“WHEN HIS CHOSEN ONES SHALL GATHER...”

By Curtis Pugh

Those familiar with the old song “When the Roll Is Called Up Yonder” will recognize the words of our title. They are part of the third line of the second verse: “When His Chosen Ones Shall Gather...” We wonder how many people really understand that the children of God, i.e. true Christians, i.e. those who have been born from above by the Spirit of God were first chosen for salvation by the Lord Himself.

Today we hear a lot about getting sinners to choose Christ. But the Bible talks about God having chosen lost sinners. The Bible is full of instances of God's choosing individuals. God chose Abraham and certain of his descendants to be His nation, Israel. Out of that chosen nation God chose the tribe of Levi to be His priests. Out of that same nation He chose the tribe of Judah to be the kings of Israel. In the New Testament He chose certain men to be His servants and messengers. For instance, God spoke to Ananias about Saul (later called Paul): “But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel,” (Acts 9:15).

The Bible not only tells us that it is God who did the choosing, it tells us when He made His choices. “According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,” (Ephesians 1:4-5). Three grand concepts are presented in those last two verses: (1) God's choice or election of certain individuals to salvation took place before the world was created, and (2) this election (choosing) is directly connected with the predestination of the same people and (3) this was all according to God's will – and not man's will or choosing – and certainly not man's per-determining anything. In 2 Thessalonians 2:13 we find this phrase, “...God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation...”

The Bible also tells us the kind of people God has chosen and effectively called to salvation. “For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence,” (1 Corinthians 1:16-29). God did not look ahead and see any goodness or faith in those whom He chose. He chose foolish, weak, base and despised people. These are the people whom God saves! Do you qualify?