I'm going to speak to you today
on the subject, The Beloved Truth of Election. And our text is
taken from 1 Thessalonians chapter 1. Paul the Apostle wrote in
1 Thessalonians 1 forward, Knowing, brethren, beloved, your election
of God. For our gospel came not to you
in word only, But our gospel came to you in power, in the
Holy Ghost, and in much assurance. And the Apostle Peter wrote in
2 Peter chapter 1, Wherefore, brethren, give diligence to make
your calling and election sure, for if you do these things, you'll
never fall. And our Lord Jesus said in Mark
chapter 15, And then shall you see the Son of Man coming in
the clouds with great power and glory, and then shall He send
His holy angels and gather together His elect, gather together His
elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth,
and from the uttermost part of heaven. Who are these elect? What Peter tells us, he tells
us in his book, 1 Peter, they are the elect according to the
foreknowledge of God through sanctification of the spirit
and belief of the truth. Old Dr. J.R. Graves pastored a church out
in Texas years and years ago. And one day, Pastor Graves was
working in his rose garden, and a neighbor came over, a lady
came over and asked him this question. She said, Dr. Graves, you preach the doctrine
of election, do you not, at your church? Do you preach the doctrine
of election? And Dr. Graves replied, yes ma'am,
I certainly do. And she went on. She said, what
is election. And the old gentleman answers
so briefly and so plainly. He said to this dear lady, My
friend, are you saved? Are you a child of God? She said,
Yes, sir, I am. I'm saved. I'm a child of God. Dr. Graves then asked her this
question. Well, you say that you're saved
and you're a child of God. Well, I ask you this. Who saved
you? And she replied quickly, Why,
sir, God saved me. The Lord God saved me in Christ. And Dr. Gray said, Well, did
God save you on purpose? Was it an accident? She thought
a minute. She said, Well, God saved me
on purpose. And Dr. Gray said, Well, dear
lady, that is election. There are no accidents with God. Everything God does, He does
on purpose. And if God saves you, He saves
you on purpose through the sacrifice and blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul wrote in Romans
chapter 8, We know, this we know, that all things work together
for good to them who love God, to them who are the call according
to his purpose. Everything God does, he does
on purpose. By whom he did foreknow, he also
did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, Jesus
Christ, that Christ may be the firstborn among many brethren. Turn with me to the book of Ephesians. If you have your Bible there,
open it to the book of Ephesians, chapter 1, and allow me to ask
you three questions. Just three questions now. You
listen to them carefully. First of all, the first question,
did God choose you or did you choose God? Now answer that question. Did God choose you or did you
choose God? Well, Paul the Apostle answered
that for us right here in Ephesians 1. He said, Blessed be the God
and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, according as he hath
chosen us in Christ Jesus. God chose us in Christ Jesus. Well, here's my second question.
When? When? If God chose you, when
did God choose you? But Paul answered it in that
next verse. God chose us in Christ before
the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without
blame before him in love, having predestinated us unto the adoption
of the Son. God hath from the beginning chosen
you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the
truth. Now here's my third question.
Did you choose God or did God choose you? God chose us. When
did God choose you? He chose us before the foundation
of the world. Well, let me ask you the third
question. Why did God choose you? Why did God choose me? Why did God choose this man?
Well, Paul answers it in verse 5. God predestinated us unto
the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself. According,
listen, according to the good pleasure of his own will wherein
he made us accepted in the beloved. He made us accepted in Christ
according to the good pleasure of his own will. Now my friends,
these three questions can only be answered as Paul, the apostle,
answered them 2,000 years ago. Did you choose God or did God
choose you? He chose us in Christ. Well,
when? When did God choose you? From
the beginning, before the foundation of the world. Well, why? Why
did God choose you, or me, or somebody else? He chose us according
to the good pleasure of His own will. Paul wrote, God 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 before the world began. Somebody wrote this hymn. Chosen, not for good in need,
waking up from wrath to flee, hidden in the Savior's side by
His Spirit sanctified. The doctrine of election involves
three persons, three persons, Listen, here's the first one.
The character of God. Who is the Lord? Well, somebody
ask this question. Who is the Lord that I should
obey Him? Well, I'm going to tell you who
He is. Here's the character of God. First of all, our God is
in the heavens. He hath done whatsoever He hath
pleased. Our God's not only in the heavens,
our God is holy. He's just and righteous, and
He declares the end from the beginning. Known unto God are
all His works from the beginning of the world. Our God is good. He delights to show mercy. Our
God is love. For God so loved the world He
gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes on Him should
not perish but have everlasting life. Who is God? Who is the Lord that I shall
obey Him? He's in the heavens. He's holy, just, and righteous.
He's good. He's love, and then listen, our
God is faithful. If we confess our sins, our God
is faithful and just to forgive us all our sins and cleanse us
from all unrighteousness. Our God will call, save, and
keep his sheep and none of them, according to the Savior, will
ever be lost. My sheep, Christ said, hear my
voice, I know them. They follow me. I give them eternal
life, and they'll never perish, and neither shall any man pluck
them out of my hands." The beloved truth of election rests on the
character of God, and secondly, the beloved truth of election
rests on the person and work of the Lord Jesus. Our Lord Jesus
prayed to the Father in John 17. And he set forth all that
he came to this earth to do. Here it is, right here. All that
he came to do is set forth here in the prayer to the Father in
John 17. Verse 1. Glorify thy son, that
thy son may glorify thee. That's why he came. Verse 2.
I came that I should give eternal life to as many as thou hast
given me. Verse 4. I have finished the
work that you gave me to do." Verse 6, the Lord Jesus said,
I have manifested thy name unto those that you have given me.
Now listen, what did Christ do? Glorify the Father, give eternal
life to as many as the Father has given Him, finish the work
the Father gave Him to do, and manifested the Father's name
to all that thou hast given Me. I have given them your word,
which thou hast given me. And I pray for them. I pray not
for the world. I pray for them which thou hast
given me. Thine they were, and thou gavest
them me. And Father, I will, I will that
all that thou hast given me be with me where I am, that they
may behold my glory which thou hast given me. for thou lovest
me from the foundation of the world. Yes, sir, the beloved
doctrine of election involves three persons, the character
of God, the beloved truth of election involves the person
and work of the Lord Jesus, and then thirdly, the doctrine of
election involves the person who has been elected, who one
day will meet Christ, bow to Christ, confess Christ, believe
on Christ and be saved by Christ. They will be saved by His grace. He called them, He loved them,
He chose them, and He died to save them. I tell you this about
this doctrine of election. To be angry with God, to be angry
with God's elective grace is foolishness. It's just foolishness. Let God be true and every man
a liar. To be angry with God's sovereign
grace is foolishness. And I tell you this, to be angry
with God's sovereign grace and to deny this truth would be fatal. You know God said this, can God
not do with his own what he will? The Lord giveth and the Lord
taketh away. The Lord giveth and the Lord
taketh away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. He does all things well and good
because He is God. I came to Jesus as I was, weary,
worn, and sad. I found in Him a resting place,
and He has made me glad. I can but perish if I go. I am resolved to try if I stay
away from Christ I shall forever die, because there's a fountain
filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel's veins, and sinners
plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stain." My friends,
the beloved doctrine, the beloved truth, the beloved fact of election
is here and it's here to stay, and it glorifies God. And I'll
tell you this, it'll save all who believe it, who trust Him,
who look to Him, who love Him, who receive Him as Lord and Savior. Join us next Lord's Day at this
same time over this station. Until then, I bid you a very
pleasant good day.