The Bible Baptist Church, located
at 2015 Beulah 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. Now tell me again what it is
that you and your church believes. Has anyone ever asked you that?
Some may think my answer to that question to be sarcastic, but
it's not intended to be at all. My answer to that is we believe
what the Bible teaches. If I was to entitle this message,
it would be just that this is what the Bible teaches. The terminology,
the doctrines of grace is a phrase that most every one of us are
familiar with. It's widely known by the word
Calvinism, accredited to John Calvin, but God is the author
of these blessed truths. Now, there are five major points
in Calvinism, and these five points are known by the acronym
TULIP, T-U-L-I-P. T standing for total depravity. U, standing for unconditional
election. L, for limited atonement or particular
redemption. The I, irresistible grace, the
effectual call of God's grace. And P, perseverance, or I prefer
preservation by God, preservation of the saints. The reason I like
preservation over perseverance is that the word persevere makes
it sound as though we add something to God's work in order to be
kept. Now let me say that I fully believe
that there's no understanding of the gospel whatsoever apart
from these glorious truths commonly referred to as the doctrines
of grace or the five points of Calvinism. Yet it's also with
no hesitation or reluctance that I tell you salvation is not in
a system of doctrines. Just because you know, the doctrines
of grace does not mean that, you know, the God of grace salvation. Oh, this is so important. Salvation
is in a person. And that person is the Lord Jesus
Christ. Eternal life is to know Jesus
Christ. John 17, three, and this is life
eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God, and
Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. Oh, there's only one true
God, and it's he that is declared in the pages of the Bible. A doctrine, that word means teaching,
is nothing more than a doctrine if it's void of Christ. I'm not
interested in seeing men and women converted to Calvinism.
Conversion to a doctrine or a denomination, neither one, will benefit the
soul of a sinner. If sinners are to be saved, it'll
be by the grace of God. If sinners are to be turned to
God, they must be converted by the power of God, the Holy Spirit,
through The preaching of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ,
the preaching of the gospel is God's ordained means to convert
his people to himself. If centers are to be saved, it's
going to be by God's grace. Preaching doctrine, even if it's
true, will not save a soul if it's Christless. Mr. Spurgeon, referred to as the
Prince of Preachers, once told the story of a young English
preacher who preached before a well-known and faithful pastor
of many years. And upon finishing his sermon,
the young man approached the seasoned pastor and asked him
what he thought of the message. And the old preacher responded,
a very poor sermon indeed. The young preacher then asked,
was not my explanation of the text accurate? Oh yes, it was
very accurate, said the elder gentleman. Were my illustrations
clear? Were the points of my outline
appropriate? Oh yes, your illustrations and
your points were just fine. Then why was it a poor sermon,
the young preacher asked, and his mentor answered and said,
because there was no Christ in it. Christ was not in the text,
explained the young man. We're to preach what's in the
text, aren't we? And Christ was, he's not in every text. And following
that comment, the old and wise preacher said, from every town
and every village and every little hamlet in England, wherever it
may be, there is a road that leads to London. From every text
in scripture, there's a road that leads to Christ. When men
preach from a passage of scripture, they should always ask themselves,
now, where is the road to Christ? And I have yet to find a text
in this blessed book that had no such road. No matter where
in the Bible we land, We must travel over hedge and ditch and
rough ground to get to that road that leads to our Savior. A sermon. We need less sermons and more
heartfelt preaching. A sermon has no life-giving substance
if it does not have the sweet savor of Christ in it. My text
this morning is found in the sixth chapter of Genesis. May
God enable us to find that road that leads to Christ. Someone
recently told me that they heard a preacher refuting the doctrines
of grace, and this preacher claimed that the glorious truths of what
we call the doctrines of grace, or Calvinism, are found nowhere
in the scriptures. I'm telling you that they're
not only found throughout the Bible, but they're found right
here in the sixth chapter of Genesis. Let's look at that. The first, as I told you a moment
ago, T for tulip, total depravity. The Bible teaches that the human
nature is thoroughly, totally corrupt, totally sinful, as a
result of Adam's fall into sin. And there's no passage in all
the scripture that shows more of fallen humanity's total depravity
than found here in Genesis chapter six. Look at verse five, if you
have your Bible. Verse five says, and God saw
that the wickedness of man was great in the earth. Oh, it was
great in the earth, and it was great in the man. And that every
imagination, how many? Every one, Every imagination
of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the Lord that
he'd made man on the earth and it grieved him at his heart.
And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from
the face of the earth, both man and beast and the creeping thing
and the fowls of the air for it repented me that I made them. Now, let me read verse 11, that
same chapter. The earth also was corrupt before
God, and the earth was filled with violence. And God looked
upon the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had
corrupted his way upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, the end
of all flesh is come before me, for the earth is filled. with
violence through them, and behold, I will destroy them in the earth."
Now, isn't it so clearly revealed in these verses that men and
women, sinners, are completely void of any goodness or righteousness
before a thrice holy God? Man's depravity is total. It's total in number for all
flesh is corrupt. The earth is filled with violence
because man is filled with sin and depravity. And this is what
the Bible teaches. As a result of Adam's fall, the
total and entirety of the human race, all humanity, spiritually
speaking, died in their trespasses and sin, and they're totally
dead, not just half dead. You can't be half dead. You're
either dead or alive. And when man fail, he didn't
just, he wasn't just wounded, but he became totally incapable
and unwilling to worship his creator. This violence that we
read about here is the outward result of the sin found within
men and women. And can any man or woman truly
deny their total depravity after reading Paul's words in Romans
chapter three? As it is written, there is none
righteous, no not one. There's none that understandeth. There's none that seeketh after
God. They are all gone out of the
way. They are together. become unprofitable. There is none that doeth good,
no, not one. Their throat is an open sepulcher,
a grave, a tomb. And with their tongues, they've
used deceit. Deception spews from their mouth. The poison of asp is under their
lips. Their mouth is full of cursing
and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed
blood. Their mouth and their feet do
these things as a result of what's inward. Oh, friends, destruction
and misery are in their ways, and the way of peace have they
not known. There's no fear of God before
their eyes. But now listen, this is so critical. Just knowing
something about your depravity, even knowing that it's total,
will profit you nothing if it doesn't show you your need of
Christ. I cannot produce life in me,
and I'll never have life in me if God doesn't choose to give
me life. Why do folks refuse to believe
that? I'll tell you why. It takes away
their will in the matter. And this is what the Bible teaches. Second thing, you remember the
ewe and tulip? Unconditional election. Predestination,
the predetermined purpose of God to save certain chosen sinners. Verse eight of our text, Genesis
six. But Noah found grace in the eyes
of the Lord. Oh, election can be clearly seen
in the Bible by two words, but God. Oh, it's God who makes one
to differ from another. But Noah found grace in the eyes
of the Lord. None, but Noah found grace because
none, but God can give grace and God gives this grace to whomsoever
he will. Any sinner who does not believe
to be totally depraved, totally dead and trespasses in sin is,
according to Ephesians chapter two, walking according to the
course of this world, according to the prince of the power of
the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience,
but God. But God, who's rich in mercy,
for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were
dead in sins, he has made us alive in Christ. God made us alive, only he can. God sovereignly chose and elected
the people whom he'd saved before the world began. Oh, not because
of anything good which he foresaw in them, but simply according
to his own will, purpose, and good pleasure. And men and women
say, I've decided to follow Jesus. I made Jesus my Lord. I let go and let God save me. Is that what the scriptures teach?
Our Lord said in John 15, 16, you've not chosen me, but I've
chosen you and ordained you that you should go forth and bring
forth fruit and that your fruit should remain. What about that
passage in Romans chapter nine? For the children being not yet
born, speaking of Jacob and Esau, neither having done any good
or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might
stand, not of works, but of him that calleth. And it was said
unto her, that is the mother of those two twin boys, the elder
shall serve the younger, as it is written, Jacob have I loved,
but Esau have I hated. Ephesians one, verses four and
five, according as he hath chosen us in him 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 Jesus Christ to himself. Now how can one who is totally
depraved Be holy and without blame before God and love. Only
one way, through the Lord Jesus Christ. We call this blessed
truth unconditional election because it's just that. It's
unconditional. It has no conditions. You're
not chosen or elected by God because he foresaw anything good
in you or anything good done by you. God did not choose men
and women because He looked ahead in time to see if they'd choose
Him. That'd make it conditional on something that they did. How
does this great truth of God's unconditional election have anything
to do with the Lord Jesus Christ? Well, it has everything to do
with Him. According as He, God, hath chosen us in Him before
the foundation of the world. We've been predestinated, predetermined
by God. Our adoption into the family
of God has been determined by God, and He cannot fail in the
matter of redeeming His people. Oh, I tell you, I grow so tired
of hearing folks talk about what God wants to do and what God's
trying to do. Our God's in the heavens, he's
done whatsoever he's pleased. Friends, God does what he wills
in the armies of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth,
and none can stay his hand or saying to him, what doest thou? If sinners can somehow purchase
salvation, then they must believe that they've got something to
barter with that God wants or needs. And that would make our
election conditional. If centers can earn salvation,
then there must be a work that they can do that will in some
way obligate God to save them. And that makes salvation contingent
on the center. If centers somehow deserve salvation,
then there must be something in them or done by them that
would merit their acceptance with God, making their redemption
subject to something in them. And if any of these things are
true, if any of these things be so, the man has every right
and reason to glory in himself. And God is obligated to share
his glory with them. But man has nothing. He's totally
depraved. He's dead. He's void of life. I keep praying that what Paul
wrote in Ephesians chapter two, verses eight and nine, will be
truly made effectual to our hearts. For by grace are you saved through
faith. And that, that being salvation,
is not of yourselves. It is the gift of God. What is
it? It's a gift. Whose gift is it? It's the gift of God. Who does
he give this gift to? To those whom he elected in Christ. To those who are totally depraved
and have no life-giving substance within themselves. Chosen sinners
are saved by grace through faith. And that grace and that faith
is not of themselves. It's not mustered up by them. It's the gift of God, not of
works, lest any man should boast. And one says, but I purchased
salvation. Then it's not a gift. Another
says I worked and earned it. That's boasting. Others claim
to deserve it. Then it ceases to be undeserved. Grace, faith, and salvation is
not of yourselves. If you have it, it's God's free,
unconditional, and sovereign gift to you. That's what the
Bible teaches. Third thing, limited atonement
or particular redemption. Limited atonement, particular
redemption teaches that God determined as a result of this unconditional
election to save only the certain and particular ones that he chose
and elected. The atonement, the payment provided
by God in Christ for sin is limited to a particular people. Only
those whom God has elected and Christ died for will be saved. Well, didn't Christ die for the
whole world? You might ask. Well, how many people were saved
in the days of Noah? Did anyone else in Noah's day
find grace in the eyes of the Lord? Well, we go on to find
that God saved Noah's wife, his three sons and their wives, eight
people out of the multitudes that resided upon the earth.
That's pretty particular. That's pretty limited. Peter
makes reference to this limited number in his second epistle,
chapter three, verse 20. And speaking of God's long suffering
to even those who perished, Peter wrote, the long suffering of
God waited in the days of Noah. While the ark was a preparing,
wherein few, few is a limited number, that is eight souls. Eight is a particular and limited
number. Eight souls were saved from water.
Now we believe according to the scriptures that the Lord Jesus
Christ died for and redeemed only those whom he purposed to
have mercy on. Did Christ die for them who perish
under the justice of God? If he did, he died in vain. If
Christ died for every sin of everybody, then all will be saved.
If Christ died for some of the sin of everybody, then none will
be saved. But if Christ died for all the
sin of some, then some will be saved. What does the Bible teach? Christ said, I am the good shepherd.
The good shepherd giveth his life for who? For the sheep.
John 10, 11. Christ said, I pray for who?
Who did he pray for? For them. I pray not for the
world, but for them, which thou hast given me. They are thine.
Christ shed his blood for a limited, limited not meaning few, because
there's gonna be a multitude in heaven, which no man can number. Limited here, meaning not everyone. And Christ actually accomplished
the redemption of His people. The benefits of Christ's atonement
are limited to the elect of God, the particular ones that He elected
according to His own purpose of grace before time ever was. Oh, Christ died for certain particular
sinners, and he effectually satisfied the justice of God for them,
guaranteeing their eternal salvation. And men and women always have
and always will claim the same thing, that God is unfair. Oh,
do men dare charge God with being unfair by his saving of some
when all deserve to die? God's not unfair, he's good,
he's gracious, and he's merciful to save any. Is it not an amazing
thing that God would save anyone? Where is limit atonement found
in Genesis chapter six? Verse 13 says, and God said unto
Noah, God communicated and fellowshiped with one man. God spoke to Noah
only because only Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.
Verse 17, and behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters
upon the earth to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath
of life from under heaven, and everything that is in the earth
shall die. But with thee, speaking to Noah, he said, will I establish
my covenant, but with thee. That's pretty limited, isn't
it? That's pretty particular. Hear
me on this, dear sinner, if you do not see that Christ is your
covenant, covenant being God's promise and pledge to you and
him, then the doctrine of unconditional election or particular redemption
will be of no value to you. Irresistible grace, the fourth
thing, or effectual calling. We don't have to go far in this
chapter of Genesis 6 to see God's irresistible grace or his effectual
calling. Verse 18 again, but with thee
will I establish my covenant and thou shalt come into the
ark, thou and thy sons and thy wife and thy son's wife with
thee. You see, everyone whom God elected
and everyone for whom Christ died, God will draw them to himself
by irresistible grace. They who were once unable and
unwilling to come to Christ are now made able and willing to
come because with the effectual call of irresistible grace comes
the power to come. When God affectionately calls
in power, man will respond. In verse 18, God said, thou shalt
come into the ark. Those whom God elected, those
for whom Christ died, God in grace will create faith in their
hearts. All who are called by the Holy
Spirit will come to Christ, the ark in faith. Blessed is the
man whom thou choosest and causest to approach unto thee. Oh, you
see friends, God not only chooses, but he causes. He does the choosing
and he does the enabling. Thy people shall be willing in
the day of thy power. God makes the unwilling willing.
The Lord Jesus said in John 6, verse 37, all that the Father
giveth me shall come to me. All that God gave to Christ shall
come to him. Oh, this is effectual, effectual. So then it's not of him that
willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy. Romans 9, 16. The Lord Jesus
said, and other sheep I have, which are not of this fold, them
also I must bring, and they shall, hear my voice, and there shall
be one fold and one shepherd. Do you see that Christ is the
good shepherd, must bring the sheep who are not yet of his
fold? God's sheep shall hear his voice
and follow him into this fold, just one fold and one shepherd. And God told Noah in verse 13
that the end of all flesh had come before him. God said, the
earth has corrupted itself, meaning those in the world had corrupted
themselves. It's filled with violence, meaning
those in the world were filled with violence. And God said,
I'm going to destroy it. Why? Because God's justice was
offended. God's wrath had waxed hot. God's
judgment was going to fall. But the voice of God's irresistible
grace says in verse 14, make thee an ark of gopher wood. Oh,
grace moved upon Noah, and Noah was moved by grace. Now look
at verse 22. Thus did Noah, according to all
that God commanded him, so did he. No one can resist the power
of God. To say that men and women have
the free will to resist God's power is absolute blasphemy. None can resist his will. God's
going to have his way. And may we never forget. God
loves us in Christ. He chose us in Christ and he
calls us in Christ. If there was no irresistible
Christ, there would be no irresistible grace. The last thing preservation
of the saints. Now hear me. The reign of God's
wrath began to fall upon the earth. And with each drop of
God's justice and judgment that fail, Through it all, Noah and
his family were kept by the power of God in that ark, which is
Christ. 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.