Kingsport Sovereign Grace Church,
located at 2709 Rock Springs Road in Kingsport, Tennessee,
would like to invite you to listen to a message of sovereign grace
by their pastor, Gabe Stoniker. For information and service times,
visit www.ksgc.church. And now, Gabe Stoniker. If you would like to follow along
with me today, I will be speaking to you from Philippians chapter
2. Philippians chapter 2, and one
verse will be our text. It will be verse 13, which says,
For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of
his good pleasure. Aren't you so thankful for that?
It is God which worketh in you both to will and do of his good
pleasure. What good news that is. Jonah
is the one who said salvation is of the Lord. Salvation is
totally of the Lord. I would like for us to really
see that. That's what we're going to declare
today. in every way, shape and form, salvation is totally of
the Lord. It is God's work alone. It is God's work alone, that
He works in His people and it's all according to the good pleasure
of His will. And just to be clear on this,
to say that it is God's work, what that means is it's not ours. To say that salvation is of the
Lord, what that means is salvation is not of us. Salvation is not
of us. Now, I have 10 things that I
would like to declare concerning God's salvation, and I know that's
quite a few, so I'm gonna try to move quickly and get all 10
of them in this timeframe that we have for the program. state
of fact, prove it in the word, and then we'll move on. When
it comes to salvation, until we know what God has said about
it in his word, until we really know what God has said about
it, we have a lot of questions concerning it. All of us do. Every question that a man or
a woman could ever have concerning salvation will be answered in
the Word. Every question that anyone could
have. If a person comes into a worship
service needing questions answered, all that person has to do is
sit and listen to the Word preached and every question will be answered. In time, every question will
be answered. The question that I hope the
Word of God will answer for us today is usually the first question
that people have concerning salvation. Normally, this is the first question
people have. They want to know what is my
role in it? That's what people want to know.
What is my role in it? How do I make this happen? How do I get the ball rolling? How can I be a part of it? Know
that I'm a part of it. How does this work? How does
this work? I want to answer that by reading
a scripture and then declaring a truth and reading a scripture
and declaring a truth. Okay. The first one. in Philippians
chapter 1. If you would like to turn to
these with me, I'll tell you what I'm quoting. If you want
to write them down, you can go back and look at them later.
But Philippians chapter 1 verse 6 says, Being confident of this
very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will
perform it and until the day of Jesus Christ. Here's the first statement. We do not begin the work of salvation. God does. That's a revelation
to anyone who hears this for the first time and has this proven
to them by the word of God for the first time. We do not begin
the work of salvation. God does. When a person first
comes to this subject of salvation, he or she will search to try
to figure out, how do I get this process started? You know, they
will say, I want to be saved. I want to be saved. So how do
I get this process started? Everyone naturally thinks that
the ball is in their court. And here's the reason why. It's
because false preachers have been standing in pulpits telling
men and women all of their lives, now the ball's in your court.
All right, what are you going to do? Are you going to make
your decision to do something? Are you going to sit there and
let your opportunity pass by? What are you going to do? This
is up to you. That's what men and women have
been falsely told all their lives. So they hear that. And this is
the natural response. Okay. Then what do I have to
do? What do I need to do? How do
I get this started? We don't start the work of salvation. God does. Verse 6 says, being
confident of this very thing that He which hath begun a good
work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. He which
hath begun. We do not start the work of salvation,
God does. Okay? Here's the second thing,
the second statement. We do not perform the work of
salvation, God does. Verse six, right here in Philippians
one says, being confident of this very thing that he which
hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day
of Jesus Christ. We do not perform the work of
salvation. God does. Our text just said,
it is God, which worketh in you worketh performing. We do not
begin the work. We do not perform the work. All
right. Here's the third thing over in
John 19 verse 30. This is the Lord Jesus Christ
on the cross of Calvary. And it says, when Jesus therefore
had received the vinegar, he said, it is finished. And he bowed his
head and gave up the ghost. It is finished. We do not finish
the work of salvation. He did. Christ did. God did. People think, they wonder
about this, they're confused about this and they think, now,
did he take the first step and I need to take the second step?
Or do I have to take the first step before he will take the
second step? The answer is neither, neither
one. He took all the steps. He took
all the steps and we take none. A man named Charles Spurgeon,
a preacher from the 1800s, Charles Spurgeon made this statement.
He said, if I was standing at the very threshold of heaven,
right there at the gate, right there at the door, if I was standing
at the very threshold of heaven, and he said the last step was
up to me, He said, I'd never make it in. I'd never make it
in. And it's because we are all spiritually
dead in trespasses and sins. By our nature, naturally, we
are spiritually dead in trespasses and sins. That's the condition
man is in, men and women. Ask a dead man to take a step
and see what happens. Ask a dead man to just take one
step and see what happens. A dead man doesn't even know
he's dead. And that's the problem for most
men and women. They do not realize that spiritually
before God, they are dead in trespasses and sins. And they remain in that condition
until God speaks life until God begins and performs and finishes
the work of creating life in a center. And once that life
comes, the center realizes I was dead and he gave me life. He made me alive. So we do not
begin the work of salvation. He does. We do not perform the
work of salvation. He does. We do not finish the
work of salvation, He does, He already has. Hebrews 1 verse
3 says, He by Himself purged our sins and then He sat down
on His throne. Number four, in John chapter
15, John 15 verse 16, this is the
Lord Jesus Christ speaking and He said, You have not chosen
me, but I have chosen you. You have not chosen me, but I
have chosen you and ordained you that you should go and bring
forth fruit and that your fruit should remain that whatsoever
you shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you."
When it comes to salvation, We don't do the choosing, God does. God does. People say all the
time, they bring up this verse of scripture all the time, I'm
sure you've heard it. People say, well, what about that verse
that says, choose you this day whom you will serve. Have you
ever heard that verse? Choose you this day whom you
will serve. Most people don't understand the context. That
was a rebuke. That was a rebuke. Joshua told
the people, he said, you are not worshiping the true and living
God. You're worshiping false gods.
You're worshiping idols. And he said, none of them can
save you. None of them. So he said, it
doesn't matter which one you worship. None of them are going
to do any good for you. You just go pick one. Choose
you this day whom you will serve. That's what that verse is saying.
When it comes to the salvation of the true and living God, He
does all the choosing. He makes all the decisions. Ephesians
1 verse 4 says, according as He hath chosen us in Christ before
the foundation of the world. He did it before the foundation
of the world. God the Father chose all of His people in Christ
before the foundation of the world. There's no decision to
be made on our part. None whatsoever. I want us to
really understand this. This is God being God and man
being not God, man being man and man being a sinner in need
of God, the mercy and grace of God. This is God being God. He does all the deciding. He
does all the choosing. The decision was all his concerning
salvation. All right. Now let me read number
five and number six to you. Okay. This is both of them together. We don't seek him. He seeks us
and we don't find him. He finds us over in Isaiah 65. Isaiah chapter 65 verse one,
the Lord God said, I am sought of them that asked not for me. I am found of them that sought
me not. The command in the scripture
is seek the Lord while he may be found. That's the command
of the scripture. Seek the Lord, seek the Lord. But here's the
problem. The sinful flesh of man will
not do it. Will not do it. This is why our
God had to do all of this for us. This is why he had to do
all of it for us. The Lord said, you will not come
to me that you might have life. That's what he said. He said,
no man can come unless the father draws. And he said, you will
not come. Can't, won't. Will not do it. A man in his sinfulness will
seek religion. People think they're seeking
the Lord by seeking religion. They try to go find the right
religion for them. Men and women will seek doctrine. They'll be curious about doctrine.
They'll hear about these things and they'll go seeking doctrine.
Men and women will seek self-gratification, feeling better about themselves.
Down in the dumps, what do we need to do? Well, let's go to
church so we can feel better about ourselves. Men and women
will seek lies. They will. They'll hear them.
They'll believe them. But by our very own nature, We
will not seek Christ. Man will not seek Christ. Not
in truth. Truth that gives him all the
glory in these things. Truth as he's declared himself
to be in his word. God is the one who has to do
all the seeking. And God is the one who has to
do all the finding. Verse one, he said, I am sought
of them that asked not for me. I am found of them that sought
me not. I said, behold me, behold me
unto a nation that was not called by my name. That's how it went.
The Lord God said, I said, Behold me. David said in Psalm 27, when
you said, seek ye my face, that's when my heart cried, thy face,
Lord, will I seek? That's when I responded. After
you commanded me to do it, after you started that work and you
performed that work in me, he is the one who came to seek and
to save that which was lost. He's the one. He is the one who
left the 99 and sought his sheep until he found it. He's the one
who brought that sheep home, rejoicing, telling everyone,
rejoice with me. I have found my sheep, which
was lost. So we don't begin the work of
salvation. He does. We don't perform the
work of salvation. He does. We do not finish the
work of salvation. He does. He already has. We do
not do the choosing. He does. We do not do the seeking. He does. We do not do the finding. He does. Number seven. Here's number seven over in Ephesians
chapter two, Ephesians two. Verse eight says, for by grace
are you saved through faith and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God. We do
not produce our own faith to believe on Christ. He puts His
own faith in us and causes us to believe on Him. This is the
command of Scripture. Here's the command of the Word
of God. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ thou shalt be saved. But here's
the thing about it. Even that belief, even that faith is His
work in us. causing us to will and do of
his good pleasure. Hebrews 12 verse 2 says that
the Lord Jesus Christ is the author and finisher of our faith. Faith is not of ourselves, it's
the gift of God, it's the work of God, it's the object of God
and he gets all the credit in it. All the credit for causing
a sinner to believe. Number eight, Titus chapter three,
verse five says, not by works of righteousness, which we have
done, but according to his mercy, he saved us by the washing of
regeneration and renewing of the Holy ghost. which he shed
on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that being
justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the
hope of eternal life, not by works of righteousness which
we have done. We do not earn any perfection
before God of our own. We do not earn any perfection
of our own. We do not earn any goodness. Any goodness. If men and women
are going to go be with God, they need to be good. Everyone
knows that. We do not earn, we do not have
any goodness of our own because of our own doing. We don't even
have any record of any good because of our own doing. It is not by
works of righteousness which we have done. We did not do the
works of righteousness. He earned every bit of that for
us. He earned that righteousness
for us, our perfection before God. Christ earned that for us. He earned that for us. What makes
God look at us and say, you're worthy to enter in? Come on in. Christ earned that for us. Man thinks he has to go around
earning a goodness so God will accept him. Man can't do that. We are sinners by nature. All
of our righteousnesses are filthy rags. Man at his best state is
altogether vanity. Christ had to earn that for his
people and then he gave that to his people. That's why he
walked this earth for 33 and a half years. He earned a perfect
life of goodness and righteousness. And then he gave that to his
people by taking from them their life of sinfulness and rebellion
and wretchedness. That's why he died on the cross.
It's because he traded lives with his people and he got what
his people deserved and they ended up getting what he deserved.
Substitution it's called. That's the heart of the gospel.
So Christ did all of that for us. We did not earn God's favor. And we cannot keep ourselves
in God's favor. And that's number nine. That's
our ninth statement. Christ is the one who keeps us
there. We cannot keep ourselves in God's
favor. Christ has to keep us there.
Over in 1 Peter 1, it says in verse 3, Blessed be the God and
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant
mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope." That means
a living hope. "...by the resurrection of Jesus
Christ from the dead to an inheritance incorruptible." How glorious
is that news that there is an inheritance for God's people
that is incorruptible and undefiled. and that fadeth not away, it'll
never fade away, never run out. It is reserved in heaven for
you who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation,
ready to be revealed in the last time. kept by the power of God. People wonder how they're going
to be kept in salvation. People are always worried that
they're going to lose their salvation. They always talk about losing
your salvation. You better not do that. You're
going to lose your salvation. That's why men and women go to
confessions all the time. And that's why, you know, men
and women do this and do that. It's because they don't want
to lose their salvation. How are we going to be kept? It's
not going to be by us keeping ourselves. That's a fact. Christ has to do that. The Lord
Jesus Christ has to do that. And he will. He will. He will keep his people by the
power of God. He promised that he would. Therefore,
he will. We are kept by the power of God,
which is Christ himself. Christ is the power of God and
the wisdom of God. So we don't begin the work of
salvation. He does. We don't perform the
work of salvation. He does. We do not finish the
work of salvation. He did. He does, however you
want to say it, however you want to, all of this was finished
before the foundation of the world that he did in his own
blood on Calvary's tree finished. Okay. We do not do the choosing
in salvation. He does. We do not do the seeking. He does. We do not do the finding. He does. We do not produce the
faith. He does. We do not earn the righteousness,
the goodness, the perfection. He does. We're not even the ones
who keep ourselves in His salvation. He is the one who keeps us there.
And the last one, number 10, all right, this could really
be the first one. The last one is in 1 John 4. It says in verse
10, herein is love. Not that we loved God, but that
He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our
sins. It is not that we loved God. It is not. Our salvation is not because
of the fact that we loved God. It's because He loved us. and sent his son to be the propitiation. That means the bloody victim.
That means the covering atonement for our sins. What covered all
of our sins? Verse 19 says, we love him because
he first loved us. That's the reason why. We love
him and we do. Do we love him? Oh, we do. But
it's only because He first loved us. He commended His love to
us while we were sinners, while we were ungodly. That's when
He commended His love to us first. And as a result of that, we love
Him. Can we see, honestly, that salvation
is totally of the Lord? Start to finish, salvation is
totally of the Lord. If any man glory, let him glory
in the Lord. For it is God which worketh in
us both to will and do of His good pleasure. To that we say,
Thank God. Thank God. Amen. You have been listening to a
message by Gabe Stoniker, pastor of Kingsport Sovereign Grace
Church in Kingsport, Tennessee. If you would like a copy of this
message, or to hear other messages of sovereign grace, you can call
or write to the number and address on your screen, or visit www.ksgc.church. Tune in at this same time next
week for another message of God's free and sovereign grace.