So if we’re all depraved, and none of us would seek God on our own, how does anybody ever become a Christian?

The simple fact is that God chooses people to save, not because of anything they are or do, but because of God’s grace.

This is a little different than what you may have heard from others. Namely, that God is waiting with baited breath, hoping that you will make the decision to come to Him, and if you don’t He’ll be utterly devastated.

Somehow, the modern west has gotten the idea that God is an adolescent schoolgirl, hoping upon hope that the object of His affections will come to Him. Now, to be clear, God desires that sinners turn from their wickedness and live  and gets no joy from the death of a sinner (Ezekiel 18:23; 32); but God is still the Lord of the universe, not that annoying lovestruck highschooler unable to get up the nerve to ask out the person He loves.

In fact, a Christian would say that we love God because God first loved us (1 John 4:19), and that were it not for the work of God, we would be unable to love God or one another (1 John 4:7).

So what does this mean practically (in addition to the points from the last post)?

1) Christians need to take the power of God seriously, and see God as God, not someone who is in our debt because we deigned to come to Him. Our power to come to God is because of God’s choice.

2) we need the kind of the fear of the Lord that makes us understand that the only thing keeping us from the just wrath of God (because we’re depraved) is the choice of God to save us.

3) We need to make our calling and election sure (2 Peter 1:10), by displaying the works that are in keeping with being elected of God, including love of both friend and enemy.