The Bible Baptist Church, located
at 2015 Bula Road in Madisonville, Kentucky, would like to invite
you to listen to a message of the sovereign grace of God in
the Lord Jesus Christ by their pastor, David Edmondson. I hear a lot of talk in religious
circles today about decisions. Has God's salvation been reduced
to a decision made by the center? I hear people say that they've
decided to follow Jesus, that they've decided to trust him.
People say that they've decided to make Jesus Lord. They have decided to give him
their heart. Folks have decided to let Jesus
have his way. Sinners have decided to let him
save them. In the Old Testament book of
Joel, we have a prophecy from the prophet Joel of God's judgment
on all the idol-worshiping nations at the time of the Jews' conversion. However, this prophecy has further
reference to the great redemption, the great salvation wrought out
for his people by the Lord Jesus Christ. But this prophecy also
forewarns the unbelieving of that great day of judgment, where
every sinner will stand before God and give an account for their
sin. That day is coming. God promised that that day would
come. Joel, The prophet paints a very
vivid picture of that terrible day of the Lord. It's called
just that, terrible, a terrible day of the Lord. In Joel chapter
two, verse 31, Joel prophesies and tells us, the sun shall be
turned into darkness and the moon into blood before the great
and the terrible day of the Lord come. Terrible day. How terrible and dreadful is
the thought of standing before God and giving an account for
your sins. I can think of nothing more terrible
and dreadful than that. Why? Because I'm guilty of so
much sin. You see, sin is not just what
I do. Sin is what I am. And we can fast forward a bit
in the book of Joel to the third chapter, verse 14, and we read
these words. Now listen very carefully. This
is very, very important. Joel chapter three, verse 14.
says multitudes multitudes in the valley of decision for the
day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. Now we live in a religious world
in this religious world. Everybody is talking about making
a decision for Jesus. Since it seems to be so prevalent
in the salvation of sinners, I wanted to know something more
about these decisions that preachers tell us that we must make. So
I opened up my concordance and I searched the Bible for the
word decision. Did you know that the word decision
only appears two times in the whole Bible? And both times,
It's used right here in Joel chapter three, verse 14. Recently,
I was made aware that a church in our community posted on their
social media page that they had nearly 50 decisions made on one
recent Sunday morning. Each day after that for over
a week, they would post Another decision made. Religion. Religion, more times than not,
refers to salvation as a decision. A decision that the sinner makes. But sinners do not decide to
be saved. Sinners don't even get saved. God saves them. You see, for
me to claim that I got saved infers that I did something to
merit, earn, or deserve my salvation. Do men and women really think
that they can do something to save themselves? Men and women
claim to exercise their will. That's what making a decision
is. They decide to exercise their will to let God save them. Now there is a decision involved
in man's salvation, but it's not man's decision. It's a decision
that God made before the world was ever framed. You and I were
not there. So you and I didn't make the
decision. It was the purpose of God, according
to election. The purpose of God, according
to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth. God hath from the beginning,
the beginning of eternity, chosen you to salvation. God made a
decision. God did some choosing. God, through
sanctification of the spirit and belief of the truth, saved
those whom he determined decided to save. Now that word sanctification,
it's a big word, but it simply means to set apart. God has decided
to set some sinners apart, not all, for if he did, all would
be saved. And the Greek word translated
sanctification means holiness, to sanctify a sinner means to
make holy. It means to make that sinner
holy. Before the foundation of the
world, God decided. God made a decision to set some
chosen sinners apart for himself and make them holy. That's what
the Bible teaches. And that's exactly what Paul
tells believers in Ephesians chapter one, verse four, he says,
according as he had chosen us in him, in Christ, before the
foundation of the world, that we should be holy, sanctified,
and without blame before him in love. Men and women believe
in what they call progressive sanctification. They believe
that sinners can decide to make themselves better. And I'm telling
you, that's just a term where self-righteous men and women
find opportunity to brag on their imagined improvement. And that's all it is, just imagined
improvement. If God makes you holy, if God
sanctifies you, then you're not only holy, but you're perfectly
holy. And you cannot improve upon perfection. If God sets you apart, then you
cannot be progressively set further apart. You cannot become more
perfect. You cannot progressively get
better. God does the decision-making
in the sinner salvation. God determined, God decided,
God chose to save a certain people with no outside influence, only
by his own sovereign will and purpose of grace. That's what
Samuel the prophet said. He said, it pleased the Lord
to make you his people. Our Lord Jesus Christ said, O
father, Lord of heaven and earth, thou has hid these things from
the wise and the prudent and has revealed them unto babes. Why? Why has God revealed the
mysteries of godliness to sinners? Christ said, even so father,
it seemed good in thy sight. It pleased him to do so. Apart from anything in a center,
God sets the center apart. God picked, God chose, God elected,
and God decided to set apart those to whom He would show mercy. These were of His choosing, and
God decided to conform these chosen centers to the perfect
image of His Son. That's what Paul writes in Romans
8. Verse 29, for whom he did foreknow, he did also predestinate,
he predetermined, he determined beforehand for them to be conformed
to the image of his son. Sinner, will you give the credit
for your salvation to whom that credit is due? Or will you keep
trusting in the decision that you've made? Notice that this
valley to which the multitude, this multitude has come, is a
valley of decision. Not a valley of decisions, plural,
but a valley of decision, singular. You see, there's really only
one decision that's going to be made. Just one. God's. Not yours, not mine, not
ours, but God's. This is the Valley of God's decision. Notice that this day is fast
approaching. It says for the day of the Lord
is near in the Valley of decision. The Valley of decision friends
is the Valley of judgment. Now the scriptures are very clear.
It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this, the judgment. This is that judgment. That's
what Joel is prophesying of. That terrible day of the Lord,
when all men and women will stand before God and given an account
of the things done in their body. This is that judgment and it's
taking place where? in the valley of decision. You know, death is not final.
Someone recently said to me that they did not believe in heaven
or hell. They said that they believed
that when they died, that was it for them, that it was over.
No, it's not. It is appointed unto men once
to die, but after this, the judgment. Here's the proof of life after
death. It is here where eternal life or eternal judgment awaits
sinners. Eternal life with Christ or eternal
judgment in a place called hell. An outer darkness where there's
eternal torment, the weeping and the gnashing of teeth. And
God is the one who decides. Has he chosen you in Christ and
brought you to a saving knowledge of him? Or has he decided to
let you have your own way? Which will it be for you? You
see, there is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end
thereof are the ways of death. And why do men and women insist
on having a part in their redemption? Well, it's because that's what
they've been taught. That's what's being taught in
churches all over this city, this state, this nation, and
this world. But that's not what the Bible
teaches. Men and women believe that by their decision, they
have saved themselves. Men believe in that old cast
a vote theology. Have you ever heard that? God
cast his vote for you, Satan cast his vote against you, and
the deciding vote is yours to make. Only one thing wrong with
that. It's not so. And this is where
the real problem lies. The unsaved sinner is dead. Those who are dead and trespasses
in sin have no life, no choice, No decision, no salvation, unless
life is given to them by God. That's what the Lord Jesus told
Nicodemus. He said in John chapter three,
verse seven, marvel not that I said unto thee, you must be
born again. We hear a lot about reformation
in our day. That word reform means to improve
or to make better. When there's a young troubled
child, he's sent to what is called reform school, a place to where
he is taught to do better. Reformation means to improve
myself or make myself better. If reformation is that, then
I'm in serious trouble. I don't need reformation. What
I need is a perfect righteousness. And I'll be completely honest
with you, friends. I surely can't find any hope
of eternal life and trying to make myself better. For even
if I could, and I can't, but even if I could make myself better,
God requires perfection. No, I don't need reformation. I need regeneration. I need a
new birth. I don't need to get my heart
right I need a new heart that is right. The lost sinner doesn't
need to change their way. They need to change their God.
I don't need to make myself better. I need to be made perfect. You
see, reproving and refining oneself cannot bring about eternal life.
Sinners don't need reformation. They need to be made a new creation
in Christ. 2 Corinthians 5, 17. And our
Lord said in a most insistent way, ye must, you must be born
again. You see, dead folks can make
no decisions. They have to first be given life.
Paul wrote that natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit
of God. Why? Because he's dead. You see, the things of God are
spiritually discerned and men and women are spiritually dead
so that they cannot receive or understand the things of the
spirit of God. But one says, my son decided
to quit drinking and to give up a life of crime. Another says,
my daughter decided to get her life straight. She decided to
let Jesus into her heart. She decided to join the church.
She's decided to get involved in the things of God. Doesn't
that sound to you preacher like she got saved? No, it sounds
to me like she's made a lot of decisions, but these decisions
do not save. Salvation is a decision that
only God can make. And God, speaking of his glory
in the salvation of sinners, said to Moses, I'll be gracious
to whom I'll be gracious and will show mercy on whom I'll
show mercy. Sounds to me like salvation is
God's decision. But preacher Joshua said, choose
this day whom you will serve. Yeah, and who was he talking
to? He was talking to the very same ones who were hiding in
their tents and secretly worshiping idols. Choose this day means
if you insist on worshiping your dead idols instead of the living
God, you're going to die. Lost center. If you want to make
a decision, then you better decide with God against yourself. If
you don't, then you decide to die. And that's the only thing
that you can decide. God decides if you live, and
you decide if you die. That day on Mount Carmel, Elijah
the prophet asked, how long halt ye between two opinions, two
thoughts? If the Lord be God, follow him. But if Baal be God, then follow
him. And what Elijah is saying here
is, you better follow God. you better choose the right one.
Elijah said, you call upon your little G God, and I'll call on
the name of the Lord, and the God that answereth by fire, the
God that answers by fire and consumes the sacrifice, let him
be God. And all the people answered and
said, it's well spoken. What they said was, Elijah, that's
a good idea. We'll make our decision as soon
as we see what happens. Elijah, we will believe you when
we see the consuming of the sacrifice. We'll choose then, then we'll
make our decision. But then it may be too late.
The day of the Lord cometh as a thief in the night, the day
of judgment, that day of the Lord has often been mentioned
to be nigh at hand. Enoch said, behold, the Lord
cometh as though he was already standing at the door. And that
day is coming, friends, and it's coming by appointment. God hath
appointed it. We all have an appointment with
death, and we all have an appointment to attend this great meeting
of God in the Valley of Decision. It will not be an invitation
with an RSVP. No, God is going to gather a
multitude that no man can number. And it is there that he's going
to judge the quick and the dead. He's going to judge those who
are quickened, made alive in Christ. And he's going to judge
those who are still dead and their trespasses and sin. Those
who have been given life will have nothing to fear. Why? Because
the judge that they stand before is the very one who died for
them. This day of judgment is a day of decision, the day when
every man and woman's eternal state will be determined. That
day when every living soul will receive what is due them according
to the things which they've decided to do in this body of flesh. Does anybody really believe that
they can satisfy a holy God by a work of righteousness that
they do? Our righteousness is as filthy rags. Has God yet shown
you what you are? In this valley of decision, God
has decided there's gonna be a separation. a separating of
the wheat and the tares, a separation of the sheep and the goats, and
multitudes, multitudes are gathered together to hear the final verdict. In that day of which Joel prophesies,
speaking of the trial of sinners, the judge has come to a decision.
In verse 15 of Joel 3 says, the sun and the moon shall be darkened
and the stars shall withdraw their shining. You see those
who are under the wrath of God shall be cut off from every comfort,
every joy, even the comfort, the warmth and enjoyment of the
sun, moon and stars. No need for this light in the
darkness of hell. But then God is finished. He'll
no longer strive with men. And this is the day that every
sinner's destiny is decided by God. Verse 16 says, the Lord
also shall roar out of Zion and utter his voice from Jerusalem. O sinner, does that sound like
the Lord softly and tenderly calling? No, sir, he's roaring
out of Zion, the mountain of Jerusalem, referring to his throne
on high. He's roaring from his throne.
Christ, the silent lamb, is now the roaring lion of Judah. Notice
the language here. He shall utter his voice. None will receive the verdict
from another. This verdict comes directly from
the mouth of God. He gives his voice to the decision. And that's what a verdict is.
It's a decision by the judge. And those of you who are yet
without Christ, it'll be the voice of God that declares you
to be guilty. The verdict found upon those
who have rejected Christ comes from the mouth of God and God
says, guilty. and the heavens and the earth
shall shake." God's voice of verdict would terribly shake
both heaven and earth. This is God. All will most certainly
hear the decision of this just and holy judge. The Lord said
in that day, He's speaking of the same day of judgment. He
said, many are gonna say unto me, Lord, Lord, in thy name we've
done many wonderful works. Isn't that amazing? Even in that
day, many multitudes are going to claim, even then, to have
done something wonderful for God to take notice of. Haven't
we done? Haven't we done? Look at what
we've done. Look at the decisions that we've
made. We made good decisions. What did Christ say? I never
knew you. I knew you made a decision, but
you never trusted me. I know that you decided to live
right, but you never lived for me. I know that you decided to
join the church. I know you decided to sing in
the choir. I know you decided to teach Sunday school. You made
a lot of decisions, but I never knew you. You were never mine. Yes, friends, the heavens and
the earth shall shake. Men and women will begin to shake
and tremble also. They will when they see that
their so-called work of righteousness were nothing but works of ignorance,
for they decided to try to establish their own righteousness. You
can never provide the perfect righteousness that God requires.
My righteousness and yours are nothing but filthy rags." Well,
preacher, this is not a very uplifting message. Well, I beg
to differ. Verse 16, the Lord also shall
roar out of Zion and utter his voice from Jerusalem and the
heavens and the earth shall shake. But, oh, don't you love that
little word? But the Lord, the hope of his
people, child of God, you have a good hope. Christ is the hope
of his people in this world. There is no hope. Those who are
yet without Christ are aliens from the Commonwealth of Israel.
They're strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope being
without God in this world. But I've decided to follow Jesus.
You can't come where he's going. You're an alien from the Commonwealth
of Israel. God never knew you. God never
decided for you. But I decided to give Jesus my
heart. No, you're a stranger from the
covenants of promise, having no hope being without God in
this world. It matters not what you decided. Christ said, you've not chosen
me, but I've chosen you. God has hid these things from
the wise and the prudent, but he's revealed them unto babes.
Why? Even so, Father, it seemed good in Thy sight. You see, it's
God's decision. I was unwilling, but God decided
to make me willing in the day of His power. I would not come
to Him that I might have life, but God decided to draw me with
the cords of His mercy and grace and bring me to Christ. Will
the Lord be the hope of all who have decided? No, the Lord is
the hope of His people. Christ said, not everyone that
saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven,
but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
What is the will of the Father? Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Be washed in the blood of Calvary's
lamb, for without the shedding of blood, there is no remission,
no payment for sin. The Lord is right now the hope
of his people. Thou shalt call his name Jesus,
for he shall save his people from their sin. He shall. He's successful. When He decides, it's certain. He shall save His people from
their sin. Let Israel hope in the Lord.
For with the Lord there is mercy, and with Him is plenteous redemption. Psalm 130, verse seven. You see, friends, true Israel
can hope in the Lord, for He is their hope. Now let me ask
you, where have you put your hope? Where have you put your
hope? Is it on and in the Lord Jesus
Christ? Do you see that your salvation
is a decision that God has made for you? Or will you trust in
the decision that you've made for God? May God show you that
it's a matter of life or death. You have been listening to a
message by David Edmondson, the pastor of Bible Baptist Church
in Madisonville, Kentucky. If you would like a copy of this
message, or to hear other messages of God's free, sovereign grace
in Christ, you can write to our mailing address at P.O. Box 652
Madisonville, Kentucky 42431. or log on to our website at FreeGraceRadio.com. If you would like to come and
worship with us, we meet at 2015 Beulah Road, Madisonville, Kentucky,
and our service times are Sunday morning Bible study at 10 o'clock
a.m., worship services begin at 11 o'clock a.m., Wednesday
evening services at 7 o'clock p.m. Please tune in again next
Sunday morning at 10 o'clock AM for another message of God's
free and sovereign grace in the Lord Jesus Christ.