election. My text is Ephesians chapter 1, verses 3 through 6. Ephesians 1, 3 through 6. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him. In love, having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved."

What a subject, what a text. I remember distinctly the first time I heard someone express anger or resentment at the doctrine of God's electing love and distinguishing grace. There must be an indication that my wife is getting older. I'm remembering things that happened a long time ago. This was back in 1967, in the summer of 67. Shelby and I were dating. We had been out with our church group visiting and distributing tracts, encouraging folks to come hear the gospel. And we met back at the church building And when we did, just before we started to leave, we were walking out, getting ready to go to the car. I remember it distinctly, like it was yesterday, standing under the canopy there. And this lady, one of the church ladies, she met the preacher for the town of Davis. He was the pastor of the church there. And accosted him in an angry, angry tone. You could tell she wasn't happy. She had heard something that she wasn't pleased with. And when she met him, she said, preacher, You don't believe that damnable doctrine of election, do you? I was shocked. I honestly was shocked. I was just 17 years old, and I had never heard anybody talk like that. I just, I'd never heard anybody talk like that about God's gospel and God's truth.

Immediately, I thought to myself, how could anybody speak such horrible, horrible words concerning God's electing love? Now, I don't know much about it, But I know that if God hadn't chosen me and saved me by his grace, I wouldn't be here now. And I knew then if God hadn't chosen me and saved me by his grace, I'd have either been in hell or somewhere in jail or prison, somewhere between here and hell, and we would not have experienced anything of God's free grace. And so I thought, how can this woman who claims to be a Christian, who claims to be a believer, speak of God's election and call it a damnable doctrine? I thought to myself then, and I have been thinking ever since, It ought to be called the glorious doctrine of election because glorious it is. And I want to show you this morning that God's election is indeed glorious.

Now you'll forgive me if I seem a little passionate or speak excitedly. This is a message about a subject about which I am passionate and about which I am excited. I'll leave it to the scholars and the theologians To speak with refined tones and scholarly phrases, I want to show you what this book teaches about God's electing grace. And I want to show you that it does distinctly and clearly teach exactly what I'm saying. Now, I want to do that by raising and answering several questions. It'll be a very simple message this morning, but I hope that you will listen carefully and give me your attention.

What is the doctrine of election? You may think that's a profound, profound subject. It's too deep for anybody to understand. But it's not profound or deep at all. It's very, very simple. Election is simply choosing. That's all. It's just choosing. You make choices every day. I make choices every day. And the scripture tells us that God made a choice back in eternity. He chose whom he would save. He chose those to whom He would be gracious. He chose a people and determined to save them from the foundation of the world.

Election may be defined in just that manner. It is God's choice of some people unto everlasting salvation. It is God's sovereign determination to save those people by the righteousness and shed blood of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Now, none are finally saved. Nobody's going to heaven. Nobody will enter into glory. Nobody will be found with Christ in heaven's glory at last, except those who were chosen by God Almighty before the world began. Now, I'm telling you, there's no possibility of anybody ever being saved apart from God's election.

And therefore, the word of God calls his people the elect. We're called the elect more often than we're called any other one thing throughout the scriptures. More than we're called anything other than saints. Saints may be the exception. Other than that, God's people are called the elect more than they're called anything else. They're called Christians occasionally, they're called believers, they're called them that believe, but constantly they're referred to as the elect or the elect of God.

Now this choice or appointment of them unto eternal life is called the election of God or the election of grace. All those whom the Father chose in eternity were redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ at Calvary, and those who were chosen and redeemed by Christ at Calvary shall be at God's appointed time called by His Spirit by regeneration and by the giving of life called by His Spirit unto life and faith in Jesus Christ at God's purposed time.

That is to say, God the Father chose these people. They, and only they, were redeemed by Christ. They, and only they, are called by the Spirit. And they, and only they, will persevere unto everlasting glory. So that the Father's choice is an effectual, irresistible election. The Son's atonement is an effectual, irresistible atonement. And the Spirit's call is an effectual, irresistible call.

That simply means that what God purposed, God's going to do. What the Son purchased, He's going to have. Whom the Spirit calls, He will bring to glory. There's no possibility of failure. Now that defines God's election. In short, election is what Matthew Henry calls the first link in the golden chain of salvation and grace of which eternal glory is the end. All who are redeemed, justified, and called born again and brought to Christ in faith, and are saved at last, are God's elect.

Now the primary and original cause of the saint's being and being what he is, is election. You understand that? You're here now, worshiping God. You're here now, born of God's Spirit. made upright and righteous by the imputed and imparted righteousness of Jesus Christ in justification and in regeneration. You're here now worshiping God, believing God, seeking God, walking with hope of everlasting life. What's the cause? What makes you what you are? What makes you and me what we are as distinct from other men and women who know not our God? What is it that gives us the knowledge of God in which God himself says, this alone, Gloria, that you know me? What is it that causes us to know God while others don't know God? Ultimately, primarily, originally, God's election. He chose you. He chose you. Why aren't you in hell? He chose you. Why aren't you groping about in the darkness of Armenian free will works religion? He chose you. Why aren't you worshiping at the footstool of Antichrist here or in some dark, dark remote corner of the earth? He chose you. Why is it you were born here and brought up under the sound of the gospel of God's grace rather than being born somewhere else and brought up under some hideous form of dark religion? Because he chose you. He chose you. Do you understand that? Oh, this is glorious doctrine. He chose you. Now that's what the doctrine is.

The second question is this. Does the Bible teach this doctrine? Now that's the issue. Lindsay handled this so very well this morning in his class dealing with the authority of Scripture. This alone is our authority. This alone. I realize there's value in creeds and confessions and there's value in theology books and there's value in historical documents and all those things, but I make no appeal to church creeds. I make no appeal to denominational confessions. I make no appeal to theological works. I don't even make any appeal to the historic facts with regard to church history. I make no appeal to those things. because really those things are irrelevant by comparison with Holy Scripture. I don't mean they're irrelevant. I mean they're irrelevant by comparison with Holy Scripture. This alone is the basis of our faith. To the law and to the testimony, if they speak not according to the words of the prophecy of this book, it is because there is no light in them.

Now, it doesn't really matter whether Gil and Spurgeon, Luther and Calvin, Bunyan and Edwards and Whitefield, and other men like them, believe this doctrine or not. It doesn't really matter whether Fortner believes it or not as far as authority is concerned. Well, our pastor believes that. That doesn't matter. That's not important. That's totally irrelevant in comparison with regard to the scriptures. What matters then? Well this is the doctrine that Baptists and Protestants have always believed. Oh no, that's not the issue. What matters is what does God say. Does God in his word teach the doctrine of election?

Now we've approached this subject here so many times in so many ways. I want this morning just to give you an avalanche of scripture. I want to just overwhelm you with scripture. I want you to see there's no escaping the fact that the word of God teaches this doctrine. I'm going to give it to you with very little comment as we go along, and I'm certain that it's impossible for you to turn to the passages and just read them all together, so I've written them out and I'm going to just read them to you.

Now just in case any of you sitting out there are thinking to yourself, I'm not sure the Bible teaches this doctrine. Or, I'm not sure this doctrine's really that important. I'm not sure that this doctrine... It's true. Well, I'm not sure that it's a doctrine that's so prominent that it ought to have the kind of attention we give it here. Well, let's see. Let's see. I'm going to give you 50 or 60 scriptures. I'll just read them to you. I'll give you the references and you can look them up as you go along. This is a doctrine that runs through the whole Word of God. I'm talking about from Genesis to Revelation. You cannot turn to any page of scripture and not be confronted either with the doctrine directly or with the results of the doctrine. So the doctrine of election is a very, very prominent doctrine. Back in Genesis chapter 6 and verse 8, when God was about to destroy the world, when the whole world was lost and ruined, when the whole world was departed from the living God, there was one man in the whole generation chosen of God. And the book says Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. It doesn't say God found grace in the eyes of Noah. It doesn't say Noah decided to believe on Jesus. It doesn't say Noah made the right choice. It says Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. That's God's election.

In Deuteronomy chapter 7, verse 7, listen to this. The Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself. Oh, that's good news. The Lord did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because you were greater than any people, more in number than any people, for you were the fewest of all people, but because the Lord loved you, therefore he chose you. Why did he choose you? Because he loved you. What's the moving cause of election? Love, that's all. Because he loved you, nothing else. Not because of something in you, not because of some greatness in you, not because of something he saw that you would do, but because he loved you, he chose you.

Listen to Nehemiah chapter nine. When Nehemiah's offering his prayer to God, he says, thou art the Lord, the God that didst choose Abram. My soul. There were thousands of folks down in Earth County. Thousands of folks. But he says, thou art the God that didst choose Abraham, and gavest him the name Abraham. Oh, this is the glory of God, Nehemiah says. You're the God of elective love. You're the God of an elective purpose. You're the God that did choose Abraham.

The books and writings of David. David talked about election all the time. I mean, he just, he talked about it all the time. Whenever he was praying, he talked about election. Whenever he was singing, he talked about election. Whenever he was teaching, he talked about election. He even talked about election when he was mayor. His wife, Michael, Saul's daughter, She looked at him and despised him and he said, God chose me, didn't choose your daddy. That tree's not danced before the ark. Listen to what he says. In 1 Chronicles 28 verse 4, David said, the Lord God of Israel chose me. And then when he's preparing Israel to receive his son as king, he says in chapter 29 verse 1, Solomon, my son, whom God hath chosen. In Psalm 78, verse 70, he chose David, his servant, and took him from the sheep coats. Psalm 89, 3, I have made a covenant with my chosen. Psalm 105, 6 is addressed to you children of Jacob, his chosen. Psalm 105, 26 speaks of Aaron, whom he had chosen. Verse 43, he brought forth his chosen with gladness. And then in Psalm 106, verse 5, the psalmist says that I may see the good of thy chosen. He never got over it. God chose me. Oh, glory! He chose me. And David sang about it, talked about it, prayed about it, gave God praise for it, because he never got over the wonder of it. Oh, God give me grace that I never get over the wonder of this thing. He chose me. He chose me. Does that not astound you? He chose me.

Then look at Isaiah. Listen to what he said. In chapter 41 verse 8, Isaiah says, Jacob, whom I have chosen, speaking for God, I have chosen thee and will not cast thee away. In verse 10 of chapter 43, Ye are my witnesses and my servant whom I have chosen that you may know and believe me. That is, the reason you know me, the reason you believe me is because I chose you. There's no way you'd ever know me if I hadn't chosen you. There's no way you'd ever believe me if I hadn't chosen you.

He says in chapter 48 verse 10, I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction. I can endure the furnace of affliction. When I hear God say, I chose you in this verse. I chose you. You're mine, I'll not cast you away. In chapter 42, he says, behold, my elect, in whom my soul delighteth.

Now those are just a few of the multitude of passages in the Old Testament scriptures that clearly state the doctrine of God's electing love and grace in Christ Jesus. Many, many others could be given.

But now, listen to the New Testament. Listen in particular to the words of our Lord Jesus Christ. I can't give them all to you. Let me just give you a few. Let me just give you a few. Listen to what the Savior says. The Son of God talks about the doctrine of election constantly in his earthly ministry.

In chapter 22 of Matthew, verse 14, he says, many are called. I'm preaching to you. He sent me out to preach the gospel. He doesn't send the gospel to everybody. That's a myth. He doesn't give everybody a chance to be saved. Lots of folks live and die and spend their whole lives never hearing the gospel of God's grace. But many are called. You are called. The gospel's being preached to you right now. Who's gonna believe? The few who are chosen. Many are called, but few are chosen. That's what he says.

Matthew 24, 22, he says, for the elect's sake, those days, days of great tribulation shall be shortened. He says, he shall send his angels and they shall gather together his elect in the last day. In Mark chapter 13, the Lord Jesus assures us that it is not possible for the elect to be deceived. In Luke chapter 18, he says, shall not God avenge his own elect?

And then in John 15 and verse 16, as our Lord is giving his parting discourse to his disciples, when he's giving them his very last word, he says to them, you haven't chosen me, but I've chosen you. Don't ever forget that. Don't ever forget that. This business, this affair of our relationship with one another is not because of something in you. Oh no, you didn't choose me. But I chose you and I ordained you that you should go and bring forth much fruit and that your fruit should remain.

And then in John 17 and verse 9, our Lord Jesus refused to pray. He refused to pray for anyone other than God's elect. He said, I pray not for the world. I pray not for the world. Now folks can talk about the universal benevolence. of God all they want to. They talk about universal love all they want to. I'm telling you that universal love is universal nothing. Universal benevolence is universal nonsense. The Lord Jesus Christ did not come here to do something for folks who are not of His elect. He came here to seek and to save His people, His sheep, according to the purpose of God, and refused to even pray for those who were not chosen of God. He said, I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me. Thine they were, and thou gavest them me.

And throughout the book of Acts and all the epistles, every inspired writer in the New Testament speaks commonly about the election of grace as a doctrine that was known, embraced, and loved by all Christians.

As you read the New Testament, doesn't it strike you that the writers never imagined. They never imagined the possibility of a believer, a child of God, sitting out and listening to the New Testament being read, who would object to the doctrine of election. That never crossed their minds, because there's no such thing as a believer who does. There is no such, oh no, God's people don't despise election. They rejoice in it. They don't despise the God of electing love. They rejoice in God and in his electing love.

As you read the New Testament, the apostles don't even defend the doctrine and show the doctrine to be a biblical doctrine like I'm doing this morning. They just declare it. They say, here it is, here it is.

In Acts chapter 13, verse 48. whenever the Gentiles believed. Now remember, this is not after a long, long session in which folks sat down and studied and studied and scratched their heads and dug and studied, scratched their heads and they had been through lots of stuff and now these were old, old Christians with long beards and walking with a cane. No, this is when they were first converted. Acts 13, 48. Why do you believe? As many as were ordained to eternal life believe. That's it. That's it. What's the cause of conversion? As many as were ordained to eternal life believed. Well, Paul, what happened down there among those Gentiles? As many as were ordained to eternal life believed. That's exactly what the scripture says.

I know the modernists, the liberals, the Armenians, the free willers, they say that word ordained means disposed. It means as many as were disposed to eternal life believed. All right, let's take it that way. As many as God disposed to eternal life believed. Same thing. The word is as many as God from eternity foreordained to eternal life, they believed. Every one of them. Every one of them.

Romans chapter eight and verse 30. Paul writes to the Romans, he had never seen them before. Never seen them. He had never communicated with them before. They didn't know Paul and Paul didn't know them. He just knew they were believers, a congregation of folks who said we believe God and worship God by faith in Jesus Christ. All they knew about Paul was he was an apostle to the Gentiles. This is what he writes to them. Whom he did predestinate, them he also called.

He writes, who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? He writes in Romans 9 that the purpose of God, according to election, might stand not of works, but of him that calleth. God said, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. He says in verse 19, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy.

In Romans 11 in verse 5, the apostle says there is a remnant according to the election of grace. There's some folks out there who are going to believe according to the election of grace. There's some folks out there who are going to be saved by God's grace. There is a remnant according to the election of grace. In verse 7, he says the election hath obtained it and the rest were blinded. Boy, that's strong doctrine. Well, not really. No, that's just basic doctrine. That's just basic doctrine. The election hath obtained it. The rest were blinded. That's as simple and plain as the nose on your face, and there's no possibility of misunderstanding it. Paul states it to folks he had never seen before and presumed they would understand exactly what he was saying. And I'm telling you that men and women would certainly understand it were they not perverted and twisted in their thinking by the religious traditions of men.

The Apostle writes to the Corinthians, and he says, God hath chosen. You see how he just throws the word around? Chosen, elect, predestinated. He just scatters it all through the scripture. God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise. God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty, and base things of the world and things which are despised hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not to bring to naught the things that are, that no flesh should glory in his presence.

We read our text here where the apostle writes to the Ephesians and he just, he opens up the book of Ephesians declaring the glorious blessedness of electing love and grace.

In Colossians 1, he says, put on therefore, as the elect of God, bowels of mercies. He's writing to his Colossian brothers and sisters and he says, now fellas, y'all act like God's elect. You profess to be God's elect, you be sure you act like it. Put on bowels of mercy. Be kind and tender and gentle and thoughtful and caring one of another. That's the way God's elect live.

In 1 Thessalonians, he writes to the Thessalonian believers and says in verse 4 of chapter 1, knowing brethren beloved, your election of God. I know God chose you because you believe on his son. In chapter 5 in verse 9, he says, God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ. We were headed to hell, but God appointed us to life and salvation in Christ Jesus the Lord.

And then in 2 Thessalonians chapter 2, he said, but we're bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation. through sanctification of the spirit and belief of the truth.

He writes to Timothy as he urges Timothy and gives him instruction into pastoral theology. He says, God has saved us and called us within holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began.

And then he writes to Titus. He opens up the book. He's writing to Titus, a young preacher. What do you tell that young preacher? Boy, you want to be sure to tell him right. How do you instruct Titus as to the instruction of God's sentence? According to the faith of God's elect. First sentence. According to the faith of God's elect.

He writes, James does, and he says that God of his own will begot he us through the word of truth. In other words, we were born again, not by our will, but by God's will. Not by our purpose, but by God's purpose. Not by our choice, but by God's choice.

The Apostle Peter speaks of the elect according to the foreknowledge, the foreordination of God the Father. In chapter five, Peter speaks and says, the church elected together with you saluted you. He says, brethren, give all diligence to make your calling and election sure.

John writes to the elect lady, And he addresses himself as one representing the children of thy elect sister who greet thee. And then the Apostle John speaks of the book of life of the Lamb, slain from the foundation of the world in Revelation 13, 8. In chapter 21, he says, none shall enter into heaven but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life. Nobody. Nobody. Who's going to be saved? Those who were written in the Lamb's Book of Life. When was it written? Before the foundation of the world. Well, the only folks who are going to be saved are folks whose names were written in that book before the world began. You understand perfectly. That's exactly what he says. That's exactly what he says.

Throughout the book of God, God our Savior says, I know whom I have chosen. The foundation of God standeth sure, the Lord knoweth them that are His. God the Father has given His Son power over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as the Father has given Him. And in response to that, the Lord Jesus says this. In response to that, your pastor says this. I hope you join me. I thank Thee, O Father. I thank Thee, O Father. Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes, even so father, for so it seemed good in thy sight."

Now, if you think that's a damnable doctrine, you take it up with God. Oh, this is a glorious doctrine. God's sovereign election is such a prominent theme of scripture. It is so much a part of this book that if you could get rid of the doctrine of election, every page would fall out of the Bible. Every page. The book would be meaningless without it. God's election is that which God himself... Say, yes sir, it does. It sure does. And God's saints rejoiced to hear him declare it.

Now here's the third part of the message. Why do I describe the doctrine of election so despised by the religious world? And it is, it is. You folks who try to be witnesses for the truth of God, you talk to your families, and you take them the bulletin articles or send them the tracts, Sit down and you open the scriptures and you start to say something. You go to lunch today and maybe go out to your mama's house or your brother's house, somebody, and you say, boy, Brother Don, he brought a message this morning on election. Oh, I wish you could have heard it. I don't want to hear that. I don't want to hear that. I've heard all that I want to hear. Heard all that I want to hear.

First month I was in Bible college, I was transferred to three different rooms. Finally put me in a room in the corner of the dormitory by myself. Because everywhere I went, folks would go to the office and say, he don't talk about nothing but election. All he talks about is election. And I'm tired of hearing about election. And if you get tired of hearing about election, one of us is going to have to move because I'm going to talk about it. This is God's truth. Now why do I describe this doctrine so despised by the world as the glorious doctrine of election? Glorious doctrine of election. It's the work that's performed by the God of glory. That's why. It lifts sinners from darkness, destruction, doom, and death of sin into the glorious liberty of the sons of God. It reveals the glorious grace of the triune God. And ultimately, it will redound to the glory of God, to the praise of the glory of his grace.

Let me give you six or seven things about it, and I'll send you home. First election is glorious in its origin. God hath from the beginning chosen you. He chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world. You see, election is God's work alone. It's God's work alone. I know folks will say, well, when the Bible talks about election, that means that God with his omniscient knowledge looked out in eternity. And he saw from the beginning who would believe on Jesus, and he said, I choose him. Well, that's nonsense. That's God taking credit for something he didn't do. Now, the only way God can foresee faith is if God has foreordained faith. And the only way you can have faith is if God from eternity chose you and chose to give you faith, for faith is a gift of God. So God didn't choose you because he foresaw what you would do for him. The scripture says he chose you and says, I will love thee freely.

Some say, well, God's election is God's vote for you. That's God's vote. You know, we go to the ballots and we cast our vote. Regrettably, the fellows I vote for don't usually get elected, but I cast my vote. Now, that means my vote really is meaningless. It's overruled by the majority of the people. Folks think God's election is like that. They say God voted for you, and the devil voted against you, but now they're both waiting for you to cast aside and vote.

God's election is not his vote. God's election is his choice. God's election is his purpose. God's election is his determination to save. God's election is that which took place in eternity by God's determination and God's will for God's glory.

Secondly, election is glorious in its cause. I keep asking myself one question, two words. Why me? Why me? What's the cause? Why did God choose me? I've seen a lot of fellas in the world just like me. I can't stand to be around them. I can't stand to be, I'm telling you the truth, I can't stand to be around them. Some fella like me, Come knock on the door to date my daughter? She's not going out with you. You come back again, I'll break your legs. I'm telling you the truth. But God chose me. Why? Why? According to the good pleasure of His will. That's all.

But preacher, you hadn't Disability that. You don't know me. You could be so useful. I can't imagine a human being being more useless than I was when God found me by his grace. Why did you leave? According to the good pleasure of his will. Why would God Almighty choose buddy-duddy according to the good pleasure of his will? That's all. That's all. He says, I will be gracious. He says, I will be their God. He says, I will love them freely. You can search and search and search. If I could use such language throughout the endless ages of eternity, search, search, search from north to south, east and west, and you'll never find a reason why God chose to save any of us except I will be their God. They shall be my people, that's all. The good pleasure of his will.

Thirdly, election is glorious in its character. It's a sovereign act of the sovereign God. It's a free, unconditional choice of love. Now it's just almost impossible for you and me to understand what unconditional election is. Folks look at me sometimes I have often had folks ask me, see me and Shelby together, they say, how'd you get her? And if all you do is look at me and her, I can understand that, but you know, really I'm a pretty good fella. I've got a few things to offer her. I quoted her pretty good, and I treat her pretty fair. And so she has some reasons that may not be obvious to you as to why she would want to live with me. But why would God choose to save me, to have me, to live with me? There's nothing in me to attract his love, and nothing in you to attract his love, but everything to repel his love. There's Teresa and those two beautiful girls there, and I love them, and you love them, but we got a reason to. There's so much in them to attract our love, but there's nothing in them to attract God's love. Oh no, nothing. His love is free. Unconditional. That means nothing will ever happen, nothing can ever be done by you, nothing can ever be done by me, no matter what, to cause God to cease to love us.

I don't even love my daughter that way. I'd like to, but I don't. I know it's quite possible for her to destroy my love for her. I don't even love my wife that way. I'd like to, but I don't. I know it's possible for her to destroy my love for her.

But it's not possible. Oh, my soul. It's not possible for me to destroy God's love for me. That's the reason, Bill, when we sinned in our father Adam, he loved us still. And when you came forth from the womb, speaking lies, he left us still. And though now, after we've known his love and grace, we every day, every day betray hearts of wickedness against him, he loves us still.

His love's immutable. His election is glorious in its character. God's election is glorious also in its purpose. He chose us that we should be holy and without blame before him. The purpose of election is to make chosen sinners holy and blameless before God.

Oh, what a noble, noble, nobly What a glorious purpose. How can a sinner, how can a sinner, I'm talking about a sinner, how can a sinner be holy and blameless before God? He makes us holy by the blood of his Son, justifying us and imputing his perfect righteousness to us so that we have a holy record in heaven. And when God comes to a center in saving grace, he invades that dead, wicked, hell-bent, hell-deserving center with free and sovereign grace and puts a holy nature in him so that that man, that woman, that child looks to God whom he hated and he loves Him, whom he despised and he adores Him. That God to whom he was a rebel all his life and now he submits to Him with willing heart.

But still we carry that corruption of nature with us, the old man still with us. And one of these days, either In the translation at his second coming, or in the resurrection of these bodies, we're going to put off this robe of flesh and be made exactly as he is. Exactly as he is. So that with my heart, with my mind, with my soul, with my will, I'll love God as Christ himself, who is God, loves God. This body will be free from sin and free from all that is involved with sin.

Make us holy and without blame before him in love. Somehow, in heaven's glory, you and I who are born of God We'll look back over all this past life with a full awareness of our sin and absolutely no sorrow. Absolutely no sorrow. For we shall see only the glory of His grace and the glory of redeeming love, the glory of electing mercy. when he chose, redeemed, and called sinners such as we are, and here we stand, holy and without blame. That's the purpose of election.

Election, fifthly, is glorious in its position. You read our text again in Ephesians 1 and you'll see that election stands at the front as the first act in the catalog of grace. According as he hath chosen us in him, he blessed us. Now what does that mean? That means if you deny election, you must also deny all those blessings of grace that spring and flow to us from election. So that if there's no election, There's no distinguishing love, no adopting mercy, no acceptance in Christ, no redeemer and no redemption, no forgiveness of sin, no special providence, no heavenly inheritance, no regeneration, no faith, no security, no mercy, no salvation, no grace and no hope. You're all getting yourselves. Deny election, you deny everything. For election is the fountainhead of grace. Election is the great reservoir of grace. Election is the source of grace which flows to us freely from the throne of our God.

Sixthly, election is glorious in its objects. Not many mighty, not many noble are called. If God made up his church and kingdom from the who's who registry of society, everybody looked and said, well, God chose him because he had something to offer, chose him because he had something to give, chose him because he was smart as a whip, chose him because he had lots of money coming from a good family, chose him because of this, because of that. But God chose the weak things instead of the strong. And the base things instead of the great things. And the nothings and nobodies instead of the somebody. That no flesh should go.

When you bow today at your noontime meal with your family, you'd be real, real wise. to speak to God like Mephibosheth spoke to David when he sat at his table. Who am I? O God, who am I that thou shouldest look upon such a dead dog as I am?

And lastly, election is glorious in its end. It puts the crown right where it belongs, on his head. It will be, ultimately it will prove to be to the praise of His glory. This is a doctrine we insist upon. I hope you get as excited about it as I do. Because this doctrine declares the salvations of the Lord. It's God's work. And man deserves and gets no credit, no honor, no praise. It's God's doing. To God be the glory, great things he has done. He chose us in Jesus, ere time had begun. Before we were fallen, before we were ruined, he purposed redemption by slaying his son. The covenant established, the blessings bestowed, when Christ as our surety struck heads with our God.

Well, who are the elect? Who are those people who are chosen of God and ordained to eternal life? No man can pry into the book of life and see whose names are written there, but we don't need to. I know who the elect are. They are those people that you least suspect might be. I had a preacher say to me recently, a young fellow, he said, well, if they're not saved, I believe they will be. They're just kind of folks God saves. My response was, I wouldn't be too sure of that. Jesse thought that every one of his sons, when Samuel came down to the North King in Israel, well, listen, boy, he's got some good qualities. This one here, he'll be it. And Samuel passed by every one of them, God said, That's not him. That's not him. You got another son. Yeah, but he's nothing. He's an old, little old sheep boy out there. It wouldn't be him. Scrawly little old fella. He's smaller than the rest of them. He's not near as good looking as the rest of them. He's just a scrawly little old fella. He's out there tending the sheep. You don't want to go get him. And then walked that ruddy faced boy. And God said to Samuel, Arise and anoint him, this is he. This is he. It's that way every time. Every time.

Who's chosen of God? Folks you thought were going to hell. That's who's chosen of God. Who's chosen of God? Folks you would never think about choosing if you're doing the choosing. Who's chosen of God? Folks you would never imagine sitting beside you the rest of your life in the house of God. That's who God chose. I guarantee it. That's who God chose.

Who's God's elect? Every helpless, guilty, doomed, damned, lost sinner without one hope before God, except Christ died for sinners. Every sinner who looks to Christ in faith, he's chosen of God. How do we know your election? Because you believe. The Word comes in power. creating faith. And I'm telling you, if you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ right now, it's because God, before the world began, chose you in election. Oh, that's the glorious doctrine of election. Amen.