Ephesians chapter 1, salvation
according to God. What I want to look at is this,
is my salvation that I claim to have according to God. This
word according means being in accordance with, it means to
be in agreement with, it means to harmonize with, it means on
the authority of. Here's what I want to know, is
the salvation that I claim to have in agreement with God's
word, Is it established on the authority of His Word? Can mercy
and truth meet together? Righteousness and peace kiss
each other? If so, then it is according to God, and I can rest
my whole, entire being on it. Now, I know that salvation is
something that we all stand in need of, and most people hold
on to some type of hope of being saved when they die. I think
many people believe that God is so benevolent and so merciful
that it will override His They said in Isaiah 28, the overflowing
scourge will not come nigh unto us. Others will say, we have
preached in thy name. We have cast out devils in thy
name. We have done many mighty works in thy name. And the Lord
will say to them, depart from me. I never knew you. I don't
want to be in that company and I don't want you to be in that
company. So let us look at this. I know this about salvation.
Salvation from sin, from the curse of the law, is not according
to anyone's works. Listen to these scriptures. I
want you to hear this from the Word of God. It says in 2 Timothy
1, who hath saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according
to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace which
was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began. It is
written in the Gospel of John chapter 1, which were born, not
of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of
man, but of God. It is written in Romans 9, It
is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God
that showeth mercy. The salvation of God's people,
set forth here in Ephesians chapter 1 verse 4, it says, is according
as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world.
Paul is writing to the church at Ephesus, to those believers
at Ephesus, He says that our salvation is according, first
of all, as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation
of the world. I know this, that salvation has never been left
in the hands of sinful men. If it were, it would fail. It
has always been in God's hands. Always. Now listen, the Bible
is full of this truth of God choosing a people. It says in
2 Thessalonians 2.13, But we are bound to give thanks always
to God for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord, because God hath
from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification
of the Spirit and belief of the truth. Our Lord said in Matthew
24, And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet,
and gather together his elect from the four winds from one
end of heaven to the other. Our Lord said in John 17, I pray
for them, I pray not for the world, but for them which thou
hast given me, for they are thine." I find the doctrine of election
magnifies the character of God. It makes known the fact that
salvation is God's free, sovereign gift to sinners, undeserving,
hell-deserving sinners. And until a man learns this,
he will always believe that he has something to do with it,
that he has some input that he must do something. The election
of a scribe is all glory to God. It does not allow any credit
to the object of his choice. It denies the capability of any
man choosing God, listen, without God first choosing him. Christ
said, you did not choose me, I chose you. It reveals the sovereignty
of God in salvation. I never considered the sovereignty
of God until I learned this truth, God chose a people in Christ.
For the first time in my life, after I heard the gospel, I realized
I was not in the hands of a God who wanted to save me if I had
let him. I was in the hands of a sovereign God who could save
me to the praise and glory of his grace or damn me to the praise
and glory of his justice. I am in his hands as everyone
that has ever walked on this earth is in his hands. It says
in Romans 9, hath not the potter power over the clay to make one
lump a vessel of mercy and another lump a vessel of wrath? Does
God not have that power and right to do with his own as he will?
Yes, he has it. Yes, he does. The man who will
not receive the doctrine of election will not receive the God of election.
That's his problem. His problem is with God. He will
not bow to, receive, and worship the very God of election. I know this, I know this, and
I've learned this. It's a doctrine of praise. Psalm
65, verse 4. Blessed is the man whom thou
choosest, and causeth to approach unto thee, that he may dwell
in thy courts. That man is most blessed whom
God chooses. I find it to be a very humbling
doctrine. You would think that one such as God, who is holy
would not choose a wretch to inherit glory, to inherit all
that he has. But that's just what he did when
he chose a multitude of sinners in Christ. That's why John Newton
wrote Amazing Grace, How Sweet the Sound, that saved a wretch
like me. Instead of making me the subject
of his justice, he made me a trophy of his grace. Now, I know this also. He says
this in Romans 9. Listen. 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. Our salvation in Christ is without
any respect to personal merit, And it's all together according
to the sovereign grace and mercy of God. Let men say it's unfair. Let them say it's not right.
But as for this sinner, and for every sinner whom God saves,
I rejoice in it. And we, the whole lot of those
sinners, rejoice in it. Now, all our spiritual blessings
are according as he hath blessed us with them in Christ before
the world was. When he chose us in Christ, he
gave us all the blessings that we need to stand in the heavenlies,
to stand in his presence. We have all the spiritual blessings
that we need in Christ. Wisdom, righteousness, sanctification,
and redemption. Paul said in Colossians, in him,
in Christ, you are complete. And all of this, this whole matter
of salvation, this whole matter of God choosing the people is
according to the good pleasure of His will. The Father predestinated
us unto the adoption, it says, of children. Why? Because it
was His good pleasure. I can only trace my salvation
back to the good pleasure of His will, and not my free will,
not my efforts to live right, not even my faith and repentance,
but to my Heavenly Father's good pleasure. Samuel said, It pleased
God to make you His people. Our Lord said, it is your father's
good pleasure to give you the kingdom. And as it's written
in Isaiah 46, my counsel shall stand and I will do all my pleasure. Now let's move on. Our redemption
and forgiveness of sins is according, as it says in verse 7, is according
to the riches of his grace. We have this perfect redemption,
this complete redemption and full forgiveness of sins, first
of all, because of his rich, rich grace. When a man considers
that he walked according to the course of this world, according
to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now
works in the children of disobedience, Enemies of God by nature, at
war with God, liars, robbers, refusing to give God the glory.
Instead, we say things like, I'm a self-made man, I'm so lucky. We need to get that word out
of our vocabulary. Everything's providential. Nothing's lucky.
And to consider that we were dead in trespasses and sins,
and to think that God would have mercy on a wretch like me. You know what that is? That's
grace. My friends, that's grace. And
the second reason we have this redemption and forgiveness of
sins is because Christ actually died for our sins according to
the Scriptures. If you'll notice in verse 7 of Ephesians, it says
that we have redemption through His blood. The Son of God had
to die. His blood had to be shed for
us to be redeemed. That's how we are redeemed, through
His blood. Not silver or gold, not faith
and repentance, but by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Faith
and repentance is necessary. They are not what makes atonement
for the soul. It's the blood that makes atonement
for the soul. And it says in 1 Corinthians
15 that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures,
according to the Old Testament scriptures, the types of pictures
and the promises. When God clothed Adam and Eve,
he had to slay an animal and shed its blood. When Abel offered
up a sacrifice to God, he had to shed blood. When Israel left
Egypt, The blood of the Passover lamb first had to be shed. It's
the blood now. Make much of the blood. It's
the blood that makes atonement for the soul. Make much of it.
God does. He does. My friend, it is through the
person, the blood, the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ that
we have redemption and righteousness. Christ is everything I need.
Now, how do I know this? It says in verse 9, Have him
made known unto us the mystery of his will. Our Lord said, Blessed
are your eyes for they see and your ears for they hear. A saving
interest in Christ and a knowledge of the gospel comes by revelation. It's God commanding light in
the inner man. The gospel must be revealed.
Natural men cannot figure it out. One is light, the other
is darkness. And this whole matter of salvation
is according to His, listen, eternal purpose. There are many
things that I do not know, but I do know this. It's all on purpose. Every bit of it is on purpose.
It says, Who has saved us and called us with a holy calling,
Not according to our works, but according to his own purpose
and grace which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world
began. Those whom God has chosen. He has chosen on purpose. Now
last of all, the new birth. Regeneration is according to
the working of his mighty power. That's what it says in verse
19. A man is not born again by decision, he is born again by
the power of God the Holy Spirit. The same power that it took to
raise Christ from the dead, it takes to raise a sinner up and
give him spiritual life. The Holy Spirit takes the Word
of God, which is the seed used in the new birth, and creates
a new man in Christ, and in Christ he lives and moves and has his
being, and Christ lives in him. And that man is sealed with the
Holy Spirit of promise until the redemption of the purchased
possession, and when all is over, We will be to the praise of His
glory who first trusted in Christ when we heard the gospel of our
salvation. My friends, that's the gospel.
That's the gospel according to God. That is how God saves sinners. The Father chose us, the Son
redeemed us, the Holy Spirit regenerates us. And all of it
is according to His eternal purpose which He purposed in Christ before
the world began.