First John. First John chapter
two. Gathered a few verses up this
morning. Thought we might speak upon Christ
being our propitiation. That's a big 50 cent word, isn't
it, Daniel? Propitiation, that's a big word,
not heard often in churches. You listen to radio preachers,
TV preachers, you hardly hear the word propitiation, justification,
all these theological terms. But these are biblical words
and we ought to learn them. I remember hearing my grandpa
one time talking about how often we try to dumb the Bible down
so that people might be able to understand it, but when people
are given spiritual ears, we don't need to dumb people down,
dumb the Bible down, but we need to teach them and bring them
up to biblical understanding. Of course, we know that the person
can only be taught by the Holy Spirit, but the preacher should
be preaching the gospel and not worrying about having to dumb
it down, but that he might trust that the Spirit give understanding.
And propitiation is one of those terms that we hardly hear in
preaching anymore today. You know, I've heard it said,
and especially in this verse that we're going to be reading
today, that, and I used to preach this very thing before the Lord
taught me more rightly the things of Christ. But I used to preach that, you
know, Christ died for everybody and therefore everybody opportunity
to be saved and that God wants everybody to be saved and so
he is predestined to plan to be for people to be saved and
that he is done all of his side of it, he's done all the work
by sending his son, by dying on the cross or living a perfect
life and dying on the cross, raising him from the dead. And
so now that salvation is made possible, but all a person needs to do
is to receive that, accept that. You gotta accept it by faith.
And if you accept it by faith, then God will count it towards
you. And God will give it to you.
That he's given you a gift, but you can't get the gift unless
you receive it or accept it. And once you receive it and accept
it, then God really does give it to you. You know, kind of
a, really kind of a dumb, way to look at it, and I've heard
that illustration. You know, salvation is like a gift. God
has given you this gift, but unless you reach out and accept
it, then it never does become yours. Well, if it's a gift,
it's a gift. You mean to tell me that God
can't give me something unless I get something that he's already
given me? Okay, that's kind of dumb. Whenever we look at salvation,
we see that salvation is not just a proposition. It's not an offer. Okay, salvation
is not an offer and that's that's preaching so many churches that
salvation is this invitation to come to Jesus Christ with
this offer of salvation to anyone who will just repent and believe
or believe upon him or come to him, accept him. I was watching
a video last night of a guy Some stuff that I'm looking at and
studying that studying about and and this guy was saying that
there's these what is called means of salvation
and there's these steps to salvation and if you don't apply the means
and if you don't apply or walk in the steps or follow the steps
to salvation then you will not be saved and these steps to salvation
was first of all that you have to be convicted then you have
to be drawn in that conviction, and then once you're drawn in
that conviction, then you have to accept Jesus into your heart,
you have to confess Jesus with your mouth, and then once you
do all those things, then God will save you, and then you'll
be born again. And like I said, I used to preach
these things myself, and I abhor that kind of gospel because it
puts the salvation in the hands of men and it denies the work
that Christ has done. It is not the gospel. It is a
false gospel. And those who preach these things
preach a false gospel. And the reason I bring that up
is because whenever we look at this verse today, A lot of people
use this verse as this universal salvation that God, that Christ
has made a salvation for everybody. And so they take this scripture,
but they take it out of its context. They take it and they apply it
in a universal way. But this is not what is being
said. So let's look at this today and
talk about what propitiation actually means and what the Bible
teaches whenever we look at the overall teaching of the Bible. What does it say about the work
of Christ's propitiation? In first John chapter one and
verse one, it says that which was from the beginning, which
we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we
have looked on and our hands have handled of the word of life. For the life was manifested. I'm sorry. I'm on the wrong chapter. Sorry, President. I was wondering
what that had to do with what I wanted to say. It's chapter
two, 1 John chapter two, verse one. My little children, these
things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin,
we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous. And he, Jesus Christ, is the
propitiation for our sins and not for ours only, but also for
the sins of the whole world. Now, whenever
you look at that verse two there, you might think that Jesus was
a propitiation for everybody everywhere because it says that
he was a propitiation for our sins and not for ours only, but
also for the sins of the whole world. Now, is that teaching that Jesus
is the propitiation for every man, woman, and child that has
ever entered into the world? Well, it kind of looks like that,
but we have to look and see what does propitiation mean. We also have to look at the context
of who John is writing and what was the understanding at the
time of those people and the language that was being used.
And we will find that John wasn't saying that Jesus was the propitiation
for everyone head for head, every man, woman, and child. But he
was making a declaration that that propitiation that Christ
was or is for the people that he died for is not just for the
Jews, but also for the Gentiles. And some will say, well, that
ain't what the Bible says there. It says the whole world. You're
trying to press this verse into your theology. You're trying
to press this verse into your ideology, into your kind of doctrine. You're trying to make this say
something that it doesn't say. It doesn't say for Jews and Gentiles,
it says for the whole world. Well, brethren, again, if we
look at the scriptures and we see all the verses that speak to
the fact that Jesus Christ died only for his sheep and not for
the goats, that Jesus died for all that the Father hath given
him, that Jesus died only for those who are the elect of God. When we see all those verses,
and then we also look at the fact that the word world has
many uses in the word of God. Sometimes the word world can
mean the world as the, and that word cosmos can mean the particular
earth. It can talk about whenever we
say the world, we can be talking about the world system, that
pagan world system. Whenever we talk about the world,
we can talk about a certain region of area. Whenever we talk about
world, it surely can mean everybody. When we say world, it can mean
a group of particular people within a society or within a
nation or within a country. And then whenever we say the
word world, it can also mean those of every nation, tribe,
and tongue. If you'll remember, the Bible
spoke whenever Jesus was teaching, And John was teaching and they
said that, hey, the whole world has gone after him. Well, does
that mean everybody head for head and the whole entire world
that existed at that particular time, did they go and follow
after him? No. What was their meaning? Their meaning that the whole
region, everybody was going after them. A lot of people was going
after them. So the word world here can mean
many things, so we have to view it within its context. Is there
a place in scripture, whenever we look at this, where we can
see, does the Bible use the term world to mean or to describe
those who were not Jews or Gentiles, okay? Because if you look here,
you're looking at the Apostle John, who is writing this book. The Apostle John was an apostle
to the Jews. The Apostle John was a pastor
in a Jewish church. His ministry was among the Jews,
not the Gentiles. So God had sent him and the other
11 apostles as ministers to the Jews. Remember Christ taught that the
gospel would first come to the Jew and then to the Gentile. To the Jew first and then to
the Gentile. He said in the commission, he
said that he would give them power whenever the Holy Spirit
comes upon them, that he would give them power to be witnesses
for him first in Jerusalem. That's the Jews. And in Judea. and then in Samaria, and then
to the uttermost parts of the world, okay? So we see that the
gospel that John was preaching, the ministry that John had was
to the Jew, not to the Gentile. So whenever, and of course, remember
also, the mentality of the Jews at the time was that they was
the elect people of God as a nation, and that by that, God was gonna
bless them with all the blessings, with all the promises, and that
they was gonna have that land forever, and that Christ was
gonna come, and that Messiah would come and rule there, and
they would rule with Messiah, and that they were the chosen
people according to their flesh, according to their nationality,
according to the fact that they were children of Abraham. But
we find out through scripture particularly when the Holy Spirit
brings Paul to write these days, that it wasn't the children of
the flesh who were the children of the promise, but the children
of faith that are the children of the promise. It's the children,
not of Abraham in his flesh, but it's the ones who are the
spiritual people of God, those who are the elect of God from
the foundation of the world. It just so happens that God chose
the nation of Israel first, and out of that nation, within that
nation, God had a remnant of people. We see that all throughout Romans.
and in many other places in scripture. So John is preaching to the Jews,
teaching the Jews, ministry to the Jews, and the mentality of
the Jews is that they are the ones who are to receive that
Messiah was coming for them, Messiah was for them, they were
for Messiah, they were the chosen people, everyone else were dogs. Everyone else were Gentile dogs
and was on the outside of God's blessing. Remember, Paul even
said that you who are far off are now made nigh unto God. You
who were outside of the commonwealth of Israel have now been brought
nigh unto God, okay? See, they believed that anything
that was outside of Israel, outside of the Jews, that they were dogs. So whatever John writes here,
and he says that he is the propitiation, that word propitiation, it basically
means to appease or to turn away wrath, to take away wrath. Okay, that word propitiation,
whenever you translate that word, that Greek word that's behind
propitiation, in another place, it's used as mercy seat. Matter
of fact, in the Old Testament, there are several places in the
Old Testament, we'll get to that here in a minute, that speak
of that very thing. That Christ as the mercy seat,
He is the place where our sins were covered by blood and that
through his shed blood there is forgiveness of sin and mercy
is given to people. If you remember the Ark of the
Covenant that God instructed Moses whenever they built that,
that it was a chest that was made out of wood and they lined
that with gold and it was made in a certain fashion and was
cherubim there. And then on the top of that thing
was a solid piece of gold that was like the lid to the thing. And that was the mercy seat.
And that is where every year the high priest on the Day of
Atonement went in And for the sins of the people, the spotless
lamb that was made for sacrifice, he came in with blood and he
put that blood on the mercy seat. And that is where God accepted
that blood offering, that sin offering for the appeasement
of wrath against the people for their sins. And so atonement
was made on behalf of the people for whom that blood was shed. Now, in that time, it was only
shed for Israel. It wasn't shed for the Amorite
or the Moabite. It wasn't shed for the Edomites,
all the Pezarites and all the otherites that's out there. It
wasn't shed for them. It was shed for Israel. And so that symbol was that the
blood is shed And that appeasement of God and His justice, appeasing
God's justice, or excuse me, appeasing God's wrath and satisfying
God's justice and removing God's judgment or condemnation was
signified in this shedding of blood. And everyone for whom
that blood was offered got the reward or got the result of that
atonement. And it was forgiveness of sin.
So for another year, God forgave their sin because of the blood. Now in the shedding of the blood,
remember the Bible says without the shedding of blood, there
is no remission of sin. And the reason for that is because
the Bible says that the life is in the blood. And the Bible
says that for us, that the wages of sin is death, okay? So the payment for sin is death. And every child of grace who
has been saved has the blood of Jesus Christ laid to their
account, and in doing so, whenever Christ offered that blood to
the Father upon that mercy seat, the life of the blood was in
place of ours. So whenever we took that, the
life that was in that blood was signifying the life that was
in us. We give up our life in payment
for sin against God. but because of Christ and the
mercy that we have in Christ, because of God's grace, because
of his love for us and sending his son as a propitiation and
appeasement of that wrath. See, God is wrathful to sinners.
God has wrath against sinners. But to the child of grace, there
is no wrath because Christ has stood as their mediator, as their
lamb slain, as their propitiator. And so there is an appeasement
of God's wrath. There is a satisfaction to God's
justice. And because of that, the people
for whom that's done, that wrath is not there. That justice has
been satisfied. Now, with that being the case,
If Christ is the propitiation, the appeasement of wrath, meaning
that there is no more wrath, whoever Christ died for, he is
propitiated, meaning that he has turned away God's wrath from
off of them. God no longer has wrath against
that person. If he is the propitiation for
everybody head for head, then that means there is no wrath
on anybody's head. What does that mean in the end?
I mean, think about it. If God has no wrath against anybody
in the world now, what does that mean in the end? It's not hard. If there's no wrath of God to
be poured out, then what does that mean for everybody? It means that everybody's going
to be saved. It means that everybody will go to heaven, be with God. It means that everybody will
be raised up at the last day and be with Christ. Why? Because there is no wrath of
God to endure. If there is no wrath, then that
means that there's been forgiveness. That means that there has been
grace and mercy. That means that there has been
a salvation from wrath. We have been saved from our sin
and in being saved from our sin, we are saved from the wrath of
God because the wrath of God is poured out upon sinners. He pours it out upon those who
are workers of iniquity. So to be the propitiation means
to be the appeaser. If Christ is the appeaser, of
everybody, then that means everybody has now had God's wrath removed
from them. Now, so John is preaching to
the Jews, and he says, he is not the propitiation
for us. The Jews knew propitiation. They knew what that meant because
of the old sacrificial system. To propitiate means to have mercy. God gave mercy every year on
that mercy seat when they offered those sacrifices. So they knew
what that meant. And to them, that was for them
and them only. But here John says, listen, he's
not just a propitiation for us. Who's he mean when he says us?
For our sins. and not for ours only, but also
for the whole world. He's saying, listen guys, God's
salvation, Messiah's work is not just for us Jews, but it
is gonna reach out and is being reached out and is happening
in every tribe, every language, every nation, every tongue. His salvation is in every people
group, not just the Jews. Now this right here was, to the
Jew was an abomination. This was, how can that be? The
Gentiles are unclean. We cannot, I mean, the Jews walked
clear around Samaria because they didn't want to be, defiled by walking through where
all the Gentiles and half Jews lived. So this mentality is here. Turn with me if you would to
Romans though, Romans chapter 11, because I want you to see
that the scripture does make the distinction of the Gentiles
being called the world. that the term world is used to
describe those who are not Jews. Now, remember where we're at
in the book of Romans, in chapter 11. We have went through eight,
nine, 10, now into 11. Those chapters, Paul is laying
out the doctrine of unconditional personal election. And in that he is showing that
the reason that there are some Jews who are not being saved
is because they are not of the election of God. And he shows
that God's election, the purpose of God, according to election,
will stand but it never intended to incorporate everyone who is
in Israel because not all that are of Israel are Israel. The true Israel of God, the spiritual
Israel of God, the elect of God that who the nation Israel typified
is made up of an elect group of people out of every nation.
And so Paul is making this claim that, yes, God's promises are
standing. Yes, Messiah's salvation has
come. Yes, there are Jews being saved. And yes, there are Jews who are
going into unbelief and will not be saved, but God's promises
hasn't fallen because it never was purposed for all to be saved,
but only those whom the Father had given to the Son, as Jesus
taught. And so he's making this doctrine
clear to these Jews who have the mentality of it's just us
Jews and all of us Jews who are going to be saved. And Jesus
is making clear that never was the intent, that is not what
is happening, and God is not unjust in what he is doing. So
in chapter 11, verse one, he says, I say then, hath God cast
away his people? God forbid, for I also am an
Israelite of the seed of Abraham of the tribe of Benjamin. So
the question that may be arising that Paul is dealing with here
is they're saying, well, God's went against his promises and
he's abandoned Israel. No, not necessarily. He said,
I'm an Israelite, the seed of Abraham, the tribe of Benjamin.
And here I am, I'm believing, I've been saved. So God hasn't
casted off his people. He has saved people out of Israel.
Verse two, God hath not cast away his people, which he foreknew. See, the ones that are cast away
are the ones that he doesn't foreknow. But of the ones of
Israel that he foreknew, he is not cast away. Matter of fact,
Jesus said that I will never leave thee nor forsake thee.
But that promise isn't made to everyone. It's only made to those
who are in union with Christ Jesus. It's only made to those
who the Father gave to the Son and that the Son took those people
and redeemed those people unto God. God hath not cast away his people,
which he foreknew. What ye not what the scripture
sayeth of Elias, how he maketh intercession to God against Israel,
saying, Lord, they have killed thy prophets and dig down thine
altars, and I am left alone and they seek my life. But he sayeth
the answer of God unto him. Excuse me, but what sayeth the
answer of God unto him? I have reserved myself 7,000
men who have not bowed down the knee to the image of Baal. Even
so then at this present time, also there is a remnant according
to the election of grace. See, there's a remnant within
Israel that God was saving, not everyone, but a remnant. And
even at that time, there was a remnant being saved, just like
it was back in Isaiah's day, there was a remnant being saved.
Not everybody, but a remnant being saved. Even now, he's saying,
There is a remnant, but it's a remnant according to the election
of grace, not according to the flesh and seed of Abraham. Okay. It's not according to the
fleshly seed of Abraham. It's the spiritual seed. He says
then, and if by grace, then it is no
more of works. Otherwise, grace is no more grace. Salvation can't be by works.
You'll never get it by works because it's only by grace. And
if it's by grace, then there can't be any works. But if it
be of works, then there's no more grace. Otherwise, work is
no more work. What then? Israel hath not obtained
that which he seeketh for, but the election hath obtained it. And the rest were blinded. So this is where Paul is making
the argument again that God is not unjust and God is not lying
because that never was, we've misunderstood this. We have misunderstood
this salvation all along thinking that it is only us. It is only
those who are of Israel in the flesh. No, the ones who have
obtained it are the ones who were elected to it. Everyone
else was blinded. Verse eight, according as it
is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that
they should not see, ears that they should not hear unto this
day. God has judicially blinded eyes
with held grace. That's where blinded eyes, that's
where deafened ears, that's where hardened hearts, that's how they
are changed is through grace. You know, we talk about irresistible
grace around here. That's what irresistible grace
is. Irresistible grace is God bringing the new birth to a sinner
and changing them, bringing them into a new creation. A new spirit
is given to them. The spirit of God is given to
them. And at that point, they are given eyes to see, ears to
hear, He says, and David said, let
their table be made a snare and a trap and a stumbling block
and a recompense under them. Now again, we're talking about
the judicial work of God against the Jews, right? So right now
he's talking about the Jews. He says, let their eyes be darkened
that they may not see and bow down their back always. I say
then, have they stumbled that they should fall? He's asking
this question because it's obviously an issue that, so God's just
making them stumble for no reason? Brethren, one thing we need to
always remember in God's predestinating purpose, that it is always a
purpose. God always does everything by
purpose. He doesn't do things willy-nilly.
He doesn't do things cavalier. This isn't fatalism. where it's
just chaotic, just whatever will be will be, because that in and
of itself gives its way to the fact that there is no purpose.
But everything that God has predestinated, every detail, every action, every
life, every destiny, everything God has predestinated is according
to his purpose. There is a purpose for all of
it. And so the question is, have
they stumbled? I mean, has God done this just
so that they will fall? He said, God forbid, but rather
through their fall, God has a purpose. in dumping Israel and going to
the Gentile. He said, but rather through their
fall, the Jews, or excuse me, but rather through their salvation
is come unto the Gentile for to provoke them to jealousy. See, God had a purpose in going
to the Gentile, and it was to provoke jealousy among the Jews.
Now, if the fall of them, the Jews, be the richest of the world,
you see that? He's making a distinction now
between the Jews and the Gentiles. Who have we been talking about
this whole time? Go back to verse seven. What
then? Israel hath not obtained that
which he seeketh for. He's talking about Israel. The whole conversation here,
has God cast away his people in the flesh? The nation Israel. Has he cast away everybody in
that nation? And the answer was no. The elect
among that nation, God will not cast away. That they are saved
or will be saved in the terms of conversion. So if the fall of them, the Jews,
Israel, be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of
them, the riches of the Gentiles, how much they're foolish. You
see how he uses the term world and Gentiles interchangeably
there? He's making, he makes two statements that mean the
same thing. You see that? The fall of them
be the riches of the world. The fall of the Jews be the riches
of the Gentiles. And the diminishing of them,
the riches of the Gentiles. See, he's saying the same thing.
And he equates the Gentiles with the word world. So he makes the
separation of Israel and then there's the world. Well, who
are the Gentiles? Is the Gentile a specific nation?
Whenever they use the term Gentiles, do they mean a specific nation?
Well, no. No, we've seen that there were
Romans, there was Parthians, there was Medes, there was the
Turks, there was all kinds of people around. There was the
Greeks. There was the Asians. All these people surrounded Israel. They were other nations. And
so the term Gentile was a term that was given to anybody who
was not of Israel. So Gentiles incorporated everyone
else. all other nations. It didn't
matter if you were a Roman, if you were a Scythian, if you were
a Syrian, if you were a Turkish, a Japanese, Chinese, whatever
there was at the time that was there, those nations were grouped
together under one heading called Gentile. And that was also called
the world. We have Israel, we have the world. It is a generic term used to
speak of every nation, every tribe, every language, anybody
except Jew. So I hope I've made that clear
and not muddied the waters more. But if you'll see here, the Bible
uses the term world to speak of every language, tribe, tongue
besides Jew. So now back in our passage of
scripture, we see John, who is a Jew, who is an Israelite, in the flesh, the seed of Abraham. Speaking of a propitiation, of
not only for us, but also for the whole world. Now let me say,
I believe what I've just said is enough evidence to clarify
that John is saying that there is a distinction, that Jesus
is a propitiation not only for Jews, but for Gentiles. I believe that that is clear
by the other witness that we've seen in Scripture. But let me
say this. I think common sense says that
also when you read what he says. If I say the whole world, and
I'm meaning everybody, head for head, every man, woman, and child,
if I say the whole world, and then I say, and for us, that's
redundant, isn't it? Because we're part of the whole
world. If I say whole world, meaning everybody in the whole
entire world, man, women, and child that has ever existed,
then that includes us. So why would I say not only,
not only, for he is the propitiation for
our sins and not for ours only, not only for us, but for the
whole world. then obviously there is something
in the thought process of not only John but the ones he's writing
to that has made a distinction between them and everybody else. So if the whole world is everyone
head for head and John says he's a propitiation for us and the
whole world, well, that's redundant, John. That's redundant, John. We are part of the whole world.
Why didn't you just say that he's a propitiation? for the
whole world, but he didn't say that. The Holy Spirit said, write
it down this way. The Holy Ghost said, not only
ours, but for the whole world also, but also in addition to, see,
that's just what Paul was saying. Paul was saying the exact same
thing as John. Paul was saying that Christ has
not casted off his people because you're seeing these Gentile people
being saved. He's not cast off Israel. No,
listen, there's those of Israel that are being saved. He's a
propitiation for not only us, but there's Gentiles being saved,
but he is the propitiation for the whole world. See, he's saying
the same thing. It's a parallel passage, identical
in meaning. So propitiation for the whole
world, there is not no general salvation. There is no universal
salvation that has been made or offered. Christ is not propitiated
for the whole entire world. And God is now offering that
salvation to anyone who will take it from him or accept him. That is not what it's been talking
about. I think I have proof of that and some other passage description. Let's look at that. Does anybody
have any questions before I go on? I'll be kind of going quick
on that. All right, look, turn with me
to John chapter 36. John chapter three, verse 36. John three, 36. John chapter
three. Now, remember, the word propitiate
means to appease or to remove or to take away wrath, no more
wrath. OK, so if Christ propitiated
every man and every woman, then that means that there is no more
wrath for every man and every woman. Am I insane to make that assessment? That if Christ is the propitiation
for us, and not only for us, but for all the world, every
man, woman, and child, then that means God has no wrath towards
every man, woman, and child. But look what John says, John
chapter three, verse 36. It says, he that believeth on
the Son hath everlasting life. He that believeth not the Son
shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him. Now, wait a minute. If Christ is the propitiation,
see, there was no condition put on the propitiation. There was
no condition put on those sacrificial systems. Whenever the lamb was
sacrificed for the nation, the nation didn't have to do anything
for it to work. The sacrifice was made, the work
of the lamb, the work of the priest, And the offering of God
and up to God and God receiving that offering is all that was
needed for this person to receive the benefits of that. The same
in the type are from that shadow and the type. So is the substance
for everyone for whom Christ died. There is no condition. Christ is the condition. The only thing that is needed
is for Christ to be obedient for what God has demanded. Christ
lived perfectly and obeyed the law. That life that he lived
declared him to be the spotless land. As that spotless sacrifice,
Christ's blood of atonement was made for the people and applied
on that mercy seat, and because of that, God accepts that sacrifice,
raises Christ from the dead, and justifies his people because
of what Christ has done. And because of what Christ has
done, not because of what anybody accepted or understood or believed
or received or trusted in, not because of that, because of what
Christ has done, Those people have been propitiated. Those
people have had wrath removed where there is no wrath. Those
people have been justified, meaning that God has laid to their account
no sin, no guilt. That because of what Christ has
done, those people have imputed righteousness laid to their account.
Every bit of righteousness that Christ is, is laid to their account. That's what happens when Christ
died for the people. He died as a, as a, efficacious
sacrifice. He died as an expiation, meaning
that whenever he did this, he did this and it was effectual.
It accomplished the purpose that he died for and everything that
was to be given because of that is to be given. And so it says here, He that
believeth on the Son hath everlasting life. He that believeth not on
the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him.
That means that there is a category of people that the wrath of God
is abiding on because we see that there are people that are
in unbelief. They will remain in unbelief. They are kept in
unbelief. And at the end, they come before
God having never believed upon him. And because of that unbelief,
God is condemning them and the wrath of God is abiding on them. It continues to stay on him.
For the child of grace, though, there's a different story. But
while you're there in verse 36, look back up to verse 18. He
says, he that believeth on him is not condemned. Now, some will
say, well, there you go, there's a condition. If you'll believe
on him, then you won't be condemned anymore. And listen, brother, there are
those among doctrines of grace believing people who believe
that God's wrath abided on every elect child of grace until they
believed. And then once they believed,
then God removed that wrath at the time that they believed. It says, he that believeth on
him is not already condemned. Why is he not condemned? Well,
because he's one of the believing ones. But we learned that the
believing ones are the ones for whom Christ died and gave everlasting
life. We also learned that the believing
ones are the ones that God gave to Christ. Remember in John chapter
six, he said, all that the father giveth me shall come to me. That
word come, Jesus used synonymously a few verses down. As believe,
the word come and believe is synonymous. It means the same
thing. To come to Christ means to believe on Christ. All that
the Father giveth me shall come to me. So only the ones who are
the believing ones are the elect of God. Anybody who begins to
believe in Jesus Christ, they begin to believe in Jesus Christ
because they were already elected of God, saved by Christ, and
born again by the Holy Spirit. See, that's the gospel message.
It's all of Christ. It's not about your decision. It's not about your free will.
It's not about your human responsibility. It's not about your acceptance.
It's not about your confession. It's not about your repentance.
Are those things that happen? Absolutely. Whenever we are converted
by the gospel and we, you know, after we've been born again,
and then we're converted in the gospel, we repent of those dead
words, and we look to Christ alone, and we confess Christ,
we trust Christ, we come to him, we do all those things. But brethren,
it's never do that to get this, ever. It's because Christ, what
he did, secured all this. And this all happens, believing,
receiving, coming, trusting, obeying, accepting all those
things, all come because Christ died for you. And that will happen
in the time that God gives you the Holy Spirit. And so if you're
not the elect of God, the wrath of God abides on you. and you
will remain in unbelief. Look at what it says there. He that believeth
on him is not condemned, but he that believeth not is condemned
already. That's two groups of people.
The condemned and the non-condemned. The non-condemned are the ones
that are given faith to believe. And those are the elect of God.
Those who are Condemned are the ones that God does not give faith
because God had ordained that they might continue in that unbelief. Romans 9 says that God has made
vessels of wrath and vessels of glory, vessels of honor and
vessels of dishonor. He says, he that believeth not is condemned
already. because he had not believed in
the name of the only begotten son of God. The condemnation
is because of their unbelief, but they have unbelief because
they have never been given faith by God. God is the one who gives
faith. Now, how do I know that there
is a difference between the two? How do I know that The reformers are wrong when
they say that God's wrath was on us before we believed. Well, turn with me if you would
to 1 Thessalonians chapter five. 1 Thessalonians chapter five. Look down with me if you would
at verse nine. It says, for God
hath not appointed us. Now, who is the us? Well, who's
he writing to? He's writing to the church of
Thessalonica. We know that churches are baptized
believers who are gathering together into a congregation. So he is writing to a group of
believers, people who have been saved. For God hath not appointed
us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ. When
did God do all the appointing, brethren? He did that before
the foundation of the world, didn't he? God appointed all
things at the beginning, from the beginning of the world. So
from the beginning of the world before even Adam was created
and ever sinned, God appointed his people, the elect, the believing
ones, the sheep, the Israel of God, the true Israel of God,
that is. He appointed them not to ever
have wrath. Now, did they deserve wrath?
Yes. Did they actually sin? Yes. Did they have a nature just like
everybody else? Yes. But God, before the foundation
of the world, declared them just. God before the foundation of
the world had his wrath appeased against them because the lamb
slain before the foundation of the world stood as their mediator. And as their mediator, he also
stood as their propitiator, their wrath turner. No wrath could
come to those people because Christ stood in their place.
Yes, even before Christ came in time and died on the cross,
God did it based upon the merit, the righteousness, the holiness, the divinity, the promise of
Christ. He based it upon the righteousness
of Christ. He based it upon knowing that
Christ is their propitiator, that he would do and fulfill
all that God had commanded and demanded. But look what it says
there. Verse 10, who died for us, that
whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him. Now you see there that the not
appointing to wrath, but obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ
is tied to his dying for us. If Christ is our propitiation
in that, in that atoning blood work on the mercy seat, his dying
for us, then there is no appointment to wrath. So if Jesus died for
everybody, then everybody is not appointed to wrath. There
will be not one person appointed to wrath, but we just read that
there are gonna be people who are gonna have the wrath of God
abiding on them because of unbelief. And some will say, well, we all
were in unbelief and we still have unbelief. So why doesn't
God's wrath abide on us? Exactly, brethren, why doesn't
God's wrath abide upon the children of God? because they have a mediator. They have a propitiator. They
have an expiator. They have a justifier. They have
a surety. They have a substitute. They
have someone who goes in their place. That's why they don't
get it. Justice is still served. And
you say, well, that's unfair. How can they get it and we don't?
You know what God's answer is to that? Who art thou, O man,
who replies unto God and saith, why hast thou made me thus? Hath
not the potter power over the clay to make one vessel a vessel
unto honor and another unto dishonor? What if God willing decided with much long-suffering
to bear with those vessels of wrath See, it's all about God's choice,
not yours, not ours. It's not our choice. It's God's
choice. And for those who have been, who've been truly saved,
who have been born from above, who've been given the mind of
Christ, who've been given spiritual understanding, we look at that
and we say, thank you. We're humbled by that. We know
that we're not worthy of that and that we're just, you know,
just as deserving of God's wrath as the others. But we know and
love the fact that God is free to choose. It's his choice. And we worship him for being
a God who is sovereign. So those for whom Christ died
was never appointed unto wrath. Also, God shows his love in sending
Christ as the propitiation. Look back if you would in 1 John.
Back to the back. of the epistles of 1 John, in
chapter four, 1 John chapter four. Look with me if you would
at verse 10. Herein is love, not that we love
God, but that he loved us and sent his son, the propitiation
for our sins. So go back to our original question.
Is Jesus the propitiation for everybody in the world, every
man, woman, and child? Well, if he is, then that means
that Jesus loved every man, woman, and child. Because right here,
he said God showed his love by sending Christ as the propitiation
for our sins. And some will say, but of course,
John 3, 16, for God so loved the world that he gave his only
begotten son. Why did he send his only begotten
son? That whosoever believeth in him shall not perish, but
have everlasting life. The reason God sent his son was
for the believing ones to not perish. See, the believing ones
would perish just like everybody else, if Christ had not been
their propitiation. If Christ had not been their
propitiation, the wrath of God still abides on them. If the
wrath of God is still abiding on them, that means that he has
never given them faith to believe because it's only the unbelieving
ones who have the wrath of God abiding on them. You see how
the whole Bible works together to teach the doctrine of unconditional
election, of particular redemption, See, God loves, and the word
world there in that context is the world of the believing ones
from every nation, tribe, language, and tongue. He is the propitiation
for not only us Jews, but also he's a propitiation for every
nation group. Meaning that just like in Israel,
there was an elect Within that nation of people, in every nation,
there's going to be elect people in every nation. That's why I
know that there's not going to be one nation group of people
that is not going to be represented in the family of God. So whether
you're from Zimbabwe, whether you're from Cairo, whether you're
from Pakistan, whether you're from Japan, Russia, there's gonna be people out of
every group that the Lord is gonna save. And we have that confidence.
But see, the fact that Christ was sent as the propitiation
shows that he loved only those that he propitiated. It is only
those that he loved that he propitiated. Here in his love, he loved us and sent his son
to be the propitiation for our sins. For God so loved the world
that he gave his only begotten son That whosoever that believeth
should not perish, that actually in the Greek, the way that reads
is for God so loved the cosmos or the world that the believing
ones should not perish, but that the believing ones should have
life everlasting. The believing ones, the believing
ones, that's a group of people. That's a particular group of
people. And it's a particular group of people that God had
elected before the foundation of the world. Those are the ones
that he loves. And because of that love, not because of the
love for every man, woman, and child, but because of the love
for those, he sent his son to be the propitiation. You say, well, preacher, I've
heard all my whole entire life that God loves everybody. That
he loves the whole world, and that's what John 3, 16 means
is that he does love the whole world. I think you're just twisting
words. The world means the world. Turn
with me if you would to Psalm chapter five. If I can prove to you that God doesn't love everybody
and hates some, then that should destroy your
whole argument and premise of false teaching. Psalm chapter five, and look
with me at verse five. Matter of fact, let's just back
up, verse one. Give ear to my words, O Lord,
consider my meditation, hearken unto the voice of my cry, my
King and my God, for unto thee will I pray. My voice shalt thou
hear in the mornings, O Lord, in the morning will I direct
my prayer unto thee, and I will look up. For thou art not a God
that hath pleasure in wickedness, neither shall evil dwell with
thee. The foolish shall not stand in
thy sight. Thou hatest all workers of iniquity. Does God love everybody? No. The Bible says that he hates
all workers of iniquity. Look with me at Luke chapter
13. And hang with me. For some watching and listening,
you may be faunching at the bits. Say, yeah, but, yeah, but. I'm gonna get there. I'm gonna
answer that question that's leering in the back of everyone's mind.
Luke chapter 13. Look with me if you would, down
to verse, It says, but he shall say, I
tell you, I know you not when she are. Depart from me all ye
workers of iniquity. Now, what does it talk about
here? Maybe we should go up and start in verse 23. Then said
one unto him, there are few that be saved. Are there few that
be saved? See, even this guy in what Jesus
was teaching, obviously struck a chord with that guy and he
began to think, well, wait a minute, you mean not everyone's gonna
be saved? You mean only few are gonna be saved? That was his
understanding of what Jesus was teaching. And Jesus said to them,
verse 24, strive to enter in at the straight gate, for many
I say unto you will seek to enter in and shall not be able. Why? Because they don't have
belief. They're trying to enter in, but they're trying to enter
in not through the door, but going up over the wall or the
fence. Remember Jesus said, you know,
the ones that come over the wall and not through the gate, right? You're trying to come in a different
way. they're not gonna be able to stay. It says, when once the
master of the house has risen up and has shut to the door,
and ye begin to stand without and to knock at the door saying,
Lord, Lord, open up, Lord, Lord, open up unto us. And he shall
answer and say to you, I know you not when she are. Then shall ye begin to say, we
have eaten and drunk in thy presence and thou has taught in our streets.
But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not which ye are. Depart from me, all ye workers
of iniquity. There shall be weeping and gnashing
of teeth, and ye shall see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the
prophets in the kingdom of God, and you yourself thrust out.
And thou shalt come from east and from the west and from the
north and south, and shalt sit down in the kingdom of God, and
behold, there are last which shall be first, and there are
first which shall be Last, look if you would with me at Matthew
chapter 7. Very familiar passage of scripture. Starting in verse 13, it says,
enter ye in the straight gate, for wide is the gate, broad is
the way that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in
thereat. Because straight is the gate
and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life, and few there be that
find it. Beware of false prophets, which
come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening
wolves. He shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes,
and thorns, or figs, and thistles? Even so, every good tree bringeth
forth good fruit, but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt
tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not
forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire. Wherefore,
by their fruits ye shall know them." Now, brethren, this isn't
talking about good works necessarily. This is talking about bringing
forth repentance, bringing forth trust and belief on Christ Jesus.
Spiritual fruits. It's bringing forth spiritual
fruits. It's not being religious, not going to church, not giving
to the poor. That's not what he's talking
about. He's talking about bringing forth, remember when John said,
you know, that he would not baptize those religious leaders until
they brought forth fruits of repentance. They had to turn
from their dead works. They had to turn from their self-righteousness. He says, verse 21, here it is. Not everyone that saith unto
me, Lord, Lord shall enter the kingdom of heaven. But he that
doeth the will of my father, which is in heaven, the will
of the father is that you believe. See, to do the will of the Father
is to trust on Christ Jesus, to believe on Him. But look what it says there,
verse 22. Many will say to me in that day,
Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? There's gonna be
preachers standing before Christ saying, haven't we preached in
your name? Haven't we spent a lifetime in
pulpits preaching your name? And in thy name have cast out
devils. I've never casted out a devil.
Someone's casted out a devil. You know, hey, they probably
got, got a lot going for them, it
sounds like. And in thy name have done many wonderful works
That sounds like a pretty good person, don't you think? They've
been preaching about God and Christ. They've been casting
devils out of people. They've been doing many wonderful
works, many wonderful works. Look what Jesus says, verse 23. Then will I profess unto them,
I never knew you. Depart from me, ye that work
iniquity. workers of iniquity. God hateth
workers of iniquity. But here's the question that
you're probably asking. Here's the argument. Well, what
about you? You have iniquity. How come God
doesn't hate you? If you said God hates all workers
of iniquity, then that means all. See there, brother, that's
why people are Believe in these false gospels is because they
don't study the word of God. Because God has not given them
the ability to understand in the new birth. They are still
looking at this through fleshly eyes. They are still looking
at it in the wisdom of man and in the reasoning of man. All
is all, world is world, everyone is everyone. They don't have spiritual discernment
to see how God uses these words in different ways and within
certain contexts. He hates all workers of iniquity. And you say, well, you're a worker
of iniquity. You sinned against God. Remember, the difference is,
is there's a mediator. There is a substitute. What is
the difference? What is the cause of God looking
on one as a worker of iniquity and looking at an exact same
person that is a worker of iniquity by nature, but not calling him
a worker of iniquity? What causes us to differ from
them? What causes the child of God,
the elect of God, the people of God, to differ from the workers
of iniquity? Because all of us are workers
of iniquity. If God says he hates all workers
of iniquity and every man, woman, and child are workers of iniquity,
then every man, woman, and child God hates. See, the argument
works both ways, right? If you say that God loves everybody,
man, woman, and child, then every man, woman, and child should
be saved because God has sent his son to be the propitiation
for the whole world. The propitiation is the showing
of God's love. So why is it that one differs
from the other? There is a mediator. There is
one who stands for someone else. And if he's standing for them
and the recipient has no conditions to meet to get that, it's because
of what that mediator done. And they were even saved before
they were even born or even committed a sin. Then, guess what? They're not
a worker of iniquity. You say, well, wait a minute.
You're telling me that all Christians are not workers of iniquity.
All the people of God are not iniquity. You're not a worker
of iniquity. I didn't say that I haven't committed
iniquity. I said, God doesn't view my iniquity. Chapter and
verse, preacher, chapter and verse. Look at Titus chapter
two. Titus chapter two. Titus chapter two and verse 14.
Start with verse 13, I'm sorry. Looking
for that blessed hope and the glorious appearance of the great
God and our Savior, Jesus Christ. One and the same, by the way.
Jesus Christ and God is the same. Jesus Christ is God. Manifested
in the flesh. Who gave himself for us, well, who's us? Well, who's Titus
writing to? Or, I mean, who's Paul writing
to? Paul, a servant of God, an apostle of Jesus Christ, according
to the faith of God's elect, and the acknowledging of the
truth, which is after godliness, in hope of eternal life, which
God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began. Verse
four, to Titus, my own son, after the common faith. You see that? The common faith. Titus is his own son. Remember
we talked last week about Timothy being Paul's son in the faith. Paul begot him in the faith,
not given him faith, but Paul begot him. taught him the doctrine
of Christ. Same thing here. Titus was taught
the doctrine of Christ by Paul and therefore was considered
a son of Paul in the faith. But look what he says there.
According to the faith of God's elect. And he's writing to Titus,
who is the elect. So whenever he says, who gave
himself for us, he is speaking of the elect, who gave himself
for us that he might, there's a causality here, right? He gave
Jesus for the elect so that he might redeem us from all iniquity. The reason
Jesus was given was to redeem us from all iniquity. Every bit
of iniquity that we would ever truly in time commit, Jesus,
who is the propitiation for us, came because of the love of God
for us and redeemed us from it. He redeemed
us from every bit of iniquity. And if we have been redeemed
from every bit of iniquity, then that means there is no iniquity
to behold, right? There is no iniquity for God
to look upon if Christ redeemed us from all iniquity. And purify unto himself a peculiar
people zealous of good words. He purified unto himself by giving
himself a peculiar people. A peculiar people, you know what
that word peculiar means? It isn't just talking about a
strange person, a weirdo, okay? Now, in our language, you say,
man, that guy's kind of peculiar. That kind of is a nice way of
saying, well, that weird, that guy's a weirdo. Now, whenever
he says, uses the term peculiar, that word peculiar means a special
people, a called out people. That word peculiar there, it
means a specified group of people. And didn't the father give a
specific group of people to Jesus? Did he say that he loved them
with an everlasting love? And didn't the Bible say that
because of an everlasting love, God sent his son to be the propitiation? That means a removal of wrath
for us? And as a removal of wrath and
being not appointed unto wrath, that we now have no abiding wrath
upon us. And if there's no abiding wrath
upon us, then that means that God does not see iniquity upon
us. Preacher, I still think you're
pulling. I think you're pulling those strings and I think you're
tying a nice little bow, but I think you're stretching it.
I think you're stretching it. Turn with me to Psalms 32. Psalms 32. Hang with me. Don't
check out on me. The verses get even better. Psalms
32. If you've deemed me a heretic
at this point, then keep listening. Look at verse one. Psalms 32
and verse one. Blessed. That's a great word. Blessed. We have been blessed with all
spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. A man
who is blessed has been blessed of God. The Bible says that all
gifts come down from the Father, Blessed is he, so he's beginning
to talk about a certain person, right? Or a certain group of
persons. Blessed is he, meaning if this
person and the description of this person that I'm fixing to
tell you about, if this be true, then that person is a blessed
person, not a cursed person. That's the opposite, right? You
got blessed or cursed. There's blessings, there's cursings. God either has blessed us or
has cursed us. But here the psalmist is saying,
blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven
or iniquity is forgiven. whose sin is covered. So the
person that has their sins or transgressions forgiven and their
sins covered is someone who has been blessed of God. Now, in blessing, when God blesses
somebody, that means that God has taken the initiative to do
something for somebody who they, for one, did not have the ability
to do for themselves, They did not have the worthiness for that
because it's a blessing. Whenever my boss gives me a Christmas
bonus at the end of the year, that is a blessing to me. I didn't
deserve it. I did my work just as I normally
do. He did it because he favored me and he decided to give me
a Christmas bonus. I didn't deserve it. It was a blessing though. Blessed is he whose transgression
is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Now, what would be the opposite
of that? Cursed is he whose transgression is not forgiven and whose sin
is not covered. Right? Now, so that means if
there's two groups of people, that there are those whose sins
have been forgiven Our transgressions have been forgiven, sins have
been covered, and there are those who's not, two groups of people. So that in and of itself tells
me that when Christ died, that not all transgressions and not
all sins were covered because only those who are blessed has
that given to them. But look at verse two, blessed
is the man, unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in
whose spirit there is no guile. Brethren, you see that there
is a group of people who the Lord does not account as workers
of iniquity because their transgression is forgiven, their sin is covered. The Lord has not imputed iniquity
unto them. Now, let me ask you this. And
you've heard me ask this on many occasions. People online have
heard me ask this and use this as an argument for eternal justification. and I think that it bears a lot
of weight and I have yet to have anybody give me a successful
answer according to God's word in rebuttal or reproving of this
train of thought. If there ever was a time when
your sin was imputed to you or laid to your account, or anybody,
Okay, if there was ever a time whenever sin, let me back up and say it this way.
If everybody that has ever lived have all had iniquity imputed
to them, then this verse doesn't have any meaning because that
means that there has been nobody who has had righteousness imputed
unto them and not had Non-iniquity. Look what it says. I'm getting
myself confused now. Blessed is the man unto whom
the Lord imputeth not iniquity. It doesn't say who imputeth righteousness. Now we surely have righteousness
imputed to us, but there is someone, according to this passage, that
the Bible says has not had iniquity imputed to them. If iniquity
has not been imputed to them, then they cannot be considered
workers of iniquity. If iniquity has not been imputed
to them, then their transgressions are not a thing to God, they've
been forgiven. Their sins are covered. Why? Because iniquity
has not been imputed to them. Laid to their account, that's
what imputed means. Laid to their account, declared
unto them. You say, but wait a minute, we
have sinned. All we like sheep have gone astray.
That we by nature are children of wrath, even as others. That
we are in Adam, and just like Adam, we have sinned, and he
had brought sin and death unto the whole world. That all have
sinned, fallen short of the glory of God. We have sinned, how can
you say that? Because God has not seen us that
way. Yes, literally, physically, we
have sin against God, but because, again, what causes us to differ? We have a mediator. We have a
propitiator. So if God ever imputes sin to
somebody, and if you say He's imputed sin to the whole world,
then guess what? This verse needs to be ripped
out. It doesn't have any meaning. In Numbers 23, you don't have
to turn there, but in Numbers 23, verse 19, the Bible says,
God is not a man that he should lie, neither the son of man that
he should repent. Hath he said, and shall he not
do it? Or hath he spoken, and shall
he not make it good? Behold, I have received commandment
to bless. He has received commandment to
bless. Blessed is he. Blessed is the
man. He said, I have received commandment
to bless, and he hath blessed, and I cannot reverse it. Look
what he says here. He hath not beheld iniquity in
Jacob. Neither hath he seen perverseness
in Israel. The Lord his God is with him,
and the shout of a king is among him. Brethren, listen, the reason
that God does not see us as workers of iniquity is because He does
not beheld iniquity in Jacob, His people. He has not seen perverseness
in Israel, His people, because the Lord God is with Him. The
mediator is there. The shout of the king is among
Him. So brethren, out of His particular
and everlasting love, Christ died, and for all whom he died,
whom he loved and died, God turns away wrath and does not impute
sin. Now here's another reason why
I don't believe that that word propitiation means everybody
everywhere. 1145, I'll be done by 12. The Greek word behind propitiation,
if you track that back into the Hebrew, it translates atonement, forgiveness,
or sin offering in the Old Testament. Now I'm going to read some verses
of scripture here, and I hope you see what is being made here. In Leviticus 25.9, the Bible
says, then shalt thou cause the trumpet of the jubilee to sound
on the 10th day of the seventh month in the day of atonement,
that word propitiation, that's the word atonement there. Shall
ye make the trumpet sound throughout all your land. In Numbers chapter
five, verse eight, we see the word behind propitiation in the
Hebrew, But if any man have no kinsman to recompense the trespass
unto, let the trespass be recompensed unto the Lord, even to the priest
beside the ram of the atonement. There it is, propitiation. Whereby
an atonement shall be made for him. In Psalm 130, verse four,
it says, but there is forgiveness with thee that thou mayest be
feared. That word forgiveness there,
is the word propitiation. It's the same word that's translated
propitiation, it's translated forgiveness. And in Ezekiel chapter
44, verse 27, the Bible says this, and in that day that he
goeth into the sanctuary and to the inner court, to the minister
in the sanctuary, he shall offer his sin offering, saith the Lord
God. That word sin offering there,
Same word for propitiation. So brethren, whenever Christ
died as the propitiation for us, and not only us, but for
the whole world, he meant for not only us as the Jews, but
for every people group that's out there in the world. But it's
not a universal thing. That doesn't mean it's applied
to everybody. It's only applied for those who
Christ died. When Christ died as the propitiation,
He died for those he loved by being a sin offering and making
atonement for his people so that their sin would not be imputed. Nor where there will be guile
found in them and that God's wrath would be turned away and
that there would be forgiveness. So whenever we look at 1 John
2.2 and we see that Christ is the propitiation for the whole
world, we must understand according to all of scripture and all of
the way that God's quote unquote plan of salvation worked was
that the death of Christ was effectual for all whom he died.
Therefore, all for whom he died will be saved, will receive the
effects of that salvation. And whenever we read and find
that in scripture that there will be those who are cast into
the lake of fire, those who the Bible says are workers of iniquity
that God hates and does not know and turns away and cast into
utter darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth,
we must conclude then because of all of what the Bible teaches
about the effective satisfactory work of Christ that there will
be none for whom Christ died cast away. And so propitiation,
brethren, and appeasement of wrath is a guarantee of salvation. But brethren, it's only for those
who are the elect in Christ. And so we should rejoice if we
are in Christ, we should rejoice for what he has done. We should
be humbled by the fact that he has made us to differ because
we, by nature, are children of wrath, even as others, and deserving
of that wrath that God will pour out upon the unbelieving world. But yet he in mercy and grace,
for his love wherewith he loved us, has sent his son to die for
us, that we might be partakers of his divine nature, that we
might be part of his inheritance, and that we might obtain salvation. What a beautiful gospel we have
before us, brother. Any questions and comments? All right, let's pray. Father,
we come to you this morning and we thank you so much for this
word that we had before us today. We thank you for Christ Jesus.
Who is the propitiation for our sins? We thank you father for
the love of God in Christ. Upon your people. To have chosen
us before the foundation of the world. To have deemed us and
blessed us. With forgiveness of sin. Removal
of wrath. Father, I pray that others might
see and hear these things, and it might be a blessing to them,
an encouragement to them, or that it might strengthen them
in their faith by the Holy Spirit's work within them. Lord, we ask
that you just be with us now as we leave this place today.
We pray that Christ has been glorified in what's said, and
we pray that we might be witnesses of Christ as we leave today.
And we ask, Lord, that you just bless the food that we're about
to eat now to the nourishment of our bodies. For it's in Jesus'
name that we pray. Amen.