Here if you'll turn with me to
2 Peter chapter 3. 2 Peter chapter 3, if you would,
look at verse 18 with me. I want to read something here. Of course, we quote this verse quite
often, and matter of fact, Ephesians chapter 1, we turn to quite often. And I'm sure a lot of people
will say that we keep riding that hobby horse till the legs
fall off of it but so be it. 2 Peter chapter 3 and verse 18
it says but grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord
and Savior Jesus Christ to him be glory both now and forever. Now Paul wrote that epistle under
the inspiration of the Holy Spirit or excuse me, Peter not Paul.
Peter wrote that letter to those who are the elect dispersed among
all the area at that time. The elect of God. As a matter
of fact, his first letter starts out that to the elect of God. But we see here at the end of
this letter Paul's desire and prayer. I keep saying Paul Peter
Peter's desire. And hope is that these brethren
grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ. And that in that growing in the
grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, that it might bring
glory to Christ both now. In this time in this. period,
this epoch or whatever you want to call it that we live in now,
this period of time, you know, and I believe it was true for
him back there. And I believe it's true for every child of
grace ever since then, that in every time period that we live
upon the earth, that the desire should be that we grow in the
grace and the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, Peter
wasn't giving them a command to go grow in the grace and the
knowledge of Jesus Christ. Growing in the grace and the
knowledge of Jesus Christ isn't a command that you can keep.
I know that's hard to believe. It's hard to grasp that because
so much out there is telling you that you can grow in the
grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ by some kind of
an effort that you make through studying and through Listening
and through engaging and academia and all this other stuff but
brethren the revelation of knowledge of Jesus Christ and the growth
in grace is Something that only God can work in you. It's a revelation. It's a growth that comes by his
By his work in you his working in you to will and to do is in
his good pleasure. I So this admonition or this
desire that Peter is expressing here of growing in grace and
in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is something
that he is praying that God will do in them. And I pray that that's
what God will do in all of us, is that he would grow us in the
grace and in the knowledge of who? Well, not in the Baptist
denomination, You know, not in our country, not in a doctrinal
system, not in some theologian somewhere or some creed or confession
or something like that. But to grow us in the grace and
the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. See, whenever we are
given by God to grow in the grace and the knowledge of our Lord
Jesus Christ. We bring glory. to the Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ, because in growing in grace and knowledge,
the more we know and understand of the Lord, the more that draws
us to Him, to love and to worship Him. The more I read of Scripture,
and I just was discussing this with Brother Tom Armstrong recently,
it's amazing that As long as I've been reading the Bible and
studying the Bible and things like that over the years and
everything that the Lord still verses that just jump out that
I've read over and over and over and over again. He was conveying
the same thing how God had showed him something that from a different
angle and scripture and how. It opened up a whole new thought
and he was thinking about things that he had never thought about
before and had the impact that it has Upon the child of grace
and things and I I was agreeing with him. I said, I know a brother
I said listen, I you know, I read things and I see things and I've
read them over and over and over again But then all of a sudden
the Lord just turns on the light on something that has that's
why we we talk about the scriptures being the living word the living
word and But we have talked about this
kind of stuff that I want to talk about today and everything. We've talked about it over and
over and over and over and over and we've quoted these verses. We've read these verses. We've
applied these verses to so many portions of Scripture because
it's so rich in doctrine. And everything, but I pray that
the Lord would give us a fresh look that he would give us a
Maybe a little more in-depth look at some things this morning
if it would be His will. And I don't get in the way, which
I don't think I can get in the way of God if He wants to reveal
something to you, right? Preacher can't do that. Preacher
can't get you saved. Preacher can't get you knowledge.
And the preacher can't keep you from getting it if God wants
you to have it. So that's why we believe in sovereign
grace. But, back in Ephesians chapter
1, keep in remembrance, we want to grow in the grace and knowledge
of the Lord Jesus Christ. He's going to be the one who's
going to receive the glory forever, right? So, growing in grace and
knowledge. Now, back in Ephesians, this verse has actually been
on my mind for two or three weeks now, and I've just been contemplating
over it. And even this morning, I told
Laura, she came down while I was reading and meditating on the
word and praying this morning. And I said, man, I got some thoughts
this morning. I got quite a few thoughts this
morning. I said, now they're all scattered.
But I said, I got quite a few thoughts. So hopefully the Lord
can somehow reign all that in and will give me the words to
say where it seems to be. that makes sense for your comfort.
But anyway, the phrase that has really the two verses in the
phrase especially is Ephesians 1 verse 7. In whom we have redemption. In whom we have redemption. That
has been a thought on my mind for a couple weeks now. At first,
I was thinking about breaking down just that portion. I may
still go in that direction, but breaking down that on the in
whom, the we, and the redemption. That's a good three-point sermon,
right? For all those out there that like outline sermons. In
whom we have redemption. But I got to look at it even
more this morning. It says, in whom we have redemption
through his blood, the forgiveness of sins. According to the riches
of his grace, wherein he hath abounded towards us in all wisdom
and prudence. So if you notice here, we have
these two things connected again, grace. And wisdom. Knowledge. The word prudence
there, you see that word prudence, does it well know what prudence
is? We don't hardly use that word much anymore, at least I
don't hardly ever hear people doing that. I think some people
may have even named their children prudence, but that's kind of
weird to me, but forgive me if anybody's mother or aunt or somebody
is named prudence or your name is prudence, but this kind of
seems to be a weird name, but the word prudence there, you
know what prudence is? There's a difference between
wisdom and prudence. If you actually look in the dictionary,
it almost says the same thing. It says prudence is wisdom. But
wisdom is having an understanding, not
just a knowledge of something, but to have an understanding
of something, a right understanding of something. And prudence is
to take that understanding with the right application of it.
Or is to take the knowledge that you have and to apply that knowledge. Okay, and that's what prudency
is. So there's a little bit of difference. It's knowledge in
action, basically. Knowledge used to better yourself
or used to help yourself. Okay, now I'm not saying that
spiritual things that we can take this knowledge and help
ourselves promote ourselves or do anything like that. God does
that. God gives us wisdom, but he also
in giving us wisdom, gives us the ability to walk in or to
understand or to live within the wisdom that he's given us.
OK, and so he says here, wherein he hath abounded towards us.
That's another phrase that kind of is different for us because
we don't speak like that today. abounded towards us. What does
abounded towards us mean? Well, if you if you're no kind
of old language, abound towards us means to increase us. It means
to increase us. OK. So it says here, wherein
he hath increased us in all wisdom and prudence, all in all wisdom
and understanding. having made known unto us the
mystery of his will according to his good pleasure which he
had purposed in himself." Now brethren, we were admonished
or at least prayed the desire that God would grow us in the
grace and the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, what
exactly is the grace and is the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ
that we are growing in? All of this has come from the
thoughts that I've had over the last few weeks as it pertained
to the love of God and the effectual love of God bringing forth Christ
Jesus as our Savior. And then last week or the last
week we were together, the last week's message of that the death
of Christ was effectual, that something actually came out of
that. So you have the Father who had
a love for His people, who had a love for His Son, and put those
people in the Son, had brought forth the Son and put those people
in the Son, and the Son redeemed those people and everything.
Then you have the work of the Spirit now coming and doing an
effectual work in us. The effectual work that the spirit
does in this and he does it in his time. He doesn't do it automatically
That was one of the things I told brother Tom when we were talking
about these things, you know there's so many people out there
that thinks as soon as you're born again God downloads into
you all knowledge and understanding and wisdom and that you ought
to be able to go to this word and read anything in this Bible
and immediately understand it and immediately follow it and
immediately and everything because In essence, they're saying that
if you don't have this knowledge, then you're not a believer. You
know, you're not the elect of God. If you don't have the knowledge
that they're teaching you, then you're not the elect of God.
And so basically they're putting knowledge as their savior, as
the linchpin in their gospel. But brethren, we know that we
are growing in the grace and the knowledge. If someone is
growing in the grace and the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ,
that kind of tells me that we don't have it all right. If we're
growing in the grace and the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ,
we've not been given to be able to exhibit or to walk in grace,
and we've not been given knowledge and wisdom about all the things
of Jesus Christ as it pertains to Him. So that means we have
a lifelong time of growing as God instructs us by His Spirit. Now, what are these things? Well,
I believe the things that he's instructing us in is in some
of these things that we find right here before us. What are
the things we're growing in? What are the things that we are
learning of the knowledge that is that is increasing us in? In whom we have redemption. Through
his blood. The forgiveness of sin. According
to the riches of his grace. being made known the mystery
of His will, according to the good pleasure which He hath purposed
in Himself." I mean, and there's lots of other things in here.
I mean, you see all the things that preceded this that happened
in eternity past. We always say eternity past,
whatever eternity is, before time began. Okay? We see all the things that God
has done for us. and we grow in the knowledge
of these things. That's what I'm saying today.
There's some things that I know, but maybe next week the Lord
reveals a little bit more about that and now I know better. Or
things that I think I know now, but next week the Lord brings
repentance to my heart because I was not knowing correctly.
And so God gives me repentance to see, oh, I was wrong and I
changed my direction from thinking this to thinking this. Sanctify
them with the truth. Thy word is truth. God sets us
apart from unbelievers by revealing his word and teaching his word
to us Thereby, we believe it, and when we believe it, we turn
from those false beliefs, those false doctrines, those false
teachings, and those false teachers and churches who are promoting
those things, and we turn to Christ, His teachings, His people,
His churches, And we begin to grow in the grace and the knowledge
of the Lord Jesus Christ. As he gives us that, we turn
from those. That's how he separates us with
the truth or sanctifies us with the truth. He doesn't make us
more holy. He makes us more right thinking about truth. And so we're growing in that
grace. We're growing in the grace of
understanding, the grace of knowledge, the grace of wisdom of how that
word applies in our life. We are growing in those things. Paul said. That he would not
have known what sin was had not the law came in. Well, how did
he grow in the grace in the? grace in the knowledge of the
Lord Jesus Christ. He realized by the revelation of God to him
that his righteousness didn't come from his religious works
that he was doing that all of his works were done before the
Lord and that everything that he did as a religious person
who he thought was serving God was all counted as done and that
what was right or what was just or what was true or what was
holy what was the real righteousness that was to be had was that righteousness
which was imputed to him that the Lord Jesus Christ himself
was and secured for him. So Paul learned that so he grew
in the grace of Jesus Christ. He grew in the knowledge of Jesus
Christ. And that's why we preach the
gospel. That's why we keep going back to Ephesians all the time.
That's why we keep going to Romans all the time, to Galatians all
the time, to Colossians all the time. That's why we keep going
to God's word. God's word tells us about Christ Jesus. And when
the Holy Spirit is pleased to reveal these things to us, then
we grow in our knowledge of these things. You come across the preacher
who thinks he knows it all and has got it all figured out and
doesn't have anything else to learn and doesn't have any room
to grow and he can't be taught anything. You've found somebody
who is full of pride and is self-deceived. The Apostle Paul himself even
said, we look in a glass darkly. He said that, you know, that
that he's still learning and looking for those things and
still reaching for that prize of the high calling of God. He
hasn't attained those things yet. He still is looking. He
still is growing. He still is being taught these
things. But so often we find that men,
as Brother Royce has said, the biggest hindrance to our learning
is what we already know. Because we're set in it. Well,
I've already learned that. I already know that. Well, I've
already, you know, oh, well, you can't tell me anything. I've
memorized that whole entire chapter or book of the Bible. I know
that. Well, we can't learn. Why? Because we think we've already
learned it. There's nothing else to learn.
Well, brethren, the Bible says that we have been given to grow
in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, but also
to increase in all wisdom and understanding or prudence. Now, let's look at this a little
bit. In whom we have redemption. Whenever we talk about this phrase,
who is the we here in whom we have redemption. Now whenever
I turn on the TV, or walk into a Christian bookstore, or whenever
I turn on Christian radio station, start flipping through the dials
or anything, and I find Christian preaching somewhere, almost without
doubt, you're always going to find somebody who is telling
you that this includes everyone, that we all have had redemption
in His blood. Now, taking into account of the
last two weeks of what we've learned from God's Word, and
not from man's lips, and I pray what I preach was not from my
lips, but from God's Word, but from what we've learned over
the last couple of weeks, that salvation has an effect. If we say the we includes everyone,
then everyone is the recipient of that effectual work. What
do I mean by that? That means that salvation wasn't
an offer. Salvation was an actual act. Christ actually saved people
by His life, death, and resurrection. He actually saved them. And He
saved them, or as we see the word here, redeemed them. He actually redeemed them from
something. And in redeeming them from something,
they also take part in an inheritance and are recipients of the gifts
and the blessings that come by being the child who has been
redeemed. So if Christ has redeemed all
then all are the recipients of the gifts of what happened in
salvation. But see, that's the problem with
most preachers and people out there today. And I'm not saying
I'm the only one and this church is the only one. There are those
out there. There's not very many, but there are some out there.
There are a lot of brother and sister and out there that don't
even have congregations that are out there that believe these
truths. But brethren, What's being said
out there is that salvation is something that Christ did so
that it can be offered to you. Well, if something is made an
offer to you, what is the final thing that enacts the receiving
of all that's within that salvation? If it's an offer and it's offered
to everybody, what is it that actually is the Final signature
that makes it all happen. Yourself. Your own will. Your own choice. Your own decision. You know? I remember as an Armenian,
lots of times, especially at kids camp, singing, I have decided
to follow Jesus. I have decided to follow Jesus.
Though none go with me, still I will follow. That's the deciding factor. That's
the deciding factor. If salvation is an offer, then
your will is the deciding factor. But the Bible doesn't say that.
It says, in whom we have redemption. Not in you, we have redemption. And so therefore, the we here
doesn't include everybody because not everybody are the recipients
of the effects of the gospel. Or excuse me, the effects of the redemption, of the salvation. See, as we talked about last
week, some of the effects of Christ dying was that number
one, that in that dying that men were justified. Everyone
for whom Christ died, the Bible says, was justified before God. That means that their sin is
no longer accounted to them. It means that they were reconciled
to God. That means that they are no longer
enemies towards God. That they are coming to Christ
Jesus, as He said in John, that they will come to Me. They will
believe on Me. They will hear My words. They
will believe My words. They will love the brethren.
They will love God. These are the effectual things
that salvation brought to them. Not just the legal doing away
with the law and the condemnation that we had of the law. That
was part of salvation. Everyone for whom Christ died,
the condemnation of the law is now removed from us. That's propitiation. The wrath of God is removed from
us. So if you're under the blood of Jesus Christ, if Jesus died
for you, then that has been removed. Because the blood of Jesus has
cleansed us from all unrighteousness. The blood of Jesus has forgiven
us of all of our sin. That our iniquity is removed.
That there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus
whose blood was shed for them. So if Jesus died for everybody,
that effect is in effect for them. So therefore, if anybody
is in hell, that person never was underneath that salvation. because they could not be there,
because God will be unjust to send anybody to hell for whom
Christ died, because Christ paid the full penalty and God said
that that price is satisfying. My justice is satisfied. Isaiah
53, we read it the last time we were together. By my righteous
servant, He will justify the many. By the travail of His soul,
I am satisfied. See, He's not satisfied when
you choose Him or decide for Him or your free will comes to
Him. That's not whenever He decides.
That's not whenever He justifies you. That's not whenever He changes
His mind and takes His wrath away. That's not whenever he all of
a sudden now is satisfied with justice. No, he was satisfied
with the fact that Christ is your Redeemer. That's what he's
satisfied. And that's only what he's satisfied.
That means all your works that you could ever do is not going
to satisfy him. The redemption is in whom and
the in whom died for the we. So the we here is speaking of
the elect of God. Look, if you would, at the very
first verse there. Who is this letter written to?
To the saints which are at Ephesus and to the faithful in Christ
Jesus. It's written to all the saints
of God, not just in Ephesus, because it includes all the faithful
in Christ Jesus. If you're a child of grace, every
child of grace, every one of them, However many there is,
the Bible says that your children will be as sands of the seashore.
There's going to be many of them. I don't think there's going to
be a gazillion, trillion, trillion. I don't think it's a one for
one for every piece of sand that's out there in the world that there's
an elect of God. God's using that as an illustration
that as you see all this sand, that's a lot of sand. Well, there's
going to be a lot of my people. There's going to be a lot, OK?
There's going to be a lot of us out there. So from Adam until
the end, however many children of God that God's seed has been
scattered throughout all this world that he is gathering together. Every one of them. Is who is talking about here? The
faithful in Christ Jesus, every one of them are faithful because
Christ is faithful. They're not faithful because
Christ is faithful in them to make them now faithful. No, they
are faithful because the account of Christ's faithfulness is laid
to their ledger in their account book. They never was and never
will be doing any righteousness. They are righteous by imputation,
by decree. By the Word of God declaring
them to be so. Not because they actually are
so. You understand what I mean? See, it isn't in their actual
doing. It's in His doing. But His doing is laid to their
account. Therefore, they are called righteous.
They are called faithful. They are called holy because
He is holy. Not because he is holy, working
holiness in them, so that now outwardly they are holy people.
Not because he's working righteousness in them, so that they work righteousness
outwardly, and now they're called righteous people. Because Paul
makes that also very clear, that this flesh can produce nothing
that is acceptable unto God, and that all of the righteousnesses
of us are filthy rags. So it is not in the action. It's in the declaration. The
declaration is what we have just as Christ was declared to be
a sinner on our behalf. He never was. Does anybody think
Jesus ever sinned? I know that there are some people
that said that He became a sinner. I disagree with that wholeheartedly. He became a sinner in name And
in substitution, but he did not actually physically, spiritually
or any other way become a sinner other than by imputation. So
just as much as Christ has not been made a sinner by impartation,
you have not been made righteous by impartation. That's the we. The we are them. Therefore, this
we cannot pertain to everybody. It only pertains to the children
of God. Well, who are the children of
God? We'll look at verse 3. Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual
blessings in heavenly places in Christ. according as He hath
chosen us in Him." Now, when was that? The time that you knelt
at the old-fashioned altar and you gave your heart to Jesus?
You bowed your knee and made Him Lord of your life? You called
upon His name? You sang so many lines of a worship
song that the Holy Spirit brought it on down. When did Christ bless you or
when were you blessed with all spiritual blessings? Redemption
being one of them and in redemption we have justification. I know some people like to put
that out here as another category Or at least they try to separate
these things, but it says all spiritual blessings. Romans 8
says that we were foreknown, foreloved, predestinated, called, justified, glorified. These are all the spiritual blessings.
When were these spiritual blessings given to us, not just declared,
but given to us? Wherein we stand, wherein we
have always stood. Verse 4, everyone just read it
together. According as He hath chosen us
in Him before the foundation of the world. It was before the
foundation of the world, brethren. That's the importance of the
in whom. If you are not in the whom, these
are not for you. These will not be given to you.
And that is by God's grace, and grace alone, and those who do
not receive these, that is by God's sovereign act alone. He
is the potter and we are the clay. in whom we have redemption. But notice if you would. He says, having made known unto
us the mystery of His will according to the good pleasure which He
hath purposed in Himself. What is the mystery of His will
and what is the purpose that is in Himself? That seems to
kind of be a kind of a mysterious thing to say. But notice, if
you would, he's already said it once. He says in verse five,
having predestinated us to the adoption of children by the Jesus
by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will. OK, so now we see twice according
to the good pleasure of his will. which He has purposed in Himself.
So God has a purpose in Himself and by Him. His purpose didn't
come because somebody encouraged Him in it. Didn't give it to
Him. You know, sometimes somebody
comes to me and they give me an idea. And I'm like, hey, that's
a pretty good idea. I'm going to put that into play. You know? Well, who is the source
of that? Well, someone could say, well,
you were Mike because you're the one who did all the action.
Well, no, no, actually, it was God or actually it was the person
who gave me the idea. He was the one whose purpose
it was. I just did that purpose. God
here has no one telling him what to do or how to do it or encouraging
him. And he is not compelled by anybody. It isn't because of His great
love for us that, oh, this ooey-gooey love, now I'm just so compelled.
No. He loved us intently because
His purpose was to glorify Himself. We just read that. That we might
grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. To
whom be glory forever. To whom be glory forever. Okay? To glorify Himself in the person
of Jesus Christ. God and all the fullness of the
Godhead indwelt in Christ Jesus. God had purpose before the foundation
of the world to glorify Himself by coming and inhabiting humanity
and by displaying all of who He is in the face of Jesus Christ. He did that at the cross. All of redemption is wrapped
up in the Whom. All of the we who are the recipients
of that are the recipients because of the Whom. In Whom. Look with me as we go down through
here again. Blessed be the God and Father
of the Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us all with all spiritual
blessings in Christ. In Whom. according as He hath
chosen us in Him." In whom? "...before the foundation of
the world, that we should be holy and without blame, before Him
in love, having predestinated us unto the adoption of children
by Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of our will,
to the praise and glory of His grace, wherein He hath made us
accepted in the Beloved." In whom? In whom we have redemption through
his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches
of his grace. Wherein if he hath bounded towards
us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known unto us the
mystery of the will, according to his good pleasure which he
hath purposed in himself. In whom? that in the dispensation
of the fullness of time he might gather together in one all things
in Christ in whom both which are in heaven and which are in
earth even in him in whom verse 11 in whom also we have obtained
an inheritance being predestinated according to the purpose of him
who worketh all things at the counsel of his own will that
we should be to the praise of the of his glory who first trusted
in christ in whom ye also trusted after that ye heard the word
of truth the gospel of your salvation In whom also, after that ye believed,
ye were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, which is the
earnest of our inheritance, until the redemption of the purchased
possession, unto the praise of His glory. You see all those in whom's? Who are the recipients of God's
grace, God's mercy, God's love, God's salvation? the in whom
people. The people of the in whom, if
you would have it. The people of God, the people
of Christ Jesus, His seed, His children, His brethren, His beloved. See, we are accepted in the beloved,
He Himself being the first beloved, and all His seed that come out
of Him are the beloved. We who are the children of God
that are gathered here today, If we be His, we are the Beloved. But we are only the Beloved because
we are the offspring of the Beloved. And because we are in Him, we have redemption through His
blood. See? Now, some will say, well, you're
kind of stretching that a few ways to Sunday there, preacher. Turn with me to Romans 9, another
passage that we go to often. I can prove that this purpose
that God has is not a purpose of a plan. God's purpose wasn't
to have a plan of salvation. God's purpose was not to have
an offer of salvation. or a way to salvation, his purpose
was to save. And his purpose to save backs
all the way up because he had a people to save, a specific
people to save. Matter of fact, the complete
purpose of God can be wrapped up in that theological and biblical
word, election. The purpose of God was to elect
a people to be for the praise of His glory. And in doing so, the rest of
mankind was elected by God to the praise of His justice and
wrath. In Romans chapter 9, we read, In verse 11, for the children
being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the
purpose of God according to election might stand. See, the purpose
of God and all that it inhabits, all that it entails, all that
it includes is according to election. Some will say it's according
to love. Well, love is definitely wrapped up in that. Because God,
in His love, elected a people. Not again in that ooey-gooey
love. It was a determinative love. I have determined to set
a love on a people, therefore I am electing to do this. The purpose of God according
to election is to magnify Himself, is to glorify Himself. And He's
doing that by placing Himself in Christ Jesus, and in Christ
Jesus coming to be our substitute to redeem us from sin. And in
redeeming us from sin, we see the full panoply of God's characteristics. His mercy, His grace, His love,
His compassion, His righteousness, His justice, His holiness, His
hatred. We see all the things displayed
at once in the work that He does on our behalf on the cross. But
it goes on to say this, He says, verse 21, half not the potter
power over the clay, of the same lump to make one
vessel unto honor and another unto dishonor?" Now that's a
cut and dry question. Does not God as the potter have
the right to make out of one lump one person unto honor and
one person unto dishonor? You have to either answer that
yes or no. You realize that. Now, of course, Paul, under the
inspiration of the Holy Spirit, wrote this not as an option for
you to choose or to choose otherwise. He wrote this because there's
only one answer in this because God makes this answer very clear
back in the Old Testament because Paul is quoting the Old Testament
where God says that he is the potter and we are the clay and
that he can do with us whatever he wants to do. So when Paul
is asking this, he is not asking you to make an informed decision
or some academic decision or some heart string felt decision
that Does God make some people for dishonor? Well, I don't feel
God would do that. I don't feel God would make somebody
for destruction. God wouldn't fit somebody just
for destruction. I don't feel like that. Well,
that's why Paul is asking this question, because he is bringing
you to the realization and to the confrontation that the Holy
Bible God's Word, Him breathed out these words in the Old Testament,
has already told you that He is the potter and that He will
do with His people whatever He wants to do with His people.
Whether He makes them a lump of clay that is for honorable
use or a lump of clay that is made for dishonorable use. He has that right. Who art thou,
O man, who replyeth unto God, and saith, Why hast thou made
me thus? Hath the thing form rights over
the potter? I don't think so. He says, Hath
not the potter power over the clay of the same lump to make
one vessel unto honour, and another unto to make? I mean, Brother
Tom was also discussing this. The fallacy that we see in a
lot of reformed circles that claim that reprobation is a passive
thing. That God passively reprobates
people. And they say that they fit themselves
for destruction. That's not what this scripture
right here says. Matter of fact the very context that says the
vessels of wrath fitted and I know there are some people that go
back They say well the Greek construction right there and
the grammar there means that they fitted themselves for destruction.
Well brethren I'm all for Learning and much as you can about everything
that you can but brethren whenever this Knowledge beyond what's
laid out for us right here is is in contradiction to not only
the immediate context that we're reading, but is in contrariness
to the rest of Scripture, then I've got to say, then your understanding
of the Greek and the understanding of the grammar must be wrong,
because this right here is contradicting other places in Scripture. But
the context here makes it very plain. What did God say? Hath
not the potter power over the clay of the same lump to make
one vessel unto honor, and even though it doesn't say the word
make, the word make is assumed there in the way that it reads,
and to make another unto dishonor. But if you don't like that, back
up to the very place that he was at the very beginning of
our reading. The two children, having not
been born, having not done any good or evil, that the purpose
of God according to the election of the Son, God chose one and
He hated the other. He didn't passively hate the
other. He didn't love less the other. It said that He hated
the other. That means that He despised the
other and that other will be the object of His hatred, which
is His wrath. That's the dishonor part. They
would be children of dishonor. These will be children of honor. He goes on to say, what if God,
willing to show His wrath, and God is willing to show His wrath.
We know He's willing to show His wrath. It's all over the
Bible. So this isn't a guess about it. We know that God is willing to
show His wrath. That's why he made those for
dishonor. That's why he said that he raised
up those false teachers for their condemnation. That's why he raised
up Pharaoh, so that he could show his power in Pharaoh. He raised him up for that dishonorable
thing. What if God, willing to show
His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering
the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction, that He might make known the
riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy which He had aforeprepared
unto glory? You see that? When were the vessels
of mercy prepared? Afore? Afore prepared. What's afore mean? Before. I mean, that's basically an old
way of saying before. Well, is that not what Ephesians
said? That He has chosen us in Christ Jesus before the world
began? that He has called us with a
holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His
purpose, what's His purpose? Election, and grace, the giving
of that, all spiritual blessings, where? In heavenly places, before
the world began. He says in verse that he might
make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy
which he had foreprepared unto glory, even us whom he hath called,
not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles." Let's go back
to Ephesians if you would. I want to make a couple more thoughts
here. I went in a completely different
direction than I intended to go. It seems to be where the
Lord wanted it to go. Let's look back at our passage here.
In whom we have redemption. But notice, brethren, where that
redemption is from. The redemption is through His
blood. Redemption isn't through your
working or your efforts or your law keeping. It's not through
your right living. It's not in your adherence to
anything. even the admonitions of the New
Testament. It's not according to any commandment,
whether it's Old Testament or whether it's New Testament, your
redemption doesn't come through you and something that you do.
Your redemption is and always will be by His blood. Notice if you would, redemption
isn't something that you're going to get. Now, again, just like
the word salvation, There are different ways that we speak
of being saved, okay? There's a legal sense in which
we are saved. There's an experiential aspect in which we are saved,
not as the conditionalists preach. An experiential way in which
we buy also God's sovereign will and work in us, brings us to
a right understanding of Him, But there's also this word redemption. See, one of these days there's
going to be a redemption of the body. OK, there's going to be
a redemption of the body. That means that this body is
going to go to the dust and become dust again from where it came
from and that a new body that has been prepared for us, a spiritual
body, will then inhabit that new man that is already in this
old body that is going to go back to the dust. Now that will
be the redemption of the body. But brethren, we're talking about
the redemption as it speaks as far as the legal standing before
God. Our redemption, our being brought
back to God in a legal sense in where we can come back before
God as His children. That redemption is in blood.
It's not in anything that we do. It's in blood. But notice
if you would, the word have. in whom we have redemption. We already have it now. See,
for those who think that salvation is this decision that you make
and then a lifelong adherence to God and His Word, or a faithfulness
of your walk and your actions, You know, a lot of people, they'll
go to that Bible verse that says, uh, it says that, uh, those who
endure to the end shall be saved. Right? And therefore they apply
this. Therefore, there is, if you get
to the end of your life and you've walked away that hasn't been
in accordance to God's word, then you can't, you're not going
to be saved. You've made a lip for profession,
but you've not made a real You didn't have real possession because
if you had a real possession, you would have walked accordingly. That's what they say. Those who
endure to the end shall be saved. It's just the opposite, brethren.
Those who are saved endure to the end. That's what that is
actually conveying. Those who are saved are the ones
who endure. Whenever you get to the end and
you see those ones who have continued by faith to look to Jesus Christ
as their righteousness, and their hope has been in Him and Him
alone and not in their righteousness, Those people have endured through
all the things of this world, through the outward pressures
of the world, the outward pressures of Satan, of the inward pressures
of their sin, the inward pressures of their own self-righteousness,
to tell them, by golly, you're good enough. all of those things that are
pressing upon them, but yet through it all, the Lord, by His grace
and by His Spirit, endures them to the end to keep looking unto
Jesus, the author and the finisher of their faith. They're the ones who have been
saved. See, the ones who have not been
saved, they fall by the wayside like those of the Galatian churches
who begin to look away and look back into the works salvation. Those who the Judaizers had overcome
and convinced them that, oh yeah, it's by Jesus, but you've got
to keep walking like Jesus or you ain't going to be with Jesus. No, it says that we have redemption. We have redemption. In whom we
have, we have, we have. Not we're earning. Not we're
waiting on. We have redemption. We possess
redemption. Well, preacher, how can you say
that? Because Paul already told us that just a few verses above
that. We've been blessed with all the
spiritual blessings in heavenly places. In whom? In Him. In the Beloved. In Christ. We've been blessed with all those
spiritual blessings. That redemption. Though it had
not yet come upon the cross yet and had not bled and died, every
one for whom Christ had been given by the Father before the
foundation of the world, every one of those saints that preceded
the cross of Jesus Christ had redemption because it was accounted
unto them as the blessings of God was given to them in the
eternal and vital union of Christ Jesus, our substitute and surety. They had salvation and there
was no way that they would ever, ever, ever not come into that
inheritance. There is never no way ever, ever,
ever that they were going to miss being in the number of coming
unto Christ, of being one of His. their salvation was just as secure
as every one of us who look back to the cross whose salvation
is secure and brethren even though the grounds and the work was
when Christ died on that cross that is what paid the purchase
price The declaration was for the foundation of the world.
And God said that He has declared all things after the counsel
of His own will. And that they are His works.
And His works from the end to the beginning was all declared
before the foundation of the world. And He knows those works.
And He accounts those things that are not as though they were.
And brethren, even though we today
walk, sometimes we don't look like it, we don't act like it,
we don't talk like it. And listen, I can tell you from
my own experience, sometimes I don't think like it. We have
redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins if we
are His. all right that's all i've got
this morning anybody got any comments or any questions or
corrections rebukes or anything the lord wills maybe i'll take
that in the direction i intended this morning but uh It's a beautiful
thing to see a finished salvation, brethren. Just in what I just
said about the half part, there are a lot of people that believe
that you can lose your salvation. That you can lose your salvation.
I know a lot of the Pentecostals and the Charismatics and the
non-denominational people, the Free Will Baptists denomination,
There are a lot of denominations out there. Listen, I would say
knowing the doctrines of the majority of the churches here
in town, there are the majority of the churches here in town
believe you can lose your salvation. They teach that, that if you
don't keep up a certain performance, that you can lose your salvation.
Well, that goes against what that just said, brother. See,
that's why this is comfort to God's people. The word of God
is It's comfort to us. That's why I encourage you guys
listen read this You won't believe You won't believe how blessed
the Lord can bless you when you're reading his word read his word
Most of times we take this thing We don't see it until next week
whenever the preacher says get your Bible out and turn to whatever
And yeah, I don't I'm not saying you have to carry this around.
I don't carry this around I mean this thing right here Most of
the time it sits right here on that thing over there. I have
a Bible on my phone. I've kind of come into the new
age. Now there is something about opening it up and actually looking
at it because I like to mark things down. You don't have to
actually carry your Bible everywhere you go, but open that thing up
on your phone or your tablet or whatever you got. Open up
God's Word and look at it. Get you a little Bible app or
something that you can Look at what's being said and do word
studies. Look that word up. Find out where
it's used everywhere else. See how God speaks to you and
everything. You never know how the Lord's
going to teach you and everything. But we get that comfort from
here. Whenever that says we have redemption, that tells me just
in those two words, we have. I can't lose my salvation. Why?
Because I have redemption. I have it already. It's not waiting
for me for my performance to be scrutinized at the end, I
have it now, already. That's because the false gospels
of this world base salvation upon works. And true salvation
is by a finished work of Christ alone. That's the difference,
brethren. It's not me preaching against
this church over here and that church over there and that church.
It's not me saying that my church is better than anybody else's
church. It's not me saying that I'm the only preacher that has
truth and you need to listen to me, follow me, and do what
I tell you to do. It's not about that. It is proclaiming
and declaring what God's Word has said, the truth, and exposing
that which is false. That has inundated all of our
ears. I would say every one of us.
I don't know anybody in here Not one of us in here from listening
to everyone's experience in here. Not one person in here has grown
up under sovereign grace preaching I wasn't you wasn't brother larry
and all them wasn't none of us was nobody Our children even
wasn't there was a period of time. They were under all my
false teaching Okay, so not one of us can claim that now There
are some people that's been blessed to grow up under True gospel
teaching their whole entire lives, but all of us in here have it,
right? So what a blessing it is to be
able to see that and to contrast and declare this truth and Expose
this error because all of us are ingrained with it We're ingrained
with this error and it's just blasted on TV and radio and everywhere
you go the signs that are out, you know It's just amazing So,
anyway, I'm gonna keep rambling. All right, anybody have anything
to like to say or anything? Continue to pray for my family
and thank you for those who are joining in on the broadcast and
everything. Thank you for all the prayers
and the comments that were sent to us on the passing of my stepmom.
Continue to pray for all my family, my dad and my stepsister especially.
But thank you for that. Continue to pray for Brother
Len Terry and everything. And anybody else? My Aunt Judy, yeah, she was supposed
to have surgery on Tuesday and ended up not being able to do
that. So continue to pray for her. She's in a lot of pain most
often times. So continue to pray for my Aunt
Judy. Anybody else that I'm missing? All right. All right, let's pray. Father, thank you again for all
that you've done for us. We thank you for the word of
God and for Christ Jesus, who has come as the final word on
all things. We thank you for salvation that's
in him. We thank you for the redemption that came from it.
We thank you, Father, for the comfort and the peace and the
joy that you give to us by your spirit as we reflect and remember
and declare it. Father Lord, I pray that you
have spoke and ministered to your people. I pray the things
that I've said today has been in truth. And Lord, I just pray
that you might be with all these brethren as they leave today,
that you might keep them safe, that you might grow them in the
grace and the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. May their
hunger and desire be given to know you and know you more. In
Christ's name that we pray, amen.