Chosen or Frozen

Chosen or Frozen

There is no doubt that the people of God are the called out, the elect, the special people, the royal priesthood, the holy nation, and the chosen people of Earth. In fact, the Apostle Peter would blatantly point that fact out in the beginning of 1 Peter 2:9. It would be no surprise for many to open that passage up and think, “Oh yeah, I have heard this verse all my life.” Countless sermons and lessons have been extended and proclaimed about these titles that the Lord’s people hold. However, I am afraid so many lessons have been preached about the titles the Lord’s people hold with no emphasis on the message that these same people are supposed to be proclaiming. 1 Peter 2:9-10 says, “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.”

The main question that needs to be answered is, when it comes to our every day lives, who’s praises are we proclaiming? Often times, it is much more frequent for each of us to proclaim the praises of our favorite team, or favorite player on that team. Maybe, it is more often that we proclaim the praises of our favorite politicians or world leaders. It might be the case that we proclaim the praises of our favorite minister, elder, or Bible-school teacher. While there are certainly times where proclaiming the praises of these is perfectly fine, are these people or things who we should be praising?

When it comes to proclaiming the praises of Him who has called us out of darkness and into His marvelous light (Jesus), God’s people have gone from the chosen, to the frozen. The very reason that we have been established as the elect, special, royal, and holy people of God is to proclaim the praises of Him who has brought us to that status. While many are more than eager to hold these titles, few are eager to tell others about the One who gave them those titles. When that is the case, we pass from the chosen… to the frozen. When we know that we have been blessed beyond measure and beyond comprehension to be able to be forgiven and justified by our Lord, but not willing to help others gain that same blessing… we have passed from chosen to frozen. How many people have been brought to the Lord strictly from the message of the titles we hold as part of the Lord’s people?

The truth is, we know that our purpose is to call others from the darkness, from the shadows, and from the world and bring them to Christ’s marvelous light, but we would rather focus on how Christ has called us from those places. The very nature and reason that we have been called out of the darkness is to then turn around and show others the marvelous light, the feeling of being the people of God, and how it feels to obtain mercy. So many have the excuse of not knowing what to say, when God’s Word gives us exactly what to say. The message of the Gospel of Christ and the message of what it has done for our lives is exactly the praises that all of us should be proclaiming.

So I guess the question we have to answer now is, am I chosen or am I frozen? Am I proclaiming the praises of Jesus Christ to my neighbors, my co-workers, my family, my friends, and to the world as a part of the chosen? Or am I strictly just content in the knowledge that I have been saved, and that I get to hold those titles? If we answer with the latter, I am afraid we in fact do not hold those titles anymore.

– Ben Hogan, Minister of Evangelism