Open your Bibles, if you would,
to Hosea chapter 14. The name of the message is loved
freely, love freely. We're loved without a cause.
There's no cause in us that would cause God to love us. It's simply
a result of God's free and sovereign grace and his mercy and his everlasting
love set upon us. It's absolutely incredible. And
today's verse for this message, this short message, will be found
in Hosea chapter 14, it'll be verse 4. It says this, it says, I will
heal their backsliding, I will love them freely, for my anger
is turned away from him. Isn't it amazing to think that
God loves us freely. It's his choice. And look at these wonderful words.
I will love them freely. This is speaking of God's people
who were chosen in Christ from before the foundation of the
world. Now with God's grace, everything, everything is free. Everything is free. is all that
God does for and with men and women in grace is free. There's
no cause in us. It all flows from his free and
sovereign grace. And all that man or woman does
for and with God is free. You cannot talk about grace and
law in the same breath. They're mutually exclusive. See, it's God working in us is
the very reason we desire to serve him. And that's all according
to his free grace. God's grace towards us is free. And the grace of God causes us
to serve him freely. We desire to. It's not a burden. Wherever you find grace in God
or in men, you find it acting freely without
cause in God, without condition, without qualification, without
constraint, and without force. So God's grace works in us without
cause. There's no cause in us. No conditions. There's not... Let's not do this,
and you get this. It's not that. It's Christ has
done it all. He saved sinners. It's without
qualification. We can't do anything to be qualified
for heaven. God has to make us qualified
for heaven in Christ Jesus, our Lord. My, oh, my. And it's without
constraint and without force. God lovingly draws us to Christ. Isn't that wonderful? Let me
read that again. Hosea 14.4, I will heal their
backsliding, I will love them freely, for my anger is turned
away from him. God's anger is turned away from
the believer in Christ because the wrath of God do us fell upon
our king. And he shed his blood, he purchased
us, he redeemed us out from under the law. Right? The purchase price for our souls
is the blood of Christ. God's blood. God himself has
purchased the church. In every place since the fall
of Adam, where the word freely is used, in the word of God,
it has a direct connection with grace, either the grace of God
operating towards us or the grace of God operating in us. My oh my. And we see in this
text here how God loves us freely. His love is sovereign, beloved,
because God is sovereign. He's not up in His throne waiting
for men to make decisions for Him. He's drawing His sheep to
Himself. He's already saved His people
at Calvary's cross. Now they must be born again.
They must receive faith to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. And
it's God who finds us. Isn't that amazing? And how is
this accomplished? Well, the word of God is preached
and God, the Holy Spirit, regenerates his people. Faith cometh by hearing
and hearing by the word of God. And it's all God. The preacher,
we're just a mouthpiece. That's all we are. We can't save
anyone. But I can tell you about someone
who saved my soul. And I can tell you about someone who can
save your soul if you come to him. His name is the Lord Jesus
Christ. Isn't that wonderful? It's absolutely
wonderful. And I know if you come to Him,
it's because God made you willing. Isn't that wonderful? Oh, it's
wonderful. God gets all the glory. Listen
to this in Deuteronomy chapter 7. Marvel how God chose us freely. Deuteronomy 7, this is wonderful
here. Look at verses 7 to 9. The Lord did not set his love
upon you, nor choose you, because you were more in number than
any people, for you were the fewest of all people." And he's
talking about Israel here, and Israel is a picture of the church.
Israel in the Old Testament is a picture of God's elect. He
says, but because the Lord loved you, And because he would keep
the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the Lord bought
you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you out of the house
of the bondman from the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. Know,
therefore, that the Lord thy God, he is God. My, oh, my. The faithful God which keepeth
commandment, or keepeth covenant in mercy with them that love
him, and keep his commandments to a thousand generations. No,
no reason for God to love us, but he loves us. He chose us
in love, everlasting love. Do you know he redeemed us in
love, beloved? Oh my, Romans 5, 8 says, but
God commanded his love toward us, sinners, that while we were
yet sinners, Christ died for us. We had no idea that we were
going to be redeemed by the Lord. But he redeemed us before we
were even born. I don't know who the elect of
God are. I know he's got an elect. I know he's chose a people. So
I preach to everyone. Listen to this, 1 John 4, 10,
here in his love, not that we love God because in our natural
state, we don't love God, do we? We run away from God, but
that he loved us. How long has he loved us? And
John's writing to believers. How long has he loved those in
Christ? Well, there's never been a time
when he hasn't loved us. His love is everlasting. It never
ends. Oh, it's wonderful. Oh, my. I'll read that again. 1 John
4, 10. Herein is love, not that we love
God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be a propitiation
for our sins. God the Father loves his people
with such an everlasting love that he sends his Son, the Word
of God, the second person of the Trinity, into this world
to be the propitiation for our sins. He's sinless. He's God
in the flesh. He's the sacrifice for our sins. John the Baptist said, behold
the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. There
he is. You know, in love he called us
too. So he loved us. He chose us with love, everlasting
love. He redeemed us with free love,
freely. He freely redeemed us. And you
know that He freely calls us by His love. Jeremiah, chapter
31, verse 3. The Lord hath appeared of old
unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting
love. Therefore, with lovingkindness
have I drawn you. grace, mercy. It's the grace
and mercy of God. He draws us. Oh my. And then 1 John 3, 1. Behold
what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we
should be called the sons of God. Therefore the world knoweth
us not, because it knew him not. Oh, my, behold what manner of
love the Father hath bestowed on us, that we should be called
the sons of God. You know, because we're sons,
God sends the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, whereby we now
cry, Abba, Father. My, oh, my. And all who are loved
by God in Christ also have free justification. All who are saved
by the grace of God in Christ are justified freely by his grace
through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. And we saw in
our first study, he that believeth on him, on Christ, is not condemned. Why? Because we've been justified
freely by the grace of God. All our sins forgiven. And think
of this, the very one who we sinned against is the very one
who redeemed us. Oh! What love? What love, beloved? Justification
is being made righteous by God. It involves blood redemption
through Christ, the forgiveness of sin, and perfect righteousness,
the very righteousness of God, because Christ is God. It's amazing. The righteousness
of God belongs to God's elect from eternity by virtue of our
eternal union with the Lord Jesus Christ, and it's imputed to us.
We're clothed in it at regeneration. It's amazing. And this justification
is completely free. We're justified freely by God's
matchless grace. were justified freely by the
grace of God through the redemptive accomplishments of the Lord Jesus
Christ. He has perfectly redeemed the
souls of all his people. Perfectly. There's nothing for
us to do. We just look to him by faith.
Listen to this in Romans chapter 5. Oh, listen to what the scripture
declares here. Romans chapter 5, verses 14 to
17. Nevertheless, death Oh, actually, I'm sorry, let's
start in Romans chapter 4 first, in verses 24 to 25. It says this, our Lord from the dead, who was
delivered for our offenses and was raised again for our justification. So, God the Father, Christ was
delivered for our offenses, God accepted that sacrifice, and
then he was raised again for our justification. And then in
Romans chapter 5, verses 14 to 17, says this, Nevertheless,
death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned
after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure
of him that was to come. But not as the offense, so also
is the free gift. For if through the offense of
one many be dead, which is Adam falling, and we fell in him,
much more the grace of God in the gift by grace, which is by
one man Christ Jesus hath abounded unto many, and not as it was
by one that sinned, so is the gift. For the judgment was by
one to condemnation, we fell on Adam. But the free gift is
of many offenses unto justification. Christ paid the price for all
his people. For by one man's offence, death
reigned. Adam fell, death reigns. Much
more, they which shall receive abundance of grace, of the gift
of righteousness, shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ. So justification before God is
free to us. But it cost Christ, didn't it?
But he willingly went. He went to the cross joyfully
knowing that he was going to redeem his people from all their
sins. He calls it the joy set before
him. My, oh my. It cost our Savior's lifeblood.
He redeemed us from all our sins by the shedding of his blood
when he died in our room and place. The room and place of
sinners. The sinless one dying for sinners. Oh my. And this salvation is
free salvation. It's based on the everlasting
love of God towards his people. And the perfect sin atoning work
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Listen to these words of the
masters. I will give to him that is a thirst of the fountain of
the water of life freely. Are you thirsty? Are you thirsty
for Christ? Run to him. May God give you
grace to run to him. Christ gives salvation freely.
He invites you to take the salvation He gives freely. It's a gift. But that gift must be taken.
We must believe, right? By the grace of God. He makes
us willing in a day of His power. If you have God, if you would
have God's salvation, you must receive it. Isn't that wonderful?
We must receive Him. He gives us the power to receive
Him. It's wonderful, I'll read that again. But as many as received
him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even
to them that believe on his name, which were born not of the blood,
nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of
God. So beloved of God, let us therefore come boldly to the
throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to
help in time of need. Come freely to the throne of
grace, where mercy free abounds, mercy designed to meet your case.
So pray and spread your wounds. Come, heavy heart, pour out your
groans, your every burden, what comforts to impart. Praise the
name of Jesus. Amen and amen.