Bits & Pieces: Biblical Saints called A Chosen Race

"But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A ROYAL PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR GOD'S OWN POSSESSION, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light," (I Peter 2:9).

* In contrast to those who are disobedient to the Word, and are destined for hell, Peter asserts that we who are the church are a chosen people. For His own good pleasure, and completely to the praise of His glorious grace, God chose certain ones before the foundation of the world to be His body, the church. In response to such unmerited and undeserved favor, we are to proclaim His excellencies.

* In his desire for his readers to live lives of holiness, Peter contrasts the destinies of the lost and the saved. As a chosen people, from all eternity the church was elected by God for salvation in Jesus Christ, while the rest were passed by. In response to God's unconditional grace in election, we are to declare His sovereign goodness and proclaim His gracious nature.

* In stark contrast to those who are destined for hell, Peter states that the church has been chosen for salvation. Before the foundation of the world, God unconditionally elected a multitude of individuals no man can number, for whom the Lord Jesus would lay down His life, atoning for their sin. In the light of such grace, how eagerly we ought to proclaim the excellencies of our sovereign Lord!