Latest / Providence Baptist Church - Sermons / Romans 9:6-13

Transcript

Romans 9:6-13 · Providence Baptist Church - Sermons

0:00
Today, we're going to begin what I believe, I think, God intends to be three more weeks in chapter 9.
0:07
In seeing that the large rejection of the gospel by the nation of Israel does not discredit the gospel.
0:16
And that's why Paul is beginning to have this conversation.
0:19
The fact that the people who should have gotten it more than any other people by human terms should have understood who the Christ was.
0:30
The fact that they rejected him does not discredit the gospel.
0:34
And in fact, the unbelief of Israel is consistent with God's promises, with God's person, with God's prophecies, and with God's provision.
0:46
You guys proud of me? I'm alliterating now.
0:49
We're going to look at those four Ps.
0:50
And today, we're going to look at verses 6 through 13 and see that the unbelief of Israel is consistent with God's promises.
0:59
But before we do that, let's read together all of chapter 9.
1:07
Paul writes,
1:07
To them belong the patriarchs.
1:32
And from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen.
1:39
But it is not as though the word of God has failed.
1:42
For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel.
1:45
And not all children of Abraham, because they are his offspring.
1:49
But through Isaac shall your offspring be named.
1:52
This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise who are counted as offspring.
1:57
For this is what the promise said.
2:00
About this time next year, I will return.
2:02
And Sarah shall have a son.
2:04
And not only so, but also when Rebecca had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac,
2:10
though they were not yet born and had not done anything either good or bad,
2:14
in order that God's purpose of election might continue,
2:17
not because of works, but because of him who calls,
2:19
she was told,
2:20
The older will serve the younger.
2:22
As it is written,
2:24
Jacob I loved,
2:25
but Esau I hated.
2:27
What shall we say then?
2:29
Is there injustice on God's part?
2:32
By no means.
2:34
For he says to Moses,
2:35
I will have mercy on whom I have mercy,
2:37
and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.
2:40
Something that depends not on human will or exertion,
2:43
but on God who has mercy.
2:45
For the scripture says to Pharaoh,
2:47
For this very purpose I have raised you up,
2:49
that I might show my power in you,
2:51
and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.
2:54
So then he has mercy on whomever he wills,
2:56
and he hardens whomever he wills.
3:00
You will say to me then,
3:02
Why does he still find fault?
3:03
For who can resist his will?
3:05
But who are you,
3:07
O man,
3:07
to answer back to God?
3:09
Will what is molded say to the molder,
3:11
Why have you made me like this?
3:13
Has the potter no right over the clay
3:15
to make out of the same lump
3:16
one vessel for honorable use
3:18
and another for dishonorable use?
3:19
What if God,
3:21
desiring to show his wrath
3:22
and to make known his power,
3:24
has endured with much patience
3:26
vessels of wrath prepared for destruction,
3:28
in order to make known the riches of his glory
3:30
for vessels of mercy,
3:31
which he has prepared beforehand for glory,
3:34
even us whom he has called,
3:36
not from the Jews only,
3:37
but also from the Gentiles.
3:39
As indeed he says in Hosea,
3:41
Those who were not my people,
3:42
I will call my people.
3:43
And who was not my beloved,
3:45
I will call beloved.
3:47
And in the very place
3:48
where it was said to them,
3:49
You were not my people,
3:50
there they will be called
3:51
sons of the living God.
3:53
And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel,
3:55
Though the number of the sons of Israel
3:57
be as the sand of the sea,
3:58
only a remnant of them will be saved.
4:00
For the Lord will carry out
4:01
this sentence upon the earth
4:02
fully and without delay.
4:04
And as Isaiah predicted,
4:05
If the Lord of hosts
4:06
had not left us offspring,
4:07
we would have been like Sodom
4:09
and become like Gomorrah.
4:11
What shall we say then?
4:13
That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness
4:15
have attained it?
4:16
That is,
4:17
a righteousness that is by faith?
4:19
But that Israel who pursued a law
4:20
that would lead to righteousness
4:21
did not succeed in reaching the law?
4:24
Why?
4:25
Because they did not pursue it by faith.
4:27
But as if it were based on works,
4:30
they have stumbled over the stumbling stone.
4:32
As it is written,
4:33
Behold, I am laying in Zion
4:35
a stone of stumbling
4:36
and a rock of offense.
4:38
And whoever believes in him
4:39
will not be put to shame.
4:43
Join me in prayer.
4:46
Father God,
4:49
certainly you have been good
4:50
to your people.
4:51
You have rescued us
4:53
from the mire of sin.
4:55
The place where we could not
4:57
rescue ourselves.
4:58
No effort on our part
4:59
could have pulled us out
5:01
of such a dark
5:03
and terrible place.
5:06
But you have plucked us
5:08
from that place.
5:08
You have brought us out of darkness
5:10
into your marvelous light.
5:12
This is a great work of yours.
5:15
You have also given us the scriptures
5:16
that we might be guided
5:18
in our understanding
5:19
of the gospel.
5:22
And I pray that this day
5:23
as we soak in these eight verses
5:27
that you will find us humble
5:30
being spoken to from above
5:33
as your words are inspired.
5:35
The words on these pages
5:36
translated from the Greek
5:38
are inspired
5:39
and they're for us
5:40
for this day.
5:41
And I pray that we will
5:42
accept them
5:44
as such.
5:46
I pray, Father,
5:47
you will not find us
5:48
haughty intellectuals
5:50
standing over the word of God
5:52
as if we are gods
5:53
judging you
5:54
for what you have said.
5:57
And I pray that all of this
5:59
is the praise and glory
6:00
of Jesus Christ.
6:02
It's in his name I pray.
6:04
Amen.
6:05
So we're going to hone in together
6:08
on verses 6-13.
6:13
Let me say to you
6:14
that what we're going to be studying
6:16
over the next few weeks
6:17
is heavy doctrine.
6:20
But it is joyful
6:22
to understand and to know.
6:26
I would expect
6:27
that you will wrestle with it.
6:29
I have and I do.
6:32
It's a continual process.
6:34
But I would ask
6:35
that you let the word of God
6:37
speak to your life today.
6:41
So let's look together
6:42
beginning in verse 6.
6:44
Paul says it's not as though
6:45
the word of God has failed.
6:47
The things he referenced
6:48
particularly in verse 4
6:50
the adoption,
6:51
the glory,
6:52
the covenants,
6:52
the giving of the law,
6:53
the worship,
6:54
the promises.
6:54
It's not that these things
6:56
have failed to accomplish
6:57
their goal.
6:58
In fact,
6:59
they will accomplish
7:00
the exact goal
7:01
they were set out
7:03
to accomplish.
7:04
Isaiah 55-11
7:06
reads,
7:08
My word that goes out
7:09
from my mouth,
7:10
it shall not return
7:11
to me empty,
7:12
but it shall accomplish
7:13
that which I purpose.
7:15
It shall succeed
7:16
in the thing
7:17
for which I sent it.
7:20
Many of you
7:20
are probably familiar
7:21
with that.
7:23
Proceeding that,
7:24
there's another verse,
7:25
verses,
7:26
that you're probably
7:26
very familiar with
7:27
and we don't often
7:29
put them together.
7:30
Verses 8 and 9
7:31
of Isaiah 55,
7:33
God says,
7:34
For my thoughts
7:34
are not your thoughts,
7:36
neither are your ways
7:38
my ways,
7:39
declares the Lord.
7:40
For as the heavens
7:41
are higher than the earth,
7:42
so are my ways
7:43
higher than your ways
7:44
and my thoughts
7:45
than your thoughts.
7:47
So God says to us,
7:49
You can't fully understand me
7:51
because I am God
7:52
and you are not.
7:54
and my word
7:56
which goes forth
7:57
will accomplish
7:58
the very thing
8:00
that it was sent forth
8:02
to accomplish.
8:04
So the word of God
8:05
has not failed
8:06
just because
8:07
some of Israel
8:08
doesn't believe
8:09
that Jesus
8:10
is the Son of God,
8:11
that He is the Messiah,
8:12
their Deliverer.
8:13
It doesn't mean
8:14
the word of God
8:14
has failed.
8:15
The word of God
8:15
is accomplishing
8:16
what it was intended
8:18
to accomplish.
8:21
He goes on to say
8:22
the last half,
8:23
for not all
8:23
who are descended
8:24
from Israel
8:25
belong to Israel.
8:28
And He begins
8:28
to frame for us
8:29
as He's done
8:30
in chapter 2,
8:31
verses 28 and 29
8:32
of Romans,
8:33
that it's those
8:34
who belong to Israel
8:36
by faith
8:37
that are the true Israel.
8:39
Those that are
8:40
the recipients
8:40
of the promise
8:41
by faith,
8:42
not by the flesh.
8:46
Romans 2, 28 and 29
8:47
says,
8:47
For no one is a Jew
8:48
who is merely one outwardly,
8:50
nor is circumcision
8:51
outward and physical,
8:52
but a Jew
8:53
is one inwardly,
8:55
and circumcision
8:55
is a matter
8:56
of the heart,
8:57
by the Spirit,
8:58
not by the letter.
9:00
His praise
9:01
is not from man,
9:02
but from God.
9:04
This has always
9:05
been the way
9:07
of God.
9:08
Abraham was a man
9:09
justified by
9:10
faith.
9:12
He believed
9:13
in the promises
9:14
of God.
9:15
He didn't understand
9:16
the full realization
9:17
of the promises
9:18
of God.
9:19
He didn't know
9:19
how it was
9:20
that all the nations
9:21
of the world
9:21
would be blessed
9:22
in his line.
9:23
He didn't know
9:24
how it was
9:25
to happen,
9:26
but he knew
9:26
that it would,
9:27
and he trusted
9:27
that God would do
9:28
what he said
9:29
he would do,
9:29
and that is why
9:31
Abraham was justified.
9:35
Galatians 3,
9:36
7-9 reads,
9:37
It is those of faith
9:39
who are the sons
9:40
of Abraham,
9:40
and the scripture
9:41
foreseeing that God
9:42
would justify the Gentiles
9:43
by faith,
9:44
preached the gospel
9:45
beforehand to Abraham
9:46
saying,
9:47
In you shall all
9:48
the nations be blessed.
9:50
So then those
9:51
who are of faith
9:51
are blessed along
9:52
with Abraham,
9:54
the man of faith.
9:55
Isn't that phenomenal?
9:56
The commentary
9:56
that Paul gives us
9:57
on the promise
9:58
given to Abraham,
9:59
the Abrahamic covenant,
10:01
that the scripture
10:02
foreseeing that God
10:04
would justify Gentiles
10:05
by faith,
10:07
preached the gospel
10:08
to Abraham
10:10
saying,
10:11
In you the nations
10:12
will be blessed.
10:15
It's phenomenal.
10:16
And he goes on
10:17
to expound on that
10:18
in verses 7 and 8
10:20
and 9
10:21
and 10
10:22
and 11 and 12
10:22
and 13.
10:24
Verse 7 he says,
10:25
And not all are children
10:27
of Abraham
10:27
because there is offspring,
10:28
but through Isaac
10:29
shall your offspring be named.
10:30
This means it is not
10:31
the children of the flesh
10:31
who are the children of God,
10:32
but the children of the promise
10:34
are counted as offspring.
10:36
For this is what
10:36
the promise said
10:37
about this time next year
10:38
I will return
10:39
and Sarah
10:40
shall have a son.
10:42
Now if you recall
10:44
the story
10:44
of Sarah and Abraham
10:46
long,
10:48
long into their years
10:49
beyond childbearing age
10:51
both of them were,
10:53
should not have been
10:54
able to have a son.
10:55
And God comes
10:56
and gives to Abraham
10:58
a promise
10:58
that he will bless
11:00
the nations
11:00
in his line.
11:02
that his descendants
11:04
shall be like
11:04
the stars in heaven.
11:06
You remember this story?
11:08
And Abraham believed him.
11:09
He didn't have a clue
11:10
how that might happen,
11:11
but he believed him.
11:13
And Sarah
11:14
in her faithlessness
11:15
didn't believe
11:17
that it would be possible
11:18
for her
11:19
to bear a son.
11:20
Gave to Abraham
11:22
Hagar,
11:23
their servant.
11:24
You recall this
11:25
and Abraham
11:25
took Hagar
11:26
and she had a son
11:28
named Ishmael.
11:31
Sarah became jealous
11:32
of this relationship
11:33
and sent Hagar
11:34
and Ishmael away.
11:37
And it's there
11:37
that we see
11:38
Genesis 18.10
11:39
which is quoted
11:40
in verse 9.
11:40
About this time
11:41
next year I will return
11:42
and Sarah
11:42
shall have a son.
11:43
The promise
11:44
is re-given
11:45
and then in Genesis
11:46
21.12
11:47
it says
11:48
through Isaac
11:49
shall your offspring
11:50
be named.
11:51
And the point
11:52
that he's making
11:53
is that it's not
11:54
Abraham's lineage,
11:56
it's not just
11:57
that they came
11:57
from his flesh
11:59
that makes them blessed,
12:00
but it's the promise
12:01
that God gave
12:02
that makes them blessed.
12:05
Verse 8.
12:06
This means
12:06
it is not the children
12:07
of the flesh
12:08
who are children of God
12:09
but the children
12:09
of the promise
12:10
are counted
12:11
as offspring.
12:13
So you have
12:14
Ishmael.
12:15
You know who
12:15
the descendants
12:16
of Ishmael are?
12:18
The whole Arab nation.
12:20
She doesn't exclude
12:21
them from the gospel
12:21
but that is the direction
12:24
that that lineage
12:25
took off in.
12:26
In many ways
12:27
God blessed Ishmael
12:29
as an offspring
12:30
of Abraham
12:30
gave him lands
12:32
helped him thrive
12:33
but the promise
12:35
was for Isaac.
12:39
Verse 10.
12:41
And not only so
12:42
but also when Rebecca
12:43
had conceived
12:44
children by one man
12:45
our forefather Isaac
12:46
so Rebecca
12:47
is Isaac's wife
12:48
twins
12:49
she had twins
12:50
she conceived
12:51
children
12:52
though they were
12:53
not yet born
12:53
and had done nothing
12:54
either good or bad
12:56
in order that
12:56
God's purpose
12:57
of election
12:58
might continue
12:58
not because of works
12:59
but because of him
13:01
who calls
13:01
she was told
13:02
the older
13:03
will serve the younger
13:04
as it is written
13:05
Jacob I loved
13:06
but Esau I hated.
13:09
So Rebecca's
13:09
pregnant with twins
13:10
and in this time
13:13
there was great
13:15
favor
13:16
on the first born.
13:18
So someone pregnant
13:19
with twin boys
13:20
although we'd say
13:22
they're
13:22
the same age
13:24
in this case
13:25
Esau
13:26
was born first
13:27
and Jacob
13:28
was clinging
13:28
to his heel
13:29
remember the story
13:30
when they were born
13:31
the same time
13:32
they came out
13:33
together
13:33
but Esau
13:35
culturally
13:36
was the favored one
13:37
Esau was the one
13:38
that should have
13:39
gotten the blessing
13:39
of his father
13:40
Esau was the one
13:41
that should have
13:41
inherited
13:42
his father's lands
13:44
and then Jacob
13:45
was just to serve
13:46
the eldest brother
13:48
the work here
13:50
that Esau
13:51
would have done
13:51
his work
13:53
that would have
13:54
merited him
13:55
all this favor
13:55
was that he was
13:56
born first
13:57
which we know
13:58
isn't actually
13:58
a work of Esau
14:00
but that would have
14:00
been the thing
14:00
credited to him
14:02
to be the favored one
14:04
but what does God say
14:05
the older
14:07
will serve the younger
14:09
and then Jacob
14:12
I have loved
14:12
but Esau
14:13
I hated
14:14
for either of them
14:15
had done anything
14:16
good or bad
14:17
we'll talk about
14:19
that verse
14:20
in just a bit
14:21
we'll frame it
14:22
in its context
14:23
so you can see
14:25
that it is
14:26
God
14:27
who acts
14:28
and not
14:29
man
14:30
I want you to
14:32
hone in on a little
14:33
phrase
14:34
in verse 11
14:35
in order
14:37
that God's purpose
14:38
of election
14:39
might continue
14:39
not because of works
14:41
but because of him
14:42
who calls
14:44
and it brings us
14:46
to the doctrine
14:47
of election
14:47
we've been anticipating
14:49
in chapter 9
14:51
it's not the first time
14:51
it's been mentioned
14:52
in the book of Romans
14:53
upon a careful reading
14:55
it's introduced
14:57
in large part
14:58
in Romans 8
14:59
verse 29
15:01
for those whom he foreknew
15:02
he also predestined
15:03
to be conformed
15:03
to the image of his son
15:04
in order that he might
15:05
be the first foregone
15:06
among many brothers
15:06
and those whom he predestined
15:07
he also called
15:08
and those whom he called
15:09
he also justified
15:10
and those whom he justified
15:11
he also glorified
15:12
there's a sure confidence
15:13
in the act of God
15:15
when God decides
15:15
something will happen
15:17
it happens
15:17
God plans the ends
15:19
and he works the means
15:20
to see that
15:21
come to reality
15:23
and he's expounding
15:25
here for us now
15:26
what does that mean
15:28
what is election
15:29
and simply
15:31
election is an act of God
15:33
before creation
15:34
in which he chooses
15:35
a people
15:36
for salvation
15:37
not on account
15:38
of any foreseen merit
15:40
in them
15:41
but only because
15:42
of his sovereign
15:43
good pleasure
15:44
this is
15:47
a biblical reality
15:49
it will make your head
15:51
spin
15:52
I promise
15:52
it will cause you
15:54
to question
15:55
many things
15:57
we know to be true
15:58
of God
15:59
but it is taught
16:00
in the scriptures
16:02
now with it comes
16:04
all kinds
16:05
of controversy
16:06
throughout the ages
16:08
this has been a much
16:09
debated doctrine
16:11
and I'll say to you
16:12
that by and large
16:13
those who have held
16:14
to the doctrine
16:15
of election
16:15
have won
16:16
that debate
16:17
you begin to study
16:19
church history
16:20
and you will see
16:20
that the overarching
16:21
understanding
16:23
of this doctrine
16:24
is that it's true
16:26
and it's biblical
16:27
it's very clearly
16:29
taught
16:29
but still
16:31
much dissension
16:33
has existed
16:33
around this
16:34
not because of the doctrine
16:36
we don't ever blame
16:36
the doctrine
16:37
for that
16:37
because men
16:39
don't hold dear
16:41
to the scriptures
16:42
men want to apply
16:44
their own understanding
16:46
their own wisdom
16:47
and their own logic
16:48
to debate
16:50
this issue
16:51
there have been
16:53
many labels
16:54
that have been put on
16:55
people who believe
16:56
these things
16:57
Calvinists
16:58
Reform
17:00
that's the famous
17:01
one right now
17:02
and I would say
17:03
to you
17:04
coming to a
17:05
new place
17:06
in my life
17:07
that we should
17:07
try
17:08
at all costs
17:09
to avoid
17:10
those kinds
17:11
of labels
17:11
often it's the
17:14
easy way to
17:15
communicate
17:15
what you may
17:16
believe about
17:16
a certain thing
17:17
but you know
17:17
that every label
17:18
in this world
17:20
comes with
17:21
all kinds
17:22
of baggage
17:22
you have to know
17:24
that not just
17:25
around this topic
17:26
but around
17:27
every other topic
17:28
in the world
17:29
that there is
17:29
somebody out there
17:30
tossing a rock
17:31
in the air
17:31
ready to hurl it
17:34
at the first person
17:35
who says
17:36
I am a
17:37
because they have
17:39
some idea
17:40
I had to practice
17:41
doing this by the way
17:42
to get this right
17:42
you can imagine
17:43
a rock right
17:44
they have some idea
17:48
that they do not
17:49
like about that
17:51
person
17:51
and when you take
17:52
the label
17:53
it all comes
17:54
with it
17:54
Chris and I
17:56
got in a conversation
17:58
with a man
17:58
who had a bag
17:59
of rocks
18:00
a couple of months
18:00
ago
18:01
I am glad
18:02
he took them
18:02
out one at a
18:03
time
18:03
and hurled
18:04
them at us
18:04
rather than
18:04
beating us
18:05
with a bag
18:05
he was
18:06
furious
18:07
at anyone
18:08
that might
18:09
say they are
18:09
reformed
18:11
and I think
18:11
that his
18:12
emotion
18:13
was justified
18:14
he had had
18:14
some experience
18:15
with some
18:16
young men
18:17
that really
18:18
frustrated him
18:19
and at one point
18:19
I had to say
18:20
you are not
18:20
mad at me
18:21
put down the rocks
18:24
let's have a
18:25
conversation
18:26
let's talk
18:27
this out
18:27
together
18:28
these things
18:29
come with
18:30
so
18:31
much
18:32
the doctrine
18:35
of election
18:36
has not
18:37
ever caused
18:38
any Christian
18:39
to live
18:39
one way
18:40
or necessarily
18:42
another
18:42
right
18:43
the
18:44
Calvinist
18:45
that you may
18:46
know
18:46
that's been
18:47
unloving
18:47
that's
18:48
tried to
18:48
shrub
18:49
these type
18:49
of doctrines
18:50
down your
18:50
throat
18:51
that has
18:51
been haughty
18:51
has been
18:52
arrogant
18:52
it's not
18:53
the fault
18:53
of the
18:53
doctrine
18:54
it's the
18:54
fault
18:55
of the
18:55
lack
18:56
of love
18:56
and compassion
18:57
in their
18:57
life
18:57
a couple
18:59
of weeks
18:59
ago
18:59
we talked
19:00
about the
19:00
danger
19:00
of
19:01
preaching
19:02
truth
19:02
but doing
19:03
so
19:03
without
19:04
love
19:04
and so
19:06
I'm saying
19:06
all this
19:07
because
19:07
what I
19:08
want you
19:08
to do
19:09
if you're
19:09
sitting
19:10
out there
19:10
is put
19:11
down
19:11
your
19:12
rocks
19:12
I love
19:15
Jesus
19:15
Christ
19:16
I love
19:18
the gospel
19:18
I
19:19
dearly
19:20
love
19:20
people
19:21
and I
19:21
want to
19:22
see
19:22
God's
19:23
kingdom
19:23
go rampant
19:24
throughout
19:25
the earth
19:25
I love
19:27
the scriptures
19:27
I think
19:28
that they
19:29
are sufficient
19:29
and inerrant
19:30
they're
19:31
complete
19:32
there's a
19:34
part of
19:34
me
19:34
that wants
19:35
to make
19:35
my own
19:36
little
19:36
theological
19:37
system
19:39
and then
19:40
do my
19:40
very best
19:41
to read
19:42
it into
19:42
the scripture
19:43
that's
19:43
called
19:43
isogesis
19:44
because I
19:46
can kind
19:47
of neaten
19:47
up the
19:48
package
19:48
in my
19:49
own
19:49
mind
19:49
what do
19:51
I do
19:52
when I
19:52
do
19:52
that
19:52
I
19:53
become
19:53
my
19:53
own
19:54
God
19:54
and what
19:56
I'm
19:56
really
19:56
doing
19:56
is
19:56
worshipping
19:57
myself
19:58
and I'm
19:58
taking the
19:59
revelation
19:59
of God
20:00
and I'm
20:00
patting myself
20:01
on the
20:01
back
20:02
I don't
20:04
want to
20:04
do that
20:05
I want
20:06
to be
20:06
humble
20:06
I want
20:07
to say
20:07
I am
20:08
a created
20:08
thing
20:09
and you
20:09
are the
20:09
creator
20:10
and if
20:11
you have
20:11
chosen to
20:11
reveal a
20:12
truth to
20:12
me
20:12
even though
20:13
it may
20:13
not
20:13
fully
20:14
make
20:14
sense
20:14
in my
20:15
thinking
20:15
and I
20:16
humbly
20:16
!
20:16
submit to
20:17
that
20:17
and then I
20:18
ask
20:18
why?
20:19
why?
20:19
why are
20:20
you
20:20
teaching
20:20
me
20:20
this?
20:21
if this
20:21
is a
20:22
necessary
20:22
thing
20:22
for me
20:23
to
20:23
know
20:23
why?
20:26
did God
20:26
just get
20:26
carried away
20:27
and begin
20:27
writing?
20:30
and he's
20:30
like
20:30
that was
20:31
too much
20:31
I wish
20:32
I hadn't
20:32
said that
20:32
that's
20:33
going to
20:33
cause
20:34
all kinds
20:34
of issues
20:34
people are
20:35
going to
20:35
be so
20:35
totally
20:36
confused
20:36
about
20:36
that
20:37
if I
20:38
could
20:38
take
20:38
it
20:38
back
20:38
but it's
20:39
already
20:39
been
20:39
written
20:39
the
20:40
scrolls
20:40
have
20:40
been
20:40
reproduced
20:41
now the
20:42
printing
20:43
press
20:43
is
20:43
everywhere
20:44
he
20:45
didn't
20:45
do it
20:45
he knew
20:46
!
20:47
exactly
20:47
what he
20:47
was
20:47
doing
20:48
when
20:48
he
20:49
had
20:50
the
20:50
writers
20:50
of
20:50
the
20:51
Bible
20:51
write
20:51
these
20:52
words
20:52
so
20:54
let's
20:56
be
20:56
humble
20:56
together
20:57
let me
20:57
give you
20:57
a great
20:58
example
20:58
it's a
20:59
really
20:59
famous
21:00
conversation
21:01
between
21:01
a man
21:02
named
21:02
Charles
21:03
Simeon
21:03
and
21:04
John
21:04
Wesley
21:04
Charles
21:07
Simeon
21:07
in
21:08
England
21:08
was the
21:09
leader
21:10
I hope
21:10
I'm
21:10
getting
21:10
this
21:10
right
21:11
of the
21:11
evangelical
21:11
movement
21:12
of the
21:12
Church
21:12
of England
21:12
so
21:13
here's
21:14
a man
21:14
passionate
21:15
about
21:15
evangelism
21:16
actually
21:16
working
21:17
to see
21:18
the
21:18
Church
21:18
of
21:18
England
21:18
become
21:19
evangelistic
21:20
in their
21:20
practice
21:21
and
21:22
John
21:22
Wesley
21:22
who
21:23
is
21:24
the
21:24
founder
21:24
of
21:24
Methodism
21:24
also
21:25
a
21:26
phenomenal
21:26
man
21:27
John
21:28
Wesley
21:28
said to be
21:29
the
21:29
prince
21:29
of
21:29
Armenians
21:30
those
21:31
who
21:31
would
21:31
reject
21:31
the
21:32
doctrine
21:32
of
21:32
election
21:33
although
21:33
he
21:34
really
21:34
didn't
21:35
but we'll
21:36
get into
21:37
that
21:37
later
21:37
Charles
21:38
Simeon
21:38
and
21:39
John
21:39
Wesley
21:39
were
21:39
being
21:39
pressed
21:40
!
21:41
to debate
21:41
by
21:43
lots
21:44
and lots
21:44
of
21:44
us
21:45
the
21:46
unloving
21:47
those
21:47
who
21:47
really
21:48
want
21:49
to see
21:49
the
21:49
big
21:50
guys
21:50
beat up
21:50
on each
21:51
other
21:51
over
21:51
issues
21:52
like
21:52
this
21:52
and
21:53
here's
21:53
the
21:53
conversation
21:54
that they
21:54
had
21:54
as led
21:56
by
21:56
Charles
21:57
Simeon
21:57
Charles
21:58
Simeon
21:58
said
21:58
Wesley
22:10
A few questions.
22:12
Pray, sir, do you feel yourself a depraved creature,
22:16
so depraved that you would ever have thought of turning to God
22:18
if God had not first put it into your heart?
22:22
Wesley replied, yes, I do indeed.
22:26
Simeon said, and do you utterly despair of recommending yourself to God
22:30
by anything you can do,
22:31
and look for salvation solely through the blood and righteousness of Christ?
22:37
To which Wesley replied, yes, solely through Christ.
22:42
But, sir, supposing you were at first saved by Christ,
22:45
are you not somehow or other to save yourself afterwards by your own works?
22:51
Wesley said, no, I must be saved by Christ from first to last.
22:57
Allowing, then, that you were first turned by the grace of God,
23:00
are you not in some way or other to keep yourself by your own power?
23:05
Wesley simply said,
23:06
no.
23:08
What, then, are you to be upheld every hour and every moment by God
23:11
as much as an infant in its mother's arms?
23:15
Wesley said, yes, altogether.
23:18
And is all your hope and the grace and mercy of God
23:21
to preserve you unto his heavenly kingdom?
23:24
Wesley says, yes, I have no hope but in him.
23:29
To which Simeon concluded, then, sir, with your leave,
23:32
I will put up my dagger again.
23:35
For this is all my Calvinism.
23:36
This is my election, my justification by faith, my final perseverance.
23:41
It is in substance all that I hold and as I hold it.
23:45
And therefore, if you please,
23:47
instead of searching out terms and phrases to be a ground of contention between us,
23:51
we will cordially unite in those things wherein we agree.
23:56
To which Wesley responded, to this I add nothing.
23:59
And that was their great debate that everyone had pressed them to.
24:04
To see that really, both of them were Bible-believing men.
24:09
And they had been led astray in their framing of their argument.
24:15
And Simeon brought it together in such a beautiful way.
24:19
Do you believe?
24:20
Yes.
24:20
Do you believe?
24:21
Yes.
24:21
How about this?
24:22
Nope.
24:22
And they all, and they realized, really?
24:24
When it all came down to it,
24:26
they were right there on the same page together.
24:30
Now, these doctrines are important.
24:31
They should be talked about.
24:32
They should be taught.
24:33
But you have to recognize that most of the people that you encounter,
24:36
those of us in this room that may not fully embrace the doctrine of election,
24:40
we have so much more in common than those things that we have apart.
24:49
You know that?
24:50
That we're a pretty conservative denomination being Southern Baptists.
24:54
We're not debating things like the inerrancy of Scripture.
24:58
That's a blessing to us.
25:00
It's good that we're debating things that we can debate with Scripture.
25:04
That ultimately, we're all walking on a tightrope
25:08
between the sovereignty of God and the responsibility of man.
25:12
If I'm going to err, if our church is going to err,
25:16
we're going to tend to err off the sovereignty of God's side.
25:20
So, I usually balance like this.
25:24
If I'm going to fall, it's going to be to the sovereignty of God's side of things.
25:28
I'm going to neglect the teaching that we are, in fact, responsible for our actions.
25:32
If others are going to err, many of our Georgia Baptist pastors,
25:39
it's going to be to the other side.
25:41
And they're going to neglect teaching that God is, in fact, in control.
25:46
You are to act.
25:48
You are to work out your salvation with fear and trembling
25:50
because it's God at work in you to accomplish His goodwill.
25:55
They'll neglect that side.
25:57
Why is there so much contention around this?
26:00
I honestly don't know.
26:01
But I can tell you that one thing I see as a possibility
26:04
is that I get held on the tightrope
26:07
by those who don't embrace this doctrine in the way that I do.
26:12
Those men keep me from neglecting the teaching
26:16
that we are, in fact, responsible,
26:19
even though God is fully in control.
26:22
So, let's look at the Scriptures together.
26:29
I want to remind you, before we do that,
26:32
that Paul's discussion of this doctrine
26:34
as it relates to the Gentiles and to Israel
26:37
ends in chapter 11, beginning in verse 33.
26:41
He says,
26:42
Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom of knowledge of God!
26:46
How unsearchable are His judgments
26:48
and how inscrutable His ways!
26:50
For who has known the mind of the Lord
26:51
or who has been His counselor
26:52
or who has given a gift to Him
26:54
that He might be repaid?
26:56
For from Him and through Him and to Him
26:58
are all things.
27:00
To Him be glory forever.
27:01
Amen.
27:03
This is a great doxology.
27:05
And let's keep in mind that that's where He heads.
27:07
In His mind, as He's having a proper understanding of this
27:09
and He's pinning it down for us,
27:11
that's where He ends up.
27:13
He starts in the beginning of verse 9
27:15
with a lament over Israel,
27:16
His brethren according to the flesh,
27:18
those that He has a dear, dear heart for,
27:21
His nation.
27:23
But He ends in His understanding
27:25
by praising God
27:26
that He can't fully grasp
27:28
the height of God's wisdom and knowledge.
27:32
So let's recall that.
27:34
This week,
27:36
my dear mother shared with me
27:38
Job 26.14.
27:40
Job says,
27:40
Behold,
27:42
these are but the outskirts of His ways
27:44
and how small a whisper do we hear of Him
27:47
but the thunder of His power
27:49
who can understand.
27:52
Isn't that good?
27:53
These are but the outskirts of His ways
27:54
and how small a whisper do we hear of Him
27:57
but the thunder of His power
27:59
who can understand.
28:01
We are to understand
28:03
and know what God has given us
28:05
to understand and know
28:06
and accept it by faith.
28:07
Someday,
28:09
our minds are going to be
28:10
blown wide open.
28:13
So let's let the Scriptures speak.
28:15
John 6.44.
28:17
Actually,
28:17
turn there with me.
28:18
I want you to work with me through.
28:20
We're going to go in order
28:22
through the New Testament.
28:23
I have eight Scriptures for you.
28:41
Which is not the extent of the Scriptures
28:42
that speak to this topic.
28:45
John 6.44.
28:46
The words of Christ.
28:47
No one can come to me
28:48
unless the Father who sent me
28:50
draws him.
28:51
The Greek word draws
28:53
is more powerful in the Greek
28:56
than it is in English.
28:57
It means literally to drag off.
29:01
The picture is of us
29:03
clinging to sin.
29:05
Have you ever seen a child
29:07
throw a tantrum?
29:08
They don't want to go out the door
29:09
and you've seen that parent
29:10
that rather than just like
29:11
spanking them and dealing with it
29:12
plays the game
29:13
and drags them across the floor
29:14
and they're like clawing on the carpet.
29:16
That's the picture of this word.
29:18
That is the way that the Father
29:19
draws us to Christ.
29:21
We don't love him.
29:24
We love sin.
29:25
That is our natural inclination
29:27
before we are brought
29:29
to life in Christ.
29:32
No one can come to me
29:33
unless the Father who sent me
29:34
draws him.
29:36
In other Greek literature
29:37
that term is used
29:38
for the bringing of water up
29:39
from a well.
29:40
How does that happen?
29:44
Does the water willingly
29:45
climb up the side of the well?
29:47
Never.
29:48
Right?
29:49
Water is fully subjected
29:51
to the law of gravity.
29:53
Right?
29:54
That term there used
29:55
draw as a physical forcing
29:57
of something
29:59
to come to Christ.
30:01
John 15, 16.
30:06
Jesus says
30:07
and I don't know how
30:07
you can get more clear than this
30:09
but Jesus says
30:09
you did not choose me
30:11
but I chose you.
30:15
Do I have to
30:16
give commentary to that?
30:19
I didn't write this guys.
30:21
I don't have some special version.
30:24
Yours might read
30:24
slightly different
30:25
but it says the same thing.
30:27
Jesus says
30:28
you did not choose me
30:29
but I chose you.
30:33
Acts
30:34
13, 48.
30:38
Paul's in Antioch.
30:39
And he preaches
30:40
a beautiful sermon.
30:44
I would encourage you
30:44
to go through the book of Acts
30:45
and just read the sermons.
30:46
The times when
30:47
Paul and Stephen,
30:48
Peter are before people
30:49
and they're preaching the gospel.
30:52
And at the end of all that
30:53
it says in verse 48,
30:55
chapter 13,
30:55
as many as were appointed
30:57
to eternal life
30:58
believed.
31:01
Can we get around that language?
31:04
Those who were in this presence
31:05
who heard the preaching
31:06
of the gospel,
31:07
the word of God
31:08
went forth
31:09
and it accomplished
31:09
what?
31:11
Exactly
31:11
what it was intended
31:13
to accomplish.
31:15
As many as were appointed
31:16
to eternal life
31:17
believed.
31:20
Ephesians,
31:21
chapter 1,
31:23
verses 3 through 6.
31:24
Paul writes to the Ephesian
31:38
believers,
31:39
blessed be the God
31:40
and Father of our Lord
31:41
Jesus Christ
31:41
who has blessed us
31:42
in Christ
31:42
with every spiritual blessing
31:43
in the heavenly places
31:44
even as he chose us
31:46
in him
31:46
before the foundation
31:47
of the world
31:48
that we should be holy
31:50
and blameless
31:50
before him.
31:51
In love he predestined us
31:52
for adoption as a son
31:53
through Jesus Christ
31:54
according to the purpose
31:54
of his will
31:55
to the praise
31:56
of his glorious grace
31:57
with which he has blessed us
31:59
in the beloved.
32:02
I'm already here
32:03
so we're just going to do it.
32:03
It wasn't my plan.
32:04
About 2, 8, and 9.
32:07
Ephesians 2, 8, and 9.
32:09
For by grace you have been saved
32:10
through faith
32:10
and this is not your own doing.
32:12
Referring to the faith,
32:13
you'll hear arguments otherwise.
32:15
Through faith
32:16
and this is not your own doing.
32:17
It is the gift of God
32:18
not as a result of works
32:20
so that no one may boast.
32:22
All praise and honor
32:23
belongs to the one
32:25
who saves us.
32:27
1 Thessalonians 1, 4, and 5.
32:33
You can always turn right,
32:34
I promise.
32:35
I double checked.
32:37
1 Thessalonians 1, 4, and 5.
32:40
For we know,
32:52
brothers loved by God,
32:53
that he has chosen you
32:54
because our gospel came to you
32:57
not only in word
32:58
but also in power
32:59
and in the Holy Spirit
33:01
and with full conviction.
33:05
Paul writes to the Thessalonian believers,
33:06
brothers, we know
33:08
that you're brothers loved by God
33:10
and that he's chosen you.
33:11
Why?
33:12
Because the gospel came
33:13
with the power of God
33:14
not just in word
33:15
but with the Spirit
33:17
and with full conviction.
33:19
These people's lives
33:20
had been changed.
33:22
And Paul witnesses this
33:23
in Thessalonian believers
33:25
and what does he say?
33:26
We know,
33:28
brothers loved by God,
33:29
that he has chosen you.
33:31
It wouldn't have happened
33:32
otherwise.
33:33
2 Timothy 1, 9.
33:37
We're almost there.
33:51
He saved us
33:52
and called us
33:53
to a holy calling
33:54
not because of our works
33:55
but because of his own purpose
33:57
and grace
33:58
which he gave us in Christ
34:00
before the ages began.
34:03
1 Peter 1, 9.
34:06
Peter calls us,
34:07
you don't have to worry about this one,
34:08
Peter calls us
34:08
a chosen race.
34:12
Revelation 13, 8
34:14
speaks of what will happen
34:16
to those
34:17
whose names
34:18
have not been written
34:19
before the foundation
34:20
of the world
34:20
in the book of life
34:21
of the Lamb
34:22
who was slain.
34:23
Again,
34:24
in chapter 17, verse 8.
34:26
Speaks of the eternal destruction,
34:29
the praise of the beast
34:30
that will happen
34:30
to those whose names
34:31
were not written
34:32
in the book of life
34:34
before the foundation
34:35
of the world.
34:38
So,
34:39
many,
34:41
I have heard argue
34:42
that, yeah,
34:44
Peter,
34:45
or Paul,
34:46
seems to be a bit
34:48
Calvinistic.
34:50
He speaks a lot
34:51
of this doctrine
34:52
of election.
34:53
But what about Jesus?
34:55
You can find
34:56
his words in red.
34:57
That's what God will say.
34:58
Right?
34:59
We've got here
35:00
Jesus Christ.
35:02
We've got a record
35:03
of what's happening
35:03
in Acts.
35:04
We've got Paul writing
35:05
to a number
35:05
of the churches.
35:06
We have Peter.
35:07
We have John
35:08
who wrote the book
35:09
of Revelation.
35:11
You can't
35:12
embrace the doctrine
35:14
of election,
35:14
not understand it
35:15
necessarily,
35:16
but say,
35:17
the Bible teaches this.
35:19
Then you really
35:20
should at Matthew
35:21
tear it out,
35:23
throw it away.
35:23
And you know,
35:26
actually,
35:27
all of the New Testament
35:29
is in great way
35:31
commentary
35:32
of the Old Testament.
35:34
So why don't you
35:35
just go ahead
35:35
and take the entire
35:36
thing and toss it?
35:41
It doesn't mean
35:42
you have to be
35:43
comfortable with it.
35:44
Again,
35:45
you don't have to
35:45
fully grasp
35:47
how it works out
35:49
in daily living.
35:50
the fact that
35:52
God is sovereign
35:53
and completely
35:53
in control
35:54
over all things
35:55
and yet I experience
35:57
day-to-day choices.
36:00
Every day,
36:00
I experience that.
36:01
That's what I feel
36:03
to be true.
36:04
How do those things
36:05
interplay?
36:06
How is it that
36:07
I'm held fully
36:07
responsible for all
36:08
of my actions
36:09
yet God is
36:09
totally in control?
36:10
I don't know.
36:12
I don't know.
36:13
I would like to be
36:14
the wisest guy
36:15
and be able to
36:15
just lay it all out
36:17
for you.
36:17
Just have you
36:18
completely be able
36:19
to wrap your mind
36:20
around it.
36:20
Convince you
36:21
with my reason
36:22
that this is the case.
36:25
I can't.
36:26
I can't do it.
36:28
There's some gaps
36:29
in there.
36:30
But again,
36:32
rather than writing
36:33
my own
36:33
salvation plan
36:36
and then having
36:37
to hop around
36:38
in the scriptures
36:39
piecemeal together
36:40
little things
36:40
that I like
36:41
that support
36:42
my opinion
36:43
of things,
36:44
stand over God
36:46
and judge Him,
36:48
have Him play
36:48
my game
36:49
my way,
36:51
I would much
36:52
rather
36:52
be humble
36:53
and a bit
36:54
confused.
36:56
Put myself
36:57
as the creation
36:58
trying to understand
37:00
how it is
37:01
that God's
37:01
working out
37:02
His glorious
37:03
plan of salvation
37:04
in this earth
37:05
and why
37:06
I am any part
37:07
of it
37:08
at all.
37:10
I'll tell you,
37:11
you hang out
37:12
with us much,
37:12
you're going to hear us
37:13
say,
37:13
we do not
37:14
serve God's grace.
37:16
We fail to be grace.
37:17
We did.
37:18
We are
37:19
humble recipients
37:21
of God's work
37:22
in our lives.
37:24
So,
37:24
you ask the question,
37:26
why does
37:27
God's inspired word
37:28
make us privy
37:30
to God's
37:31
elective purpose?
37:32
Why?
37:32
What purpose
37:32
does it serve?
37:33
If it seems
37:34
that it serves
37:35
more harm
37:37
than good,
37:38
it seems
37:38
that this division
37:40
and these issues
37:41
are rooted
37:42
in this type
37:43
of teaching,
37:44
why?
37:46
It causes
37:46
confusion.
37:47
Why?
37:48
Why did
37:48
God do this?
37:51
How is it
37:52
practical?
37:53
Have you ever
37:53
heard the term
37:54
practical theology?
37:55
I despise it.
37:57
High theologians
37:58
talk about
37:58
practical theology.
37:59
All theology
38:00
is practical.
38:01
The study of God
38:01
has reality
38:02
for our lives
38:03
every single day.
38:04
So,
38:04
never buy the lie
38:06
that there are
38:06
some things
38:06
that are just to know
38:07
and there are
38:09
some things
38:09
that you know
38:10
so that you can do.
38:11
We know
38:11
so that we can
38:12
do,
38:14
think properly,
38:15
deal with emotions
38:16
properly.
38:18
So,
38:18
how is this
38:19
then
38:19
practical
38:21
for us?
38:22
And I have
38:22
three things
38:23
for you
38:23
and this is
38:24
going to
38:24
wrap us
38:25
to an end.
38:27
Three things
38:28
that the
38:28
doctrine of election
38:29
accomplishes
38:29
and was intended
38:31
to accomplish.
38:33
Firstly,
38:34
is to serve
38:35
as a comfort
38:36
to our souls.
38:38
It's where
38:39
we started
38:39
in Romans
38:40
chapter 8,
38:41
verse 28.
38:42
I think you guys
38:42
all know,
38:43
828,
38:43
and we know
38:44
that for those
38:44
who love God,
38:45
all things work
38:45
together for good
38:46
for those who
38:47
are called
38:47
according to
38:48
his purpose.
38:48
And then he
38:49
goes on
38:50
into his
38:50
explanation.
38:51
For those
38:52
he before
38:52
knew,
38:52
he also
38:52
predestined
38:53
to be
38:53
conformed
38:53
to the
38:54
image of
38:54
his son.
38:56
Because this
38:57
life is going
38:58
to be
38:58
difficult.
39:00
We are
39:00
going to
39:02
suffer.
39:03
Can you
39:04
imagine how
39:04
precious
39:05
the doctrine of
39:06
election would
39:07
have been
39:07
to first
39:08
century Jews?
39:10
Those who
39:11
were paraded
39:12
in Rome
39:13
into the
39:13
Colosseum
39:14
and fed
39:14
the lions.
39:16
Those who
39:16
were put on
39:17
stakes and
39:17
lit on fire
39:18
to light
39:19
Nero's
39:20
garden parties.
39:22
Those today
39:23
who when they
39:24
accept Christ,
39:26
they lose all
39:27
ties to their
39:27
family.
39:28
They may not
39:28
be able to
39:29
go to
39:29
university.
39:30
They may be
39:31
thrown in
39:31
prison.
39:32
They may be
39:33
killed.
39:33
Can you
39:33
imagine how
39:34
precious this
39:35
doctrine would
39:36
be to them?
39:37
But we're
39:37
all so
39:37
comfortable.
39:38
Right?
39:39
We don't
39:40
suffer.
39:41
We sit on
39:41
our couches
39:42
and we read
39:43
our Bibles
39:43
and say,
39:44
no, that's
39:44
not my
39:44
God.
39:46
It is
39:47
your God
39:47
and it's
39:48
for you
39:48
because you
39:49
begin to
39:49
live for
39:50
Christ.
39:51
You will
39:52
suffer.
39:54
You will
39:55
be persecuted.
39:56
Even in
39:57
this nation,
39:58
we begin to
39:59
put ourselves
39:59
out there
40:00
for him.
40:02
People are
40:02
not going
40:04
to like
40:04
us.
40:05
beyond that,
40:07
we suffer
40:08
physically.
40:09
I have
40:09
health issues.
40:10
That's part
40:11
of the
40:11
suffering
40:11
that's
40:12
included
40:12
in this.
40:14
And praise
40:15
God, I
40:16
know that
40:16
I am
40:17
his in
40:18
all the
40:18
things I'm
40:19
experiencing.
40:19
Everything
40:20
that goes
40:20
on in
40:20
my life,
40:21
internally,
40:22
externally,
40:23
are all
40:24
for my
40:24
good.
40:27
Further,
40:28
I am
40:28
fairly
40:29
wretched.
40:30
I sin
40:31
still.
40:32
I've been
40:32
delivered from
40:33
it and yet
40:34
I enslave
40:34
myself to
40:35
it.
40:35
Praise
40:35
God that
40:36
he's in
40:37
control of
40:38
my salvation.
40:39
That I
40:40
can't do
40:41
anything to
40:42
reject that.
40:44
I have
40:44
been bought.
40:45
I am
40:45
in him.
40:47
He holds
40:47
me firmly
40:48
in his
40:48
hand.
40:49
Nothing can
40:50
pluck me
40:50
out of
40:50
his hand,
40:52
even
40:52
myself.
40:55
John 10,
40:56
27-30,
40:58
Jesus says,
40:58
My sheep
40:58
hear my
40:59
voice and
40:59
I know
40:59
them and
41:00
they follow
41:00
me.
41:01
I give
41:01
them eternal
41:02
life and
41:02
they will
41:02
never perish.
41:03
No one
41:04
will snatch
41:05
them out
41:05
of my
41:05
hand.
41:06
My
41:06
father who
41:06
has given
41:07
them to
41:07
me is
41:07
greater than
41:08
all and
41:09
no one is
41:09
able to
41:10
snatch them
41:10
out of
41:11
the father's
41:11
hand.
41:12
I and
41:12
the father
41:13
are one.
41:16
The doctrine
41:17
of election
41:17
does that.
41:19
It serves
41:20
as a comfort
41:20
to our
41:21
souls.
41:23
Secondly,
41:25
it causes
41:26
us to
41:26
praise God.
41:27
Rightly
41:28
understood,
41:29
it causes
41:29
us to
41:30
praise God.
41:31
Malachi 1,
41:34
2,
41:35
and 3.
41:35
I told
41:36
you we
41:36
would talk
41:37
at least
41:37
in brief
41:38
about that
41:39
phrase at
41:40
the end
41:40
of verse
41:40
13,
41:41
Jacob I
41:41
loved,
41:42
but Esau
41:43
I hated.
41:44
Let's
41:44
understand the
41:45
context.
41:47
Malachi 1,
41:48
2,
41:48
and 3,
41:48
God says,
41:50
I have
41:50
loved you,
41:51
says the
41:51
Lord,
41:52
but you
41:52
say,
41:53
speaking to
41:54
Israel,
41:54
how have
41:55
you loved
41:55
us?
41:57
God says
41:58
to Israel,
41:58
I have
41:58
loved you.
42:00
And their
42:00
response is,
42:01
how have
42:03
you loved
42:03
us?
42:05
And he
42:05
said,
42:05
is not
42:06
Esau
42:06
Jacob's
42:07
brother?
42:08
By the
42:08
flesh,
42:09
descendants
42:09
together,
42:11
declares the
42:11
Lord,
42:12
yet I have
42:12
loved
42:12
Jacob,
42:13
but Esau
42:14
I have
42:14
hated.
42:14
I have
42:15
laid waste
42:15
his hill
42:15
country and
42:16
left his
42:16
heritage to
42:17
jackals of
42:18
the desert.
42:20
I have
42:20
loved you
42:21
by bestowing
42:21
blessing on
42:23
you who
42:24
did not
42:25
deserve it.
42:27
That's the
42:28
context.
42:28
to the
42:30
praise of
42:31
his
42:31
glorious
42:32
grace.
42:33
Ephesians
42:33
1,
42:33
5,
42:34
and 6
42:34
says,
42:34
he
42:34
predestined
42:35
us for
42:35
adoption
42:35
of sons
42:36
through
42:36
Jesus
42:36
Christ
42:36
according
42:37
to the
42:37
purpose
42:38
of his
42:38
will.
42:38
We read
42:38
this
42:38
earlier,
42:39
to the
42:39
praise
42:40
of his
42:40
glorious
42:40
grace,
42:41
with which
42:42
he has
42:42
blessed
42:43
us in
42:43
the
42:44
beloved.
42:45
To
42:45
cause
42:46
us
42:47
to
42:48
praise
42:48
him.
42:50
We
42:50
were in
42:51
1 Peter
42:51
1,
42:52
9.
42:52
I've
42:52
got to
42:52
go back
42:53
there.
42:54
Because I
42:55
didn't write
42:55
it down.
42:55
1 Peter
42:57
1,
42:57
9.
42:58
Peter
42:59
says,
42:59
you are
42:59
a chosen
43:00
race,
43:01
a royal
43:01
priesthood.
43:04
I'm
43:04
almost
43:04
there.
43:05
No,
43:05
not 1
43:06
Peter
43:06
1,
43:06
9.
43:07
2
43:07
Peter
43:07
1,
43:07
9.
43:08
Nope.
43:09
2,
43:09
9.
43:09
I'm
43:10
sorry.
43:11
But you
43:11
are a
43:11
chosen
43:11
race,
43:12
a royal
43:12
priesthood,
43:13
a holy
43:13
nation,
43:14
a people
43:14
for his
43:14
own
43:15
possession.
43:16
Why?
43:18
That you
43:18
may proclaim
43:19
the excellences
43:20
of him who
43:21
called you out
43:21
of darkness
43:22
into his
43:23
marvelous
43:23
light.
43:24
That we
43:25
might be
43:26
objects of
43:27
mercy so
43:28
that we
43:29
will make
43:29
God's
43:30
merciful
43:31
attributes
43:31
known to
43:32
the world.
43:35
Which brings
43:36
me to the
43:36
third.
43:39
Practical
43:39
reality,
43:40
the doctrine
43:40
of election.
43:42
The doctrine
43:42
of election
43:43
should encourage
43:44
us to
43:45
evangelism.
43:48
You hear me?
43:49
The doctrine
43:50
of election
43:50
should encourage
43:51
us to
43:53
evangelism.
43:53
the doctrine.
43:58
I'm
43:58
going to
43:58
do what
43:59
he wants
43:59
to do.
43:59
Why
43:59
should I
44:00
have any
44:00
part in
44:00
it?
44:02
It's a
44:03
good
44:03
objection.
44:03
I can
44:04
see the
44:04
logic in
44:05
that.
44:06
But in
44:06
fact,
44:06
it should
44:07
encourage
44:08
us to
44:09
it.
44:10
2 Timothy
44:10
2.
44:11
10.
44:11
Listen
44:11
carefully to
44:12
these words
44:12
of Paul.
44:13
He says,
44:14
after talking
44:14
about some
44:14
suffering he's
44:15
endured,
44:16
he says,
44:16
I endure
44:16
everything
44:17
for the
44:18
sake of
44:19
the elect,
44:20
that they
44:20
also may
44:21
obtain salvation
44:22
that is in
44:22
Christ Jesus
44:23
with eternal
44:23
glory.
44:24
So Paul
44:24
doesn't
44:25
neglect his
44:25
responsibility in
44:27
carrying the
44:27
gospel,
44:28
but Paul
44:29
recognizes that
44:30
he's the
44:30
means to
44:32
the end.
44:33
That he's
44:33
the tool
44:34
being used
44:35
to accomplish
44:36
God's
44:37
purpose.
44:37
So he
44:38
endures the
44:38
suffering so
44:39
that he
44:40
can be
44:40
involved in
44:42
that process.
44:44
Why does
44:45
God not just
44:45
snap his
44:45
fingers,
44:47
save those
44:48
he's going
44:48
to save,
44:48
leave the
44:49
others behind,
44:49
done deal?
44:50
Because he
44:51
loves his
44:51
people.
44:52
And he
44:53
wants us
44:54
to proclaim
44:54
his name
44:54
because it's
44:55
good for
44:56
us.
44:57
It is a
44:58
great joy
44:59
to join
44:59
God in
45:00
his eternal
45:01
purpose.
45:05
Let me
45:06
speak from
45:06
history.
45:10
Many,
45:10
many great
45:12
men of
45:14
missions and
45:14
evangelism,
45:15
I would
45:15
argue some
45:16
of the
45:16
greatest men
45:17
of missions
45:18
and evangelism
45:19
held to
45:20
the doctrine
45:20
of election
45:21
not loosely,
45:22
they held
45:23
to it
45:23
tightly.
45:25
Let me
45:25
run through
45:25
a few
45:25
of them
45:25
for you.
45:27
Martin
45:28
Luther
45:28
catalyzed
45:30
the Protestant
45:31
Reformation,
45:33
so loved
45:34
the word
45:34
of God
45:35
that he
45:36
by himself
45:37
stood
45:38
against
45:38
the Catholic
45:39
Church,
45:41
loved the
45:42
doctrine of
45:42
election.
45:44
William Tyndale
45:44
translated the
45:46
first English
45:46
Bible in
45:47
its entirety
45:48
from the
45:49
original Hebrew
45:50
and Greek.
45:52
There was a
45:53
man that
45:53
wanted to
45:53
see the
45:54
gospel advance
45:54
through his
45:55
scriptures.
45:57
John Knox
45:57
led the
45:58
Protestant
45:59
Reformation
45:59
in Scotland.
46:01
George
46:03
Whitfield
46:04
is the
46:05
best-known
46:06
preacher of
46:06
the British
46:07
Great
46:07
Awakening.
46:09
Charles
46:10
Simeon,
46:10
we talked
46:10
about him
46:11
a bit
46:11
ago,
46:12
leader of
46:12
the
46:12
evangelical
46:13
movement
46:13
of the
46:13
Church of
46:14
England.
46:15
William
46:15
Carey was
46:16
a Baptist
46:17
missionary to
46:17
India,
46:18
and he
46:18
founded the
46:19
Baptist
46:19
Missionary
46:20
Society.
46:22
Adoniram
46:22
Judson,
46:23
the first
46:24
international
46:25
missionary sent
46:26
from North
46:27
America.
46:28
Good fact
46:29
for you who
46:29
want to be
46:29
international
46:31
missionaries.
46:32
He's a
46:32
Baptist
46:32
missionary,
46:33
and he
46:33
went and
46:34
served in
46:34
Burma for
46:36
40 years.
46:38
John G.
46:38
Patton,
46:39
one of my
46:40
favorites,
46:41
from Scotland
46:42
also,
46:43
went and
46:43
served in
46:44
the New
46:44
Hebrides,
46:45
a group of
46:46
islands now
46:46
called
46:46
Vanuatu,
46:48
cannibals.
46:49
He lived
46:49
for three
46:50
years on
46:50
an island
46:50
and saw
46:51
one convert,
46:52
and the
46:52
entire time
46:54
he was in
46:54
danger of
46:55
being killed
46:55
and eaten.
46:57
He left
46:58
and came
46:59
back and
47:00
saw the
47:00
whole island
47:00
converted to
47:01
Christ.
47:03
When he
47:03
first got
47:04
there,
47:05
his wife
47:06
of two
47:07
years and
47:08
his newborn
47:08
son both
47:09
died of
47:10
a disease,
47:12
and he
47:12
stayed and
47:12
he served,
47:13
held dearly
47:14
the
47:15
doctrine of
47:16
election.
47:17
William
47:17
Wilberforce,
47:18
familiar with
47:19
him?
47:20
He gets
47:20
talked about
47:20
a lot here
47:21
lately.
47:21
He's the
47:22
British
47:22
politician that
47:22
spent his
47:23
life ending
47:24
the English
47:25
slave trade.
47:26
Untold
47:26
thousands of
47:27
people owe
47:29
their life to
47:29
William Wilberforce,
47:31
and he endured
47:31
the lifelong
47:33
struggle to
47:34
end that
47:34
slave trade
47:35
because he
47:35
knew God
47:36
was in
47:37
control.
47:38
John
47:38
Newton,
47:39
he was a
47:41
slave trader,
47:42
became an
47:42
Anglican
47:43
preacher.
47:43
He wrote
47:44
Amazing Grace.
47:45
You know
47:46
those precious
47:47
words that we
47:47
all sing with
47:48
such gusto,
47:49
written by a
47:50
guy that
47:51
believed in
47:51
the doctrine
47:51
of election,
47:52
when he
47:53
says Amazing
47:54
Grace?
47:55
That's what
47:56
he's talking
47:56
about.
48:00
Jonathan
48:01
Edwards,
48:01
was heralded
48:02
as the
48:03
greatest
48:03
theological
48:05
mind that
48:05
North America
48:05
has ever
48:06
produced,
48:08
and was a
48:08
key figure
48:09
in the
48:10
North American
48:10
Great Awakening.
48:11
a great
48:13
evangelist.
48:15
Charles Spurgeon,
48:17
the British
48:17
Baptist
48:17
preacher,
48:18
it's estimated
48:19
that he
48:19
preached to
48:20
10 million
48:22
plus people
48:23
in his
48:23
lifetime.
48:24
10 million
48:25
people.
48:27
And often
48:27
throughout his
48:28
life, he
48:28
preached 10
48:29
sermons a
48:30
week.
48:31
I barely
48:32
feel like I
48:32
get through
48:33
one every
48:34
week.
48:34
He preached
48:34
10 sermons
48:36
a week.
48:38
A man who
48:38
loved the
48:39
doctrine of
48:40
election.
48:40
And then
48:42
I've got to
48:42
tell you about
48:43
my favorite.
48:43
I'm going to
48:43
read you a
48:44
quote from
48:44
him.
48:46
George
48:46
Mueller.
48:47
If you get
48:47
to know me
48:47
much at
48:48
all, you
48:48
know that
48:48
George
48:49
Mueller is
48:49
one of my
48:49
heroes.
48:50
In the
48:51
earlier stages
48:52
of his
48:53
life, he
48:53
pastored a
48:54
church and
48:54
he had an
48:55
orphanage.
48:56
And throughout
48:57
his life,
48:58
was directly
48:59
and indirectly
49:00
involved with
49:01
caring for
49:02
10,000 or
49:03
more orphans
49:04
that came
49:05
through his
49:06
care.
49:08
He traveled
49:08
later in his
49:09
life over
49:10
200,000
49:11
miles preaching
49:13
and sharing
49:13
the gospel.
49:14
I guess the
49:15
orphanage was
49:16
running efficiently
49:16
and he took
49:18
off.
49:18
He traveled
49:18
around the
49:19
states.
49:20
200,000
49:22
miles.
49:23
He started a
49:24
missionary society
49:24
that supported
49:25
187 international
49:27
missionaries.
49:28
Hudson Taylor
49:29
being one of
49:29
them.
49:30
You guys are
49:30
missionary
49:32
historians.
49:33
Hudson Taylor
49:33
who worked in
49:35
China for many,
49:35
many years.
49:36
And when I say
49:37
supported, it
49:37
doesn't mean
49:38
that he wrote
49:40
a little bit
49:40
of money each
49:41
month and
49:41
it was part
49:42
of their
49:42
support.
49:43
His missionary
49:44
society fully
49:45
funded 187
49:47
missionaries
49:48
around the
49:49
world.
49:50
A phenomenal,
49:52
phenomenal
49:52
activist for
49:55
the kingdom
49:56
of God.
49:57
And I want
49:58
you to listen
49:58
to what he
49:59
wrote.
50:01
Many will
50:01
say in his
50:02
autobiography he
50:03
didn't write
50:03
an autobiography,
50:04
he journaled.
50:05
But he wrote
50:06
this.
50:06
He said,
50:07
Before this
50:08
period I
50:09
had been
50:09
much opposed
50:10
to the
50:10
doctrines of
50:11
election,
50:11
particular
50:12
redemption and
50:13
final preserving
50:13
grace, so
50:14
much so that
50:15
I called
50:16
election a
50:17
devilish
50:18
doctrine.
50:19
Some of
50:20
you sit
50:20
there that
50:21
way this
50:21
morning.
50:23
I called
50:23
election a
50:23
devilish
50:24
doctrine.
50:25
Before I
50:26
read on,
50:26
let me tell
50:26
you just
50:26
an interesting
50:27
side story
50:27
about him.
50:29
In a
50:30
gathering of
50:30
believers
50:31
sharing the
50:32
Bible, he
50:33
firmly supported
50:35
what is called
50:36
paedo-baptism,
50:37
the baptism of
50:38
infants, and
50:39
rejected credo-baptism,
50:40
which is
50:40
believer's baptism,
50:42
what we hold
50:42
to here.
50:45
Firmly supported
50:46
the one, rejected
50:46
the other, and
50:47
afterwards an
50:49
old lady, elderly
50:50
lady came up to
50:51
him and said,
50:52
Mr.
50:52
Mueller, I
50:53
would suggest
50:53
to you that
50:54
you not draw
50:55
opinions until
50:56
you have read
50:56
the scripture
50:57
concerning them
50:58
and walked
50:58
away.
50:59
and he was
51:02
so convicted,
51:04
really realized
51:05
that he
51:05
hadn't really
51:06
addressed the
51:07
scriptures on
51:07
the matter,
51:08
that he went
51:09
and he read
51:10
the whole New
51:11
Testament through
51:11
with that in
51:13
mind, baptism.
51:14
What does the
51:15
Bible teach about
51:16
baptism?
51:17
At the end of
51:17
that was
51:18
converted.
51:20
He then
51:20
believed in
51:21
credo-baptism,
51:24
in believer's
51:25
baptism.
51:25
Then he made
51:27
it a habit in
51:28
his life to
51:29
do that with
51:29
anything he
51:30
didn't have an
51:31
answer to.
51:32
Isn't that
51:32
phenomenal?
51:33
When it was an
51:34
issue that would
51:34
have been
51:35
addressed primarily
51:36
in New
51:36
Testament, he
51:37
would just read
51:38
the New
51:38
Testament, but
51:38
it was an
51:39
issue that was
51:39
addressed throughout
51:40
the scriptures,
51:40
he would read
51:40
the entire
51:41
Bible with
51:43
that topic in
51:44
mind to gain
51:45
an understanding
51:46
of it.
51:48
So here we
51:48
go.
51:49
I went to
51:50
the Word,
51:51
reading the
51:51
New Testament
51:52
from the
51:52
beginning with
51:52
a particular
51:53
reference to
51:54
these truths.
51:55
To my great
51:56
astonishment, I
51:56
found that the
51:57
passages which
51:58
speak decidedly
51:59
for election and
52:00
preserving grace
52:00
were about four
52:01
times as many as
52:02
those which speak
52:03
apparently against
52:04
these truths.
52:05
And even those
52:06
few, shortly
52:07
after, when I
52:08
had examined and
52:09
understood them,
52:09
served to confirm
52:10
me in the above
52:11
doctrines.
52:13
In the course of
52:14
time, it pleased
52:15
God then to show
52:16
to me the doctrines
52:17
of grace in a way
52:18
in which I had not
52:18
seen them before.
52:20
At first, I hated
52:21
them.
52:22
If this were true,
52:23
I could do nothing
52:24
at all in the
52:24
conversion of
52:25
sinners, as all
52:26
would depend on
52:27
God and on the
52:27
work of His
52:28
Spirit.
52:29
But when it
52:30
pleased God to
52:30
reveal these truths
52:31
to me, and my
52:32
heart was brought
52:32
to such a state
52:33
that I could say,
52:35
I am not only
52:36
content simply to
52:37
be a hammer, an
52:38
axe, or a saw in
52:39
God's hands, but I
52:40
shall count it an
52:41
honor to be taken
52:42
up and used by
52:43
Him in any way.
52:45
And if sinners
52:45
are converted
52:46
through my
52:46
instrumentality, for
52:48
my inmost soul, I
52:49
will give Him all
52:50
the glory.
52:51
Catch what he
52:51
said.
52:52
When he came to
52:52
the place where
52:53
he could say,
52:54
not only am I
52:54
content to be a
52:56
tool in God's
52:56
hands, but I'm
52:57
also content with
52:58
whatever the outcome
52:59
of that may be.
53:01
When sinners are
53:02
converted, I will
53:03
give Him all the
53:04
glory.
53:05
That's what he
53:05
just said.
53:06
Then he says,
53:07
when he arrived at
53:09
that place, the
53:09
Lord gave me to
53:11
see fruit.
53:12
The Lord gave me to
53:13
see fruit in
53:13
abundance.
53:15
Sinners were
53:15
converted by
53:16
scores.
53:17
And ever since,
53:18
God has used me in
53:19
one way or other
53:20
in his service.
53:23
How precious the
53:25
doctrine of
53:26
election.
53:28
We're not going
53:30
to arrive at all
53:31
the answers in the
53:31
next couple of
53:32
weeks.
53:34
There are some
53:34
answers.
53:36
It is worth
53:36
wrestling with.
53:38
But at the end of
53:39
it all, you have to
53:39
decide if you're
53:40
going to be humble
53:40
and submit yourself
53:41
to the scriptures,
53:43
to the God who
53:44
wrote them, or if
53:47
you're going to be
53:48
arrogant, and
53:49
stand in judgment
53:50
of them.
53:51
And I know I'm
53:52
saying harsh things
53:53
to you, but it's
53:54
true.
53:55
The rest of chapter
53:56
nine.
53:57
Chapter nine has
53:58
within it twelve
53:59
Old Testament
54:00
quotes.
54:02
Twelve Old
54:03
Testament quotes.
54:04
Nine of them are
54:06
first person God
54:07
quotes.
54:08
So God wrote all
54:09
scripture inspired.
54:11
Nine of them,
54:11
though, are first
54:12
person record of
54:13
what God has to
54:14
say.
54:15
And what I
54:15
believe Paul is
54:16
saying to us when
54:18
we ask questions
54:19
that the scriptures
54:20
don't answer is,
54:22
be quiet.
54:24
Who are you,
54:25
oh man?
54:26
Who do you think
54:27
you are?
54:28
That's what he's
54:28
saying in our
54:29
language.
54:29
Who do you think
54:30
you are to ask
54:31
such questions of
54:31
God?
54:32
Look what he said
54:33
here, and here,
54:34
and here, and
54:34
here.
54:36
That is the
54:36
reality.
54:38
I pray that as a
54:39
church, and you
54:40
as individuals,
54:40
will embrace the
54:42
doctrines of
54:42
scripture, including
54:44
the doctrine of
54:44
election, and see
54:45
how it serves your
54:46
good.
54:47
you'll see that
54:48
it compels you to
54:50
have a soul
54:50
satisfied in
54:51
Christ.
54:53
It helps you
54:54
bear up under
54:56
suffering.
54:58
I pray you give
54:59
great praise to
55:00
God for his work,
55:02
because you can't
55:02
take any credit
55:03
for it.
55:05
And I pray that
55:05
it moves you to
55:07
evangelism, that
55:08
you become radical,
55:10
because you know
55:11
that the outcome
55:12
is in God's
55:13
hands.
55:14
I started
55:15
hunting this
55:17
year.
55:18
I bought my
55:19
first camouflage
55:20
hat this past
55:20
week, which is
55:21
really kind of
55:23
odd.
55:25
But Wes took
55:25
me rifle hunting,
55:27
we saw nothing,
55:28
last year,
55:29
twice, and I
55:30
decided I'm going
55:30
to be a bow
55:31
hunter.
55:31
So I've been
55:32
working on that.
55:32
And this
55:33
Saturday, both
55:33
season opened
55:34
up, and so I
55:34
went out and
55:35
killed my hopes
55:36
and nothing
55:37
else.
55:37
It was kind
55:39
of a boring
55:39
time, but
55:40
there's no
55:42
guarantee at
55:44
all that I'm
55:45
going to shoot
55:45
a deer this
55:46
year.
55:47
None, whatsoever.
55:49
Some things I
55:49
can do to
55:50
prepare for it,
55:50
there's a bit
55:52
of a science
55:52
to it, but
55:53
there's zero,
55:54
zero guarantee.
55:55
And I've
55:56
already said,
55:57
let's see how
55:57
long I stick
55:58
with this, because
55:58
if this just
55:59
keeps happening
55:59
and I go sit
56:00
in the woods
56:01
beginning at
56:02
six o'clock in
56:03
the morning for
56:03
three hours and
56:04
nothing happens,
56:05
I may not be a
56:06
hunter.
56:06
It may not be
56:07
my hobby of
56:08
choice.
56:10
But what if
56:11
God had said
56:11
to me, oh
56:12
no, you're
56:13
going to kill
56:13
stuff.
56:15
You do it the
56:16
way I told you
56:16
to do it, I'm
56:17
in control.
56:18
They're coming
56:18
your way, I
56:19
promise.
56:20
They're coming
56:21
by.
56:22
I intend for
56:23
you to kill
56:24
deer.
56:25
I'd go every
56:26
time.
56:27
Not that every
56:28
time I go, there
56:29
would be a deer,
56:30
but you know
56:31
what I would do?
56:31
I'd say, well,
56:32
God did not
56:33
intend for me to
56:33
kill a deer
56:33
this day.
56:35
But next time
56:36
I go, maybe
56:37
that day I
56:37
will.
56:38
the doctrine
56:41
of election.
56:42
Get out and
56:43
share your
56:43
faith.
56:45
Be the means
56:45
for the end.
56:47
He does it
56:48
for you.
56:49
He wants you
56:50
to be involved.
56:51
Sit on your
56:51
hands if you
56:52
want to and
56:52
deny yourself the
56:53
joy of advancing
56:54
the kingdom.
56:55
He'll use
56:55
someone else
56:56
because he
56:57
will accomplish
56:58
his eternal
56:59
purposes.
57:00
Let's pray
57:00
together.
57:01
Let's pray
57:01
together.
57:01
Let's pray
57:01
together.
57:01
Let's pray
57:01
together.
57:01
Let's pray
57:01
together.
57:01
Let's pray
57:01
together.
57:01
Let's pray
57:01
together.
57:01
Let's pray
57:01
together.
57:01
Let's pray
57:01
together.
57:01
Let's pray
57:01
together.
57:01
Let's pray
57:01
together.
57:01
Let's pray
57:01
!
57:02
Let's pray
57:01
!
57:02
Let's pray