What is God's calling based on?
God's calling is based on His own purpose and grace, not on human works. That grace was given in Christ Jesus before the world began, so believers are called according to His divine purpose and positioned in the body of Christ, chosen before creation, not by anything they willed or did.
Les explains that the holy calling is not according to our works; it is according to God's own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began. By faith, once a person becomes a child of God, they can look back and see they were chosen before God ever created Adam and already positioned in the body of Christ. This is why Paul could say in Romans 8 that neither principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor height, nor depth, nor any other thing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus—because we were already His before anything was created. Les stresses that this security does not give license; grace is not license, and it does not give the right to sin. It is all in His divine purpose that we are called, elected, and His.
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,
More Questions
Is God's calling based on our works or on His own purpose and grace?
God called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace — we did not arrive at salvation by our own effort or willing.