If you would turn with me this
morning to the book of Malachi chapter 1 to begin with. The
last book of the Old Testament right before the book of Matthew. Malachi chapter 1. Let me say in the beginning that
this is not another message on the doctrine of election. This
is a message on Christ who is the elect of God. That's very
important to understand. The Lord Jesus Christ is God's
elect. We're elect. We are chosen in
Him. This unbelieving world charges
the God of the Bible, the only true God, with being unfair. You've heard it. So have I. When
you tell men and women and sinners that the God of the Bible has
mercy on whom He'll have mercy, saves whom He wills, passes by
others, simply because He chooses to. And He has the right to as God.
They will boldly say that that's unfair. God's unfair. You know,
both the Old Testament and the New Testament declare that for
no reason outside of Himself, His own omnipotent choice, God
loved Jacob and hated Esau. And people think that's unfair. Look at verse 2 here in Malachi
chapter 1. God addressing Israel, whom He
had chosen to be His special and peculiar people. He said, I have loved you. Yet, you say, wherein hast thou
loved us? With objection and ingratitude,
they question the love of God here by saying, when and how
did you love us? What is your reason for loving
us? You love us only as the children
of Abraham. You love us only because you
love Abraham. What Israel is saying here is
your love to us is not free. You love us as a nation because
you promised favor to Abraham's seed, and that's all we are to
you, just the seed of Abraham. So the real problem here that's
seen in Israel of old is that they were not thankful or appreciative
of God's love to them. So God responds with his own
question. He says, was not Esau Jacob's
brother, saith the Lord? Yet I love Jacob. Verse 3, and
I hated Esau and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the
dragons of the wilderness. Now Jacob and Esau, as you know,
were brothers. They were twins. They had the
same mother and had the same father. They equally descended
from Abraham. So if one was loved for the sake
of Abraham, as suggested, the other should have had an equal
claim to the same thing. Esau was the firstborn. Esau
should have had the advantage of the birthright and the blessing,
but as you know, he sold it for a bowl of soup. But for no reason
outside of God's own sovereign will and purpose, God loved Jacob
and he hated Esau. Was it because God looked ahead
in time to see who would be the better man? I had a preacher
tell me that one time, not that long ago really. Was it because
God looked ahead to the future to see who would believe and
trust in Christ? No, that can't be. Because God
determined and purposed how all things would come to pass. God
wrote a story in eternity past, and He ordained how it would
be from the first to the last. Before Jacob and Esau were born,
the Scripture tells us, before they had done any good or evil,
that the purpose of God according to election, according to God's
choosing, might stand before they were ever born. And what
afterwards was said of them was in the heart of God towards them. It shows beyond a shadow of doubt
that the love of God to His people, it's free, it's sovereign, it's
distinguishing and purposed by Him. Before they were born, God said,
I love Jacob and hate Esau. Before either one of them, again,
to be redundant, before either one of them had done any good,
and before either one of them had done any evil, that the will
and the purpose of God, according to God's choosing, God's election,
might stand and prove itself to be so. Now what's the proof
of God's election of grace? The salvation is not of works. Salvation is of Him that calleth. Before Jacob or Esau ever did
any good work, before they did any evil or bad, or before they
were ever born, before they did any work at all, God loved one
and hated the other. So does that make God unfair? Before you answer, let me ask
you another question. Do you want God to treat you
fairly? If God treated us fairly, we'd
all go to hell. We're already seeing and hearing
a great deal about the upcoming election next year. What is an
election? Well, it's a formal and organized
choice of a person to an office or a particular position. To elect someone means to choose,
it means to appoint, it means to designate, to single out. That's what we do when we vote
in an election. We cast our vote for a person
to fulfill an office or a position and we vote and choose the person
that we like or feel who would be best suited for that office
and position. But so does everyone else that
votes. And because of that, many times
our choice comes up short and the votes and the person we choose
is not Chosen. And we may not like the results.
We may think that the election was unfair. But that's the process. That's the law. That's the way
it is. However, in the election of God,
there's only one vote cast. Just one. And it's cast either
for us or against us, and it's God that cast it. And it doesn't
matter if we think it's fair or not. Because the one who chooses
has the right to do so as the sovereign ruler and only potentate. He has the right to do what he
will with his own. And the Scripture tells us, for
the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, the world and
all they that dwell therein. He owns it all. It all belongs
to Him and everything and everyone in it. David said, the heavens are Thine,
the earth also is Thine. As for the world and the fullness
thereof, Thou hast founded them. the north and the south thou
hast created them. Thou hast a mighty arm, strong
is thy hand, and high is thy right hand, and justice and judgment
are the habitation of thy throne. Mercy and truth shall go before
thy face. Psalm 89. And in the New Testament,
in Romans chapter 9, you know this passage very well, we also
read, as it is written, and that's referring to the verse that we
just read in Malachi, that we just read, Jacob have I loved,
but Esau have I hated. And again, the Apostle Paul,
in anticipation to God being called and judged unfair, he
writes, what shall we say then? He tells us what you're going
to say. It's what most people do say. Is there unrighteousness
with God? What does that mean? It means,
is God unfair? Is He? Is God unfair? Paul said, God forbid, in no
way, shape, or form, God is right in all that He does. Before he
said it to Moses, I'll have mercy on whom I'll have mercy, and
I'll have compassion on whom I'll have compassion. Sounds
to me like salvations of the Lord. And what's the conclusion
of God's electing grace? If God has mercy and compassion
on whom He will, what does that tell us? He tells us, so then,
This is the result of God having mercy on whom He will and compassion
on whom He will. And this is the result of God
hardening whom He will. So then, it's not of Him that
willeth, nor of Him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy. It's the same in the Old Testament
and New. It's the way it's always been from the beginning of this
book to the end of it. God does the choosing. God does
the saving. Salvation, the election of God
proves that salvation does not come by the work of man, but
by the grace of God and His choosing. We don't preach election. Election
is not the gospel. We preach Jesus Christ. Jesus
Christ is the elect of God, and we are electing Him. I'll title this message, Jesus
Christ, God's elect. Speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ,
God Almighty through the prophet Isaiah wrote, Behold my servant,
whom I uphold, mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth." Who's
that talking about? That's talking about Christ. That's talking about His beloved
Son. God finds no delight, no satisfaction, no justice, no
love, no mercy, no grace, no forgiveness except in one place,
in His elect, the Lord Jesus Christ. So let me remind you again of
the familiar words that the Apostle Paul wrote in Ephesians chapter
1. Matter of fact, turn there with
me. I want you to see them. Ephesians chapter 1, verse 3. You can quote this. I know you
can. Paul says, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ. Now look at this. Who hath blessed
us, His people, His elect, His chosen, the child of God, blessed
us with all spiritual blessings, where? In heavenly places. Where in heavenly places? In
Christ. We have all spiritual blessings
in Christ. Nowhere else. Verse 4, according
as He hath chosen us, where? In Him. Before the foundation
of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before
Him in love. Where is the child of God chosen?
In Him. In Christ. When was the child
of God chosen? Before the foundation of the
world. before we were ever born, before we ever did anything good
or bad. Verse 5, having predestinated
us, predetermining us unto the adoption of children, how? By
Jesus Christ Himself. According to the good pleasure
of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, not our
works, wherein He hath made us accepted in the Beloved. That's
Christ. Why is the child of God chosen?
Because it pleased God. By the good pleasure of His own
will. And to the praise and the glory of His grace. What did
God do in this election? He made us accepted in Christ
the Beloved. How is the child of God saved?
Through the redemption in, by, and through the Lord Jesus Christ. Election is a beautiful doctrine
for that reason only, because it's in Christ that He chose
us. Verse 7, "...in whom we have
redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins according
to the riches of His grace, wherein He hath abounded toward us in
all wisdom and prudence, having made known unto us the mystery
of His will, according to His good pleasure, which He hath
purposed in Himself." Many have often asked, why preach
on election? They say the doctrine of election
is profound, it's deep, it's controversial. Well, it's no
doubt profound. And it's no doubt deep. But it's
anything but controversial. If you understand that it's in
Christ that we are elected. Any sinner that does not trust
in the Lord Jesus Christ deserves the eternal damnation and judgment
of hell. In other words, otherwise, it's
not fair that any other should see life. Right? Mercy is not getting what we
deserve. Grace is getting what we don't deserve. If you want
to call that unfair, go ahead. It's unfair for one that hates
Christ to... Or let me ask that in a way of
a question. Is it unfair for one that hates Christ to suffer
eternally? Now, I do want to say that I
understand that the doctrine of election is misused and abused. But if you do away with all the
things that men abuse, there wouldn't be anything left. You know, and I'm not trying
to get political, but many in our country want to do away with
guns. It's not guns that kill. It's the people that use them.
If we did away with everything that's misused and abused, there'd
be no rope. Because there are those who hang
themselves with rope. Well, we've got to do away with
rope. There'd be no knives, because men cut themselves and others
with knives. No water. Men drown themselves
in water. We've got to do away with water.
No medicine, because men abuse drugs and are addicted to medicine.
So if we destroyed everything that was misused, well, there
wouldn't be none left. Because we misuse and abuse everything. Men say that the doctrine of
election gives sinners an excuse to sin. Listen, since sin came
into the world, men and women both have always come up with
excuses for their sin. The election of God leaves us
without excuse. Now think about that. We're redeemed
for one reason only. Christ put away sin by the sacrifice
of Himself. Adam blamed his sin on Eve. Eve blamed her sin on the serpent. And both of them, they were sad
and pathetic excuses. What about Aaron, Moses' brother? He blamed his sin on the fire.
You remember that? That's one of the most ridiculous
and pathetic excuses in all the Bible. Aaron told Moses, he said,
and I said unto them, he's giving an account to Moses about them
building the golden calf, and he said, I said unto them, whosoever
hath any gold, let him break it off. So they gave it to me.
Well, what did you do with it, Aaron? I cast it into the fire,
and there came out this calf. It's funny, it's comical, but
I tell you, we've made some just as bad excuses for our sin, if
not worse. I wonder sometimes if we truly
hear how ridiculous our excuses for sin really are. I tell you, this is a sad excuse
for sin. Well, I'm just a sinner. That's
what sinners do. That's a sad excuse. We certainly
can't blame God's election of grace as an excuse for us to
sin. I had someone ask me one time,
can you preach election too much? Absolutely. We certainly can. Because election is not salvation,
election is unto salvation. Brother Henry once said in a
message that the prettiest face in the world would become ugly
if you enlarge the nose or enlarge the mouth, or enlarge the ears. Take a beautiful woman and make
her ears this big, she wouldn't be pretty very long, would she?
He said that it's called proportionate beauty. We must preach every
truth in the Scriptures in fair proportion. And I know many Calvinists
today that trust in election and not in Christ. I remember when I first heard
the Gospel, all I talked about was election and predestination.
I fell in love with the doctrines. Not in the Lord Jesus. But it's
when I begin to hear a preacher that stood right here in this
pulpit faithfully proclaim Christ over and over about Christ. What
Christ done for sinners. Where Christ is now. Why He's
there. Oh my, I began to fall in love
with Christ. I wasn't looking to election
to be saved. I wasn't looking to God's predestinating
power to be saved. I was looking to the Lord Jesus
Christ. So I'll remind you again that
we are electing Christ. There's no election of God apart
from the Lord Jesus. Now in the time we have remaining,
I want you to look with me at 1 Thessalonians 1 if you turn
there. I won't turn you to any others
I don't believe. And I'll tell you right up front,
I borrowed my outline from Brother Henry who seemed to have borrowed
it from Mr. Spurgeon because I read his message
on this text too. And it just reminded me again
that there's nothing that's original with us. All spiritual truth can be traced
back to the Lord Jesus Christ. Mr. Spurgeon got some of it from
Gil and Matthew Henry, and they got it from somebody, and they
got it from the Apostle Paul. And Paul, who wrote the majority
of the New Testament, got it from the Lord Jesus. We better not preach anything
original. We're not preaching the truth
if we do. Now, here in 1 Thessalonians 1, verse 4, we read, knowing,
knowing, brethren beloved, this is speaking to the beloved of
God, those who profess to know, trust, and love Christ. Knowing,
brethren beloved, your election of God. So, first, we see the
cause of election is found in God. This is the election of
God. This is not the election of sinners. This is not the sinner's choice.
This is God's choice. This is God's election. It's
not in man. Salvation begins with God. This
is His election. Salvation was purposed by God. Salvation is ours because God
was pleased to give it to us. God loved us when we were dead
in trespasses and sin. How are we going to elect ourselves? How are we going to do anything
when we're dead? The necessity of election is
found in man. And what do I mean by that? Why
is election necessary? Our Lord said, you will not come
to me that you might have life. He said, you cannot come to me.
No man can come to me unless the Father which hath sent me
draw him. But Lord Jesus said, how often
would I have gathered you unto Myself, as a hen doth gathereth
her brood, and you would not. You see, the necessity of election
is found in our inability. If God hadn't elected some, none
would be saved. Scripture says He came unto His
own, and His own did what? Received Him not. I received
and accepted Jesus as my personal Savior. Him and His own. His own received Him not. The
Scripture says this is the condemnation. Men love darkness rather than
light. Why? Because their deeds are
evil. God's got to intervene. God's got to do the choosing.
We didn't choose Him. He chose us. We don't love Him
because... We love Him because He first
loved us. God's Word tells us the natural
mind is enmity, hostile toward God. It's not subject to the
law of God. Neither indeed can be. Paul wrote,
the preaching of the cross is foolishness to them that perish. It was foolishness to me once
and to you too. God made it where it wasn't foolishness
anymore. It's the means He uses to save
sinners. The Lord Jesus said, You didn't
choose me. I chose you. You didn't love
me first. Oh, how I love Jesus, because
He first loved me. John said we love Him because
He first loved us. Herein is love, not that we love
God, but that He loved us. You know who we love? We love
ourselves. We love our sin. By nature we
do. It's God who makes us to differ.
He makes us willing in the day of His power. That's why election
is necessary. This is the reason God must choose. And He chooses us in Christ.
And His election is sovereign. It's free. It's irreversible. The gifts and calling of God
are without change. Election is effectual. It's personal. This is so important. Putting
an election before salvation is like that old saying that
my mom used to say a lot. You're putting the cart before
the horse. Have you ever seen a horse push
a cart? No, the cart or the wagon is
behind the horse and it's pulled. When we pray, we don't begin
with Amen, do we? If I got up here to pray and
I said, Amen. You don't teach a child math
by beginning with algebra or trigonometry. Well, I took algebra,
I think, in the 10th grade, and I didn't make it. You don't start with trigonometry.
You start with the number one, and then you move on to two.
Then you move on to three. And pretty soon you're counting
to ten. And pretty soon it's a hundred.
But you don't start with algebra. It's the same with the election
of God and Christ. You start with repentance towards
God. You start with faith in the Lord
Jesus Christ. Do you think the publican in
the temple, the one who stood afar off and beat upon his chair
and wouldn't look up, do you think that he knew anything about
election? He was a publican. He knew two things. He knew that
he was a great sinner, And he knew that he had sinned against
God, and he knew that God was the only one who could grant
him mercy and forgiveness. That's why he's in the temple.
That's why he's praying, Lord, be merciful to me, the sinner. See, you've got to understand
mercy before you can understand election. The Bible does not say, ho, everyone
that is elect, come ye to the waters. It says, come everyone
that is a thirst. Are you thirsty? God's Word does
not say, come unto me all ye that are elect and I'll give
you rest. He says, come unto me all ye that labor and are
heavy laden over your sin and your guilt. That's where every
sinner's got to start. The Bible does not say, whosoever
is elect and calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. It
simply says, whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord
shall be saved. They only find out later, after
they call upon the name of the Lord, that they were the elect. Only the elect call upon His
name, but they don't know that. I heard people say things like,
well, if you believe in the elect, then why don't you only preach
to the elect? I don't know who the elect are. Mr. Spartan said stick a red
label on them all and that's who I'll preach to. But until
you can do that, we're commanded to preach the Gospel to every
creature. The elect will hear and believe
and come to Christ. Not my business who the elect
are. Election doesn't hold anyone back from coming to Christ either.
It enables men and women to come to Christ. Election is not the
sinner's enemy. It's our friend. Election doesn't
deliver us. It's Christ that delivers us.
Election doesn't excuse our responsibility to believe on Christ, nor to
walk in disobedience to the Word of God. It's not our responsibility
to understand election. It's our responsibility to believe
on Christ. Believing on Christ proves our
election. It makes our calling and election
sure. The Scriptures don't declare,
he that is elect hath eternal life. The Scriptures declare,
he that hath the Son hath life. And he that hath not the Son
hath not life. If you have the Son, then you're
the elect of God. Salvation is having Christ, not
being elect. God hath from the beginning chosen
you to salvation. were sanctified through the Spirit
and belief of the truth. You don't learn the doctrines
of grace and then come to Christ. You don't become a Calvinist
before you become a Christian. Many have and they didn't persevere
to the end. They never did belong to Christ. They fell in love with a doctrine
and not the Son of God. The elect of God persevere unto
the end because God loves His elect who are in the world and
He loves them unto the end. And the doctrines of grace are
found in Christ. Christ is not found in the doctrines
of grace. I had a man tell me one time
that he believed in predestination. That won't save you. Believing
in predestination won't save you. There are a lot of Calvinists
in here. Believing in Christ is salvation. No man knoweth the Father except
the Son, and He to whom the Son will reveal Him. You know, a
man cannot learn the decrees and the counsel of God until
he learns Christ. You can't learn the counsel of
God until you come to the Christ of God. And a dead man or woman
can't learn One dead can't receive a divine revelation from God.
God's got to first give them life. Who did He give life to? Those He chose before the foundation
of the world, but it wasn't by any work that they did. Our text
says that the apostle knew the election of these people. He
knew they were elected. How did he know it? How did he
know that they were elected? Well, the way that Paul knew
their election is the way that we can know ours. Verse 5 tells
us how. For our gospel came not unto
you in word only. People say, I heard the Word.
I believed the Word. I loved the Word. I was saved
by hearing the Word. True. That's true. You have to
hear the Word to be saved. It pleased God by the foolishness
of preaching to save. them that believe preaching is
preaching the Word of God. But often the words of many preachers,
not true preachers, are mixed with enticing words of man's
wisdom. They won't say. Words won't save. Sometimes they're just intellectual
words. Sometimes they're argumentative
words. Sometimes they're debatable words.
Men like to argue. Men like to debate. Just words. But Paul distinguishes the hearing
of the believer by saying, For our gospel came not unto you
in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in
much assurance, as you know what manner of men we were among you
for your sake. You heard the gospel by the power
of the Holy Ghost, if you heard it. You heard the gospel, Paul
said, in much assurance. You knew it was so. And that's
because it was accompanied by the power of God. The Gospel
came to you in power. Life-changing. Life-changing
thoughts. Life-changing attitude. Life-changing
power. That's the way the elect of God
hear the Gospel. God's elect hear the Gospel in
power. That word power in the Greek
is the word dunamis. You know what I mean? Dynamite. Dynamite. Same word we get our
English word dynamite from. The elect of God hear the gospel
in power. Power that convinces them of
their sin. Power to give them life. Power to break their hearts.
Power to crush their rebellion. Power to reveal Christ to them. That takes power. It takes the
power of God. The dynamite of God. The Gospel is preached to all
who will hear, but it only comes in power to some. Without the
power of God accompanying our preaching, listen, nobody would
be saved. That's just true. Somebody says,
well, he's a good preacher. I got saved under his ministry.
Well, there was a preacher of old named Roland Hill. You've
probably heard the story. And he met a man on the street,
and the man was intoxicated. And he said, Mr. Hill, I'm one
of your converts. And Mr. Hill said, yes, I can
see that you're one of mine. If you were one of God's converts,
you wouldn't be in the state that you're in now. There's a
lot of truth in that. Our converts aren't worth much. Well, they're not worth anything.
If they were converted by man, They can be unconverted by man.
True conversions by the work of power of the Holy Spirit of
God. And what is a result of hearing
and power and insurance? Verse 6, and you became followers. Followers us and followers of
the Lord. How do I know I'm elect of God?
I'm going to follow Him. I'm going to follow the Lord.
That's what our Lord said. He said, My sheep, referring
to His elect, hear My voice. But that ain't all they do. They
hear My voice, My Word, and they follow Me. Having received the
Word in much affliction, which was instigated by the unbelieving
Jews, with joy of the Holy Ghost, that's the power of God. That joy that only God the Holy
Spirit can give in power, we came into the house of the Lord
with joy and thanksgiving, making a joyful noise. And it took the
power of God to do it. You know, many come into their
place of worship sad and downtrodden and solemnly. Is coming to worship your Savior
a slavish attendance? Is it something that you detest?
Something that makes you sad? Do you come because you know
that it's disrespectful you stay away? There's a lot of people
that go to church because they know that it's the right thing
to do. It's the right thing to do. Well, how different it is with
our grandchildren when they come into our house during the holidays. They're delighted to be there.
And they come running with anticipation of receiving the gifts that you
have for them. How much more should we come
enjoy into our Heavenly Father's presence? Why, He's given us
the gift of life, the gift of forgiveness, the gift of mercy
and grace, And there may be some of you
here this morning thinking, well, I don't know whether I am one
of the elect. I'm not certain that God's Word's
come to me in power. I can't say that I've received
His Word with much assurance. I cannot with certainty say that
I'm a follower of Christ. I cannot say that I've received
God's Word with joy. Leave that question alone. Ponder
this one. Does thou believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ? Will you trust Him to save your
soul? Faith and trust in Christ through
His precious blood will put away every sin. Not election, but
blood of Christ. put you simply in a savable condition. It doesn't simply make salvation
possible. It makes salvation certain. And you can know, brethren below,
your election of God. You can. Sometimes I doubt, and when I
do, it's because I'm looking within and not looking to Christ.
But when I look to Christ, there's no doubt. that I'm saved. Because He did for me what I
couldn't do. He did for God what I couldn't
do. May God be pleased to make it
so for His glory, our good, and for Christ's sake.