Now the setting of Acts chapter
4 is just a couple of days after the sermon on Pentecost. So this
was a time when the church was very young, just two or three
days old. These people who pray this prayer
had just recently been saved by the grace of God. And I want
us to notice their prayer. Like I said, these are new believers,
but these are believers who've been taught of God. Verse 24,
and when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God
with one accord. Now, I want us to understand
that God's people are of one accord. They're at agreement. They don't believe different
things. They believe the same thing. They've been taught by
the same spirit. They have the same gospel. And
God's people are always of one accord. They're not divisions,
they're not denominations in the body of the Lord Jesus Christ.
They were of one accord. And said, Lord, thou art God
which has made heaven and earth and the sea and all that in them
is. God's people know that God created
the universe. Everybody knows that. God created
the universe. Verse 25, who by the mouth of
thy servant David hath said. Now these people understood that
when David spoke in the Old Testament, this was God speaking. they believed
in the inspiration of the scriptures they understood that and here's what david said in
verse twenty five why did the heathen rage and the people imagine
vain things the kings of the earth stood up and the rulers
were gathered together against the lord and against his Christ
for of a truth against thy holy child Jesus whom thou hast anointed
both Herod and Pontius Pilate with the Gentiles and the people
of Israel." Now that covers everybody, doesn't it? Everybody is included
in this. What about everybody? They were
gathered together for to do whatsoever thy hand
and thy counsel determined before to be done." Now that is the
word that is usually translated, predestinated. Now what I want
to speak to you on is the subject of the issue of predestination. The issue of predestination,
not does the Bible teach predestination, it does, I just read it. This
is one of six times in the New Testament we read of this word
predestination, but my question is what is the issue regarding
predestination? What if I do not believe in predestination? What does that say? Now, what I'd like to do first
is read in the New Testament the Scriptures with regard to
predestination. I just read Acts 4.28. Now turn
to Romans 8. Verse 28, and we know, Romans
8, 28, and we know that all things work together for good to them
that love God, to them who are thee called according to His
purpose, for whom He did foreknow. He also did predestinate. There's the word. to be conformed
to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among
many brethren. Moreover, whom He did predestinate,
them He also called." Now there we have the word twice. Turn
to 1 Corinthians chapter 2, verse 7. But, we speak the wisdom of
God in a mystery." Now, that's what gospel preaching is. It's
declaring the wisdom of God in a mystery. Now, a mystery is
something that we...it's a mystery to me. It's something we know
because God has made it known, and we would have never known
it had not God made it known. the mystery of the Scripture.
How would you ever know that God is one God in three persons
unless the Bible revealed it? You'd never know that, would
you? That's a mystery we would have never known had not God
made it known. all the truths of how God saves
sinners are great mysteries. Great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh.
How would we know that had not God made it known? Let's go on
reading, verse 7. But we speak the wisdom of God
in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom. I think of what our Lord
said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because
you have hid these things from the wise and prudent and revealed
them unto babes. Even the hidden wisdom which
God ordained before the world, now that's the same word that's
in the original translated predestinated. which God predestinated unto
our glory. Turn to Ephesians chapter one.
These are the other two places this word is mentioned in the
New Testament. Verse four, according as he hath chosen us
in him before the foundation of the world that we should be
holy and without blame before him in love having predestinated
us under the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself. Look in verse 11. In whom also we have obtained an inheritance
being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh
all things after the counsel of his own will." Now, without
doubt, the Bible teaches predestination. And my goal in this message is
not to get you to believe in predestination. That's not my
goal. but my goal is to see what the
issue of predestination really is. If I do not believe, and listen
to me very carefully, if I do not believe in the God of absolute
predestination, The God I believe is non-existent. He's an idol. There really is no alternative. Predestination is God being God. God is the God of absolute predestination. That means he's absolutely in
control of everything, everybody, every event, and every thought. That's who God is. There really is no alternative. You can say, well, atheism's
an alternative. No, it's not. Not really. The issue of predestination is
God being God. Secondly, the issue of predestination
is that of worship. You will only worship a God of
absolute predestination, who you can't control, who you can't
manipulate. You're in His hands, He's not
in yours, and He can do with you whatever He's pleased to
do. You'll only worship that God.
Now, a God that you can manipulate, a God that you can get to respond
to you by the things you do, there's no worship there. you'll
only worship an absolute sovereign God, the God of absolute predestination. Now, like I said, we're going
to get more into what predestination means in a moment, but I want
us to see the issue of predestination. If I do not believe in predestination,
I really have no understanding of the cross of the Lord Jesus
Christ. That's a big statement, isn't
it? Why would you say that? Christ is called, in Revelation
chapter 13 verse 8, the Lamb slain. Literally, the Lamb having
been slain from the foundation of the world. God made the universe. for the cross of the Lord Jesus
Christ. And there's no understanding
of the cross if I don't understand the God of predestination who
predestinated the cross and why he did it. If I don't understand
predestination in light of the cross, I think the cross is God's
response to try to fix up the mess man made. and that's not
what it is at all. God made the universe for the
manifestation of the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now, if
I do not believe in predestination, I don't believe salvation is
by grace. I don't believe that man is totally depraved and totally
dependent upon God to save him if I do not believe in predestination. If I do not believe in predestination,
I think it's up to me to get God to respond to something I
have done. That's what's called salvation
by works. If predestination is not true, I have no hope of being saved. Now that's how important this
is. If predestination is not true, I have no hope of being
saved. Now, I realize that people like
to relegate predestination to something that theologians argue
over, but it's not that at all. Predestination is God being God,
and if I ever know who God is, I'm going to know Him as the
God of predestination. And if I've never heard the word
before, as soon as I hear it, I'll say, if I know God, I'll
say, that's true, that's who God is. Turn with me to Isaiah chapter
45. Now, Isaiah, God through Isaiah,
is giving a prophecy of what's going to take place some 200
years later when God brings Israel out of Babylon. Verse 1, Isaiah 45, For thus
saith the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, Cyrus had not yet been
born. He's the man that God would use
to set the children of Israel free from the Babylonian captivity
and send them back to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. He had
not even been born yet. And yet look how God speaks of
this man. And do you know God speaks of me and you that way?
You are in God's hands. And you are going to do his bidding. He is in absolute control. Somebody
says, I don't agree with that. Well, he's in control of that,
too. He's in control of everything we think. He's completely in
control of you and me. You know what? I like it being
that way. I fear the alternative. If he's
not in control, who is? Somebody like me? Oh, if that's
the case, we're in real trouble. But thank God he's in control,
as he says this to Cyrus. Thus saith the Lord to his anointed,
to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before
him. I will loose the loins of kings
to open before him. The two leave gates, and the
gates shall not be shut. I will go before thee, and make
the crooked places straight. I will break in pieces the gates
of brass, and cut and sunder the bars of iron. And I will
give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places,
that thou mayest knowest that I, the Lord, which call thee
by thy name, am the God of Israel. Here's why I'm doing what I'm
doing, for Jacob, my servant's sake, and Israel, mine elect. I have even called thee by thy
name, I've surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me. I am
the Lord, and there's none else. There's no God beside me. I girded
thee, though thou hast not known me, that they may know from the
rising of the sun and from the west that there is none beside
me. I am the Lord, and there's none
else. I form the light and create darkness. I make peace and create evil. I the Lord do all these things. Look in Isaiah 46 verse 9. Remember the former things of
old, For I am God, and there's none else. I am God, and there's
none like me." Now listen to this, declaring the end from
the beginning. And from ancient times, the things
that are not yet done, saying, my counsel shall stand, I will
do all my pleasure. calling a ravenous bird from
the east, the man that executeth my counsel from a far country,
yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass, I have
purposed it, I will also do it." Now that is the God of absolute
predestination. Now, this can't really be understood
apart from seeing what the Word of God has to say about the decrees
of God. And that's what we just read
about. I have purposed it, I will also do it. That is how God operates. He is the God of absolute predestination. You see, the scripture says,
known unto God are all his works. from the beginning. Do you know
he's never had a new thought? He's never been surprised. He's
never thought, oh, that took place. I wasn't planning on that.
No, everything happens according to his sovereign purpose. Hebrews 4.3 says the works were
finished from the foundation of the earth. Now understand,
I know we can't understand this, but we can We'll do our best. God is eternal. He's not bound
by space or time. He is eternal. All things are
in the now with Him. He says, I am that I am, not
I was, not I will be, not I want to be, not I could be, not I
should be. I am that I am. God is eternal. He has no limitations. I love to think of creation.
God spake the world into existence by an act of His will, and He
brought something from nothing. You know, if He saves me or you,
that's going to be the same way. He's going to take nothing and
make it something. That's God's way of saving. His
power is seen in providence. He upholds all things by the
counsel of His own will. Now, let me ask you a question.
Did God know you'd be here this morning? Of course He did. Was there any way you wouldn't
be here this morning? No, because this is a part of
his purpose. This is a part of his counsel.
He controls everything in Providence. And most, and you know it's not
hard for him, too. I like thinking about that. Whatever's
going on, he's in control of it, and it's not difficult for
him. By him, all things consist. He upholds all things by the
word of his power. That's who he is. And how clearly
his power is seen in salvation. He takes somebody like me, a
sinful, weak, ignorant man, and makes me to be perfectly conformed
to the image of His Son. That's what predestination's
about. whom He did foreknow, them He also did predestinate
to be conformed to the image of His Son." What power! What
power there is in making my sin, which is so real, to not be. Not just excused and swept under
the carpet, not just forgiven, although that's a great blessing,
but to not be, to where God looks at me and says, you've never
sinned. Now that is power, isn't it? I've read before that two things
that cannot be duplicated, you can't bring new matter into the
world, and you can't make matter that is not to be. only omnipotence
could do that. Well, that's what he has done. With the Lord, nothing should
be impossible. He has made me to be what I was
not, conformed to the image of Christ, and he's made that which
is my sin not to be. What power! Now, the decrees
of God, I read this, I copied it down, I couldn't improve on
it, so let me read this to you. This is a glorious definition
of the decrees of God. The decrees of God are His eternal
purpose, according to the counsel of His will, whereby for His
own glory He has foreordained whatever comes to pass. We've just read about that in
Isaiah. I purposed it, I will also do it." Let me read this
again. The decrees of God are His eternal
purpose, according to the counsel of His will, whereby for His
own glory He has ordained whatsoever comes to pass. Now, nothing escapes
this. His decrees are eternal. That
means they're not something that He concocted in time. What they
are now, they've eternally been. His decrees have one purpose,
His own glory. That's his purpose. That's why
God does what he does. Somebody says, isn't that being egocentric?
Well, it'd be egocentric if you or I acted that way, but we're
talking about God. We're talking about someone who is altogether
glorious and transcendent. For him to act in any other way
would be beneath the dignity of the glory of his person. This
is God. His decrees are immutable. God
never responds. Isn't that comforting? God never responds. If his decrees could change,
that would mean a lack of wisdom or a lack of power on his part,
and that will not be. His decrees are absolutely sovereign. Whatsoever the Lord pleased,
that did he. he doeth according to his will
in the armies of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth."
See, I've quoted this every night, haven't I? And none can stay
his hand or say unto him, what doest thou? His decrees are efficacious. There is an absolute certain
occurrence of all that he has decreed. And the decrees of God
relate to all events. Not a sparrow falls to the ground. without your Heavenly Father."
When we were reading about the death of the Lord, what were
they doing? When they were driving the nails in His hands and feet,
when they lifted up the cross and dropped it in the stand,
and the Lord suffered in such agony, what was going on? They did whatsoever His hand
and His counsel predestinated to be done. Now, the free and
uncoerced actions of men." Now what you've done, what I've done,
it's we do what we want to do. We do what we want to do. Everything
we do, we do what we want to do. we're not coerced, we're
not forced, we do what we want to do and God is such that he
has complete sovereign control over our free actions, working
out his own purpose and grace. Now somebody says, you're making man a puppet on
God's string. If everything that takes place
is simply God's purpose and will being done, you're making man
a puppet on God's string. Here we are and God's just doing
his... Well, let me ask you a question.
If that's not true, God is a puppet on our string. God can't make a move without
us. Now, such a God is a weak God,
a pygmy God, a God who does not deserve the name God. Now, I'd whole lots rather having
God control things than me or you. I'd whole lots rather things
be dependent upon His will than our will. But remember, God is
God. That's why The God of predestination
is the only option. God really is all-powerful and
His will is always done. Now, before time began, Rick
read that scripture in Jeremiah chapter 31 verse 3, Behold, I
have loved you with an everlasting love. a love that had no beginning,
a love that was founded in eternity, therefore with loving kindness
have I drawn thee. Now, let's talk just a couple
minutes about God's love. Behold, I have loved you with
an everlasting love. Who's meant by you? Somebody says, well, God loves
everybody. And I want to be clear, I want to say what needs to be
said about this. God's love is in Christ. God
loves His Son. He loves those in His Son. Outside
of Christ there is nothing but God's wrath and anger against
sin. God's holy. God's love is a holy
love. And if somebody says, well that's
not fair for God to not love everybody. Now hold on. You're
saying you're more fair than God. You're all of a sudden sitting
on judgment on God and saying, I think this is right and I disagree
with that about God. Wait a minute. Who are you to
sit in judgment on the divine being? Whatever he does is right,
whatever he does is holy, just, and true. God's love is in Christ,
and God's love is saving love. When we talk about predestination,
God's love came before the predestination. I don't understand this, but
it says, in love, having predestinated. you to the adoption of children,
whom he foreknew." Now that word foreknew, write this down, foreloved. Adam knew his wife Eve. whom He fore-loved, whom He loved,
knew beforehand. Remember that crowd? The Lord
said, Depart from Me, ye that work iniquity. I never knew you. Now, He knew exactly who they
were. He knew everything about them and what they'd done. But
He said, I never knew you. I never knew you to be one of
Mine. I never knew you to have an intimate relationship with
Me where I loved you and you loved Me. No. Depart. God doesn't Know all men in that
sense Christ said I never knew you and somebody if you if you
have a problem with it You've got a problem. You've got a problem
because this is who God is Somebody says I won't worship a God like
that You will one day you'll be forced to you'll be made to
bow because this is who God is the God of absolute predestination
and Thank God in eternity He elected a whole bunch of people,
a vast number, 10,000 times 10,000 and thousands and thousands,
and said, I'm going to make them just like my son. That's predestination. 2 Timothy 1.9 says, He saved
us and He called us. What came first? He saved us
I was saved in eternity he saved us and he called us with a holy
calling not according to our works but according to his own
purpose and grace which was given us in Christ Jesus before the
world began now we're trying to talk about eternity and I
don't understand what I'm talking about I realize that but I believe
I believe Do you understand the Trinity? Do you understand how the Lord
said through John in the beginning, was the Word? And the Word was
with God. A distinct person and the Word
was God. You don't understand that. I
don't understand that. We believe it. You know, if it
required understanding, we'd be in trouble, wouldn't we? We
believe like a little child. We believe what God teaches in
His Word. And because God is eternal, every
aspect of salvation is eternal. We read of eternal life. You
know, I want to say this. When we get to heaven, We're
going to find out we've always been there. It's eternal life,
united to the Lord Jesus Christ in Him. We read of eternal salvation,
a salvation that never had a beginning, that never had an ending. How
long have you been saved? Well, how long has Christ been
Christ? That's how long. Chosen in Him
before the foundation of the world. We read of eternal judgment. All judgment took place in the
Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. We read of eternal
redemption. We read of the eternal inheritance
and it's all because of the blood of the eternal everlasting covenant. Hebrews chapter 13 verse 20.
Now God never had a new thought. I love that. This is the God
we worship. God never had a new thought and
all of his people were accepted in the Lord Jesus Christ before
time began being predestinated according to the purpose of him
who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will."
Now this is God. Now God predestinated that all
of his people would be perfectly conformed to the image of Jesus
Christ. Now, here's my question. How am I going to get there?
Look at me. Don't look at me, but look at
me. I'm a sinful, weak man, perfectly
conformed to the image of Christ, I think of what Paul said, and
I can identify with this so much. Oh, wretched man that I am! Not that I used to be, but that
I am right now. I'm a sinner. I'm a sinful man. I confess sins, and when I confess
them, I know I'm going to commit them again. How evil! How evil. I'm a sinful man. I'm full of
sin. I'm ashamed of this. Somebody's
thinking, well, what's wrong with you then? You're preaching
and you're like that? I ain't no different than you.
If you don't know this about yourself, it's because you're
blind to yourself. This is the way every man by nature is. Sinful. Now, how in the world
is somebody like me sinful, weak, corrupt, How am I going to be
perfectly conformed to the image of Christ? Well, because of Revelation
chapter 13 verse 8, listen to me quote it again, and this is
such a significant verse of Scripture, this lamb slain from the foundation
of the world. Now here's the point of predestination.
before there was a sinner, there was a Savior. The Lamb having been slain. I've quoted it, let's go ahead,
I want you to read it in black and white with your own eyes.
Revelation chapter 13. Sometimes it's better to just
read something for yourself than to have somebody quote it. Verse 8, "...and all that dwell
upon the earth shall worship Him," this false prophet, "...whose
names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain
from the foundation of the world." Christ was slain in eternity. And then time began. Adam fell. You know the story, Genesis chapters
2 and 3, and I fell in him. And God said to Adam in Genesis
chapter 2 verse 17, in the day you eat thereof, you shall surely
die. He didn't say, if you eat. This
was all a part of God's purpose. Somebody says, are you making
God the author of evil? I'm saying the fall is according
to God's purpose because God's God. And I'm not going to apologize
for that. How can you justify that? I'm not trying to. This
is God's work. If you've got a problem with it, you're going
to have to take it up with Him. And that's something you don't want to do.
He's God. Whatever He does is right. Whatever
He does is good. Shall not the judge of the earth
do right? I'm not going to sit in judgment
on Him. I'm going to bow by His grace. The fall is good. You see, the fall brought upon
salvation. What would we ever know of forgiveness?
What would we ever know of grace? What would we ever know of the
character of the mercy of God had there never been a fall?
Now Adam fell, I fell in him. But this was all according to
God's purpose because the very purpose for the fall was that
the cross might be made manifest. The cross of the Lord Jesus Christ.
This is the most glorious thing in the world. This is what predestination
is about. It's about the primacy and the
glory of the cross of Jesus Christ. The cross is how a man like me
or you can stand before Christ, can stand before God, perfectly
conformed to his image. Now, way back before time, before
this fall ever took place, Christ stood as the surety of his people. And here's what predestination
is. It's Jesus Christ taking full responsibility for all my
salvation. That's predestination. Let me
show you an example of this in Genesis chapter 43. This is when Jacob was wanting to send his
sons back to Egypt to get corn. There was a famine in the land,
and he had already sent them once, and they came back, and
when they ran out of food, he was going to send them again.
And I think this is interesting. In Genesis 42, verse 37, And
Reuben spake unto his father, saying, Slay my two sons. Now
this is after he said, Benjamin's not going. Benjamin's not going. He's the son of my love. I'm
not taking a chance on him getting hurt. Benjamin's not going. And Reuben speaks up. And Reuben
spake unto his father, saying, Slay my two sons, if I bring
him not to thee, and deliver him into thy hand, and I'll bring
him again to thee. And if I don't, you can slay
my two sons. But what did he think of his
dad? Was he getting any kind of satisfaction out of that?
Yeah, I'm gonna kill your boys. What a horrible thing to think.
And Jacob knew his kids. He's not like us, we always put
these unrealistic views of our children, but not him. Listen
to what he says about Reuben. He said, my son shall not go
down with you. Ain't no way. For his brother is dead and he's
left alone. If mischief befallen by the way
in the which you go, then shall you bring my sorrow, my gray
hairs with sorrow to the grave. You remember what he said about
Reuben? Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel. I'm not sending
him with you. Now, verse 8 of chapter 3, this
is after Judah. Judah. You know who Judah is,
don't you? The Lion of the tribe of Judah,
Christ would come through Judah. Look what Judah says, and this
is what the Lord Jesus said regarding all of his elect, and put your
name here. And Judah said unto Israel, just
as Christ said to the Father, Send the lad with me, and we
will arise and go, that we may live and not die, both we and
thou, and also our little ones. I will be surety for him. Of my hand shalt thou require
him. If I bring him not unto thee,
and set him before thee, then let me bear the blame forever."
Now that's what Christ said. concerning all of his people
at my hand. All you require of them, you
look to me for. And if I bring them not before
you and set them before you, let me bear the blame forever."
Now that is predestination. That's God being God. That's
God sending His Son. He took full responsibility for
my salvation. Now, listen to this scripture.
Matthew 121, the very opening verse of the New Testament. Thou
shalt call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from
their sins. That's what He came to do. He
came to save his people from their sins. You know what? That's exactly what he did. When
he kept the law, he did it for somebody. I love it when he said
to John the Baptist. He came up to ask John the Baptist
for tea. He didn't ask him, he told him, baptize me. The Lord
never asked anybody to do anything. I mean, he only speaks by command.
And John the Baptist was taken back. He said, This seems inappropriate. I need
to be baptized in thee. And the Lord said, Suffer it
be so now, for thus it becometh us. Us. To fulfill all righteousness. When Christ fulfilled all righteousness,
He did it for the us. When He died, He died for His
people and put away their sins. When He said, it is finished,
their salvation was accomplished. When He was raised from the dead,
they were raised from the dead. The fact of the matter is, you
can't understand the gospel because you don't even know who God is
without some understanding of the God of absolute predestination.
It's who God is. And you may have never heard
the word predestination, but as soon as you hear it, if you
know God, you'll know, yep, that's who He is. That's who He is. Now, predestination is God determining
before what takes place now. It's that simple. What did he
determine before? That Christ, the Lamb slain from
the foundation of the world, would come in time and be slain
and save his people from their sins. Now, in closing, in closing,
I'm sorry I preached this long. I didn't mean to. I don't preach
this long at home. I try to keep it around 30-35
minutes, so forgive me. But in closing, what are the issues, the objections
men make about predestination? Well, I've already dealt with
one of them. Well, it makes men God's puppets. Well, if you deny
predestination, you make God man's puppet. And that will never
be. Somebody says, well, if you believe
that, it kills missions. The only true missionaries there
have ever been have been men who believed in absolute predestination.
Would you bother to preach if you didn't believe there was
absolute predestination, that God's going to elect the people and
they're going to be saved? Wouldn't even bother to preach. It doesn't
kill mission. Somebody says that it kills evangelism.
That's just a lie. That's just a lie. There's no
truth to it. Well, it discourages disobedience. I mean, it encourages disobedience.
It makes you think, well, what will be, will be. And if I did
this, it was all part of God's predestined plan. No believer
feels that way. These things have I written unto
you that ye sin not. We don't want to sin. This doesn't
encourage sin. It encourages you to ask for
grace, though. You see, predestination means that salvation really is
all of grace. And I think of what Joseph said
to his brethren. Here's predestination. This is
after they come to Him and they're scared to death, that He's going
to put them to death. Oh, we've been found out, our
sin's come to roost, it's come back on us. And Joseph said,
you meant it for evil, but God meant it for good, to save much
people, a lot. Well, predestination prevents
people from being saved. No, it doesn't. Predestination
causes people to be saved and come to the Lord Jesus Christ. Thank God for the God of predestination.