Originally Posted by Cal Gal
In the same way it was because of the characteristic positive virtues found in Mary that God chose to favor her by using her to bear the Christ Child. Was God obligated to do so? Absolutely not. Did her character and virtue, which were a result of her choices prompt, or result in God’s favor? Yes! To state it another way, along the same line as the statement made by Samuel cited above, “because Mary possessed the virtues of humility, faith, submissive obedience, fear of God, servant’s attitude, and knowledge of His Word, God chose her as the vessel through whom His Son would enter the world.” He didn’t have to choose Mary to be the recipient of this grace, but it was none-the-less as a result of her virtue that He did. (emphasis mine/Pilgrim)
Methinks that your pastor is playing 'word games', aka: semantics. On the one hand he writes that there is no 'obligation' on God's part to bestow favor due to anything we can do. But on the other hand, he writes that our exhibition of 'virtue(s)' prompts God to bestow favor on us. As I see it, he is saying that God is motivated to bestow blessings upon those who are virtuous. Now this flies in the face of well-known passages, e.g., 1Cor 1:30,31; Eph. 1:4; 2:10; Phil 2:12,13 which clearly teach that any 'virtue', i.e., possession of holiness is due to the Spirit's sanctifying work in us. This in no way denies our personal responsibility to grow in grace and in the knowledge of God. However, what is fundamentally true is that our 'virtue' (good works and being transformed into the image of Christ) is God working in us. Thus, anything that is deemed good originates from God Himself.

Secondly, I believe your pastor has things reversed. In the example here of Mary, God worked in her to produce those 'virtues' which he seems to attribute to her, which incidentally, I would like to see where in Scripture they are attributed to her, for the purpose of using her as the instrument through which Messiah would come. The 'favor' shown to her includes those 'virtues' worked in her and not simply her being chosen to give birth to Jesus. The virtues were therefore not something Mary worked at which 'caught the eye' of God which then resulted in her being a chosen vessel to accomplish God's ultimate purpose of bringing forth the incarnate Son of God to save His people from their sins.

Lastly, it is hoped that he didn't make matters worse by suggesting that if we too live virtuous lives, it will motivate God to use us for grand purposes. Some of the most godly men and women who have gone before us have been persecuted and even martyred for their faith. Yes, it is true that their persecution and death can be said to display God's 'favor' in that they were used to further the kingdom of Christ (cf. Rom 8:28; Heb 11:32ff; 1Pet 2:19-21; 3:14,17,18).

In His grace,

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simul iustus et peccator

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