Beyond the Walls with Jeremy Thomas
Jeremy approaches Bible teaching with a passion for getting the basic doctrines explained so that the individual can understand them and then apply them to circumstances in their life. These basic and important lessons are nestled in a framework of history and progression of revelation from the Bible so the whole of Scripture can be applied to your physical and spiritual life.
Beyond the Walls with Jeremy Thomas
NT Framework - Chosen to do.
Election is one of those words that lights up debates, but context cools the room and brings clarity. So what are we elected to?
More information about Beyond the Walls, including additional resources can be found at www.beyondthewalls-ministry.com
This series included graphics to illustrate what is being taught, if you would like to watch the teachings you can do so on Rumble (https://rumble.com/user/SpokaneBibleChurch) or on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtV_KhFVZ_waBcnuywiRKIyEcDkiujRqP).
Jeremy Thomas is the pastor at Spokane Bible Church in Spokane, Washington and a professor at Chafer Theological Seminary. He has been teaching the Bible for over 20 years, always seeking to present its truths in a clear and understandable manner.
Welcome to Beyond the Walls with Jeremy Thomas and our series on the New Testament framework. Today, a smaller, bite-sized piece from the larger lesson. We hope you enjoy it.
SPEAKER_02:The election there doesn't have anything to do with salvation. It has to do with they were the chosen nation chosen for covenant. And the covenant was to go to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, the whole nation, and they were to ultimately receive a land, right? They were to bring in the seed, in other words, the offspring who would bring blessing to the whole world, that's the Messiah. And they would be a blessing, a worldwide blessing. See, so blessing is going to come through the covenant people to the rest of the world. Is that what we have seen in history? Sure. That's exactly what we've seen. That's exactly the story of history. The whole testament is Israel, Israel, Israel, and then their Messiah comes in the New Testament gospels, and they reject him, but he's, and as a result, they crucify him, right? And then he's resurrected, and then the word goes out to all people, to the Gentiles, to bring blessing to them. Blessings of what? Blessings of salvation that come through the Messiah. What did Jesus say in John 4 to the woman at the well, the Samaritan woman? He said, salvation is of the Jews. You and I get salvation from the Jews. In specific one Jew, the Messiah, who's the seed of David. And that's coming out of the covenant that God made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. So they were chosen, yes, but they weren't chosen for salvation. They were chosen to be the covenant people through whom God would bless the world. So we've got that one used here of either the whole nation Israel or perhaps just the believing remnant. It's not clear because down in verse 31, we've got it used again, and he will. I think it's used for the whole nation, as I mentioned here. Verse 31, he will send forth his angels with a great trumpet, and they will gather together his elect. There it is again, his chosen ones, from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other. Okay, so I think he's gonna gather the whole nation Israel after the second coming. And see, what I would do is I would say, okay, well, now I have to fit Ezekiel 20 into this picture. Ezekiel 20, verses 34 to 38. So you have got the day of the second coming. He's gonna send forth his angels, they're gonna gather every Jew on earth. That is people of the elect covenant nation. And then I would say, well, because I have to have a place for Ezekiel 20, 34 to 30 out, 38. Notice Ezekiel 20, 34. I mean, all the passages have to go together, right? That's what we're all struggling to do. I'm not saying my way is perfect, I'm saying that I'm in the process of doing this.
SPEAKER_01:And I think that at the second coming, you've got a gathering of Israel by the angels.
SPEAKER_02:And I think Ezekiel 20, verse 34 to 38 fits in that picture.
SPEAKER_01:Well, it's verse 32 for a little context.
SPEAKER_02:What comes into your mind will not come about when you say that as Israel says, We will be like the nations, like the tribes of the land, serving wood and stone. Uh God says, No, you're not gonna just ultimately end up in idolatry. That's not gonna happen to you, Israel. As I live, declares the Lord God, surely with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm and with wrath poured out, I shall be king over you. He says, I'm gonna be king over you. You're not gonna worship idols, you're gonna worship me. I'm the king. He says, I will bring you out from the peoples. That's from the other nations of the world, and I will gather you from the lands where you are scattered, with a mighty hand, with an outstretched arm, and with wrath poured out, and I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples. So there's a regathering of Israel here, or a gathering of Israel, that the king, the Lord God, is going to take Israel somewhere outside the land. It says that I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples. This is out in Gentile lands, and there I will enter into judgment with you face to face. As I entered into judgment with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will enter into judgment with you. That's with Israel, declares the Lord God. I will make you pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant. He's talking about the new covenant. Okay. So the nation of Israel is going to go through judgment, and they're going to be brought into the bond of the covenant. He says, I will purge from you the rebels. And that's those who transgress against me. So there are there going to be Jewish unbelievers among this group of Jews that are gathered to go under judgment. Yeah, sure. There's rebels. He says, I will bring them out from the land where they sojourn, but they will not enter the land of Israel. The rebels will not enter the land of Israel. Thus you will know that I am I am Yahweh. So what's going to happen is he gathers the elect. That's why I said in Matthew 24, 31. I think it's the whole nation. Also in 22, 24, it's used three times in this chapter. Elect is. It's a reference to the whole nation. When he returns, there's a again, there's a remnant and a non-remnant. He's going to take them outside the land somewhere in Gentile lands. He's going to judge them, make them pass through under the rod, and the rebels are going to be purged out. They're not going to go into the land of Israel. They're not going to be brought into the bond of the covenant, but the believing remnant will. So you see, elect here is being used for the covenant nation, Israel. That's the contextual meaning of the term. Um let's look at Mark 13 is the same. It's a parallel with Matthew 24. Let's look at what did I want to show you? It was in my mind a few minutes ago. Oh, John, is it John 15? Yeah, let's go to John 15. Matthew, Mark, Luke, John. I'll have to find the verse because it's but it's okay. We can do that. Here's another example of this Greek word choice or choose choose or chosen being used for choosing believers for some task or choosing a people for some task. Not salvation, in other words. Notice uh 15, 16. You did not choose me, says Jesus, but I chose you, and I appointed that you would go and bear fruit and that your fruit would remain.
SPEAKER_01:So what did he what did he choose them to do? Bear fruit. He's talking to the eleven, right?
SPEAKER_02:Apostles. Judas isn't there. Now, did he by the way, this is another did he choose Judas? Did he choose Judas Iscariot? Well, yeah. Did he choose him for salvation? No, obviously. But he did get chosen. In fact, he was chosen for a specific task, right? And and this is common, you know. It didn't have anything to do with salvation. And that should be very obvious with Judas. Because he's not saved. So my point is just to make sure everybody understands that, yeah, there can be passages where you know God made a choice or Christ made a choice of either an individual or a group, but they're not the choice to be saved. They're chosen for some other task.
SPEAKER_00:Thank you for joining us on Beyond the Walls with Jeremy Thomas. If you would like to see the visuals that went along with today's sermon, you can find those on Rumble and on YouTube under Spokane Bible Church. That is where Jeremy is the pastor and teacher. We hope you found today's lesson productive and useful in growing closer to God and walking more obediently with Him. If you found this podcast to be useful and helpful, then please consider rating us in your favorite podcast app. And until next time, we hope you have a blessed and wonderful day.