If you want to follow along with
me in your Bible this morning, I'll be looking at 2 John, the
second epistle of the Apostle John. A little small book, but
full of truth. This is a letter from the Apostle
John to an elect lady. That's how he begins his letter. In verse 1, unto the elect lady,
the elder." John never used his own name. He never used his name
because John was a true man of God. And true men of God don't
come in their own name. That's what the Lord said. He
said, let a man come in his own name and the world will receive
him. But the man from God comes in
God's name, in Christ's name. He's more interested in folks
knowing the name of his Redeemer than his own name. And he writes
to the elect lady. That's how he refers to this
believing woman, this woman in the church, a friend of his,
a sister. He calls her the elect lady. Elect. Though the world hates
and despises and avoids this term, elect, yet this is a glorious
and beloved term and often used by believers. This is the very
language of scripture and this is the hope of salvation. Elect, election, which is God's
sovereign choice of some to salvation. Now, man's whole problem with
this doctrine, with this thing of election, man's whole problem
is that he fails to realize what happened in the Garden of Eden,
what happened to man in the Garden, what happened to man in his nature. Man died. Our Lord said that the day you
eat thereof you shall surely die." Now, Adam did not die physically
that day. He began to, but he did die spiritually. He lost spiritual life. His will, his nature became corrupt
and sinful. And therefore, every person,
every son of Adam, every one of Adam's posterity that came
from this sinful man and woman, Adam and Eve, is born in sin. Born, the scripture says in Ephesians
2, dead in sin. Dead. That means unable to do
what we should, unable and unwilling. Unable and unwilling. to repent,
to believe, to come to God, won't even think of God unless God
Almighty chooses that person. Unless God Almighty chose that
person, elected that person to salvation, and He did this, Ephesians
1 verse 4 says, before the foundation of the world. None would be saved
unless God had chosen or elected some to be saved, for all are
dead and guilty, all born in sin. But God, Ephesians 2 says,
but God who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith
He loved, who? The elect, the chosen. He set
His love upon them. They are not lovely by nature. They are dead in sin. They are
born rebels to God. There is nothing in them worth
loving. But God, who is love, sets His
love and His affection on some, not all, but some. God chose
some, elected some, to spare them, to save them. Now some
people cry, this is not fair. Man deserves a chance to be saved.
No he does not. No he does not. Man does not
deserve salvation. Man is guilty. Man deserves condemnation
and wrath. And salvation is not by chance,
it's by choice. It's not by our choice, it's
by God's choice. Had God only chosen to save one
human being from this planet, it would have meant infinite
mercy to that one person, and the rest would be getting what
they deserve, condemnation. Yet, now, because God is infinite
in his love and mercy and grace, Yet he chose a people. He chose
a people which no man can number, the scripture says, as the sands
of the sea and the stars of the sky, a people no man can number. Yet now, God has them numbered. God has them numbered. We cannot
number them, but God does. And so he is glorious in his
mercy and his grace in choosing so many. I believe there are
going to be more in heaven than there are in hell, because God
will get the victory. I believe young babies who die
in infancy, or aborted children, are God's elect. God will get
the glory. Now, why do we preach this? Why
do we preach this? Number one, it is God's word.
Whatever God says, we declare it from the top of the roof.
It's God's Word. Elect, election, some form of
the word elect is used 27 times in the New Testament alone. Not
to mention the word choose and chosen, which always refers to
God's choice of His people. Why preach this? Because it's
God's Word. And number two, it's God's glory.
God gets the glory in salvation. He gets the glory for choosing
us, not vice versa. We would never choose him had
he not chosen us. Now this is the truth. And this
is what John is glorying in, in verse 1. He says, the elder
unto the elect lady and her children whom I love in the truth. I love
because of the truth. It's the truth. It's the gospel
which causes God's people to even know one another. And the
people of God love one another in truth. truly love one another. The truth is what unites the
elect in love. True love for God, the true God,
the true Christ, the true. They love the truth and they
love those who love it. And John goes on to say, whom
I love in the truth and not I only, but also all they that have known
the truth. John keeps talking about the
truth here. several times in this letter
and in the next letter, the third epistle, he uses the word in
the very first verse, whom I love in the truth. And verse three,
those who walk in the truth. Verse four, read it for yourself. The truth is very important to
the people who love the truth. Well, John says, not only I,
but all those who love the truth He's writing to this elect lady,
and he says, these people love you also. Now Christ said that
his true disciples would be hated by all men for his namesake. He said, marvel not brethren
if the world hate you. He said, you will be hated for
my namesake, you will be hated for the gospel's sake, for the
truth. But now his sheep, God's elect,
love the truth. And they love those who love
it. Well, go on and read with me in verse 2. He says, for the
truth's sake, I'm writing to you, John says, for the truth's
sake, which dwelleth in us and shall be with us forever. Oh,
how someone needs to tell the truth today. John was writing
to this woman, he said, for the truth's sake. And how someone
needs to tell the truth today. While the world is so full of
false prophets, evil men and women, seducers, the scriptures
call them, waxing worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.
Oh, how we need more men who tell the truth. The true church
now, the true men sent by God are concerned for the truth's
sake, people. Not concerned for their name,
not concerned to make a big work, not concerned for their denomination's
sake, not concerned for people to have fun and games necessarily,
but the truth is of primary and paramount importance to the true
preachers sent by God and the true church. The truth, John
said. The truth of who God is. Someone
needs to tell who God is. The truth of what man is. The
truth of who Christ is and what he has done, what he has accomplished,
where he is now. The truth of salvation. The truth,
John said, which dwelleth in the elect, in his people. God said, They shall all be taught
of God. This is John 6.45. Our Lord said
concerning his people, those whom God chose, those who God
elected, those whom he said are given unto me by the Father,
all that the Father giveth me, he said, shall come unto me.
The truth which dwelleth in them and will be with them forever. The truth which is in their heart
and shall be the theme of their rejoicing throughout eternity."
John said, the truth which will be with us forever. Listen to
Revelation 17, verse 14. It says, those that are with
the Lamb, the Lord of Lord, the King of Kings, I read, they that
are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful. Those that are with the Lamb
in the end. are those who have been called
by the gospel, chosen by God, and faithful. They believed the
truth and they persevered unto the end. And their song, which
they sing, which is the joy and rejoicing of their heart and
is on their lips and the subject of their praise throughout eternity,
I read from Revelation 5, verses 9 and 10, it says they sung a
new song. That is a song which only the
elect know, and this is the song. They say, Thou art worthy, not
us, Thou art worthy to take the book, to open the seals thereof. Why? For Thou wast slain and
hast redeemed us. They are singing unto Him who
redeemed them. Not singing of their own faith,
their own choice, but they're singing of the Redeemer. Thou
was slain, thou has redeemed us to God by thy blood. It's the blood that redeems us,
not our faith. By thy blood, out of. This is
God's choice. Out of every kindred and tongue
and people and nation. That is the world. of people
out of the world, chosen out of the world, not every single
individual in the world. In verse 10, Thou hast made us
unto our God, kings and priests. Thou hast done this unto Him. That's their song of redemption
and glory. That's the subject of the redeemed. It's with them forever. unto
him. And so John writes to the elect
lady, and all the elect, in verse 3 of our text, Grace be with
you, mercy and peace from God the Father, and from the Lord
Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love. John says grace, that is, God's
sovereign bestowal of righteousness and redemption. Mercy, a sovereign
pardon upon the guilty. Peace, which was declared because
Christ satisfied divine justice. Listen to me, people. Listen
carefully. Everyone whom Jesus Christ died for will be saved,
will be justified, will be redeemed, because his blood is payment
for redemption's cost. Faith does not make the blood
effectual. Christ did not die to make salvation
possible. He died to make a payment, and
it paid for the sins of all of God's elect. Faith is the result
of that bloodshed. Everyone whom Christ died for,
the Father bestows that gift of faith upon. The Holy Spirit,
that is, is the one who grants repentance and faith and perseverance
in that faith. Yes, the truth is God chose and
elected to save, and He gets the glory. The truth is the Son
lived to establish a righteousness for those elect, died to pay
the penalty for their sins, and He gets the glory for that. And
the Holy Spirit grants repentance and faith and perseverance, and
He gets the glory for that. That's the truth. I hope you
believe it. Until next Sunday. Amen.