Welcome to Reign of Grace. This
program is brought to you by Reign of Grace Media Ministries,
an outreach ministry of Eager Avenue Grace Church in Albany,
Georgia. It is our pleasure and privilege
to present to you the gospel message of the sovereign grace
and glory of God in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. We pray that today's program
will be a blessing to you. Thank you for listening and now
for today's program. Welcome to our program. I'm glad
you could join us today for this study in God's Word. I'll be
teaching from the book of 2 Peter today. 2 Peter chapter 1. And the title of the message
is Election and Calling. Election and Calling. And I'm
going to go through some scripture here leading up to verse 10 of
2 Peter chapter 1 where God the Holy Spirit inspired the Apostle
Peter to write these words saying, make your calling and election
sure. And we'll look at that in a minute.
Your calling and election sure. And I've titled it election and
calling. You know, the doctrine of election
in the Bible is so misunderstood, and it's really a hated doctrine
by many people, because it speaks of the sovereignty of God in
choosing whom He will. You know, He told Moses, and
Paul wrote this in Romans chapter 9, God said, I'll have mercy
upon whom I will have mercy, and I'll be gracious to whom
I will. The doctrine of election is so misunderstood. You'll hear
all kinds of human, sinful, erroneous reasoning about it. Somebody
says, well, God looked down through a telescope of time. He foresaw
who would believe, who would not believe, and then he chose
on that basis. There's a big problem. There's
several big problems with that. Number one, it's not in the Bible.
And number two, it makes election, which is unto salvation, to be
by works and not by grace. The Bible speaks of election
of grace. And then others say, well, it's, you know, I heard
a preacher say, he said, well, this is the way I've got it figured.
Now there's a big problem there. It doesn't matter how I've got
it figured or how you've got it figured. What matters is what
does God's word say? preacher said, well, I've got
to figure it out. God cast his vote for you, Satan cast his
vote against you, and you cast the deciding vote. Well, that's
not what the scripture teaches, folks. Besides salvation, is
not based upon or brought about by the fact that you rose above
the rest of the rebellious, unbelieving crowd and made yourself distinct
from everybody and God smiled upon you. And besides, God's
not some kind of cosmic chess player up there who makes his
move and then waits on you to make your counter move and then
he makes his counter move. I urge you to get into the scriptures. And sometimes in the, well, a
lot of times in the scriptures, we find there are things that
we don't want to hear, but we need to hear. But either way,
here's what I want you to see today. The people of God, as
opposed to the world, the true children of God, the true nation
of God, the true family of God, the church, The true church now. There are a lot of false churches.
The true people of God in the Bible are called the election
or the elect. And somebody says, well, how
did they get elect? Well, the Bible says that God,
before the foundation of the world, chose them and gave them
to Christ. That's why Christ said in John
6, 37, He said, He said, all that the Father giveth me shall
come to me. And him that cometh to me, I
will in no wise cast out. And I know people, they'll go
all kinds of different objections. Oh, well, it doesn't matter what
I do, if I'm elect or not elect. You don't live in that world.
That's God's world. The secret things belong to God.
You live in the world of His revealed commands, and He commands
you, He commands me to seek Him in His word through Christ. The
Bible says, whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall
be saved. I can guarantee you, based on
God's Word, if you call upon the name of the Lord, now that's
the Lord as He is revealed and identified in this word now.
You shall be saved. An election doesn't disprove
that or doesn't stand against that. But I know this, according
to the Bible, all of God's elect are going to call upon the name
of the Lord. They will. At some point in time, the Holy
Spirit is going to come to them and bring them under the preaching
of the gospel and bring them to Christ. How do I know I'm
elect? It's because I believe in Christ.
I rest in Him. Now, you do the same. You say,
well, I don't want to. It's up to you. You say, well,
I can't figure that out in my mind. I can't wrap my mind around
that. That's not the issue. You say,
the issue is what does God's word teach? Now, let's follow
this up. Look at 2 Peter 1 1 on this matter
of election and calling. It says, Simon Peter, a servant
and an apostle of Jesus Christ to them that have obtained like
precious faith. with us through the righteousness
of God and our Savior Jesus Christ. Now there's the first thing that
tells you about election and calling. Who are the elect? Who
has been called into the kingdom? Those who have obtained like
precious faith. In other words, they believe
the same thing. They believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. They
rest in Him. They've been convinced of sin.
They know that they have nothing within themselves or from themselves
to recommend themselves unto God. They know they have no righteousness. They have no goodness. Scripture
says that. You know, when the Bible teaches
that we fell in Adam, that means we're ruined by the fall, We're
born spiritually dead. And until the Holy Spirit brings
us under the gospel and empowers that gospel in giving us life,
the resurrection life of Christ in the new birth, we won't believe. But here's those who have obtained
like precious faith. And it says with us through the
righteousness of God. Some translators say that should
read through the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus
Christ. And I agree with that. And what
he's teaching us is this, that as God chose his people in Christ,
he sent Christ into the world as their surety and substitute
to work righteousness for them by his obedience unto death.
That's the gospel. That's the substitutionary work
of Christ. That's the gospel wherein the
righteousness of God is revealed. Christ stood in the place of
His people and put away their sins by the shedding of His blood.
And in that transaction, He brought forth the righteousness of our
God and Savior, Jesus Christ. And that's the ground of salvation.
And faith, that like precious faith, that God's people, God's
elect obtain, is the fruit and the result. of that righteousness
that Christ brought out. It's His righteousness imputed.
As the sins of the elect were imputed to Christ, charged to
Christ, His righteousness has been charged to them. How do
you know? That means they're justified.
That means they're not guilty. That means their sins are washed
away. My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest
frame, but wholly lean on Jesus' name, on Christ the solid rock
I stand. The whole other ground is sinking
sand. That's the like precious faith. And he says in verse 2
there, he says, Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through
the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. The Holy Spirit reveals
who God is to his people, to the elect. God is holy and just
and righteous. Yes, he's merciful. Yes, he's
loved. Yes, he's gracious, but not at
the expense of his holiness. not at the expense of His justice,
not at the expense of His truth, He must be a just God and a Savior. And the only way He can be both
a just God, a righteous judge, and judge according to truth,
as well as a loving, merciful Father, is through Jesus our
Lord, based on His righteousness alone. So it's grace and peace
be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God and of Jesus
our Lord. Verse three. He says, according
as His divine power, not my power, not your power, hath given unto
us, now listen to this, all things, not just part of it, all things
that pertain unto life, that spiritual life, eternal life,
and godliness. That's those who stand in Christ
as disciples of Christ. And he did it through the knowledge
of him that hath called us to glory and virtue. Now, all things
that pertain unto life and godliness come to God's elect through Christ. And it's through the knowledge.
Now, knowledge is vital. But it's got to be right knowledge. from the scriptures as revealed
by the Holy Spirit in the gospel. You know, when we talk about
knowledge, we're not talking about high IQs necessarily. We're not talking about geniuses.
We're not talking about deep theologians. We're just talking
about knowing God as he reveals himself through Christ. So this
knowledge, I know who God is. Now there are things that I cannot
fathom about God, His eternal mind and purpose, the secret
things. But I know who God is. He's the God who's both a just
God and a Savior. Look unto me and be you saved,
He said. I know who I am. I'm a sinner. God has revealed that to me.
He's given me knowledge of myself that I didn't have before. Because
before, I thought that I could do something to attain or maintain
my salvation. When I believe the false gospel
of salvation conditioned on sinners, I thought I could meet the condition. But when God revealed who I really
am to me, I find that I can't meet the condition. The condition
is perfect righteousness and even faith. Listen, God's elect,
when they come to faith, they know that they're not the source
of that faith. They're not the power of that
faith. It's God who gives them all things that pertain unto
life and godliness and calls them unto glory. That glory is
Christ. THE GLORY OF GOD REVEALED IN
THE FACE OF JESUS CHRIST, AND VIRTUE, THAT'S THE OBEDIENCE
OF FAITH, BELIEVING IN HIM, REPENTING OF OUR DEAD WORKS. Look at verse
4 of 2 Peter 1. He says, WHEREBY ARE GIVEN UNTO
US EXCEEDING GREAT AND PRECIOUS PROMISES? Now, what are those
promises? They are all the promises of
God that are in Christ, yea, and in Him, amen. That is sure
and certain in Christ. You see, none of those promises
are conditioned on me. If they were, they'd fail. And
he says, whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious
promises, that by these, these promises, you might be partakers
of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is
in the world through lust. Now he says, when God the Holy
Spirit, when you are called unto Christ, giving evidence of being
one of his elect, you become a partaker of the divine nature. Now that word partaker is a word
for fellowship. It's a participant. And the divine
nature is God himself in his very nature. God the Father,
God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. One God in three persons. What
a thought that is. Can we explain that? Can we wrap
our minds around that? No. And there's no earthly illustration
that will do it. Now, I know a lot of people think,
well, it's like the substance water, H2O. It can either be
liquid or gas or solid like an eye. That is not a good illustration
for the Trinity because we don't believe in one God in three forms.
We believe in one God in three persons. I can't explain that.
I'm not gonna try. The Bible does it. but I know
it's so. But I know this, I know this,
there's one God, three persons, and we who are saved, if we're
saved, we are brought into fellowship with God, the Father, the Son,
and the Holy Spirit through the promises that have been secured
in Christ. In other words, we come to God
through Christ. There is no reconciliation for
a sinner with God except through Christ. There is no participation. There is no fellowship. There
is no worship. There is no approach. There is
no real effectual prayer except which comes through Christ and
on the basis of his blood and righteousness. And when we see
that, we escape the corruption that's in the world through lust.
And there what he's talking about is the unlawful desires to be
saved any other way. In verse five, he says, now,
and beside this, giving all diligence, being very eager, sincere, dedicated,
add to your faith virtue. Virtue is the obedience of faith
to virtue, knowledge, grow in grace and in knowledge of Christ.
Verse six, add to knowledge, temperance, that's self-control.
In other words, don't be given to excesses. Add to temperance,
patience. Patience means endurance. Persevering
in the faith, which is defined in Hebrews 12 too beautifully.
Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. Add
to patience, endurance, godliness. That is, strive to be like Christ. Add, verse 7, add to godliness,
brotherly kindness. Be kind. Add to brotherly kindness,
charity. You see, none of these things
None of these things save us or make us righteous, but they
are the fruit and the result of the grace of God. So anybody
that tells you, well, if I'm elect, it doesn't matter what
I do, it does matter what you do. The Bible says that. But you do it by the power of
God. And in verse 8 he says, For if these things be in you
and abound, they make you that you shall neither be barren nor
unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. You see
what he's saying there? These things are the fruit. You
know, Christ in John 15, He talked about how He's the vine and His
people are the branches. and they bear fruit. We don't
produce fruit. We bear fruit from the vine. Christ is the source. Christ
is the power. We're the fruit. That is His
people. And that fruit bearing has to
do with that which honors Him and glorifies Him. And He says
in verse 9, He says, He that lacketh these things is blind
and cannot see afar off. and hath forgotten that he was
purged from his old sins." Now, what that verse is referring
to is either a false believer who bears no fruit. You know,
Christ said, if you don't bear fruit, he says, I'll cast you
forth as a branch. Or it refers to a true believer
who has lost sight of what he claims, of what he has in Christ. Now verse 10 comes down to the
election and calling. And notice the order that it's
put here. He says, wherefore the rather brethren give diligence
to make your calling, calling first and election sure. For if you do these things, you
shall never fall. Now, what does that mean? Does
that mean your calling comes before election? No. The Bible talks about election.
I could give you so many scriptures on that subject. It talks about
how God, before the foundation of the world, chose His people
in Christ. Read passages like Ephesians
chapter 1. 2 Thessalonians 2 verse 13 which
says, We're bound to give thanks, brethren, beloved of the Lord,
because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation. So election
is an eternal matter in the mind and purpose of God in the everlasting
covenant of grace before the foundation of the world. But
who are God's elect? Who can say, I am one of God's
elect? It's only those who are called
by the Holy Spirit. That's the invincible, the irresistible
calling of the Spirit in the new birth where He brings a sinner
under the preaching of the Gospel and empowers that Gospel, making
it the power of God unto salvation, giving them life, imparting life
and knowledge to them through the Gospel. raising them from
the dead. You know, Christ said you must
be born again or you cannot see or enter the kingdom of heaven.
This is the invincible, irresistible calling, effectual calling of
the Spirit and the power of the gospel where God, as He prophesied
through the prophet Jeremiah in Jeremiah 31, that He would
put His laws into their hearts, that He would write them in their
hearts, In Ezekiel 36, he talked about it. He said, I'll give
them a new heart. It's called circumcision of the heart. That's
what the Scripture says. The Apostle Paul wrote about
it in Philippians chapter 3 and verse 3. He said, for we are
the circumcision. That is, the new birth. A new
heart. A circumcised heart. We worship
God in spirit. That is, as we are inspired by
the Spirit, and we worship God sincerely from our hearts, and
we worship God as He reveals Himself, which rejoice in Christ
Jesus. That is, we glory in Christ Jesus. We have confidence in Christ
Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh. That's the calling. And it's regeneration that Scripture
calls. That means the giving of life.
It's being quickened. Ephesians 2.1, you hath he quickened who
were dead in trespasses and sins. And he brought us to Christ.
He said, for by grace are you saved through faith. That calling
brings faith. And that not of yourselves, it's
the gift of God. not of works, lest any man should
boast. It's receiving Christ. That's what this calling is.
And what he's saying in 2 Peter 1 10, when he says, give diligence
to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things,
you should never fall. He's teaching this. The only
way that I can know that I'm one of the election or one of
God's elect is as I have been called by the Holy Spirit under
the preaching of the gospel to believe in, rest in the Lord
Jesus Christ for all salvation, for all righteousness, for all
forgiveness, for all eternal life and glory. If I'm not looking
to Christ for salvation, if I'm not believing in Him and resting
in Him, and yet I claim to be one of God's elect, that's nothing
but self-righteous unbelief and presumption. You know the unbelieving
Jews claim to be the election, and they were elect in a temporary
ceremonial way under the old covenant, but that's over. But
to be one of God's elect in Christ, you must be called to Christ. That's the evidence. That's why
Peter was inspired to put it in that order. Not that election
came first in time. Election's eternal. Calling comes
in time. Just like the death of Christ
came in time, in the fullness of the time, God sent forth his
son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that
were under the law, that they might receive the adoption of
sons, that the Spirit might call them, in time calls them. So
election's eternal, calling's in time, but the only way we
can know our election is by the evidence of our calling. And
what calling do you have? You say, well, I, you know, You
could be like Cain. Cain, imagine, he was called
to bring his works to God for salvation. Well, my friend, that's
not this calling. This calling is the calling of
God's grace. This calling is the calling that
convinces a sinner that he has nothing to recommend himself
unto God. This calling brings a sinner
to see that he has absolutely no hope of salvation except in
Christ and Him alone. And Peter writes there in verse
11, he says, For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you
abundantly unto the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ. Paul wrote to the Thessalonian
church, he says in verse 1 of chapter 1, 1 Thessalonians. Chapter
1, verse 4. He says, Knowing, brethren, beloved,
your election of God. I know your election, he says.
Verse 5. How do you know it, Paul? Verse 5. For our gospel
came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the
Holy Ghost, and in much assurance, as you know what manner of men
we were among you. I mentioned 2 Thessalonians 2,
verse 8 there. He talks about how Antichrist
and Satan will deceive many. Then, verse 8, shall that wicked
be revealed whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his
mouth and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming.
Verse 9, even him whose coming is after the working of Satan
with all power, signs, and lying wonders. and with all deceivableness
of unrighteousness in them that perish," and look what it says,
"...because they receive not the love of the truth that they
might be saved." And he says in verse 11, "...and for this
cause God shall send them strong delusion that they should believe
a lie that they all might be damned who believe not the truth."
See, the calling brings a sinner to believe the truth. But these
who don't believe the truth shall be damned, but have pleasure
in unrighteousness. But here's the distinction. Verse
13, But we are bound to give thanks all the way to God for
you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the
beginning chosen you to salvation. Now how did he know they're chosen
to salvation? Through sanctification of the
spirit and belief of the truth, whereunto he called you by our
gospel to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
And therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions
which you've been taught, whether by word or our epistle. As you
see, the election is known by the calling. So this is a doctrine
of comfort for the people of God. The Apostle Paul in 2 Thessalonians
2 there, he goes on to say, verse 16, now our Lord Jesus Christ
himself and God even our Father, which hath loved us and hath
given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace now,
comfort your hearts and establish you in every good word. You see
election, is not a doctrine that makes God's people fatalistic. No, sir. Election is an encouragement
because one of the things election teaches us that if God hadn't
chosen His people, none of us would be saved. Now, people can
get mad and say, well, why didn't He choose everybody? Well, that's
up to God. That's His secret business. I know God never does
anything wrong. He never makes an error, never
makes a mistake. But I know this, all of salvation is by grace. If we're elect, it's of grace.
If we're redeemed, it's of grace. If we're born again and called,
it's all of grace. All based on the righteousness
and the blood of Jesus Christ. It's never conditioned on me,
never conditioned on you. God is great. and He will save
who He will and have mercy on whom He will. I hope you'll join
us next week for another message from God's Word. We are glad you could join us
for another edition of Reign of Grace. This program is brought
to you by Reign of Grace Media Ministries, an outreach ministry
of Eager Avenue Grace Church in Albany, Georgia. To receive
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today and may the Lord be with you.