about best and worst, people sometimes get self-conscious and defensive. This is because we all want to be chosen. However, depending on athletic ability, size and speed we may not be chosen.
So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.   Our responsiveness to the call of the Lord determines whether or not we are chosen. |
This verse is very unnerving to many Christians who have experienced not being chosen in their past. They think that the verse may be referencing physical qualifications or performance.
However, Jesus was talking to the Jews when He made this statement. He came solely to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. He called them personally and repeatedly to faith in Him. Yet they rejected Him.
So, Jesus is telling them that even though He has called them, they are not chosen. Why? Because they were unworthy of Him by not believing and receiving Him.
He is also telling them that though they were called first, they will be last - that the gentiles will come first to Him and then, in the end, the remnant of Israel will come to Him.
Everyone is called Those who are chosen are those who respond positively to being called. They make themselves worthy of Christ by honoring Him through faith into an intimate, personal relationship with Him.
Going back to the team choosing example above, the Calvinist believes there is only one captain, Christ Jesus, who chose the two teams in eternity past when He determined to create all things. The two teams are 'the saved' and 'the lost'.
The Calvinist believes that what appears to be our choice in which team we will be a part of is an illusion . They teach that we were created with a determinant predisposition to choose Christ or to reject Him.
If such were the case, many questions arise
➛ Why did the Lord bother?
➛ Isn't it evil to give man an illusion of choice?
➛ Why would you create a person to send them to the Lake Of Fire?
➛ Why did the Lord Jesus Christ come to suffer and die?
➛ Why would Jesus implore people to 'come unto Me'?
➛ Why should we pray?
➛ Why should we evangelize?
➛ Why should we have faith rather than resignation?
➛ Why should we hope?
➛ Isn't the Lord evil for playing this game with us?
What the Calvinist does not understand is that the gift of literal Free Will is what made us in the image of God spiritually .
God chooses to be who He is.
No one forces God to be good, to be love, to be merciful, to be longsuffering, to be gentle, to be kind or to be gracious.
So, for us to be like Him He had to give us the opportunity to choose to be like Him or not.
The Calvinist sees this as God not being sovereign which they cannot handle. What they don't grasp is that the gift of Free Will is more of a conditional loan than a gift.
Free Will is given to man for the duration of His physical existence during which he will exercise that Free Will to choose life or death.
Those who die having exercised their Free Will to reject the Lord Jesus Christ are cast into the Lake Of Fire and their Free Will returns to God.
Those who die having exercised their Free Will to receive the Lord Jesus Christ enter into eternal, heavenly bliss retaining their Free Will.
Are you chosen?
The above verses speak to the fact that
➛ you must believe,
➛ you must receive and
➛ you must confess.
Choose wisely my friend.