The Church And It's Characteristics

Q: What does the Bible say about the nature of the church?

The Bible describes the church as the body of Christ, consisting of the elect and united in one faith. The church is not a mere building or denomination; it is fundamentally a congregation of individuals called by God. As articulated in Ephesians 4:4-6, there is one body and one Spirit, signifying a unified community of believers who share one Lord and one faith. The church is the elect of God, a term referring to those chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4). The essence of the church is not just in gathering, but in being comprised of Christ's body, connected and functioning together through the Holy Spirit.

Q: Why is the doctrine of election important for Christians?

The doctrine of election underscores God's sovereign choice in salvation and provides assurance of His grace. Election is a fundamental aspect of Reformed theology, emphasizing that God chooses certain individuals for salvation not based on foreseen faith or merit, but from His grace and purpose. Ephesians 1:4 reveals that God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world, asserting His sovereignty over our salvation. This understanding assures believers that their salvation is secure in God's unchanging will and serves as a source of profound comfort, as it assures us that our relationship with God is based on His initiative rather than our efforts. Additionally, this doctrine fosters humility and gratitude, as true believers recognize that they have not earned their standing before God but have been called by His grace.

Q: How does the church demonstrate its characteristics?

The church demonstrates characteristics through thanksgiving, faith, love, and endurance in hope. In 1 Thessalonians 1:2-3, Paul exemplifies the characteristics of the church by giving thanks to God for the believers' work of faith, labor of love, and patience of hope. These traits are direct outcomes of God's action in the lives of His people. The church is characterized by gratitude, acknowledging that any spiritual work and likeness to Christ comes from God alone. Additionally, the church should embody a commitment to the truth of the gospel, actively encouraging one another in faith and love, as this reflects the oneness of the body in Christ. Such characteristics validate the believers' election and highlight the transformative work of the Holy Spirit in their lives.

Q: What is the relationship between faith and election in Christianity?

Faith is a result of God's election, revealing the power of His calling through the gospel. In the sovereign grace tradition, faith is not a prerequisite for election; rather, it is a gift bestowed upon the elect. Ephesians 2:8 clarifies that faith itself is not from ourselves, but it is the gift of God. This means that God elects individuals to believe, initiating the process of salvation by a divine calling. The preaching of the gospel serves as the means through which God calls His chosen ones, resulting in genuine faith that is evidenced by the life and actions of the believer (2 Thessalonians 2:14). Thus, while faith manifests in the believer’s life, it is ultimately rooted in God's sovereign election and work.

Q: How do Christians know they are part of the elect?

Christians can know they are part of the elect by their response to the gospel and the evidence of faith in their lives. In 2 Peter 1:10, believers are encouraged to make their calling and election sure, indicating that there are factors through which one can discern their place among the elect. The key evidence includes a genuine response to the gospel—the gospel that came not only in word but also in power (1 Thessalonians 1:5). A transformed life, characterized by a work of faith, labor of love, and patience of hope, serves as assurance of one's election. Moreover, the witness of the Holy Spirit in the heart of the believer assures them of their status in God's saving plan, as they bear the fruit of faith and obedience to Christ.

It's like a dry man, a man who hasn't had any rain in
a while, something to drink. Hearing that it was raining down
the street, he said, Boy, I hear showers of
blessings down there. He would like to have some. Showers of blessings are in the
palm of a man's hand. You know that? Remember when
it didn't rain for so long, and Elijah finally said he saw the
rain coming, and he said, I see it. The servant of Elijah said
he saw a cloud, and it looked like a man's hand heading this
way. All right, 1 Thessalonians, chapter
1, and all the blessings of God are in the hands of the Lord
Jesus Christ. A handout. We're looking for
a handout this morning for a calling. When I start calling, it will
call on me. 1 Thessalonians, chapter 1. I also want you to turn over
to Ephesians, chapter 4. Mark, 1 Thessalonians. We're going to read 1 Corinthians
4. There are a lot of so-called
churches all over the land, aren't there? A lot of so-called churches. I say so-called because a church
is not a denomination. A church is not a building. You hear people say, I'm going
to church. Well, you don't go to church. You are in a church. Right? You either are in a church.
You don't go to church. You go where the church meets.
You go to a church house. This building is called a church
house. It's a building where the church meets together. But
the church is made up of people. The church is a congregation
of persons. The church is called the elect
of God. That's what we sang in that song,
didn't we? Elect from every nation. That's
the church of God. Past, present, and future. The
elect of God. The people of God. Revelation
17, 14 calls them the called, the chosen, and the faithful. That's the church of God. Called, the chosen, and the faithful. And there are many local assemblies
of the church. This is a local church. But there's
one over all the earth, and the church in heaven, the church
on earth, the people, the people of God. And they're all made
members of this church one way. One way that we become a member
of Christ's church. It's Christ's church. His body, it was called. And
we are many members of one body. We're all made members one way,
and we all believe the same way. There are no different denominations. Not in the church. Where do you get that, Preacher?
Ephesians 4. Let's look at it. Ephesians 4.
It says in Ephesians 4, verse 3, that the endeavor to keep
the unity of the Holy Spirit in the bond of peace. We had
a great deal of talk today about ecumenicalism, that is, all the
denominations and all getting together and joining hands and
loving one another and all that. I would join hands with anybody
who would love the Lord God of the Bible. I don't have any preacher
in this pulpit who preaches the God of the Bible, who preaches
the gospel. I don't have anybody in this
pulpit who preaches the gospel. The problem is, there's not many. That's the problem. Read on. There is one body. You see that?
Verse 4. There is one body. It's not divided. The body is
not divided. And many members one of another. You know what
1 Corinthians 12 says? There will be many members of
one. One body is one church. Is that
what it's saying? One church. One spirit, one Holy
Spirit. And we're going to talk about
this a little more in a moment. A lot of people are talking about
the Holy Spirit today, aren't they? It's another spirit, because
it's not the one that the Bible talks about. We're going to see
that in a moment. There's one spirit, one Holy
Spirit, and John, he works one way. The Holy Spirit moves in
one direction, moves people in one direction. Right? What is
that? It points them to Christ. Not
through himself. And I could really get off here
and not get to my text. One spirit, even as you are called
in one hope of your calling, how is a person put into this
one body? By this one spirit, how? By this one call, one hope of
the calling. Look at their creed. We sang
that in that song. Verse 5. All the church, this
one church, this one body, says, One Lord, capital L, big L, high L, above all, capital
L-O-R-D. One Lord, one faith. They believe the same way. Christ the way. They're taught
the same doctrine, the doctrine of Christ. You know what John
said? If any man transgresseth and
abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, he's none of his. One faith. Why? They all believe the same way.
Right? Why? They have the same teacher. They have the same teacher. They shall be all part of God,
John 6.45. And every man that hath heard
and learned of the Father was rebuked, cometh unto me. And he quoted from Isaiah there
when he said, all thy children. You see, God the Father has a
children. They're all taught the same thing. The same thing. One Lord, one faith, one baptism. See that? One baptism. And that
literally means one baptism. Not infant baptism. It literally
means one baptism, baptized into Christ, one God and Father of
all, who is above all, through all, and in you all, and so forth. Now I turn over to 1 Thessalonians
1. I see that one body. You see that? That's what I want
you to see from Ephesians 4, is one church. You see that? I think we do. And they all believe
the same way. Like faith. Like precious faith. Precious because it's gift. It's rare. Precious means rare
in the scriptures. Rare. Everybody doesn't have
it. You know that. You talk to them. They don't
believe like you do. Most people don't believe like
you do. And it's precious when you find someone who does. And
he right away recognized them. Same speech, they talk alike.
Like everybody from Virginia talks like Virginia, a host.
Everybody from Kentucky talks like Kentucky, a riot. Right? Everybody that's of God talks
like God's people. Grace. Thousand grace. Unmerited, unearned, undeserved,
eternal grace. Christ! Not me, my, man, I. Christ! They all talk the same
way. Same language. You recognize them right away,
don't you? Right away. There's something different about
that fellow. He talks like, where are you from, anyway? I'm from
Kentucky. I thought so. Where are you from,
anyway? Who are you? Well, I'm a believer
in the Most High God. I thought so. There aren't many. Sheep are scattered They meet
together, though, but they are scattered in little groups here
and there, smattering the corn on the hilltop, the scripture
says. First Thessalonians 1 says, Paul and Silas Timothy unto the
church of the Thessalonians, this local assembly of believers
who had one Lord, one faith, one They all believe the same way.
Thessalonians believe the same as Colossians. Colossians believe
the same as Galatians. Galatians believe the same as
the Romans. The Romans believe the same as the Corinthians. The
Corinthians believe the same as the Philippians. The Philippians believe the same
as the, we believe that. They all believe the same way.
Thessalonians. They all believe the same way. Same one. Same
thing. The church, he's writing this
local church at Thessalonica. The church and testimony which
is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ, in the purpose
of God, in the will of God, in the mind of God, in the heart
of God, in the love of God, the Father and the Son. Grace be unto you and peace from
God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. saving grace, sovereign
grace, eternal grace, keeping grace of God, where grace comes
from, be unto you. And peace, not the peace you
make, but the peace Christ made by the blood of his cross be
unto you. Peace. I am crying peace, peace
this morning, but I mean peace, peace. Peace with God. Eternal peace. Christ established,
the person and work of Christ, grace and peace. You see, the
peace of God and the love of God and the grace of God is only
on the people of God. Everyone else is under the wrath
of God. Right? That's what the last verse
said, the wrath that's coming. The wrath that's coming. In our
text we see clearly The way God makes us members
of his Church, and what Church members are like. Are you interested? You want
to be a member of God's Church, you want to be in this body of
Christ, believer, saved, saved people. The Church, that's who
the Church is. You want to be? How can you know? How can you tell? The characteristics
here, given. tells us exactly how God puts
us in the Church, and what the Church is like. Are you interested?
The Church is. All right, first Thessalonians,
look at verse 2. We give thanks to God. I'm going to preach a long time
on every word in these verses. Grace, peace, in, We give thanks. Now, we give thanks to God. The Church gives thanks to God. Look over at 2 Thessalonians
2. I won't have you turn to too
many verses of scripture this morning. I'll do it for you.
But I want you to look at this, 2 Thessalonians 2. Look at verse 13. Paul is not
thanking the people for choosing God. God forbid. Paul is not thanking the people
for making their decision for Jesus. God forbid. Paul is not thanking the people
for, and you've heard all these terms that I'm using, you'll
hear them in the so-called churches. Paul is not thanking the people
for letting go and letting God. Paul is not thanking the people
for making Jesus their Lord. Who is he thanking? Who does
the Church thank? What's this thing all about?
Look at verse 13 in 2 Thessalonians 2. We are bound and determined
to give thanks always to God for you. Give thanks where it's due.
Give credit where it's due. Give honor where it's due. Give
glory where it's due. Where's it due? who loved us and washed us from
our sins in his own blood, who chose us, who called us, who
made us his bride, who did it all, who is all, who is whom,
who is whom, by whom, for whom, by whom all things are. In whom
we live and unto him. A man, well, let's go on. We're bound to give thanks always
to God for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord, because God hath
from the beginning, where's that? Where's that? Before the foundation
of the world. God hath from the beginning chosen
you. to salvation, to save you. God chose before the world began
to save you. Who's going to thank? A man for
coming? Well, he came to Christ. He came
because God chose him. Because God compelled him to
come. Holy Spirit, through you, God
has chosen you to be saved through the sanctification of the Spirit. Remember the illustration of
setting apart, curling a calf out of the herd? That's sanctification
of the Spirit. I've drawn thee with cords of
love, cords of a man, the scripture says. There's one of my sheep
by a rod, not staff. That's sanctification of the
Spirit in a very simple illustration, isn't it? God the Looking for
him, going out looking for his shoes. There he is, where is
he? Up the tree, Zacchaeus. Come down. Zacchaeus, make haste. Get down. I was looking the other
day, when the Lord was calling our disciples, or his disciples,
the apostles. And every time he's walking along,
he's just walking along, there's two fellows, two old rough old
fishermen, been fishing all their lives. You know what they're
like, don't you? Nobody tells them anything. longshoreman,
Joe, that's what they were. Can you tell a painter anything? The Lord of glory walking by
said, Hey, Simon, follow me. Yeah, and you too, Andrew, follow
me. Walked on down the road. What
did they do? They threw their nets aside and got behind the
Lord of Glory. That's how he talked. He walked
on down the road a little ways, and there was two more, James
and John, with their daddy, with their daddy, daddy's boys, mama's
boys. They were mama's boys, and one
day their mama got in on it. You remember that story, don't
you? The Lord of Glory walking along, James, John, follow me.
Leave your dad, no boats, follow me. down the road, man up a tree,
get down from there, come on, I'm going to your house." He didn't ask anybody anything.
That's not the way the Lord of Glory does things. We give thanks
to God because he, from the beginning, has chosen you to follow. You
didn't choose me because I said, I chose you. They never forgot
that. The Apostles never forgot that,
and that's what they preached through all their epistles. We're
bound to give thanks. Paul said, I was riding my horse
on down a road one day, and Christ stopped me in my path and threw
me on the ground in the dust. It's hard to kick against these
bricks, isn't it, Paul? Paul would say, I will not, I
will persecute this way. Christ came along and said, bow
down, Paul, bow down, you're a chosen vessel to me. What did
he do? He bowed down. I like that. That was me. That was me, a hellion,
child of wrath, even as others, prodigal son. Knowing everything,
hating the truth, hating my parents, and the gospel and all that,
and one day the Lord of glory called from up there and said,
Bow down, Paul, bow down. We give thanks to God for you, brethren,
beloved Lord, because God has chosen you through sanctification
of spirit and belief of the truth, faith. Belief of the truth, what
truth? Everything I've said thus far
is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. So
help me, God. Whereunto, verse 14, belief of
the truth, whereunto, or that is through the truth, he called
you, look at it, remember this, verse 14, he called you by our
gospel. How does God call? It's not by
us sitting out in the woods, cross-legged. I've tried that. around a fire with your hands
cupped over your knees like that and cross-eyed and cross-legged,
chanting some mantra. God doesn't speak out loud. God doesn't speak out loud. He
used to. God in sundry times and diverse matters, Hebrews
1, spoken unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last
days spoken unto us by his Son, Christ. And Peter said, but we
have more sure word of prophecy until you do well and take heed
of the Bible. This is how God speaks. We don't
go out in the woods and listen for God to speak. But come sit
where the word is being proclaimed, and God speaks. That's exactly
right. He calls you. How does he call?
How does God call? He doesn't say, He calls you by the preaching
of the gospel. He says, and this is your name.
Sinner. Yeah, you. Liar. Dog. Oh, now, preacher, however you
know, I wasn't talking to you. He wasn't talking to you. And
those dogs? No, he wasn't talking to you. Don't be offended, he wasn't
talking to you. But don't those John dogs? Right
dogs? John? So, Felicia, you'll take
your part with her, won't you? Oh, sure, the dogs take a few
prawns to the Master's table. Lord blessed are you, John! Your faith has made thee a sinner."
Spurgeon used to say, God doesn't call a man by name, because it
could be he called out, he said, if God had spoken his words,
he said, this is the faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation
that Jesus Christ came into the world to save Charles Adams Spurgeon. Spurgeon said, I couldn't have
believed that. He said, I'd have to believe
that there's some other Charles Haddon version somewhere that
he's talking about. I bet you there's another Deborah
Huff. I guarantee you there is, probably hundreds of them. And there's another one like
you. But when he says this, Christ
came in the world to save sinners, that's my name. He spoke to me. He speak to you,
John? Dog, that's me. Went through
the shed. Went through the shed. Who am I that you should show
such pleasure under such a... If anything lower than a dog,
it's a dead one. Nothing lower than a dog than
one that's laying on the highway. That's what Mephibosheth called
himself in 2 Thessalonians 9. Who am I? To the king, David,
he said. And when he came in and sat at
his table like the king's son, Mephibosheth, who am I? And what
am I that you should show such favor to such a dead dog? And King David said, you ain't
no dead dog. You're going to be like a son
to me. You see, we're bound to give
thanks to God who calls by our gospel, the gospel that calls
us by our name, tells it like it is, the gospel. Read on here
in our text, 1 Thessalonians 1, we give thanks to God always
for you all. We give thanks to God, making
mention of you in our prayer. We remember, verse 3, without
ceasing, your work of faith, labor of love and patience of
hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father,
who sees you, who sees all. We remember your work of faith.
These are evidences and characteristics. of the child of God. And Paul
is acknowledging these things, and he's encouraging them. He's
encouraging these people in these things, work of faith, labor
of love, patience of hope, and so on. But he's not congratulating
them for something that somebody else did. Paul is not congratulating them
as if they were doing some great thing for God. We just read that,
didn't we? We're bound to give thanks to
God. We give thanks to God for the great things
he's done through people. There's the difference in what
we preach and do. We acknowledge that people do
things and make mention of what we do and all, but we're bound
to give all thanks to God, because it's Him that's doing these things. Nobody gets any credit for anything. Right? That's what the people
said to the Lord when He said, You fed me when I was hungry,
You clothed me when I was naked. They said, Why do you do these
things? And in another place, our Lord
said, after you've done all that's required of you, you're still
an unprofitable servant. You're just doing what is your
duty to do. He's not congratulating these
people, per se. He's thanking God for the great
things he has done. He's acknowledging what is going
on, and he goes on to say, look at it, he goes on to say, knowing,
Brethren, beloved, your election of God. We remember your work
of faith, your labor of love, your patience of hope in the
sight of God. Knowing you know the rest of
it. Buy these things, you know you'll buy these things at your
dear rest of God. You see that? You see where you're
giving credit to? You see, now listen, and you
catch the gospel right here in a few words, how God makes members
of his church. God doesn't choose faithful people. God doesn't choose the faithful.
God chooses men and women to be faithful. God doesn't elect people because
they believe. He elects them to believe. Isn't that what Ephesians 2 says?
By grace are you saved. Through faith. But that's not
of yourselves. It's the gift of God. God elected,
chosen you, saved you by grace. By grace we're saved. By the
blood of Christ. By the righteousness of Christ.
By the choosing of God. By the calling of the Holy Spirit.
By the work of God. Salvations of the Lord. Not of
the Lord and me. Of the Lord. Not a cooperative
effort when he has by himself purged our sins. Ephesians 1
verse 3 says, Salvation is of the Lord, not a cooperative effort.
And because he chose to save some people, he says, they're
going to believe me. And he gives faith. It's not
of yourself. It's a gift of God. God does
not choose those who believe. He chooses people to believe.
We just read that in 2 Thessalonians 2, sanctification of the Spirit
and belief of the truth. Is that plain? I'm speaking plainly
this morning. great plainness of speech. See,
and then we have such hope. One hope of your calling, I'm
using great plainness of speech. Faith is God's gift, Ephesians
2.8. Faith is God's gift. Tell me, all of you that believe,
when did you believe? When you decided. Is there anybody
in here who would say that? Can you say it according to the
scriptures? Can you say it from the testimony of your heart?
I'll tell you me. When did I believe? I didn't
make any decision for God. That's blasphemy. I didn't want
to let go and let go. I was like the other Paul, kicking
against the decks. But my Lord came to me. and called me and said, Believe. I believe. One day I was shaking
my fist and rejecting it, thumbs down, shaking it. I might have that. And if I'm
smarter than that, young buck, smarter than that,
I'm going to have that stuff the next day before I know it.
I had that. I had that. That's just what
I need. Who makes me to differ? Where
did that come from? One day I wasn't interested a
bit. Just wasn't interested a bit. Where are you all going? Going
to church. What's wrong? Where are you going?
I want to party. Before you knew it, where are
you going? I want to church. Where are you
all going? I want to party. I got to go
worship. Who makes me to differ? Who gets
the credit? I'm bound to give thanks to God. Faith is God's gift. Works. What
about works? Say, we do works. Yeah, I'm God. Well, a priest
is a priest for the same thing, isn't he? Created in Christ Jesus,
earned two good works. But we are his workmanship. What about Philippians 2.13? It is God which worketh in us
both to will and to do of his good pleasure. You see where
Paul is giving the credit? Works. Hope and love. What about hope and love? He
says you are a laborer of love and patience of hope. What about
that? Listen to this. The love of God, the scripture
says, is shed abroad in the heart. and you shed something abroad, does the thing that it's shed
on get any credit? I go out and sow seed on the
ground, does the ground get credit? That's a sower. See, shed abroad in your heart.
Love, we give thanks to God for the hope that's laid up for you
in heaven. Hope. So while Paul is encouraging
these people, duty but love and patience of
hope we wait on the Lord all right read on all right you still
with me He said, what's the word of the
Lord? Verse 4. Knowing brethren, we know brethren, you're an election
of God. We know you're one of God's elect.
Is there anybody interested in that?
Paul said to some of these first of all, we know you're one of
God's elect. Now only the elect are going to be saved. We know you're an elect of God.
Are you interested? John Davis, are you interested
in that? You want to know if you're one of the elect of God?
Anybody else? Only the elect of God would say. If Peter said in 2 Peter 1, he
would give diligence to make your calling and election. Sure. How may one know he's one of
the elect of God? Boy, I'm interested. I want to
give diligence. Would you watch on the prayer
right now? Would you give diligence for about 15 more minutes? Would
you? That's what watching means. Watch
with me. Just 15, not an hour, 15 more minutes. And give diligence
to make your calling and election sure. Would you, darn it? Would
you give 15 minutes to find out if you want to be elect of God
Almighty? 15 minutes. How do you know? Well, I quoted
2 Peter 1.10. It says, "...give diligence to
make your..." That's a key word. "...calling and election sure."
You see, God elected a people before the foundation of the
world, Ephesians 1.4. Is that clear? Sammy, you know that?
No. Rebecca, Ephesians 1-4 says,
"...he hath chosen us in Christ before the foundation of people,
and wrote their names in a Lamb's book of life, and sealed it up."
That's as plain as anything in the Scripture, that God chose
a people, put their names in a book, and that's the faith,
the Lamb's book of life. You've read that. How do you
know your name's in there? How do I know my name's in there?
I've never seen that book. It's got a seal on it. It's the
only one set of eyes that's ever seen that book. Jesus Christ's
the only one that's ever seen that book. I don't know if my
name's in there. How do I know, then? Knowing,
brethren, beloved, your election of God. I know you're one of
the elect. Paul, did you see the book? No! But I know this. Verse 5. That gospel came to
you. How do you know? I read it to
you over there, he called you by our gospel, in 2 Thessalonians
2.14. He called you by our gospel. Have you heard the gospel? Our
gospel! That's the key, isn't it? Our
gospel. Now, Paul talks in another place
about another gospel. didn't it? In Galatians 1, he
said that some come preaching another gospel, which is not
another, it's a perversion. There's another gospel like that. To the Corinthians, he said there'd
be some come preaching another Jesus. Why do I make so much
of these truths all the time? Why do I say the same things
over and over again? Why don't we talk about election, and sovereignty,
and predestination, and the cavity, and so on and so forth? Why?
Because it's another gospel out there. And if these things are
in it, the truths of God, it's another gospel. We've got this
here, the gospel. Did you notice that Paul said,
our gospel? And he said, if anybody preaches
any other gospel than that which we have preached, let him go
to hell. Galatians 1. Our gospel. I am just as bold
to say the same thing as the Apostle Paul. Our gospel, Amy. This gospel, no other. Our gospel came here. How does
one know they're elect? The gospel came to you. You didn't
come to it. Somehow, somewhere, sometimes
somebody approached you with the gospel. Tape, conversation,
or whatever, you heard it from somebody somewhere. You heard
the gospel. The gospel came to you. Right? The gospel came to you. The gospel,
our gospel, and Paul describes it in Romans 1, he says it's
God's gospel. What's our gospel? I've lost
a couple. Is anybody still with me? Our
gospel is God's gospel. There's only one, and it's God
the first one who said it and preached it. And it's God's gospel,
and what it's about. What's it about, then? If it's
the good news that God, what is it about? It's about God. Any gospel, any preaching that
starts with man is another one. It's not the gospel of God. The
gospel that started in Genesis 1 says this, "'In the beginning
God created the heavens and earth,' and it goes on from Genesis 1
to Revelation 22 and says, In whom, by whom, through whom,
for whom, to whom, is, are all things. Salvation, creation,
progress, everything is in God. Any gospel less than that is
not the gospel. It gives God all the glory. It
makes God God. There's only one gospel, and
it makes God God. It says God is God. Lord means Lord, and if you have
to make him, that doesn't mean moral, does it? Lords never were
made lords, they were born that way. There was a lord down through
the history of royal families that was made lord by anybody.
They were born that way. And they said concerning Jesus,
where is he that is what? Born King! King before the world
began, King of kings, Lord of lords. You don't make Jesus Lord. Anybody that says so is preaching
another gospel. The zeal of his lordship is eating
me up right now. And I'm here to say, anybody
that says anything less than that is preaching another gospel,
another Jesus. And a man that is dead, D-E-A-D,
Everybody here knows what dead is. Rebekah and the youngest
one here, where's the other one? Harley. Sarah. You know what
dead is, don't you? You hath he quickened who was
what? Dead in trespass of sin. Ephesians
2.1. Dead. Colossians 2. Dead. Man
is dead, so what can he do? Stink. That's it. Christ. They came to Lazarus'
tomb and said, Oh, Lord, he's just half dead. If you'll call
him, he'll respond. What did they say about Lazarus?
He's stinking. He said, and the Lord of glory,
the Lord of life, he said, I am come that they might have life.
Came to that table, he didn't say, Lazarus, won't you please,
Lazarus, won't you accept me, Lazarus, won't you make me Lord
of your life, Lazarus, if you'll take the first step. He didn't
say that. He said, Lazarus, you dead man,
come out of that grave. What did he do? Came out! Because the Lord of
glory said it. Dead man is D-U-A-D, dead, dead,
dead, dead. Why do you say that, Preacher?
Because God gets the glory for raising him. That's why. If man's half-dead, he gets half
the glory. If he's all dead and the Lord
a life-raiser, he gets all the glory. Right? Preach all this backwards with
my eyes closed. You know, on your left. God elected
a people before the foundation of the world. This is more than
doctrine. I'm glorifying the Lord of Glory this morning. Elected
a people before the foundation of the world. I didn't choose
him! God didn't look down and see that Paul Edwards Mayhem
would someday just decide to straighten up and choose Jesus
as his Savior. That means in time you have to
get a little girl, get a little fancy, Paul, for choosing me.
Right? That just makes good sense. Good
old corned corn sense, doesn't it? That if I did something and
God chose me because of it, I'd get my credit. Well, he said, you didn't choose
me, I chose you. Who gets all the credit then? God elected the people. I have
no problem with that. I have great praise for that.
God gave some of them, gave all these elect to his son to save
them. And his son came down to this
earth and became a worm, a man, and lived thirty-three and a
third difficult, trying, hard years, working out of work that
God absolutely demanded perfection in thought and word and deed,
and every fiber of his being, absolute perfection, to fulfill
every jot and fiddle of this holy book, every jot and fiddle. It took him thirty-three and
a third years to fulfill it, a difficult work, and then let
through six hours of eternal hell on the cross to shed his
blood for the remission of sins, and that's what saved my soul.
Nothing else. I don't come up and say, let
me help you. God says that's filthy rags.
Don't add anything to it. It took my son, and my son alone,
doing all this. I can't. It'd be like me building
a great building and a four-year-old child coming up and saying, can
I help? Right? Me building a World Trade
Center and some 40-year-old comes up and says, I want to pitch
in. It took the Son of God coming
down and making man do all that to save us. That's the reason God spits on
man's cooperative efforts in salvation, his self-righteousness.
It's an abomination to God. It's like saying Christ didn't
do enough. That's what they're saying. He's done all he can
do. That makes me mad. Yes, he's
done all he can do. He's done all that can be done.
He's done all that can be done. He said, I finished the work,
having obtained eternal salvation for us. I like that. makes atonement, washes away
our sin, gave us to his Son, and his Son came down and bought
us, gave us to the Holy Spirit, and as the Holy Spirit comes,
call him. I've been saying a lot of things here, maybe too much,
doing the best I can. I'd like to think that God Almighty
has been talking. than calling. This is what it
says. This is the shepherd's voice,
isn't it? John, this is the shepherd's
voice. This is the way the Lord of Glory talks. He doesn't say,
Won't you please, won't you this, won't you that, like so many
preachers are talking. He says, I'm from above, you're from beneath. I'm the good shepherd. I give
unto my sheep eternal life, they'll never perish. That's the Son
of God talking. And all his sheep hear that,
and they believe. They hear it. The sheep hear
his voice. Have you heard it this morning?
Knowing, brethren, the love of the Lord your election, this
gospel came. This gospel came. And not in word only, verse 5,
says, not in word only, but in power. Not in word only, but
in power. You're not hearing a dissertation
this morning. I'm not preaching from the Southern
Baptist Convention weekly sermonette book. You know they do that? Do you know preachers do that?
They send off and get a book full of sermons, one for every
week? Do you know that they actually do that? Not in word only, either. In
power. Power. Power. Soul-saving, life-changing
power. You heard and something happened.
And you really can't explain it, can you? Except to say God
spoke to you. God spoke to you. And you heard
it preached powerfully. You heard a lot of preaching
before, didn't you, until you came and heard preaching? I hear it. I listen to these preachers all
the time. And I think, man, anybody could do better than that. Where's
everybody going? I know, Charles, Barbara's got
a little work. Powerful preaching. You heard
a lot of preaching before. When you finally came and heard
the gospel preach, you heard a man preach with power. You
said, I've never heard it like this before. Didn't you? First time you heard it. Nancy,
you told me you got mad. You told me, you said, I done
it. You said, I don't know about that. You finally heard it. You heard a man preaching like
a man with a priority. And I'm sure you thought, and
like everybody else thinks, who does he think he is? Who does he think he is? Well,
he thinks he's nothing. But boy, he thinks his God's
everything. And he thinks his gospel's the only gospel. And
he thinks you'd just better believe it or be damned. That's dogmatic,
isn't it? That's plain speaking, isn't
it? That's the Bible. That's the gospel. The Holy Ghost
came through a man, yes, was sent. The man was sent by the
Holy Ghost, and what does the Holy Ghost do? He doesn't talk about himself.
He doesn't throw you down on the ground like these TV preachers
do. Breathe on you and you fall down. I can do that. I can. You
don't think I can? Go for it right now. I've been
talking for about an hour and a half. You come up there, and I'll move
on you, and you'll fall down. But it won't be the Holy Spirit. It'll be my bad breath. Right? I can work you in the head hard
enough, and then you'll fall. Now that's ridiculous. That's
not the Holy Spirit of God. John 16, John 14, what does it
say, John? John, you know what John says.
He says, He'll take the things of mine and show them unto you.
That's what Christ said. A Holy Spirit will come, and
when He has come, He'll not speak of Himself. Not to say, Holy
Spirit this, Holy Spirit that. He'll take the things of Christ
and show them unto you. The person and the work of Christ,
and you'll go out of there knowing Him, whom to know to have eternal
life. Not a woman on the ground laughing. That's what we're doing now,
so to speak. Not acting like a demon-possessed
person. When Christ came to that man
in the gatherings that had the demons in him, he was running
around, foaming at the mouth, screaming, just like these people
are in most religious services. Running around, acting this way.
What did Christ do to him? He took the devils out of him,
sat him down in his right mind at the feet of Christ. Listen
to what Christ was saying. The Holy Spirit does exactly
the opposite of what men are saying that he's doing today.
The Holy Spirit gets men and women, sits them down at the
feet of the Word of God, and they hear about Christ, and they
just, that's right. And he nails nail after nail
in their heart of truth. They know the truth, and the
truth sets them free. And some charlatan comes down
the road, and they hear him say, that ain't the truth. I know
it's not, and it says it right here in the mouth. They hear
with a discerning ear the truth. That's it! The truth. That's what the Holy Spirit of
God does. Have you heard the difference? You hear the difference. That's what the elect of God
does. They hear the difference. And it's like black and white,
night and day. It is! The day spring arises
in your heart. God shines in our dark hearts
to give the light of the Lord to the glory of God in the world.
I ain't saw Jesus Christ nowhere else. We see it in a person.
A person. Somebody, anybody. Hearing this, this is the elect
of God now. This is what the elect of God
feel. This is what they hear. The person and work of Christ.
And in much assurance, verse 5 says, in much assurance, in
the Holy Ghost and in much assurance, what's that? They know whom they
have believed. Are you sure that Christ is sovereign? Are you sure about that? More
sure than you are about that man right there. He may change. If his arteries start constricting,
he will. Jesus Christ sent him yesterday,
today, forever. I know whom I believe. What do
you know about him? He's sovereign. He's holy. He's just. He's love, and I mean
love. I don't mean half love. I don't
mean hope to love. I mean eternal love. He's saved. I don't mean, I don't speak with,
you know. One hand behind, yay, nay, love,
he might love, he might not, he loves you now, he might send
you to hell. Oh, I mean love, eternal love. Love you for always. I'll love you forever, I'll love
you for always. As long as I'm living, my child,
you shall be. That's the song we used to sing
to our daughter when she was a baby. I'll love you forever,
I'll love you for always. As long as I'm living, my baby,
you'll be. How long will Christ live? He said, I live forever, because
I live, you shall live also. Did he say that? I know whom
I have believed, Joe. They don't know what they believe
out there. That's what Christ said to that woman at the well.
You don't know what you believe. One day you're Methodist, the
next day you're Pastor, the next day you're Catholic, the next
day you're this. What are you? Salvation of the Lord. I'm a
believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, that's what I am. I mean love. When I say love, I mean love.
When I say mercy, I mean mercy. It endures forever. It endures
forever. If it has mercy, it's there to
stay. Mercy. Grace. I mean grace. Now, I don't mean grace works.
What's grace? G-R-A-C-E. Grace. And read on, and I'll quit. Now,
you know what manner of men we were among you. You know what
kind of fellow I am? Well, you know I'm just an old
common Joe. You know I'm just an old common fellow. You know
that. Hopefully. I don't give the appearance of
being high and muckety-muck above you coming out of the seminary
and trying to impress you, and I know more than you. I hope
I give the impression that I'm at least one of you. And I hope
that you know by now that I'm not in this thing for the money.
I was making more money before I got here. I hope you know that. I hope you know I'm not trying
to make a name for myself. Huh? We're having a new bulletin
front made up right now. A new bulletin front. The fellow
said, let's put your name right under the picture. I said, no.
Put 2 Corinthians 3 and 4 under the picture. Because it says,
we preach not ourselves, but Jesus Christ the Lord. I said,
that's what I want everybody to think about the Central Baptist
Church. I want them to remember Paul, he amazed me, and pastor.
I want them to know that we preach Christ here. What do they do
down here? What's your church all about?
Christ is what it's all about. Put it down at the bottom there,
just so they'll know, you know, if they want to know who the
pastor is, there it is. I hope you know that about me by now.
If not, you better get rid of me fast. If I am that way. And it says verse 6, you became
followers of us. You became followers of us. There's
some 60 year old, there's a 60 year old man in here, 60 some
odd years old, that told me last Sunday morning, he said, I wish
I'd have heard all that when I was a young man. Now I'm 39. 39. And he's 60 some. And he told me, this young man,
he said, I wish I'd heard that when I was a young man, in meekness
and humility, saying, I didn't know all that. I wish I'd have
known all that. And he's following me, my leadership. Now, brother, that's the grace
of God, isn't it? That is the grace of God. I know
your election, brother. Beloved of the Lord, I know it.
A 60-year-old man is not going to listen to a 39-year-old man.
Here's the thing, he's not going to do it. And what's even harder
than that is a peer, somebody the same age as a man, sitting
and listening to him. He's not going to do it. A natural man
is not going to do it. The grace of God works, he will. And he'll
follow that man. Why? Look at verse 6, because
he's following the Lord. You became followers of us and
of the Lord. You see, you can follow a man as long as he's
following Christ. Right? You can follow a man. A lot of
people followed John the Baptist, didn't they? Yeah, they did. They did. Why? John was following
Christ. One day, John said, there's the
Lamb of God. Go follow him. You see, if you see a man that's
in line with all the prophets, if Elijah were alive today, I'd
be one of his members, buddy. He is. There are a few of them
who are around today. Maurice Montgomery, Scott Richardson,
Henry Mahan, and so on. Now, these are God's men of the
day, just as surely as Moses and Elijah. Yes, they are. John
the Baptist, same, same thing. And you find a man who is in
line with the prophets, preaching the same thing as the prophets,
who is in line with the apostles, you get in line with him. You
get in line behind him. You don't want to leave. It's
a bad place to be. Get in line behind me and say,
Where are you going? I'm heading for Christ. Well,
I haven't come into it. I'll get in line, too. Get in line with a man who's
in line behind Christ. All right? Verse 6. He says, You will save the world
with much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost. I'm going
to read on your examples, and we've sounded out the word and
Verse 9, turn to God from idols to serve the living and true
God. You know, one of the first things that a person does when
God actually deals with them, if they were religious before
they heard the gospel, one of the first things they'll do when
they hear the gospel and the Lord speaks to is they'll renounce
everything they heard in the past. They will. They'll renounce it. That's what Paul said in Philippians
3. He said, Forgetting those things which are behind. Paul
renounced all his learning. He said, What things were gained
unto me I counted, but lost, lost time. I was at complete
loss. I didn't know anything. I was
a nothing, a nobody, until Christ, who is all, came to me, until
the gospel, who is everything, came to me." He renounces the
past. And that's what it says, you
turn to God from idol. Anything other than this gospel
is another gospel. Any God other than the God that
I'm preaching this morning, whose God is what? You got a big article
in your bulletin this morning about it. Any God other than
the God we're preaching, whose God is a what? Idol. That's strong language, isn't
it? That's what Paul said. You turn to God from idols. An idol is something you make
up, isn't it? There are so many scriptures
about that, isn't it? They had no eyes and they had
no ears and no hands, and that's what the preachers are saying.
about their God. He has no hands but your hands.
Jeremiah, I wish I had time to look it up, but there's a passage
that says that those that make them are just like them. No eyes,
no ears, no nothing. Dead. Dead gods. They can't do anything. Idols. John, you turned from another
God, didn't you? Another gospel. to the living God, to God who
is God, to Christ who is Christ, to a gospel that saves you. Stick
right there, buddy. The best is yet to come. Hang right there. It will save
you. So hang yourself on that nail in a sure place. That sure
thing in a sure place. And he said, you became examples
and you're waiting for his son from heaven. He testified of
the gospel. And it says you got persecuted
for it. Didn't he say that? He said,
it sounded like the rain, and everybody hated you because of
it. Did you read that? He said, persecution and affliction,
but joy of the Holy Ghost. He got persecuted for it. Jenny,
you've gone to work, and other nurses have heard you say something
about this gospel, and they despise you for it. Why? Why? You're just telling the truth,
what God said. Why? Blessed are you, Polly Bar, that's
your daddy's name, Polly Bar whoever, flesh and blood didn't
reveal it to you. Christ said, blessed are you
when men shall revile you and persecute you and say all manner
of evil against you falsely. That makes something up. for
my name's sake. Just because you believe God's
God. Deborah, just because you believe God's God. Just because
you believe the word says man's dead. Just because you believe
Christ said he's all there is in salvation. Just because you
believe that, they're going to persecute you. Blessed are you,
Deborah. That's what they did to the prophets. That's what
they did to the apostles. That's what they did to the Lord
of Glory. And he said the servant's not above his master. If they'd
done that to me, they'd do it to you. He said, if they received
my words, they received yours, but they didn't. He said, see,
they speak of the world, and the world hears them, but you're
not of the world. I know your election, Deborah, because you're
getting persecuted for believing the truth. Smile, Deborah! I know your election because
you're persecuted for what you believe. Worldly is unto you
if men speak well of you. But if they persecute, she's
one of those. Had a fellow tell me that at
work one time. He's one of those. That's what I heard him say.
He's one of those. I said, what? What do I want?
One of those Christians. Blessed are you. You know, there's
no persecution in religion today. It's popular to be religious.
But it ain't popular to be a believer. Where's the offense? of the cross. Ain't nobody offended with what
men are saying today. God loves you and Christ died
for you. There's no offense in that. But the truth does.

The Church And It's Characteristics

What does the Bible say about the nature of the church?

Why is the doctrine of election important for Christians?

How does the church demonstrate its characteristics?

What is the relationship between faith and election in Christianity?

How do Christians know they are part of the elect?

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The Church And It's Characteristics

What does the Bible say about the nature of the church?

Why is the doctrine of election important for Christians?

How does the church demonstrate its characteristics?

What is the relationship between faith and election in Christianity?

How do Christians know they are part of the elect?

Sermon Transcript

About Paul Mahan

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