His People

And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. Matthew 1:21

And he brought forth his people with joy, and his chosen with gladness. Psalm 105:43

I have included the quotation from Psalms to show just who God's people are. It is so easy to say that God's people are everyone, all people.

I remember a TV drama where a nun says, oh so piously, "All souls are equally precious." Obviously this is not true. Judas as a "soul" cannot be compared to David. Heavenly and earthly rewards vary among His people, and not everyone is one of His people.

This democratization of people and its attendant giving of rewards has been largely aided by a non-interpretation of John 3:16. Those who find it super pious to quote John 3:16 should really study this famous verse. "World" is terribly taken to mean all people. For those who claim that God loves everyone, I must ask why He has not given everyone an opportunity to be saved.

Millions have lived and died without hearing the name of Jesus, even one time. According to the vast majority of Christians, their souls are in agony in hell. Probably because of an insufficient missionary program.

I will say that salvation and immortality are not "constitutional rights" intended for all people. They are special gifts for God's people, who were chosen before the world was made. The merciful aspect of this, where the unsaved are concerned, is that they will eventually perish--that is, DIE. They will not be tortured for eternity, which I am certain will be a disappointment to millions of Christians.

If only people would compare John 3:16 with the above scriptures. In extreme cases they might even find out what the word "world" means in all its different forms. But that is too much to hope for.

His people are a special group, compared to the earth's population. They were not, on their own, superior to the non-elect. Romans nine tells us that His people were chosen before they were born--before they had done good or evil. We deserve no credit for being chosen, any more than Israel does. Let us give the glory to God for choosing us.