How Can You Know You Are Among God's Chosen? | Matthew 22:1-14

“Many are called, but few are chosen.” How can you know that you belong among the chosen? In Jesus' parable of the wedding feast, some guests refuse the invitation, while another comes without a wedding garment. Pastor Karl Grant explains where Jesus directs troubled Christians for assurance: to God's sincere invitation in the Gospel and to the righteousness of Christ, which He puts on us in Baptism and which we receive by faith. Preached at St. Peter's Lutheran Church in Gibbon, Minnesota, on October 18, 2026, the Twentieth Sunday after Trinity. 00:00 - Introduction 02:37 - Why the first guests missed the feast 04:42 - When God's Word gets the time left over 08:56 - The Holy Spirit calls us through the Gospel 09:47 - God means His invitation for you 14:04 - What is the wedding garment? 16:32 - Receiving Christ's righteousness by faith 19:54 - Assurance for a troubled conscience SCRIPTURE IN THIS SERMON Matthew 22:1-14: Jesus' wedding-feast parable warns against refusing God's invitation and standing before Him without the wedding garment. Matthew 23:37: Jesus longs to gather Jerusalem's children, but they are unwilling. His invitation is sincere. 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14: Paul assures Christians that God chose them and called them through the Gospel. Isaiah 61:10: God clothes His people with salvation and righteousness. Galatians 3:27: Those baptized into Christ have put on Christ. Revelation 19:9: Those invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb are blessed. QUESTION FOR REFLECTION When you doubt whether God has chosen you, how do His Gospel invitation and the promise of your Baptism answer that doubt?