Morning once again, another day
for us to be together and gather together. It's always a great
joy. Today we'll be looking at five
biblical truths. Five biblical truths. Five biblical truths. And as
we study Scripture, And as we hear the Gospel proclaimed by
faithful men, we'll hear these five truths often. And for the believer, they're
melodious. They're wonderful. They're wonderful. They bring us great joy. in this world which is like a
sea. Sometimes the sea is calm. Brother John and I were talking
about that. Sometimes storms come and you're tossed to and
fro. Oh, but these precious truths are
like anchors for our souls because they point us to the One in whom
all spiritual blessings are They point us to the One in whom our
salvation is all accomplished. They point us to the One who is our Lord, our God, our
Savior, our Redeemer, wonderful, merciful God. And
without Christ, These five truths have no meaning. No meaning. Because He's the
center of them. It's like a wheel and all the
spokes, the five spokes go to the hub. And He's the hub. He's the center. This Word is
all about Christ. All about Him. He's the center. He's the hub. He's the one and
all the truths meet in Him. I remember doing a study on Psalm
23 when I was in Oregon. As I was preparing for it, I
was listening to Brother Henry. And he made a comment on Psalm
23. You ask most people, do you know Psalm 23? And most folks
say, oh yeah, they rattle it off. But they don't know the
Savior. They know the words, but they
don't know the Savior. And Brother Henry was saying
there's a danger for us as believers to get so familiar with portions
of Scripture or with doctrines that we think, well, I already
know all about that. He says there's a danger for
us to get a familiarity to it. I was talking to Brother Bruce
Crabtree about a month or two ago, and he says, isn't it amazing,
Brother Wayne, that when we preach the Gospel, it never gets old?
When we hear about Christ, it never gets old? We're always
wanting to hear about Him and what He's done. Oh, this Bible is like a mine. And you go into this mine, but
it's like a mine that's just full of jewels and full of gems.
And they're just everywhere. And you pull out this huge gem
and you're feasting on it. And there's more. It just never
ends. And that's what this word is
to us, to we who believe. It's like a mine full of precious,
precious gems. And as we study and as the Holy
Spirit illuminates the Scripture, we see more and more and more
of Christ, and more of how wonderful He is, how merciful He is to
sinners. So with that in mind, let us
look at these five truths. And I pray to the Holy Spirit.
Unless the Holy Spirit takes the words of the preacher and
illuminates the scripture, we won't learn anything. Oh, our
prayer is, oh Lord, show us Christ. Magnify Him. Illuminate the scriptures
that we might learn and grow in grace. I hope and pray that these five
truths will be a blessing to our souls. A blessing, that they'll
point us right to Christ. And keep this in mind again as
we look at these precious truths, that without Christ, there's
nothing. The first biblical truth is election. Now we've all, we've heard about
election. Let us remember this. If you
take Christ out of election, we have no hope. We have no hope. Because who
are we chosen in? Christ. We're chosen in Christ. Now election is God's sovereign,
eternal, God's sovereign, and God is sovereign. He's absolutely
sovereign. It's His sovereign, eternal,
unconditional, immutable, choice to save a great multitude of
Adam's fallen race. John 15, 16 says this, if you
want to turn, actually turn there, turn there and I'll just say
this, that when Adam fell in the garden, right, we all fell
with him, didn't we? Every one of us. They're not,
we looked at it in Sunday school, we're all sinned. All of us. We're all on the level playing
field. Have you ever heard the statement,
if you get it wrong with the fall, you get it wrong with it
all? That's true. If you get it wrong that we are
so dead in trespasses and sins that we have no ability to save
ourselves, no ability to choose God, none. But look at what John 15, 16
says. This is marvelous for the believer.
Look at this. This is our master. Ye have not chosen Me." Now there
goes free willism. It's gone. People bring up these doctrines
that they imagine in their minds, and Scripture just destroys them.
Ye have not chosen Me. What does that mean? That means
that none of us would ever choose Christ. None of us. You have not chosen Me, but,
O Beloved, let this be honey to your soul. But I have chosen
you." That's the sovereign Master of the universe. That's the King
of kings and the Lord of lords. But I have chosen you. And look, and ordained you that
you should go forth and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit
should remain. And whatsoever you shall ask
of the Father in My name, He may give it to you. Now there
before us is God's sovereign, eternal, unconditional, immutable
choice to save a great multitude, and right there, you're not chosen,
but I've chosen you. So we, when we fell in Adam,
We have no ability, and we actually have no desire to come to Christ
on our own as well. We don't desire to come to Christ
before he saves us. Remember the verse that Brother
Tim read? Thy people shall be made willing in David's power. He makes us willing. He makes
us willing. Turn, if you would, to 1 Thessalonians,
chapter 1. By God's determinate counsel,
And remember this, what God determines, it'll come to pass. It's not
a maybe. It'll come to pass. What He determines
comes to pass. There ain't nothing stopping
it. Nothing. Look at 1 Thessalonians 1, verses
2-5. Now Paul's giving thanks for
the Thessalonian believers. We give thanks to God always
for you. And we saw in Colossians that Paul, he prayed for all
different churches. And that's what we should do.
We should be praying for our brethren all over. Lifting them
up in prayer. We give thanks to God for you
all, making mention of you in our prayers. Remembering without
ceasing your work of faith and labor of love and patience of
hope in the Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father.
Knowing, brethren beloved... Now, this was a young church.
Some folks say, well, you shouldn't preach election or teach election
to young believers. Well, Paul does. Knowing, brethren beloved, your
election Which means to choose your election of God. For our
gospel came not unto you in word only. Now some folks, the gospel
comes in word only. Look at this, but also in power. Oh, the power of God, the Holy
Spirit. And in the Holy Ghost, and in
much assurance, as you know what manner of men we were among you
for your sake. So God's determinate counsel,
whatever He determines, and He chose these people. He chose
a people. Now religious folks hate this
doctrine. They hate it. They hate it because it takes
away their supposed free will. Little do they know they're in
bondage to their dead will. Know, brethren, and beloved,
your election of God. And this is all by the determinate
counsel of God. He chose a people in Christ.
And we all know the verse in Ephesians 1-4. I'll read it.
According as He has chosen us in Him before the foundation
of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before
Him in love. Sinners made holy and without
blame. And the Greek word for chosen
Ephesians 1.4 is to pick out, to choose, to select. Also, recipients of special favor
and privilege, elect, set apart. It's all by God's determinate
counsel. He does it all. And it's based
upon absolutely nothing in us. Nothing. And it's all by God's
grace and mercy. And as I said before, we don't
know who God's elect are, so we preach the gospel to all.
And he does the saving. Thy people shall be made willing.
You don't have to pray a prayer. You don't have to walk an aisle.
You cease from your labors. You're made willing to flee to
Christ. Our prayer is that if you're here and you don't know
Christ, oh, that He'd make you willing. Oh, that He'd make you
willing. Because all we are, we who are
being redeemed, are a bunch of sinners who've been made willing
to come to Christ. And we give Him all the glory. May we as believers, we who believe,
we who are here who believe, who have been redeemed, may we
marvel that we were included. That we were included. And it's
all according to the will of God. And all the praise and glory
goes to Him. The second biblical truth I'd
like to look at is predestination. Now this one, people go crazy
over this. You mention, I'll tell you, you
mention election to most religious folks and they go, you will see
a whole different side of a person. You mention predestination and
they'll go even more squirrelly on you. It's just incredible,
but people do. They just, they, oh, I'll tell
you. But remember this, you take Christ
out of predestination and you have nothing. Turn, if you would,
to Isaiah chapter 46. And put your finger in Ephesians
chapter 1. We are predestinated to be conformed
to the image of Christ. What believer doesn't want to
be conformed to the image of Christ? I ask you, believer,
and I said this last week and I ask again, do you sin more
than you want to? Yeah. I hate sin more in myself
than in anyone else. Oh, to be conformed to the image
of Christ. And one day, we who believe will
be conformed to the image of Christ. Sinless. It's an amazing
thought. It's overwhelming. But it's truth. Now predestination is God's sovereign
arrangement of all affairs of the universe from eternity. All
the affairs of the universe from eternity. His everlasting unchangeable
determination of all things by which He secures the salvation
of His elect. Now either God knows all things,
and then you talk to most religious people and you find out quickly
they don't really believe that God knows all things. Now either God knows all things
or He doesn't. Plain and simple. Look in Isaiah 46. We know that
our God is an all-knowing God. Isaiah 46, verses 9 to 11. And remember
this, predestination is God's sovereign arrangement of all
affairs of the universe from eternity. His everlasting, unchangeable
determination of all things by which He secures the salvation
of His elect. Look at this. Verse 9, remember
the former things of old, For I am God, and there is none else. All the other gods that are put
up are either figments of people's imagination or works of man's
hands. There's only one God. Only one. There's none else. That means
nobody, none. I am God and there's none like
me. Vicki and I have been talking
about this. How folks get this idea who God is. And I was guilty of it when I
was in religion too. And then you read the scripture and
it says that my thoughts are not your thoughts. And my ways
are not your ways. Oh, and he says here, there's
none like me. None. None like me. Look at this. Declaring the end, and I've mentioned
this before, we go through time and space, right? The here and
now. He knows the end. to the beginning. Nothing catches our great God
and Savior by surprise. Nothing. This is why we can rest. Well, there's trouble all over.
To claim the end from the beginning and from ancient times from eternity. From eternity. From eternity
past, all the way to eternity future. The things that are not yet done. He knows everything that's going
to happen. saying, My counsel shall stand. Now there goes man's
efforts to thwart God. So whenever you read something
where someone is doing some off-the-wall thing and saying some off-the-wall
thing about God, they don't have a clue. They don't have a clue. You know, folks, you get these
folks And they start predicting when Christ is coming back, and
they start getting people all in a dither and all worked up,
right? And it happens a lot. We ought not to get caught up
in all that, beloved. I like what Brother Milton Howard
said one time, and it stuck with me. He said, you can bet a million
dollars that if someone predicts Christ is coming back a certain
day, He ain't coming back that day. He's not. God knows all things that are
going to happen. My counsel shall stand. So whatever
He's determined is unchangeable. My counsel shall stand, and I
will do all my pleasure. He does whatever He pleases.
Whatever He pleases. Calling the ravenous bird from
the east, the man that executed my counsel from a far country,
Yay, I have spoken it. I will also bring it to pass.
I have purposed it. I will also do it. What he's purposed, it'll happen. He's purposed to save the people,
hasn't he? And he did. He did. So we've seen that God
knows the end from the beginning. He knows it all. He's planned
and purposed how it'll all work out. And that's why, that's why
we have, and I gotta remind myself all the time. Just rest in Christ,
Wayne. Just rest in Christ. Because
He knows, He knows the end from the beginning. He knows it all.
He knows how it'll all work out. He knows how it'll all work out.
Don't you sometimes just sit and marvel? You who have been
saved, you who have been redeemed, don't you sometimes just sit
and marvel as we look back on our life? Don't you just marvel
at how God included us? That we're one of the redeemed
when we know what we are, we know who we are. Doesn't it just
make you marvel? Having predestinated, turn with
you, if you would, to Ephesians chapter 1. Look at this. This just makes me marvel. And
he's writing this to the Ephesian believers, the ones who are resting
and trusting in Christ alone. Heaven predestinated us unto
the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself according to
the good pleasure of His will. According to the good pleasure
of His will. Predestinated is found in Ephesians
1.5, and it's defined in the Greek as this, to limit or mark
out beforehand, to design definitely beforehand, ordained beforehand. What a wonderful God. And then look at verse 11. In whom, being Christ, 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. The one who knows the end from
the beginning. Oh, what a mighty God. And then turn, if you would,
to Romans chapter 8. So we're predestinated to the
adoption of children, and we're also predestined to be conformed
to the image of the Son. To the image of Christ. And the reason people go crazy
when you mention these things is because their whole salvation,
everything they believe is based upon them. And we say everything we believe,
we who are grace believers, we who believe in the free grace
of God in Christ, we say everything is in Him. It's not
in me. It's in what He's done. He did
it all. He must conform me. The Holy
Spirit must conform us, or we'll never be conformed to Christ.
And remember this, too. I remember talking to a grace preacher
years ago, and I called him up, and I said, man, I'm more of
a sinner now than I've ever been. I see myself more and more. I'm getting worse instead of
better." And he laughed. And he said, you're growing in
grace, brother. You see, we see ourselves. The
more we grow in Christ, the more we see ourselves as sinners,
the more we long to be sinless. I ask you, don't you long to
be sinless? Won't it be wonderful when we won't have any sin? It'll
be amazing. It'll be incredible. Look at
this. For whom He did foreknow, verse
29, He also did predestinate, remember the Greek, to ordain
beforehand. To ordain beforehand. You know
what? Whether people like it or not,
this is a biblical truth. This is a biblical truth. God's
people love it. Because we know we could never
conform ourselves to Christ, to the image. We could never
make, we can't. My gosh. Never even really thought
of that, but that's just, we couldn't even, we could never
ever conform ourselves in any way. The Holy Spirit must work
upon us. He must do all the work. He must. For whom He did foreknow, He
also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son. He might
be the firstborn among many brethren. Look at the benefits of predestination
in Christ in the next verse. Whoever whom He did predestinate,
ordained beforehand, them He also called. How? By the power of the Holy Spirit.
In whom He called, them He also justified. Justified by Christ. In whom He justified? Then He
also glorified. So if we are one whom He predestinated,
if we are one whom He's called, if we are one whom He justified,
we're going to be glorified one day. Oh, it's marvelous. And notice it's all past tense. It's marvelous. Because He knows
the end and the beginning. It's incredible. Incredible. And this is why, again, I mentioned
this morning, this is why we can preach with confidence, not
in ourselves, but in Christ, that the Lord will save whomever
he's pleased to save. And he moves as he's pleased. And we who've been saved are
just thankful that we're recipients of this marvelous grace. For so hath the Lord commanded
us, saying..." Turn, if you would, to Acts. Actually, yeah, turn
to Acts 13.47. Acts 13.47. And keep this in
mind as we look at predestination, and then we'll move on to our
next biblical truth. Keep this in mind. Look at Acts
13.47. It can't be more plainer, you know. Scripture is right
there, but unless you have eyes to see, you don't see it. Unless
you have ears to hear, you don't hear it. You don't want to. But oh, may God open your ears
and give you seeing eyes and hearing ears. Look at this. For
so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have sent thee to be
a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation
unto the ends of the earth. And when the Gentiles heard this,
they heard the Gospel. They heard the gospel being preached.
They were glad. I remember hearing Henry tell
a story about a lady who brought her husband to church, and she
wasn't saved and he wasn't saved, but she had a dickens of a time
getting him to church. Well, finally one day he came.
One day he came with her to church, and they were there, and they
were listening to the gospel being preached, and the Lord
saved them. without moving a muscle. The
Lord saved them. The pastor by. Well, he left
glad, and she was so mad at what she heard, she left mad. But
see, those who have been redeemed are glad. We rejoice in what
Christ has done for us. Look at this. And when the Gentiles
heard this, they were glad and glorified the Word of the Lord.
And look at this. And as many as were ordained
to eternal life, Believed. There it is. And the word of
the Lord was published throughout all the region. Out it goes.
Out goes the gospel. And it accomplishes whatever
it's set forth to accomplish. It will not return unto God void.
Now the next word, we looked at this this morning, the next
biblical truth is redemption. Again, take Christ out of redemption,
there's no redemption. No redemption, because we're
redeemed by the precious blood of Christ. Redemption is the
ransom of chosen sinners, those who are elected in Christ, out
from under the curse of the broken law. God's justice which has been
offended. God's law must be satisfied,
God's justice must be satisfied, and redemption is accomplished
by the sacrificial, substitutionary, satisfaction of God's law and
justice by the shedding of the precious blood of Christ. That's
the cost. The Lord Jesus Christ became
a man, God in the flesh, and shed his blood to pay the ransom
price, to deliver captive sinners from their sins. He wasn't trying
to do anything. He did it. He did it. Christ hath redeemed us from
the curse of the law, Being made a curse for us, for it is written,
Cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree. And those of whom Christ died
for, there's no possibility for condemnation. Turn, if you would,
to Romans chapter 8. Romans chapter 8. Now, no man can be justified
by the works of the law. You can't self-justify yourself
before God. For as much as you know that
you were not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold from
your vain conversations received by traditions of your fathers,
but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without
blemish and spot, who verily was foreordained before the foundation
of the world, but was manifested in these last times for you.
1 Peter 1, verses 18 and 19. God's people are purchased. Purchased
people. A delivered people. And it's
all by the precious blood of Christ. And the believer cannot
be bought into condemnation. Look at Romans chapter 8. This
is wonderful. Now, our own sins will condemn
ourselves, right? Because we know what we are. But if you're a believer in Christ,
let these words just be honey to your soul. Oh, I pray they
will be. Look at this. He that spared
not his own son, but delivered him up for us all, for the sins
of all his elect, of all the ages, how shall he not with him
also freely give us all things? Now, here you go. We are sinners by birth, nature,
and choice, right? But we who believe on Christ
have been redeemed by the precious blood of Christ, right? Redeemed. Look at this marvelous scripture.
Who shall lay anything, anything, to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. The redeemed have been justified
by God. Who can bring any charge against
them? There is therefore now no condemnation to those in Christ
Jesus. Now, that does not give us a
license to go crazy either, because the love of Christ constrains
us. But people take that and they say, well, you guys are
antinomian. No, no, we're not. No. But we know, we know that
our sins are forgiven. Completely in Christ. The law
is satisfied. The justice is satisfied. Who
shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that
justifieth. Who is He that condemneth? It
is Christ that died, yea, rather that is risen again, who is even
at the right hand of God, who also make an intercession for
us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation,
or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril,
or sword, as it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the
day long. We are counted as sheep for the
slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are
more than conquerors. Through him that loved us, through
Christ, through Christ. For I am persuaded that neither
death nor life nor angels nor principalities nor powers nor
things present nor things to come nor height nor depth or
any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love
of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Wonderful. Wonderful. No condemnation for the believer. Now redemption in the Greek,
we looked at this in Sunday school, is defined as a deliverance by
the payment of a ransom. Oh, the believer says, I found
a ransom. It's Christ. Oh, He paid it all. Turn, if
you would, to Ephesians 1.7. I know we looked at this at Sunday
school, but for those who weren't able to make it, we'll just go
over this verse just quickly in light of this. Look at this
marvelous, marvelous verse. I love that song we sang, Revive
Us Again. Oh, that this would revive us,
that this would just point us to Christ and revive our souls
as we go through this world. Look at this. In whom we have
redemption through His blood. In whom, being Christ, we have,
it's a possessive, we have this redemption. The believer in Christ
has redemption through His blood. There's the cost. The forgiveness
of sins. Oh, according to the riches of
His grace. The purchase price of this great
redemption is the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. God
incarnate in the flesh, pouring out His lifeblood for the forgiveness
of sins for His people. And He did it before God in the
place of sinners. I ask you, is there any greater
love in this world than that? No. No. And the results of this wonderful,
wonderful salvation, this wonderful redemption is found in verse
7, the forgiveness of sins. The believer who is redeemed
by Christ possesses the forgiveness of sins. Hallelujah, what a Savior. That's
all we can say. And the source of this wonderful
redemption, according to the riches of His grace, which He
freely bestows upon whomever He pleases. And we say, I know,
I've talked to a lot of you, we say, why me? According to the riches of His
grace. because it pleased God. The next word I'd like us to
look at is regeneration. Turn if you would to John chapter
3. Regeneration is the new birth. It means to be born again. Now
when I was a young man, a young foolish man, I used to make fun
of those who were born again. Now I am one who is born again. And I'm so thankful. I'm so thankful. Look at John 3, verses 1-7. There was a man of the Pharisees
named Nicodemus. The ruler of the Jews. The same
came to Jesus by night and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that
thou art a teacher come from God, for no man can do these
miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. Now this is
a teacher, a master of Israel, one who is teaching people in
Israel. And our Lord's response to him
is, Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto
thee, Except the man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom
of God. Now Nicodemus, here before us,
gives an honest answer, an honest answer from a natural man. An honest answer from a natural
man. Nicodemus saith unto him, How
can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the second
time into his mother's womb and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily,
I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit,
he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of
the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is
spirit. Marvel not that I say unto thee, and I say this unto thee, unto
you, you must be born again. No hope for heaven unless you're
born again. You must be born again. The Holy
Spirit must make us alive. He must regenerate us. The wind bloweth where it listeth,
and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it
cometh, and whither it goeth. So is every one that is born
of the Spirit. Nicodemus answered and said unto
him, How can these things be? Now remember, this is a man who
studied the Scriptures. This is a man who studied the
Scriptures daily. But unless the spirit of God
illuminates scripture for us, unless the spirit of God reveals
Christ to us, we will never see him. And look at our Lord's response
to him, too. Jesus answered and said, art thou a master of Israel
and knowest not these things? He had no clue. Verily, verily, I say unto thee,
we speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen, and
ye receive not our witness. Now that's what preachers do.
We speak what we know. Ye must be born again. I know.
I wasn't born again. When I came into this world,
now I'm born again. Redeemed by the precious blood
of Christ. We speak what we know. We speak
what we know. and testify that we have seen. We've been given eyes to see. And you receive not our witness. How shall you escape? You neglect this great salvation. Oh, that God would make you willing.
We must be born again. In the Greek, Born there is born from above
by the Holy Spirit of God. You must be born again. As I
said, we're born into this world dead in trespasses and sins,
but God makes sinners alive in Christ by regenerating them.
Turn, if you would, to Colossians chapter 2. Colossians chapter 2. Now, regeneration is the deliverance
of redeemed sinners from spiritual death into spiritual life. The
believer in Christ is born again, quickened by the Holy Spirit
of God. Colossians 2, verses 10-14. And ye are complete in Him. We looked at that a few weeks
back, right? which is the head of all principality and power,
in whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without
hands, and put not the body of the sins of the flesh by the
circumcision of Christ." The circumcision made without
hands is the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit of God. buried with Him in baptism, wherein
ye are also risen with Him through the faith of the operation of
God, who hath raised Him from the dead." And you, here we go,
and you being dead in your sins, dead, no ability, no desire,
dead. No desire to come to Christ. In the uncircumcision of your
flesh, hath he quickened together with him." Born again. Born again
by the Holy Spirit of God. Just like that. Without you doing
anything. We look to Christ, don't we?
But why do we look to Christ? Because we're born again. Oh. And then look at this, heaven
forgiving you, all trespasses. Blotting out the handwriting
of ordinances that was against us and all the mighty debt that
we owe. Mighty debt that we owe. blotting out the handwriting
of ordinance that was against us, which was contrary to us,
and took it out of the way, nailing it to His cross. A successful
Savior. What a wonderful Redeemer. Heaven forgive you all trespasses. The passage here in Colossians
goes along with that in Ephesians 2. Let's turn there. I wasn't going to have us turn
there, but I want us to turn there just quick. We won't look
at it very... But it ties right in with Ephesians 2. which says we're dead in trespasses
and sins until the Holy Spirit of God quickens us and makes
us alive in Christ. And remember, this is all done
by the effectual working of the Holy Spirit. There's nothing
we can do. We can't muster this up. Now people reform their ways
and their lives and they quit doing things and quit going places
and they think they're more holier than everyone else They're just whitewashed tombs. But if you're born again to God,
you're changed. Your desires won't be the same. Oh, look at Ephesians 2. And
you at the quick, in verse 1, who were dead in trespasses and
sins, where in times past you walked according to the course
of this world. And we didn't have a care. We
just walked according to the prince of the power of the air,
the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience,
among whom also we all had our conversations in times past,
in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh. We
did whatever we wanted to do. and of the mind, and were by
nature the children of wrath, even as others. But God, who
is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even
when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together, born again,
beloved, born again. with Christ, by grace are you
saved. Let's continue though. Do you
notice he says right there, it's penned down right there, by grace
are you saved, right? But we humans are, sometimes
it takes things a little longer to get, you know, right? But even we who are saved, sometimes
we got grave clothes on. Sometimes we got grave clothes
on. Look at this, "...by grace are you saved, and hath raised
us up together, and made us to sit together in heavenly places
in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the
exceeding riches of His grace and His kindness toward us through
Christ Jesus. For by grace are you saved through
faith, and that not of yourselves, it is a gift of God, Not of works,
lest any man should boast, for we are his workmanship. Oh, we're
his workmanship. Created in Christ Jesus unto
good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk
in them. We are quickened by the Holy Spirit of God. It's
all his work. It's all his doing. It's all. Salvation is of the
Lord. It's all of the Lord. It's all of Him. The last truth I'd like us to
look at is providence. Another one where people go crazy
when you tell them that you believe in the absolute sovereignty of
God. Providence is the glorious, mysterious,
sovereign rule of the universe by God. Turn, if you would, to
Romans 8, again, verse 28, and then put your finger in Romans
3.11. I know we were there last Sunday night, but it ties right
in here. Now, God doesn't do anything
by accident. God does nothing by accident.
Nothing. We may do things by accident,
right? In our minds. God doesn't do nothing. He does
everything on purpose. On purpose. And all things are
working according to His purpose. To His purpose. Look at Romans
8, 28. And we know that all things work
together for good to them that love God. Now, this was the very
verse that the Lord used to open Brother Henry's eyes up. And
the story goes that Brother Ralph Bernard pointed to him and said,
read Romans 8.28, young man. And he read Romans 8.28 and the
story goes that he stopped that to them that love God. And old
Ralph said, keep reading. And he kept reading and he said,
to them who are called according to his purpose. And I remember
Brother Don, he said, I guess Rolf would say, purpose! And
this is the truth of it. Purpose, purpose, purpose. God
does everything on purpose. Everything on purpose. Look at
this. And we know that all things work
together for good to them that love God, to his elect, to them
who are the called according to his purpose. God's people
are called according to His purpose. His magnificent, wondrous providence rules over all. And think of
this, too, in light of that verse right there. He governs the whole
universe, right? He governs the whole universe
according to His purpose. according to his purpose. Think
of this. He raises up nations. He raises
up leaders according to his purpose. According to his purpose. He
elects his people in Christ according to his purpose. It's not by accident. He can go to plan B. He didn't
go to plan B when Adam fell in the garden, right? Christ is
the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. He predestinates his people in
Christ according to his purpose. According to his purpose. He
redeems his people by the precious blood of Christ according to
his purpose. He regenerates His people. They're
born again by the power of the Holy Spirit, according to His
purpose. What a wonderful God. He keeps
His people. If it was up to us, we'd fall
a thousand times a day. He keeps His people. He'll glorify
His people in Christ, and it's all according to His purpose.
He's a God who does things on purpose. And he's planned it. And that
which he's determined shall come to pass. All things are done according
to his purpose. And praise God that he's purposed
to save a people in Christ. Because left to ourselves, we'd
all be lost. But he purposed to save a people. And He saves His people in Christ
to the praise and the glory of His grace. And we give Him all
the glory and all the honor and all the praise for what He's
done. And in turn, if you would, to
Ephesians 3.11, He saves His people in Christ
to the praise and glory of His name. And it's all, look at this,
according to the eternal purpose which He purposed in Christ Jesus
our Lord. He does all things according
to the eternal purpose which He purposed in Christ Jesus our
Lord. The salvation of His people in Christ is purposed by Him. So these five Bible truths. Every Christian should know these
five Bible truths. They're precious. And think of
this. Without Christ, there's nothing
there, is there? He's the center. He's the hub. He's the hub. Remember the wheel
and the five spokes? I thought of the wheel as the
eternality of God. He's eternal. And those five spokes flow out
of him and meet right in the center, which is Christ. Right
in the center, which is him. Five precious, precious truths
that meet in Christ. Glory to his name.