Ephesians chapter 1. I am very thankful to say that
I have good news. We love good news, don't we? Ephesians 1, the end of verse
6 says, He hath made us accepted in the Beloved." That's
good news. That is good news. I thought
about when I read that, and the Lord blessed it to me,
I thought about the paperboy hollering, good news, read all
about it. He hath made us accepted in the
Beloved. Why? Why has He done this? Look at the beginning of verse
6. It says, to the praise of the glory of His grace. That's why He did it. He did
it to the praise of the glory of His grace. Thank you, Lord. Thank you. All praise and all
glory be unto thy grace. We preach grace, don't we? Gift. We believed free gift. Grace. Our message is the message
of His grace. If somebody asks us, what do
we believe? First of all, we believe every
word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. But our message
and what we believe is His grace. That's what we believe. And we
don't want any other message or any other belief, do we? Every
single thing that our God does, is to the praise of His glory.
Every single thing that He does is for His glory. That's why
He did it. The reason that He made us in
the first place was for His glory. That's the only reason He made
us. It is all for His glory. Look at verse 12. It says that
we should be to the praise of His glory. That's the whole reason,
that we should be to the praise of His glory. Look at the end
of verse 14. It says that all of this is unto
the praise of His glory. His gospel, the true gospel, the true message,
is the gospel of His glory. That's the true gospel. It's
not about me being right, and it's not about you being right.
It's about Him being right. That's the truth. That's how
you'll know whether the message you hear is the truth or a lie. That's the difference. The true
gospel is the gospel of His glory. Turn over to Exodus 33. Exodus 33. And look at verse 18. Moses said, I beseech thee, show
me thy glory. That is what every believer desires. When we come here this morning,
that's what we're begging for. Lord, show me thy glory. And Moses is about to have the
gospel preached to him. He's about to hear the true gospel.
Verse 19 says, And God said, I will make all my goodness pass
before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee,
and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will
show mercy whom I will show mercy." That's the true gospel. That is the gospel of His glory.
Turn over to 1 Corinthians chapter 1. 1 Corinthians 1 and look at verse
27. It says, God hath chosen, God hath chosen the foolish things
of the world to confound the wise. Now why would the Lord
do that? Why would He choose the foolish
things to confound the wise? It says, And God hath chosen
the weak things of the world to confound the things which
are mighty. Why would He do that? And base
things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God
chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to naught,
nothing, things that are. Why would He do that? Verse 29
says, that no flesh should glory in His presence. That's why He
did that. This article on small things. Why has He chosen small things? That no flesh should glory in
His presence. Our gospel message is no other
glory but His glory. 2 Corinthians 10.17 says, He that
glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. If a man has anything to glory
in, he's only in the Lord. That's our message. Our goal
and our aim as believers and followers of the Lord Jesus Christ
is to ascribe all glory to God in every single thing. That's our desire, isn't it? To ascribe all glory to God in
every single thing. Especially the work of salvation. Especially the work of salvation.
Here in our text, Ephesians 1.6, the Lord gives us His message. His message. He wrote this. And it's an eight-word message
of His glory in salvation. He hath made us accepted in the
beloved. The first three words are going
to tell us who is the author of salvation. It says, he hath made. That is the theme of his entire
book. He wrote this entire book, and
it's the theme of the whole book. He started his book in Genesis
1-1 by saying, in the beginning, God made. Before man ever was, before anything
ever was in the beginning, God made. He hath made. We know the story of Jonah. Jonah
thought he was going to do what he wanted to do. He thought he
was his own man. And the Lord hemmed him up. And
He put him in a whale's belly. And He brought him down. He brought
him down to the bottom of the ocean. He said, I've been brought
down to the depths of the sea, the bottom of the mountains.
The waves have gone over my head and the weeds have wrapped around
my face. I can do nothing. I can do nothing. I'm not what I thought I was. I'm not my own man. Jonah is
the one who said in Jonah 2.9, salvation is of the Lord. Salvation is of the Lord. Salvation is of the Lord. Everybody
says that, but not everybody believes that. Salvation is of
the Lord. He hath made it. He's the doer
of it, right? The Apostle Paul said in Hebrews
12, He is the author and the finisher of our faith. If faith
plays a role in salvation, and it does, He's the author of it. He's the source of it. He's the
giver of it. And He's the doer of it. He's
the finisher. He's the author and the finisher.
He hath made. John said in John 1.13, them
that believe on His name. If a person believes on His name,
they were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh,
nor of the will of man, but of God." That means if a person
believes unto salvation, they were not born into the family
just because my parents believe, and just because my grandparents
believe, well, I'm born into this family and naturally I'm
going to believe. No. They were not born of the will
of the flesh. Well, I have decided to give
my heart to Jesus. Well, that's wonderful. But that
is not salvation. It's not salvation. He said, nor of the will of man. My mother and my grandmother
cannot get together and pray me into heaven. It's of God. It is of God. If a person believes
in salvation, they were born of God. If a person is born again,
they were born of God. Children of God are born of God. What that means is, He hath made.
Salvation is of the Lord. It's His choosing. It's His doing. We have no part in it. Isn't that shocking? We have
no part in it. How do I know that? Turn over
to John 15. John chapter 15. Now this is the Lord Jesus Christ
speaking. In John 15, he says, you have
not chosen me. Isn't that shocking? But I have chosen you and ordained you that you should
go and bring forth fruit. If faith is fruit, I did it. I chose you. Turn over to Isaiah
chapter 65. Isaiah chapter 65. The Lord God says in verse 1,
I am sought of them that ask not for me. If we could really get a hold
of that. You know, well, he's seeking
the Lord, you know. I am sought of them that ask not for me. He said, I am found of them that
sought Me not. They weren't even looking in
the first place when they found Me. Well, then how is that possible? Here it is. God said in Isaiah
65, verse 1, I said, behold Me. That's how it happened. Behold
me unto a nation that was not called by my name." That is how
salvation happens. We're here because of this issue
of salvation. That's why we're here. We're
not here because it's a good social club or it's just the
Sunday thing to do. We're here because of salvation. Well, many people, many, many
people believe salvation is based on what a person does or decides. Nowhere in this Bible does it
say that. And that's why we come here and
we have this Bible study and we search the Scriptures to see
if these things be so. Many people believe that somehow
man plays a role in this. And did anyone in here play a
role in their own physical birth? Really? The birth that God ordained? The one that God purposed the
way that this would be done? The birth that He set in order?
He did that. He purposed that. He ordered
that. Did we have a role in our own
birth? The same is true spiritually. It's still the same God. The
same is true spiritually. The Apostle Paul said in Romans
9, verse 16, it is not of him that willeth. Isn't that shocking? Nor of him that runneth. It's of God that showeth mercy. He hath made. He hath made. Is the truth, the true message,
the true gospel, the true testimony, many people will give their testimony. Is the true testimony what I
have done for God? Because if you listen to many
people, that is ultimately what they say. They start talking
about everything that they have done, Is the true testimony what I
have done for God or what God has done for me? What did he
tell? Every time he healed somebody,
he said, now you go and tell how great things the Lord has
done for you. That was the true testimony.
I know that every single thing he does is for his glory. Every single thing he does is
for his glory. So whichever one gives him more
glory, that one is the truth. Now, is it what I have done for
God or what God has done for me? I've heard this question asked,
is salvation a cooperation? You know, well, if I'll do this,
then He'll do that. Is salvation a cooperation or
is it an operation? Whichever one gives Him more
glory, that one is the truth. He is the author of salvation.
He hath made. The next word in our text, Ephesians
1 verse 6. It says, He hath made us. Us. Really, us? What does the Scripture say about
us? Us. It says we have all sinned
and come short of the glory of God. We all know that, don't
we? All have sinned and come short
of the glory of God. Look at Ephesians 2. It says, The you are the us. Right? Hath He quickened, He's made
alive, who you were dead in trespasses and sins. That's us. Dead in sin. We're born dead
in sin. John said, if a man says that
he has no sin, he makes God a liar. I think it's 1 John 1.10 or something
like that. Then he makes God a liar. Gabe
Stoniker is a sinner. I'm a sinner. He's made us. Verse 2 says that we walk according
to the course of this world. We don't by nature walk in paths
of righteousness. Not one person has ever taught
their child to lie. Now, I know you by nature only
do good, and you only do right, and you only tell the truth,
but then there's another side of things, and here's how you
lie. We don't do that. We walk according to the course
of the world. Verse 3 says, That we are all partakers of the world. It says we all had our conversation
in time past, in the lust of the flesh, fulfilling the desires. We didn't just have them, we
fulfilled them. But to think it is to do it,
right? This is just the truth. It's just the Word. It's just
honest. It says at the end of verse 3
that we're all by nature, The children of wrath, even at others,
that means we're not any better than anybody else. Nobody's better
than anybody else. And verse 4 says, but God. Reading all of this, we could
never be the author of salvation. Never. But God, who is rich in mercy,
this is why, for His great love, wherewith He loved us, doesn't
that give Him all the glory? Even when we were dead in sins,
He hath quickened us. He's made us alive together with
Christ. When God rose Christ, He rose
all who were in Him with Him." And then it says, by grace are
you saved. We preach grace. We believe grace. Chapter 1 of Ephesians, look
at verse 4. It says, according as He hath
chosen us, the us are those whom He hath chosen. And it says he
did this before the foundation of the world. Verse 5 says, having
predestinated us, the us are those people whom he predestinated
unto the adoption of children. He predestinated some unto the
adoption of children. According to the good pleasure
of his will, he hath made, he is the author, us. We are the subject. And the next word in our text
tells us what is the great blessing of this salvation. It tells us
what we receive, what we get, what it's all about. It says, He hath made us accepted. He's made us accepted. Now, I
hope that we've looked at enough scriptures to clarify that we're
not worthy to be accepted. But He hath made us accepted. This word accepted doesn't mean
anything to a person who does not truly understand what it
means to be rejected. You know, why do we talk about
all this bad news? It's because the bad news makes
the good news really good news. There are so many reasons for
God to reject a sinner. And I already told you, I'm a
sinner. You know, a lot of people say,
well, God wouldn't reject anybody. The Bible says God loves everybody.
It actually doesn't. It doesn't say that. I want to
look at three, just three of so many reasons, three that are
common, very common to me, and go to Hebrews chapter 12. Hebrews chapter 12. And look at verse 16. It says,
lest there be any fornicator or profane person as Esau. who for one morsel of meat, he
sold his birthright. Esau was to inherit the birthright. He was going to get everything.
Everything. And he gave it all up for a bowl
of pottage. That means he just didn't care.
He just didn't care. It meant nothing to him. Every single thing this world
has to offer, if we could put it in a bowl, it's worth nothing
more than a bowl of sod pottage compared to the things that he
hath prepared for those that love him. And people just don't
care. It says in verse 17, For you
know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing,
he was rejected. For he found no place of repentance."
My margin says, no way to change his mind. Though he sought it
carefully with tears. He was so sorry for that. He
regretted that so badly. But it was too late. It was just
too late. Alright, now let's go to 1 Samuel
15. 1 Samuel 15, and let's look at
verse 23. It says, Rebellion is as the sin
of witchcraft And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry,
because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also
rejected thee from being king." This is Saul being rejected from
being king. And Saul said unto Samuel, I
have sinned. For I have transgressed the commandment
of the Lord and thy words, because I feared the people and obeyed
their voice. Now, therefore, I pray thee,
pardon my sin, and turn again with me, that I may worship the
Lord. And Samuel said unto Saul, I will not return with thee,
for thou hast rejected the word of the Lord." And the Lord hath
rejected thee from being king over Israel." He heard the word. He saw the word. And he said,
I just don't believe that. Look at verse 35. It says, Samuel
came no more to see Saul until the day of his death. Nevertheless,
Samuel mourned for Saul, and the Lord repented that he had
made Saul king over Israel. And the Lord said unto Samuel,
How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, saying, I have rejected
him from reigning over Israel? Rejection. He rejected the Word.
He didn't believe. Now, those are two individual
cases. Let's look at what the Lord said to the Gentiles. The
world, that's us. We're the Gentiles. Go to Romans
1. Romans 1 and look at verse 21. It says, Because that when they
knew God, they knew God. Meaning, they
were church going people. This is fearful, isn't it? This
is holy, isn't it? We approach this with the fear
of the Lord. It says, when they knew God,
they glorified Him not as God. That means they didn't give Him
all the glory. That's why we're so careful to
give Him all the glory. He gets all the glory. Neither
were thankful, but became vain in their imaginations, and their
foolish heart was darkened, professing themselves to be wise, They became
fools, meaning they made themselves equal to God in their own minds.
They brought the Lord God down to their level. And it says in verse 23, they
changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to
corruptible man and to birds and four-footed beasts and creeping
things. Wherefore, God also gave them up to uncleanness through
the lust of their own hearts to dishonor their own bodies
between themselves. Verse 25, it's those who changed
the truth of God into a lie. They changed the truth of God
into a lie. They took the Word of God and they changed it. They changed it. They took the offense out of
it. They didn't care for that. And
so they either took it out or they said, well, let's kind of
reword that so it's not quite so offensive. I don't want to
be offensive. I don't enjoy being offensive
at all. But if I'm going to proclaim the truth, the truth is offensive
to sinners, and I'm a sinner. They changed it, and they made
man equal to God, they gave man a part in salvation, and it doesn't
say that in here. If we search it, it doesn't say
that in here. Romans 1.28 says, even as they did not like to
retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate
mind to do those things which are not convenient. He told his
disciples concerning the Pharisees. The Pharisees were the religious
leaders. He said, leave them alone. And
that's rejection. Now, I told you I have good news. He hath made us accepted. Accepted. I want you to turn somewhere.
I know we're turning a lot, but I want you to see what it means
to be accepted. Go to Luke chapter 1. I love this. I absolutely love
this. Luke 1. What does it mean to be accepted? Luke 1, look at verse 28. It says, And the angel came in
unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured. My margin says, Graciously accepted. He hath made us highly favoured. It says, The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women." That gives Him all the glory.
We don't deserve it, but He hath made us highly favored. He's proven it to us. Back in
our text, Ephesians 1 verse 7 says He's given us redemption. That means He bought us. Why
did He die on the cross? Why did He die on the cross? Why did He die on the cross?
It's because we're sinners. That's why. Blood had to be shed. And He bought us with His own
blood. And that's why we sing, O sing of our Redeemer. With
His blood, He purchased us. On the cross, He sealed our pardon. He paid our debt, and He set
us free. Bought with a price. We're not
our own. We belong to Him. He redeemed
us. Verse 7 says, He's given us forgiveness. Our sin could not merely be forgiven
and forgotten. The Lord can have nothing to
do with sin. That's why He gave us redemption.
And through redemption, we have forgiveness. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. You're forgiven. What is the proof of our acceptance?
He's given us a knowledge of His will. Look at verse 9. It
says, having made known unto us the mystery of His will according
to His good pleasure, which He's purposed in Himself. We love
that story of Manoah. He and his wife saw God and he
said, God's going to kill us now. No man can see God and live. And his wife said, he's not going
to kill us. If he was going to kill us, he
would have never showed us all this. He would have never written
this book if he was just going to kill us. He's made us sons and daughters. Look at verse 11, in whom we
have obtained an inheritance. You have to be a child to get
an inheritance. He hath made us accepted. We're
accepted. The last three words in our text
give us the ground of our salvation. The foundation of this salvation. This is all our hope. This is
why we have hope. This is all our confidence that
He did all of this in the Beloved. In the Beloved. Who is the Beloved? In Matthew 3.17, God the Father
said, This is my Beloved Son. Our hope and confidence is in
the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. There is no ground for salvation
in ourselves. You know, you've got to look
within yourself. No, I don't. I have to look to Christ. There
is no ground in our righteousness. The Scripture says we don't have
one. It says all our righteousnesses
are as filthy rags in the eyes of God. It says putrefying sores,
and I don't have a righteousness. If I do, it's His righteousness. It's not by our works. John said
it. Paul said it. Christ said it.
It's not by our religion. It's not by our religion. It's not in our desire to straighten
up and fly right. You know, turn over a new leaf
and do better. That is not salvation. That's
not salvation. That's a good thing to do. Life
will go better for us. But it is only in the Beloved. That's it. Verse 7 in our text
says it's through His blood. Verse 10 says it's all in Christ. This Gospel is a message of good
news. It really is. It really is. It's good news. If the Lord will
open our ears to it and our hearts to it, it's good news. The truth about us that we're
helpless and we're sinners and we're lost? That's bad news. But like we said, that's what
makes the good news so good. So I want to remind us of three
wonderful promises. Close this with three wonderful
promises that the Lord God has given to sinners in this Word. If a person can honestly Forget about the outside, the
outer man, and get honest in here. Not say it out here. Get honest in here. Honest before
God. Honest with who I am and what
I am and what I think. Oh man, why do I think those
things? Here's three wonderful promises
that the Lord God has given to sinners. The first one is, God
the Father delights to show mercy. He delights to. To sinners. If a person is not a sinner,
then they don't need mercy. He said in Exodus 33, I will
have mercy. I will do it. You don't deserve
it, but I will do it. If somebody does something all
the time and they love doing it, they just love doing it,
people say, he lives for that. He just lives for that. Well,
the Lord said, he ever liveth to make intercession for us. He delights to show mercy. He's made us accepted. The second
promise that he's made cover to cover is God, the Son, the
Lord Jesus Christ died for sinners. That is a wonderful promise.
Every time we get honest and we realize that shocking truth. I am a sinner. I know what I
thought to think it is to do it before the Lord. Paul said,
Christ Jesus came into the world for one reason, to save sinners. If I'm a sinner, maybe He came
to save me. He said, I came not to call the
righteous, but sinners to repentance. And the third promise He's given
us is God the Spirit, God the Holy Spirit, He is here to call
out His sheep. That's why He's here. He said,
My sheep will hear My voice. As long as this world is turning,
there is hope for one more sinner. As long as this world is turning,
there is hope for one more sinner. He's made us accepted in the
Beloved, and He's done every bit of this to the praise of
the glory of His grace. May the Lord bless that word.