Great Testimony of God's Sovereignty in Salvation

                              
          David Kjos writes a blog called The Thirsty Theologian.
     When David and his wife joined the church they had been attending,
     David offered his testimony to the congregation.

          Notice that he talked about God's grace and mercy, and not about himself.
     His emphasis was on what God had done, and not what he had done.
     Every born again believer shares David's testimony of God's sovereignty in
     salvation.



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                                         "And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in
                                           which you once walked, following the course of
                                           this world, following the prince of the power of
                                           the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons
                                           of disobedience --- among whom we all once
                                           lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out
                                           the desire of the body and the mind, and were by
                                           nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind."

                                          "But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great
                                            love with which he loved us, even when we were
                                            dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with
                                            Christ -- by grace you have been saved -- raised us
                                            up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly
                                            places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he
                                            might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in
                                            kindness toward us in Christ Jesus."

                                           "For by grace you have been saved through faith.
                                            And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,
                                            not a result of works, so that no one may boast."
                                                                                                Ephesians 2:1-9


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          Here is what David said that day.

                                                
          "I have done nothing; God has done it all. It was God who chose me before the
     foundation of the world according to his good pleasure (Ephesians 1).  It was God
     who sent the gospel to me, who convicted me of my sin, called me to faith in Christ,
     gave me the gift of faith (Ephesians 2), granted me repentance (2 Timothy 2), and
     gave me the understanding to discern the things of God (1 Corinthians 2)."

          "It was God who adopted me as his son (Romans 8, Galatians 4, Ephesians 5),
     and made me a joint-heir (Romans 8) with his only natural son, Jesus Christ.  It was
     God who gave me a new nature (2 Corinthians 5), so that I would hate my sin, and
     love him and his Word.  And it is God who continues to work in me, 'both to will
     and to work for his good pleasure (Philippians 2).  Finally, it is God who has
     promised to perfect the good work he has begun in me (Philippians 1) and to
     glorify me with him (Romans 8)."


          "I was conceived and born in sin.  I had no ability or inclination to choose Christ,
     accept Christ, make a decision for Christ, or any other phrase you may have heard
     or used to describe conversion.  I was an enemy of God, a rebel, concerned only
     with my own pleasure and well-being.  As much as I would like to diminish my
     role in this story, there is one way in which I was very actively involved.  I actively
     hated God and loved myself.  But God loved me, and saved me.  Just as he called
     Lazarus out of the grave, he called me from mine; and just as Lazarus could not
     raise himself from the dead, neither could I raise myself."

          "I am not saved because I have accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior.  I am
     saved because God, in Christ, by his perfect righteousness and his death for my
     unrighteousness, has made me acceptable to him. He has not accepted me because
     I have accepted him.  My faith in him is a consequence, not a cause, of his acceptance
     of me.  I have trusted Jesus as my Lord and Savior because God has accepted me
     in Christ."

         "Because of Christ, God doesn't see me as the sinner I am.  He sees me covered with
     Christ's righteousness.  And in that same way, I hope when you hear (or read) this
     testimony, it causes you to see not me, but the glory of God in Christ."