Redeemed, how I love to proclaim
it. Redeemed by the blood of the
Lamb. Redeemed through His infant and
mercy, His child and forever I am. Redeemed, redeemed. ? By the God of the world ? ? Redeemed,
how I long to proclaim it ? ? This child and forever I am ? ? Redeemed
and so happy in Jesus ? ? No language my rapture can tell
? I know that the light of his presence with me doth continually
dwell. Redeemed, redeemed, redeemed
by the power of the Lord. Redeemed, how I love to proclaim
it, his child and forever I think of my blessed Redeemer,
I think of Him all the day long. I sing, for I cannot be silent,
His love is the theme of my song. Redeemed! Redeemed! Redeemed by the blood
of the Lamb. Redeemed now, I long to proclaim
Him, His child and forever triumphant. I know I shall see in his beauty
the King in whose law I delight, who lovingly guardeth my footsteps
and giveth me songs in the night. Redeemed! How I long to proclaim it, His
child and forever I am. Please open your Bibles back
to the place that we read in that first chapter of 1 Thessalonians. It is a shame And it is a disgrace that the doctrines that the Spirit
of God uses to humble and to abase man and to assure the glory of God
in salvation they are not preached today. Doctrines like predestination, and justification, and imputation, and as in our text, especially
election. election. What is election? Why have it some people even
heard of this Bible doctrine? Well, we know that elect To elect
means to choose, to select. And in the Bible, it is God's
choice of a people in Christ before time to be the objects
of his grace and mercy. One old preacher said, if there
is an elect, and this is the way that God describes his people
many times in scripture, but he said, if there is an elect,
there must have been an election. And it cannot be defined by non-biblical
ideas such as we hear it described by preachers in our day, such
as election is simply, they say, God votes for you, the devil
votes against you, and you cast the deciding vote. There could be nothing farther
than that in the Bible and nothing anymore debasing and blasphemous
to God and what he says in his word. Paul speaks here of election. He speaks in another place of
there being a remnant according to the election of grace. And one of the first things,
actually the first thing that he heard after that the Lord
unhorsed him on the road to Damascus and sent him to that preacher
in Damascus by the name of Ananias. The first thing that he heard
from this man was, the Lord hath chosen you. It is the Lord that has chosen
you to be gracious to you, to speak for him, and to know his
son. But who is he talking about here? He's talking about these elect
believers at Thessalonica and elsewhere. He's talking about
this election of God. He's talking about them being
chosen of God to salvation. which is based upon this unconditional
election, not based on anything foreseen by God in any man or
done by any man. I want to turn to just two passages
of scripture and see what he actually says. One being in Ephesians
chapter one, beginning with verse three. This is not just my idea. It is not the theology of just
a few. This is the word of God. Writing to the believers at Ephesus
and to all people, he says, bless be the God and Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings
in heavenly places in Christ. According. according as he hath
chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should
be holy and without blame before him in love." This choice of
God to bless a people with all spiritual blessings To bless
them in Christ and view them in Christ, he says, before the
foundation of the world. And then we'll look at just one
more passage in II Thessalonians. II Thessalonians chapter 2 and
verse 13. Listen to what Paul says here. But we are bound to give thanks
always to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord. There is a reason. that Paul
is here giving thanks for these believers in Thessalonica. He says, because God hath from
the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the
spirit and belief of the truth. There is no other reason except
God in election choosing a people to bless them, to save them,
to give them all spiritual blessings in Christ before the world began. And Christ himself says to some,
he says, you have not chosen me, but I have chosen you. And the evidence, if we want
to say evidence, the evidence of election to the elect is faith. They don't look to anything else. They don't trust anything else,
but they look by faith in Christ to the Lord Jesus Christ, and
they are evidenced by the Spirit of God. Paul, writing in Romans, says,
The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit that we are the
children of God. We look to Christ for all hope
of election. We trust in him, we believe God's
word, what he says about election, and we find our election in the
Lord Jesus Christ. But Paul is thinking here. and writing here and speaking
to the saints at Thessalonica, seeing the evidence of there
being God's elect. He is looking at them and seeing
this evidence, these signs, which he says, knowing, brethren, beloved
of the Lord, your election of God. It seems that he feels so very
strongly that they give some fruit, they bear some evidence
of being truly God's elect. Why did he feel so strongly and
could call them without any doubt as being the elect of God? Well, there are a number of things
in the text that follows that gives this evidence or gives
these fruits of their being elect. And look at verse 5 in the beginning. He says, for, or because, There
is a reason, knowing your election, brethren beloved, for our gospel
came not to you in word only, but in power, and in the Holy
Ghost, and in much assurance." Our gospel. You see, what men
have is their gospel. But Paul, writing by the Spirit
of God and being the apostle of God, one sent forth from God,
he says, our gospel. He also says that in other places. And he's speaking of the gospel
of the grace of God. He's speaking of the gospel of
God himself. He's speaking the gospel concerning
God's Son. And he says, our gospel in contrast
to another gospel. Our gospel, it came to you in
words. Without a doubt, it came to them
in word. Paul preached and others preached
the gospel. It came to them in word. And we know that because he says
it did. And we know that because he says
in Romans 10, who can believe or how can we believe except
we hear? How can we hear except someone
is sent to us with this gospel? But he says, our gospel came
not to you in word only. It came in power. It came in the Holy Ghost and
in much assurance. That is, it did not simply come
to them intellectually, it did not come to them as just a matter
of changing their theology, but it came to them in the power
of the Holy Spirit. In the power of the Spirit of
Truth. In other words, it came to them
by the Spirit of God with such a witness, such a powerful witness
to them in their newly born again souls. It came to them with such
a witness and a convincing that they knew it was the Word of
God. Not just the Word of men. Not just a new idea, not just
a theological matter to be debated or switched upon, but it came
to them, it convinced them, it convicted them, it spoke to them
of salvation by grace in Christ alone. In other words, He is talking
here about that revealing work in our souls that so convinces
us and so enlightens us and so shows us that salvation is of
the Lord, that it is by grace and that it is in Christ alone. They didn't have to wonder. They
couldn't be changed because they received it as coming from God. You remember what Paul says to
the Corinthians in one place. He says, I hath not seen or ear
has not heard, it's not entered into the heart of man the things
that God has revealed to them or laid up for them that love
Him, but God hath revealed them to us by His Spirit. that we might
know the things that are freely given us of God. Turn over to Ephesians chapter
1. Look at what Paul says. We often hear religious people
talking about the power of God. We often hear them talking about
the Holy Spirit and the Spirit and such as that. Look here at
verse 17 in chapter 1 of Ephesians. He's always praying. that the
God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give
unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge
of him. the eyes of your understanding
being enlightened, that you may know what is the hope of his
calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance
in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of his power
to usward who believe. according to the working of his
mighty power, which he wrought in Christ when he raised him
from the dead and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly
places." Now, he's speaking of the power,
the power of God in two ways. And the first, he says, is the
power of God by which he raised to life the Lord Jesus Christ
after his death, and he raised him to life in resurrection. But he's also saying that the
same power The same power of God that raised up Christ is
necessary and is accomplished in those that believe. He raises
them up from the death that they're in to life, and they are resurrected
and raised to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. That's the power of God. And Paul says, when we preached
to you the gospel, it wasn't like water running off a duck's
back. It wasn't just something that
flew over your head or entered into your mind, or as we say,
was in one ear and out the other. The Word came to you in power,
and the witness of the Spirit was that this is the truth of
God. The gospel is the gospel of Jesus
Christ, and this is what it's all about, that salvation is
of the Lord. And he says, in much assurance. You know, people look for assurance
all the time, everywhere but where it's at. They try to look
for assurance in something they've done or something that they failed
or something that they've not done or something that they're
going to do or something that somebody said about them. They
try to find assurance in every way except the only way it is,
and that is by believing on the Lord Jesus. You remember what Peter said
to the Lord in, I believe it's John chapter 6. When everything was said and
done and the multitude had walked away, They couldn't be satisfied
with anything less than literal, physical bread and fish and healings
and stuff like that. And Peter and the others are
left there, and the Lord asked them, will they also go away?
He said, Lord, where will we go? You have the words of life, and we believe. and are sure
that you're the Christ. That you're the Christ. That
you standing here right in front of us, looking just like us,
talking just like us, appearing just like us, You are the Christ,
the Anointed One of God, the Anointed Son of God, the Anointed
Savior of God. We know because we believe. In Isaiah 55, the Lord says,
so shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth. It shall
not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which
I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereunto I sent
it. And that was to convince, convert,
and give hope to every one of these elect ones. The first reason he gives as
being evidence that they were the elect of God is because they
received the truth, the true gospel, not just as something
to be heard and pondered, but they received it as the word
of God, the good news to their soul, and it so convicted them
and it so convinced them that it was the message from But secondly, He says in verse
5, As ye know what manner of men we were among you for your
sake, and ye became followers of us and of the Lord, and received
the word. God's elect are by His Spirit enabled to
discern the true messengers of God, the true preaching of the
gospel. I get worried sometimes. Because this message will not
accomplish what religion wants. And I'm afraid this message will
not accomplish what we ourselves in the flesh want. But it will always accomplish
what God wants. Listen, Christ said, my sheep
hear my voice. and they know not the voice of
strangers, and they will not follow the stranger, but they
will, through this message, follow me. Now, how is it that they discern
the servants of the living God? Do they have a holy look about
them? I pray not. Do they have a wonderful attitude
and a charismatic personality? Do they speak forcefully? Do
they cry? Do they weep? What is it that
distinguishes the true servant of God? Paul said, we. meaning the messengers of God,
meaning those sin of God, we preach Christ crucified. We don't preach politics. We
don't preach moral lessons. We don't preach this thing and
that thing in order to entertain or to gain a crowd or to do something
like that. We preach Christ. Churches today have something
for everybody. We have this group for the senior
citizens. We have this group for the youth.
We have this entertainment. We'll take this bus trip for
this group and that group and the other group. And sad it is
to say that people are deceived and do not hear the truth because
they are so interested, so concerned about the flesh. But the Bible says the Holy Spirit
is the spirit of truth. And Christ said when the spirit
of truth has come, when the comforter has come, when I send the Holy
Spirit to call men and to enable men to preach, he said, they'll all be talking
about me. They'll take the things of mine
and show to people the things of Christ. Is that
just by saying His name? Is that by just uttering a few
verses of Scripture? No, it's by taking the things
that the Bible says about the person of Christ and the things
that the Bible says about the work of Christ and proclaiming
that to men. And the Spirit says that all
God's elect have an anointing. They hear. They won't hear the
voice of a stranger. But they'll hear and they'll
discern who is preaching the gospel, who is not preaching
the gospel. And these heard Paul and they
were like the noble Bereans. It says that they searched the
scriptures to see if the things that Paul said was true. It's a sad day that men and women
are so enamored with so-called preachers that they don't even
check what they say out in the Word of God. They're more interested
in having their favor. But not God-select. They might be for a little while.
But sooner or later, the Spirit of God will speak to their hearts
and cause them to know whether or not it is in this book or
not. In the last months, I have received
a number of emails and various things like that from people
all over the country. And they have a question. They say, many of them without
telling me who they are or where they go to church, they say something
just doesn't sound right. My pastor talks about Christ
being made sin to the extent it sounds like he's almost saying
that Christ is a sinner or became a sinner. Now, I don't know these people.
I don't have any contact with them. I don't know who they are
this morning, but they contacted me because something that they
were hearing didn't sound right to them. That's the way it is. Christ
in no way is a sinner, in no way became a sinner, died for
sinners, suffered in the place of sinners, was treated like
a sinner, but not a sinner. But they know that's not right.
They just know. How do they know? Because what's
being said, you can't find it anywhere in the scriptures. These Thessalonians, Paul said,
knowing your election of God, you knew what manner of men we
were. We wouldn't come to you proud and boisterous and domineering
and dictating and all these other things. We didn't play on character. They came as humble men. They came as men who had been
taught of God, knew they knew nothing except by the grace of
God. They come ragtag. They didn't
look like a fancy preacher in a thousand-dollar suit. They didn't come driving Cadillacs
and stuff like that in. They came as ordinary men who
had been taught of God. He said, you know what manner
of men we were. We weren't seeking glory. We
weren't seeking to be exalted. You know what men we were among
you. We came speaking the word of
the Lord. We came seeking to glorify God
in all things. The test was always if they speak
not according to this word, if their emphasis is not Christ
crucified and all of these God-glorifying doctrines. Old Bunyan said he called the
imputed righteousness, he said he called it the glory of an
imputed righteousness. They say it's just a legal or mathematical thing. No, it's not. It's the glory
of an imputed righteousness. Paul said, I'm not ashamed of
the gospel, for therein is the righteousness of God revealed. They talk about the blood and
righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. They speak of the Lord,
our righteousness. Noah. What kind of preacher was
Noah? The Bible says he was a preacher
of righteousness. He told the truth about God. He showed in a type how God could
pour out His judgment on a group of sinners, small as it was, save them, and still be just
through the ark. Type of Christ. But thirdly, he says, and you
receive the word in much affliction with joy of the Holy Ghost. That sounds almost contradictory,
doesn't it? Affliction, joy. But that's the way sinners are. The Bible points out that all
of God's elect were the children of wrath by nature, even as others. Sinners. Christ came to save
sinners, of whom I am chief, but he says that he saved them. You see, what we are brings much
affliction to our soul. We're just lost, helpless, hopeless,
vile, corrupt sinners, depraved sinners. That's the affliction
of it. But the joy of the Holy Ghost
is God has saved us, washed us, loves us in the Lord Jesus Christ. Hebrews 4 says, For the word
of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged
sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit and
joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of
the heart. God's word is a killer. It'll kill all your self-righteousness. It'll kill all your hope in yourself. It'll kill all of your hope in
religion. That's why the Pharisees always
despised it. It'll kill every hope that you
have in anything pertaining to yourself, anything outside of
the Lord Jesus Christ, but it'll make you alive in Him. It'll make you alive in Him. The hands, the Word of God, the
Gospel of God in the hands of the Spirit of God, it wounds
but it heals. It kills and it makes alive.
The cross, the preaching of the cross, it humbles. You want me to tell you how bad
a sinner you are as one of God's elect? The only way that you could be
saved from your sin is for God in the flesh to come to this
earth And he had to do a lot of things to show himself the
perfect sacrifice, but none of them would save you. He had to die the death of the
cross in order to pay your sin debt. That's a humbling thing. But that's a reason for rejoicing. That's the joy of the Holy Ghost,
that Christ Jesus actually did come, that He actually on that
cross did bear our sins in His own body, that He actually did
pay our sin debt, that He actually did set us free. And then when we receive the
gospel, we receive it in the affliction of persecution. Family,
friends, co-workers, they begin to persecute, if not by just
simply not having anything to do with us, or by saying things
against us, or by doing things against us, because we believe
this truth. But the joy is it doesn't matter.
Just doesn't matter. Because what we have received
by free and sovereign grace in Christ. All the favor of this
world, all the popularity of this world, all the goods of
this world, all the money of this world, all the esteem of
this world is not even to be compared to the things we have
in the Lord Jesus Christ. Fourthly, he says in verse 7,
so that you became, you were in samples or examples to all
them that believe in Macedonia and Acacia. Examples. You know, I know that God's people, These
elect ones, they desire by the conduct of their life to glorify
God. They don't want to be a reproach
to Him. That's my greatest fear is that God will leave me to
myself and I surely will become a reproach to Christ by something
I do or say in this world. But the example, I think, most
of all of believers is not what they do, but how they respond
to what is done to them, especially by God. The devil said to Job, or to
God about Job, he says, do you think Job serves you for nothing? Look what all you've given him. And he said, well, just go ahead
and take it away then. And they don't touch his life.
Well, you can take all this other stuff away. Houses, lands, his
loved ones. His health, and so the devil
just did that. He took all these away, and God
gave Job as an example. And Job is an example to us. Because when he took everything
away, Job still believed God, trusted Him, And he said, the
Lord has given, the Lord has taken away, blessed be the name
of the Lord. They were examples. Paul says to Timothy, let no
man despise thy youth, but be thou an example of the believers
in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith,
in purity. They were a generous people.
They were known places for their kindness and their faithfulness
to the gospel and all these different things. They were examples of believers in the word, in conversation,
in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity. Peter says this, for even here
unto where ye call, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving
us an example that we should follow in his steps. What's our example? The same
one that sat our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. That's why it is so silly, so
stupid, this WWJD. You know what that is? A fellow wrote a book about it.
So that you are supposedly to be in any situation, ask yourself
in this question, what would Jesus do? Well, you don't have to even
ask yourself that question because you'll lie to yourself. What did Jesus do? He already
is the example in spirit, purity. Oh, you say, I never could. Yeah, you can't. You're right.
But just because we cannot reach a goal is not the reason for
not aspiring to the goal. There are examples in worshiping
God. in obeying God, in serving God,
in their priorities. And we're to be likewise examples
in all our decisions of life. What will benefit me spiritually? What does God's word say? What
will glorify God? Not what would we do, what would
he do, but what does he say do? And here's another thing in verse
8. For from you sounded out the word of the Lord, not only in
Macedonia and Acacia, but also in every place your faith to
God is spread abroad, so that we need not to speak anything. They sounded out the gospel. They supported the gospel. They sent out the gospel. They conducted themselves in
ways becoming to the gospel. They supported the gospel. And as God opened opportunities,
They gave witness to the gospel. This is not just talking about
preachers here, this is talking about every believer. When God
opens the door, we're to speak of Christ. When we're asked for
the reason of the hope that's within us, we're to give a sure
and solid account of how God has saved us by his grace. They were known for the faith. And then it says that they themselves show of us what
manner of entering in we had into you and how you turned to
God from idols to serve the living and true God. Nobody has any
reason to think themselves one of God's elect if they can't
lay their idols down. And I don't know what they are.
But I know that most of them are based in false religion. They turn from idols to serve
the living and true God. And any Jesus that is not the
true Jesus is an idol. All false religion is idolatry. John said, little children, keep
yourselves from idols. They turned from idols and repented
of them and renounced them. Look over in 2 Corinthians. 2 Corinthians. In chapter 6. 2 Corinthians chapter 6. Look at
verse 14. Be not unequally yoked together
with unbelievers. That does not mean have no contact
with them, because if you live in this world, you're going to
have contact with them. It doesn't mean go live in a
monastery somewhere and separate yourselves from them in that
way. Be ye not unequally yoked together
with unbelievers. Who do you spend your time with?
Who do you have your associations with? Listen to this. For what fellowship
hath righteousness with unrighteousness? And what communion hath light
with darkness? And what accord hath Christ with
Belial? Or what part hath he that believeth
with an infidel? and what agreement hath the temple
of God with idols? For you are the temple of the
living God. As he hath said, I will dwell
in them, and walk in them, and I will be their God, and they
shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among
them, and be ye separate saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean
thing, and I will receive you, and will be a father to you,
and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty." Some people seem to have a problem
with knowing what that exactly means. but I don't think they
have a problem with understanding what it means. They have a problem
with doing what it means. How can those who hate the gospel be our close friends, be our
constant companions, Because they're forever going to be saying
something about their God. And He is an idol. An idol. Wherefore, my dearly beloved,
flee from idolatry. And then lastly, he says, they wait. They say, what is your church
doing? Well, we're waiting. and to wait for His Son from
heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered
us from the wrath to come." We wait. We look. in anticipation for God's Son,
the same one who was crucified as our substitute and was raised
again for our justification, we anticipate Him, His coming. If you want to find out what
people really believe, Just go on Facebook, and when
somebody dies, read all the comments to those people. Well, I know
he's up there playing golf, because he sure liked it. Or I know he's
up there fishing. Or I know she's up there in the
flower garden. I know she's singing in the angel
choir. Oh, won't it be so wonderful
when we get to walk in golden streets and live in our fabulous
mansions? All the things that pertain to
the flesh. But God's people are waiting. They're anticipating His coming. They're looking for Him because
they know heaven is Him. Wherever Christ is, that's heaven. Wherever He's revealing Himself,
wherever He's manifesting His glory, that's Him. That's heaven. And we look to Him. in confidence, knowing that He has delivered,
already delivered us from the wrath to come. Already. That's what He was doing
on the cross. He's delivered us from the wrath
to come. He has successfully done it.
He has justly done it. For God hath not appointed us
to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ. Because
he bore all the cause of God's wrath. He endured the wrath of
God in our place when he died. Much more then, being now justified
by his blood. We shall be saved from wrath
through him. We're waiting for him to come,
whether he comes in death. If God's elect die, he comes. or whether he comes in his second
coming and we're alive, he comes. Either way, he comes. Either
way, he comes for us. Either way, it is the same one
who comes. And we sing. We wait. As God's elect, we wait,
thank him for his grace. And we sing such hymns as Isaac
Watson wrote. Jesus, we bless thy father's
name. Thy God and ours are both the
same. What heavenly blessings from
his throne flow down to sinners through his son. Christ be my
first elect, he said, then chose our souls in Christ their head
before he gave the mountains how our laid foundations for
the earth. Thus did eternal love begin to
raise us up from death and sin, our characters were then decreed
blameless in love, a holy seed. Predestined to be sons, born
by degrees, but chose at once a new regenerated race to praise
the glory of his grace. With Christ our Lord, we share
our part in the affections of his heart, nor shall our souls
be thence removed till he forgets his first beloved." Or maybe by one of God's elect
that we don't even know who wrote this. But he wrote it right. He said,
sons, we are. through God's election, who in
Jesus Christ believe, by eternal destination, saving grace we
here receive, our Redeemer, our Redeemer, does both grace and
glory give. Every soul of man, by sinning,
merits everlasting pain. But thy love without beginning
formed and fixed salvation's plan. Countless millions, countless
millions shall in life through Jesus reign. pause my soul, adore
and wonder, ask, oh, why such love to me? Grace has put me
in the number of the Savior's family. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Thanks, eternal love
to thee. These are springs of consolation
to converted souls of grace, finished free and full of salvation,
shining in the Savior's face. Free grace only, free grace only,
suits the wretched sinner's case. when in that blessed habitation
which my God for me ordained, when in glorious full possession
I with the saints and angels stand, free grace only, free
grace only shall resound through Canaan's land. knowing, brethren, beloved, your
election of God. Our Father, in this hour, we
thank you that you did before this world
was, without any interest in part
of ourselves, choose a multitude of sinners to be gracious to
to save for your glory and preserve for all eternity to praise your
name. We thank you for your son who
came to die for them shed his blood that they might be freed
from their sins and made the very righteousness of God in
him. We thank you for your spirit
who comes in power to them, revealing Christ, giving them faith to
trust him and him alone, and to believe this wondrous election
of grace. We give you all the praise and
the glory forever and ever. Amen.