A few weeks ago, I was talking
with a brother, a fellow pastor, and as we talked concerning the
scriptures, there was one scripture in particular that was brought
up. And he made this statement, he
said, That passage is the all-inclusive gospel. I got to thinking about that. The all-inclusive gospel. Everything that Almighty God
has ever purposed to do, summed up, in two verses of scripture. All-inclusive gospel. I want you to turn with me to
Ephesians chapter two. Ephesians chapter two. And I'd like to read this passage
of scripture, two verses, verses eight and nine, that was brought
up Ephesians chapter 2 verse 8, here's what the Spirit of God
moved the Apostle Paul to pen. For by grace are you saved through
faith, that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of
works, lest any man should boast. I thought about what was said,
and I thought, you know, I can see that. That passage of Scripture,
two verses of Scripture, upon which hang the totality of God's
mercy to needy sinners. Now, I want to say something
before I start. Brethren, this life, you've heard me say
this, is a vapor. This life's a vapor and it's
passing away quickly. We're here just for a moment. I told you about me talking to
a friend the other day and I told him, I said, in my mind, I just
graduated from high school. I think, Neil, I think you're
the one I told that to. I just graduated from high school. It's like it's just over. It's fading. And I need some
hope. I need some peace. I need some
comfort. I need for God to speak to me. I pray that today that the Lord
might bless this service. we need to hear. Because the
totality of a sinner's hope for life eternal, the totality is
set forth in that passage of scripture that I just read. If
that's the only passage that we had, this is the truth. This is a hope for a sinner.
For by grace are you saved through faith. And that, that grace,
that faith, is not of yourselves. It's the gift of God, not of
works, lest any man should boast. That glorious revelation proclaims
that God's grace, and I want to talk about God's grace for
just a few minutes. That glorious grace of God proceeds
totally from the Lord. It's totally from the Lord. And
there's no work on man's, on fallen man's part. There's no
work in that. There's nothing in the glorious
grace of God that gives man any credit, not in its origination,
not in its application. Fallen man has no part in which
he can boast. when it comes to understanding
grace. Now you've heard that word before.
For by grace, that's a very, very common word and it's used
all over this world. People use it, talk about it,
talk about the grace of God. But we can only set forth concerning
God's grace what Almighty God has to say. Now I'm going to
try to be so plain. I want to be plain because I
want to hear what it says and I want you to hear what it says. Concerning the grace of God. Grace is not that which is offered
by God toward a man, a woman. Grace is not an offer to be accepted
or rejected by a man or a woman, by a sinner. Grace is not offered. Grace is given. Grace is bestowed. Grace is of the grace of God. It's by God's Grace. Now, I looked
up grace, and this is what the definition I could find. It is
the goodwill, the favor, and merciful kindness by which God
turns, keeps, strengthens, and increases in the knowledge of
the Lord Jesus Christ to the vessels of his eternal love. Grace, grace. I pray that before this service
is over, we'll have a, and if the Lord reveals it to us, we
will, a little bit better understanding of God's grace, because it just
is such an easy word to say, and it's gone. Lord, speak to
me. Lord, tell me something. In a
few minutes, I want us to just look and consider the blessed
truth Grace. God's grace. Saving grace. Saving grace is first of all according to
God's election. Election. I'm going to try to
explain what I'm saying. Election unto salvation. What I mean by this is that Almighty
God chose to show mercy to whomsoever
he would. Now, let's just stop, take our
time, and realize what the scripture says. Deuteronomy chapter 7 and
verse 6, my statement, God chose. God chose. It is not left up to man to choose. God chose. Listen to what Deuteronomy
7, 6 says. For thou art an holy people unto
the Lord thy God. The Lord thy God hath chosen
thee to be a special people unto himself above all people that
are upon the face of the earth. Now let me ask you this. According
to the scriptures, who chose? Who chose? Was it man that chose
to accept God? Or was it God that chose to accept
a man based on the merit of the Lord Jesus Christ? Who chose?
God or man? Well, according to the scriptures,
The scriptures declare that God has chosen thee to be a special
people. So whenever you start talking
about salvation, grace, God's grace, let's put everything in
perspective to God's word, God chose. You hear talk of free will. Man does not possess a free will.
Man is dead spiritually. And he has, by nature, being
born into this world, born in Adam, he has no heart for God
Almighty. He has no heart for God's grace,
no heart for it. He's dead. What must happen first? God's going to have to choose.
God Almighty. And let me tell you this about
saving grace. God's choosing of His people
did not take place in time. But rather, God's choosing grace
was an eternal act. of God's will. Now, so you can
understand what I just said. God chose. God initiated. And God did so eternally. Before anything else was except
God. In the beginning, God. God chose. Now, I'd like to prove this,
I know that. Lord willing, I'm going to prove everything I'm
saying. This is what Ephesians 1, 4 says. According as he hath
chosen us in him, in Christ, before the foundation of the
world, that we should be holy and without blame before him
in love. So who chose? God chose. When did He choose? Before the
foundation of the world. Before anything else was. If there's going to be any mercy,
if there's going to be any grace shown a sinner, it's going to
have to be on God's part. Because man is born dead. I wish I could say that in such
a way that it would become real, truly real to me. I believe it. Lord, help mine unbelief. I am
born, you are born spiritually dead with no heart, no care,
no care. I can enter into a little bit
of that. There was a time in my life, I can tell you this,
when I just didn't I didn't care. I just didn't care. You want to go to church? No. Why not? I don't want to. I just
don't want to. Why? Why did I not want to? Because I was born dead, spiritually. What does a dead man want to
do? He don't want to do nothing. The Lord's electing grace. Now this is grace. Unmerited
favor. Unmerited. What does that mean?
That means you didn't deserve it. That's what it means. I was
going over these notes and I was trying to think, how can I say
this in such a way that I can make it so simple? Then I even
realized, unless the Lord gives light, you still don't get it.
I don't get it. Unless God gives me understanding.
But his electing grace, was not based on any worthiness, worthiness on the objects of
His mercy. His grace was not, I'm telling
you, I've said this before, I'll say it again and I'll just leave
it at this. I'm telling you, if the Lord had not chosen to
show mercy to this sinner, if He had not chosen to show mercy
to me, I'd have had no hope, because
I'm telling you, you just think you was a scoundrel. I'd go heads up with you. I'm
telling you, there was no worthiness in me. The scripture declares, hearken my beloved brethren,
Hath God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith,
and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that
love him? There's no worth whatsoever.
Salvation is by the electing grace of God. God chose to show
mercy. Why? Because it pleased Him. It pleased Him. No worth in me. But not only is God's saving
grace set forth to be according to his electing mercy. God chose, God chose, God chose. So when you hear somebody say,
now you need to choose God, God's already chosen. He's cast his
vote and now you gotta cast your vote for him. That's not true.
That's not true. God chooses. Not man, God chooses. But not only is God's saving
grace set forth to be according to his electing mercy. Saving grace is according to
God's willingness and power to answer the law's demand for justice Almighty God's grace is established
upon justice, justice. What do I mean by that? Man is
sinned against God, and he's incurred a debt, a debt before
God's law. And we're guilty, we're guilty.
We sit here just trying to justify this, Try to make it sound as
if, well, I'm not really that bad. Yeah, we are. Yes, we are.
We're bad. We're bad. How bad? Well, we're
worthy of eternal damnation. That's how bad. We're worthy. We're worthy. We deserve it. Almighty God, in His saving grace,
is bound up in His willingness to answer the law's demand. The law, we've broken the law,
it's got a penalty that goes with it, a penalty. You run a
stop sign and the police officer sees you, and he stops you, and
gives you a ticket, you're guilty. And you owe, you owe whatever. Listen, Exodus 34, six to seven. And the Lord passed by before
him and proclaimed, The Lord God, merciful and gracious,
long suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping
mercy. I've said before, every time
I see that word mercy, you know what that means. I'm guilty.
I'm guilty. That's what it means, mercy.
Guilty. Keeping mercy for thousands,
forgiving iniquity, transgression and sin and that will by no means clear the guilty. Visiting the
iniquity of the fathers upon the children and upon the children's
children unto the third and fourth generation. What did I just read? Here's what I just said. I read
this and it says it's mercy. Mercy is for sinners. Mercy is for guilty folks. Mercy. You know, whenever you
see a couple of fellas, maybe they're wrestling or something
like that, and you know, while they're wrestling, one of them
pins the other one down, and one of them, you know, he's gonna
give up. He's gonna tap out. You know what that means? I need
mercy. Stop. You got me. You got me. Mercy. Mercy. Mercy is shown
by the Lord, but remember this, never at the expense of His justice. Oh, how can God, who is right
and fair and honorable, how can God be just and justify a sinner? How can God do that? Well, Lord
willing, we're gonna look at it. Whenever the Lord Jesus Christ
went to the cross, and we know from scripture that He did. And when He went to the cross, without a doubt, He died on Calvary's
tree. He was dying for sin's penalty. He was dying for sin's penalty,
but he did not go and lay down his
life for every sinner without exception. Again, now, I'm gonna I'm going
to say these things and we're going to look at them and prove
them. I know what men say. I know what
they say. He went to the cross and died
for everybody's sin. That's what they say. He died
for everybody. He loves everybody. Can you imagine
a God that loves everybody and wants to save everybody if they'll
let him? I think what a puny God. What
a puny God that wants to do something and He's got to depend on a nothing,
a maggot like me to help Him out. That's not the God of this
Bible. God Almighty is God Almighty. He did not go and lay down His
life for every sinner without exception. According to His Word,
Turn with me to John 10, 14, 15. I'm gonna look at John 10,
24 in a minute. But he laid down his life for
a particular people. He said in John 10, 14, 15, I
am the good shepherd and I know my sheep. And I am one of mine,
as the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father, and I lay
down my life for the sheep. Now I want you to just turn,
turn with me to John 10, 24. John 10, 24. I've read this passage numerous
times. That's okay. John 10, the Lord
is speaking. I'm sorry, I'm in Romans, no
wonder I can't find it. John 10, 24. John 10, 24, then came the Jews
round about him and said unto him, how long dost thou make
us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us
plainly. Jesus answered them, I told you,
and you believe not. The works that I do in my Father's
name, they bear witness of me. But ye believe not, because you're
not of my sheep, as I said unto you. My sheep hear my voice,
and I know them, and they follow me, and I give unto them eternal
life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them
out of my hand. The Lord Jesus Christ, as a people,
and he said, I know them, I know who they are, and I give unto
them eternal life, and they're not going to perish. He said
here he told a group of Pharisees that just heard his word and
didn't believe him, didn't believe him. How long are you going to
make us to doubt? How long are you going to leave
us in suspense? How long are you going to continue speaking
the way you're speaking and not coming to a conclusive answer?
He said, I told you, I told you. Brethren, He's telling us this
morning. He's telling us. We're reading
His Word. His Word that is not going to
pass away. It's not going to become void.
It's going to accomplish the purpose for which it was sent. Here the Scripture sets forth
that the Lord Jesus Christ has elected a people. A people that fell in Adam's
transgression. A people that were deserving
of eternal damnation. God, who is merciful and kind
to whosoever he will, is going to do something for them. He's
going to save them. But I'm telling you that there's
a people in this world that hear these scriptures And God does
something for them in eternal, electing, saving grace. And he gives them a new heart.
Changes them. Is there any scripture, more
plain, concerning the truth that universal redemption, that Christ
did not die for everybody, He said, I lay down my life for
the sheep. It was for the bride of Christ
that Christ Jesus died. Now listen to this scripture,
Ephesians 5, 25 to 27. Husbands, love your wives, even
as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for it, that
he might sanctify and cleanse it. with the washing of water
by the word, that he might present it to himself, a glorious church,
not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that it should
be holy and without blemish." The Lord Jesus Christ, His high
priestly prayer, praying unto His Father concerning His sheep. Remember, He had just told some
Pharisees, When they asked him, how long do you make us to doubt?
He said, I told you, but you believe not because you're not
my sheep. You know a believer hears that,
and let me tell you what a believer thinks immediately. Lord, please
don't pass me by. Don't pass me by. Lord, please
have mercy on me. Lord, please, Don't let me perish. That's a believer's, that's a
heart of a believer. Don't let me, I deserve it, I know. Listen
to the words of our Lord in John 17, 6. I have manifested thy
name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world. Now, again, can there be any
doubt that God the Father has given A people unto the Lord. This is what the Lord said. I
have manifested Thy name unto the men which Thou gavest Me
out of the world. Thine they were eternally. The Lord's people have always
been His people. And Thou gavest them Me. And they've kept Thy word. John 17, 9. Listen to these words. This is the Word of God. This
is God's Word. The Lord Jesus Christ said in
His high priestly prayer to His Father, I pray for them. Who? Those that Thou hast given
Me. Out of the world, Thine they
were, Thou gavest them Me. I pray for them. I pray not for
the world, but for them which Thou hast given Me. I'm telling you, The scripture
sets forth that saving grace is according to God's election.
It's according to God's redemption for a particular people. That's
what he said. I lay down my life for the sheep, for the sheep.
I lay down my life for the sheep. It's also according to effectual
grace. What do I mean by that? I mean
that if God Almighty has purpose to save a sinner, He does. I'm so glad He didn't leave it
to me. I'm so thankful that He didn't leave it. Psalm 110 verse
3, Thy people shall be willing Let me ask you this. When it
says, thy people shall be willing in the day of thy powers, the
rest of the verse. What does that mean? Let me tell you what it means.
It means in the day of God's power, when the almighty God
is pleased to call one out of darkness, they're going to come.
They're coming. That's what he's going to save
them. He's going to call them and they're
coming. The Lord Jesus Christ declared
in John 10, two and three, but he that entereth in by the door
is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter openeth. Now, if we didn't understand
anything else that he said just before that, listen to these
last words concerning him opening. But to him the porter openeth
and the sheep hear his voice. The sheep hear his voice. And he calleth his own sheep
by name and leadeth them out. Let me tell you what scripture
just said. Whenever the Lord is pleased to call one of his
own. I'm talking about rowdies, unworthies, no goods like me. When Almighty God is pleased
to call one of His own, He's going to get them under the sound
of this gospel, which is the power of God and salvation, and
He's going to call them. And they're coming. I wrote these
words down. Brother Henry Mahan is the one
that originally said this. It says, The Lord Jesus, God's
shepherd, came into this world as the submissive servant of
Jehovah, by God's divine commission, the Lord Jesus, as prophet, priest,
and king, came in fulfillment of all scriptures through the
door of God's covenant mercy. The door himself, Christ, of
covenant mercy to fulfill all righteousness for the sheep.
God did something for us that we could not do for ourselves.
He didn't come and make an offer, because if it was just an offer,
we're not going to do it. He's got to give me a new want
too. And when the Lord powerfully calls and leads His people out
of the darkness of sin and unbelief into the light of Himself, He
reveals Himself unto His people. Here's what scripture says. They
follow him. My sheep hear my voice. I know
them, and they follow me. They follow me. When he came
up to his apostles, he came up to Matthew one day. Matthew was
sitting at the seat of custom. I love this, and the Lord said,
follow me. You know what he did? He got
up and followed him. Now the Lord, he's given his
people new ears to hear and they hear his voice. They hear his
voice. Told you before, I've never heard
the voice, the verbal voice of the Lord. But based on his word, he said,
my sheep hear my voice. And you know, when I hear these
scriptures being preached and I'm looking at these scriptures
and I see what's being said and I hear what's being preached
and they're consistent And I said, that's God talking. That's God,
that's the Lord talking. And they recognize him as the
sovereign God. Nobody has any respect for this
little G God that wants to do, I don't have any respect for
him. But you take this God, this powerful
God, who speaks, and it is. The sheep hear his voice, and
he knows them. He knows them. They know him.
They recognize his voice. That's my Lord. That's my God.
That's my Redeemer. That's my King. That's the husband
of the bride. So saving grace, when we talk
about saving grace, it's according to electing grace, Redeeming
grace, fetching grace. I like that,
fetching grace. That's what David told him. Is
there any left of the house of Saul that I might show mercy
to for Jonathan's sake? There's one back there in Lodabar. He's lame on both his feet. You go get him, you fetch him.
You fetch him, you bring him to me. Oh, I love that message. It talks about fetching grace.
God Almighty would fetch His people. And lastly, when we talk
about saving grace, He's talking about preserving or keeping grace. Oh, the blessing to know that
the Lord who chose a people in Christ Redeemed them. They were guilty
sinners and He redeemed them. He paid their debt, shed His
own blood, made what they are, made sin. That's another glorious
message. I'll stay here. Paid their debt. And called them by His grace. Let me tell you what he does,
lastly. He keeps them. He keeps them. If the Lord didn't powerfully
keep me, David, I'd have been gone. I'd have quit. I'd have
quit. I've told you this before in
closing. If you only knew how many times I find myself discouraged,
low, and in my flesh, in my flesh, thinking to myself, I can't do
this. I can't do this. Jeremiah said that one time.
Remember that? He said, I purposed in my heart
I wasn't going to speak in his name no more. I'm done. I'm done. Peter the apostle said that.
I quit. I'm going fishing. I'm going
back to my old profession. I'm going back. Oh, if you only
knew. Oh, the struggles of this frail
creature of dust. I can't do this anymore. I'm
tired. I'm tired. But his word, Jeremiah
said, was in me like fire in my bones. And I couldn't quit. I couldn't refrain. God keeps
his people. I'm so thankful for that. This
is what Apostle Peter was moved to say. 1 Peter 1, 3-5, Blessed be the
God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to His
abundant mercy hath begotten us again. He has rebirthed us. You must be born again. God's
going to have to make a new man. who has begotten us again unto
a lively hope, a living, endless expectation by the resurrection of Jesus
Christ from the dead to an inheritance. Here's a beautiful, don't miss
this, to an inheritance that is incorruptible and undefiled. Beyond change,
beyond change. If I could mess this up, I'd
mess it up. I'd mess it up. Undefiled, that fadeth not away,
reserved in heaven for you, who are kept, guarded is what the
word is, guarded, who are kept by the power of God through faith, conviction of the truth. I'm
convinced this is what God said. Unto salvation, ready to be revealed
in the last time. Beloved, we rest assured that
according to these scriptures, salvation is by the grace of
God. That's what it means. What we
just looked at. For by grace are you saved. Through faith, kept believing,
kept believing. And that not of yourselves, it's
a gift of God. Not of works, lest any man should
boast. It's all of God's grace, without
any stain of man's hand upon it. And I'm so thankful. I'm
so thankful. God saves sinners, saves them
by grace. I've said before, it wasn't original
with me. Saves them by grace and then
tells them about it through the preaching of the gospel, revelation
of the Spirit of God to their heart. They believe it, they
believe it. I pray the Lord bless this to our hearts for Christ's
sake.