What is Sovereign Grace?

Q: What does the Bible say about sovereign grace?

Sovereign grace means that God chooses His people unconditionally, acting according to His own will and purpose. Sovereign grace refers to the doctrine that God, in His sovereignty, graciously chooses a people for Himself without regard to their merit or actions. This is grounded in the reality that all things begin with God, as expressed in scriptures like Ephesians 1:4-5, where it states that He chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world. It emphasizes that salvation is solely the result of God's grace, and not by works, as seen in Romans 9:11 which speaks of God's purpose in election that stands not because of works but because of Him who calls.

Q: How do we know God's sovereignty is true in salvation?

The scripture asserts God's sovereignty in salvation through His unconditional electing grace, as seen in key biblical passages. God's sovereignty in salvation is affirmed throughout scripture, particularly in Romans 8:29-30 and Ephesians 1:5, where it highlights that God predestined individuals for salvation according to His purpose and grace. This doctrine underscores God's control over all things, ensuring that all aspects of salvation—election, calling, justification, and glorification—are ultimately fulfilled by His will alone. The assurance from these passages is that God, who began the work in us, will carry it through to completion, confirming His sovereign power over salvation.

Q: Why is grace important for Christians?

Grace is essential for Christians because it is the unmerited favor of God that saves and sustains us. Grace is fundamental to the Christian faith as it signifies God's unearned favor towards humanity, providing salvation that cannot be merited through works. This is captured in passages like Ephesians 2:8-9, which teaches that we are saved by grace through faith—not as a result of our works. The importance of grace extends beyond initial salvation to encompass daily life as believers, reminding us that our growth, sanctification, and ultimate preservation are all works of grace as outlined in Philippians 1:6. Therefore, recognizing grace continually centers our faith on God’s work rather than our own.

Q: What is the meaning of election in sovereign grace theology?

In sovereign grace theology, election means that God chooses specific individuals for salvation before the foundation of the world. Election, within sovereign grace theology, refers to God's sovereign choice of certain individuals to receive salvation and eternal life, made before the foundation of the world. This doctrine is articulated in Ephesians 1:4, which states that God chose us in Christ before creation to be holy and blameless in His sight. It affirms that God's election is based solely on His grace and purpose, not on any foreseen merit or action of the individual. This teaching not only magnifies God's sovereignty but also instills assurance in believers, knowing their salvation is secure in His unchanging will.

Q: How does sovereign grace affect the assurance of salvation?

Sovereign grace provides Christians with assurance of salvation by securing it through God's will and not human actions. Sovereign grace profoundly impacts the assurance of salvation, as it guarantees that salvation is based on God's choice rather than our ability to maintain it. Philippians 1:6 illustrates this assurance, stating that He who began a good work in us will carry it on to completion. This reinforces that our standing with God is secure, as it rests solely on His grace and purpose, not our fluctuating faithfulness. Thus, believers can rest assured that their salvation is not contingent upon their works or decisions but rather on the unalterable will of God, fostering both confidence and peace.

Alright, 1 Corinthians, chapter
4, verse 7. It says this, Who maketh thee to differ from
another? And what hast thou, or what do
you have, that you did not receive? Now, if you did receive it, why
do you glory, why would you boast, as if you hadn't received Who maketh thee to differ from
another? I want to ask the question this evening. What is sovereign
grace? We call ourselves grace believers,
call our churches sovereign grace churches, call our preachers
grace preachers. We use a language that religion
doesn't use. We use a language that people
just don't use the way we use it. You know, as somebody, you
mention a preacher, you say, well, does he preach grace? What
we mean by that, does he preach Christ? Does he preach salvation
holy of the Lord? There's a man preaching that
salvation's in the hand of God Almighty, not in man's free will,
man's power. And that's what Paul says, when
he pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb and
called me by his grace. Now, he hadn't been a grace preacher.
He'd been a religious man. He'd been a Pharisee. Very dedicated
man, very zealous man. But when God saved him, he became
a sovereign grace preacher. He preached grace everywhere
he went. So what is sovereign grace? And then I want to try
to answer that question. I want to try to answer it. And
that's why he says, who maketh thee to differ? Who maketh thee
to differ? Let me define this word sovereign
to begin with. Let me define it. Sovereign means
one superlative in quality. superlative in quality, one possessed
of supreme power, one that's unlimited in his extent, absolute,
one who is free of external control. Well, God is that. God is that. And now God in His sovereign,
to say that God is sovereign, and is sovereign in his grace,
giving his grace, bestowing his grace, is to say that God is
God. And he acts like it. He's not
a pretender. And when you define grace, it's
like Brother Bruce said, it's the very opposite of works. Grace
and works will not mix. It's of grace. If it is, it's
not of works. If it's of works, it's not of
grace, or else grace ceases to be grace. And it's the opposite
of merit. You see, for by grace are you
saved through faith, and that's not of yourselves. It's a gift
of God. And it's not of merit. Most people,
when they mention grace, they automatically think that God's
going to do something for somebody who has some good quality about
them. There's something about them. I've heard people say the
reason God called the Apostle Paul was because he was so smart
and knowledgeable. He'd make such a good preacher and such
a dedicated man. That wouldn't be grace at all.
That would be God seeing something in him that he could use. But
I'll tell you something, if God does anything for anybody, he's
got to kill everything in him that he thinks is good, because
he ain't going to use anybody until he empties it. There's
nothing good in me, nothing good in you, or nothing good in anybody
else that God Almighty can use. And men need to be told straight
up, straight out, straight down. that God does not need you. He
don't need your gifts. He don't need your ability. He
don't need your power. He don't need your smart. He
don't need your intellect. He don't need your heart. He
don't need nothing. You've got. And if He ever does
anything for you, He gives you everything you've got or He won't,
you won't be saved by Him. That's just the way it is. Ain't
that right? And grace is the opposite of
law. No law. No law. Cursed is every one who
continueth not in all things written in the book of the law.
And grace, beloved, is free. That's why we call it free grace.
Grace, beloved, is full. It gives you everything you need. Everything you need all the days
of your life. And it means charity. People
say, I don't want charity. Oh, give me charity, charity.
I'll take all the charity you've got. I'm not proud. If you want to give it, I'll
take it. And that's what grace means. It means charity. All
who receives God's free, sovereign grace receives charity. Charity. Sovereign grace is God choosing. It is God exercising his free
will. It is God acting like God. He is not frustrated by the power
of man, by the free will of a man, by how sinful a man is, or how
good a man seems to think he is. God is truly no respect of
persons. Now let me tell you something
about, and Bruce mentioned it already, when a man preaches
and argues for the free will of man in salvation, when he
preaches and argues for the free will of man in salvation, what
he is really doing is preaching and arguing against the free
will of God. You see, the issue is not whether
man has a free will or not. The issue, does God have a free
will or not? Does God have a free will or
not? Does God have the right to do with you and me as it pleases
Him? Talk about your free will all
you want to, but does God have one? Huh? Does God have the right? Does God have the right to do
as He will in this world? Huh? Now for one to have a free
will Men love to brag about their free will. For men to have a
free will, for someone to have a free will, he must have the
right. He must have the power, he must have the wisdom, he must
have the ability to exercise his free will. I remember years
and years ago, when I was learning the gospel, there was a man who
ran a big free will camp down home, and he says that a man's
free will is like he's in prison, and his will is the key that
will let him out. And I told him, I said, there's not a soul
in jail or in prison. And at that particular time,
my own father was in prison. And if not a man in prison, if
he had a key, he wouldn't lock it and walk out. And if a man
knew that he had the power in his own will, had a key, and
could unlock himself and come to God, what kind of a fool wouldn't
use it? What kind of a fool wouldn't
use it? But our beloved, a man has to have the right, he has
to have the power, he has to have the wisdom, he has to have
the ability to exercise his free will, and there is not but one
being in this universe who truly has a free will, and that is
God Almighty. Nobody else does. That's why
Paul said in Romans 7, 18, the will is present with me. But
what's the next line? But how to perform. How to perform. I've got the will. Oh, I've got
a will to do lots of things. I've got the will to see my children
saved, but I don't have the power. I don't know. I don't have the
wisdom. I don't have the right. I have the will to live without
sin in this world. I have my mind on God all the
time, but I don't have the power, the ability, the will. I just don't have it. God's got
the right, the power, the wisdom, the ability. Sovereign grace is God carrying
out in time what He purposed from all eternity. You just get
your Bible down one of these times and look up that word,
purpose, and see that everything God does, He does on purpose. I saw that. God does what He
does on purpose. Did He save you? Yes. Why? On
purpose. On purpose. Sovereign grace is
the creature, or the creator. God Almighty is the creator's
distinguishing between his creatures. Who maketh thee to differ? He
calls some vessels of mercy, some vessels of wrath. Calls
men potters, calls some my beloved. He makes a difference. Sovereign
grace just means that God does as He pleases. You keep this
1 Corinthians. Look over in Psalm 135 just a
minute. Let's look at this together.
I want you to see this, Psalm 135. I'm sure you've looked at
this many times. But sovereign grace, when we
preach it and believe it, why we call ourselves grace preachers
and sovereign grace churches, it's God doing as He pleases. Look what it says in verse 6,
Psalm 135. Whatsoever the Lord pleased,
that did he where? In heaven. Where else? In earth. Where else? In the seas. Where
else? In all three places. That covers
everything, doesn't it? It covers up yonder. It covers
down here. It covers the bottom of the ocean you're looking at.
And every other neat place you can think of. Oh, my. He does it when he pleases. He
works all things after the counsel of his own will. Who can reach
forth his hand and say unto him, What doest thou? And he does
it for whom he pleases. Whom he pleases. And, oh, beloved,
sovereign grace is the truth that all things, all things begin
with God. All things do. And let me give
you three or four little points, trying to answer this business
of what is sovereign grace. Who maketh thee to differ? Who
maketh thee to differ? Sovereign grace is first, God
Almighty, God graciously, mercifully, purposely choosing a people in
Christ, God electing a people in Christ from before the foundation
of the world. And oh, let me show you that
over here in Romans chapter 9. Let me show you what I'm talking
about. God chooses a people in Christ before the foundation
of the world. Choosing a people, electing people, it's God's electing
grace is what we call it. You see, and he elects men without
regarding who they are. Without regarding what they've
done or what they haven't done. And I heard a preacher the other
day, Billy Mitchell, just talking about that message I was telling
you about. He said that, using this verse that we're fixing
to use here, that this was a national election. Well, ain't nations
made out of people? So if God chooses one nation
passed by another nation, that means he elected all the people
in that nation. I find it easier for him choosing
one than choosing a whole nation. But he does that too. But look
here in verse 11, Romans chapter 9, for the children, talking
about children now, you know, Rebekah and Isaac's two children,
twins, for the children being not yet born, neither having
done any good or evil. They hadn't done nothing good,
they hadn't even been born yet. They couldn't have sinned because
they hadn't been born yet. Now watch this, that the purpose
of God, according to election, might stand not of works, could
have been no works, hadn't even been born, but of him that calleth. It was said unto her, God said
this to her before they was ever born, the elder shall serve the
younger. As it is written, Jacob hath
a loved, but Esau hath a hated. Me and John Clunden say, that
ain't fair, that ain't right. God shouldn't do that. I thought
you said God has no respect of persons. What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with
God? Who in the world are we going to stand up and tell God
what He can do? Oh, beloved, this election is
in Christ. This is where God viewed them
and regarded them. We were chosen in Christ before
the foundation of the Lord and before the foundation of the
world. And it's election. It's God exercising His free
will and grace. You know, Ephesians 1.3 says
that God hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly
places. And the first one he mentions
is this, according as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation
of the world. Why? That we should be holy,
first reason. Secondly, without blame. Thirdly,
in love before him. He predestinated us so we could
be his children. It made us accepted in the Beloved. And oh, it's God's predestinating
purpose. Look in Romans chapter 8 with
me again a minute. I didn't mean to turn over here,
but I want us to look at it just a minute. It's God predestinating. And everybody knows what predestination
is. Bruce and I were predestinated to be here. We was, you know,
we had the time set, we had a destination to go to, predetermined to be
there at a certain time. Something could have come up
and kept us from doing it. But we had to, we were predestinated
to be here. But predestination means that
God, before we ever were, He predestinated us to some things. Predestination always tells you
what you're predestinated to. It's not just a term you throw
out there. And this is what we are predestinated
to. Look in Romans chapter 8. This is what I want you to see.
Look in verse 29. For whom he did foreknow. And
I want you to notice this, it says he. For whom he did foreknow. That means he foreloved him.
He also did predestinate. He, He, He, everywhere in the
sense He, He did predestinate. Here's what we're predestinated
to, to be conformed. Every place you find predestination,
you're conformed to be predestinated to something. To be conformed
to the image of His Son that He might be the firstborn among
many brothers, moreover, He did predestinate. He also called,
and whom He called, them He also justified, and whom He justified,
them He also glorified. Well, shall we say that these
things of God before us, who can be against us? But I said
all that to say, you see how many times in there they've talked
about He, He, He, He, He? They say me, me, me, me, me.
I said Him. He did it. He did it. He did
it. That's what sovereign grace is. God did it. And it gives
him no purpose. And he says, I'm predestined
to be conformed to the image of Christ. You say, boy, you
don't look like it. He ain't done with me yet. I got a long
way to go, but he's going to see. One of these days, you mark
it down, just as sure as God's on his throne, I'll be just like
his son. I'll be just like him. Let me ask you three questions.
Let me ask you three questions. And you ask anybody these three
questions. Ask anybody these three questions. Did you choose God or did God
choose you? Our Lord said in John 15, No,
you've not chosen me, but I've chosen you. Jeremiah, before
you was formed in the belly, I knew you. And then the second
question, not only who chose who, but when? When? If you chose God, when did you
choose him? But wouldn't God choose you?
Well, the scripture says, before the foundation of the world.
Grace was given us in Christ, according to God's purpose in
Christ, before the foundation of the world. So that's what
it was. Now, the third question is, is why? Why would God choose
you? And if he chose you before the
foundation of the world and according to his purpose and grace given
to us in Christ, why did he do it? Ephesians 1 verse 5 says,
according to the good pleasure of his will. He just called you good. I love that, don't you? I love
that. Some people say, I don't like it, I don't care. It don't
make any difference to me what people think about it. I've been,
people been telling me that for years. It don't bother me at
all. I don't even have to take a medicine aspirin when they
tell me. They really don't. And this is what's so sad. You
hear these people talk about this, you know, man's free will
and God's not fair and all that. God can create a world, but they'll
stand and tell a man that he can't create a new heart in a
man without his cooperation. It's a pitiful Godhead. Sovereign
grace is not only God choosing a people, electing a people by
his grace, but it is this, that the Lord Jesus Christ, by his
perfect obedience as a man on this earth, by his sacrificial
death on the cross, effectually and completely redeemed those
people that were chosen, that were I completely redeemed them,
effectually redeemed them. And redemption means, beloved,
to pay. It's to pay a debt. It's to buy
back. We was lost in Adam, slaves in
Adam, slaves to sin. Christ paid the redemption price.
It's blood to save us from sin, to save us from slavery, to save
us out from under the justice of the law. And he done that
completely and effectually for all those people that were chosen.
Every single one of them. Now, beloved, how can you explain
the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, His incarnation coming
through the womb of a virgin? How can you explain His incarnation
apart from grace? Surely God didn't know us, His
Son, coming into this world. How do you explain our Lord Jesus
becoming our surety, taking our obligations, our debts? are incompetencies. All the things that's wrong with
us are all a misery that's in us. How can you explain Him coming
in the flesh and becoming one with us apart from grace? God
didn't know that to us. How can you explain His life
of humiliation? Born in a stable, laid in a manger, How do you explain his humiliation
all the days of his life for the hatred and the sorrow and
the grief and the despising and the mistreatment and the humiliation
apart from the grace of God? How do you explain his sacrifice,
his death, his offering himself, his soul being made an offering
for sin apart from the grace of God? Surely God didn't know
us, his death on the cross. Surely God didn't owe us Him
being humiliated. It's in Himself of His glory.
It's in Himself of His power. It's in Himself of His rights,
even before God and man, in order to save us. Surely God didn't
owe us that. Surely He didn't. Oh my, but
herein our Lord Jesus said, herein doeth my Father love me. I lay
down my life. No man takes it from me. If our
Lord's death, if His blood, hear me now, please listen. If our
Lord's death, if His blood was for every man, then every man
will be saved. I'll tell you without a shadow
of a doubt, if Christ shed His blood for anybody in this building
tonight, they will be saved. That's right. And I'll go so
far as to say this. Those people that ain't been
born yet that Christ shed his blood for, they're going to be saved. That's how much
I believe in the power and the worth and the virtue and the
merit of the blood of the Son of God. And people say, well,
what about those in hell before he's coming? What about those in hell before
he's coming? Well, ain't nobody Christ died for in hell. People
say, well, John 1.29 says he's the Lamb of God, and as the Lamb,
he come to take away the sin of the world. Well, if he takes
away the sin of the world, then I'll tell you what, everybody
in the world is going to be saved, if he means everybody in the world.
But that's not what it means. It means, see the Jews, salvation
was of the Jews for centuries, millennia. Now Christ came for
Gentiles like me. Come for every class, men, women,
bond, free, male, female, Gentiles, out of every race, every kindred,
every time, every, you know. He come to save some out of every
class and character of people. And I tell you, beloved, His
death, our Lord's death, His blood, When he shared it as of
an infinite value, it accomplished. It accomplished what it was intended
for. When our Lord Jesus Christ died
on that cross and he prayed, Father forgive them, they know
now what they do. And Father forgive them on the
day of Pentecost. Fifty days later, when Peter
preached on the day of Pentecost, every single one that was at
that cross that our Lord prayed for heard the gospel and believed
it was saved. When our Lord prays, Father,
forgive them. They're going to be forgiven. That's right. That's right. I'm telling you.
His redeeming blood is particular. We call it particular redemption.
It's particular. It was for a particular people. to satisfy God. And that's the first thing the
death of Christ was for. It was for God. The Armenian makes it
everything God done for man. First thing Christ sacrificed
for was for God. For God. God's got to be satisfied
before He can ever do anything for me or you. Now the Armenian,
the freewheeler, he gets mad at this when we talk about the
blood of Christ being particular. Yet the free willer, the Arminian,
he limits the redeeming blood of Christ. Well, how does he
limit it? He limits it to the choice of man, to the free will
of man, to the power of sinful man, and he is cooperating with
that blood when God gives him his chance, whatever that means. What they tell men and women
is, now here's Christ and here's his blood. Here's his blood and
he loves you. And here's what you need to do
if you want that blood to be effective for you, if you want
redemption. Here, here's his blood now. We're telling you
about his blood. Tell you about his love for you and all the
power of his blood. But that blood ain't going to do you no
good until you come down here, put you some tears in it, put
you some faith in it, put you some sincerity in it, and then it'll do you some good. I'm telling you, all the tears
in the world don't make the blood of Christ one iota more powerful.
Huh? I remember telling a preacher
one time, I said, you know, I was a green-eater, planted me out
of a sprout years ago, and I was talking to a preacher, and I
said, I know it's the gospel soaked in our tears. And he clapped
his hands real quick and stuck his finger in my face. He said,
it's not the gospel in us if you never shed a tear. That don't
have nothing to do with anything, it's just the gospel! It is,
it's the gospel. But that's what men want you
to do. I mean, you know Armenian free willers, they limit the
blood of Christ, the redemption of Christ. But we don't limit
it. That leper, did the blood of
Christ, it cleansed the leper. The blood of Christ saved the
thief on the cross. who couldn't do anything. The
blood of Christ came to you, and saved you, and washed you,
and cleansed you, and made your heart and conscience clean to
where even if there's God, there's no guilt, no condemnation. Come
into the presence of a holy God. And our hearts lifted after sin. That's why we said if God be
first, who can be against us? We can come into his presence
with confidence. Why? Because there's blood on
the golden altar. There's blood in heaven. And
a blood that speaks better things than that of Abraham. A blood
that speaks justice satisfied. A blood that speaks sin put away. Oh, there is a fountain filled
with blood drawn from him. Emmanuel, God with us, reigns. And sinners plunged beneath that
flood lose all, all, all, all their guilty stains. Oh, my. Oh, my. We don't limit the blood of Christ.
Oh, let me hurry. Sovereign grace is not only God
choosing a people, electing a people by His grace, Christ dying for
those people, redeeming those people, paying all their sin
debt. I mean, beloved, I'm telling you, I don't have no sin. Now,
I know what I am, but I'm telling you, in the sight of God, there
is no sin. Where the blood has been applied,
there is no sin. Is that not right? No sin. Can't be. His blood cleanses
us from how many sins? All. All. All. And the blood's not applied
over and over and over again. Christ don't have to keep going
back and paying again when you do something wrong. Does He? That's what Catholics believe.
That's what Catholics believe. That's why they believe when
they give you the bread and they give you the wine, they believe that Christ is being
offered again for your sins again. He that has walked into the holy
place, and what did he do? He obtained eternal redemption
for us. Everything God does for us is
eternal. How can an eternal God do anything
but eternal things? Alright, the third point is this.
Sovereign grace is the Holy Ghost. by his invincible power, brings
those elect people, those redeemed people, brings every single one
of them to Christ, and listen to me now, not only to Christ,
but to the truth. You know, if he brings you to
Christ, he's bringing you to the truth. Because he ain't going
to come to Christ apart from truth. Ain't that right? Oh,
our Lord said, All that the Father giveth me shall come to me. How
are they going to come? How are they going to come? Our Lord said, No man can come
unto me except the Father which hath sent me to draw him. But,
now listen, we won't stop there. But as it is written, Everyone
that hath heard and learned of the Father cometh unto me. And
that word, draw, Except that word draws, the same word when
Peter got that sword and pulled it out to cut off Malchus's ear.
That's the same word that the Lord draws. People say, I just
don't believe God gets you by the nap of the neck. If He don't
get you by the nap of the neck, you ain't coming. If you don't
even get an heir, you ain't coming. People say, that's what I'm talking
about. It's an invincible power. He
has to overcome. You know what God overcomes to
save us? He created the world and didn't
resist Him when He created the world. But we, our minds resist
Him, our wills resist Him, our thoughts resist Him, our reason
resist Him, our natural religion resist Him, everything about
us resist Him. So He has to overcome that. He has to overcome our
prejudices, our false religions, our preconceived notions of what
the Bible says. And I tell you what, but he overcomes
them. He overcomes them. Oh my, how
does the world, do they come to him? The Holy Spirit brings
them. Look in John 10 with me just
a minute. Who maketh thee to differ? Who maketh thee to differ? What have you got that you didn't
receive? I didn't know nothing, I didn't have nothing, and can't do nothing. apart from
the grace of God. That's just the way it is. And
Bruce was talking about that leper just submitting himself
to the will of Christ. That's the safest, the most comforting,
the most assuring, the most blessed place. Where would you rather
be other than in the will of God, in His hands to do with
you? I love being there. Before that,
I was left to luck. Chance? Fate? My will? My choices? Now, whatever happens,
I say, it's the Lord! It's the Lord! Something bad,
it's the Lord! It's the Lord. And that's not
just religious talk. That's the way it is. That's
the way it is. How can you bear that? It's the
Lord. How can you bear having a child like that? It's the Lord.
Have you got a safe child? It's the Lord. The doctor says
you've got cancer. It's the Lord. Your heart's going bad. It's
the Lord. Oh, bless His holy name. Oh,
what a wonderful place to be. Do you think I want to be left
to my will? Do you want to be left to your
will? Do you want to be left to your
will to get home tonight? You want to be left for the will
of the traffic out here? Oh my, you imagine what would
happen to us if it wasn't for the will of God. If there was a bug out there
somewhere, that if it wasn't for the sovereignty of God, it
would smite every child of God on this earth and we'd all die.
The devil's sick to it. So I mean, even the microscopic
things in the world is in His hands. All right, John 10, 26,
talking about Holy Spirit bringing those elect, redeemed people
to Christ. It says in verse 24, John 10,
Then came the Jews round about him, and said unto him, How long
dost thou make us to doubt? If you be the Christ, tell us
plainly. Our Lord answered and said, I told you, I told you,
and you believe not. The works that I do in my Father's
name, they bear witness to it. Watch it now. But you believe
not. Because you're not of my sheep.
Oh, wait a minute. I thought the Lord loved everybody.
He said, you're not of my sheep. That's why you don't believe. As I said, I mean, you're not
my sheep. I done told you you're not my sheep. Oh, you're not
my sheep. Oh, but listen to it now. My
sheep hear my voice. And I know them and they follow
me. And I give unto them eternal life. And they shall never perish. My father-in-law, he'll be 80. I believe he'll be 84 in April. He was 75 years old. And he sat
on the second pew with my wife. And he attended services for
over 20 years. Heard the best preachers. Been
in our home lots and lots and lots of preachers. But he never
was a believer. Never believed. 75 years old.
I preached one morning from John 5, 24 where it said, The hour
is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of
the Son of God, and listen. And they that hear, the hour
is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of
the Son of God, and they that hear shall live. I got through preaching,
and I stepped down like this here, and I got about that far.
My father-in-law jumped up, 75 years old. He said, Donnie! I
said, Yeah, Herman. He said, I heard that voice today. Hear my voice! Seventy-five years old. Ain't
that something? And he loved to hear the gospel.
He was just bouncing on his seat when Bruce was preaching Wednesday
night. Oh, my. Let me show you another. Look
over here at Psalm 65. I love this verse. You know, this is
a wonderful verse. Psalm 65 with me. Just a minute. I know you're
getting tired. I'll let you go here in a few
minutes. See, the Holy Spirit, the Holy
Ghost, brings men to Christ. And He uses the truth about Christ,
the truth about themselves, the truth about God, the truth about
sin, to bring men to Christ. But look what it says here in
verse 4, Psalm 65. Blessed is the man. Now watch
this. It doesn't talk about this, whom
thou choosest. There's election. And causes. Causes to approach
unto thee. Oh, how are we going to approach
God? God says, He causes us to. He causes us to. I don't know
if I'm going. Well, come on! And oh, this is what we do, that
He may dwell in thy courts. Oh, to dwell in the courts of
heaven, to dwell in the courts of the King of glory, and we'll
be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy
temple. Ain't you satisfied with Him?
Satisfied with all he's done? Oh, we're satisfied. Oh, you go through the scriptures
and find all the people that was affectionately called. Paul
said, he called me by his grace when he separated me from my
mother's womb to reveal his Son in me. Jackass, a little old
bitty fella. He was up a tree. He was up a
tree. Way up that tree. Because he's
too little to see Christ, he climbed up that tree. Didn't
have a clue anybody knew he was even up there. Our Lord walked
by and just stopped. Looked up. Looked up at him.
Sirius, he knows my name. I know my sheep. Sirius, come down. Why? For today I must abide at thy house and today
Salvation is coming to this house. He didn't say, are you going
to let me in? Do you want me to go? I'd like to come. Will you accept me? Will you
open your heart? No, no. He just told him what he's going
to do. Oh, Jackass, I believe the bark will come off that tree
as you come out. I believe he has still long bones and legs
and everything else. He'll come out of that tree in
a hurry. Oh, you know, when the master calls, you're coming.
Oh, you'll come and people say, well, some people are too proud
to come. God takes the pride out of you
and He brings you. You're glad to come. You'll be like that
leper. You're down. Oh my, it's like that thief on
that cross. There he slings on that cross.
He can't get on his knees. He can't pay a tithe. He can't
be baptized. He can't do any work. He can't
give anything to anybody. And yet the Lord, he said, Lord,
remember me when you come to your kingdom. And our Lord looked
and said, today, today, today, you're going to go with me to
paradise. Be with me. Now, you explain
any of those men's salvation apart from the sovereign grace
of God and the effectual calling of the Holy Spirit. Can't be
done, can it? Well, in sovereign grace, is
this, the blessed, glorious truth, that all of the elect, all of
the redeemed, all of the called will persevere and be preserved
by the power of God through faith. Not one of them, not one of them
will fall away. Not one of them will be lost.
Not one of them will end up in hell. You know, I don't know
why I'm calling you to look at these scriptures tonight, but
I want you to look at one in Philippians chapter 1. You know, that's what
our Lord said, I give unto them eternal life. And it says there,
they shall never perish. And neither shall any man pluck
them out of my hand. I heard a preacher tell me one
time, he said, but a man can pluck himself out of his hand.
I said, can a man put himself in his hand? And if he is in
his hand, why would you want to pluck yourself out of his
hand? Why would anybody want to do that? Why would anybody want? And people
brag about, well, you can be saved and be lost again. Why
would anybody want to be lost again? I remember what it was to be
lost, and you know I've raised hogs, Bruce has raised hogs,
some of you have probably raised hogs. When you raise hogs, you feed
them slop. That's what it's called, you
go slop the hogs. You'll let it get some old bashing, you'll
let it sour up, and you'll let it get stinking real bad, and
you'll take it down there and throw it in a trough for them hogs
to just get in there and eat it, and I don't care where you
put them, put them in a, if you brought them in here, there would
be no time that these hogs have this place in a mess. And that's
what I was. We ate it, we was hogs eating
at the hog trough. Now you tell me, would you go
back to that hog trough? People want to talk about what
they can do. I want to talk about what God
has done and what He's going to do. And I do know this, if
God lets me go, I'm a gone Jesse. I'm a gone Jesse. But He promised
me, He promised me, promised me that He'd never, ever forsake
me. He'd never, ever let me perish. He'd never, ever let any man
pluck me out of His hand. He promised me, beloved, by the
power of his word, the power of his blood, by the power of
his eternality, that I would never be kept by the power of
God through faith unto salvation. He promised me that. And when
I cannot do anything but just stand, like the children of Israel
at the Red Sea, the enemy behind me, and the Red Sea before me,
my inability out here, and the devil behind me, howling in my
ears, there's only one thing I can do, just stand still and
see the salvation of the Lord. Because I surely can't do nothing
for myself. But look here in Philippians
1.6, talking about persevering and being preserved. Being confident
of this very thing. Oh, this is it. That he which
hath begun a good work in you. Who? He which hath begun a good work
in you. Watch this now. He will perform
it. Or he will finish it. Until the
very day Christ comes to get you, or you go to meet Christ. God started the work. He says
He'll finish it. Ain't that right? Oh, these all
died in faith. These all died in faith. Let
me give you one more scripture, and I'm going to wind it up over
in Jeremiah 32. This is one to bless you. It
blesses me. I use it down home all the time.
I've been preaching to the same people for many of them for 28
years and told them everything I know six
or seven times. Love them, love them dearly,
but all God's people love the truth. Look here in Jeremiah
32.40. This is what I'm talking about. Those that have been chosen,
the elect, those that Christ redeemed with his precious blood,
those that have been affectionately called by the Holy Spirit, they
will persevere and be preserved. And here's both of them. Look
here in verse 40. Here's the first one. Two locks
on the door of grace. I will make an everlasting covenant
with them. Here's the first one. Here's the first one. I will
not turn away from them to do them good. I said, I'll not turn
away from you to do you good. I said them promises. And watch
this. Here's the second lock on the
door of grace. But I will put my fear in their
hearts. Watch this. That they shall not depart from
me. I'm not going to turn from them. And then I'm going to put
fear in their hearts. And they're not going to turn
from me. But you notice he says, I put
my fear in their heart. So he ain't going to turn from
us. And then he says, I'm not going to let them turn from me
either. That's what grace is. Grace does it, God does it all.
Oh, why believe? Why believe in pre-sovereign
grace like we've dealt with tonight? Like Bruce dealt with. That leper
coming there, bowed down. Clean, unclean, and filthy. Why
believe in preached sovereign grace? It's against today's religion.
It just makes enemies. And oh, it makes enemies. It
hurts people's feelings. It'll hurt the church if you
preach that all the time. It'll cause splits. It breaks
up families. How many of your families tell
you that you've fallen a cup now? How many of your family members
said, how in the world did you all get mixed up in such a mess
over there like that? How did you come to believe such
a thing? Why I preach sovereign grace?
I'll give you the first reason, because it's the truth. It's
the truth. It's the message of God's Word.
Well, people say all the time, I can't see it. A blind man can't
see. That's why you need grace. Only
God can give a man sight. Who maketh thee to differ? Secondly,
while we preach it, this blessed truth of God's sovereign grace
puts the crown on His head, God's head, gives Him all the glory,
all the glory, not us, not our free will, not our works, not
our worth, not our debtor. God is not our debtor. Salvation
is altogether of His grace. Not unto us, O Lord, not unto
us. But unto thy mercy, unto thy mercy and truth's sakes be
glory, for thy does whatever you please in heaven and in earth.
Thirdly, it gives us assurance, even those of you that witness,
it gives us assurance that our preaching and our witnessing
is not in vain. God will save his people. When
we tell men and women the truth, God uses the truth about Christ.
And that's what God uses to save his people, and our words may
seem like they're falling on deaf ears, but we're going to
keep on doing it because this is the way God is pleased to
save his people. Sinners are going to be saved.
Our Lord said, I have other sheep which are not of this folk, them
also I must bring. And last of all, sovereign grace
gives strong assurance. Strong assurance, a good hope
for a bona fide sinner. Oh my, oh what good assurance. If salvation
is of the Lord and not of me, then I can be saved. I can have
assurance that I'm saved and will stay saved because salvation
is of the Lord. I didn't have anything to do
with it. The only thing I contributed to my salvation was my sin, and
Christ had to put it away. The only thing original I got
is my sin, and Christ put it all away. Jesus paid it all,
all to Him I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain. He washed it by the snow. Blessed be His holy name. What
a wonderful Savior. is Jesus my Lord. What a wonderful
Savior. Lord bless you.

What is Sovereign Grace?

What does the Bible say about sovereign grace?

How do we know God's sovereignty is true in salvation?

Why is grace important for Christians?

What is the meaning of election in sovereign grace theology?

How does sovereign grace affect the assurance of salvation?

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What is Sovereign Grace?

What does the Bible say about sovereign grace?

How do we know God's sovereignty is true in salvation?

Why is grace important for Christians?

What is the meaning of election in sovereign grace theology?

How does sovereign grace affect the assurance of salvation?

Sermon Transcript

About Donnie Bell

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