Well, good morning and welcome
to our continuing study in Luke chapter 4 and we've been kind
of lingering around chapter 4 verse 31 and 32. and examining these astonishing
doctrines that the Lord spoke about. And they came down to
Capernaum, a city of Galilee and taught them on the Sabbath
days. He taught them, the Lord did. And they were astonished
at his doctrine for his word was with power. And so we've
been spending some time exploring the doctrines which Christ was
teaching on the Sabbath days and every day, as we noted in
Luke chapter 4, verse 18, where there was delivered under him
the book of the prophet Isaiah. And he opened the book and found
the place where it was written, the Spirit of the Lord is upon
me because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to heal
the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives,
the recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them
that are bruised, to preach the acceptable ear of the Lord. And
he closed the book and gave it to the minister and sat down,
and the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened
on him. And he began to say unto them, this day is this scripture
fulfilled in your ears." And then we find a little bit
later that he applies his sovereignty and teaching of that in the fact
that sovereign mercy, in our lesson on sovereign mercy, parts
one and two, he extended his mercy There were many widows
in Israel in the days of Elias. And the heavens were shut up
three years and six months, when the great famine was throughout
all the land. But unto none of them was Elias sent, save unto
Sarepta, the city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow and
made lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha, the prophet.
And none of them was cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian, both
Gentiles. And those things would have been
astonishing. to those those folks and so the
basic premise of our lessons and what Christ taught was this
as he expounded in Chapter 24 verse 27 of Luke and beginning
at Moses and all the prophets he expounded unto them in all
the scriptures the things concerning himself And our first lesson
then again was from Genesis chapter 2 regarding the true meaning
of the Sabbath because it says he taught them on Sabbath days. And we learned that that was
to rest in the finished work of Christ. And then our next
lesson was on the fall and Adam and total depravity. The reason
why We need to rest in the finished work of Christ. Why no one can
come to Christ, except the Father which sent Christ draw him, as
it says in John 6.44. There is none righteous, none
that doeth good, none that seeketh God. And that is from Psalm 14
and quoted again in Romans chapter 3. And so our lesson today on
unconditional election. Not, and that simply means that
God chose, God exercised His sovereign right to choose, and
that choosing was not conditioned upon anything. No works, no merit,
only the sovereign electing eternal love of the Father. He just elected,
He just chose out of the pleasure of His own good will that He
might set His eternal love on some out of the many in the world. And it was his sovereign right
to choose some and not others. And we don't know who that is. Only God knows who that is. Well,
we might imagine that on a Sabbath day and the scriptures again
says he taught on the Sabbath days that Jesus might very well
have directed that the book of Moses called Genesis be brought
to him in the book of the prophet Malachi, and they might be brought
to him for to read and to teach them these astonishing spiritual
doctrines, the meaning contained concerning himself. Because it
said, again, beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded
to them in all the scriptures, the things concerning himself.
And we think that that means all the scriptures. Every single
scripture has something to do with Christ or about Him. And
this teaching is so very important because as we learned from the
previous lesson on total depravity, that there is none that doeth
good, none righteous, none that understandeth, none that seeketh
God. That's pretty specific and it leaves none out. None means
none. In our natural state though,
we have our own mind, our own idea of God, and we find that
those ways are based in an incorrect perception of God, an incorrect
understanding. There's none that understandeth,
and none that seek God. No man can means no man can, as it says
in John 64, no man can come to me except the Father draw him. No man can means no man can except
the drawing of the Father is essential, it's necessary, it's
required. In our dead condition we have
no ability to come. As the scriptures are apt to
point out in Jeremiah chapter 31 verse 3 if you turn there
Jeremiah chapter 31 verse 3 that says the Lord hath appeared of
old Unto me saying yea I have loved thee with an everlasting
love, therefore with loving kindness have I drawn thee." And there
again, that eternal electing love, that almighty drawing of
the Father that's so essential. We won't come without that. were dead in trespasses and sin,
and it means exactly that. Dead men cannot and will not
respond unless they are brought to spiritual life by being given
a new heart and the new birth, regenerated by the Spirit of
God and caused to believe the gospel of the death of Christ,
who died for our sins according to the scriptures, was buried,
and rose again the third day according to the scriptures. And again, we, in our own natural
state, we try to approach God on our terms. We have our idea
of God. We have our idea of how He should
operate, what we think He should do according to our standards.
And He says, My ways are not your ways. My ways are higher
than your ways. There is a way that seemeth right
unto a man, and those are the ways of death. So, since all
by nature reject God and are at enmity with Him, the scripture
tells us, and none seek Him. Remember, we found that in Total
Depravity that Adam, first thing, he hid himself from God. He did not come to God. We find
that God came to him. None choose God. And the scripture
plainly teaches that it is God that sovereignly chooses. He
has that right, and he has that ability. This, however, flies
in the face of man's most cherished doctrine, which is that of free
will, free self-will, which basically says that man can come, that
man can be righteous of his own works, that man can choose God,
that man does understand, that man is not dead in sin. Isn't
that ironic? After we read all those scriptures,
and the basic tenet of man is the exact opposite of all those
things. And we say these things that man can, that would be from
the book of man, chapter 1, verse 1. But we find in Romans 9, verse
16, it says, it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that
runneth, but God that showeth mercy. And so back to our text
that we wanted to look at today that would have been available
at the time of this teaching by Jesus of astonishing doctrine
from Luke chapter 4, verse 31 and 32, and beginning at Moses. So we go to the book of Moses
called Genesis in chapter 25. And we read these words, Genesis
25, starting in verse 19. And these are the generations
of Isaac, Abraham's son. Abraham begat Isaac. And Isaac
was 40 years old when he took Rebekah to wife, the daughter
of Bethuel, the Syrian of Paddan Aram, the sister to Laban, the
Syrian. And Isaac entreated the Lord
for his wife, because she was barren. She couldn't have any
children. And the Lord was entreated of
him. And Rebekah, his wife, conceived. And remember he had promised
his father Abraham that of him there would be a nation born
that was greater than the sand of the sea. And so we find this
fulfillment of the Lord's covenant of grace here. Rebekah, his wife,
conceived in verse 22, and then it says, and the children struggled
within her. She conceived twins. It says,
the children struggled together within her. And she said, if
it be so, why am I thus? And she went to inquire of the
Lord. I don't know if we can imagine
that, women that have had babies and been pregnant and know that
they're pretty active there sometimes. She's probably, what's going
on in there? What are you guys doing? And
the Lord said unto her, before they're born, before they've
done anything, two nations are in thy womb,
according to God's purpose, and two manner of people shall be
separated from thy bowels. And the one people shall be stronger
than the other people, and the elder shall serve the younger."
That would have been the exact opposite of what would have been
the custom. The elder son always inherited the blessing, the inheritance. And here God says that's not
going to be the case. And it's kind of pictorial, I
think, of the Jews and the Gentiles. It kind of gives you that hint
of the Jews were first, but having rejected Christ, lo, I turn to
the Gentiles. And so it kind of gives us that
impression. The elder shall serve the younger.
And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there
were twins in her womb. And the first came out red all
over like a hairy garment, and they called his name Esau. And
after that came out his brother, and his hand took hold on Esau's
heel, and his name was called Jacob. And Isaac was threescore
years old when she bare them." And so we have that report from Moses. And then in
all the prophets regarding these same two brothers, Malachi chapter
1 verse 1 the burden of the word of the Lord to Israel by Malachi
I Have loved you saith the Lord yet you say That he's talking
to them in their natural condition and they say I Yet you say, wherein
hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob's brother,
saith the Lord? Yet I loved Jacob, and I hated
Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the
dragons of the wilderness. Now, that's a pretty potent statement
from God Almighty. I loved Jacob, and I hated Esau. Two very clear statements. And among the several things
revealed about Christ in these two scriptures regarding Jacob
and Esau are, one, the almighty power of God who blessed Rebekah
with children, even though she was barren, but he blessed her
with children according to the covenant of grace that he had
made. And the sovereign nature of God working according to his
own purpose and will is displayed regarding the future of the two
children who have not even yet been born and are predestined
on their paths according to the purpose of God in Christ. They
were going to struggle and it says, one people shall be stronger
than the other people and the elder shall serve The term struggle
together in Genesis 25-22 seems to portend what would be experienced
in life from then on between the people of God and the rest.
The prophets Ezekiel, Obadiah, and Amos all described the eternal
ruin of the progeny of Esau, the Edomites. He said, I laid
them waste. I hated them. And they did not regard God.
And that is the condition that we all find ourselves in before
the rebirth, before we've been born again, before regenerating
grace. I hated Esau and laid his mountains
and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness. Malachi
1.3. These scriptures lay bare the
truth of God's sovereignty. They disavow the popular notion
that God loves everyone, which this scripture declares clearly
that he does not. Now a close examination of the
scripture revealed that neither son had many redeeming qualities. They were both rotten. Jacob
was called the supplanter. He was a conniver. The deceiver who connived to
get the blessing with his mother. They put the fake hair on his
arms and they made the fake savory meat for his father who was blind. They fooled him into thinking
that Jacob was the elder son when the time for the blessing
And the inheritance came down. And they did that in a deceitful
way. And Esau, he cared not for his
inheritance. He came in from the field that
day and said, hey, I'll trade you all my inheritance for a
bowl of soup. And he didn't care. He was not
concerned about it. not concerned about God. His
only concern was with satisfying the desire of the flesh that
day. So neither of them had any merits
to claim. Neither one of them was deserving
of mercy based on their actions and behavior. And in the view
of the doctrine of man, God is not fair if he doesn't extend
equal and non-prejudicial opportunity to all. That's kind of the crux
of the matter that comes down to it with people in their natural
condition. They have their idea of God.
They have their idea. of how he should operate according
to their principles. And they forget that there's
none that seek God. There's none that understand
it. There's none righteous. No man can come. And forgetting what Jesus himself
says in Luke chapter 13, he says, Jerusalem, Jerusalem. which killeth
the prophets, the ones that he sent to tell them about himself,
about the rest and the finished work of himself, that stoneth
them that are sent to thee, how oft would I have gathered thy
children together as a hand doth gather her brood under her wings,
and you would not. How many times have the prophets
came and presented the gospel? We have the gospel in Genesis
and Malachi and Isaiah and Ezekiel and the Psalms and the Proverbs
and Ecclesiastes and all the Old Testament Bible. And they
would not. A few did. A few saw what the
scriptures were talking about. They were all talking about Christ. The gospel. This gospel invitation
in Christ is always extended. How often would I have gathered
you together? But you would not. Man is free to come if he wills
to do so. In Revelation chapter 22 verse
17, the spirit and the bride say come and let him that heareth
say come and let him that is a thirst come and whosoever will. Let him take the water of life
freely. Man may come of his own, But
he cannot Because he's spiritually dead dead is Lazarus in the tomb
and it took almighty power For him to come Lazarus come forth
and then he did but before that he was just a dead stiff laying
there Unable to do anything So now We turn to Romans the
11th chapter verse 7 And we look at this unconditional
election, this electing by God. We have an election going on
right now in the United States where we choose our officials. We've just chosen in our primaries
here in Oregon our local representatives and judges. all the things that
are up for election, up for choosing by the people. And we would be
pretty upset if someone took away our ability, our right to
choose, but yet we say God is not fair if He exercises that
thing, and He is the creator of all things, and all things
were created by Him and for Him. And for His pleasure they were
and are created. He has the right of creatorship,
and He has the right of almightiness. He has the right of sovereignty,
of righteousness. But you know this is a doctrine
here stated in several places in Romans. We're not going to
look at all the scriptures today because there's just so many.
It would just not be possible to do this in four or five lessons. But in Romans 11-7, I read this
because our pastor used this verse in his message on what
makes the difference. What then hath Israel hath not
obtained that which he seeketh for? They were trying to get
it by works. They were trying to get it by
self-righteousness. They were trying to get it by the book
of man, chapter one, verse one, self-will, self-righteousness. They have not obtained what he
seeketh for, but the election, the election of God Almighty
in eternity hath obtained it. and the rest were blinded. And
it's a pretty potent verse there. Now this is a doctrine that's
almost universally despised except by those who have been saved
by grace and know that if not for God's having chosen them,
they would never have chosen him. It's just not palatable
to them because it denies their own their own free will. It denies their, I have a will,
I can choose, or I cannot choose. In John chapter 15 verse 16,
Jesus said, in your red letter edition, it says, you have not
chosen me. but I have chosen you and ordained
you that you should go forth and bring forth fruit and that
your fruit should remain. And whatsoever you shall ask
the Father in my name, he may give it you." So we've not chosen
him, but he has chosen us and ordained us. He's set us on a
path for the furtherance of the gospel to accomplish what he
would have us to do. Because God is chosen by the
foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. And we believe
according to the working of His mighty power. He's careful to fully explain
the doctrine in this epistle to the Romans that we're going
to look at, because he uses these same scriptures that we looked
at in Genesis chapter 25 and in Malachi chapter 1. And he's
explaining this, teaching them this doctrine. and the arguments
against it being the same in all ages, then and now. Nothing
has changed. The nature of man is the same. In the ninth chapter of Romans,
the Apostle by the Spirit lays out the spiritual truth of the
sovereignty of God in election. It's God's choosing or not choosing. And he begins back even before
the part that we read about in In Genesis 25, he backs up a
little bit. He references back to Abraham,
Isaac, and Ishmael. And the reference is clear. In
Isaac, shall thy seed be called. Remember, he had two sons. One
by the bondwoman, Ishmael, and he had one by his wife, Sarah. Isaac, and so in Isaac shall
thy seed be called. Even though both Isaac and Ishmael
were children of Abraham, God did not choose Ishmael. And that
is very clear if you go back and read that back in Genesis. So he begins here in Romans 9,
beginning in verse 1. He says, I say the truth in Christ. He's going to expound to them
in all the Scriptures and Moses and the prophets, all the things
about Christ. He's going to begin there and
teach them about Christ. I lie not. My conscience also
bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost. that I have great heaviness
and continual sorrow in my heart, for I could wish that I myself
were a curse from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen, according
to the flesh, who are Israelites, to whom pertaineth the adoption,
and the glory, and the covenants, the giving of the law, and the
service of God, and the promises." They had all these benefits.
They had all these things that we find over in Hebrews. It says,
"...not being mixed with faith in them that heard it, it did
not profit them." And he said, whose are the fathers? And as
whom concerning the flesh, Christ came, who is over all. God bless
forever, amen. Everybody was clear on that.
Not as though the word of God had taken none effect, for they
are not all Israel, which are of Israel. Neither because they
are the seed of Abraham are they all children. But in Isaac shall
thy seed be called. So he says the Gentiles are included
here. Just because they're not Jewish
doesn't mean that they're not of the seed of the promise. And
just because they are of the seed of Abraham physically doesn't
mean that they necessarily are the children of promise. They which are the children of
the flesh These are not the children of God, but the children of the
promise are counted for the seed. Genesis, find that in Genesis
28, verse one through three, he's quoting there. For this
is the word of promise at this time, I will come and Sarah shall
have a son. Not the bondwoman, but Sarah,
she'll have a son. He promised that through her,
there would come the seed. Not through the bondwoman, the
symbol of works. And so from eternity God chose,
or we use the word elected, Isaac. And next in Romans chapter 9,
Paul points out again that God sovereignly chose Jacob and not
Esau. So we have our second instance
of God's sovereign electing choice according to His purpose. And
referencing again the two scriptures from the beginning of our lesson
in Genesis 25 and Malachi 1. And not only this, not only that
He didn't choose Ishmael, but He chose Isaac, in Isaac shall
thy seed be called. Not only this, but when Rebecca
also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac. And then
he says, he quotes here from Genesis 25, before they were
born, he said, the elder is going to serve the younger. Before
the children not being yet born, neither having done any good
or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might
stand, not of works, but of him that calleth. It was said unto
her, the elder shall serve the younger. And then he says, then
as it is written in Malachi chapter one, as it is written, Jacob
have I loved, but Esau have I hated. So we have two principles here.
We have the eternal electing love of God and His sovereign
right in choosing whom He would exercise that love on. And since
neither one, in their natural condition, neither one of them
chose God, neither one seeketh God, neither one could understand,
none means none, neither one had anything meritorious to recommend
them to God. It was only God's self-determined,
sovereign purpose and will that he determined to put his electing
love on one, and not the other, when neither one of them deserved
his electing love. I think it was Spurgeon who said,
I can understand why God hated Esau, but I cannot for the life
of me understand why he would love Jacob. They were both stinkers. And
Jacob himself said, few and evil have been the days of the years
of my life. And after he reflected on how
his natural conditions. Now in verse 14 of Romans the
ninth chapter, Paul by the spirit addresses the objection that
is common to man through the ages. This is nothing new. What shall we say then? Because
he chose Jacob and not Esau. Because he chose Isaac and not
Ishmael. Because he loved the one and
hated the other. What shall we say then? Is there
unrighteousness with God? God forbid. If it was by merit,
then God would be just in choosing no one. Because neither one of
them really deserved it. And we find that through the
scriptures, that's always the case. That man is always complaining,
well, God's not fair if he doesn't do it the way I think he should.
Ezekiel, turn with me to Ezekiel chapter 18, verse 25. Just a quick verse we'll read
here. Yet you say the way of the Lord is not equal. That's
what everybody says in their natural condition. Well, if God
does that, then he's not my God. If God does that, then he's not
fair. If God does that, then he's not just. If he doesn't
give everyone equal opportunity, then he's not right. Your own now house of Israel
is not my way equal or not your ways unequal. There is a way
that seemeth right unto a man, and those are the way of death.
If we depended on God to be equal, then equality would have been
death to all. We'll look at a verse here a
little bit further on in Romans 9.29 that emphasizes that. So
this teaching of the doctrine of the sovereignty of God in dispensing
mercy is then displayed and the reference
is back to Moses again in the book of Exodus. And he's in all
the scriptures, the things concerning himself. In Romans 9.15 says,
for he sayeth to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have
mercy. He chooses And I will have compassion
on whom I will have compassion. So then, because it's God's sovereign
right to dispense mercy as it pleases him, he says, so then,
it is not of him that willeth. nor of him that runneth or worketh,
but God that showeth mercy, not of works, not of will." When
people say, I have a will, I have a free will, the scripture says
that is not the deciding factor. That is not the thing that causes
God to look at us in any condition other than our natural self.
He only looks at us through Christ in that way. Christ has made
the difference that we rest in His finished works. And he says, I have raised up people to do
what I want them to do according to my purpose. For the scripture
saith unto Pharaoh, even for this same purpose have I raised
thee up, that I might show my power in thee, and that my name
might be declared throughout all the earth. Therefore, because
of these things that we've just read, these scriptures that we've
just examined. Therefore hath he mercy on whom
he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth. And then
if we were to read a couple of more verses down in Romans chapter
9 into verse 21, he emphasizes this with a scripture from the
Old Testament again. It says, hath not the potter
power over the clay? and the potter being God Almighty,
and the clay being us, I can make whatever I want out of them.
I can make this vessel a vessel unto honor, and this vessel unto
dishonor. All according to my will, my
purpose, my pleasure. Now if it were left, to man alone
to present some merit or work to count for righteousness and
to overcome our sin by ourselves and denying the gift of God,
the only satisfactory way of peace. Here's what would be the
outcome in verse 29 of Romans chapter 9. And as Esaias said
before, except the Lord of Sabaoth or the Lord of Hosts had left
us a seed We had been as Sodom and been made like unto Gomorrah. That's how we would end up except
for electing unconditional, electing grace. Eternal love exhibited. And he's quoting there from Isaiah
chapter 1 verse 9, except the Lord of hosts had left unto us
a very small remnant. We should have been as Sodom
and we should have been like unto Gomorrah. Destroyed. That's
what would happen. So the Apostle by the Spirit
points out the only differentiating factor is Christ and the people
God the Father elected and gave to him in the covenant of grace.
He says in verse 33 of Romans 9, As it is written, Behold,
I lay in Zion a stumbling stone, a rock of a fence. because these
doctrines are astonishing. And they're a rock of offense
to unbelievers. They're a stumbling stone. Well,
I can't believe that. God's not right if He does that.
You say the word election and people kind of fritz out. And
whosoever believeth on Him shall not be ashamed. They'll look
at that and say, oh my God, I would never have been saved Had it
not been for electing eternal love, for electing grace, brought
me, drew me to him by the gospel. Now the whole of the next chapter
in Romans of chapter 10 exposes the futility of man trying to
supply his own righteousness by works and rejecting the righteousness
of God in the finished work of Christ. Chapter 10 declares the
necessity of preaching the gospel of God in the finished work of
Christ. He says, For the Scripture saith,
Whoever believes on him shall not be ashamed. For there is
no difference between the Jew and the Greek. The same Lord
over all is rich unto all that call upon him. The ones that
he exercises grace on and causes them to call upon him. Whosoever
shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then
shall they call on Him in whom they've not believed? How can
they do that? Because they're spiritually dead. They can't
believe. How shall they believe of Him
of whom they've not heard? And how shall they hear without
a preacher? And how shall they preach except they be sent? All
according to God's purpose. As it is written, how beautiful
are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace and bring
glad tidings of good things. But, They have not all obeyed
the gospel, for Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report?"
It's a common thing ever since the fall. The gospel is preached, but without divine power making
it effectual, it's just simply not believed. He says, who hath
believed our report? I'm preaching the gospel, Mostly
they're trying to kill me. Who hath believed our report?
So then faith, come by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. So chapter 10 closes with a reminder
that the gospel invitation has always been extended, but no
man can come except the Father draw him. But Esaias was very
bold and saith, I was found of them that sought me not. I was
made manifest unto them that ask not after me." The ones that
he had exercised unconditional, eternal, electing love on. The
ones that previously fall unto the none righteous, none understandeth,
none that seeketh God. But to Israel, he says, all day
long I've stretched forth my hands unto a disobedient and
gainsame people. and of themselves in their free
will, in their own self-righteousness. He says, you would not. So again, in chapter 11 of Romans,
the apostle declares that it's sovereign electing grace alone
that makes the difference and not merit or works. Again, he's
quoting from the Old Testament in Romans 11 verse 4. But what
saith the answer of God unto him? Because Isaiah said, I'm
all alone, and they're trying to kill me. I'm hiding out in
a cave here. I think I'm all alone, Lord. God said, I have reserved to
myself 7,000 men who have not bowed the knee to the image of
Baal. Even so, at this present time also, there is a remnant
remnant of what? A remnant according to the election
of grace. The choosing, this word just
means choosing of God. The choosing of God, the election
of grace. And back to the issue of works,
he says, and if it's by grace, unmerited favor, then it is no
more of works. Remember in our lesson from the
Sabbath, he that enters into the rest of the Lord has ceased
from his own works, as the Lord did cease from his works, from
Genesis chapter 2. So if it's by grace, then it's
no more works. That's what happens when people
are reborn. They give up, they cease their
own works, and they say, thank God for unconditional election. Because there was nothing meritorious
in my behavior, there was nothing meritorious in my approach to
God, my idea of Him. Otherwise, grace is no more grace.
But if it be of works, If you can get there by works, then
it is no more grace. Otherwise, work is no more work.
Sometime back, I brought a lesson from 1 Thessalonians 1, verses
4 and 5. This scripture says Paul is writing
to the Thessalonians, and he knew something about them. He
knew something about them because he says, Brethren, beloved of
the Lord, knowing your election of God, because, and he says,
here's how I know that. Because our gospel came to you
not in word only, but in power and in the Holy Spirit. They
were coming to him and saying, We're seeing Jesus in all the
scriptures. It's not just the law. It's not
just a bunch of rules that we have to follow. It's not just
a history lesson. We're seeing Christ revealed
in all the scriptures. Every time we look at something,
we're finding something. It's like this unconditional
election. I don't know how many verses
I looked at. In the Old and New Testament, it talks about election
and choosing and that by God. It's not just one or two verses
in the New Testament that people that are upset with us claim
it is. He said, I know you've been elected
of God because you believe the gospel. The gospel came to you
just not in word as it does in so many cases where they're just
words on a page and you read them. And to some they mean nothing. But when the Holy Spirit gets
involved with those that were elected unconditionally by God
in eternity and applies it to them and causes them to have
the new birth and causes them to believe, He says, I know. I can see it. You have an understanding that
you didn't have before about sin. You have an understanding
about God. You have an understanding about sovereignty. You have an
understanding about sin and the fall. You have an understanding
about resting in the finished work of Christ. So if then we
come to Christ, if there be any who turn from where they were,
which was dead in sin, and trust by faith in His merit, have total
reliance on Christ for salvation in His finished work, we find
it was because of eternal, sovereign, electing love. And we are eternally
grateful for it, because we know we would have gone to eternity
against God without it. Ephesians chapter 1, we're just
going to read a couple of verses out of this. It's kind of like
pulling one golden nugget out of a big sack. Ephesians 1-3 says, Blessed be
the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who hath blessed
us. with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ,
according as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation
of the world." Before they were even born or had done any works,
good or bad. before the foundation of the
world that we, and here's the result of that, that we should
be holy and without blame before him. And I always, in my Greek
inner linear, I think this is the colon here is supplied in
the wrong place. In love having predestinated
us. It could fit either way, but
I think it makes more sense. In love, eternal electing love,
having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus
Christ to himself according to the good pleasure of his will. Now in John, we're going to close
here in John chapter 17, because unconditional election means
that he chose some and some he didn't choose. And the ones that
he didn't choose want nothing to do with him and are just as
happy going their way. And they have a view of you that,
well, if you need that, that's fine for you. If you need a crutch,
if you need this, if you need this, religion or Jesus. Well, that's fine for you, but
I don't need that because I'm good on my own. I have my own
will. I have my own idea of God, if there even is a God. The fool
has said in his heart, there is no God. But Jesus said in
John chapter 17, these words spake Jesus and lifted up his
eyes to heaven and said, Father, the hour has come. Glorify thy son that thy son
also may glorify thee as thou has given him power over all
flesh. He's got power over everything,
all creation. That he should give eternal life
to as many as thou has given him. That's very specific. He has power over everything,
but he has given eternal life to as many as the Father had
given him in the covenant of grace. And so our next astonishing
doctrine that we're going to look at, particular redemption,
or as it's often referred to as limited atonement. For whom
did Christ die and make expiation for their sins and give eternal
life? Did he die for every man? And
if so, why are men in hell if their sin has been paid for?
Is it an effectual death or an ineffectual death? And we'll
look at those scriptures next time, Lord willing, when we get
together again from Luke chapter 4, verse 31 and 32. Astonishing
doctrine in power. Thank you for your attention,
and as always, be free.