Turn with me to Ephesians 2. Ephesians chapter 2. Chris read
our text. We're going to look at the first
seven verses of Ephesians 2. But let me give you an intro
to this message. There was a man many years ago
whom the Lord God revealed the Scripture to. Opened up the Scripture
to him. Revealed the truth in the Word. And He caused that man to preach. And He gave that man the outline
of Scripture. The outline of Scripture. And he showed that man that all
Scripture says the same thing. I don't care if you're in Genesis,
Hosea, Romans, or Revelation. It all says the same thing. And that man's name was John
Calvin. John Calvin didn't come up with
anything new. He didn't have a new idea at
all. So to agree with and believe
John Calvin's five-point outline, that doesn't make a person a
Calvinist. That makes a person a Christianist. That's what it
makes a person. I agree with my brother John
Calvin. I do. I love him. I love that man. I love his message.
But a man or a woman can cling to a doctrine and not cling to
the Christ of that doctrine. A person can hold to a doctrine
and not be holding to the Christ of that doctrine. I believe in
what people call the five points of Calvinism. I preach it. Brother Henry Mahan used to have
a preacher school and this was his motto to every man who came
and learned. Tulip or terminate. You preach
the five points or you don't preach. But a person can be a staunch,
hard core, five point Calvinist and go around and tell everybody and miss Christ. Just flat miss
Christ. Yeah, that's the truth. That
is the truth. I love my brother Henry Mahan. I love him so much. I agree with everything I can
read by him, everything I hear by him, But I don't want to be
called a Mahanist. I want to, alongside of Him,
worship our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He wouldn't want anybody to be
called a Mahanist. And John Calvin wouldn't want
anybody to be called a Calvinist. He wouldn't. He'd say, don't
look to me, look to Christ. Now with that being said, the
Lord did give our brother John Calvin the true, clear outline
of Scripture. And the title of this message
is TULIP. T-U-L-I-P. Tulip. Those are the five points
that the Lord revealed to John Calvin. The first one is total
depravity. The second one is unconditional
election. The third one is limited atonement. The fourth one is irresistible
grace. And the fifth one is perseverance
of the saints. Now, everybody can understand what
I'm about to say. Devin, how old are you? Twelve. You can get this, okay? Everybody
can understand this. When you go to hear a man preach,
you go into a church building, and you hear a man preach, some
men are going to tell you the truth, and some men are not. A false message, false religion,
says this, depravity is not total. They say two things. They say
it's in some but it's not in all. Or they say a little bit
is in all of us, but it's not total. I'm going to tell you
what depravity means in a minute. False religion preaches election
is conditional. God will choose you, but you
have to fill in the blank. False religion
preaches the atonement, and what that means is the bloodshed of
Jesus Christ was universal. Christ died for everybody. When He died, that was for everybody. False religion preaches grace
can be resisted. Jesus Christ wants to save you
if you'll let Him. Don't resist it. False religion
preaches man can fall away if he doesn't keep himself. The
Lord helps those who help themselves. If you take the first step, He'll
take the second. Okay, that's not what the Bible
says. That's not what the Scripture
teaches. Let's look at the true outline of Scripture. Ephesians
2, look at verse 1. It says, and you hath He quickened. That word quickened means made
alive. You hath He saved. You hath He
regenerated. You hath He redeemed. Alright,
now, who did He do this for? The text right there says you. You. Now, is that you universal? Is everybody you? I thought about this. I can write
a letter to my wife. I can write a letter to anybody
I want to. And I can say anything I want
to say in that letter. And once I establish dear whoever
at the top, I'm welcome to say you after that. But that you
only applies to whoever I wrote that letter to. That letter can't
get lost in the mail and be delivered to the wrong house and then somebody
open it up and say, I've inherited a lot of money. It's not talking
to you. Now Ephesians 1 verse 1, Paul
an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God to the saints
which are at Ephesus and to the faithful in Christ Jesus. That's
who he's talking to. That's the you. Now turn over
to John 17. John chapter 17. Alright, look at verse 1. These
words spake Jesus. These are the words from our
Lord's mouth. And He lifted up His eyes to
heaven and said, Father, the hour is come. Glorify Thy Son,
that Thy Son also may glorify Thee, as Thou hast given Him
power over all flesh, everybody on earth, that He should give
eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. Look at verse six. Our Lord said,
I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me
out of the world. And that means women too, mankind. The ones thou gavest me out of
the world. Thine they were, and thou gavest
them me, and I have kept thy word. Look at verse 9. He said, I pray
for them. I pray not for the world, but
for them which thou hast given me, for they are thine. Look
at verse 12. While I was with them in the
world, I kept them in thy name. Those that thou gavest me, I
have kept. And none of them is lost, but
the son of perdition that the Scripture might be fulfilled.
That's Judas. Judas was not you. He was not a you. Verse 20, Neither
pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe
on me through their word. He said, I came not to call the
righteous. I didn't come for them. The righteous
in their own eyes. Romans 8 says, Whom He called,
that's whom He justified, and that's whom He glorified. So
our text, Ephesians 2, those whom He saved, that's who He's
talking to. That's who He's talking to. That's
who the you are, okay? Now, verse 1 says, And you hath
He quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins. Total depravity. Total means complete. It means all of it. All of it. Not some of it, not most of it. It means all of it. Total. You hath He quickened who were
dead. Dead. We understand what that word
means physically, don't we? Has anybody ever seen something
that is dead? a mouse. We understand what dead
means. It's dead. But for some reason,
we have the hardest time understanding what that means spiritually. It means the exact same thing. When you see something dead,
that's a visual of dead. It means the same thing. Total
depravity dead, stinking, rotting, filthy, don't touch it, dead. Depravity means morally bad. That's what the word means, morally
bad. Verse 2 in our text, Ephesians
1 verse 2 says, wherein in time past, You walked according to
the course of this world. You went right along with the
world. According to the prince of the power of the air. That's
our adversary, Satan. You did exactly what he was controlling you to do. Our Lord
led captivity captive. the spirit that now worketh in
the children of disobedience, among whom also we all had our
conversation in time past, in the lust of our flesh, fulfilling
the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature
the children of wrath, just like everybody else. Can any of us deny it? Can anybody here deny it? When
you read that, can anybody say, that's not talking about me? Our Lord God said He looks on
the heart. He said to think it in His eyes
is to do it. is to commit it, to think it
is to commit it. Now are any of us better than
we used to be? Really. I mean really. Dig deep. Let's search deep and
just be honest inside ourselves. Total depravity. Total depravity. How can a person
like that be saved? To think it. Are our thoughts
any better than our actions used to be? You get in trouble enough, you
learn to quit doing things. Tired of getting in trouble.
But are our thoughts really any better than our actions used
to be? How can a person like that be saved? I need to be saved from my deadness. I need to be saved from myself.
How can a person like that be saved? When the scripture says
the only ones who will be allowed to stand in His holy place are
those that have clean hands and a pure heart, who hath not lifted
up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully." How can a
totally depraved sinner like you and me be saved? Unconditional election. That's the answer. Our text, look at verse 4, it
says, But God. That is salvation. That is salvation. If you want to know what my whole
hope is built on, but God. I acknowledge verses 1 through
3, but God. That's the gospel. It says, but God who is rich
in mercy. Rich means you have a lot of
it. For His great love wherewith
He loved us. Us. We've already established
that He's not talking to everybody. He's not talking to everybody.
He's talking to us. I pray that I am an us. I don't arrogantly say, He's
talking to me. I hope He's talking to me. I believe He's talking to me
because I acknowledge I'm dead. But God, that's my only hope.
Chapter 1 verse 4 says, 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. He chose us, elected
the us, before anybody or anything was created. When the world was
black, void, darkness, He chose all of His us. Therefore, this
election is unconditional. Unconditional. If every man and
woman is totally depraved, if every man and woman is in the
exact same boat, if every man and woman is actually dead, it
has to be unconditional. It has to be. Now turn over to
Romans chapter 9. Romans 9. Look at verse 10. Not only this, but when Rebecca
also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac. For the
children being not yet born, 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. It was said unto
her, The elder shall serve the younger. As it is written, Jacob
have I loved, but Esau have I hated. What shall we say then? Now get
a hold of this. Is there unrighteousness with
God? That He would choose to save
one and choose to damn another. Is there unrighteousness with
God? It says, God forbid that we would even bring up that question.
It's mercy for Him to save one person, anybody. Everybody is damned to hell. Verse 15, He saith to Moses,
I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy. and I will have compassion
on whom I will have compassion. So then it is not of him that
willeth, nor of him that runneth, but it's of God that showeth
mercy." It's all of God. Our Lord said in John 15 verse
16, You have not chosen Me. Now, that false religion says,
God cast a vote for you, the devil cast a vote against you,
you decide. Now let's just think about this. If that's true, then I do all
the choosing. But our Lord said, You have not
chosen Me, but I have chosen you. The only person who gets
a vote is God. That's it. This is a sovereign
God, and He does as He will with whom He will, and election is
simply God choosing to save a person. If a person is saved by Almighty
God, that's one of His elect. That's all it means. Now, if He elected to save me, if I'm totally depraved and had
to be elected, and if He elected me, how did He save me? How did He save me? Alright, let's go back to our
text, Ephesians chapter 2. Look at verse 5. Even when we were dead in sins,
He quickened us together with Christ. He joined us with Christ. That's how He saved me. Even
when we were dead in sins, He caused us to live with Jesus
Christ. Turn over to Romans 5. Romans
5 and look at verse 6. It says, for when we were yet
without strength, no strength at all, dead, in due time Christ
died for the ungodly. Look at verse 8. But God commendeth
His love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died
for us. Look at verse 10. For if when
we were enemies, We were enemies. If when we were enemies we were
reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, being
reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. When He arose, all of His elect
arose with Him. Romans chapter 6, look at Romans
6 verse 4. It says, Therefore we are buried
with Him by baptism into death, that like as Christ was raised
up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also
should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together
in the likeness of His death, We shall be also in the likeness
of His resurrection. If we died in Him, we live in Him. I need to be
in Him. How does a person get in Him? He has to put them there. That's
the only way. That's it. Lord, put me in You. Put me in You. That's a good
thing to ask. I need to be in Him. I need to be quickened together
with Him. He died. He made an atonement. He paid the price. But listen to this, okay? Listen
to this. Because as we all get older, we're going
to hear a lot of this. If He did not choose to save
everybody, why would He pay the price for
everybody? But more importantly, if He paid
the price for everybody, How could God put anybody in hell? If He paid the price for everybody. If I get on the radio and start
telling everybody, Christ died for your sins, your sins are
gone, everybody. Why bother getting on the radio?
Nobody's going to hell. If He paid the price for everybody,
how could God put anybody in hell? That is injustice. We don't even do that in our
laws on this earth. That's wrongful judgment. That
is punishing an innocent man if his price is paid. This atonement that Christ made
is for His elect. It's only for His elect. This
atonement, it was not limited in strength, it was not limited
in measure, it was not limited in ability, but it was limited. Not one drop of His precious
blood was wasted. Christ died for you, but you're
wasting it. Not one drop was wasted. It was limited only for
His elect. Okay. Now if we're totally depraved,
and we are, why would He choose us and die
for us? Why would He do that? Here's
the answer. Grace. We preach grace. Tonight's message is from John
1. And I enjoyed studying it so much. I learned something. I learned a lot from it. On law
and grace. Look at our text, Ephesians 2
verse 5, the end of it. It says, By grace you are saved. And I have a margin there and
it says, By whose grace you are saved. By the grace of Christ. He's a gracious God. He's a gracious
God. He's a merciful God. The Lord is good and grace means
gift. That's what it means, gift. He
did all the giving and we did all the receiving. Now is the gift of His Son and
the gift of His blood something we have the ability to take or
leave? Is it something we have the ability
to accept or reject? Because that is what men are
preaching today. That's what they're all saying. Let's go back to the beginning,
okay? We're dead. We're dead. Every single thing
that comes up, every issue that comes up, every question that
comes up, if we are wrong on the fall, we are wrong on it
all. We're dead. How can a dead man
accept or reject anything? We're dead. The Lord called His apostles.
He said, Peter, Andrew, follow Me. And He left. Matthew, leave the money and
follow me. And he left. The Lord met with
Abraham and Abraham hit the dirt. He met with Moses. Burning bush,
what did Moses do? He hit the dirt. Take your shoes
off. He met with Isaiah and he hit
the dirt, crying, woe is me. He met with Saul of Tarsus and
he hit the dirt. He met with John on the Isle
of Patmos and he hit the dirt. Everybody he comes to hits the
dirt. They get broken. They don't have
the ability to reject grace. They all hit the dirt. He said,
I am the Lord, and beside me there is no savior. Yea, before
the day was, I am he, and there is none that can deliver out
of my hand. I will work, and who will let
it? Who can stop me? Grace. That's grace. God's wonderful grace. I'm so thankful it's irresistible.
Because if I could find a way, I would resist it. It's irresistible. The precious
blood of Christ given to a sinner makes that sinner irresistible
to God. He does not want to resist that
sinner. Alright, we're going to close with this question.
The Lord began this work. We were dead. He did all the
electing. He did all the atoning. We had
no say in the matter. The Lord began the work. Here's
my question. Do I have to finish it? Must I keep myself in His good
grace? When you're on good terms with
somebody, you're in their good graces, right? Well, we just heard Him say,
there's none that can deliver out of My hand. Hebrews says, He's the author
and finisher of our faith. Philippians says, Be confident
of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you
will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. If He started
it, He'll finish it. Every bit of it. Our text in
Ephesians 2, verse 6, it says, Christ, by whose grace we're
saved, hath raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly
places in Jesus Christ. That in the ages to come, ages
to come, ages to come, amazing grace says when we've been there
10,000 years, Bright shining, just like the
Son of God. We don't have one less day to
sing His praise than the very first day we got there. In the
ages to come, He might show the exceeding riches of His grace
in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. That's perseverance
of the saints. If we persevere, if we make it,
it's only because of Jesus Christ. Not because of anything we did.
Verses 1-3 tell us what we did. But verses 4-7 say, But God,
for His great love, He loved us. He quickened us together
with Christ. By His grace, we're saved. He
raised us up. He made us sit together that
He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness. And every bit of it is through
Jesus Christ. Tulip. That's tulip. I pray that the Lord would make
that not just a doctrine to us. Pray the Lord will bless His
word. Let's stand together and sing a song.