look at the subject of God's
love and reading from Jeremiah chapter 31. I will go ahead and
read this passage and then we'll have a word of prayer. Jeremiah
31 verse 3 says, The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying,
Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love. the loving
kindness I have drawn thee. Lord, we thank you for another
day that you've given to us, that you've given to us to worship,
that you've given to us to gather together. We thank you, Father,
for all that you have done for us. We thank you for all the
gifts that you've given to us by your grace. We thank you for
the Lord Jesus Christ, who is our Redeemer and our surety,
as we've just sung about. who is our intercessor, as we
have just sung about. We thank you, Father, for the
substitute who came and lived perfectly so that our record
might show that we have kept all the law of God, but who also
died in our place to pay for all the sins that we commit in
this flesh. And Father, we're so grateful
for this great salvation that Christ has procured, secured,
delivered unto his people. And we thank you, Father, for
the opportunity to now stand and declare the greatness of
this salvation, to be able to proclaim the freedom, the liberty,
to proclaim the love of God shown in Christ and his work on the
cross. And Lord, I just pray today that those that are gathered
here today, that they might be given hearing ears, seeing eyes,
heart of flesh to be able to hear your word and to love the
gospel. Father Lord, we pray that if
there's any here today that is your child, that you have yet
to grant repentance, that you just might give them that today.
That they might repent from their false thinking of self-righteousness
and that they might see Christ as their only hope. They might
profess him before men and that they might be baptized, they
might be added to the church, Father, and they might join in
the labors of the gospel as we preach and proclaim and to worship
together. Father, we thank you for all that you have done for
us in this church. We thank you for this time together.
We pray, Lord, if there's more here in this town, we ask, Lord,
that you would just bring them our way to be able to meet and
to join together in fellowship and in edification. Again, we
ask, Lord, that you might help me now as I bring forth this
message. Lord, I pray that these verses
that we have before us today might be spoken of and declared
in truth. In Christ's name that we pray,
amen. All right, Jeremiah chapter 31
and verse 3. We began looking at this last
week and we're looking at the subject of God's love. And as I mentioned last week,
this is a subject that is often taught incorrectly in modern
day churches. It's also a subject in which
a lot of attention is given in modern churches, but yet if the
doctrine behind it is not correct, Then we have a false understanding
of God's love and that's what we've kind of seen over the years
is that God's love has been taught incorrectly and therefore people
have this wrong notion of what God's love is all about. We have,
in our day and age, we have signs and billboards and tracks, commercials
on TV, radio shows, everything that is going out bumper stickers,
hats, wristbands, all kinds of stuff that you can buy and wear
and all these things that always has on it, God loves you. Jesus
loves you. We have the song, Jesus loves
you, this I know. We have all the billboards that
talks about, you know, God loving everyone and So everyone has
this notion that God is love, and that's true. The Bible says
that. We read that verse last week. God is love. And they determine
that because God is love, then that means that everyone that
God has created, God must love them because he is love. God can't do anything but love
them because he is love. And in and of himself, he's love.
That's where love comes from. That's where love is derived,
is from God. We love because God first loved,
right? That's what the Bible says. But
you gotta remember, as we looked at last week, we love God because
God first loved us. That love that we have is because,
and it's not a perfect love, we know that. We know that we
don't love God perfectly, we know we don't love the brethren
perfectly. Any love that we do show to them is an imperfect
love. However, to even have any love
for God or any love for the brethren only comes because God has first
given us that. But as far as God is concerned,
while He tells us to love our enemies, how God tells us to
love one another, that's not necessarily true of God. And
people say, well, why would God tell us to love our enemies and
He not love His. Why would God not follow the
same law that we are? Well, that's because the law
is given to us. The precepts are given to us.
The admonishments are given to us. And they're for our good,
they're for our purpose, the purpose that God has for us.
And it's not a law for Him. The law is not for God, the law
is for people. The law was given to manifest
sin in the lives of people so that they might see their need
for Christ. And so God is not bound by the
law that he gives men. But I want us to look at a few
things today because this question of does God love everybody? Does the Bible teach that God
loves everybody? Is that something that we should
be proclaiming? Is that part of the gospel? Is
that what we ought to have on our t-shirts and bumper stickers?
Or is that another gospel that is being pitched by all these
modern day religionists that's out there? Last week we looked,
and hopefully we'll see this through the scriptures today,
and we'll let the scriptures direct our understanding, right?
We don't go to the scriptures with our preconceived notions.
We don't go to the scriptures with our presuppositions and
try to find scriptures that back what we believe. We read the
scriptures and let the scriptures dictate to us what is true. It reveals what is true. And
we as God's people, if we have been born from above and been
given faith, We trust what God's word says. We believe God's word
and not what we think. We don't believe what the world
says. We don't believe what the religions of the world say, even
the false Christian religion of the world. We don't believe
those things because of its popularity or because of its widespread
acceptance. We believe what God's word tells
us. We always say around here, and it's a common phrase among
especially Baptists, that the Bible is our only rule of faith
and order. And we pray that the Lord will
keep us faithful to that word in everything that we do and
everything that we believe. So we're gonna go to God's word
to see what does God's word say about God's love? Is God's love
to mankind universal? Does he have a universal love
for all his people that he has created, not talking about just
the elect, but the non-elect. Does God show his love towards
them? Now, if you remember last week,
we broke down this verse, and first of all, we've seen in the
first phrase, it says here, the Lord has appeared of old unto
me, saying, here's the phrase, I have loved thee. And we look
at a few verses, we begin in Malachi, and we've seen that
God has mentioned that he has loved us, and one of the ways
that we ask that God loves us, how do we know that God loves
us? God displays or God tells us
the reason that he loves us or how do we know that he loves
us is because he has elected us. We've seen in Malachi where
he elected Jacob and not Esau. He used those two boys who came
from the same womb, from the same father, Father Abraham,
Father Isaac, who came from Father Abraham. But anyway, we see that
these two boys came from the same womb, and that neither one
of these boys had done anything good or bad before they were
born. They had not even been born yet. God made a choice to
love one and to hate the other. So we've seen that in Malachi
chapter one. We've seen that in Romans chapter
nine. We've seen in John 14 and John
16 and one John 14 and one John 3. We've seen in all those passages
where the Bible speaks that God loves his people. God loves the
brother. God loves the beloved. God loves
the elect. God loves his people. And so
we see that God loves us. It's a true and genuine love. But we've seen that it is not
a ooey gooey love. It's not this romantic type love. It's not this subjective love
and when I say subjective meaning that God loves us sometimes and
doesn't love us at other times or didn't love us at first and
now starts loving us. It's not a subjective love because
we've seen here in our passage in Jeremiah 31, the next phrase
was with an everlasting love. God loves us. If God loves us,
he loves us. with an everlasting love. That means there wasn't a beginning
and there wasn't an end. God has loved us from eternity
through eternity. God loves us with an everlasting
love. So we've seen last week, and
we looked at a few passages of scripture, that God, even though
we are sinners, even though we have rebelled against God and
by nature are children of wrath, never was under wrath. We never
was under God's wrath. We never was appointed to God's
wrath because God has loved us with an everlasting love. That
we were never imputed the sin that we or Adam has committed. Now our nature truly has it embedded
in it. It truly has it because we sin
every day. We are sinners by nature, just
like our father Adam. But just like the second Adam,
our Father in the Spirit, Christ Jesus, we are without sin. We are perfect. We are holy.
We are righteous. We are just. We have within us
the Spirit of God and the Bible says that spirit cannot sin. The Bible says it is created
in righteousness and true holiness. That part of us that was born
from above, it wasn't born from Adam, It was born from above.
It came from Christ Jesus. He is our spiritual seed. That
is perfect and holy. It doesn't sin. However, that
which came from Adam, this flesh that we continue to have, this
warfare that we continue to experience, is the sin that is within our
flesh. And all it can do is sin. However, in the judgment and
justice of God, He imputed that sin that would be for all of
His people, that they would ever commit, He imputed every bit
of those sins onto Christ Jesus as our surety in the everlasting
covenant of God. Before the foundation of the
world, before anything was created, God made a covenant that Christ
would be a substitute would be a surety. Now those are two different
words, by the way, brethren. A surety and a substitute are
two different things. A surety is one who stands for
another or makes payment for another. A substitute is someone
who actually takes the place of another person. So Christ,
as our surety, stood before God And he said, I come representing
them. I come in their place. I come as their guarantee. I'm guaranteeing for them that
payment will be made. We call today, we are well aware
of what's called a bail bondsman. A bail bondsman is a surety. He is a person who goes on behalf
of the one who committed the crime before the judge and he
posts bail. He gives payment so that that
person can go free and not be held in jail until the court
proceedings. And so that person becomes the
surety, guaranteeing that this person will show up for court
whenever it's time to come to court. He puts up the money for
that person. And then if that person, for
some reason, jumps bail and doesn't come, that bail bondsman sends
agents out to go get that person, to make sure that they do what
he promised the court they would do, okay? Well, just like that,
Jesus has gone before the court of God and has said, I will be
their surety. We read back in the Old Testament
where Joseph's brother, whenever it was time to go back to Joseph,
remember Joseph said, I want you to go back to your father,
and I want you to bring your brother Benjamin, and I want you to bring
him with you whenever you come back. Remember, Isaac didn't
want Benjamin, or excuse me, Jacob didn't want Benjamin to
go. He didn't want Benjamin to go. He loved Benjamin, and he'd already
lost Joseph, or thought he did, and he didn't want Benjamin to
go, and so he was hesitant about that, but yet, His brother said,
I will be a surety for him. I will go and take the boy with
me, and if I do not return with that boy, then it will be on
my head. I will be the one who is to blame. That's a surety. That's a picture
of Jesus Christ. Christ stood before God as our
surety and said, as you have given them to me, they are now
mine. I'm responsible for them. and
I will go in their stead, and I will make sure that they will
come back to you. And the only way that they could
come back to you is by redemption. The only way that they could
come back is for all the penalty, for all the sin that they are
going to commit to be paid for. And so Jesus, as our sheriff,
he stood that. But on the other hand, as the substitute, Jesus
just didn't guarantee that we would come. He actually went
as the substitute so that the guarantee was in itself him. He was the guarantee. He was
the money that was put up. His blood was the actual payment
that he give to God. That's why the Bible says that
he stood as a lamb slain before the foundation of the world.
God, before the foundation of the world, viewed Christ Jesus
as that payment, that blood, even though he had not come in
time, shed that blood, had not been crucified, had not died,
been buried and raised back to life. Although all that had not
yet taken place, the judge viewed Him as our surety and Him going
as our substitute as justice being fulfilled. And we know
that Jesus saying that He would go do it was going to fulfill
it because God cannot lie. If Jesus said, I will be to them
this person and I will return them back to you, then there
is no way that that's not going to happen because God cannot
lie. And so Jesus as our surety, as our substitute came and he
did everything that was required of God's justice so that we could
be that people. But brethren, listen, the imputation
of that sin was placed upon Christ before the foundation of the
world. The imputation of his righteousness was placed upon
us before the foundation of the world if we are his. And so we
see here, God has loved us with an everlasting love. That's why,
and I want you to turn, but keep your hand there in Jeremiah But
I want you to turn to Ephesians chapter 1, and I know that we
go there all the time. People probably always say, boy,
I tell you what, you just kind of use that verse for everything.
Well, it's because it does cover a lot of what the Bible teaches
about salvation and Christ, His representation of us. Ephesians
chapter 1, look with me. It says, blessed be the God and
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who hath blessed us with all
spiritual blessings. Brethren, justification is a
spiritual blessing. And He has blessed us with that
before the foundation of the world, in heavenly places, in
Christ. See, the blessing came to us
because of our union with Christ. The fact that God gave us to
Christ, Christ received us as His people, as the surety, as
our substitute, as our high priest, Christ being our representative,
he came before God, and he is the one in whom all blessings
are bestowed upon, and because of our union with him, then we
are blessed. And so we have all these blessings
because of our union. See, these blessings doesn't
go out to all mankind, and they're there if you just choose them.
No, the blessings were actually given to God's people because
of a union that truly, vitally existed before the foundation
of the world. It was a true union. It wasn't
a union that took place whenever you came to your senses and believed
upon Jesus Christ. That's not when you were united
to Christ. You were united to Christ Jesus
before the foundation of the world in heavenly places. That's when you were united in
Christ Jesus. That's whenever you were put
into Him. You were put into Him there,
not here. Not in time, not after a belief.
It says, according as He hath chosen us. See, that's how I
know that this blessing and this union took place before the foundation
of the world is because it's according to election. Election
happened before the foundation of the world. according as He
has chosen us in Him. Election took place by taking
a people and writing their names down and not writing other people's
names down. The ones He wrote down, He gave
and put into Christ Jesus. He gave them to Him and united
them with Him, according as He has chosen us in Him before the
foundation of the world. So see, He had chosen us in Him.
He had blessed us in Him before the foundation of the world.
Now brethren, if that be true, and I believe it is because the
Bible says that's true, then let's take away this human reason
that says It is because we believed, or received, or came, or decided,
or filled out a card, or was baptized, or joined a church,
or raised your hand, or bowed your head with your eyes closed,
or with your head up and your eyes open. It doesn't matter. Nothing that you did caused this
to happen because this happened before God had ever created anything
before the foundation of the world. This is when this happened. God chose, God united, and God
blessed before anything ever happened. Now look what he says
there. According as he has chosen us
in before the foundation of the world, why? Why did God do it
that way instead of waiting until now? Waiting until after the
cross. Waiting until the cross. Waiting
until after the cross. Waiting until you believed. Why
did God do that? Well, right here, the reason
He did that is so that we should be holy and without blame before
Him in love. How long have we been blameless
before God in His love? before the foundation of the
world. How is that true? Because God has united us with
Christ, and in uniting us with Christ as our surety, as our
substitute, as our high priest, as our representative, we are
united with him. Therefore, all spiritual blessings
are ours, declared upon us before the foundation of the world.
And one of those declarations is not guilty. How can you be
not guilty when you hadn't done anything? See, that's the whole
thing. How can you be alive before you've been given life? If the
Bible says that we've been given eternal life and that life was
in Christ Jesus, we already had eternal life and it was in Christ
Jesus. We were already people that God loved and knew and put
in Christ Jesus before the foundation of the world. See, we were in him in spirit,
or in seed form. We were in him, seminally, in
spirit form, in life. Just like we've talked about
before, you have a seed. That's not a fruit tree, is it? No, but that fruit tree's in
there. Soon as I plant that seed, and it comes forth, what's it
coming forth? It's coming forth a tree that's gonna produce fruit.
And it's going to produce fruit according to the life that was
in it. And the life that was in it was
what? If it was an apple tree, it's an apple. And it's going
to bear forth fruit. It's going to bear forth an apple. Christ, who is eternal life,
bears forth seed of eternal life. His life is our life. The life
that we have is not our own life. It is not the life that was given
to us In our inception, conception, when God breathed physical life
into us, we're talking about spiritual life. We're talking
about a life that doesn't come from this world. We're talking
about a life that comes from God. And brethren, that life
was true. It's a vital life. It's a real
life. It's not make-believe. It's not
just a proposition that this is gonna be from future days,
this isn't something God just determined in decree, although
He did, this is something that really actually existed. We had
a vital relationship, a vital life in Christ Jesus. God determined
every single spiritual life that would ever come out of that original
seed, God determined that before the foundation of the world.
And each one of those lives that was in Christ Jesus before the
foundation of the world, had a name, and God wrote that name. Now, I don't know if God actually
physically wrote it down in a book. He gives us that imagery so that
we might know that there is a distinction between His people and those
who are not His people. There is a distinction that tells
us that God, according to election, chose one and not the other. That God chose to redeem these
people and not these people. That God chose to give life to
these people and not these people. God has made that distinction. God has made that division between
Jacob and Esau. Those two boys are the pictures,
the symbols, the types, the foreshadows of the spiritual reality. God
has given us life. Now, we've seen that the reason
that God did that is what? So that we would be holy and
without blame before Him in love. God made this determination God
made this judgment? Not just the declaration, but
the judgment. These people will be without
sin because of Christ. Now, with that being true, and
some will even probably question whether or not that statement
that I've made is true or not, but let me ask. Whenever the
Bible says, blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not
Iniquity, how can that be true if God ever imputed iniquity
to his people? Then there is nobody that fits
that category. How can the scripture say that he hath not beheld iniquity
in Jacob, nor hath he seen perverseness in Israel? How could he say that? Well, the reason he can say that
is because, as the Bible says, for the Lord our God is with
them and the shout of a king is among them. The reason that
God doesn't see iniquity in us, the reason that God doesn't see
perverseness in us, even though it's there, the reason he doesn't
see that is because in love, He placed us in Christ, and being
in Christ Jesus, that's the Lord, that's the King, the shout of
the King is among them. What is the King shouting? I
will be their surety. I will go on their behalf. And I will return, redeeming
them to ourselves. That's what the King is shouting.
The king is shouting, my blood has covered it all. That's what
the king is shouting. The king is shouting, it is finished,
redeemed, forgiven, saved. That's what the king is shouting.
Mine. That's what the king shouts.
And if the king is shouting that, as all knows, the king is the
sovereign, right? Nobody can Question what the
king says. If the king says, this is mine
and I've set my love upon it and I've placed redemption in
the hands of this man and he has done it, then they are mine. Nobody can say anything about
it. That's why the Bible says, who can lay any charge against
God's elect? Now, if that was not true, if
God waited until the cross, or God waited until we believed,
then there could be charge laid to God's elect. But the Bible says that nobody
can lay any charge against God's elect. There's never been a time,
at any point, whether before I was born or before creation,
There was never a time that any of God's elect could ever be
charged with sin. Why can they not be charged?
Remember, brethren, these are legal terms. These are legal
terms, court terms. We watch court movies all the
time. You hear these types of things all the time in court
movies. How can we not be legally charged with sin as God's elect? Because we've been acquitted
of those We've been found not guilty of those sins. We can't
be charged with those sins because we've been found not guilty of
those sins. Well, how did we become not guilty?
Because we surely didn't. Well, we was found not guilty
because someone substituted in our place and everything that
we owe because of our guiltiness, he took in our place. All the
payment that we were to pay for our sins, Jesus, our substitute,
came and paid that. And so that's how we can before
God be blameless in love at all times. There never has been a
time that God has seen us in our sin. Christ has been our
surety. Now I know that there's people that disagree with that.
There's people that don't believe that. There's people that are
adamantly opposed against that. But brethren, that's the offense
of the gospel. Whenever you say that, That takes salvation, that
takes your destiny, that takes your commitments and professions
of faith and your salvation completely and totally out of your hands.
Your free will, your free choice has nothing to do with it. If
God does it that way, you don't have any handhold on what salvation
you get or don't get. It's God's choice. That's the
offense of the cross. That's the offense of the gospel.
The offense of the gospel is that God has made the choice,
not you. That's the offense. Now, with
that being said, we saw that he has an everlasting love. He has loved his people. That
love has been an everlasting love, and that everlasting love
is based on not only God's pleasure, God's purpose, but it's also
based upon His justice. He can love us. How can God love
the wicked? How can God love those who are
sinful? Well, He's done it because He's
justified us in Christ Jesus. Having predestinated us unto
the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself according to
His good pleasure, of His will. That's why He did it. That's
how He did it. To the praise of the glory of
His grace wherein He hath made us accepted in the Beloved. The
way that we are accepted before God is because we have been placed
in the Beloved who is Christ. And if Christ is beloved, we
are beloved. We're loved because Christ is
loved. Why? Because we're His seed. We're
His children. Everything that He and His righteousness
is, has been placed upon us. Therefore, we are loved. Therefore,
we are accepted by God. In whom we have redemption through
His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches
of His grace. The riches of His grace? When
was that grace given to us? Whenever we chose Him? Whenever
we made a decision, whenever we walked an aisle, whenever
we told the preacher we wanted to be saved, whenever we said,
I want Jesus as my Lord and Savior. Is that when that grace was given
to us? No. Was that grace given to us
whenever Jesus was nailed to the tree? No. When was that grace
given to us? Second Timothy chapter two. Excuse me, Second Timothy chapter
one. Another familiar verse we always go to. 2 Timothy chapter
1 verse 9, who hath saved us and called us with a holy calling,
not according to our worths, but according to his own purpose
and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world
began. In the mouth of two or three
witnesses, the thing is established, brother. We've seen that now
in more than one or two witnesses. There's been more than one or
two testimonies in Scripture that has said, now wait a minute,
what about believing? You mean we don't have to believe?
We don't have to trust Christ? We don't have to do all this?
Brother, I've never said anything on the contrary. That's just
not what makes it happen. That's not what saved you. That's
not what causes God to save you. That's not where your spiritual
life began. I'm not saying that we don't
believe. Everyone who has been born of God will believe. Everyone
who has been elected of God, saved by Christ, will be given
faith to trust in Christ. All that the Father giveth me
shall come to me. That word come there is directly
connected and used interchangeably by Jesus in that very same discourse
for belief. All that the Father giveth me
shall believe on me, and all that believe on me I will in
no wise cast out. God loves us with an everlasting
love. And as we finished up last week,
we saw that, back to our passage here, yea, I have loved thee
with an everlasting love, therefore with loving kindness have I drawn
thee. And we looked at the loving kindness
of God, how that he loved us and he showed his kindness towards
us by doing what? By sending Christ to die for
us. How did God display His love? Okay, we know that God loves
us because He elects us. But how does God manifest that
love or display that love to us? By sending His Son to die
for us. Remember, we read those verses.
We can kind of quickly recap those in Romans chapter 5. In Romans 5, verse 8, the Bible
says, But God commendeth His love towards us, and that while
we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. In John 3, verse 16,
the Bible says, For God so loved the world, that He gave His only
begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish,
but have everlasting life. In Ephesians 2, verse 4, we read,
But God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith
He loved us, even when we were dead in sins, have quickened
us together with Christ by grace you are saved and have raised
us up together and have made us to sit in heavenly places
with Christ Jesus. We see in 2 Thessalonians chapter
2 and in verse 16, Now our Lord Jesus Christ Himself
and God, even our Father, who hath loved us and hath given
us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace, comfort
your hearts and establish you in every good word and work."
So God has loved us with an everlasting love there, everlasting consolation. And then in 1 John chapter 4,
we read, This recap is necessary, brother,
to get to what we're looking at today. 1 John chapter 4, and
then in verses 8 through 10 we read, He that loveth not knoweth
not God, for God is love. In this was manifested the love
of God towards us because that God sent His only begotten Son
into the world that we might live through Him. So here is
the love of God manifested that God sent His only begotten Son.
That's how God manifested that love to us by sending His Son
for us in our place, in our stead, as our substitute. Now, look
at that word, therefore, and here's why I want to stress this
and why I've stressed this recap. I started this off with bringing
to question the fact that God loves everybody. Is the bumper
sticker true? God loves you. God loves everyone. Jesus loves everyone. Jesus loves
you. Can you honestly look to every
person and say to any person to their face, Jesus loves you? The Bible tells me so. Well,
the Bible tells us that Jesus loves the beloved. The Bible
tells us that Jesus loves his elect. The Bible tells us that
Jesus loves those that he died for. But is that true of everybody? That's the question. And I know
that's, to some, offensive. To others, it may even be mysterious,
like, wait a minute, I've never even heard this before. I've
never heard anybody question the fact that, does God love
everybody? But look at what the Scripture
here says. He says, I have loved thee with an everlasting love.
And we just see that God shows this or manifests this love that
is based upon eternal things. And He manifests or shows those
eternal things by the sending of His Son to die. Christ dying for those people
is the showing of God's love. That God loves us is shown by
Christ dying for us. So that word therefore is extremely
important because it says this, I have loved thee with an everlasting
love. Therefore, because I've loved
you, Because I have put you in Christ, because I have declared
you not guilty, because I have imputed your sins to Christ and
His righteousness to you, because I have placed you before me blameless,
in love, through union with Christ Jesus, therefore, with loving
kindness, I have drawn thee. The result, that's what the therefore
means. In result of the love, the everlasting
love, I have drawn you and I've drawn you through loving kindness. What was the loving kindness?
Christ dying. That was the loving kindness
that was shown to us is Christ dying for us. Not in gooey gooey
love where he came and said, oh, I love you. The loving kindness
was him dying. No greater love hath any man
than for him to lay down his life for his friend. Christ showed
his love for us by dying for us. And then God here says, therefore
with that loving kindness, I have drawn thee. So what does that
tell me? What are some things that we
can glean out of this? Well, one thing we can glean out of
this is that the preaching of the gospel and the telling of
this lovingkindness draws people to God. The very fact that we
preach this gospel draws people to Christ. But it also says this,
that everyone for whom God loves and shows this lovingkindness
and enacted that lovingkindness will be drawn. Everyone that
God loves and everyone who God showed that love by dying for
will be drawn. Therefore, in loving kindness,
I have drawn thee. Why is that? Because of the first
part. Yea, I have loved thee with an
everlasting love. And because I have loved you
with an everlasting love, in loving kindness, I draw you. What does that word draw mean?
Well, in the Hebrew here, this word draw means to draw out. It means to draw out or to develop. It means to develop something.
Now, if we had a crowd, like here, we had a crowd of people,
okay, and we've got, you know, all these here, and if I would
divide you out and I say, all right, you three over here, you
three over here, And then I come over to you three, and I say,
here's your candy bar, here's your candy bar, and here's your
candy bar. And then to these over here, I say, no candy bar
for you. So what have I done? I have drawn
you out of the crowd, and I have favored you by giving you a candy
bar. And I'm not over here. I've drawn
you out. You were of the same crowd, but
I drew you out of that crowd And I have blessed you with something
that I had already purchased, something that I already intended
to give you, something that was already yours by my favor, by
my grace, by my mercy. I give it to you. You didn't
do nothing to earn it. These people were just as, you
know, the same as you. But yet I give it to you. Why? Well, because I chose to. Well, why did you choose that? because I determined to give
you candy bar and not them candy bar. Now if people can do that, and
we know people that do that all the time, if people can do that,
how much more right does God have to do that? You say, well,
God can't do that because God is love. And that wouldn't be
fair. God has to be fair. Show me one
verse in the scripture that says God is fair. Can't find it anywhere,
brother. I've searched. I've looked. There's
nowhere in the Bible that says God is fair. It says God is just,
God is holy, God is righteous, God is love, but he's also wrath. He's also mercy. He's also hatred. Now, that being said, This word
draw out or excuse me, drawn, the Hebrew means to draw out
or to develop, to form, to fashion, to mold out. It's like the image
is like a potter who takes this lump of clay and out of that
big giant lump of clay he pulls off a piece and puts it on the
pottery wheel and he begins to turn that thing and begins to
develop into whatever vessel he wants it to be. Now, does
that have anything to do with the Bible? Well, absolutely.
Doesn't the Bible say that he is the potter and we are the
clay? Doesn't the Bible say that has not the potter out of the
same lump have the right to make one a
vessel of honor and one a vessel of dishonor? What if God willing to take one
piece of clay put it on there and turn that into a vessel of
honor. Put it right there. And out of the same lump of clay,
to take one, make it into a vessel of dishonor. You I will bless,
you I will not bless. You will be for other purposes.
Because the wrath of man, the reprobate, those non-elect, have
a purpose also. God has purposed that in them
they will serve The elder shall serve the younger. The Bible also says that the
vessels of wrath are fitted for destruction so that God might
show his power and his name. To make his name known, to show
forth his power. That's why Pharaoh was raised
up the way that he was raised up. And that's why Pharaoh's
heart was hardened by God. And that's why Pharaoh was reprobated
and not saved. is so that God might show his
power in him and that his name might be proclaimed among the
people because of what he did in Pharaoh. The vessel of dishonor
being displayed for God's wrath, for God's justice. The vessel
of honor for God's glory, of love and mercy and grace. Now, brethren, I know this is
not popular teaching. I know this isn't stuff that
people like to hear. But we have to preach what the
Bible displays of God. The testimony of God is there.
Now, in the Greek, this word drom
means to drag. It isn't a wooing. See, a lot
of people say, well, that word drom there, it means to woo. We woo each other. God woos us. by preaching, oh, come unto me,
all you who are burdened and heavy laden, I will give you
rest. You who are thirsty, come drink of the water of life. Come,
all you who want to come. You know, whosoever will may
come. And we woo people to God. But that's not what that word
means. The word means to drag, to pull, to bring out by force. You say, well, you mean God causes
us to be saved against our will? Absolutely he does. He absolutely
does. But we'll read some more about
that here in just a minute. Turn if we would to a Psalm of
Solomon. Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes,
Psalm of Solomon. The Song of Solomon, look in
chapter 1, verse 4. Remember this is a book
that Solomon, David's son, wrote. Solomon was given the greatest
wisdom of any man by God. Didn't mean that Solomon was
perfect or righteous in and of himself, but God blessed him
with wisdom. Solomon had a lot of faults and
failures, just like his dad David had faults and failures. Look
at what he says in verse four. Same word here, by the way, in
the Hebrew as what we just read in Jeremiah. It says, draw me,
we will run after thee. See, if God draws, we will run
after him. Now remember, who's God drawing? God's drawing the ones that he
has loved with an everlasting love and shown loving kindness
to by dying for them. Those are the ones that God is
drawing. And those that he draws will run after thee. The king
hath brought me into his chambers. We will be glad and rejoice in
thee. We will remember thy love more
than wine. The upright love thee. Now here we see the result of
drawing. The drawing does what? Draw me
and I will run after thee. Did we come kicking and screaming
against our will, not wanting to come? Absolutely not. When
God, by His loving kindness, draws us, we come willingly. We run after
Him, and He brings us into His chambers, and we are glad, and
we rejoice. We don't come and say, I wish
He would have done that. I can't believe that He did that. Nobody
has ever done that, and I've never heard any preacher that's
ever preached that. But yet a lot of people say,
oh, you mean God just calls us and saves us, drags us, kicking
and screaming towards Him. No, He does something that we
cannot do in and of ourselves. The Bible says that the leopard
cannot change its spot. We cannot change who we are by
nature, but God can change our heart. God can change us and
by giving us a new spirit, by giving us that man from above
that is fashioned in true holiness and righteousness, can give us
new desires, to give us new passions, to give us new love that we didn't
have before. I will take out of them the heart
of stone and I will place in them a heart of flesh. That's
what the Scriptures say. Now that He does without your
choosing, without your choice. He does that apart from you.
You have nothing. It's called irresistible grace. But yet when God does that beautiful,
wonderful, loving thing to the person who would never, ever,
ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever,
ever, ever, ever choose Him, that is a gracious thing. Whenever He does that, then what
do we do? We run after Him. Do we come
by our own free will? You can kind of say that. but the only reason that we come
is because He drew us. And everyone He draws does come. It isn't left for He draws and
then you have a choice. I heard growing up by one teacher
that we used to listen to, I heard that we are quickened, and that
quickened is different than being born again, we are quickened
And then in that quickening, we are quickened so that we can
cure and then we have the option to choose Him or to not choose
Him. And if we don't choose Him, then we're not born again. We
won't be born again. We'll remain in our sins. We'll
remain dead. Well, the word quicken means
to make alive. And if you're quickened and you're
made alive, then you're made alive spiritually because you're
already alive physically. So if you're made alive, you're
made alive spiritually. And if someone who is made alive
spiritually, they're made alive spiritually through eternal life.
That eternal life is eternal. You can't lose it. So now you've
got people that are saying there's this in-between death and life,
and there's this little place that we come where we're partly
alive, but not fully alive. That's ridiculous. I've also
heard it said that we are drawn and then God gives us the choice.
That's not true either. Everyone for whom God draws,
we come. And we will remember thy love
more than wine. We remember thy love. Well, what
are we remembering? What are we remembering here
today? His loving kindness. His love for us. How did God
love us? By choosing us to be redeemed
through the cross of Christ Jesus. We are remembering. We're gathered
here today. We are in His chambers. And we are remembering His love. Whenever we baptize somebody
in the water, not only is that that person's confession of faith,
but that person also in their confession of faith is reminding
us of Christ's love for us. whenever we have the Lord's Supper,
and we take the wine, and we take the bread, and why we are
so adamant that it is unleavened bread and actual wine, because
it pictures something in what Christ has done for us, not to
mention that's what Christ used to institute the Lord's Supper,
and he said, do this in remembrance of me. But that's another message. We take the Lord's Supper in
remembrance of Him. In remembrance of Him doing what?
showing His love towards us, and that while we were yet sinners,
He died for us. See, draw me, and we will run
after Thee. The King hath brought me into
His chambers, and we will be glad and rejoice in Thee. Who
are we rejoicing in? The preacher who preached the
message? Are we rejoicing in the witness who witnessed the
Gospel? Are we rejoicing in the guy who
chose Jesus? No. Who are we rejoicing in?
We're rejoicing in Christ. We're rejoicing in the one who
did it. We will remember thy love more
than wine, the upright love thee. The only ones who love him are
the upright. Well, who are the upright? Those
who have been given the righteousness of Christ. And that righteousness
was given before the foundation of the world. While we are still
sinners, we are considered upright. and we rejoice in Him. Look, if you would, with me at
Psalms 110. Psalms 110, verse 3 says, Thy
people shall be willing in the day of thy power, in the beauties
of holiness from the womb of the morning thou hast to do of
thy youth. So here we see something physical
describing something spiritual. Thy people shall be willing.
When will they be willing? In the day of thy power. When
is thy power shown? Whenever he draws us. When will we be willing? Whenever
God exerts his divine power over us and changes that mind and
gives us repentance to the acknowledging of the truth. Whenever He changes
our heart, whenever He gives us a new life, we will come after
Him willingly. But see, who does it say? Thy
people shall be made willing. Thy people shall be willing in
the day of Thy power. Not before then. Thy people will
be made willing, but they will be made willing in the day of
thy power. Look now if you would over to
James chapter 1. I don't have to hurry. James
chapter 1. Look with me if you would at
verse 18. It says, "...of His own will
begat He us with the word of truth that we should be a kind
of firstfruits of His creature." That word begat there, it means
to bring forth or to draw out. That's the word that we saw a
while ago that we had been drawn. It means to be drawn out. To
bring forth. To make manifest. To show what
was already there. Now a lot of people use that
verse to show that we are born again through the preaching of
the gospel. And I don't believe that's what that's talking about.
I don't believe that the Bible teaches that we are born again
through gospel preaching. That we are born again through
the immediate work of the Holy Spirit is what I believe the
Bible teaches. It's what the testimony of Scripture says.
That it is the divine power of God through the Spirit that quickens
that we are not born by men preaching, okay? We can preach all day long
and men cannot be saved. The power of God unto salvation,
they'll say, is the preaching of the gospel, but that's not
what that's talking about there. We've talked about that before.
But it says here, of His own will, be God to us or brought
us out with the word of truth. Well, what's the word of truth?
Well, the word of what Christ has done, the testimony of Christ,
the gospel. of what Christ's loving kindness
did on our behalf. Look at Titus chapter 3, verse
4. Titus chapter 3, verse 4. It says, But after that the kindness
and love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of
righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy, He
saved us by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost. Now that word regeneration there
is not speaking of quickening. It's not speaking of our conversion. That word regeneration there
is speaking of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
That's the resurrection, Regeneration, for those who are listening to
this and may kind of be puzzled by that, you can go on Sermon
Audio and you can look through my sermons and you'll see I've
got a couple of messages that is entitled, Regeneration Does
Not Mean Being Born Again, okay? So if you wanna go check those
out, you can go check those out. The word is only used two times
in the scriptures and both times in context to Christ's work on
the cross. and are united, be united in
Him in that, okay? So, go listen to that if you
want to know what I mean by that. But it says, not by words of
righteous which we have done, but according to His mercy He
saved us. How did Christ save us? By His substitutionary death
on our behalf. By His death, burial, and resurrection. His dying and His being brought
back to life. The renewing of the Spirit of
God in him. The renewing of the Holy Ghost.
The washing of regeneration. Okay? The renewing of the Holy Ghost
has nothing to do with us. We never had the Holy Ghost until
it was first given to us. Okay? We didn't have the Holy
Ghost and then we lost the Holy Ghost and now we got it back
again. Okay? So it can't be talking about
that. Okay? Look with me at John chapter
6 and verse 44. John chapter 6 and verse 44.
Now we're going to get to the question, does God love everybody?
But we got to see. See, everybody wants everything
just handed to them in platter. Today we're so used to having
everything just given to us at a moment's notice. If we don't
know something, what do we do? Google. There it is. If we want
to watch something, what do we do? Right there. It's on our
phone. It's right there on our streaming services. We don't
have to wait for anything. We don't have to do anything.
We go to drive-thru. If we have to wait now two minutes
in drive-thru, we get impatient. We'll just be going right through
and getting our food. You mean I got to wait five minutes for
a burger? You mean I got to wait now? We ain't even got pizza
hot and ready. You don't even have to wait on
it. You just walk in, grab it out of a box, and take it home.
See, we want convenience. Boom, boom, boom. And everyone
wants to see. Wait a minute, you mean God doesn't love us?
Chapter and verse. Well, wait a minute, you're gonna
have to put a little time in studying the scriptures. Let's
see what is taught in scriptures. John chapter six, verse 44. Now
remember, we just read that those that God loves, everlasting,
and has shown his loving kindness to the death of Christ on their
behalf, he will draw and they will come to him. That's what
we just read. That's what we've just seen in
Jeremiah. That's what we've just seen in
Song of Solomon, right? John 6, verse 44. The scripture
says, or excuse me, verse 37, let's start there. All that the Father giveth me
shall come to me, and him that cometh to me I will in no wise
cast out. For I came down from heaven,
not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.
And this is the Father's will, which hath sent me, that all,
every single one, which he hath given me, I should lose nothing,
but should raise it up at the last day." There it is. There's the surety saying, as
the surety, God give them to me. And as the surety, I said,
I will make sure everyone returns. I'll take care of it. God has determined to do this,
and I've come down not to just be a willy-nilly carpenter or
to be something that everybody else thinks I am. No, I've come
down to do the will of God, and that's the only will that there
is to be done, is God's will. I didn't come down to do some
separate will. I came down to do God's will, and God's will
was this. Everyone that He has given me will come to me, and
all that come to me, I will know why it's cast out, because I
came down, and I'm going to give them eternal life, and none shall
perish. and I will raise him up at the
last day. That's what it says right here. And this is the Father's
will, which it sent me, that all which he hath given me I
should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day.
And this is the will of him that sent me, that everyone which
seeth the Son and believeth on him may have everlasting life,
and I will raise him up at the last day. Listen, that isn't
an offer of salvation. That isn't a command. That is a declaration of what
is true. God has given a people to Christ.
Christ has come as their surety. In loving kindness, He died for
them. And in that death, therefore,
He draws them. Because of that death, He will
draw, and everyone that He draws will come. Everyone that comes
will rejoice and be glad. They will love God. What does it say here? Look at verse 44. No man
can come. to me, except the Father which
hath sent me, draw him." There's that word, draw, that means drag.
And, I will raise him up at the last day. So, no man can't come
unless they're drawn. That isn't, no man can come,
no man can come, unless I draw him. No man. Sorry, I know you're
one to come, but you can't come until I tell you you can. That's
not happening. That's not what Jesus is even
saying. He's saying, Listen, no man can come. They don't have
the ability because they have no spiritual desire, no spiritual
life. They do not hear God's voice.
They do not feel that power of God that is drawing them to Him.
They do not hear the message of the cross for them. They still
think that they have something to provide for righteousness.
They still have a hatred towards the God of this Bible, the Gospel
of this Bible. He says no man can come because
they are not spiritually alive, they are not spiritually drawn,
they are not spiritually given faith. No man can come except
the Father which has sent Me, draw him, and I will raise him
up at the last day. Jesus goes on to say in verse
60, 65, therefore said I unto you that no man can come unto
me except it were given unto him of my father. So see, that
coming is even given by the Father. Look at John chapter 12 and verse
32. The Scriptures say, and I, if
I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. And there you go. Aha! There
you go, preacher. Salvation Jesus' death was for
everyone. It was for everyone, because
it says right here, if I be lifted up, I will draw all men to myself. Well, remember, and this is why
I had to do the recap. This is why we had to read those
verses about loving kindness again. This is why we had to
read those verses in Song of Solomon again. because we've seen that everyone
that God draws comes to Him. Everyone that God draws will
be raised up at the last day and be brought back to God. Everyone. Not one will be lost. So look
at here, verse 32. If I be lifted up from the earth,
I will draw all men. And that word men, by the way,
isn't there in the Greek. It's supplied there by the translators
to make the flow of the passage more understandable and more
readable. He says, If I be lifted up from the earth, I will draw
all unto me. All who? All that the Father
giveth me. That's all the ones who? Isn't
that what he just said? All that the Father giveth me
shall come to me. All that the Father giveth me
shall come to me. Why? Because only the ones who are
given of my Father or drawn by my Father can come. have the ability to come. Everybody
else don't have the ability because they haven't been given the ability.
In grace, they haven't been given the ability. So, if I be lifted
up, I will draw all men to myself. So, Christ's death, was it for
all men everywhere? No. It was all men that God had
given to the Son. We call that particular redemption.
We call that limited atonement. I don't particularly care for
that phrase, but that's what we call it. So the question is,
is does God love everybody? Now someone's going to say, well,
preacher, I know for a fact that the Bible says that God is not
a respecter of persons. So you got to be, you're off
on that. If Jesus says, if he'd be lifted
up, he'll draw all men to himself. He means every person. He died
for every person. Well, brethren, there's a lot
of verses I could go to that says that Jesus only died for his
sheep, for his people. But let's look at a few scriptures,
though, that has to do with that. Look at Acts chapter 10. In Acts chapter 10. Look at verse
34. Because this is where everybody
gets the argument, God's not a respecter of persons. Therefore,
election is not true. Therefore, particular redemption
is not true. Christ only died for some and
not others because the Bible says that God is not a respecter
of persons. Well, let's look at the context
of where this is found. Now, here is Peter and Cornelius
coming together. If you remember, Cornelius was
a Gentile. Peter was a Jew. The mentality
of the religious Jews was that only Israelites, only Jews, were
gonna be saved. No hope for the Gentile. No salvation
for the Gentile. Only the Jews, only Israel. That's why they thought the Messiah's
gonna come, gonna wipe out all our Gentile enemies, we're gonna
be set up on thrones, we're gonna rule the nations with our Messiah. That was their mentality. They
looked at it on a physical level instead of the spiritual teaching
of it all. Now, remember, Jews and Gentiles
didn't coexist. Salvation wasn't for the Gentile,
only for the Jew. That was the mentality. But whenever
Christ came, he taught that salvation wasn't just for the Jew, but
was also for the Gentile. Matter of fact, even in the Old
Testament, the Bible talks about the inclusion of the Gentiles
into salvation. Matter of fact, in the Old Testament,
there were Gentiles who were saved in the Old Testament. But here we see Peter, and I'm
gonna start reading in verse 32, says, send therefore to Joppa
and call him, this is God speaking to Cornelius, the Gentile. She
says, send therefore to Job and call hither Simon, whose surname
is Peter. He is lodged in the house of
one Simon a tanner by the seaside, who when he cometh shall speak
unto thee. Immediately therefore I sent
to thee, this is Cornelius telling Peter the story of what God told
him and what he did. Okay, so this is Cornelius talking
here, okay. Immediately therefore I sent
to thee and thou hast well done that thou art come. Now therefore
are we all here present before God to hear all things that are
commanded thee of God to tell us. Now here Peter begins to
speak. Then Peter opened his mouth and
said, of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons. So there's where the phrase comes
from, there's where the people say, God isn't a respecter of
persons, but you say that he dies for some and not others,
that's being a respecter of persons. You're saying that God elected
some and not others, that's a respecter of persons. But the context of
that verse is in light of these other verses that come before.
Peter the Jew being sent to Cornelius the Gentile to tell them the
gospel, that salvation is for the Jew and for the Gentile.
Look at verse 35. But in every nation, he that
feareth him and worketh righteousness is accepted with him. The word
which God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by
Jesus Christ, he is Lord of all. That word, I say ye know, which
was published throughout all Judea and began from Galilee,
after the baptism which John preached, how God anointed Jesus
of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power, who went about
doing good and healing all that were oppressed of the devil,
for God was with him, And we are witnesses of all things which
he did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem, whom they
slew and hanged on a tree. Him God raised up the third day
and showed him openly, not to all the people, but unto witnesses
chosen before of God, even to us who did eat and drink with
him after he rose from the dead. And he commanded us to preach
unto the people and to testify that it is he which was ordained
of God to be the judge of the quick and the dead, to him give
all the prophets witness that through his name whosoever believeth
in him shall receive remissions of sin. While Peter yet spake
these words, the Holy Ghost fell on them which heard the word,
and they of the circumcision which believed were astonished,
as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also poured
out the gift of the Holy Ghost. For they heard them speak with
tongues and magnify God. Then answered Peter, can any
man forbid water that these should not be baptized, which we have
received the Holy Ghost as well as we? And he commanded them
to be baptized in the name of the Lord, then prayed them to
tarry certain days. Brethren, the context of God
being a respecter of persons is in the fact that God didn't
keep salvation just among the Jews, but that God has people
that He has saved out of every nation. You say, well, preacher,
are you really stretching that a bit? Well, turn with me to
Revelation 5. Revelation 5. I've told you guys
before that in God's Word, the Bible says all scripture is given
by inspiration of God and is profitable, and that every word
counts in God's Word. It's all important. God doesn't
just put filler stuff in there. Look with me at Revelation chapter
5, look at verse 9. It says that they sung a new
song saying, now this is the praise around the throne of God.
They sung a new song saying, thou art worthy to take the book
and to open the seals thereof. Who is the one who opened the
book and opened the seals? Anybody know? Who was the one that was worthy
to open the book? The lamb that was slain, Jesus. So Jesus is
the one who is worthy to take the book and to open the seals
thereof. It says, for thou was slain and has redeemed us to
God by thy blood." Now, look what it says here. Out of every
nation. He didn't say he redeemed every
nation or every one in all nations. He said, you redeemed us out
of every nation. Out of. There's that phrase again. To be drawn out of. to be brought
out of, to bring forth from. It's throughout the scriptures,
brethren. It's a thing that God is doing
out of one lump, bringing some out for a specific purpose. We
were just like the rest of Adam. We were dead in trespasses and
sin. We were by nature children of
wrath. We are natural. We are sinful. We cannot do any good. We cannot
do any righteousness. Out of the one lump, God has
brought these out and brought forth them as vessels of honor,
as vessels of glory. They're made of the same material
as the others. They are just like the others.
The only difference is God has glorified them and brought them
out of every nation. By thy blood, out of every kindred,
and tongue, and people, and nation, and has made us unto God kings
and priests, and we shall reign on the earth." So God has chosen
out of every nation. That goes back to what Peter
was saying. God is not a respecter of persons. Salvation is not
just for the Jews. God has included the Gentile
out of every, what does it say there? Every kindred, every tongue,
every people, every nation. God has brought forth people.
Not everyone, but His people out of every nation. Look at
Galatians chapter 3 and verse 28. Galatians 3 and verse 28. It says, there is neither Jew
nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male
nor female, for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be
Christ, then are ye Abraham's seed and heirs according to the
promise. So here we see that God being
a respecter of persons has nothing to do with God's ability to elect
one and not the other. It has nothing to do with whether
Christ can die for one and not the other. It has everything
to do with the fact that God has chosen people from every
people group of every nation, kindred, tongue, tribe. Every place will be represented. Every people group will be represented
among the elect of God. There will not be any people
group left out. Look at Colossians chapter 3
verse 11. It says, where there is, verse
10, and have put on the new man which is renewed in knowledge
after the image of God, after the image of him that created
him, where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision,
barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free, but Christ is all and in
all. Doesn't mean that he's in everybody. It just means that he's in all
kinds of people, in every kindred. Circumcision, uncircumcision,
Jew, Gentile. He doesn't just do it among the
rich. For the rich, for the poor. For the Scythian, for the barbarian.
The Scythian, the barbarian. We could probably say for the banker or for the ditch digger. You know? God doesn't have a
respect over what country you're from, what nationality you're
from, what position of life that you're in, whether you're rich
or poor, whether you're black, white, red, yellow, green, blue,
orange, purple. He has no respecter of persons
in that regard, but God, as the scriptures have clearly declared,
God is a respecter of persons on who out of those people he
chooses for salvation. You say, well, I don't know,
Brother Mike, that still doesn't make me believe that God only
loves some and not others, that he doesn't love everybody. I
mean, I've always heard growing up in Sunday school that God
loves everybody. I mean, God is loved and he loves
everybody. Well, turn with me to Psalms
chapter 11. If I can show you in Scripture where it says that
God hates people, then will you believe that? Only if you're
given to believe it by God. Psalms chapter 11, look at verse
5. The righteousness of the perfect
shall direct his way, but the wicked shall follow by his own
wickedness. Where did I want to read? And while we're in Psalms, let's
go to Psalms chapter 5 and verse 5. Oh, no wonder I'm in Proverbs. My bad. Back to Psalms 11, verse 5. There it is. It says, The Lord trieth the
righteous, but the wicked and him that loveth violence his
soul hateth. The wicked and him that loveth
violence his soul hateth. You mean God hates certain people?
Well, that's what he says here. But who are the wicked? Remember,
the Bible separates people into two categories, the righteous
and the wicked. Now, who's the righteous? Because the Bible says there's
none that is righteous, no not one. Who are the righteous? Everyone to whom the righteousness
of Christ has been imputed. They're righteous. It's not their
own righteousness, it's the imputed righteousness. Well, who was
the ones who was imputed with righteousness? The ones that God loved. Well,
when did God impute that righteousness to them? Before the foundation
of the world. See, that's why we went back
and recapped. That's why we had to go through an hour and 20
minutes of what we've gone through to answer this question. See,
it's not just a simple answer. We've got to see what does the
Bible teach? See right here it says the wicked he hates. Look at Psalms 5.5. The foolish shall not stand in
thy sight. Thou hatest all workers of iniquity. God hates the workers of iniquity.
And you say, well, wait a minute, haven't we committed iniquity?
Yes, we have. Well, then, doesn't God hate
you? No, God doesn't. Well, how, why do you say that?
It says right here, he hates all workers of iniquity. Yes, but remember, the Bible
says that he has not seen perverseness in Israel, nor has he seen, excuse
me, he has not seen iniquity in Jacob, nor has he seen perverseness
in Israel. Who is Jacob in Israel? That
is the types and foreshadows of God's elect. He's not seen
the iniquity. Why has he not seen the iniquity? Because the shout of the king
is among them. In loving kindness, Christ died
for them. As the surety, he paid their
purchase price. God does not see iniquity in
him. All he sees is righteous. To their legal account, again,
just like a checkbook, in their account, it says not guilty. It says righteous. When God opens
up the book, it says righteous beside my name. Why? Because I've done all these good
works? No, because Christ died for me. It says righteous. So whenever God looks at the
book of record, He doesn't see my sins, He sees righteous. But
whenever He looks to the worker of iniquity, who Christ didn't
die for, what does He see? All the works of iniquity. That's
why in Matthew chapter 7, He says there's going to be many
on that day say, Lord, Lord, did we not do all these wonderful
works in your name? We cast out demons and devils.
Didn't we do all these wonderful things in your name? And he said,
depart from me, ye workers of iniquity. See, they weren't the ones whose
iniquity was covered. Theirs wasn't the ones whose
iniquity was taken away. Those weren't the ones whose
iniquity was blotted out because righteousness was stamped over
it. Their iniquity was removed because Christ died for them.
And here we see God hates all workers of iniquity. That means
all those for whom Christ did not die, God hates. But He loves
the ones for whom Christ died. That's the reason Christ died
for them. And God displayed that love through that loving kindness
of Christ dying. And everyone for whom Christ
died and was given to Christ for him to die for, the Bible
says, will be drawn by that loving kindness. That death will be
effectual. That means that death will effect
the outcome of what it was meant to do. It was meant to give righteousness. It was meant to take away iniquity. It was meant to blot out sin.
He shall save his people from their sin. He will justify the
many, as Isaiah 53 says. We read it last week, but Malachi
chapter 1, we read, how have you loved us? Did I not choose
Jacob and not Esau? Romans chapter 9, we read, and
this will be the last one, Romans chapter 9. Not as though God's word, not
as though the word of God had taken not effect, verse 6, for
they are not all Israel, which are of Israel. So that means
it isn't about being an Israelite or a Jew by nationality. It's
about the spiritual aspect. Who is the spiritual Israel?
Neither because they are the seed of Abraham are they all
children. But in Isaac, who Isaac is, he's
the children of promise. He's the child of promise. The
child that was born miraculously to parents who was past the age
of having children. but the children of the promise
are counting for the seed. For this is the word of promise.
At this time will I come and Sarah shall have a son. And not
only this, but when Rebecca also had conceived by one, even by
our father Isaac, for the children being not yet born, neither having
done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election
might stand. We're going all the way back
to the beginning now. I have loved thee. How have you
loved me? By electing you. And the purpose
of that election is what I'm going to show forth.
I'm going to show forth the purpose of that election, and that is
showing my glory in vessels of honor and vessels of dishonor.
I'm going to show forth my glory by saving you, loving you, saving
you, redeeming you. You don't deserve it. You're
out of that same lump. But I'm going to show that, but I'm also
going to show my wrath upon the rest. Look what it says. It was
said unto her, the elder shall serve the younger, as it is written,
Jacob have I loved, but Esau I have hated. Now brethren, just
a side note, you're going to hear Reformed Calvinist say,
well that means that God loved Esau less. That God still has
a love for all mankind, but he just has a less love for that.
You can't find that anywhere in Scripture. The only way that
God's love is portrayed, as far as a redemptive thing is concerned, is in the death of his son, and
that death of his son is effectual. All that was given to Christ,
Christ died for, and all that Christ died for will be drawn
by God, and they will come. What shall we say then, is there
unrighteousness with God? There it is, there's the question.
God's not fair. That's what they're actually
meaning when they say that. Well, that's not right of God
to choose some and not the other. And it says, is there unrighteousness
with God for choosing one and hating the other? God forbid,
there's no unrighteousness in God. For he said to Moses, I
will have mercy on whom I will have mercy. Why can God have
mercy on whom he will have mercy? Well, because he is, I am. I
am that I am. I'm the sovereign God. I can do whatever I want to do
because I am God. No one tells me what to do. I
don't live by anyone's laws. I don't have to do anything.
Everything that I do is right and just and holy and good. For he saith, I will have mercy
on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom
I will have compassion. Just in the very phrase of that,
brethren, Does that not imply the fact that God can have mercy
on whom He wants to have mercy, and those who He don't want to
have mercy on, He doesn't have mercy on? And no one can tell
Him you're wrong or unrighteous for doing that? That's the argument
that Paul's making here. Is there unrighteousness with
God? You're thinking there's unrighteousness with God because
God does this for one and not for all. You're saying there's
unrighteousness with God because He loves this one and doesn't
love this one. You're saying there's unrighteousness
with God because He gives salvation to these people and not to these
people, that Jesus died for these people and not these people.
That's unrighteousness of God to do. He would never do that.
And Paul was saying, hello, there is no unrighteousness with God.
Everything that God does is righteous. And if God wants to have mercy
on whom he will have mercy and compassion on whom he will have
compassion, no one can tell him he's doing something wrong. No
one can show that he's doing anything unrighteous. No one
can bring forth any accusation towards God because God does
not have counsel with anyone. He says, so then it is not of
him that willeth. See, that's what the argument
is. See, you're saying that God has mercy on those who wills
to come to Him. You think that's where salvation
comes. That's what I used to preach. That's what I was taught
all growing up, that Jesus has died for everyone, but you have
to choose Him. You have to make a free choice
to choose Him as your Lord and Savior, and you have to come,
and you have to receive Him, and you have to believe on Him,
and if you do those things, then He will give you a new birth. He'll give you everlasting life.
You'll be born again after that. See, so then it is not of Him
that willeth. It's not of Him that willeth. Do you all understand that? Is
that hard to understand? I mean, is that plain? What does it is not of Him that
willeth mean? Anybody? It is not of Him that willeth. Is it any plainer than that?
God having compassion and mercy on somebody has nothing to do
with somebody willing it to be done. It is not of him that willeth,
nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy. It's
God's choice, not your choice. For the Scripture saith unto
Pharaoh, even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I
might show my power in thee. and that my name might be declared
throughout all the earth. Why was Pharaoh reprobated and
not chosen as the elect of God and perish without salvation? Because God didn't choose him
to be saved. God didn't choose him as the
elect. God chose him as a vessel of dishonor. Why? To show his
power and make his name be known throughout all the earth. How
many of us here have not heard the story of God raising up Pharaoh
and Moses going to Pharaoh? How many have seen the movie
Ten Commandments with Charlton Heston? How many of us have seen
any other version of the Ten Commandments? How many of us
have heard the story of the children of Israel being brought out of
Egypt and Pharaoh chasing after them? God split in the Red Sea
and the children of Israel walked across and whenever Pharaoh and
his army started to come across, he closed the waters back, killed
every one of them. How many of us have not heard
the story of Moses and Aaron going before Pharaoh and showing
all these things, and him saying no, and then God sending all
these plagues on Egypt? We've all heard that story, haven't
we? And we've seen how powerful God is. God killed the whole
army of Pharaoh in just a few minutes with... Drowned them all. Put them all
under. Killed them all. But he says
the reason he raised him up for that purpose of hardening their
hearts and making them hate the children of Israel is so that
God's purpose will be completed. So that he would be glorified. So that his name might be declared
throughout the earth. Therefore hath he mercy on whom
he will, have mercy. And whom he will, he hardeneth.
Just like with Pharaoh, he hardened Pharaoh. When he has his will
to do, nobody can stay his hand. You can't tell him that he's
unrighteous for hardening Pharaoh. Well, Pharaoh don't have a choice.
Well, whenever Pharaoh gets in front of God, he's going to say,
I couldn't help it. You made me this way. You made
my heart hard. And you made me not obey you.
And you made me for this very purpose. So why are you judging
me and my sin? Look at verse 19. Thou wilt say
then unto me, why doth he yet find fault? Why does he yet find
fault? Who hath resisted his will? See,
listen, I've had people I love and care for have said that to
me. Well, if that's the case, you stand before God and say,
hey, I couldn't help it. You made me this way. I can't help
it. You put me in that position. I can't help it. You hardened
my heart. You didn't give me salvation. You didn't elect me.
You didn't choose me. You're saying How can you find
fault with me when it wasn't my fault you made me this way?
It wasn't my fault my heart was hardened. It wasn't my fault
that I did all those deeds. You caused that to happen because
of the way that you made me, the way that you hardened me,
and the purpose that you had. That's not me, that's you. The
Bible here says, who hath resisted his will? But look at verse 20. Nay, but O man, Who art thou
that replyest against God? Shall the thing formed say to
him that formed it, Why hast thou made me this way? See, whenever
Pharaoh stands before God, he's not going to say, Why did you
make me this way? Why didn't you make me elect? Why did you make
me this way? It's not right for you to judge
me this way because I didn't have a choice. God is declaring
You can't say that. I will not entertain that. The
judge of all the earth will do right, and whatever I do is right. And that's the God of the Bible.
That's the love of God. The love of God is a distinguishing
love. The God of love is a respecting
love. It is an effectual love. The
love of God is something that is not given to everyone. Hath not the potter power over
the clay of the same lump to make one vessel unto honor and
another unto dishonor? What if God, willing to show
his wrath and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering
the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction? That's the purpose
that they were made. They're fulfilling their purpose.
Their purpose that God made the non-elect is they are fitted
to destruction. They are made for destruction. They never was made to be saved. They never was made to have life. They was never made to be vessels
of honor. They were made for the purpose
of showing for God's power. and that He might make known
the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy." Why is He
doing that? So that we, who are just like
them, who are going to be standing on the right hand of God at the
judgment seat of Christ, when Christ is judging the living
and the dead, and He is judging them, and He is telling these
who are separated from the sheep, those who have been separated
from the wheat, and had been put on his left hand. And he
says unto them, depart from me, you workers of iniquity. It is
that these people who are just like them, by nature, seize what
glorious grace I've received of God, because I'm no different
than these people are. My sin is as great as they are.
And yet here I am, exalted in Christ Jesus, And there they
go into everlasting destruction. Not one person from this group
can come up and point a finger at them. Not one of them people
over there can point a finger at them. The only thing that
can be done is look at God and say, thou art worthy, O Lord,
for thou hast opened up the books. You have opened up the seals
and brought forth the purpose and the declaration of Almighty
God. You have completed it all. No
one can say he's wrong. Wherein has he loved us? Have
I not loved you, and not the other? Have I not shed my love
on you, and in loving kindness sent my son to die for you? God is not a respecter of persons,
even, verse 24 says, even us whom he hath called, not of the
Jews only, but also of the Gentiles. He's not a respecter in the persons
of out of which nation, which tribe or tongue, but God surely
is a respecter of persons on who he loves. God loves those. He is from all eternity elected. All right, brethren, does anybody
got a question or any comments? I know this is way long, but didn't
want to break it up into another message for next week. All right. Father, we are humbled this morning
by the gracious election. Lord, we're so filled with awe at how God can
love sinners, die for sinners, and not punish us for the sin
that we commit. Father, this love that has been
given to us is such a great love. Father, Lord, we know that we
don't deserve that love, and that we, just like all the rest,
deserve eternal fires of hell. And we know that you are just,
and you are holy, and you are right. And Lord, we desire to
worship you as you have revealed yourself in Scripture. Father, we're so thankful that
you've given us grace in Christ Jesus. We're so thankful for
the salvation that has been given to us because of our surety. Lord, we pray that your sheep
will be drawn and come as you have promised they would. Father,
we pray for the day that you return. On that awful day of judgment,
you will declare your righteousness before all men, elect and non-elect. And there won't be one person
that can object to what you have done, to how you have acted,
to how you have purposed, to who you are in essence and in
action. Lord, we bow before your almighty
throne, the sovereign of all things. Creator of everything. The Alpha, the Omega, the beginning,
the end. All things consist because of
you. All things exist before you because
of you. Father, forgive us because we
don't stop often enough and give praise to you for this glorious
gospel, for this glorious mercy and grace, we so take it for
granted. We so take it flippantly, Lord. But Father, whenever we hear
these judgments that's going to befall the vessels fitted
for destruction, how we ought to fall to our knees and give
thanks and praise unto Christ Jesus, our Savior. God, I pray
for these brethren that are here. I pray for these that are not
here, that have not confessed Jesus Christ. Lord, I pray for
their soul. I pray that they be yours. I
pray that you have elected them unto glory. I pray, Lord, that
you have given them Christ Jesus as a substitute and surety. And,
Lord, that you would draw them to yourself. Father, Lord, I
pray that you just might be with us as we leave this place, that
we might continue to proclaim the gospel and that you might
keep this church as a beacon of light here. Lord, I know sometimes
it becomes discouraging because we're so few that people come
and go, but Lord, I pray that you would help keep us faithful
to declare your word no matter how many we have here, no matter
how small we become. You build your church as you
see fit, and so we, Lord, are subservient to that, and we just
pray that we might continue in the labors that you've given
us to do faithfully, as only you can do it through us. Once
again, Lord, we are so grateful for Christ Jesus, and may he
be honored and glorified in everything that we've done and said today. Lord, I pray that the things
that I've spoken have been of truth from your word, and Lord,
that you might convict and you might correct those things that
are not. May these brethren be blessed
and edified for what they have heard today, May Christ be exalted
in Jesus name we pray.