Welcome to Reign of Grace. This program is brought to you by Reign of Grace Media Ministries, an outreach ministry of Eager Avenue Grace Church in Albany, Georgia. It is our pleasure and privilege to present to you the gospel message of the sovereign grace and glory of God in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. We pray that today's program will be a blessing to you. Thank you for listening. And now for today's program. Welcome to our program today. I'm glad you could join us.

If you'd like to follow along in your Bibles, I'm going to go to a familiar passage, the book of first Corinthians chapter one, beginning at verse 18. And the title of the message is the powerful calling of God. the powerful calling of God. I've had this subject on my mind for several weeks now, about the fact that true salvation, true Christianity, as we call it, is not just a matter of you or me making a decision.

You know, people today are big on what I call a very dangerous doctrine, which is called decisional regeneration. And what that is, you know, regeneration is part and parcel of the new birth. Christ said, you must be born again. And the new birth consists of regeneration, which is the giving of spiritual life to one who is spiritually, by nature, spiritually dead.

By nature, we're born dead in sins, trespasses and sins. We fell in Adam into a state of spiritual death. And that's why we have no ability, natural ability, to make the right decisions concerning salvation and a right relationship with God. we're spiritually dead. And so we must be regenerated.

Another word for that in the Bible is quickened, giving life, given spiritual life. And also the new birth involves conversion. not only the giving of life, but the expression of life through a converted soul who has been brought to faith in Christ and repentance of dead works. And so that involves a calling. So it's not just make a decision. Now we make decisions, don't get me wrong. I know we have a will. It's not a free will, but we have a will.

But our will is not set free to receive and believe in and embrace Christ until we're born again by the Spirit. And that Spirit of God, the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, sent forth from the Father and the Son to bring His people under the preaching of the Gospel and to give them new birth, regenerate them, and convert them to Christ through a powerful calling, the powerful calling of God. Now, there is a general call in the scripture. That general call goes out to anybody who hears the gospel, but if that calling is not accompanied with the power of the Holy Spirit in the new birth, It'll go unbelieved. It'll go, they'll walk away in unbelief and stay that way.

And that's why over here in 1 Corinthians 2 and verse 14, I quote all the time on this program. Go over there and look at it since we're here, 1 Corinthians 1. 1 Corinthians 2, 14, but the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God. It says, for they are foolishness unto him, neither can he know them savingly because they are spiritually discerned, spiritually understood unto salvation. So a natural man, what is that?

That's us in our natural born state, fallen in Adam. And that's why again, Christ said, you must be born again, or you cannot see the kingdom of God, which means you can't understand it. You don't know the value of it. You have no desire for it. And you cannot enter the kingdom of God. You must be born again.

Well, over here in 1 Corinthians 1, Paul, in verse 18, is talking about the preaching of the gospel, which he identifies here as the preaching of the cross. Now, that's the preaching of Jesus Christ and Him crucified, and not just crucified, but raised from the dead. and ascended unto the Father, where he's now seated in the heavenlies at the right hand of the Father, ever living to make intercession for his people, to see that they are saved, to see that they are preserved, and to see that they are brought to glory with him. All for whom he died, not all without exception, but all for whom he died. And that's why Paul wrote over here in 1 Corinthians 2, 2, he said, I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ and Him crucified. And what he's talking about there is the glorious person and the finished work of Jesus Christ as the surety, the substitute, the redeemer of the people for whom he came to save. his sheep, his church. Christ Jesus came to save sinners.

And so back here in 1 Corinthians 1.18, he says, for the preaching of the cross. That's not talking about a piece of wood. That's talking about the death of Jesus Christ who is God manifest in the flesh and what he accomplished in his death to save his people from their sins.

And what did he accomplish? He accomplished their salvation. Every condition, every stipulation, everything that God required To save His people whom He chose before the foundation of the world and gave to Christ, to save them was fulfilled by Christ on the cross through the shedding of His blood, His death. He put away their sins, satisfied law and justice, and brought forth an everlasting righteousness whereby God could be both a just God and a Savior. whereby God could justify them and preserve them and give them life and bring them to glory and still be righteous in doing so.

That was the whole purpose of it. That's why the gospel is the power of God and salvation because therein is the righteousness of God revealed. That righteousness of God is the righteousness of Christ that he worked out on the cross in his obedience unto death. And the merit, the value, the glory and the worthiness of His righteousness is imputed, has been imputed, charged, accounted to the people of God. And you know them by their being brought to faith in Christ and repentance of dead works. So read it again, verse 18.

For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness. The preaching of the person and work of Christ to those who go through life in unbelief and die in unbelief and who perish, the reason they don't believe it, it's foolishness to them. The preaching of God's grace is foolishness to them. They look at it as something a fool would believe.

And that is the wisdom of men, not the wisdom of God. wisdom of God is found in his way of salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ, who himself is the personification of the wisdom of God. But there's only one religion, true religion, that brings forth this truth salvation by full free grace and that's the religion of Christ, the religion of God. Every other religion in the history of mankind, every other religion that man has come up with, every philosophy conditions salvation in some way to some degree at some stage on men and women. But Christianity, true Christianity, now there's fake, there's false, but true Christianity tells us that God put all conditions of the salvation of the people whom he chose on Christ. And you can't argue with him. Now you can argue with him here, but you won't win the argument. That's why he says here in verse 20, where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this world? Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?

You see, think about it. It's foolish for a sinner. to think that he can do something or meet some condition in order to attain or maintain God's favor and blessings and salvation. And so in verse 21, he says, for after that in the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom knew not God, that is by worldly wisdom. Man's wisdom will not lead you to know God. but it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe."

Now this is the way God does it. It's by what men call foolishness but what we who are called by God, that powerful calling, see as the very wisdom of God. Here's the wisdom of God. It pleased God by the preaching of the gospel, the preaching of the cross, the preaching of Christ crucified, risen, and attained unto glory, raised unto glory. That's what God says. It's through the preaching of what man by nature calls foolishness. It's not foolishness, it's the wisdom of God. And so he says, it's by that preaching in the power of the Holy Spirit that sinners are called powerfully. And look at how he puts it here, look at verse 22.

For the Jews require a sign and the Greeks or the Gentiles seek after wisdom." Now the Jews are looking for religious signs and the Greeks or the Gentiles, they're looking for human wisdom, philosophy. Tell me what you think. Give me your opinion. See, but here's the key.

Verse 23, but we preach Christ crucified, the person of Christ. Who is Jesus Christ? God, manifest in the flesh. And we preach Christ crucified, who died on the cross to ensure and secure the eternal salvation and final glory of all for whom he died. All whom the Lord God gave him, chose and gave him before the foundation of the world. And that's why he says over in John 6, 37, all that the father gave me shall come to me. And him that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out.

So there it is. There it is. The Jews, they're looking for religion, religious signs. That's what people are interested in. Greeks are seeking human wisdom and philosophy, but we who are saved, We preach Christ crucified unto the Jews a stumbling block and unto the Greeks or Gentiles foolishness, you say, because the Jew who's looking for religious signs and emotions and feelings and the Greek, Gentile who's looking for human wisdom and philosophy and all of that, they look at us and say, it's gotta be more than that. That just doesn't make sense, that's foolishness.

But verse 24, now listen, but unto them which are called, now there's that powerful calling of God, there's that irresistible calling of God, the calling of the Holy Spirit through the preaching of the gospel. Unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, doesn't matter who you are, if you're a Jew or a Gentile, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. You see the gospel is not foolishness to those who are called powerfully. The gospel is actually the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth and that believing is a gift from God that's given through that calling by the Spirit For by grace are you saved through faith, that not of yourselves, it's the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast, and brought to repentance of dead works, turning away from sin and self and turning to Christ, submitting to Him as the Lord, my righteousness, my only salvation, my only intercessor and mediator, my only Lord. whom I'm to follow and to obey. Not to be saved, but because I already am by Him. That's the issue. And this calling, I'll tell you, it's a special calling. It's when a person is born again by the Spirit, and given a new spirit, a new life, a new mind, a new knowledge.

It is, it's a new knowledge, it's a new motive, a new aim, a new goal, all to the praise of the glory of God's grace in Christ. Running the race of grace, walking by faith, living their lives, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of their faith. Not looking to themselves, not looking to their church, not looking to their pastor or anybody, their mother, their father, looking unto Jesus Christ, Christ crucified and risen from the dead. And that's what he says, unto them which are called, both Jew and Gentile, Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God. And look at verse 25, because the foolishness of God, what men call foolishness, is wiser than men. You see, men and women by nature have it all backwards.

What they call darkness is light, and what they call light is darkness. What they call love is hate, and what they call hate is love. What they call foolishness is the wisdom of God, and what they call the wisdom of God is foolishness. They're deceived. They're in darkness, they're ignorant. And so, what they call foolishness is wiser, the foolishness of God, what they call foolishness is wiser than they think is their wisdom. And the weakness of God is stronger than men.

Verse 26 says, for you see your calling, brethren, that's the believers. how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called. Many, many of the smartest people, the wealthiest, the noblest, they have no interest in the gospel of Christ. They don't see themselves as sinful people who deserve nothing but death and hell. And so, Not many noble, not many mighty.

Verse 27 says, but God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise, and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty, and the base things of the world and the things which are despised hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not to bring to nothing things that are. other words, he's showing the contradiction that exists in the natural man in his unbelief. What is everything concerning salvation and a right relationship with God, everything in glory, everything in holiness and righteousness everything in peace with God, what is everything Christ crucified, risen from the dead, Christ's blood and righteousness alone, His glorious person, His finished work, what is everything man considers to be nothing, least, least of all. But God has chosen those things that man considers nothing to be everything in salvation. And why?

Verse 29, that no flesh should glory or boast in His presence. You see, when it comes to the reality of salvation by grace, when it comes to you in reality in that powerful calling of God, You'll find this, you have absolutely no reason to brag or to boast or to glory. You can't say, Lord, I'm saved because I believed and somebody else didn't believe. Because you'll see. That salvation is of the Lord and even the faith to believe is a gift that God gave you freely and fully.

And you didn't earn it, you didn't have it by nature, it wasn't in you naturally. You had no goodness in you. See, that's just by nature. There's none righteous, no not one. There's none that doeth good. There's none that seeketh after God, not the true God. Oh, we'll seek a God, an idol who's like ourselves, but not the true and living God. So all this calling of God, this powerful calling will bring you down into the dust to beg for mercy, realizing that you have no claim on the blessings of God's grace.

That if he gives you any blessing, any of salvation, It's full, free, sovereign grace and mercy based upon the merits of Christ and Him alone, His obedience unto death. And so He says in verse 30 of 1 Corinthians 1, but of Him are you in Christ Jesus. In other words, it's of God, salvation is of the Lord, you're saved, if you're a recipient of this powerful calling of God through the gospel and brought to faith in Christ and repentance of dead works and perseverance in that faith, it's of God that you're in Christ Jesus. You're in Him legally, eternally, spiritually and you'll be in Him in glory. he says, who of God is made unto us. Now this is what Christ is to his people. He's made unto us wisdom, all the wisdom that I need to be right with God, I find in the person and work of Christ. You see that? I don't find it in myself, I find it in him. And then He's made unto us righteousness, all the righteousness that God requires for me to be saved, to be justified. And I've said it so many times on this program, what is it to be justified?

It's to be forgiven of all my sins, past, present, future, original sin, all sin, on a just ground. And the only just ground that God can forgive sin is the blood of Jesus Christ. And that's it. And to be justified is to be declared righteous in God's sight on a just ground. And the only just ground that God can declare me a sinner righteous is the imputed righteousness of Christ. And so Christ is made unto me all the righteousness that I need for salvation and eternal life. All the righteousness that God requires, I find in Christ. Don't find it in me, but I find it in Christ. And then sanctification. Now, sanctification means to be set apart.

One of the things about this calling is that we're called out of something and called into something. Well, what are we called out of? The world, everything about the world, it's morality, it's religion, everything. The word church means called out ones. And so when we're called with this powerful calling of God through the preaching of the gospel, We're called out of the world.

We're separated from the world. That's what sanctification means, is a separation from the world. Not by our works and all of that, but by our, we separate out. God brings us out of idolatry. False religion works conditional salvation and brings us into his church, called into the church, called to Christ, called to fellowship with Christ and the people of God. And that's what it is, that's what sanctification is. We're separated because of our gospel, because of our calling.

And then lastly, he says, Christ has made unto us redemption. Now, the redemption that he's talking about here, I believe, means our final glorification being redeemed out of this world. Christ redeemed us on the cross. He redeemed his people. He redeemed his sheep. He redeemed his church. He redeemed the elect of God by paying the price with his own blood. By one offering, He hath perfected forever them that are sanctified.

But now we're in this world, living our lives, and we're either going to die and separate from this vile body and go to be with the Lord, or we're gonna be here on earth when He comes back. And then we're gonna be caught up with Him. This body will dissolve. and we'll have a new body. And so that's the redemption he's talking about here.

And verse 31 says, that according as it is written, he that gloryeth, let him glory in the Lord. If you're gonna boast, if you're gonna brag. If you're gonna have confidence, have it in the Lord who saves by grace through the Lord Jesus Christ, and not in any other thing, not in your wisdom, not in your philosophies, not in your religion, not in your works, but in Christ.

I hope you'll join us next week for another message from God's word. We are glad you could join us for another edition of Reign of Grace. This program is brought to you by Reign of Grace Media Ministries, an outreach ministry of Eager Avenue Grace Church in Albany, Georgia. To receive a copy of today's program or to learn more about Reign of Grace Media Ministries or Eager Avenue Grace Church, write us at 1102 Eager Drive, Albany, Georgia. Contact us by phone at 229-432-6969 or email us through our website at www.TheLetterRofGrace.com. Thank you again for listening today and may the Lord be with you.