glorious grace will be in Ephesians
chapter 1 verses 4 through 6. Even as he chose us in him before
the foundation of the world that we should be holy and blameless
in him. In love he predestined us for
adoption as sons through Jesus Christ according to the purpose
of his will. To the praise of his glorious
grace which he bestowed us in the beloved. Let's pray together.
Father, we desire this morning to understand your word so that
we may live it out in our lives. And God, we thank you for your
glorious grace, and we confess that you are greater than us,
and you are beyond us, that you are the transcendent God. And
yet at the same time, you revealed yourself very clearly, very precisely. very clearly through the scripture,
God. And so this morning, as we look
into maybe a complicated doctrine, as we look at something that
maybe our hearts would wrestle with, that you, God, would bring
clarity, that you would bring enlightenment, that you would
bring us to a place of submission to the authority of your holy
word. Bless us in this service, I pray
in Jesus' name, amen. Well, born on October the 10th,
year 1560, Jacob Arminius grew up in the Dutch church. And after
graduating with his doctorate from the University of Leiden,
he became their most accomplished and influential theologian. Arminius and his followers stressed
the free and therefore self-determining will of man which led them by
a logical process to deny the biblical teaching of the doctrine
of election or predestination. And because of their staunch
opposition to the teaching that Jesus died only for the elect,
for those whom God had chosen, the followers of Arminius were
diametrically opposed to the central and crucial teachings
of the Protestant Reformation. The Protestant Reformation officially
began with Martin Luther when he nailed the 95 Theses on the
door in Wittenberg, Germany on October the 31st, year 1517.
And the Reformation that really budded with Luther was carried
into full bloom with John Calvin. Well, in year 1610, after Jacob
Arminius died, his followers drew up five articles of faith
that summarized his understanding of salvation. The Arminians,
as they had come to be called, presented these doctrines to
the state of Holland in the form of a protest or a remonstrance. arguing that the confessions
of the Dutch church should be amended to match their views.
In the heart of the Arminian remonstrance was built on three
presuppositions upon which they would not waver. First, the belief
that divine sovereignty must give way to human capability. Second, that the belief of election
and reprobation are not divine decrees, but rather based on
human choices. And third, belief that the efficacy
of the atonement does not rest on Christ saving work alone,
but also on the free choice of man to believe or to resist God's
grace. Well, needless to say, this Arminian
remonstrance produced a storm of theological controversy, culminating
in what's called the Senate of Dort, which was an international
conference on reform doctrine. And as the delegates met over
the course of seven months, their debates served to clarify this
new Arminian position. The reform delegates eventually
concluded that Arminianism could not avoid the following theological
implications. And thus we have really five
statements of the Arminian faith. Now you need to know that not
every Arminian would agree to the Calvinistic implication of
what they were saying, but here it is in a nutshell. Arminianism
would teach this, and you'll see it on the PowerPoint this
morning, human ability. human ability, or the idea that
human nature has been damaged by the fall, but not totally
disabled. And even if we are not basically
good, we can at least overcome our bad. And so the idea really
of human ability would be the idea is that you're more almost
in a neutral state than in a totally depraved state. That there's
just enough good in you that you could choose Christ. That
while you're evil and sinful, There's just an ounce of ability
in the human soul, according to the Arminian position, by
which you could reach out and take a hold of God. The second
tenet of Arminianism would be, number two, conditional election,
or God's choice to save certain individuals. They would say it's
based on foreseen faith, on his ability to know in advance that
they would freely believe the gospel. In other words, the doctrine
of election rests on the condition of man and his choice of God. And based on man and his choice
of God, at some point in the future, God, in eternity past,
chose him, elected him, but it's based on a condition. It's based
on the condition of man choosing God. Here's number three, indefinite
atonement. Now, this would not be the idea
of universalism, but it would rather be the idea that Christ's
work on the cross makes salvation possible for everyone, but not
actual for anyone in particular. In other words, when Christ died
on the cross, he made it available and possible, potentially. But
it's up to humans to either embrace that or exercise that or not.
And so the atonement is not definite, but rather indefinite. Here's
the fourth tenet of Arminianism, resistible grace. Everyone who
hears the gospel, they would say is called to faith in Christ,
but each individual has the right and the ability to resist this
calling if they so choose to. So it can be resisted and turned
down. And then number five, defectible
grace. And this would be the idea that
you could lose your salvation. Those who believe in Christ are
truly saved, but they can fully and finally lose their salvation
by falling away. Now, Arminians today would not
claim point number five. Most Arminians would teach the
doctrine, once saved, always saved. But you need to know in
the very beginning of this Arminian way of thinking, it was clearly
taught that those who believed in Christ could fall away. Well, by contrast, the followers
of John Calvin, who had died some 46 years earlier, notice
both of these men had died. It was really their followers
who were trying to put into more specific words teachings that
they learned. And these people who followed John Calvin insisted
that salvation was predetermined. by God before the foundation
of the world and given as a gift by grace alone. And that this
gift was given to those whom God chooses to give it to and
it was not given to everyone. And those who walked in the tradition
of John Calvin became known as Calvinists, and they drafted
a response to the Arminian position. And this response, often referred
to as the doctrines of grace, or the five points of Calvinism,
can be easily remembered by the acrostic tulip. And these five
points are organized as follows. Number one, total depravity. And this point explains that
our will is not neutral, but tainted with sin to the degree
that we are totally unable to cry out to God for help if left
to ourselves, that we wouldn't even want to. And so the idea
is that you have no ability whatsoever in your heart as a person to
reach out and cry out to God, that you're totally dead, that
there's nothing good in you at all. In fact, Paul says it this
way in Romans 3, 10 and 11, as it is written, none is righteous. No, not one. No one understands. No one seeks for God. This would be describing the
human condition. You don't even seek after God.
if left to yourself. Or maybe we could read Romans
8, five through eight, that talks about those who live according
to the flesh, set their minds according to the flesh. Those
who live according to the spirit, set their minds on the spirit.
For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind
on the spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the
flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law. Indeed, it cannot. Those who
are in the flesh cannot please God. You understand what Paul's
saying there? This is impossible. There's this
impossibility for you to ever please God, to seek after God,
because your nature, the sinful nature that you're born into
is totally depraved. It may not mean you're as bad
as you could be. You could do more, even more sin, but it just
means you have no ability whatsoever to choose God. Second tenant
of the doctrines of grace would be number two unconditional election
This is the belief that God chose us in him before the foundation
of the world It has nothing to do with what God knew would happen
later in time But rather he chose us not conditionally based on
our choice of him, but he chose us unconditionally because of
his great love for us Jesus said in John 6, 44, no one can come
to me unless the father who sent me draws him and I will raise
him up on that last day. Jesus said in John 15, 16, you
did not choose me, but I chose you. And I appointed you to bear
fruit that would last. He chose you. Titus 3, 5 said,
He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness,
but according to His own mercy, by the washing of regeneration
and renewal by the Holy Spirit. You see, there is no condition
upon which God would choose you. He chose you out of His grace
and in love. The third tenet of the doctrines
of grace would be number three, limited atonement. This is the
belief that the atoning work of Christ is not universal, but
limited to those who would repent and believe. It's limited to
those who would be in faith. In other words, Christ's blood
was shed for those that would be elected into the sovereign
grace of God, and those that would be damned to hell forever
because of their own sin. Christ didn't die for them universally,
but died specifically. He died particularly for a people
in his own mind that he had chosen before the foundation of the
world. Here's how Jesus says it in John 10, 14 and 15, I am
the good shepherd and I know my own and my own know me. Just as the father knows me,
I know the father and I laid down my life for the sheep. The idea that he gave his life
for his sheep, not for the world ambiguously, but rather particularly
for those that would become his sheep. That's who he laid down
his life for. Or in his high priestly prayer in John 17, nine,
Jesus said, I am praying for them. I'm not praying for the
world, but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. In other words, Jesus is only
praying for his sheep. He's not praying for those who
would not repent, but those who would repent and thus become
his sheep because of his saving grace in their lives. A fourth
point would be this, irresistible grace as opposed to resistible
grace. We believe, I believe, the Bible
teaches that grace is irresistible. The belief that God sets his
grace upon us to the extent that if we have been chosen in him,
before the foundation of the world, that at some point in
our life, we will bend our will to His will. Oh, you might resist
for a while. You might reject the gospel for
a while. But before you die, you can't
resist it for a lifetime, because if you're chosen in Him before
the foundation of the world, at some point, He will do such
a work in you. That your will will be conformed
to His will. That you will actually choose
Him because He's already changed you. He's already done a work
of grace in you and it's irresistible. You can't run from the God of
heaven who created you and who knows you and who calls you.
Romans 8.30 talks about this a little bit, and the idea that,
and those whom he predestined, he also called, and those whom
he called, he also justified. In other words, he doesn't just
call everybody ambiguously, but only justify a few. No, no, everybody
he calls, he justifies, and those who are justified are also glorified. Certainly we could think about
Colossians 2.13, and you who were dead in your trespasses
and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together
with him. In other words, you can't resist
his grace, you're dead. You don't even have the ability
to resist, because you're totally dead. But because of his irresistible
grace, he awakens your soul, and he makes you alive together
with Christ. And then a fifth tenet would
be this, number five, perseverance of the saints. Sometimes people
call this once saved, always saved. But I believe it would
be the belief that God preserves with his people because of that,
because he perseveres with you, you will persevere in the faith.
And so if you ever totally fall away from the faith, we could
think about 1 John 2 19 that says, these people went out from
us because they were never part of us. If you're part of his,
if you're one of his sheep, you will never wander, you will never
stray to the point of the extreme straying as in you're not part
of the fold. Jesus said it this way in John
10 27 through 29, my sheep hear my voice and I know them and
they follow me. I give them eternal life and
they will never Perish and no one will snatch them out of my
hand My father who has given them to me is greater than all
and no one is able to snatch them out of my father's hand
You know what? He's saying here that once God
elects you and he saves you by his grace. You were in the hand
of God No one can take you out ever you can't even remove yourself
because your will is not more powerful than his will He perseveres
with you, and so therefore you will persevere with Him. But
Paul says it this way in Romans 8, 38 and 39, for I am sure that
neither death nor life, neither angels nor rulers, nor things
present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth,
nor anything else in creation will be able to separate us from
the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Look, you can't be
separated from him. If you're his, you're his. And
you'll be his for all eternity. Now, I wanna be honest with you
this morning. I do not prefer to think of myself
as a Calvinist. In fact, if someone were to come
up to me and say, hey, Adam, are you a Calvinist? I probably
would respond something like this. Tell me what you mean by
Calvinism, and I'll tell you whether or not I am one or not.
There's so much baggage with terms that sometimes it can be
unhealthy and unhealthy just to label the idea of Calvinism. Or someone may say to me, if
they tell me, if they ask, hey, are you a Calvinist? And I sense
there's that, you know, there's that controversial flair and
that tone. I might reply like this, where
Calvin agrees with the Bible, I agree with him. And where he
differs from the Bible, I differ with Calvin. Safe enough, the
idea is that the ultimate person that we identify with is the
Lord Jesus Christ, God's holy word. We're not known as followers
of people, but followers of Christ. It was actually John Calvin who
acknowledged that the best theologian is only right 80% of the time. He never claimed to be perfect,
and neither do I. But I do claim to follow him
who is perfect, who is the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, just to be
clear, however, I do wholeheartedly agree with these five doctrines
of grace in the Reformed tradition, as I believe them to be staunchly
biblical, absolutely irrefutable, and overwhelmingly beautiful. In fact, I believe this to be
a watershed issue in your understanding of God and His sovereign grace
bestowed on the elect who He chose in Christ for His own glory. In other words, I'm not trying
to minimize this doctrine. I think it is the key doctrine
of the Bible. You say, Adam, more important
than salvation? Well, I believe that it would
be one in the same with salvation. It's the idea that we must understand
salvation, I believe, in a way that would honor the Lord. Adam,
are you saying that those who are of the other persuasion aren't
going to heaven? I'm not saying that at all. But
I am saying what J.I. Packer said, to the extent that,
in a sense, we all believe in the sovereign grace of God, whether
we want to admit it or not. It's His work in us, not our
work to somehow insert Him into our life. And so my goal this
morning is not to recount all of church history on this important
subject, but rather to exposit Ephesians chapter one, verses
four through six. And I care not what Martin Luther
or Ulrich Zwingli or John Calvin had to say, but I do care what
God says in his holy word. And as you wrestle through this
issue, wrestle not with men, but with God. Enter not into
the arguments of this world, but rather enter into the endless
depths and riches of the mercy of God. Look not unto church
history or councils or creeds for your ultimate influence,
but rather look to God alone who can save you. Look to Christ
alone who can redeem you by his blood and look to the Holy Spirit
alone who can enlighten you to the truth of God's word. Well, let me remind you this
morning that we are in a verse-by-verse study of the book of Ephesians,
in which the apostle Paul wrote to the believers of Ephesus,
which was in Asia Minor. And last week, we saw in verse
3 how Paul was overwhelmed with the greatness of our Trinitarian
God, to the point to where he says in verse 3, blessed be the
God and Father. of our Lord Jesus Christ, who's
blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly
places. And in verse 3, he begins this
long run-on sentence that ends in verse 14. And in verse 13,
he just begins to introduce this idea of the Trinity and the blessings
of God. And then what he does in verses
4 through 14 is he begins to break down the Trinity in even
a deeper description. And we'll see this morning the
selection of the Father in verses 4 through 6. Next week, we'll
see the sacrifice of the Son in verses 7 through 12. And then
we'll see the seal of the Holy Spirit in verses 13 through 14.
And so it's as if he takes verse 3 and verses 4 through 14 begins
to open it up and allow us to take even a deeper look at our
great God. And so this morning, I want to
simply give you three truths of the Father's selection of
you, so that you may both understand and rejoice in the glorious grace
of God. Here's the three truths of God's
selection of you. Number one, God chose us. God chose us. You may be out
there this morning and say, well, I don't know. I kind of think
Adam, I chose God. Well, you've got to deal again with God's
word this morning because it couldn't be more clear in verse four,
even as he chose us. So that phrase, he chose us is
very comforting to the believer because we know how vile and
how undeserving we were as slaves to our sin and as enemies of
the cross. And certainly, as Paul is writing
to the believers in Ephesus, this truth is applied in every
believer's heart, and it's applied in your heart and in your life
today. He chose you. He chose you in Him to be His. In the study of this word, to
choose, Harold Hohner, in his superb commentary on Ephesians,
helps us make several observations as we examine this word, to choose.
First, in most instances in the Old Testament and in the New
Testament, as here, God is the subject. So most of the time
the word choose is used, it's talking about God choosing someone,
or God choosing someone's future, or God selecting someone for
a purpose. Second, the subject did not choose
in a vacuum, but in light of all human, in light of all known
options. In other words, God did not choose
you arbitrarily, but he chose you specifically out of the whole
human race. So it's not like God's just out
there, just like, well, I'll choose some and not others. The
idea is that there's a purpose behind what he chooses and all
the options are available to him, but he makes a choice according
to his own will. Third, as we think about this
word to choose, there is no indication of any dislike towards those
not chosen. It is not a rejection with disdain. Fourth, it is in the middle voice
indicating a personal interest in the one chosen. In other words,
God chooses you because he wants a relationship with you. There's
a personal idea. The idea of the doctrines of
grace is not some stoic, emotionless, robotic fatalism. The idea is that he desires a
personal relationship. We looked at that because he's
your father. And we read here in this text the idea again of
being adopted as a son of God. There's a personal interest in
the one who's choosing and he's choosing you. And then fifth,
the one who is chosen, that would be you and me, those of us in
Christ, has no legal claim on the one who chooses. In other
words, God did not choose anyone because they were holy and so
deserve to be chosen by God. In fact, because we have fallen
short of the glory of God, the Bible tells us that the wages
of our sin is death. There was no obligation of God
to choose anyone. But the fact that he freely chose
some is a testimony to his great and his glorious grace. It's
interesting to me that when we talk about this topic, we usually
talk from our human perspective about my right and my ability
to choose or not choose. It's me who has free choice.
Rarely do we ever think about it as like, no, no, it's not
us who has free choice, it's God who has free choice. And
in fact, James White, a well-known theologian, wrote a book about
15 years ago entitled The Potter's Freedom. And in that book, he
really highlights the idea of Romans 9, has not the potter
the right to make out of clay, out of the same lump, one vessel
for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? How can
the clay talk back to the potter? We don't have the choice to tell
the potter what to make us into or what not to make us into.
No, our great God, almighty God, the creator God has the right
to create whatever he wants, however he wants. He has the
right to do whatever he wants with each human being and he
does so in a perfectly righteous and holy and good way. And so
instead of maybe fighting this morning for our own free will,
Maybe we should be fighting for the free will of God. Let God
do what He does. Let Scripture say what it says
and come under submission, maybe not into a philosophical understanding,
maybe on a surface level, but rather come into a faith and
a trust level to say, you know what? It says He chose me. So
I'm not going to take that and finagle that and start to twist
that and make it say something it doesn't say. The potter chose
me. And this idea of God choosing
us can be clearly illustrated in the fact that you were born
into your family and you had no choice at all. I mean, how
many of you chose your mother? Chose your father. How many of
you would have chosen your mother and your father? I would have
chosen mine, right? But the idea, did you choose
them? Or did God choose to put you in that family? I mean, how
many of you chose to be six feet tall and have dark hair, be nice
and handsome? That's what I always wanted to
be growing up. Man, I wanna be six foot, dark hair, dark eyes,
and look at me. But the idea there's just some
things you can't control we get that we understand in life There's
just things that happen and you can't control and God is saying
this is one of those things whether you like it or not He chose you
He didn't necessarily ask your opinion on it and by the fact
if you're in Christ, I don't think you're gonna object to
that You're gonna be thankful for that. I mean, it's John 15
to 16 again Jesus who said you did not choose me, but I chose
you and Sure, in the context, he's talking about choosing his
disciples, but aren't we all disciples? Didn't he choose each
one of us in him to bear fruit? And so this verse four in Ephesians
is so clear, we really shouldn't even be arguing about the fact,
did I choose God or did God choose me? He chose us. And so maybe
we should ask the question, well, when? That's A there in your
little outline. When did God choose us? Well,
first, let me just say, if you haven't figured it out yet, to
be chosen by God is to be elected by God. And so in verse four,
it says, even as he chose us in him, when? Before the foundation
of the world. That's when you were chosen or
you were elected in Christ, when? Before the foundation of the
world. And so this is really the doctrine of election that
we're looking at. Let me offer a definition by
Wayne Grudem. He says this, election is the
act of God by which, before the foundation of the world, He chose
us in Christ, those who He graciously regenerates, saves, and sanctifies. So, when were we chosen? According
to the scripture, before the foundation of the world. That
means that before creation of the world, there was the idea
in God's mind of the redemption of those that he would choose
for his own glory. It's just an incredible thought.
Before he even created the world, before the foundation of the
world, he already had you in his mind from eternity past. You see, creation has not always
existed. There was a point in time where
creation came into being as God spoke it. But you have always,
in the mind of God, been one that he thought of as redeeming
to himself. So before creation, there was
redemption in the sense of God choosing you in him before the
foundation of the world. Now, this just blows our minds,
right? When we start thinking of it that way, we're like, yeah,
but what about, and I remember as a high school student, I used
to talk to my youth pastor about this and say, well, what does
this mean? We were chosen in him before the foundation, he
predestined? What does that mean? And my youth
pastor used to say, as maybe you've heard explained before,
oh, Adam, it means this. God looks down the corridors
of time. And based on what he knows about
the future and based what he knows about every person and
what they'll do and not do, he chooses them based on that. And
so if he knows you're going to choose him, then he goes back
into eternity past and he determines to elect you. And I would say,
okay, that makes sense. Thanks, pastor. I'd go home and
pull out my Bible and read and I'd be like, but that's not what
this says. Nowhere in this context is there
any idea of somehow God looks down the corridors of time and
based... That would be conditional election. That would be He chooses
me based on my choice of Him, and that would mean I chose Him
first. And so we've got to come to an understanding that it's
not about us, it's about God. And I think where a lot of people
get that confused is a misunderstanding of the word foreknowledge. They
all say, oh, what's foreknowledge? God knows what will happen in
the future. And most Arminian minded thinking would think of
foreknowledge as this passive knowledge. Like God knows what's
going to happen, but almost as if he's not controlling it or
predetermining it. He just knows what's going to
happen. Well, nothing could be further from the truth. Every
time the word foreknowledge is used in the Bible, it always
is in a context of the idea of being predetermined or something
that was preplanned by God. I mean, just listen to a couple
of these passages. Romans 8, 29, For those whom he foreknew,
there's the word foreknowledge, for those whom he foreknew, he
also, what? The idea is the reason he foreknows
you is because he predestined you. It's not some passive foreknowledge.
And so he goes back in history and predetermines. Or how about
1 Peter 1.20? He was foreknown before the foundation
of the world. There it is again, the stress
of, no, no, it was before the foundation of the world that
He knew. How did He know? Because He actively ordains all
things. Nothing comes into being except
what He has determined will come into being. Nothing happens apart
from His sovereign plan. I think maybe the ultimate example
would be even the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. Did the cross
happen by chance? Did God just foreknow the cross
in the sense of like he knew that would happen but had nothing
to do with it? Or should we believe what the Bible says in Acts 2
23, this Jesus delivered up according to the what? predetermined plan,
the definite plan and foreknowledge of God. The cross, my friends,
was not potential. It was predetermined to happen
that way. And so when the word foreknowledge is used in all
these contexts, it always is included with the idea of this
active, predetermining, ordaining the sovereign will of God. Now,
sure, Acts 2 23 gives us a healthy balance. I think it says again
that Jesus delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge
of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.
And so even though God predetermined it, it doesn't excuse those men's
sin who willingly nailed him to a cross. They'll still be
culpable, still responsible for the sin they committed. You say,
Adam, yeah, but God, God ordained the cross. I know that to be
true. But so did he ordain? It can get a little confusing.
But what we got to be is resting in the sovereignty of God. You
know what God did it he predetermined it But people can still be responsible
for their sin. We can't hold God culpable for
their sin. They send because they wanted
to The idea of foreknowledge, again, maybe even in 1 Peter
1 and 2, talks about Peter, an apostle of Christ, to those who
are elect according to the foreknowledge of God, our Father. So there's
the idea, again, of foreknowledge, coupled with the idea of election,
the idea that it was according to God. He elect us, and that's
the foreknowledge of God. And so you and I were foreknown
by God means we were elected by God. We were chosen by God. And this may make us wonder sometimes
about, well, what about those who weren't? Like, okay, so foreknowledge
has more of this active sense to it, coupled in context with
election, predestination, predetermined. So it's not this passive thing
that God knows. The reason He knows is because He ordains.
What about those people that He didn't choose? What about
those people that He didn't elect? What are we supposed to think
about that? Well, here's what we're to think about that. If
you are saved, it is because God elected you and your responsibility
as a saved Christian is not necessarily to figure it all out in a way
that makes sense to you, but rather to trust God, take him
at his word and to preach the gospel freely to all men and
let God worry about that. Not your job to worry about it
anyway. You just be faithful to realize who you are in Christ,
to glory in your redemption, and you be faithful to share
the gospel with every person that you see. I mean, I love
the picture of the idea of the man who's entering into heaven,
and there's a great archway there. And as he enters into heaven,
it has written on it, for whosoever would come, come. And so the
idea is like, okay, I'm coming. Whosoever will come, I am coming
to Christ. And then once you walk through
that archway into heaven, you could turn around and look back
and see it say what? before the foundation of the
world, he chose you in Christ. And so sometimes it can be a
little bit of a perspective thing that maybe in your own life,
you think of it as, well, I chose him. But when you start to really
look to scripture, you realize, no, no, no, he chose me. He chose
me and he may not have chosen everyone, but I know he chose
me because that's what the Bible tells me about my salvation originated
in the mind and heart of God. And so I'm just gonna be careful
to tell everyone to come, come to him and I'll let God work
it out. Someone once asked Spurgeon, why don't you just preach to
the elect? And he answered, well, if you'll
run around and pull up everybody's shirt tail so I can see if they
have an E stamped on their back, I will. In other words, we don't
know who is chosen and who's not. And so our goal, our responsibility,
our joy, our delight is to preach the gospel to all people. Isn't
that what the Bible teaches us? Acts 1730, the times of ignorance
got overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.
This is what Paul was saying on Mars Hill to a bunch of Gentiles
who were completely unbelieving. He just commanded them, repent.
Well, what if they weren't in the elect? What if they weren't
chosen? Who cares? You preach the gospel. I don't mean who
cares like we don't care about their soul. What I mean is you
can't determine whether they are or not. So you just preach
the gospel, preach the gospel. You go to each and every person,
repent, come to Christ. He will save you. Come to him
today. That's all we're responsible to do. And so maybe we should
lessen up some of our frustration about trying to understand it
all in a way that sits well with you and just get busy doing what
God's called you to do. And if you're still struggling
with what about those whom God did not elect, consider the words
of William McDonald, who said this, quote, the fact that he
chooses some to be saved does not imply that he arbitrarily
condemns all the rest. He never condemns men who deserve
to be saved. There are none. But he does save
some who ought to be condemned. So maybe that's a better way
to think of it. It's like, I deserve hell, but he chose me. I can't
believe it. And sometimes maybe someone with
a more Arminian slant would say something like, well, why would
a loving God, an all benevolent God, a gracious God, why would
he choose some, but not all? It just doesn't seem fair to
me. We've all heard that, right? You probably thought that at
some point. My response to that would simply be, let's say, if
I'm speaking with that Arminian, I might say to them, well, why
would God create people who he knows will never choose him?
He still created them, and he gave them a chance, but he knows,
since he foreknows the future in the Arminian way, that they're
never gonna choose him. Why did he even create them in the first
place? That doesn't seem very fair. The idea is it's not really
a philosophical argument. It's a biblical argument. And
so when we're thinking of it, we can't ultimately lean on human
logic of what seems right or wrong to you. We have to lean
rather on scripture and what has God said clearly through
his words so that as we're thinking about these important issues,
we're thinking about it through the lens of scripture. Not, well,
I think if I were God, I would, you know, God says, therefore
I believe. And that seems to be the way
that we're to understand it this morning. And not only did we
have to ask the question, when did he choose us? But we could
also ask B, secondly, why did he choose us? Notice here in
verse 4, he gives another answer here. We were chosen in him before
the foundation of the world that we should be holy and blameless
before him. Most of the time, for many of
us, we read this verse and we struggle with the first part.
Well, did I choose him? Did he choose me? And we began
to debate these things and we began to get hostile with friends
who maybe don't believe the way we believe because we become
so passionate about it. Let me ask you this this morning.
Are you equally passionate about being holy? That's why he called
you. He called you to be holy, to
be set apart, to be holy even as he is holy. to be blameless,
which gives that idea of being above reproach, that no one could
accuse you of anything, because any sin you've ever committed,
you've confessed and asked for forgiveness, and the Lord Jesus
Christ has washed you by his blood, and so you have a godly
character, and that you're to be holy and blameless. He called
you for a reason. So maybe if you're still struggling
with the first part of verse 4, just start doing the second
part of verse 4. Just say, you know what? All I know is God's
called me to be holy. I'm going to live for Him. I'm
going to give Him glory. I'm going to live in a way that
would honor Him. Sometimes we get into heated
discussions, don't we? With others, we come to a realization
of these truths, and we begin to burn bridges with friends
of the past, and we begin to think of ourselves as greater
than them, or deeper than them, or more theological than them.
Shame on us. We should be instead focusing
on being holy, being set apart, being brothers and sisters with
all believers in Christ. Maybe we could learn a lesson
or two from church history. Consider George Whitfield, one
of the greatest Calvinists ever known. Consider also John Wesley,
maybe one of the greatest Arminians ever known, both godly men who
were used in extraordinary ways. And yet they would debate over
this issue and labor over this issue in letter. And in fact,
Whitefield, the Calvinist, writes to Wesley the Arminian, he writes
this, quote, the doctrine of election and the final perseverance
of those who are truly in Christ, I am 10,000 times more convinced
of, if possible, than when I saw you last. You think otherwise,
why then should we dispute when there is no probability of convincing?
In other words, we're not going to convince each other. And so
then he says this, will it not in the end destroy brotherly
love and insensibly take us from the cordial union and sweetness
of the soul, which I pray God may always subsist between us.
In other words, these men loved each other. And they respected
each other. What a great example. How glad
would the enemies of the Lord be to see us divided? How many
would rejoice should I join and take party against you? And in
one word, how would the cause of our common master every way
suffer by our raging disputes about particular points of doctrines?
Honored sir, let us offer salvation freely to all By the blood of
Jesus and whatever light God has communicated to us. Let us
freely communicate to others What a mature position what a
helpful Perspective that we all need to have no matter where
we land on this issue that we would realize it's really about
Christ Then Whitfield wrote this a little later Quote, but what
is Calvin? Or what is Luther? Let us look
above names and parties. Let Jesus, the ever-loving, ever-lovely
Jesus, be our all in all. so that he be preached, and his
divine image stamped more and more upon people's souls. I care
not who is uppermost. I know my place, Lord Jesus.
Enable me to keep it, even to be the servant of all. I want
not to have a people called after my name, and therefore act as
I do. The cause is Christ's. He will
take care of it. What a helpful perspective, isn't
it? I believe we should learn what God's word says. I believe
you should have deep conviction about what God's word says, but
I think you should also be gracious with those who may have a different
persuasion on this known debate, which has existed for centuries.
In fact, it's interesting and helpful also to hear about John
Wesley's love and his respect for George Whitefield. In fact,
after Whitefield died, we read this, one day after Whitefield's
deceased, John Wesley was timidly approached by one of the godly
band of Christian sisters who had been brought under his influences,
who loved both Whitefield and himself. So she loved both Whitfield
and Wesley, and she was gonna ask him a question. She's a little
bit nervous. She says this, dear Mr. Wesley, may I ask you a question? Of course, madam, by all means.
But dear Mr. Wesley, I am very much afraid
what the answer will be. Well, madam, let me hear your
question, and then you will know my reply. At last, after not
a little hesitation, the inquirer trembly asked, Dear Mr. Wesley,
do you expect to see dear Mr. Whitfield in heaven? A lengthy
pause followed, after which John Wesley replied with great seriousness,
No, madam. His inquirer at once exclaimed,
Ah, I was afraid you would say so. to which John Wesley added
with intense earnestness. Do not misunderstand me, madam.
George Whitefield was so bright a star in the firmament of God's
glory and will stand so near the throne that one like me who
am less than the least will never catch a glimpse of him. What
great respect these men had for each other. What great appreciation
that they serve the same God, and they wanted to glorify God
in all of their work. They labored tirelessly, both
as evangelists for the glory of God. Dear Placerita, let us
maybe embrace this kind of graciousness with others. Let us not be known
as a church of Calvin Nazis, who want to stomp out everyone
else who would think otherwise. Let our creed not be if you don't
hold to the five points of Calvinism, you don't hold to Christ. It's
just not true. We need to be gracious and kind.
We need to be biblical, but balanced. We need to be loving. We need
to understand that there may be those even in this church.
Did you know you don't have to be a Calvinist to join this church?
Somebody say amen. But you do have to be a Christian,
right? And that's what it's all about, to know Christ, to lift
him up. to exalt His name, to be a follower
of Him. Well, not only did God choose
us, but secondly, our second major heading this morning, God
predestined us. He predestined us. Look, I'm
not trying to pick words. This is all in the Bible, right?
He predestined us, verse five, He predestined us for adoption
as sons through Jesus Christ according to the purpose of His
will. To predestine means to determine
beforehand. It means to mark out beforehand. And outside of Ephesians 1, 5,
that we just read in verse 11, that includes the word predestine,
the word is only used four other times in the New Testament. And
kind of like the word foreknowledge, every time it's used, it's obviously
in a context of meaning exactly what it says, that it was predetermined. Acts 4, 28. to do whatever your
hand and your plan had predestined to take place. 1 Corinthians
2, 7, but we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which
God decreed or predestined before the ages for our glory. How about
the one in Romans? Why don't you hold your place
in Ephesians? You know we're gonna be going to Romans 9 soon. You knew
that, right? So why don't we go to Romans
8 first and see this word predestined used. Go ahead and turn there
with me. Come on, let's hear those pages turning. Romans chapter 8, verse
29. Okay, some of you have your iPods out, so I can't hear your
pages turning. Have your iPhones out, your iPads. So Romans 8, 29, we read this,
for those whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed
to the image of his son, in order that he might be the firstborn
among many brethren. And those whom he predestined,
he also called, and those whom he called, he also justified,
and those whom he justified, he also glorified. So again,
we see the idea that the word predestined has a purpose. If
you're called, you're gonna be justified. There's no such thing
as someone being called by God to salvation, but resisting it
to where they would never be justified. No, no, no, if you're
called by God from eternity past, you're predestined, it's gonna
happen, You'll be justified and eventually you'll be glorified.
You're going to heaven. It is predetermined by God. And so maybe we could ask back
to Ephesians chapter one, verse five, well, what's the motive
here? What's the motive here? That's A on your little outline
for what motive? Well, we can read this. He chose
us in him before the foundation of the world. Verse five, he
predestined us for adoption. In other words, part of the motive
here of him predestining you, again, it's not just in this
emotionless, robotic fashion, but rather there's this idea
that he wants to adopt you. There's a very personal goal
here. God predestines you because he
wants to adopt you. And that kind of leads him to
be, for what result? Well, if you're adopted, it means
you're a son or a daughter of God. You get to partake in that
familial relationship. He is your father. He loves you,
and he gives you grace, and he gives you an inheritance, and
he gives you all good things, every spiritual blessing in the
heavenly realms. He gives it to you. So there's
great result for being predestined because you're adopted, you become
a son or daughter, and then C, we could ask for what purpose?
What's the ultimate purpose? Is the ultimate purpose for you
to be saved? or for God to be glorified. And
I would say those are both purposes, and I don't think they're contrary
to each other, but in a sense here, we read the emphasis in
this verse is for God's glory. That's the purpose why He predestined
you is for His own glory, for the purpose of His will. And that's where we'll go to
Romans chapter 9. You know, this is probably the second greatest
passage maybe in the Bible. These two passages, Ephesians
1, Romans 9, that talk about these doctrines, these great
doctrines of the doctrine of election and the doctrine of
predestination. And there in Romans 9, Paul's
been talking, if you will, taking a break from a lot of theology
and beginning to address the idea of salvation. from God's
sovereign perspective. And here's what he says, let's
pick it up in verse 10. And not only so, but also when Rebekah
had conceived children by one man, our father Isaac. And so
you have Isaac and Rebekah who are married and they're gonna
have twins. And so he's addressing this as an illustration to talk
about those who were chosen in Christ before the foundation
of their world. You got the context, verse 11. Though they were not
yet born, done anything either good or bad in order that God's
purpose of Election might continue not because of works But because
of him who calls she was told the older will serve the younger
as it is written Jacob I loved but Esau I hated Now, when we
read that, every fiber of our being is like, what? What are
we talking about? Well, this is what we're talking
about. God says, through the Apostle Paul, who was inspired
by the Holy Spirit, that Rebekah was gonna have a couple of sons.
In fact, they were gonna be twins, and they were actually both born
into the Jewish family, Abraham being the father of the Jews.
But before either one of them were born, before either one
of them had ever done anything good or bad, so that God's purpose
an election may stand, he already determined, you know what, the
older will serve the younger. And so we've got to understand this
morning from God's word, this is all according to the purpose
of that's what brings God glory and everything in us wants to
say, well, I don't know if God's glorified in that. Look at verse
14. What shall we say then? Is there
injustice on God's part? In other words, Paul's anticipating
your rebuttal. He's anticipating us saying,
well, that's not fair. So what are we gonna say? Is
God unjust? In other words, would we actually
say, well, God is unjust. And he says, by no means. God's
not unjust. Don't forget about the potter's
freedom. He can do whatever he wants. And he does, whatever
he does is good and right all the time. And so in verse 15,
he says, for he says to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will
have mercy. And I will have compassion on
whom I will have compassion. So then it depends not on human
will or exertion, but on God who has mercy. I mean, how much
clearer can Paul be? He's saying, it doesn't depend
on your will. It depends on God's will. It's ultimately God's will
who has mercy for the scripture says to Pharaoh, for this very
purpose, I have raised you up that I might show my power in
you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.
So then he has mercy on whomever he wills and he hardens whomever
he wills. And then he anticipates a second
rebuttal. You will say to me then, why does he still find
fault for who can resist his will? In other words, if he chooses
some but not all, why does he find fault with those who don't
choose him? What's the answer that God gives to us? Does he
explain it? Not necessarily. He says in verse
20, but who are you, O man, to answer back to God? In other
words, I don't have to explain the reason I do what I do. You
just need to know I am God. I do what I want. And I do it
for my own glory. And I do it because it's according
to my purpose. Who are you, O man? Verse 20,
to answer back to God, will what is molded say to its molder,
why have you made me like this? In other words, don't forget
the proper perspective. You are a part of God's creation. He is the creator. He can do
what he wants with what he creates, and we can't complain about it.
And trust me, if you're his, you won't complain about it.
You'll be grateful. And trust me, if you're not his,
you don't even care because you're running in accordance with your
sin and your sinful nature, and you have resisted God. And this
leads us a little bit into our third truth this morning. Number
three, God glorifies himself in us. So he chooses us, he predestines
us, and then number three, God glorifies himself in us. Back
to Ephesians 1 and verse six, why did he choose us in him before
the foundation of the world? According to the purpose of his
will. Verse six, to the praise of his glorious grace. And so
we could say 3A is for his glory. God glorifies himself in us,
why? Because it's all about his glory. I mean, when are we going
to get that? It's not about us, not about,
well, I chose God. I determined I was going to become
a Christian. No, it's just all about God. It's all about His
glory. This whole doctrinal truth of
the doctrine of election and predestination is all there to
glorify God. to place his glory on display.
And we've got to understand in the character of God, we read
in Isaiah 42, eight, I am the Lord. That is my name, my glory
I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols. Look, God doesn't
share his glory with anybody. He certainly doesn't share the
glory of your salvation with you. Did you get that? Sometimes we might wanna think,
well, I chose God. Look at me, I'm a pretty good
fella. I chose to follow, look at all those other people, they
haven't chosen, but I chose God. That's your attitude this morning.
You're taking part of the glory upon yourself. And God says he
will not share his glory with another. He's done this whole
thing, this predetermining of your salvation to the praise
of his glorious grace. It's all about his grace. By
the way, if there's something you could do to get him to choose
you, would it really be grace? I mean, isn't that the whole
definition? It's God's unmerited favor upon
you. You don't deserve it at all.
but he gives it freely and I'll just blow our mind. That's what
we read about. It's his glorious grace. Unbelievable. I am a sinner. I am guilty. I deserve hell and eternal damnation. Yet God in eternity past chose
me in him, in love, in a loving way, he predestined me. Boy. What a perspective this morning.
And not only do we see it's all about His glory, B, we could
say this, it's through His Son. God's glory is on greatest display
through His Son, Jesus Christ. And that's why verse 6 says,
to the praise of His glorious grace, which He has blessed us
in the Beloved. The beloved there being a reference
to Jesus Christ. You've been blessed in the beloved.
You wanna see God's glory? Look to Christ who died for sinners
like you and like me. Look to Christ who has redeemed
you by his blood. God has blessed us with salvation
in the beloved. We have many blessings that we
have received. We've talked about spiritual
blessings, and we've talked about salvation, and we've talked about
all we have in Christ, but maybe on this next part of your outline,
we could just talk for just a moment, and you can develop this out
further, maybe in your own discussion at small group, or maybe even
this afternoon with your family. Let me just mention a few blessings
of election. What are some of the blessings
of election? Number one, election prevents
boasting. Election prevents boasting, right? We just talked about that. How
can you boast that you chose God when you know in eternity
past He chose you? So you have no right to boast.
All you can be is overwhelmed. All you can be is floored by
His glorious grace. And so you don't boast at all
for even one minute. You just sit there and you just
admire. Election prevents boasting. Secondly,
election provides assurance of salvation. Election provides
assurance of salvation. Think about it. If it's up to
you whether or not you're gonna choose him or not, and if it's
up to you to somehow accept him, then it could be, at least for
some Armenians of the past, that they could lose their salvation,
because it's up to them, and they're fallible, and they might
fall, they may not follow through. And so that's why it was consistent
with the original Armenian way of thinking, well, they could
lose their salvation. I think that even people today who struggle
with assurance of salvation struggle because they don't understand
the doctrine of election. If they really understand, you know,
God chose you and him before the foundation of the world.
Why would I be struggling? Well, I'm not sure. I'm not sure.
was because we're looking too much at our life instead of looking
to Christ. We're looking too much, well,
do I have enough fruit? That's helpful, but that will
only provide secondary assurance. Primary assurance of salvation
is by looking to God, who elected you in Him before the foundation
of the world. And if you understand that, No
more doubting. No more, well, God did it. I
don't know how, I don't know why He did it for me, but He
did it, and so I'm gonna live for Him. Thirdly, election produces
holiness. It's here in our text, isn't
it? He breathed us in us to what? To be holy and to be blameless.
Some, our many-minded thinking would say, oh, well, if it's
predetermined, then you can just live however you want. It doesn't
matter if you live for God or not. He's already determined it, so
live however you want. No, no, no, no, no. Because he's changed
you, because he's regenerated you, your greatest desire is
to obey God. Because as you obey him, you
find unspeakable joy. And so every fiber of your redeemed
being desires to live a holy life. You want to live holy because
it's pleasing to God and it brings you that satisfaction you long
for. And so election actually produces holiness in you. Fourth,
election promotes evangelism. Election promotes evangelism.
A lot of people would say, well, if God's predeterminate, why
witness? Because the Bible ordains the end, but he also ordains
the means. And he desires that people would
call out to Christ and maybe he's gonna use you in accordance
with his sovereign plan to go and preach the gospel to all
nations everywhere and to your neighbor across the fence in
your backyard. I mean, the idea is that if you
really believe that God has chosen some, then you understand, hey,
I can't really mess up here. I'm gonna give the gospel and
leave it up to God. I'm gonna be faithful to proclaim
his word, trusting that God will bring about the work that God
desires to bring about. I'm more excited to evangelize
from this persuasion than I was before I was here. The idea is
that it's just unbelievable, unbelievable confidence that
God will save Here's what Spurgeon said when asked about this. He
said, quote, if sinners be damned, at least let them leap to hell
over our dead bodies. And if they perish, let them
perish with our arms wrapped around their knees, imploring
them to stay. And if hell must be filled, let
it be filled in the teeth of our exertions and let no one
go unwarned and unprayed for. Spurgeon was a staunch five-point
Calvinist. What a great perspective he had
to say, you know what, I'm praying for the lost, praying for the
lost, sharing the gospel with the lost, and if they're gonna
go to hell, may it not be because I didn't warn them. May it never
be because I haven't prayed for them. Number five, election prepares
our hearts for worship. and prepares our hearts for worship.
In my understanding of scripture, this gives us the highest view
of God possible, which gives us a humble response to God that
all I can do is just worship Him. That's all I can do. I have
nothing to offer. My best works are but filthy
rags. God, I just worship you. You
are so amazing. Look at your glorious grace. Well, you know, there were some
other debates throughout church history on this subject. And
maybe you've heard that famous interchange between Charles Simeon,
a Calvinist, and John Wesley, the Arminian. Here's what Charles
Simeon said, Sir, I understand that you are called an Arminian
and have sometimes been called a Calvinist. And therefore, I
suppose we are to draw daggers. But before I consent to begin
the combat, with your permission, I will ask a few questions. Pray,
sir, do you feel yourself a depraved creature? So depraved that you
would never have thought of turning to God if God had not first put
it into your heart? John Wesley replied, yes, I do
indeed. Then Charles Simeon said, and
do you utterly despair of recommending yourself to God by anything you
can do and look for salvation solely through the blood and
righteousness of Christ? The answer from Wesley, yes,
solely through Christ. Simeon, but sir, supposing you
were at first saved by Christ, you are not somehow or other
to save yourself afterwards by your own works? Wesley said,
no, I must be saved by Christ from first to last. Simeon then
asked, allowing then that you were first turned by the grace
of God, are you not in some way or other able to keep yourself
by your own power? John Wesley replied, no. Simeon
ventured further, what then are you to be upheld every hour and
every moment by God as much as an infant in its mother's arms? Wesley replied, yes, altogether. Simeon then asked, and is all
your hope in the grace and mercy of God to preserve you unto his
heavenly kingdom? John Wesley replied, yes, I have
no hope but in him. And then Charles Simeon concluded,
then, sir, with your leave, I will put my dagger again, for this
is all my Calvinism. This is my election, my justification
by faith, my final perseverance. It is in substance all that I
hold, and as I hold it, and therefore if you please insist of searching
out terms and phrases to be a ground of contention between us, we
will cordially unite in those things wherein we agree. What
a great perspective, right? That maybe we have more in common
sometimes than we think. Maybe that we should focus most
of all on God's grace. I love the hymn entitled, excuse
me, Grace Greater Than Our Sin. You know it well. Marvelous grace
of our loving Lord, grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt. Yonder on Calvary's mount outpoured,
there where the blood of the Lamb was spilt. Grace, grace,
God's grace, grace that will pardon and cleanse within, grace,
Grace, God's grace, grace that is greater than all our sin. Let's pray together. Father,
we're moved this morning by your holy word. God, as we venture
into what can be a controversial subject, I pray that you would
give us peace with you and peace with each other. And I pray that
there be some maybe really struggling as they are just trying to think
this through. God, Pray that they would wrestle
with you. I pray that they would come under
submission to your holy word I pray God that they would they
would humbly follow The clear teaching of scripture and Lord
at the same time we know in your providence There will be many
who might stand on different sides of this issue and may we
see each other as brothers and sisters in Christ may we not
make this one point and the whole point of our fellowship and the
point of our union and the point of how we can serve one another
in the greater body of the Lord Jesus Christ. Help us to be gracious
and kind. Help us to be humble. Help us
to realize that none of us are perfect. Help this great doctrine
of election and of predestination humble us and cause us to worship
you. Cause us to be overwhelmed by
your glorious grace. And it's in Jesus name we pray,
Amen.