If you’re a Christian that believes the Bible teaches both
- the responsibility of man to repent and believe and
- the sovereignty of God in choosing people unto salvation
you probably spend a lot of time explaining at least one-half of that belief to a number of your acquaintances.
People sometimes see the truth, have an emotional reaction to the truth, and decide they don’t like it. Patience is required in such cases, as well as helping people understand that an emotional impulse to deny the truth does not come from the Lord. The truth should shape our emotional responses, rather than our emotional responses shaping our acceptance of the truth.
It’s really helpful to underscore reasons why a particular truth should be cause for rejoicing. Truth is for our joy. And that’s true of every truth in Scripture, including God’s sovereign choosing of His people.
A few biblical reasons to rejoice in election: