Let's begin with a word of prayer. Dear Heavenly Father, we call
on you this morning. We pray, Lord, that you would
please come here and meet with us today. We pray, Lord, that
you would prepare our hearts for your word. We pray, Lord,
that you would bless us today. Pray Lord that you would watch
over our pastor as he is away. Be with him and the men as they
speak. Be with your people everywhere, your churches everywhere. May
you receive all glory and honor today. We pray in Christ's name.
Amen. Downstairs, we just finished a five lesson
study on fundamentals of grace. And our pastor has asked me to
give a summary of those five fundamentals this morning. These fundamentals were first
written by a man named John Calvin. And they're known as the five
points of Calvinism, but we see them as our five facts of salvation. Their total depravity. Unconditional
election. Limited atonement. Irresistible
grace. And perseverance of the saints.
And their initials spell Tulip. And that's the title of this
lesson today, Tulip, the story of salvation. All right, the
first point is total depravity. Man is totally depraved. But he didn't start out this
way. He sure ended up this way, though, didn't he? Let's look
at how man started out, turned to Genesis chapter one. Genesis
one. Verse one starts in the beginning,
God. And that's where everything starts,
starts with God. In the beginning, God created
heaven and earth. Everything was created by him,
and everything is owned by him. Look at verse 26. It says, And
God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. So man was made upright. Man
was made law-keeping and good. His thoughts were good. His actions
were good. Man was good. But he was still
subject to his creator. He still had to abide with what
his creator would allow or would not allow him to do. He didn't
have a free will. If he did, he would have been
able to do what he wants, eat what he wants. But in chapter two, verse Sixteen,
the Lord God commanded the man saying of every tree of the garden,
thou mayest freely eat. But of the tree of knowledge
of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it, for in the day
that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die. So the Lord
warned Adam. One law, one commandment, that's
all he had to abide by. One commandment in the day that
you eat of this fruit, You will die, you will surely die, you
will physically die. But more importantly, this soul.
This spirit of life that I have given you. It'll be converted
to death. You will spiritually die. And
in that day you will become depraved. Well, Genesis chapter three,
verse one says, Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast
of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the
woman Yeah God said you shall not eat of every tree of the
garden. And the woman said unto the serpent We may eat of the
fruit of the trees of the garden but of the fruit of the tree
which is in the midst of the garden. God has said you shall
not eat of it. Neither shall you touch it lest
you die. And the serpent said unto the woman you shall not
surely die. For God does know that in the
day you eat thereof then your eyes shall be open. And you shall
be as God's knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw
that the tree was good for food. And that it was pleasant to the
eyes and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of
the fruit thereof and did eat and gave also to her husband
with her and he did eat. And at that moment. Mando hit
first into total depravity, total rebellion against God's word. In Webster's dictionary, the
word depraved means crooked. Distorted. Perverse. Wicked and corrupt. And it's perfectly obvious that's
exactly what's happened to man. That's what he is. That's what
he does. And that's all he thinks about.
So to sum it up, man has become sin. And the scripture says all have
sinned. And no man can come to the father. But. Thankfully. For some, the Lord
intervened. And he said, I'll put a new spirit
in you. Yours failed. Yours is gone,
so I'll give you mine. I'm going to put my spirit in
you. And the Lord wrote all this down for us to read in the book
of Ephesians, so let's turn their Ephesians chapter two. Ephesians chapter two. Verse one says, and you have
he quickened That means made alive who were dead in trespasses
and sins. We're in in time past, you walked
according to the course of this world, according to the prince
of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the
children of disobedience, among whom also we all had our conversation
in times past in the lust of our flesh, fulfilling the desires
of the flesh and of the mind. And we're by nature, the children
of wrath, even as others. But God, who is rich in mercy
for his great love, wherewith he loved us, even when we were
dead in sins. Have quickened us together with
Christ by grace, are you say? Well, what happened? I was dead. How did this happen? How did
he do this? If we look back at chapter one,
we'll see that the counsel of God held an election. It was an unconditional election. Man holds elections. To determine
who's going to be in charge of him. But God held an election
to purpose who would be under him. And we see in chapter one, verse
four, it says, according as he hath chosen us in him. 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 children
by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will.
So election is God choosing his family. Choosing his people. Scripture says the father has
given all things to the son. Some things the son will destroy.
But some things he's going to keep forever. Have not the potter
power over the clay to make one vessel into honor and another
to dishonor unconditional election. Is God choosing people, even
though all of mankind are totally depraved? And there's nothing good in him
when there's nothing good about him. Yet he calls him into his
family anyway. All according to the good pleasure
of his will. And you know, it had to be unconditional
because verse four says it happened before the foundation of the
world. Before anybody was. So that nobody can take part.
Unconditional. Well, the question is, what are
his chosen people elected to be? Verse four says, holy. And without blame. Verse five
says adopted children. Adopted children. That's amazing. Me, a sinner, adopted child. Yes. And it gets better, too.
Verse 11 says. His elected, adopted children
have obtained an inheritance. What is the inheritance? The
Lord Jesus Christ himself. Who has been given all things,
and if you have him, You have all things. You say that's too
good to be true. Why did he do this for me? Tell
me one more time, why did he do this for me? Look at the last
word in verse four. Love. Some say that's not fair, it's
not fair for God to choose one and not another. So here's an
illustration of predetermined election. two elections ago in Rocky Mount. And I know there's been another
one since, but I'm going to use the one from two elections ago.
I voted for Margaret Torrance. And before I even got there,
I knew exactly who I was voting for. And I walked up to that building,
and there were some outside who tried to persuade me another
way. But I had already set my affection
on her. And when I walked into the booth,
there were other names on that ballot besides yours. There were
other people being considered, but not by me. I chose her and I chose only
her. I did not choose them. Margaret really was unconditional
because I'm still not exactly sure what the commissioner of
revenue does. But I voted for you on purpose. And it was my legal right to
vote for only her. Well does God not have the same
right? Any ability that man has to choose
anything is only because he's made in the image of his creator.
If we have any ability to choose anything, it's only because we're
made in likeness of him. Well, I like to think that my
vote secured Margaret's position. The deciding vote and I secured
it for one year, didn't I? Well, the Lord's election, Margaret,
has secured your position in his kingdom for all eternity. So with the Lord before you,
who can be against you? Well, how can this be? How do
you bridge a totally depraved sinner with the holy God? If I'm totally depraved, if I'm
a sinner. And the Lord will accept nothing
but perfection, how can I be made holy and without blame?
How can I become adopted into his family? The answer is an
atonement has to be made. The gospel is an atonement has
been made. But it is a limited time, let's
turn to Exodus 29. Exodus 29. This atonement is
not limited in power or ability. But it's limited in who it's
for. So let's see if we can find out quickly what is an atonement. Why do we need it and who is
it for? Exodus 29, verse 36, says. Thou shalt offer every
day a bullet for a sin offering for atonement. That right there
tells us what and why. And atonement has something to
do with a sacrifice. It is a covering. It's a cleansing. And it's an appeasement for sin. And that's why we need it for
sinners. We need to be covered. We need
to be cleansed. And a holy God needs to be appeased. It says in 36, thou shalt offer
every day a bullet. All right, what happens in a
sacrifice? Stones are chosen and selected. And they're placed
in order. Built up. And then an animal
is killed. His throat is cut. And blood
pours out. And where does the blood go?
It pours all over the altar. Every stone gets covered. Hebrews 9.22 says without the
shedding of blood, there is no remission for sin. Leviticus
17.11 says it is the blood that maketh atonement for sin. Well, what blood? Any blood?
No, Hebrews 10 says it's not possible that the blood of bulls
and goats should take away sin. But they are, as it says in verse
one, they're a shadow of good things to come, a picture of
the Lord himself, the ultimate sacrifice. It is his blood and only his
blood that can put away sin. And the warning here is, although
the whole world needs it, Our Lord's blood was not shed for
the whole world. It is limited to only the totally
depraved sinners that the Father unconditionally elected. And
that's what this verse goes on to say. Verse 36 says, And thou
shalt offer every day a bullock for a sin offering, for atonement,
and thou shalt cleanse the altar. And when thou hast made an atonement
for it. And thou shalt anoint it to sanctify
it. Seven days shalt thou make an
atonement for the altar. And sanctify it and it shall
be an altar most holy. Whatsoever touches the altar
shall be holy. In first Peter two, chapter five,
it says ye also as lively stones. Are built up a spiritual house
A holy priesthood. To offer up spiritual sacrifices. Acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.
So the Lord's chosen people are this altar that the blood runs
all over and the atonement is made only for the altar. 37 ends by saying whatsoever
touches the altar shall be holy. What touches the altar? The sacrifice. Who is the sacrifice? The Lord
Jesus Christ. Well, after all of this is finished.
And the work is done. Then the Lord tells his people
about it. In time, he calls them out and he reveals himself to
them, and he does this through a messenger. God's true messengers preach
grace. The mercy and grace of God. And
when the Lord's people hear the call of grace, it's irresistible. It's irresistible grace. Let's
look at an example of this, I want you to turn to Genesis chapter
24. This is one of my favorite stories. Most everybody knows it. Abraham
sent his servant to find a wife for his son, Isaac. And the story
goes. It's a lot of verses, so I'll
shorten it for you. Abraham sent his servant to the
land of his kindred to find a wife for his son, Isaac, and the servant
said, I'll do this, but what if she won't go? And Abraham
said, then, if she won't go, you will have fulfilled your
duty, you'll be clear of this obligation. So the servant took
camels, and he took men, and he came into the land of Abraham's
kindred, and he knelt down by a well. And the servant prayed
to the Lord. And he said, Lord, bless my master
Abraham, and send his son a wife. And would you let it be that
when the woman comes to the well, if I ask her to draw water for
me that I may drink, that she will say, I'll draw water for
you, and I'll draw water for all your camels, too, until they're
full. Let that be the sign. Let her be the one. In chapter
24, verse 15 says, And it came to pass, before he had done speaking,
in the middle of his prayer, because the Lord already knew
what he was going to ask for, that, behold, Rebecca came out.
And the story goes on to tell that she did exactly what the
servant asked the Lord. And ultimately, the servant was
invited to Rebecca's house to sit and eat. Verse 33 says. And there was set meat before
him to eat, but he said, I will not eat until I have told my
Aaron. So the servant said everything
that Abraham told him to say. He delivered the message. And
then he asked, will Rebecca go and be the wife of Isaac? Verse
58 says, And they called Rebekah and said unto her, wilt thou
go with this man? And she said, I will go. And
they sent away Rebekah, their sister and her nurse and Abraham's
servant and his men, and they blessed Rebekah and said unto
her, thou art our sister. Be thou the mother of thousands
of millions and let thy seed possess the gate of those which
hate them. And Rebecca arose and her gamble
damsels and they rode upon the camels, followed the man and
the servant took Rebecca and went his way. Now, as they were riding back. On these camels. You know that
this servant was telling Rebecca. Let me tell you a little bit
about Isaac. And you know that Rebecca was asking, tell me more
about Isaac. What's he like? Is he strong? Is he kind? Is he valiant? And she probably said, I see
the jewels because the servant had put jewels on her on her
hands around her neck. I see the jewels and I see these
camels and I see the servants. But tell me more about him. And I'm sure that servant said,
oh, the half can't be told. About my master, Isaac. He's a man like no other. The Lord God himself came to
Father Abraham to announce the birth of this promised son. And
the Lord God has announced that everything as far as the eye
can see, land, cattle and everything will be given to Isaac and his
seed. Isaac is a brave man. Like no
other I've ever seen. One time the commandment was
given for Isaac to be sacrificed. The father had to kill his son. And Master Isaac carried his
own wood for his own altar for his own sacrifice. And when the father said, Son,
the hour has come, Isaac willingly laid down on
that altar and said, Tie me up, Dad. And willingly offered himself
a sin offering for atonement. There is no man like this man. Do you hear the call? Who are you thinking of? Who does this sound like? Who
is this a picture of? The Lord Jesus Christ, the promised
son, the heir of all things, the savior of his people by giving
his own life for their sin. And when a believer hears this,
their heart burns within them. And they want to run to the Lord.
And it's irresistible. Verse 61 says, Rebecca arose
in her damsels and they rode upon the camels and followed
the man and the servant took Rebecca and went his way. And
Isaac came from the way of the well lay Hyrule. For he dwelt
in the south country and Isaac went out to meditate in the field
at eventide. And he lifted up his eyes and
saw, and behold, the camels were coming. And Rebekah lifted up
her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she lighted off the camel. For
she said unto the servant, What man is this that walketh in the
field to meet us? Who is that man right there?
And the servant said, It is my master. And she took a veil and covered
herself. She saw him. She saw him. And she fell in
love. And when the Lord grants his
people eyes of faith to see who he is, they fall in love. They fall in love with the Lord
Jesus Christ and it is irresistible. Well, sadly, When the Lord reveals
the truth to a person, and he or she, for the first time, sees
what he really is. A totally depraved sinner. And
he sees how unworthy he really is to enter into the Lord's kingdom.
That's when doubts and fears come. Will I make it? Was I chosen? Was the atonement
made for me? And for this very reason, the
Lord's people come week after week to hear one more time of
the warnings, the encouragements and the comforts in God's Word
that they might persevere unto the end. And let's look at this
in the book of Jude. The fear is If Adam and Eve fell
away. What about me? They were not
sinners. Until the day that they ate of
that fruit, they were not sinners, they walked with God. They communed
with God and they fell. What about me? They couldn't
keep themselves. Look at Jude, verse five, I will
therefore put you in remembrance, though you once knew this. How
that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt. After we're destroyed them that
believe not. Moses didn't make it into the
promised land. Joshua had to lay them in. What
about me? Look at verse six, it says in
the angels, which kept not their first estate, but left their
own habitation. He hath reserved in everlasting
chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. A
whole host of angels. They were already there. They
were already there. One was named Lucifer, they were
already there. And they couldn't keep themselves,
they fell. What about me? Well, the key to the comfort
and reassurance of this whole matter is found in birth one.
It says Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James
to them that are sanctified by God, the father and preserved
in Jesus Christ. And called. The gospel. The good news is. Perseverance. Or the ability
to keep going. Is really preservation. Or already
being kept in store. But gives this gift of preservation. To his people. And he counts
it unto them for righteousness. Calling it perseverance. And
they read these glorious words, it is finished. I have started
this work, I will perform it unto the end. I'll never leave
you. I'll never forsake you. And God's
people all respond in exactly the same way. Verse 24. Now unto him. It is all about
him. It is all for the praise of his
glory. It used to be all about me. But
now it's unto him that is able the almighty, all powerful one. To keep you from falling. Christ came to save sinners.
Even you and even me. And to present you faultless. Without spot, without blemish.
Clean and justified. Before the presence of his glory. It's an amazing miracle. That
he would allow anyone to actually stand in the presence of his
glory. And it says he does this with
exceeding joy. He does this with exceeding joy.
Obviously, it's our exceeding joy, but it's also his. Hebrews
12, 2 says the Lord endured the cross for the joy that was set
before him. He's glad to do it. Verse 25
says to the only wise God, our Savior, be glory and majesty,
dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen. May the Lord
bless his word.