What does it mean to be called?<\/p>\n\t
“Called” is another way to say “invited” or “encouraged to come.” “You are witnesses, and so is God, how devoutly and uprightly and blamelessly we behaved toward you believers; just as you know how we were exhorting and encouraging and imploring each one of you as a father would his own children, so that you would walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory<\/em>” (I Thessalonians 2:10-12). This passage tells us who does the calling: God. It also tells us what we are called to: His kingdom and glory. But it doesn’t directly state how that calling takes place.<\/p>\n Unfortunately, people have a habit of filling in missing information with imaginative answers. But we don’t have to guess. We merely have to look in other places for the answer. “But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth. It was for this He called you through our gospel, that you may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught, whether by word of mouth or by letter from us<\/em>” (II Thessalonians 2:13-15). It is through the teachings in the Bible that we are called by God.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Question: What does it mean to be called? Answer: “Called” is another way to say “invited” or “encouraged to come.” “You are witnesses, and so is God, how devoutly and uprightly and blamelessly we behaved toward you believers; just as you know how we were exhorting and encouraging and imploring each one of you as…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[99,98,100],"class_list":["post-575","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-becoming-a-christian","tag-called","tag-gospel"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":39032,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/are-men-called-by-god-to-preach\/","url_meta":{"origin":575,"position":0},"title":"Are men called by God to preach?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 23, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Why do some people say that in order for a man to preach he has to be called by God? Answer: \"Called\" is another way to say \"invited\" or \"encouraged to come.\" Those who are Christians have been called by God. \"You are witnesses, and so is God, how\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":40765,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-does-an-atheist-or-a-person-of-another-religion-know-it-is-god-calling-them\/","url_meta":{"origin":575,"position":1},"title":"How does an atheist or a person of another religion know it is God calling them?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 28, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: If so how does one know that it's God calling them if they're a part of another religion, or if they are atheists? How do they decline the 'invite'? Answer: Too often people hear a phrase and make assumptions without intending to do so. People talk about God's calling\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":26091,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-do-i-live-by-faith-while-providing-for-my-family-with-my-own-job\/","url_meta":{"origin":575,"position":2},"title":"How do I live by faith while providing for my family with my own job? Is there such a thing as a spiritual calling?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 17, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello Jeffrey, I'm in need of advice and I'd like to ask a question. First, I want to know how I can live by faith, while at the same time providing for myself and my loved ones with my own job. One of the things that I've been struggling\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":52372,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/are-we-gods-puppets\/","url_meta":{"origin":575,"position":3},"title":"Are we God’s puppets?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 12, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: About predestination and foreknowledge: God gave us a mind of our own, but He already knows what we will choose. Therefore, He can determine His plans without taking away our own responsibility. As a child, I learned that God predestined us to believe, so we don't choose ourselves and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":40078,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-can-the-church-and-the-kingdom-be-the-same-when-the-bible-says-flesh-will-not-enter-the-kingdom\/","url_meta":{"origin":575,"position":4},"title":"How can the church and the kingdom be the same when the Bible says flesh will not enter the kingdom?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 4, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: How you make the statement that the church and the kingdom are the same, while the Bible teaches that flesh will not enter the kingdom. Answer: \"Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption\" (I Corinthians 15:50).\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":10553,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-is-the-hope-of-his-calling\/","url_meta":{"origin":575,"position":5},"title":"What is “the hope of His calling?”","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 8, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Dear brother, Thank you for your web site. It has been most helpful to me as I struggle to share with a person who believes in \"Once Saved Always Saved.\" Can you enlighten me as to what it means in Ephesians: \"the hope of His calling\"? Does it refer\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/575","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=575"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/575\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=575"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=575"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=575"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}