Called Versus Chosen

In his Gospel, Matthew records Jesus’ parable about a king who had a wedding feast. The people he originally invited declined to come, so he directed his servants to go into the streets and invite anyone who was willing to come. As I wrote in “Many Called; Few Chosen,” first century weddings had strict social expectations. One was that the guests would dress appropriately. In Jesus’ parable, one guest failed to wear acceptable garments, so the king threw him out to a place of weeping and gnashing of teeth. That seems harsh. The parable ends with this curious statement by Jesus: “For many are called but few are chosen.”

In the previous chapter, Matthew says that the Pharisees knew Jesus was addressing them directly. We can see clearly that in the parable, the king represents God, and the original invitation represents the call of Abraham and his descendants, Israel. God called Israel His own nation. We can also see that Israel repeatedly declined God’s invitation. From our perspective, it is obvious the street people represent God’s invitation to the Gentile nations that the prophets foretold. This upset the Pharisees, and they wanted to do something about Jesus, but their hands were tied because of His popularity.

I want to differentiate between “called” and “chosen.” The Greek word for called is very much like the English word; it means called, summoned, or named. Likewise, chosen is a good English translation; however, the Greek carries a more explicit meaning and is often translated as “elect.” The implication is that the elect are favored among the called. Both in Abraham’s day and ours, there is a dual nature to the election from among the called.  Abraham confirmed God’s call on his life by choosing to place his faith in the One who called. Paul draws a sharp line between the mere biological descendants of Abraham and the true elect by pointing out that Abraham’s choice to believe is what constituted righteousness. Being called Abraham’s descendant did not ensure election to righteousness. Only faith did that, and faith is a choice.

I believe there is a similar division between the called and the chosen in the church today. A person may make a profession of faith; he may walk an aisle; he may even be baptized. None of those prove his faith. James said, “I will show you my faith by my works.” Even here we find a distinction. Jesus predicted that many would come to Him on the last day and proclaim their belief and tout their works. His shocking response may be, “Depart from me; I never knew you.” Faith is the ground; works are the fruit. A bad tree, an improperly rooted tree, cannot produce good fruit, Jesus said. It is the heart, the innermost being that produces either good or evil. That is what identifies the elect.

Here is what it might look like to be called but not chosen. I have known businessmen who called themselves Christians but broke the laws they could get away with, misled (lied to) customers, reneged on promises if they became too costly, and lied on their income tax returns. A Christian who is a businessman is different from a Christian businessman. Being “called” a Christian is not the same as being a Christian – being among the elect.

I once worked at a Christian school that could not abide my insistence that all truth is God’s truth, and the Bible is the foundation of all wisdom. They wanted to make Bible an elective course. They wanted to be the best college prep school in town, and they were afraid being too “Christian” would scare away potential students. They replaced me with a retired public-school administrator to fulfill their vision. A visit to their website today reveals that they have reverted to the type of Christian school I envisioned. Apparently, the college prep idea didn’t work out.

I once knew a pastor who had a long ministry preaching the Word effectively and appearing to live an exemplary life. Then he became obsessed with numbers as he saw churches drawing crowds of thousands into beautiful buildings. We were outgrowing our facility, so a building program was begun. A substantial windfall in a property sale gave the church a savings account of about one million dollars. The pastor promised the congregation that no money would be borrowed to build. Somewhere in the process, he fell in love with an architect’s proposal that would cost millions to complete. Despite his pledge not to borrow, he convinced the people to start the project which resulted in a two-million-dollar mortgage for the first of three phases. Within a few years, the bank was forcing foreclosure, and the congregation had to move. Today they are a mere shadow of what the church had once been.

I believe God calls every human in one way or another. Paul argues that no one can plead ignorance of God’s existence. In the next chapter he adds that conscience is a universal judge of everyone’s behavior, either excusing or accusing them on the day of judgment. Our Savior died for all people, but the gift of saving grace comes through faith, and faith is a choice – an election. When faith is presented as an alternative, everyone can elect to believe or not believe.

It will be necessary to go one step further in defining words. Belief has many shades of meaning. Go back to James: belief must be attended by works. He goes so far as to say the demons believe, but theirs is not a saving belief; it is a trembling belief. Often, demons claim to know who Jesus is as He is casting them out. I see that as a peek behind the curtain revealing the cosmic nature of Jesus’ ministry on earth. Demons are thought to be fallen angels who sided with Satan when he tried to seize power from God. This would imply that they knew the second person of the trinity intimately. Yet their knowledge did not produce faith. I think James meant this to be a caution for those who profess to know about God but never truly know Him and trust Him with their lives.

People love to quote Paul’s word to the Ephesians that we are saved by faith/belief not works. Those people often fail to read one verse further where Paul said we are saved to do works that God has prepared for us. We are not saved by works; we are saved to work. I believe this is what Jesus was getting at when He said many are called but few are chosen. Many who call themselves Christians are happy to think they will go to heaven when they die, but they choose not to do the work that has been prepared for them on earth before they leave. These people will be among the surprised professors who will be told by Jesus, “Depart from me; I never knew you:” called but not chosen.

Related Posts: What is Church?; Bringing the Kingdom; Many Called; Few Chosen