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THE CALL OF GOD

(Rom 1:6)  "Among whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ:"

           Have you been called by God? How does God call people today? Does God call us by a voice in the still of the night as some claim? If you are called by God will you accept and respond to His call? These are some of the questions we will attempt to answer in this article.

           Have you been called by God? In most of the world today God has called people to come to Him! Perhaps you have heard God calling and you were not even aware that it was His calling. If you have ever heard the gospel of Jesus Christ proclaimed you have been called by God.

           Although I have just answered the second question; “How does God call people today” I would like to answer this question in more depth. You see many have been called and they were not even aware that it was the call of God because they don’t know how God calls them. Isaiah prophesized that the time would come when God would call a nation that didn’t even know God and it would be a nation whom God didn’t know: (Isa 55:5) “Behold, thou shalt call a nation that thou knowest not, and nations that knew not thee shall run unto thee because of the LORD thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel; for he hath glorified thee." So we can understand that it had long been God’s will to call us. But the question remains, how does God do this calling? Revelation 22:17 informs us that we are called by “the Spirit”: (Rev 22:17) “And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely." The “bride” of course refers to the church of Christ. So it is by the Spirit through the church that we are called.

           Just how does the “Spirit” through the “bride” call us? I believe the apostle Paul explains this very well: (2 The. 2:14) “Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ." Friends if you have ever heard the gospel proclaimed you have been called by God. However, for the calling to be genuine it must be the same exact gospel as that which was proclaimed by the apostles [Note Paul wrote “our gospel]. Any gospel other than that which has been proclaimed by the apostles is not the “calling” of God, it is only the calling of someone’s own imagination and it will not save you.

           Just how important is this calling? If you accept the calling you have been called out of “darkness”! (1 Pet 2:9) "But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:" Not only have you been called out of darkness we are also called into a “marvelous light”. Just think about this, you no longer have to stumble around in the darkness; and perhaps even fall, but you are now being led by the marvelous light of the gospel.

           Paul wrote to Timothy some valuable information concerning God’s calling, (2 Tim 1:9) "Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began," He wrote that it is through this calling that we are saved. He informed Timothy that it was a “holy calling”. He wrote that is according to God’s purpose [It is no accident]. And Paul told Timothy that all of this has been made possible because of God’s grace.

 The next time you hear the gospel proclaimed won’t you give it some serious consideration? If you don’t respond to God’s call remember this, it just might be the last chance you have to answer God’s call.