Let us pray. Our Lord Jesus,
we love to gather in your name, and we love your promise that
where two or three are gathered together in your name, there
you are in the midst of them. And so, Lord, here we are, this
handful this morning, and yet we come in the confidence that
our Lord will meet with us. Bless this lesson, may we see more of grace, understand it
better, and that our hearts would be strengthened with this grace.
In Christ's name we pray, amen. All right, we are now in the
fourth of our lessons on the fundamentals of the grace of
God. Thus far we have noted that grace
is an earned or merited thing. But Christians commonly define
God's grace as unmerited favor because it comes to us without
us earning it. However, the grace we receive
is not unearned or unmerited. It's simply that Christ earned
it for us. And we have noted the characteristics
of God most applicable to the nature of the grace that brings
us salvation. We noticed these things, that
God is the creator of all things, that he is the sovereign ruler
over all things, determining all that happens and working
to ensure that his will is indeed carried out. We learned that
God is holy. that God is love, and that God
is unchangeable. Now all these things have particular
impact on the nature of the grace which we receive, which we experience
in salvation. And then last time we met, we
looked at the need of grace, which is our sin. In other words,
why must it be that God's grace be given to us as an unearned
favor? And the answer is simply because
of our sin. We need the grace of God earned
by someone else, for all that we have done has disgraced us. It has earned us God's disfavor. Consequently, our basic need
is God's grace. In this lesson we're going to
address the subject, the will of God, the cause of grace. Now the need of grace is our
sin, the cause of grace is the will of God. Now this subject
covers the questions of whether whether there would be grace
given to the disgraced, it's not as though God was under any
obligation to have any scheme of grace whatsoever. He was under
no obligation, certainly by anything we had
done or would do, he was under no obligation to be gracious
to anyone. And God is also the cause of how
this grace would be earned, how this favor, grace and favor in
the New Testament, the same thing, how this grace, this favor would
be earned. And then thirdly, the will of
God is the one that determines to whom this grace will be given. Now most of Christianity would
agree with the first two points, but the third point is hotly
debated. They have no problem with the
idea that God determined there would be such a thing as grace.
They have no problem with the idea that he determined how that
grace would be paid for. Where I would say the great majority
of what passes under the banner of Christianity The great majority
have a problem with this, that God is the determiner of who
will experience that grace, who will receive it. We might be
more specific with today's question by asking why does one sinner
receive God's grace while another one does not? The answer is that God determined
or willed that it be that way. Now most people would believe
that God is graciously disposed toward everyone and then people
may choose of their own free will to receive that grace or
to reject it. But you can't find that in the
scriptures. What you find is that God from the very beginning
gave grace to a people. Now so much is this true that
it is impossible that someone whom God has determined to show
grace should ever fail to receive the grace that has been given.
Now we're accustomed to the idea of having
a will or a purpose that's never fulfilled. In fact, virtually
nothing that we purpose or will comes to pass completely as we
purposed or willed it. And primarily because we don't
have the power to carry it off. We don't have the wisdom to know
all the various circumstances which have to be managed in order
to bring about a perfect fulfillment of our will. God has no such
problem. He has no such deficiency in
this manner. He can have a purpose and then
he can control everything to bring about that purpose without
fail. In fact, that's what Romans 8,
28 means. For all things work together
for good to them who love God, who are the called according
to his purpose. Now that verse ends with a statement of God's
purpose, his will, which is the cause of everything. Now, his
will is what works everything together to bring about good. for those who have been called
according to that purpose. So that purpose, a purpose of
grace, began with God. Now let's note a few scriptural
declarations of this truth. It's good to be able to form
a nice systematic theological structure but it's better yet
if we can go directly to the scriptures and find them specifically
addressing this very point. First, we can prove that God's
will is the cause of grace in an individual person in all of
its aspects, that is, in all the aspects of grace, by noting
when it was that grace was given. In other words, We know that
all of God's people receive his grace. We know that not everyone
in the world receives grace. But those who have received it,
when was it given to them? Well, in 2 Timothy chapter one,
beginning in verse eight, So do not be ashamed to testify
about our Lord or ashamed of me, his prisoner, but join with
me in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, who has
saved us and called us with a holy calling, not because of anything
we have done, but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ
Jesus before the beginning of time. But it has now been revealed
through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has
destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light
through the gospel. Now, for the purpose of this
lesson, The most important line in that passage was, this grace
was given to us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time.
Now, that's a fine translation, but I kind of like the power
of a stricter translation. For it would read like this,
that that grace was given to us before time eternal, or before
the times of the ages. The point is, before the first
age of this universe, whatever ages you may ascribe
to this universe, before any of those ages, grace was given
to God's people. And according to Paul's statement,
that the gifts and calling of God are without repentance, meaning
God never calls them back. God, when it comes to his gifts
and his calling, he never takes back the gifts, he never stops
the call, he never rescinds the call. The gifts and callings
of God are without repentance, we can be assured. that all those
who were given grace in eternity past will receive and experience
that grace in time. So that as we build up this doctrine
or this truth that the will of God is the cause of grace, the
first thing we notice is this, grace was given before there
was anything but God. when there was only God. Now
Paul says that God has saved us and called us with a holy
calling and that this salvation and calling were not prompted
or caused by anything that we did. So what does that tell us
right away? Grace, the grace of salvation, the grace of being
the called of God, was not prompted, was not brought about, was not
caused by anything that we have done. Now notice how universal
that word anything is. Not by anything that we had done. The religion form of Christianity
in which I was raised would say that God has given everyone grace,
that is, it's there, it's, you know, the package that's been
delivered to your front door, but whether or not you ever receive
it is a matter of, or is determined by you. Whether you ever go out
to the front porch and pick it up, or you ever bother to open
it up, look inside, make use of it. That's up to you. So in the end, those who have
grace is determined by individual sinners. But this scripture says
that God saved us and called us with a holy calling, not because
of anything we have done, not because we realized we were sinners,
not because we heard the gospel, not because we responded positively
to the gospel, not because we did the many things that religion
likes to use to describe that, you know, ask Jesus into your
heart, ask Jesus to come into your life, ask Jesus, none of
that, nothing that we do has anything to do with whether or
not we are given grace. The cause of grace is the will
of God. Now there was only, since this
salvation and calling and this grace given to us before the
times of the ages, who existed then? only one, God. So it could not have been caused
by anything else or anyone else. And then we have some direct
statements from Scripture that God's will is the cause of grace
in everyone. Now in Exodus chapter 33, Moses
meets with God. One of the face-to-face encounters
he had with God. And he asked him three questions.
And after the first two, God says,
I will do that. And then Moses says, show me
your glory. Show me your glory. And this
is God's response to that. I will make all my goodness pass
before you. And I will proclaim the name
of the Lord before you. I will be gracious to whom I
will be gracious. And I will have compassion on
whom I will have compassion. Now I don't understand how anyone
can misunderstand what God is saying right there. I will be
gracious. I will have grace. toward those
whom I choose to have grace toward. His grace is not drawn out from
him. His grace is not earned by us. It's not qualified for by us.
It flows directly from us to the, or excuse me, from God unto
every recipient of grace. Now Paul quoted this text in
Romans chapter 9 beginning in verse 10. There's a passage there
in which he quotes this. And the point that Paul is making
in all of Romans chapter 9, that this business of salvation is
the work of God and is according to the will of God. and that
the difference between those who are saved and those who are
not saved is owing to God's will and purpose, not according to
the works and choices made by men. So, beginning in verse 10,
and Paul's using some examples from Israel's history to illustrate
it, he says, and not only so, but when Rebekah had conceived
children by one man, our father Isaac, though they were not yet
born. Now this is referred, the they
in that verse is Jacob and Esau, both in the womb of their mother,
conceived at the same time by the same man, though they were
not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad, in order
that God's purpose of election might continue, not because of
works, but because of him who calls. So election, which we'll
look at more in detail, but that's God determining who it is he's
going to give his grace to. He said in order that God's purpose
of election might continue, not because of works, not because
of our actions, but because of him who calls. Election is according to the
will of the one who calls us to salvation. She, that is Rebecca,
was told the elder will serve the younger. As it is written,
Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated. Now there was much more to the
phrase older will serve the younger than simply the practice in those
days that the firstborn, and that would have been Esau, they
were twins, but they weren't born at the same moment. You
know, one did come out after the other. So Esau was the firstborn
and he was supposed to become the leader of the clan. But God
says, I'm gonna flip that around. The older one's gonna be subservient
to the younger one. And Paul said it was fulfilled
in this, as it is written. Jacob I loved, Esau I hated. Now, what else does that tell
us except that God's works of grace in the lives of his people
is the result of his distinguishing love. His distinguishing grace. God
loved Jacob. He didn't love Esau. God's grace revealed itself in
love towards Jacob. It did not reveal itself that
way to Esau. Well, the first question that
comes up in the minds of people when you say such a thing, when
they read such a thing, It's recorded for us. We already know
what it is because Paul told us. Verse 14, what shall we say
then? Is there injustice on God's part? By no means. Was it unjust for
God to say that the older would serve the younger? And this is
before either one of those boys had a chance to show what kind
of character they'd have. Was it unjust for God to love
Jacob and not love Esau by no means. For he says to Moses in
the In the Greek translation that
Paul relied on here in making these New Testament quotes, they
used the word commonly translated mercy. But mercy and grace are
so nearly the same thing, you can pretty much use them as synonyms.
So while we read back in the Old Testament, I will be gracious
to whom I'll be gracious, here it says, I will have mercy on
whom I will have mercy. And I will have compassion on
whom I will have compassion. The point is still the same.
It's God that says, I will. And that's what determines the
outcome. Verse 16, so then it depends. You just wonder how somebody
can read this chapter and go away. What we, what's in theological
circles called a freewheeler. So it, salvation, grace, mercy,
all the benefits of God's goodness depends not on human will or
human exertion, but on God who has mercy. For the scripture
says to Pharaoh, For this very purpose I have raised you up
that I might show my power in you and that my name might be
proclaimed in all the earth. So here's Pharaoh. He's just
another guy. just another human being like
you and me, but God has determined all things with regard to everybody,
so God raised up Pharaoh, put this plain old human being on
the throne of Egypt, and he did it so that God might reveal his
power in Pharaoh. Not the power of his grace, the
power of his judgment. So verse 18, so then, he has
mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whom he wills. So you and I who believe, and
we say we have received grace, and that's true, if we believe
we've received grace. Why? God willed it. God determined it. And that doesn't
mean God just said, I'd like it to be that way. It means God
says, it will be that way. And then Ephesians chapter 1,
we find similar way of expressing this. Praise be to the God and
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. who has blessed us in the heavenly
realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. So now that's a kind
of a present tense thing. Every spiritual blessing in the
heavenly realms in Christ has already been given to the people
of God, anyone who believes. All right, what's the next words? For he chose us in him. Strictly it says according as
he has chosen us in him. before the foundation of the
world. He blessed us, present tense experience, according to
his self-willed choosing of us before the foundation of the
world, which is just another way of saying before the times
of the ages. He chose us to be holy and blameless
in his sight. In love, he predestined us for
adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ in accordance with what? What he foresaw we would do?
According to the fact that, you know, as someone said with his divine binoculars, he looked
down through time and saw who would choose him and who wouldn't,
and then he chose and predestinated those who he knew would choose
him. Now believe it or not, that's how some people try to get around
this. No, he did this all in accordance with his pleasure
and will. And then you skip down to verse
11 in Ephesians chapter one. In him, we were also chosen having
been predestined according to the plan of Him who works out
everything in conformity with His purpose and will." He said He works out everything
according to His purpose and will. And that means this matter
of who shall be saved and who shall not is being worked out
by him, not according to the will and works of men, but according
to his purpose and grace. Now this grace was given to us before time, before the ages. My last piece of notes disappeared. God is in control of also when
we receive this grace, that is when we experience it. It was up to him that we would
experience it, and it's up to him when and how we would experience
it. Paul said, when it pleased God
to reveal his son in me. Now, when a person has not professed
Christ, when they have not believed, we don't know whether or not
God has determined, has willed that they have grace. We don't
know if grace was given them. But we do know this, if grace
was given to them before the times of the ages, then sometime
during the times of the ages they will receive and experience
that grace and the particular time in which that happens is
up to God. Now that's why there's just no
reason at all for us to try to exercise any fleshly manipulations
to get people to make a profession. Here's another aspect of the
grace of God that is caused by his will, of his own will begat
he us through the word of truth. Well, if it's of his own will
that he begins this work by giving us the new birth, then that means
the timing is in his hands. And we just take the agency,
that word of truth, and we keep preaching it, and then God will
decide when's the right time for that to fall upon the ears
of one of his people and cause their hearts to come alive and
believe it. Now, we could go through every
aspect of God's grace from its beginnings, its giving before
the times of the ages. And we could look at how it works
out throughout the span of the times of the ages. And we could
show that at every point, it's the will of God that made it
happen. So you mean people don't have
a say in this? Not until it's happened. And
then they say, I'm sure glad that happened. But isn't there
a promise, whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall
be saved? Yes, there is. We're dealing with why do they
call upon the name of the Lord? That word goes out to everybody,
but not everybody's going to call on the name of the Lord.
Why do some call and others don't? Because God gives grace to some,
prompting them to call. And he does not give it to others,
and they stay silent. So in these fundamentals of the
grace of God, Here's an important one. The cause of all grace is
God. All right. You're dismissed.