Bible Truth #55 - 2 Thessalonians 2:13

2 Thessalonians 2:13

But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth.

First and foremost who is Paul writing to? He is writing to Christians - “brothers loved by the Lord.” The first verse Chapter one has Paul addressing the CHURCH of the Thessalonians. I just wanted to make sure it was understood that he was not writing to everybody in Thessalonica.

But then he wrote ...from the beginning God chose you to be saved. That certainly sounds like we had nothing to do with it, doesn’t it? God chose you, me, anyone whose spirit would ever be quickened, God chose from the beginning. We were chosen to be saved. He appointed us to eternal life (Acts 13:48) and after He quickened our dead spirit, we believed. You and me and all who have been saved and who will be saved! Wow, that kind’a sounds like what Paul wrote in Ephesians 1:4 doesn't it? We were chosen in Him before the foundation of the world. So now I’ve shown you Scripture that says we were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world, and now here in God’s Word He said from the beginning we were chosen to be saved.

Now the Arminian will say, "Yes, that's true! But He chose us to be saved 'through belief in the truth.'" There they go again thinking a lost man can believe on his own. Nope, Jesus said a man believing is the result of God working in him (John 6:29) and Paul wrote to the Philippians that belief was given to us (Philippians 1:29). Please tell me how a lost man in whom God has not done a work, and whom God has NOT given belief, tell me how he will believe. He can't, it's impossible. From the beginning God chose us to be saved which means from the beginning He also chose to give us belief!

I say again, I have no disagreement with the Arminian about man’s choice. God lays a choice out there for everyone, whether they hear the Gospel or not, REPENT! (Acts 17:30) The Arminian’s disagreement with the Bible is in a lost man’s ability to choose Christ. He can’t, and no Arminian has shown me any Scripture to prove otherwise... man is Totally Depraved and unable to believe, unable to please God, and unable to understand Truth. That’s what Total Depravity means. He’s spiritually DEAD!