Okay, brethren, let's turn to
1 Thessalonians. 1 Thessalonians. This first letter to the Thessalonians
was the Apostle Paul's first letter to write under the inspiration
of the Spirit of God. This is the first letter he wrote
after the Lord called him by His grace. give him the words
to write. Now usually the things that we
write first are the most important things. So what's the first thing
that Paul writes to this body of believers at Thessalonica? What's his first subject that
he deals with when he writes to these believers at Thessalonica? Verse 4. Knowing, brethren beloved,
your election of God. Knowing, brethren beloved, your
election of God. Now, the doctrine of election
teaches us that God chose Christ. He chose His Son to be the Christ. Chose Him to be the God-man mediator. It teaches us that God chose
a people in Christ whom He would, not based on anything in them.
He chose whom He would in Christ. And the doctrine of election
teaches us God did this before the foundation of the world.
He did this so that all the work of salvation would be accomplished
by His Son. By His Son coming forth and doing
the work for His people. Redeeming us from all iniquity.
Working out a righteousness for us. Making us accepted of God. And God promised to do this through
faith in Christ. Everywhere you find the scripture
speak of election, you're going to find it speaking of sanctification
of the spirit, belief of the truth. And so, God secured the
salvation of His elect from before the foundation of the world.
That's what the doctrine of election teaches us. Now, there are some
who insist on denying that the Bible teaches the doctrine of
election. Others won't preach it because
this doctrine infuriates those whose carnal minds are enmity
against God. But the scriptures are full of
the doctrine of election. You can't read the scriptures
without coming across the doctrine of election. It's everywhere
in the scriptures. So it's not even up for debate that it's
taught. And I want to give you some of these, and I want you
to listen now how that each of these, wherever divine election
is taught in the scripture, it's always connected with being called
to faith in Christ. Psalm 65 verse 4 says this. Let me just give you these. You
can jot them down and look at them later if you'd like. But
it says, Blessed is the man whom thou choosest and causest to
approach unto thee. that he may dwell in your courts,
will be satisfied with your goodness of your house, even your holy
temple. Blessed is the man whom you choose
and cause to approach. He said in John 10, 16, he told
his disciples, you've not chosen me, but I've chosen you and ordained
you that you should go and bring forth fruit and that your fruit
should remain. And then in Romans 8, you know
this, in Romans 8, 28, it says, We know that all things work
together for good to them that love God, to them who are the
called according to His purpose. For whom He did foreknow, He
also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son. That
His Son might be the firstborn among many brethren. In whom
He did predestinate, then He also called. In whom He called,
then He also justified. In whom He justified, then He
also glorified. What do we say to these things?
If God be for us, who can be against us? Who's going to lay
anything to the charge of God's elect? It's God that justifies.
And then over in Romans 9, He tells us there in verse 6, they're
not all Israel which are of Israel. He says not everybody in the
political nation of Israel are the true Israel of God. He said,
neither because they're the seed of Abraham, natural sons of Abraham,
are they all children. But he said, in Isaac shall thy
seed be called. Isaac's a picture of Christ.
In Christ shall thy seed be called. He said, Jacob have I loved,
Esau have I hated. So, the scripture says then,
is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid. He said to Moses,
I'll have mercy on whom I'll have mercy. That's election.
I'll have mercy on whom I'll have mercy. and I'll have compassion
on whom I'll have compassion. So then, it's not of him that
willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that shows mercy.
You know Ephesians 1 verses 3 through 6. I won't read it to you now,
but we've been going over that a lot lately. He blessed us with
all spiritual blessings according as He chose us in Him. And He
did so having predestinated us to the adoption of children by
Jesus Christ Himself. And then in 2 Thessalonians,
Look there, that's very close here. Look over to your right,
2 Thessalonians 2 verse 13. He says, We're bound to give thanks always
to God for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord, because God hath
from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification
of the Spirit and belief of the truth, whereunto he called you
by our gospel to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus
Christ. So the question is not whether
God teaches the doctrine of election in the Scriptures. It's taught
all through the Scriptures. The question is not will those
God elected unto salvation be called to faith in Christ. The
answer to both those questions is yes. The question I want to
look at tonight is how can you and I know our election of God? How can we know that we've been
elected of God? I want to know that. Do you want
to know that? Paul says we can. He says, according to God now,
speaking through the Apostle Paul, believers can know our
election of God. And not only that, he gives us
five ways we can know our election of God. I want to know this because
I don't want to meet God with a false hope. I don't want to
meet God trusting in a lie. I want to meet God with the righteousness
He requires. That is, the righteousness of
His Son. And I want you to. So let's see here. Now this will
be settled on this because this is the Word of God and the Word
of God settles it. So if our experience of grace
doesn't line up with God, we've got to bow to God. We've got
to bow to God's Word and trust what God says. Alright? Let's
look at this. First of all, we know our election
of God based on the Gospel and how we were brought to hear it.
Gospel and how we were brought to hear it. Verse 5. He says,
for our gospel, he says, knowing brethren, beloved, your election
of God, for, because, here's how we know it, our gospel came
not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy
Ghost, and in much assurance. The first thing that is true
of all those that God has elected unto salvation is this, the gospel
comes to them. The gospel comes to them. He
says, our gospel. Our gospel, the same gospel Paul
preached throughout the scripture. Our gospel came unto you. It's
not the false gospel which is not another gospel. He's not
talking about that weakling Jesus that wants to save but depends
on the sinner's will. He's not talking about the weakling
Jesus that's done all he can do and now he's waiting on the
sinner to do something. He's not talking about the gospel
of that weakling Jesus who depends on you to keep the law or even
to add one thing for your justification or your sanctification. That's
not our gospel. Be sure to get this now. Through
the Apostle Paul, God said this. He called works religion, another
Jesus, another spirit, another gospel. Another Jesus, another
spirit, another gospel. He called those who preach the
necessity of man's contribution for justification or sanctification
or any part of salvation. He called it some that trouble
you and would pervert the gospel of Christ. That's God speaking
through the Apostle Paul. Jeremiah 23, I want you to read
this. Jeremiah 23. God said this of
false preachers who preach that other Jesus. This is what He
said. Jeremiah 23, and you can find many more scriptures like
this in the Bible, but just let me give you this one. Jeremiah
23, verse 32. This is important now. I'm telling you, I've told you
this before, spiritual things are the only place in our lives
at all that men act as if a lie can also be the truth. In every
other aspect of secular life, we know a lie is a lie and a
truth is truth. But for some reason, when it
comes to the gospel, men seem to think that you can be taught
a lie about somebody and know the truth about somebody. You
can't do it. You can't do it. Now look here,
Jeremiah 23, verse 32. He says this, Behold, I am against
them that prophesy false dreams, that preach false dreams, saith
the Lord. and do tell them, and cause my
people to err by their lies, and by their likeness. Yet I
sent them not, nor commanded them. Therefore they shall not
profit this people at all, saith the Lord." They shall not profit
this people at all. With God, truth is truth, and
lies do not profit at all. Now, somebody asked me this good
question. They said, do these false preachers
know what they're doing? Well, some don't know what they're
doing. The Apostle Paul was such a preacher. He didn't know what
he was doing. He said this, God saved him though, he said this,
I was before conversion, before being called, before being taught
of God, he said I was a blasphemer and a persecutor and injurious,
but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. He said, I was doing all that,
preaching, in all my zeal, ignorantly and unbelieving. So God can save
a false preacher. He did it ignorantly and unbelieving.
But no, God doesn't send a false gospel. God sends His child the
true gospel. He said, our gospel came to you.
The truth of God in His Christ. That's who He sends. He sends
this message and He speaks about Christ whom God first elected.
He sends this message and He teaches us that Christ is the
one that God elected His people in and He chose us in Christ
Jesus. He teaches us this Christ who
entered into covenant with God to do everything necessary to
fulfill all the stipulations required to redeem us and make
us righteous and bring us to God wholly and without blame.
He teaches us of this Christ who came in person and worked
out that righteousness for us. Who came to where we are and
purged our sins and went to glory and sat down when the work was
finished. And who is the God who sends forth this gospel to
us and makes praise for the Holy Spirit and sends forth the Spirit
by God and makes it effectual in our hearts so that we hear
Him. This is the Christ who is God blessed forever. God over all. God Almighty, God
All-Sovereign over all, able to do as He will. That's the
true and living God. That's the true Christ. And our
great I Am makes the Gospel come to His child. Verse 5 says, not
in word only, but in power and in the Holy Ghost. You could
sit and hear the Gospel for ages and do you no good. But then
God sent forth the Holy Spirit. And He sends it forth and it
comes forth in power. And the Holy Spirit gives life
where there was nothing but death. The Holy Spirit comes forth and
gives ears where we were deaf. He gives eyes where we were blind.
He gives an understanding heart where there was just a heart
of stone. He does this. He comes in power, irresistible
power that no man can resist. This is what He does. And by
Christ, He prays the Father who sends that Holy Spirit. He said
to His disciples, it's expedient that I go away. He said, if I
don't go away, the Comforter will not come to you. But He
said, if I go to my Father, I will send Him unto you. And when He's
come, He said, He will convince the world He will reprove the
world of sin and of righteousness and of judgment. Of sin, because
they believe not on me. Of righteousness, because I go
to my Father and you see me no more. Of judgment, because the
Prince of this world is cast out. And when He has convinced
you of that, you have experienced the Word coming, not in Word
only, but in power of the Holy Ghost. That is when a man will
believe. And when he does that work in our heart for the first
time, The Holy Spirit makes us to behold the true and living
God, makes us to behold His true Christ. And for the first time
then, now we can discern the difference between the true God
and the false. The truth is we're dead. We're
unable to do anything. We can't save ourselves at all. The lie that we were being told
is we have a will that's supposedly free, whereby we can come to
God when we choose. But now we know. Now we know
the truth of God because His gospel came to us in power. The
truth is, the Lord Jesus Christ is the true God. He's sovereign
God. He's able to do what He will,
when He will. The lie was, He's done all He
can do. Now He's waiting on you. The
truth of the gospel is this. Christ came forth and successfully
redeemed all His people from all iniquity. He perfected us
forever by His one offering. And He doesn't need us to make
it effectual. He doesn't need us to somehow help Him out. And
that's the lie, brethren. That's the lie men are being
told is that He did everything He could do. And now you've got
to make His blood effectual. That's declaring Christ a failure. That's declaring God unjust.
That's declaring that God, if a man doesn't exercise His will,
then God will turn around and pour justice out on him again.
That makes God unjust. Now we can discern the difference
between the true and the lie. This is when God has called us.
This is not when we've just come to a new understanding. This
is when God has called us for the first time. I wish we could
get that. We will get it if God's done
it. That's right. And look at this. And He does
it. He gives His child assurance. He says, Our gospel came not
in word only but in power and in the Holy Ghost and in much
assurance. Look at 2 Peter 2. Those who
have not been born of God by power, in power, they usually,
after a little while, they'll manifest that they were never
really born of God. They'll turn to the pig pen of
free will works religion. Look here, 2 Peter 2 verse 20. For if, after they've escaped
the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ, they've heard the true gospel, they've
just heard it with the carnal ear, that's what they're going
to manifest, but they heard it with the carnal ear. If after
they've heard it, they're again entangled therein with the corruptions
of this world and overcome, the latter end is worse with them
than the beginning. For it had been better for them
not to have known the way of righteousness, than after they've
known it, to turn from the holy commandment, from the gospel
delivered unto them. But it's happened unto them according
to the true proverb. The dog's turned to his own vomit
again, and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.
You see, you can wash a pig, and wash it up, and get it looking
nice and pretty, and take it to the fair, and win you a blue
ribbon with it. As soon as you take it back home,
you know where it's going? right back into the mud. My grandfather
and grandmother, they raised pigs. I've seen it. I know where
they like to be, in the mud. And you'd clean a sinner up and
he could learn some right doctrine and say amen and praise the Lord
and I'm all for this and I'm never going to go back. If God
hadn't worked the work in his heart, he'd go back to the mud
every time. But God's true elect are given
assurance that this is the Christ. I'm not talking about this thing
where we're just always on cloud nine and always just sure of
our salvation. I'm talking about a sure, steady,
understanding assurance that we have found the true Christ.
Remember when the Lord told the disciples, He said, will you
go away with this bunch too? And Peter said, to whom shall
we go, Lord? You have the words of eternal life, and we believe,
and we're sure that you are that Christ, the Son of the living
God. Whenever they went and found Nathaniel, and they brought Nathaniel,
and he came and he heard Christ speak, he said, Rabbi, I know
you are the Son of God, the King over Israel. Martha stood there
that day at Lazarus' tomb, and the Lord told her, I am the resurrection
and the life. Martha, believe thou this? And
she said, Lord, I believe thou art the Christ, the Son of God,
which hath come into the world. And you know what the Lord said?
This is life eternal. that they may know Thee, the
only true God. There's just one. There's just
one. The only true God and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent. That's
the first thing that's going to happen. That's how we know
our election of God. We've heard The Gospel and it's
come to us in power and in much assurance by the Holy Spirit.
Here's the second thing. The child of God knows his election
of God because God's elect are made to follow Christ. Look at
verse 5. The second thing there, He says,
As you know what manner of men we were among you for your sake,
and you became followers of us and of the Lord. Christ said
this, He said, My sheep, mine elect, my sheep hear my voice,
and they follow me. And He said this, A stranger
will they not follow. but will flee from him, for they
know not the voice of strangers." The child of God knows he's hearing
a messenger that Christ himself has sent whenever he hears Christ's
voice in the message being preached. That's how you know you're hearing
a messenger sent from Christ is when you hear Christ's voice
in the message that's being preached. That's how you know. He said,
you became followers of us and of the Lord. Whenever Christ
speaks through the gospel into the heart of His child, revealing
that Christ is the righteousness of God that we need, revealing
that we've been made the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus, apart
from any works of righteousness which we've done. When He makes
us to hear this in our hearts, He gives us discernment to detect
the true messenger of God from a false messenger of God. Discernment. Discernment. To detect the true
from the false. The believer is no longer able
to endure hearing his Redeemer dishonored anymore. Can you sit
and hear somebody speak of Christ and say things like, he's done
everything he can do? I can't stand to hear it. Can
you stand to hear somebody say that he's trying, he's trying,
he wants, he wishes, he just... I don't like to hear that. I
don't like to hear men say Christ died for everybody in the world,
but then turn around and tell you, but now you, you, you, you're
going to make his blood have some saving efficacy by what
you do. That's not the truth. And I can't
stand to hear it. Can you? Can you stand to hear
a lie anymore? The true child can't stand to
hear that I can't hear men saying that a man, a sinner, can choose
God of his own will, that he can muster up some life in him,
and that he can come to God when he pleases. That's not true.
The Scripture says there's none righteous, no, not one. There's
none that seeketh after God. They're all together become unprofitable. They're all gone out of the way.
That's the message I want to hear because that message exalts
God the Holy Spirit having to come and do the work to make
us willing in the day of God's power and draw us by His power. Wherever man's exalted, God's
always dishonored. And a true believer can't stand
to hear that message anymore. But now, because we have this
assurance in our hearts by God, the believer follows Christ's
messenger, because Christ's preacher is like the Apostle Paul. The
Apostle Paul said to the Corinthians, I was determined to know nothing
among you save Jesus Christ and Him crucified. That's who you
want to hear. I want to hear the man who's
declaring Christ and Him crucified. I don't want to hear a man who
spends series after series after series of messages talking about
the sinner. I want to hear about Christ.
I want to hear about Christ. I want to hear what Christ has
accomplished, what Christ has done, what Christ is doing. That's
who the believer wants to hear about. He's our King. He's our
Savior. He's our Comforter. He's our
Captain. He's our All. He's our High Priest. He's everything to us. We want
to hear of Him. And one of the surest indications
that a sinner is one of God's elect, that he's truly been born
of God, that he's been taught of God so that he need not that
any man teach him the things of God. One of the surest indications
that's true is He'll submit to God's way and he'll follow Christ
by following the messenger Christ has given to preach the gospel
to him. That's so. Well, he don't need
to be taught of God. Why does he need a messenger?
I'm just telling you that's how it is. That's how it is. He will
submit to hearing the gospel through God's messenger. And
the man that hadn't been taught of God won't. He just won't. He won't do it. Alright, let's
look at this third thing. We know our election of God by
affliction and joy. Affliction and joy. Verse 6. He says there that you receive
the word in much affliction with joy of the Holy Ghost. Now listen
to me carefully. The message of Belial. brings
no affliction to a sinner whatsoever. It doesn't make a sinner mourn
over his sin whatsoever. The message of free will does
not offend the man's flesh at all. It doesn't offend the sinner's
flesh at all. The message that the lie of personal good brings
no affliction. The lie that we make Christ's
blood effectual causes no mourning over our sin. Absolutely none. Until God makes his child know
the killing leprosy of his sin. At most, he's only felt the legal
guilt in his conscience. A legal guilt. Satan's a master
counterfeiter. And he wants people to think
that we've experienced this affliction of sin in our heart. You won't
have to doubt it. You won't have to wonder when
God does this work. You won't have to wonder. But
only God can do it. Only God can take away the stony
heart of His child and give us a broken and a contrite heart.
And you know how God makes us see our sin? You know how God
makes us suffer affliction in our hearts over our sin? He shows
us Christ on the cross bearing the wrath of God in the place
of His elect to put away that sin. That's how He does it. He
does it in the face of Christ. He makes us see there's Christ
putting away our sin. our sin. He said, I'll pour out
upon them the spirit of grace and supplications. And they'll
look upon me whom they have pierced. And they'll mourn for me as one
mourns for his own son. And they'll be in bitterness
in their heart because of their sin. This is what He does in
the hearts of His people. And only God can do it. And then
you suffer the affliction of knowing this. This is what a
man knows. This is affliction. This is afflicting
work right here. You know then. that nothing you
have ever done or ever thought about yourself was right. Nothing. You learn then that when you
walked an aisle and gave a preacher your hand and said the sinner's
prayer that you did not save, were not saved by, because nobody's
ever been saved by doing anything. That's not how we're saved. Not
by your doing. Not by my doing. Never. Never. That's just not even in
the Word of God. That's afflicting. A man can
sit in a true church. He can sit under the true gospel
and profess to believe the gospel. And God make him see he never
knew the gospel to that day. Never knew the gospel. That's
an afflicting work to separate us from whatever it is we're
trusting in. Whatever we're holding on to. And a sure way to know
a man's holding on to it is he won't let it go. When he hears
the truth, he will say, but I believe he won't let it go. You can't
pry it out of his hands. God's got to kill him. God's
got to kill him and make him let it go. It's the only way
he'll let it go. To be taught that your religious works and
mine have profited us nothing. That's afflicting work. To be
taught, brethren, that our very best righteousness are as black
as our sins, the blackest of our sins, and it's all enmity
against God. That's afflicting work. That's
afflicting work. To be brought to nothing. To
nothing. But you know what happens when
that happens? He also experienced the joy of the Holy Ghost. And
it's not until we've been brought to sorrow over our sins that,
by God, that we're going to experience the joy of the Holy Ghost. Because
when He brought us to where now we've got no hope in anything
we've ever done, everything we've ever thought, anything we've
ever said, we've got no hope in us whatsoever. Then God speaks
to our heart. This is what He does. Hebrews
10. Look over there. Hebrews 10. Here's what He teaches
you. Right here. And this is the joy
of the Holy Ghost right here. Hebrews 10. All this jumping
over pews and hoopty-doo and wallering in the floor, that
ain't the joy of the Holy Ghost. Here's the joy of the Holy Ghost
right here. Hebrews 10, 14. By one offering, He hath perfected
forever them that are sanctified. Whereof? This message, whereof
the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us. For after that he said
before, this is the covenant I will make with them after those
days, saith the Lord. I will put my gospel in their
heart and in their minds will I write them. And their sins
and iniquities will I remember no more. Now where remission
of these is, there is no more offering for sin. That's when
you got the joy of the Holy Ghost. That's when salvation has come.
When you hear God say, I, I, I, even I am He that broughteth
out thy transgressions for mine own sake and will not remember
your sins. Man, that's joy right there.
Didn't you got? Now you've come to joy. Now here's
something else too about this affliction. Here's something
else. The message of Belial doesn't
bring any affliction from those around us either. Not only does
it not bring any affliction in our own heart, it doesn't bring
affliction from those around us. I want you to go home and
you read the rest of 1 Thessalonians and you see what these Thessalonians
suffered. They suffered. Whenever they
began to declare they believed on Christ, Everybody around them,
their friends, their loved ones, began to afflict them. And they
suffered some affliction now. But I'm going to tell you something.
Whenever you're holding on to that free will, Jesus, and you're
holding on to that little free will, Jesus, whereby you've done
everything for Him to make Him a God, and to make Him have His
will, and to make His salvation possible, you've done everything
for what? That gospel is not offensive. And you won't be afflicted for
that gospel. Not by anybody. The Apostle Paul said, And I,
brethren, if I yet preach circumcision, why do I yet suffer persecution?
He said, I'm suffering persecution. I'm being afflicted for what
I preach. Now, if I preach circumcision, I wouldn't endure that. I wouldn't
have to worry about it. But he said, Then is the offense
of the cross ceased. It ceased then. is not till God
has made His chosen child to stand with the sovereign successful
Savior and renounce that other Jesus as not another that the
worshippers of Baal will afflict him with their enmity against
God. Not until then. And that's what we're supposed
to be confessing in Believer's Baptism. We're supposed to be
confessing that we renounce the hidden things of dishonesty.
That we renounce all other Gospels as false Gospels. That's why
men in the early church, you would begin to suffer persecution
when you were baptized because you confessing everything else
that anybody's trusting in is false. This is the true and living
God. And Christ said, remember the
word I spoke to you. He said, if they have the service
not greater than his Lord, if they have persecuted me, they
will also persecute you. And if they've kept My Word,
they'll keep yours. It's only then, only then will God's elect
experience joy of the Holy Ghost in our hearts, whereby He comforts
us even in the midst of the most horrendous opposition all around
us. Just like we experience that joy in the Holy Ghost when we
experience the affliction of our own heart, so we experience
it in our hearts when we're being opposed from those without as
well. We experience the peace of God in our hearts. This is
when you know you've been chosen of God. Here's the fourth thing. Those truly elected of God become
faithful servants of God in the promotion of the gospel of Christ.
When you're called of God, you become a servant of God. You
promote the gospel. Verse 7. He says, so that you
were examples to all that believe in Macedonia and Achaia, for
from you sounded out the word of the Lord, not only in Macedonia
and Achaia, but also in every place your faith to God were
to spread abroad, so that we need not to speak anything. We
don't have to boast about you in anything. Everybody else is
talking about it. They're talking about what Christ has done for
you. When God calls His elect to faith in Christ, The former
servant of sin becomes a servant of righteousness. That doesn't
mean that you're done with sin. That doesn't mean that you're
not going to sin. That doesn't mean that you're going to fall
grievously. What it does mean is you've gone from being a servant
of sin to being a servant of righteousness. And it's through
the Gospel. Paul said in Romans 6, God be
thanked, you were the servant of sin, but you have obeyed that
form of doctrine which was delivered unto you. And being made free,
you became the servants of righteousness. The servants of righteousness.
That elect child, once he's been called, he becomes an example
of Christ's effectual work within him. It's in five areas of his
life. Let me show you this. 1 Timothy
4. 1 Timothy 4. To your right about two pages.
1 Timothy 4. Verse 12. Paul told Timothy,
let no man despise thy youth, but be thou an example of the
believers. Here's how. In word, who do we
speak of now? Who do we want to have the glory
now? Christ. In conversation, that's conduct. That's your deportment. Who do
we want to honor in everything we do? Christ. In charity, we're
constrained by the love of Christ. In spirit, we're the circumcision
that worship God in spirit and have no confidence in the flesh.
In faith, when everything goes to hell in the hand basket around
you, you're steadfast, you're not moved, you know God's going
to do as He said He's going to do. In purity, you want to keep
yourself from everything that would defile you and dishonor
Christ. He said this is what happened to those at Thessalonica. And that servant gives himself
to promote the gospel far and wide. He said there in verse
8, from you sounded out the word of the Lord. 1 Thessalonians
1.8. He said from you sounded out
the word of the Lord. I want you to see a scripture.
1 Corinthians 16. Turn over to 1 Corinthians 16. Paul said, I beseech you, brethren.
Let me read the parentheses first. 1 Corinthians 16, 15. You know
the house of Stephanas. that it is the first fruits of
Achaia, of that place Achaia where they live. He said that
they, Stephanus and his house, they have addicted themselves
to the ministry of the saints. They addicted themselves to the
ministry of the saints. Now look at what he said, I beseech
you brethren, verse 16, that you submit yourselves unto such
and to everyone that helpeth with us and laboureth. What does
it mean to addict yourself to the ministry of the saints? Believers
cease to be selfish and self-sufficient and loners, hanging out by ourselves,
and we become addicted to ministering to God's saints. That's what
happens when God has called you. How so? How do you minister to
God's saints? Number one, by assembling together
under the sound of the gospel. We exhort one another to continue
trusting Christ simply by showing up and meeting together under
the sound of the gospel. Your presence. By your presence
we exhort one another. We minister to one another just
by your presence. Number two, by doing what we
can so that the gospel continues right here in our midst. That
includes a lot of things. It includes providing for one
another when we're sick. It includes Helping one another
out when you can't pay your bills. It includes supporting the gospel. It includes a bunch of things.
And also, supporting the gospel to be spread and preached far
and wide. That's what it is to addict yourself to the ministry
of the saints. Right here where we are and wherever
they are in this world. Because the way to minister to
them is through the gospel. That's the chief thing. That's
the chief way. Through the gospel. Our motive
ceases to be a vain pageant. whereby we show off in front
of folks, and our motive becomes the constraint of the love of
Christ for us, to merely worship and serve Christ with His family
in His house. Everything changes. It's got
a new motive and a new master, and everything about your worship
and your service changes. Here's the last thing. We know
that our election of God We know our election of God by being
turned from idols to serve God and wait on Christ to return.
Look at verse 9. He says, they themselves show
of us what manner of entering in we had unto you. They're speaking
of this, he says, how you turn to God from idols to serve the
living and true God and to wait for His Son from heaven whom
He raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from
the wrath to come. Let me tell you what idolatry
is. It embodies two things. Number one, it holds to a lie
about God. And number two, it deifies a
lust of the flesh. That's what idolatry is. It holds
to a lie about God and it deifies a lust of our own flesh. Let
me give you an example. You've heard the lie, God has
no hands but your hands, no feet but your feet. All right? Number
one, that tells a lie on God. Because it says God has no hands
and no feet. And by that they're saying God's
not sovereign to do as He will, when He will, with whom He will.
God is sovereign. He's absolutely sovereign to
do as He will. Number two, by saying He has no hands and no
feet but your feet, it deifies man to be as God. It deifies that lust of his heart
to be as God. That's idolatry. That's idolatry. Psalm 115, verse 3. Let me read
you this. But our God is in the heavens.
He hath done whatsoever He hath pleased. Their idols are silver
and gold, the works of men's hands. They have mouths, but
they speak not, eyes, They have, but they see not. They have ears,
but they hear not. Noses have they, but they smell
not. Hands, but they handle not. Feet, but they walk not. They
don't speak through their own throat. They that make them are
like them. So is everyone that trusteth
in them. Now that's idolatry. God said, they are their own
witnesses. They see not nor know that they
may be ashamed. How many times have you heard
people say, God's done all He can do? Not my God. Your God might have, but my God
hasn't. He says, their witnesses, they
see not, their guards see not, and they don't know that they
may be ashamed. They bear Him up on their shoulder,
they carry Him, they set Him in His place, and He stands,
they carry Him from this place to that place, they let Him do
what He can do. And He can't do anything but what they let
Him do. That's an idol. That's an idol. There are many,
now listen, God said you return from idols to serve the true
and living God. There are many who claim to believe
Christ who will yet sit under the gospel of free will works
religion. Who yet think, they entertain
this vain notion that some good is going to come through a lie.
that some good is going to come through. Even though God said,
I didn't send them, they're telling you lies and they shall not profit
this people at all. Men say, but I believe they will.
Well, you're against God. Plain and simple. Against God. True repentance is renouncing
our former vain religion as worthless. As worthless. And it's what we're
supposed to be confessing in believer's baptism. Paul said,
if anybody has glory in the flesh, I have more. He said in Philippians
3, he said this, he said, I was circumcised the eighth day, I
was of the stock of Israel, I was of the tribe of Benjamin, I was
a Hebrew of Hebrews, as touching the law, a Pharisee. In our day,
he'd be called a Big B Baptist. The Big B Baptist. Better, better,
better than everybody. And listen to what he said about
all that. Concerning zeal, persecuting the church, touching righteousness
within the law, blameless, but what things were gained of me,
I count it loss for Christ. Yea, doubtless, and I count all
things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus
my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do
count them but crap. That's what he said. I count
them dumb. that I might win Christ and be found in Him, not having
mine own righteousness which is of the law, but that which
is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of
God by faith." Now that's repentance. That's repentance. That's saying,
I didn't know God then. That's saying, I didn't know
God then. That's saying, I haven't just
come to a better understanding of God. That's saying, I didn't
know God from a hole in the ground then. Now, God has saved me by
His grace. That's what that's saying. That's
repentance. That's repentance. And he said,
you return from your idols to God. And he said this, to wait
on Christ who's redeemed us from the wrath to come. Saved us from
the wrath to come. We wait, not doing anything to
save ourselves. We wait, trusting Christ has
done it all, and He's going to return and carry us home, and
we're not going to see wrath, because He's put away. He's satisfied God, and He's
saved us from the wrath to come. Now, if you can say, that's my
hope. Everything that He said, just
say, that's wherein my hope rests. But if you've got that gnawing
in your heart, where you're saying, I bring myself in line with God,
because we're going to bring ourselves in line with Him one
day. We're going to bow to Him one day. Better do it now than
do it in judgment. But if you say, this is my hope.
This Christ has done it all. God has done it all. Then you
know, brethren, your election of God. Amen. We'll just close with a word
of prayer and be dismissed for the night. I'll put that on art
to come up here and sing another song. Let's stand together. Our great God and Savior, Make
all your people to rejoice with assurance in knowing what great
things you've done for us and saving us from ourselves. And
Lord, if there be some with a false hope, though it is afflicting
and though it's uncomfortable, Lord, we pray that you and your
power do for them like you do for all your elect people. Make
them to know the truth. Turn them from the false way.
Make them bow today in this day of grace that they may be saved
from the wrath to come. And Lord, those who refuse, those
who rebel, Lord, have your way with them as well. We know that
you've promised this gospel is a sweet savor in them that believe
and in them that perish. And it will never return unto
you void. We're thankful, Lord, in Christ Jesus, we give you
all the glory and honor. Amen.