By Whose Will Are We Saved

Q: What does the Bible say about free will in salvation?

The Bible teaches that salvation is not by man's free will, but solely by God's will and mercy (Romans 9:16). The Scriptures clearly state that salvation is not of him that wills or runs, but of God that shows mercy (Romans 9:16). This underscores the Reformed understanding that humans do not possess the ability to choose salvation on their own. Our will is bound by sin, and only God's sovereign grace can enable us to come to Him. The concept of free will in salvation undermines the power and sovereignty of God's will, making man's decision the ultimate factor in salvation, which is inconsistent with biblical theology.

Q: How do we know God's election is true?

God's election is clearly affirmed in Scripture as being according to His own will and purpose (Ephesians 1:4-5). The doctrine of election is rooted in Ephesians 1:4-5, where it is stated that God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world. This shows that His election is not based on foreseen faith or decision but stems from His sovereign will and purpose. Throughout Scripture, God's sovereignty is consistently emphasized, and the idea that our salvation begins with God's choice reflects His grace and mercy, rather than human merit or decision. Understanding election helps to humble believers, recognizing that their salvation is due entirely to God's act of grace.

Q: Why is God's sovereignty in salvation important for Christians?

God's sovereignty in salvation assures believers that their salvation is secure and rests entirely on His mercy (Romans 9:16). Understanding God's sovereignty in salvation is essential for Christians as it provides a sense of security and assurance that their salvation is not dependent on their own efforts or decisions. Romans 9:16 states that it is not of him that wills or of him that runs, but of God that shows mercy. This highlights that our salvation is entirely a work of God, who initiates, completes, and secures it. This truth encourages believers to rely on God's power and grace rather than their own abilities, fostering a deep reliance on Him and a thankfulness for His merciful acts.

Q: What is will-worship and why is it problematic?

Will-worship refers to the belief that salvation depends on human will and effort, which the Bible condemns (Colossians 2:23). Will-worship is the erroneous belief that a person's salvation is determined by their personal decisions or actions. This concept is condemned in Colossians 2:23, where Paul speaks about the futility of such self-imposed worship. It elevates human effort above God's grace and undermines the truth that salvation is solely a gift from God. In the context of Reformed theology, will-worship is viewed as a form of idolatry because it ultimately places faith in oneself rather than in Christ. The Scriptures affirm that salvation originates from God's will, and understanding this distinction is crucial for accurate Christian doctrine.

Q: How does grace relate to salvation in the Bible?

Grace is the unmerited favor of God that brings about true salvation (Ephesians 2:8-9). The grace of God is foundational to the concept of salvation within the Reformed tradition. Ephesians 2:8-9 emphasizes that salvation is a gift from God through faith, not a result of works, ensuring that no one can boast. This grace is not just an abstract concept, but a transformative force that enables individuals to believe in Christ and receive salvation. The understanding of grace leads to humility and gratitude, recognizing that salvation is an act of God’s mercy rather than something earned by human effort. Thus, grace is central to the gospel message, reinforcing that it is by God's initiative and not by human will that we are saved.

Turn with me, if you will, to Romans the ninth chapter. Romans the ninth chapter. And I want to ask you a question. I want you to take a minute, think about it, and answer just in your own mind. Just answer the question. I'm going to come back to it in a minute. Why do you think you're a Christian? Why do you think that you're a Christian? Why do you hope that when you die, you're going to be accepted of God and enter into heaven? What's the basis of your confidence? If you think about that now, if you give an honest answer right now, I'll guarantee you I've got something for you. Now listen carefully, we'll come back to that question.

Nothing in all the world is more foolish, more debasing to humanity, and more assuredly damning to the souls of men than idolatry. Nothing. Nothing. is the most pathetic thing I've ever witnessed. I've watched men and women pathetically bowing and scraping, grovelling before gods that other men and women have made. That seems so, so absolutely, absolutely pathetic.

And yet I've seen it with my own eyes. I've seen men and women bow and just bow and scrape and grovel and weep before statues of Mary. I've seen them bow and scrape and grovel and weep before statues of Jesus supposedly hanging on the cross. And I just, oh, just so moved.

And it's pathetic. It's pitiful. But the most damnable, the most abominable form of idolatry in the world is not bowing and scraping before a God that you can see that men have made. That's not it. That's not nearly as pathetic, not nearly as deceiving, as what the Apostle Paul described in Colossians chapter 2 that we read earlier as will-worship. Will-worship. He calls it idolatry. Will-worship is the worship of yourself. Now, I preached at Louisville Friday night on this subject. the inability of man in salvation, and the myth of man's free will.

And I'm going to pick up on that same subject this morning, but I want you to understand clearly that the issue here is far, far more important than merely settling a controversy between free willism and free grace. The issue is far, far more important than merely answering questions concerning the debates among Calvinists and Arminians as to which one is right. I'm not at all interested in clarifying theological speculation. I'm not even concerned about that. Freewillism is the worship of self. It is the universal religion of fallen men. Now, you listen to me. Freewillism is the universal religion of depraved, fallen men who don't know God.

It's common in every spectrum of religion. I know folks have different, they have different actions in churches. Some churches, they have altars, and some that don't. Some churches, the preacher wears robes and crosses, and some that don't. Some places, they baptize folks, and some places, they sprinkle water on their face. Some places, they have various activities and all kinds of paraphernalia, and some places, they don't.

But when it all comes down to it, when it all comes down and boils down to what they teach, free willism is the religion of the entire lost world. liberals and fundamentalists, Baptists and Buddhists, Anglicans and Atheists, Papists and Protestants, Methodists and Mormons, all together defending their various doctrines and believing their various beliefs, they are all together defenders of free willism.

Now, I'm not an intellectual. I don't pretend to be. I'm not a real brilliant scholar of history and all those things, I don't pretend to be. But I don't know of any religion in the world, I don't know of any religion in the world under any name that does not teach salvation by man's free will, except the gospel of God's free will. I don't know any other religion. All religions universally embrace that doctrine. That is, they teach that salvation is determined, that man's eternal destiny is determined and dependent upon his imaginary free will. I was talking to Dr. Magruder down at Louisville Friday evening after I preached this message.

He said, of all things for men to look upon as being that which they defend for salvation, the fickle will. He said there's not anything on earth more weak, not anything about a man's character more weak and unstable than his will. Why not say we're saved by our hands, our feet, our eyes, our ears, anything other than our will? The will of man changes with the wind in it. The will of man is unstable as water. But men everywhere imagine that free will is the power by which ultimately they are saved.

Now I asked you earlier, why do you think you're a Christian? Why do you hope to go to heaven when you die? Why do you think God's going to accept you and bring you into eternal glory? Many, many, many would say, I have hope because when I was a little boy, I remember making my decision for Jesus.

When I was an old man, I remember making my decision for Jesus. Because I had a vision. I saw a vision from heaven. I had a tremendous experience. I used to be a drunk, and now I've got religion, and I don't have that anymore ever since I came to know Jesus. And I'm telling you, you hear me well, I mean to be understood.

Those who attribute salvation in whole or in part, and it doesn't matter how little the part is, Those who attribute salvation, in whole or in part, to the will of man, the works of man, or the worth of man, are the most abominably evil idolaters in the world, for they worship themselves. They worship themselves. I repeat myself deliberately. Freewillism is self-worship. Are you listening to me?

If your salvation is looked upon by you as something that is dependent upon you, something that was determined by you, if your salvation is looked upon by you as something that somehow hinges on your decision, hinges upon your works, hinges upon your experiences, hinges upon something in the past, something of the experience, something of knowledge, something of emotion, of something done by you, I'm telling you, you're a lost, Christless soul altogether without God. Altogether without God.

You may talk about God and grace, everybody does. You may talk about Christ and redemption. I don't know any church where they don't once in a while talk about those things. You may talk about the Holy Spirit and regeneration, but you renew worship yourself.

You really trust yourself, your decision, your confidences in your personal goodness, your confidence in your peace is derived not from what Christ has done for you and in you, but from what you have done for Jesus and what you have done for God. In your opinion, the thing that separates you from the damned is not the will of God, Not really. The thing that separates you from the damned is your decision, your will, your choice, not God's choice. Now this morning I want to answer one question. And I want to answer it only from the word of God, to the law and to the testimony.

If they speak not according to the words of the prophecy of this book, that includes me. That includes me. Lindsay Campbell just got through teaching here. That includes Lindsay Campbell. If they speak not according to the words of the prophecy of this book, That is, if what I preach to you, Bill Raleigh, is not directly out of this book, it's because there's no light in me, I don't know God, and don't you listen to me. That's how serious this thing is. If they speak not according to the words of the prophecy of this book, it's because there's no light in them. None whatsoever, not a smidgen. There is no light in them. That's what the prophet of God says.

Now, here's the question I want to answer. By whose will are we saved? You see, the real distinction, the real issue in our churches is not all of the paraphernalia, not all of the things we don't do. You know, folks jump on various things. We don't have female preachers, and we don't have female preachers because God says don't do it. That's the reason we don't do it. But that's not the issue. We don't bring babies up to the front here and dedicate them to the Lord when babies are born. Why do I do it? Because it's just sheer idolatry, sheer formality, sheer religiosity, that's all. But that's not the issue either. I don't wear a robe when I preach. I don't wear a robe when I preach because it's a symbolism of idolatry. And so I don't practice it. I just don't do it.

But that's not the issue. What's the issue? The issue is the message we preach. And when you talk to folks about our doctrine, about the differences and things that are essential, don't just sidetrack on the other things. That's not the issue. The issue is the message. The message of God's free grace. By whose will are we saved? Boy, I'd like to have the answer to that question. If I were a theologian, I'd get that. The answer is not given in deep theological terms. I have.

Regrettably, preachers make things a whole lot more confusing than they are sometimes, just by using fancy words and big terms. Look in Romans chapter 9 and verse 16, and listen to what the book says. Now, the answer is given in plain, simple terms, and most of the words here are just one-syllable words. I believe everybody here can understand what Paul says.

This is not a deep, deep message. This is just what the book of God says. By whose will are we saved? So they It is not. Underscore that word. It doesn't say it might be. It doesn't say sometimes it is. It says it is not. It is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth. That is, it's not by you making a decision, and it's not by you doing something. And it's sure not by you walking down an aisle saying, I believe in Jesus. It's not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy."

How much plainer could Scripture be? The Word of God, then, declares that the original cause, the determining factor, and the security of any one's salvation is the will of God. That's plain enough in the Amilcar Law. It's the will of God. Anybody can understand that. Anybody who's been taught of God, and whose heart isn't blinded by Satan. Anybody whose heart the God of this world has not deceived.

Now I want to show you four or five things from the Scriptures, and I'm going to be as simple as I can possibly be, because I believe simplicity is powerful. The key to having some effect in preaching is being understood, and the way to be understood is to be simple and plain. And I'm going to be plain and simple as I can be. Here's the first statement.

There is no such thing as free will in man. There's no such thing. You can talk about all you want to, you don't have a free will. Nobody ever had one. Nobody ever had one. Give you an example. Now, a man may decide, I want to fly. I want to fly. And I don't care what you've been smoking. I don't care what you've been drinking. Don't dare get on top of the courthouse and try it. You're going to get hurt, if not killed, because you can't fly. I don't care if you decide, I've been practicing this. I've been moving my arms good. I've built up the strength and I'm going to get it where I'm going to fly like an eagle. You're going to fall on your face. You can't fly. You can't fly. It's not within the realm of possibility because that's not your nature.

Now, that may seem to be a trivial thing, but I want you to understand that the idea of most men is that man is free to do whatever he will, and that's not so. I remember my good friend, Brother Harry Graham, saying that, like it was yesterday, when I was just a young man in Western Seddom, I heard him preaching. He said, folks think man's a free moral agent. There's only three things wrong with that.

He ain't free. and is not moral and is nobody's agent. The Word of God declares he's a slave. The Word of God declares he's immoral. And the Word of God declares he's certainly not God's agent in this world. Man is not free. I don't deny, the Word of God does not deny that man has a will and that he's free to do what he will insofar as he is able. But he can't do what he has no ability to do. Man is free, but not absolutely free. Man's will, Brother Richardson said, is just as free as a frog in a snake's belly. He can jump around all he wants to, he just can't get out. And that's the way with our nature. You see, your will is bound by what you are, and what you are is sin. That's what you are. That's not what you do, that's what you are. That's what I am. It's not what we do, what we are is sin. That's the problem with us.

Not even God himself. has an absolutely free will. Not even God himself. That's a thing God can't do. Do you know that? That's a thing God can't do. The book of God says, Titus 1-2, God cannot lie. He can't do it. It's impossible. God cannot lie because to lie is contrary to the nature of him who is truth. He cannot lie. God is just. He cannot do that which is unjust. God is holy. He cannot do that which is unholy. That's his nature. And so not even God has absolutely free will. And so man's will is bound by his nature, and his nature is sin and death. Look in Ephesians chapter one, or chapter two, rather. Ephesians, the first chapter. The second chapter, I'm sorry, the first verse. Ephesians 2 verse 1. You hath he quickened who were d e a d d. D? D? That's what the book says.

Did anybody here ever see Dead Man Move? I thought I did one time. Scared me to death. I got hit in the elevator one time. I was working in a hospital out in Springfield, Missouri. They had a dead fellow laying on the ground. He didn't know where to lie and he sat down. And he hit me on the side. I was looking for a place to get out of that elevator. Because dead men don't move. Dead men don't move. They just don't.

Now, when you're dead, you're dead. And Paul is not talking here about natural death. He's not talking here about physical death. He's not even talking about mental death. He's talking about spiritual death. You're dead toward God. Dead without spiritual life, without spiritual ability, without spiritual will. You're dead. Now you have a will. A will to rebel, but never a will to bow. A will to hate God, but never a will to love God. A will to love your imaginations about God, but not to love God. You're dead, and dead in trespasses and in sins. That's what the book says. Now, a dead man does not have any ability.

Our Lord Jesus spoke to Nicodemus. You remember Nicodemus came to Jesus by night, and boy, Nicodemus was a smart fellow. He was a ruler of the Jews. But he was a theologian. Nicodemus, he was one of those fellows, he could sit down and write you out a paper right now on any issue in theology. He was a teacher in Israel. He came to the Lord Jesus and said, good master, we know thou art a teacher come from God. And I think sometimes our Lord had less tact than I do.

And he said, Nicodemus, you don't know anything. The first thing you need to learn is you don't know anything. He said, Nicodemus, no man can see the kingdom of God. And he's not talking about physical sight. He's talking about understand, perceive. No man can see the things of the kingdom of God until he's born again. He said no man can enter into the kingdom of God until he's born again. So the man does not have the ability to see that there is a spiritual kingdom, or to see that there are spiritual things to learn, and he sure cannot enter into those things until he's born of God.

A sinner has no ability to do anything that's good in God's sight. You do not have the will to do good, and you don't have the ability to do good. The scriptures are plain. There is none that doeth good. None. No, not one. Now somebody said, well, now we're not talking about works for salvation. Trusting Christ is pretty good work. Trusting Christ is a pretty good work. But you can't do it. You can't do it. It's not possible. It's not possible.

Billy Graham one night was preaching, and I'm not necessarily not from Billy Graham. He just happens to be well-known. I don't listen to it, but I slipped through the channels years ago. And he said, man has a sixth sense. And I was curious. He got my attention. I listened. He has the sense of seeing, of taste, of hearing, of smelling, and of touch. And man has the ability to trust Jesus. Oh, no he doesn't. Man's dead. Man's dead.

He can't trust the Savior. You can no more trust Christ than you can keep God's law. You can no more trust Christ than you can be holy. You can no more trust Christ than you can serve the Lord. Joshua, when he was about to lead the children of Israel, go to glory, he was speaking to them, they said, we'll serve the Lord. Joshua said, you can't do it. You cannot serve the Lord because he's holy and you're sinners. You can't do it. No man does good. No man seeks after God, not even one. You can't come to Christ. You can't believe on the Son of God, you can't trust him, and so we shouldn't talk to folks that way. Our Lord did. He sure did. Turn to John chapter 6, I'll show you. John chapter 6, verse 44. No man can That's a big word. That's a big word. Not many folks understand it.

My daughter, when she was younger, she'd come to me and she'd say, Daddy, can I go out and play? And I'd look at her and I'd say, well, uh, I think you can. She'd start out the door. I said, no, go out the door. She said, well, you said I can go out and play. I said, you can. I didn't say you may.

There's all the difference in the world. All the difference in the world. You can, if you have the ability, go outside and play. But now whether or not you may is another story. And our Lord here does not say you may not come to me. He says you cannot come to me. You cannot come to me. It's not within the realm of possibility any more than it's life. You cannot come to me that you might have life.

You see, the new birth is more than a reformation of life. A fellow can quit drinking, and he can quit stinking, and he can quit committing murder, and he can quit smoking dope, and he can quit doing all those things that mean look at his baby, straighten up his life. All you've got to do is be convinced it's bad for you. All you've got to do is want to do better, and with a little help you can quit it. The new birth is not just reforming your life.

The new birth is not joining the church. It's easy to get folks to join the church. Especially when they're little fellas, you scare them to death. And they'll come make a decision, do anything you want them to do. Get baptized, run them through the water, and before they get dried off, they'll go out the back door and you'll never see them again.

Oh, but we're serving Jesus. Oh, no you're not. Oh, no you're not. You're just deceiving the souls of men. The new birth is not joining the church. The new birth is not even learning the right doctrine and being orthodox. The new birth is a resurrection from the dead.

It's a resurrection from the dead. Can you understand that? Our Lord Jesus said, The hour comes, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of Man, and they that hear shall hear. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection. On such, the second death hath no power. The first resurrection, Bobbie, is when God raised you from death to life in Christ. It's a resurrection. And I'm going to tell you what.

Your will can't get the job done. It can't do it. How many times have you been to the funeral home, or been to a funeral or a graveside, and you've seen a mama, a daddy, a husband, a wife, a brother, a sister, They lean over a casket and just bawl and squall, and they're hurting, and they cry, and they plead, and they want so much of that dead one to be raised. But all the tears in the world aren't going to change the fact that the body is just a corpse. It's dead. And us weeping and crying and pleading with men and women with regard to their souls will not change their hearts.

It can't be done. Not by us. And you certainly can't change yourself. You certainly can't raise yourself from the dead. How on earth can a sinner raise from the dead? Just like Lazarus was, the Son of God comes and says, Lazarus, come forth! And the dead come forth by the power of God, only by his speaking. Nothing else.

Since there's no such thing as free will in fallen man, it's certainly true that salvation is not by the will of man. But that's not just a point of logic. It's very important that we don't try to build our doctrine and say, well, since man has no free will, then salvation cannot be by the will of man. That's very logical, but our doctrine must arise from this book. I want to see what the book says, don't you? I want to see what the word of God says. Nothing else matters. John chapter 1 verse 12. As many as received him. I've had folks tell me many times from the time I was just a youngster, now you see dying man's got to receive Jesus. You sure do. You sure do.

You don't receive him This word received here doesn't mean that you receive him like that glass received water. That's not what the word means. It means you receive him like I'm fixing to receive some water. You've got to reach out and take him. You sure do. More about that in a minute. But listen to how it happens. As many as received him, to them gave he power, the right, the authority to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name, which were born. And listen, not of blood.

My daddy was a Christian, therefore I'm a Christian. Oh, it doesn't work that way. It just doesn't work that way. But I was baptized in church and my mama and daddy promised to raise me as a Christian. It don't matter if the angels came down and promised to raise you as a Christian. It don't happen that way. Nor of the will of the flesh. Oh, I sure do want God to save my son. I know he'll be saved. Oh, it don't happen that way. It don't happen that way.

Nor of the will of man. It doesn't even happen by human choosing to get saved. Well, how on earth then was it born? But of God. How much plainer should language be? Salvation is not by the will of man, but by the will of God. So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that learneth, but of God that showeth mercy.

Our Lord Jesus said in John 5 40 you will not come to me that you might have life. Some of you sitting here are yet without Christ and you don't know God. You come to church, may come regularly, may come once in a while because you got some concern about dying, got some concern about your immortal soul, but you don't know God. And the reason is you won't come to Christ. You will not come to me, because you might have life. And I know why you won't come. I know why you won't come. Because you don't need Him. That's it.

You've never been lost. You've never been lost. Everybody's lost trying to find somebody who's lost. Everybody knows exactly what to do to get there. Everybody I talk to knows exactly everything's all right. Everything's all right, either is or will be. I'll take care of that when the time comes. I'll tell you what it is to be lost. I don't know whether you've ever been lost or not.

When I was a boy, I used to go hunting a good bit with my uncle. Actually, it wasn't my uncle, just one of those fellas close to the family. We called him uncle. He was a distant relative of my dad's. Uncle Brown and I'd go hunting, but we'd always hunt in flatland.

And hunting in flatland, you'd learn how to find your way around with a dash of sand, He used to walk along the land and turn around and walk back. When I was 21 years old, we moved to West Virginia. And I bet there's not much flat land in that whole state as there is in this building right here. There's not any flat land there.

But I could hunt anything legal to hunt by walking out my front door. I didn't have to go anywhere to go hunting. And one day, not long after I was there, I decided to go squirrel hunting. I got my .22 rifle, back when I could see, and I stepped off my front porch, walked down the hill, and I was in the woods hunting.

And I stayed there for a few hours, walking around. I walked across this ridge, walked across that one, walked up the mountain here, walked over that way. And I started home. It started getting close to supper time, and I started home. And I kept looking around. Where did I come from? And here's the weird thing. Oh, the house is that way. So I take off that way.

And the longer I walked, The more I realized I wasn't even close to the house. And it got close to dark. And I'm out in the middle of the woods, in the mountains, and I don't know where on earth I am. I could hear the traffic running on Highway 60 up and down, but I couldn't find that road that saved my life. I just couldn't find it. Finally, in God's good providence, I came up on Highway 60 out from the house. But I'm going to tell you what, when you're lost, you start looking for help. You start looking for help. And you don't come to Christ because you don't need any help.

That's all. You don't need any help. I'm all right. I'll be all right. I'll be all right. How many times kids say to their mom, Mom, I'll be all right. Don't worry about me. I'll be all right. Oh, but you're not all right. You're never going to be all right unless God makes you all right. Never.

You don't know what it is to see the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. That's why you don't come to me. Oh, if you could see God's glory in God's Son, if I could show you Him, oh, if I could show you Him, wouldn't anybody have to tell you what to do? You'd grab Him, and you'd embrace Him, and you'd trust Him, and you'd love Him. But I can't show you to. You don't come to Christ because you really have a very high opinion of yourself. You've got a real good opinion of who you are.

Now, I know I'm not perfect. I know that nobody is. That gives you some consolation, doesn't it? I'm not perfect, but nobody is. I know it. The whole world's going to hell. Being perfect in the sight of man's nothing. I'm talking about poor God. Oh, the Lord, he knows my heart.

You bet your life he does. He sure does. You might not, but he does. I've got a good thought in your heart. But I've always done good all my life. You've never done good in your life. You've impressed men. You've impressed men. Now, I'm going to tell you the truth that may shock the bitches off some of you, but you need to be shocked off of you.

Judy Estes, right there, was raised under the gospel of God's grace all her life. That lady sitting right there, love her to death. A moral, chaste woman, lived such all her life. And she's just as vile at heart as any harlot in this world. She knows it, I know it. Same is true of my wife, my daughter, of yours as well.

Just as vile at heart. The only distinction outwardly is one person has been restrained from the evil that's in them. Another has not been restrained from the evil that's in them, but the evil is still there. It's still there. Man is at heart vile and base. You can't do righteousness. Your righteousness are filthy rags in God's sight.

Now they impress men, and men will pat you on the back and say, boy, he's a good boy. Always was a good boy, never did hang around with anybody but good boys. But there's not any good boys. There's not any. I don't know whether you hear what I'm saying or not. You won't come to Christ because you simply won't bow to Christ. That's the issue. That's the issue. It's not a matter of whether or not you want to go to heaven when you die.

I never met anybody in my life who wanted to go to hell. Did you? Anybody you ever witnessed to, talked to about it? Oh, I made up my mind to go to hell. I never met anybody who made up their mind to go to hell. Did you? What's the problem then? Everybody wants to go to heaven when they die. Why don't they? Because nobody will submit to the rule of Jesus Christ as Lord.

And that's what faith is. That means he takes control. That means he rules you. That means he calls shot in your life. And men by nature will never do it. There's no such thing then as free will in man. And salvation certainly is not by the will of man.

So thirdly, I want you to understand that it is the universal testimony of Holy Scripture that salvation is by the will of God. Now, please hear what I'm saying. Salvation hinges upon what God determined, upon God's will, not upon your will and what you determine. Salvation is by God's will. In all the works of God, you can find an analogy. I'll give you an illustration.

Brother Marvin Stoniker, you've all met him. He's a painter, and I've met a good painter. That fellow, he's an artist. He knows what he's doing. But I guarantee you, I guarantee you, and I've seen, I think, everything Marvin's done, but if I were in here and there were 50 pictures hanging along the walls here, done by great artists, all through the ages, 50 of them hanging in here, and there was one hanging in here done by Marvin that I'd never seen, I guarantee I'd walk right up and pick it out. I'd walk right up and pick it out. How come?

Because I know his work. I know his work. He's got certain features, certain characteristics about it. And his characteristics of his work are seen in everything he does. You take the books of the scripture. We know Paul wrote certain books, even though they don't bear his name. And we're fairly confident he wrote them for one reason. They bear the characteristics of that man. They bear certain features that all his epistles bear. The same thing is true with regard to God. All his works have an analogy running through them. They all bear the hand of God. Let me give you some illustration. In creation. In creation.

Now unless you're one of the foolish idiots in this world who imagines that this world just happened with a big bang somewhere and things started evolving. Now if you want to buy that, go ahead and buy it. But unless you believe such nonsense as that, you recognize God created all things. Find me something in the creation. Find me something that God just got started and let it go. Find me something. The scripture says, he upholds all things with the word of his power. Everything.

How come the sun keeps shining because God keeps it lit? That's how come. How come that old bone layer don't get any bigger because God doesn't let it get any bigger? And when God stretches it, he'll stretch it. That's all. I'm telling you, God holds the universe. And men and women don't just evolve, huh? That's absolute nonsense.

And yet I hear preachers, I hear preachers all over the country, raise sand and go to court to sue the school system, get them to teach creation, and they turn around and teach free will salvation. That's saying that God takes the first step, you do the rest. Or they'll say, you take the first step, God do the rest. But they make salvation be an evolutionary thing, in providence.

The scripture tells us that God Almighty works all things at the counsel of his will. Everything. Everything. The only people in the world who truly have a reason to believe what God says in this book are folks who believe exactly what we do about God's offer of death. If God doesn't absolutely control everything in the world, down to the way that woman's sitting right there with her legs crossed, and that one's sitting with a hand on her lips. If God doesn't control everything in the universe, everything, you can't believe one word of promise. You can't believe it. You say, well, I believe it. And God will do it if He can. But things might get in His way. Something might stop Him. Satan might say, no. Man might say, oh no, I'm not going to do this. Man, I say, I'll not go that way.

But I'm telling you, God rules in confidence. Everything. Therefore we believe with confidence that which he speaks, that which he says. And I know there are a lot of folks that talk about other things. And I know there are secondary causes of things. That is, God uses agents to accomplish his purpose. But God's the first cause of everything. So that the psalmist said, surely the wrath of man shall praise them, and the remainder of wrath will bow astray.

I'll give you a few illustrations. How many times have you had folks say, well, what about Hezekiah's prayer? But you say, prayer changes things. Prayer don't change anything. Changes you, maybe. It sure don't change God. No. Well, Hezekiah prayed, the Lord said he was going to kill him, and then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and sought the Lord. The Lord added 15 years to his life. Do you reckon that was an accident? Do you suppose that somehow God Almighty had not foreordained Hezekiah's prayer to bring to pass Hezekiah's extra 15 years? I'll guarantee it.

Read the book of God real close. Josiah, Hezekiah's son, or Manasseh, Hezekiah's son, was born after that. And Josiah was born out of Manasseh, through whom Jesus the Messiah came on this earth. Do you reckon God left that to hinge on whether or not Hezekiah decided to pray? Oh no! No, Hezekiah's prayer was called by God's purpose, because God's purpose that his sons should come to this earth through Hezekiah's line.

Judas. What if he hadn't betrayed the Savior? What if he hadn't gone into the garden? What if he hadn't lifted up his heel against the Son of God? Oh, Judas, our redemption depends on you. Oh, no. No, our Lord said in the Psalms, Psalm 68, verse 20, that Judas, his own familiar friend, lifted up his heel against Him. And the scripture says the Son of Man must be betrayed. But woe unto that man by whom he is betrayed. So God did not force Judas to kiss his son. No, God did not force Judas to betray his son.

But God Almighty purposed it as surely as he purposed the sun to shine on the first day of creation. Absolutely. And in salvation, nothing is left to chance. Oh no, nothing depends on whether you will. Listen to the book of God. 2 Corinthians 4 verse 18, you can look it up later. The Apostle Paul is talking about salvation, the whole chapter is talking about salvation. Chapter 5 verse 18, I'm sorry. This is what he says, all things, all things in connection with the saving of a sinner, all things are of God. Everything. I sit down here and preach and I struggle. I pray for grace and wisdom to preach to you. I've got to talk to eternity bound souls. And you may meet God before I get done preaching. But I'm confident.

Your eternal destiny doesn't depend on how good I preach. Doesn't depend on whether I have a little liberty or don't. Doesn't depend on whether or not I quit on time. Doesn't depend on whether I use the right illustrations. Oh, no. Your eternal destiny is of God.

And if you believe, it's of God. It's of God. And there are some difficulties surrounding the notion that salvation is somehow dependent upon the will of man. and the difficulties of tremendous consequence. You see, free willism makes the whole purpose and plan of God contingent upon the will of man. No, that's horrible. That's horrible. If God's salvation must wait upon man's decision If God cannot save until the sinner wills that God shall save, then there is a huge if put on everything.

God purposed to save. Somebody said God purposed to save everybody. That's another sermon, but that's nonsense. Let's just say God purposed to save Bill Raleigh. I want to save Bill Raleigh. And Bill Raleigh is born and raised and lives a rebel all his life. And then he comes here to the gospel of God's grace and Bill Rodgers says, no, no. And God speaks to him in power and Bill says, no. And Bill dies without Christ.

God's purpose, defeated by you. Now you think about that a minute. You just think about that a minute. God's purpose defeated by your purpose? I believe I worship you. Ought to. He's more powerful than God. His will is stronger than God's will. You see the difference? Why you can't? That's nonsense.

The Lord Jesus regained the people. He died a terrible and said it's finished. And if salvation depends on your will, he lies on you, it ain't finished yet. It ain't finished yet. It makes him to be a liar. Oh no, redemption doesn't depend on whether or not you will be redeemed. Redemption was finished at Calvary. The call of the Spirit doesn't depend on whether or not you will pretty please let him save you. But your believing depends on him calling you. Do you see the difference? Or the difference in the world?

If salvation and grace depend upon the will of man, then the will of man is omnipotent, and the will of God is submissive. Free willism is worse and more blasphemous than outright atheism. Yes sir, that's what I meant to say. Atheism only denies God's being. Free willism would make God Almighty to be the slave of man whom he has made. If salvation ultimately is determined by man's free will, then man is his own savior. He deserves at least as much praise as God for his salvation.

If God Almighty has done everything for folks who perish in their sins as He has for Merle Hart, if God Almighty did nothing more for you than He did for Judas, then you deserve as much praise as He does for your salvation. if you can even talk in such foolishness. Free willism is the doctrine of Lucifer, the most horrid, blasphemous doctrine imaginable.

Lucifer in the beginning said, I will. That's what Satan said. I will. I will ascend to the throne of the Most High. And that's what every Arminian preacher in the world says. Come on, you say, I will ascend to the throne of the Most High. You come on and say, I will go to heaven. That is blasphemy.

Free willism is what put the Son of God on the cursed tree as far as man's concerned. Pilate was willing to release Jesus, but the scripture says he was willing to please the people. And the scripture says he delivered Jesus to their will. And this is what man will do with God if he gets his hands on him. Crucify him. Crucify him. Let his blood be on us and on our children because we have no regard for it. More than that, every blessing of grace, every aspect of salvation, from the beginning to the end, is declared in Holy Scripture to be according to the will of God.

Let me give you some Scripture. You jot them down and look them up later. Election and predestination. Now, folks who aren't stupid enough to say the Bible doesn't teach election and predestination, they'll turn around and say, well, it does teach it. But what it means is that the Lord looked down and he saw how that you would be willing. And so he said, I'll choose him. Since he'll let me, I'll be gracious to him.

But that's not what the book says. The book says, Ephesians 1, verses 3, 4, and 5, that we were enlapsed and predestinated in Jesus Christ, listen, according to the good pleasure of his will. What the book says. What about redemption? Well, the Lord Jesus died for you, he wants to save you. If you will, then his blood will be powerful for you. Listen to the book of God. Christ Jesus has redeemed us, in whom we have the forgiveness of sin, and redemption through his blood. And the scripture says he did so that he might make known to us the mystery of God's will. That's what the book says.

Well, what about the rebirth? Well, a man can be born again if he'll believe on Jesus. You stop and think about that. You believe on Jesus and you can be born again. What do you need him for? If you can will to believe, if you can will to trust Christ, if you can will your way to heaven, what do you need him for? Oh no, the scripture says, of his own will beget he us with the word of truth.

James 1.18. Well what about sanctification? The scripture tells us that sanctification is accomplished by good will.

Jesus Christ came to do the will of God Hebrews 10.10, by the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. Well, will they hold out, hold on, persevere? Yep. Sure will. Because the book says, this is the Father's will which is sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.

John 6.39.

Well, what about entering into heaven? Obtaining the crown at last. Boy, if you do penance enough, if you do your works enough, if you say enough, you might possibly slip into the backside of heaven and sit down on the backstreets and be a real good Christian. Maybe you can eventually get up to the throne of God itself. Listen to what the book says. Father, I will. but they also whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am."

How are you going to get to heaven? By His will. Only by His will. Your will's got nothing to do with it. According to this book, there is not a single blessing of grace that is not immutably and infallibly bestowed upon God's elect by God's sovereign will and pleasure.

I'll give you a challenge. I'll give you a challenge. I'll take the challenge to you sitting here and to everybody in the world who hears this tape for as long as I have breath. Find me a place in this book, a place in this book where God's purpose, Christ's redemption, the Spirit's cause, or the salvation of God's elect or any blessing of grace by which we are brought from the dumb heap of fallen humanity and the pit of hell up to the ditch of glory to sit among the sons of God.

Finally, one example where God says it depends on your will. You find it, I'll eat this book and I'll quit preaching. I'll sit down and let you hit the floor. I promise you I will because I'm a false witness of God if you can find it. It's not there. It's not there. And I'm telling you, if you can't find it, don't you hear anybody who preaches it? Because he's a false witness of God.

This is the experience of every saved sinner. By the grace of God, I am what I am. That's all. That's all. I didn't have any trouble learning that, did you? When God saved me, I knew from the beginning what I had been and what I still am. I knew where I was. I was running as fast as I could to hell. I've been running as fast as I could to hell. God Almighty stopped me dead in my tracks.

He said, here's a two-step I'll do it, and no further. And at His appointed time, He stuck His finger in my heart and said, this time you come home, and home I came. And it's His doing. Jonah was in the belly of the whale. And I can just picture Some Arminian preacher swam it out to Jonah. Now, from the side of that whale belly, he said, now, Mr. Jonah, you need to make a decision. And Jonah spits out the seaweed and says, oh, no, my decision's what got me down here. But, Jonah, you need to exercise your will. That's what got me in hell to start with.

And only when he cries, salvation is of the Lord, is he found following in God's steps. And I'm telling you, that's where it is. Salvation's of the Lord. When I was a boy, just a young man, I remember hearing a fellow in Winston-Salem preaching one time. He said one of the young fellows in his congregation, one of these soul winners, found him pulling his wagon up the street. And he just stopped and asked the boy, he's 12, 14 years old. He said, son, have you found Jesus? And the little boy looked at him.

He said, no sir, I didn't know he was lost, but I was and he found me. Oh, out of the mouth of babes and sucklings. He's not lost. He doesn't need to be found by you. He'll find you if you're his. He'll find you. I don't care where you are. I don't care what you experience. I don't care how far you go, down toward her, he'll find you if you're one of his sheep, and he'll lay you on his shoulders, and he'll carry you home. May as well quit fighting. If you're his, give it up. He's got you. He's got you.

Grace taught my soul to pray, and made mine eyes o'erflow. Tis grace that kept me to this day, and will not let me go. was the same love that spread the feast that gently forced us in, else we had still refused to taste and perished in our sin. Fourthly, now you listen to this, be sure you get it, whosoever will, may come indeed to Jesus Christ and be saved. Would you? Are you willing now to come to Him? Whosoever will, the Spirit and God say, whosoever will, then come and take of the water of life freely.

Let no one misunderstand the doctrine of Holy Scripture. God does not force sinners against their will to be saved. The Lord Jesus has no unwilling servants. All the soldiers in the army of heaven are volunteers. If you would be saved, You must be willing to be saved. There's no question about that. All the time, folks say, well, you don't believe in whosoever will. I don't believe in whosoever won't. I do believe what the book says, whosoever will. Well, you don't.

Is there anybody sitting here lost? I'm even lost. So, do you realize, preacher, I'm a sinner. And I can't get to God because of my sin. Or if I can be rid of my sin. Preacher, I don't have any righteousness. God show me. God show me. There's not a righteous breath in my lungs. Not a righteous thought in my mind. Not a righteous emotion in my heart. I can't come to God. I'm going to hell and I can't stop it. I can't stop myself. Let me ask you one more time. Would you come to Christ? Would you have his atonement to put away your sin? Would you have his righteousness to give you acceptance with God? Would you have his grace to bring you up to glory?

Listen to what he says. If any man thirst, thirsty. Are you thirsty? If any man thirst, then come to me. Come and drink. Come and borrow without money and without price. Look and live. There's life for sinners. For a look to the crucified one. Look to Christ and live. Now let me tell you one more thing. I've got to tell you. Be sure you hear the whole message.

There's no such thing as free will in a fallen man. Salvation is not by the will of man. Salvation is by God's will. Whosoever will, let him come. Now, if you come right where you are, you don't come to Jesus walking down an aisle. There's never been anybody in the world saved walking down an aisle. You can't get saved that way. You don't come to Jesus by saying a prayer. There's never been anybody saved by saying a prayer.

Well, how on earth do you come to Jesus without moving a muscle, without saying a word, without doing anything? Sit on your hands and zip your lips and come to Christ. Come to Him right where you are. It's an act of faith. It's an act of faith. Just faith, that's all. Come to Him. Come to Him. Believe Him. That's coming to Him. Trust Him. That's coming to Him. And you do it from your heart. Not with your mouth. Not with your lips. With your heart. Not with your feet. Not with your hands. With your heart. Come to Him. Come to Him.

If you do, it's because God, in his sovereign will, has made you willing to go. If you come to him right now, if you have come to him while I've been preaching to you, it's because God chose you and God willed your salvation from eternity. Christ redeemed you and the Holy Spirit has called you. That's why you called.

Listen to the scriptures. Blessed is the man whom thou choosest. That's God's election. And causes to approach Him today. That's the Spirit's call. The Holy Spirit doesn't try to get you to come to Jesus. Oh no, that's not His business. The Holy Spirit calls you to come.

He causes you to come, and you're glad to come. Oh, He doesn't twist your arm. He twists your heart. He doesn't cause you just to be forced to come. He causes your heart to long to come. And you cry, give me Christ or else I die. John Bunyan illustrated it this way.

He said, a hen goes clucking around the yard all day long. Just cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck. But she spies a hawk in the air, and there's a special cluck she gives. And when she does, those chickens just gather under her wings and are perfectly safe. Now, I've been clucking around the barnyard. That's all I can do. That's all I can do.

Oh, but if God the Holy Spirit has called you by his grace, you won't need me to tell you to do anything. You'll hear it. he'll gather you under his wings, and your faith is the result of his sovereign will. Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you, our God, for your free, sovereign grace by which you've given us faith in Christ. And we ask now that you'll do for these gathered here what you've done for us. Grant life and faith in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

By Whose Will Are We Saved

What does the Bible say about free will in salvation?

How do we know God's election is true?

Why is God's sovereignty in salvation important for Christians?

What is will-worship and why is it problematic?

How does grace relate to salvation in the Bible?

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By Whose Will Are We Saved

What does the Bible say about free will in salvation?

How do we know God's election is true?

Why is God's sovereignty in salvation important for Christians?

What is will-worship and why is it problematic?

How does grace relate to salvation in the Bible?

Sermon Transcript

About Don Fortner

Comments

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