There seems to still be a lot
of confusion in this religious world in which we live today
about who God loves and who Christ died for. A lot of confusion. I know why. I know why there
is confusion because men and women believe what preachers
tell them. But how can they believe them
When the scriptures are so clear and plain on the matter of redemption,
I'll never quite understand. If you would turn with me to
Romans 8, I'm sure most of your Bibles are probably just open
there. I want, if God will enable me,
To answer this question, which is the title of my message, for
whom did Christ die? For whom did Christ die? I would
normally, I would start in verse 29, but you can't really start
there. You've got to read verse 28. And all of you know it by
heart. Romans 8, 28 says, and we know
that all things work together for good to them that love God. to them who are the called according
to His purpose. Now, who do all things work together
for good for? Well, does God cause all things
to work together for good to everybody in the world? That's
not what He says, is it? No. It says that all things work
together for good to them that love God. Do all things work
together for good to those who do not love God? That's not what
it says. God only works all things for
good to them that love Him. Well, everybody loves God, don't
they? No, not everybody does. Most
everybody claims to, but not many do. So who loves God? If all things work together for
good to them that love God, who are they? Well, read on. They
are those who are be-called according to His purpose. Be-called. Not just called, but be-called. Be-called. This speaks of a specific
group of people, to them who are be-called, and that word
be distinguishes them from others. Not just called, but be-called.
Well, isn't everyone called? No, just the called are called. Now, I understand that there's
a general call that goes out to all who hear the gospel, but
Paul here is speaking about a specific call, a personal call, an effectual
call, an irresistible call, a saving call. That effectual call by
which life and faith are produced and chosen, redeemed sinners
by the power and grace of God, the Holy Spirit. Who's called? Thee called. And notice that
they're called according to His purpose. These words mean something. They mean something. Whose purpose?
His purpose. God's purpose. Well, what is
His purpose? Well, I know this already. It's
to do His people good. To do them good. Those who are
the called, God has purposed to do good to them. Not everybody, but the called. Those called and caused. to love
Him, those called according to His purpose. God is going to
cause all things, everything, to work together for their good,
their temporal good, their spiritual good, and their eternal good. God's going to save a people.
He's going to. His purpose is to cause them
to love Him. His purpose is to supply every
good thing that they need. Every good thing that they need
physically, spiritually, and eternally. So for whom did Christ
die? Well, I want to know. I want
to know for whom Christ died. I want to be one of those for
whom Christ died. Well, for whom did Christ die?
First, look at verse 29 with me. For whom did Christ die? For whom He did foreknow. God
before the foundation of the world set his affection on a
particular people, particular people. Before we were born,
before any of us had done any good or evil, God foreknew us
that the purpose of God, the purpose of God, whose purpose? God's purpose. according to election
might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth." Oh, this
is much more than a doctrine. People say, I love the doctrine
of election. I love the God of election. He
chose, He chose. He set His affection on His people
before they were born, before they ever did any good or evil.
God chose in His election of grace to be merciful to certain
men and women. God saves them by divine purpose,
His divine purpose. He sent Christ to die for those
whom He had written on His heart. That's who God saves. And that
is who Christ died for. For whom did Christ die? Verse
29. First, for those whom He did
foreknow, and then the Apostle Paul tells us, for those whom
He did predestinate. to be conformed to the image
of his son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren."
Men say, I love the doctrine of predestination. I love the
God that predestinates. I love the God who predetermined
beforehand, who determined beforehand, He purposed the salvation of
particular ones that He would conform to the image of His Son. And that's what salvation is,
isn't it? It's being conformed to the image
of Christ, being made just like Him. Oh my, who can fathom such
things? who confess, made just like Him,
perfectly holy, perfectly righteous, perfectly innocent. God chose
a people, that's election. And God purposed, predestinated,
predetermined them to be just like Christ. That's who God saves,
and this is how God saves. He chose, He caused, and He calls
them by His grace. Read on, verse 30. Moreover,
whom He did predestinate, them He also called. In the fullness
of time, the scripture says, in the time of love, God calls
His chosen and elect by the glorious gospel, and those that He affectionately
calls. Then he also justifies. Now what a glorious word that
is. Justified. It means to render as just and
innocent. Innocent. Now that word infinitely
means something to some folks. You know who it means something
to? Those that are gifted. That means something to those
that are guilty. If you're guilty, then being
justified, made innocent, made perfect before a thrice holy
God, it'll mean something to you. It'll mean something to
you. So to be justified means to be perfectly innocent. How
does God save sinners? Well, let's review again. He
chooses, He causes, He purposes, He predestines, He calls by His
grace, effectual calls. And He conforms us into the image
of His Son. And notice lastly that God completes. It says, in whom He justified,
them He also glorified. That's what being glorified is.
It's being complete. Now, I'm complete and perfect
in Christ right now. But one day, one day soon, all
God's elect will put on incorruption This mortal will put on immortality. And then we'll be complete and
glorified without sin in our bodies. I'll have a body then
that will never sin. How glorious is that? So there's
only one thing to say in light of these things. And Paul asked
that in verse 31. What shall we then say to these
things? You know the answer. If God be
for us, who can be against us? Who can be against us? That's what scriptures plainly
teach concerning the sinner's redemption. Is that what you
believe? Is this who you believe? Do you
believe that God chose a people when eternity passed and He sovereignly
purposed them to be conformed exactly to the image of His Son? Do you believe that by the sovereign
grace of God, He justified you, made you perfect, and without
sin to glorify you forever? Thank God if you do, but sadly,
you're in the minority. You're in the minority. The majority
of men and women do not believe these things. Men are standing
up this morning, right now, this very minute, all over middle
Tennessee, all over this state, all over this nation, all over
this world, and they're telling folks that Christ died for everybody,
that God loves everybody. That's what they're saying, not
telling the truth. And I don't believe for a minute,
I really don't. I don't believe for a minute
that any of them believe that they're lying. I don't think
for a minute that they're purposely deceiving people. Oh, there may
be some that are, but not most. Sadly, I believe that most believe
wholeheartedly what they're saying. You see, friends, they don't
know God. They don't know God. The majority of men and women
in this world, even in religion, do not know this God that we
just read about. They're standing up and telling
sinners that God loves everybody. Oh, is saying that really such
a big deal? Oh, it's more than a big deal.
It's more than a big deal. It denies the character and the
integrity of God Almighty. If God loves everybody in the
world the same, if God loved Judas the same as he loved Peter,
James, and John, if God loves all men and women the same, and
just one of them, just one of them ends up lost in hell, then
the love of God means nothing. If a person God loves can be
lost, then God's love is of no consequence. His love has no
effect in the matter of eternal salvation, if that is so. But
the love of God means everything in the matter of redemption.
The love of God is the very foundation of our salvation. The scripture
says, herein is love. that we love God, but that He
loved us. Most everybody claims to love
God. You just ask them. Most everybody claims to love
Jesus. Men say, me and Jesus have got
a good thing going. They don't. They don't. John
says, herein is love, not that we love God, but that He loved
us. Now is John writing that letter
to everybody? No, John's writing it to the
church. John is writing to believers. He's not writing to pagans and
heathens and unbelievers in the whole world. He's writing it
to the ones that God chose and loved before the foundation of
the world. He said here in his love, not
that we love God, but that he loved us. What'd he do? He sent his son to be a propitiation,
a payment for our sins. He said, we love Him because
He first loved us. Our love is a response to His
love. He said, I've drawn thee with
an everlasting love. This is life eternal, that they
might know Thee, the only true God, in Jesus Christ, whom Thou
hast sent. John's writing to God's sheep.
God's writing to His elect, His church, His jewels, His brethren. Peter said that God's not willing
that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
Peter's writing to the same folks. He's writing to the same folks.
He's writing to them whom God chose, called, and conformed
to the image of His Son. Our Lord said in Matthew chapter
7 that in the day of judgment, many are going to say unto me,
Lord, Lord. There's a lot of people that say Lord. Lord, Lord,
haven't we done this? Haven't we done that? Haven't
we done many wonderful works? What's the Lord gonna say? I
never knew you. I never knew you. How can God
love somebody that he doesn't know? God knows everybody, doesn't
he? No, no, not in the same sense.
Here's the judge of heaven and earth and he's going to say to
these false professors, I never knew you, I never loved you,
you were never mine. I never set my affection upon
you. And that's exactly what the Lord's
teaching us in John 3.36. It says, He that believeth on
the Son hath everlasting life, and he that believeth not the
Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him. The average church member won't
hear much about the wrath of God. Won't hear much about it. If God loves everybody, then
why does he say that he believeth not, shall not see life, but
the wrath of God about it? Will God's wrath abide on someone
that he loves? What kind of love would that
be? If God loves everybody, if God wills and purposes for all
to be saved, then how do you account for the flood in Noah's
day? How do you account for the destruction of Sodom in Lot's
day? Was it an act of love? Was it? Or was it an act of judgment
and wrath? I used to, not so much anymore,
see those signs and bumper stickers that said, smile, God loves you.
Who's that sign for? Some say it's for everybody since
God loves everybody. And I know you've heard it said
before, do you reckon there was a bumper sticker on the ark that
Noah built that said, smile, God loves you? I've thought about
that so often. Do you think that the drowning
world found comfort in God's love? Do you think that they
believed God loved them as they perished in the flood? Do you
suppose there was a sign on the way out of Sodom that said, well,
you're leaving Sodom, the city where God loves everybody. God
destroyed that wicked city. It was his wrath and his judgment. If God loves everybody, then
he must love Esau the same as he did Jacob. You're still in
Romans, aren't you? Look at chapter 8. You know this
verse well, verse 13. Or chapter 9, verse 13, I'm sorry. Chapter
9, verse 13. As it is written, Jacob have
I loved, but Esau have I hated. I thought God loved everybody.
Not according to God. Not according to God. God hateth
all workers of iniquity, Psalm 55. In Psalm 711 the scripture
said God's angry with the wicked every day. Don't tell people
that God Almighty loved Jezebel the same as He loved Rahab the
harlot. He didn't. He condemned Jezebel to everlasting
destruction and Rahab the harlot was adopted into the Kingdom
of God. Men say God loves you, but if
you don't decide to love Him back, then you'll be lost forever.
Don't tell people God Almighty loves unbelievers. I wish I could
get the ear of every preacher. Don't tell people that God loves
those that don't love His Son. He doesn't. He loves men and
women in Christ. That's where His love is. Only
in Christ. Look back at chapter 8, verse
39. It says, nothing, nothing can
separate us from the love of God. Where is it? Which is in
Jesus Christ our Lord. That's where God's love is. There's
no one in hell that God loves. There just not. If God loves
you in Christ, you cannot be separated from him or his love. That's what he said. Nothing,
no one. can separate us from the love
of God, which is in Jesus Christ, our Lord. You can't be separated.
What kind of love would that be, if you could be? How can
preachers look at sinners and say, God loves you, but you're
going to hell if you don't believe? If that's true, I'll be honest
with you, if that's true, and it's not, but if it was, I'd
just assume that he wouldn't love me. That'd be a strange expression
of love. If God loves me, then He's going
to cause me to believe. I'm going to believe. He's going
to make me willing in the day of His power. Though I was unwilling
to come, He's going to make me willing to come and to bow to
Christ. He chose me. He calls me. He
calls me. He conforms me. And He makes
me complete in Him. Salvation of the Lord. The love
of God is the foundation of salvation. For God so loved that He gave. Men say, okay, there you go,
right there, John 3, 16. For God so loved the world that
He gave. God does love the world. He loves
the world that He created. God does love His people that
live in the world. But God does not love everybody
in the world. He does not. Our Lord while praying
to His Father in John 17, 9 said, I pray for them. Who? I pray
not for the world. I tell you who they're not. I
pray not for the world, but for them which Thou hast given me. Is that not plain? Is that not
plain? For they are Thine. Would Christ
not pray for those that He loves? He said, I pray not for the world.
What kind of love is that if he loves the whole world and
doesn't pray for them? I pray for them. Who? For them
which thou hast given me. Those that he elected in eternity
past. Those that he purposed, predetermined,
predestinated to come. Those that He calls by His grace. Those that He conforms to His
Son. That's who He loves. Not everybody. Not everyone that saith unto
me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven. And I
tell you, I say this with pity and with a broken heart. There
are ignorant men standing in their pulpits right now saying
God loves everybody. And that's not all they say.
They say that God wants and wills to save everybody. If God Almighty
wills and desires the whole world to be saved and yet some are
lost, then I must ask you, what does the will and purpose of
God have to do with salvation? If God Almighty purposes to save
everybody and wills and wishes for all of them to be saved and
they're not, then the will and purpose of God has no power and
it means nothing. Do you see how serious this matter
is? People say, well, we just, you know, we just don't, our
doctrine don't allow, oh no, it's much more than that. If
sinners are lost, whom God purposes to save, then God's will has
no authority. It's just that simple. If that
is so, would our Lord have taught us to pray, thy will be done? If it's not, why pray that if
it's not gonna be? Why pray that? It's to say He
can't get the job done. He can't get the job done. Why
would we pray that His will be done if it's not going to be?
What can God's will have to do with salvation if He wills to
save and can't? Recently in a funeral service,
I heard a preacher say, God wants to save you and He wills to save
you, but you have to let Him. You've heard that. You've heard
that. Well, if that's true, then the
power to save is in the sinner and not in God. The will of God
is the cause of salvation. I tell you, without any reservation,
if God wills a man to be saved, that man will be saved. Oh, don't
tell people God. God willed the salvation of Noah,
and the scripture says, and Noah found grace in the eyes of the
Lord. God willed Abraham to come out of idolatry. And Abraham,
the scripture says, went out, not knowing where he was going.
And he began to search for a city whose maker and builder was God. James wrote of his own will. Whose will? God's will. He beget
us with the word of truth. It's all through the pages of
scripture. If salvation is left to your will, To my will will
never be saved. And the child of God says, that's
right. I know enough about my will to know that. The will of
man is in bondage to sin. Look at Romans 9, 16. So then it is not of him that
willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy. Those whom God wills to save,
to be saved, will be saved. What did Paul say in Ephesians
1 verse 11? God worketh all things after
the counsel of His own will. His own will. There can only
be one sovereign will, only one dominating will in heaven and
earth, and that's God's will. That's God's will. It's He that
makes us willful in the day of His power. Christ said, you will
not come. You will not come to me that
you might have life. No man can come to me except,
except my Father which sent me draw him. Now that's the one
exception, God. God is the one exception. No
man can come to me except, there's the exception right there. In
John chapter 1, it says we who believe in Christ were born not
of the will of the flesh, not of the will of man. How then? But by the will of God. by the will of God. The love
of God is the foundation of our salvation. The will of God is
the cause of our salvation. And right now, this very minute,
preachers are standing up and they're telling needy and desperate
sinners that Christ died for everybody. You see, one lie leads
to another. If God loves everybody, then
obviously He wills and wants everyone to be saved. Therefore,
Christ died for everybody. If Jesus Christ died on the cross
to save every man, woman, and child, without exception, and
He actually shed His blood for the sins of all men, and yet
some men and women are lost, then I have to ask you, seriously,
what does the death and the blood of Christ have to do with the
sinner's salvation? What does it have to do with
it? Well, preacher, in one sense, didn't Christ die for everybody,
making salvation possible for those who would believe? With God, salvation is not a
possibility. It's a certainty. Christ did
not die to make salvation possible. He died to make salvation certain
for those he causes to believe. for those that He called, those
that He chose, those that He purposed. If God loves someone
and God wills to save someone and Christ dies for someone and
they still perish, what does God's love, God's will, and the
death of God's Son have to do with where we spend eternity?
If men perish for whom Christ died, then his death plays no
part in being saved. If men for whom Christ shed his
blood for perish and go to hell, then his blood, his blood, the
blood of God, then has no power to cleanse, no power to sanctify,
and no power to justify. Why then would anyone give glory
to God? He's nothing more than a failure
if these things be so. And that's what he is according
to today's theology. Now, did Christ die for all the
sins of all people? Well, if he did, then all will
be saved. Every single one. Did Christ
die for some of the sins of all God's people? If that's true,
then none will be saved. Did Christ die for all the sins
of some people? If so, then some will be saved. Which is it? If His blood washed
clean the sins of those who are in hell, the same as it did for
those that are in heaven, how then can His blood be said to
be effectual? A man I met in Texas upon discovering
that I was a preacher. I don't go around and tell everybody
I'm a preacher. Men act different around you. They won't be themselves.
When he found out I was a preacher, he once told me he thought preachers
were confusing. He told me he thought they talked
out of both sides of their mouth. And I can't tell you how surprised
he was when I agreed with him. Many so-called preachers say
God is almighty and then they say he can't do what he wills
and desires to do. That's talking out of both sides
of your mouth. God's Almighty, but He can't do what He wills
and desires to do. They say that if Christ died
for your sins, you'll be saved, and then they turn right around
and say that He died for all the sins of those who are not
saved. That's talking out of both sides of your mouth. It's
nothing less than blasphemy to believe that the blood of Christ
was shed in vain. The blood of Christ is the one
sacrifice, friends, the one sin offering, the one atonement payment
for sin, and it's the sole reason for the chosen sinner's justification. The blood of Christ. God's blood
was shed. God's blood was shed. It's not
the blood of Christ plus your faith. It's not the blood of
Christ plus your words. It's not the blood of Christ
plus your decision. It's the blood of Christ alone
that maketh atonement for the suffering. Leviticus 1711. The Lord Jesus Christ cannot
fail. He cannot fail. His atonement
atones. He purchased the redemption that
redeems. He accomplished the salvation
that saves. We're loved in Christ, chosen
in Christ, redeemed in Christ, accepted in Christ, and friends,
we'll be glorified in Christ. That's the gospel. Picture in
your mind that dark and terrible night there in Egypt, when the
Lord God said, I'm going to pass through Egypt this night and
smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast. Picture it in your mind. Can
you see that blood that was applied on the door and the lintel of
the people of Israel? What did God say about that blood?
That blood shall be to you for a token, evidence, proof that
when I see the blood, I'll pass over you. I'll pass over you. And the plague shall not be upon
you to destroy you. That's the effectual, the effectual
working of the blood of Christ. God didn't say I might pass over
you. He didn't say more than likely I'll pass over you or
it's most probable that I'll pass over you. He said I will
pass over you. And He didn't say I'll pass over
you if you pray hard enough. He didn't say I'll pass over
you if your faith is strong enough. When I see the blood, I'll pass
over you." Everywhere God saw the blood, He passed over and
nothing's changed. His blood's still effectual.
Everywhere God sees the blood of Christ right now, He'll pass
over. Where there's no blood, there's
no justification. His blood maketh atonement for
the soul. For who and why did Christ die
and shed His blood? Four, he died the just for the
unjust, that he might bring us to God. When the Lord Jesus Christ
died, did he bring everybody to God? Peter says he died the
just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God. Us. Who's the us? Who's the us
there? Well, Peter's writing a letter
to, and who's he writing it to? He said, I'm writing this to
the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia,
Asia, and Bithynia. Elect. Elect according to the
foreknowledge of God the Father. The scripture says he died to
put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. There's life eternal
to all that have their sin put away. Preachers, pastors, so-called
reverends, right now are telling sinners that God, the Holy Spirit,
is striving with all men to believe. If that's so, and all men are
not saved, then I must ask, what does the Holy Spirit have to
do with salvation? Well, they say, let's sing another
verse of softly and tenderly Jesus is calling. The Holy Spirit's
striving. He's trying to convince you to
believe. The Spirit of God has never tried to do anything. God wants to save you. God has
never wanted to do anything. He does what He wills in the
armies of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth, and
none can stay His hand or say unto Him, what doest thou? I'll tell you friends, if that
soul, if the Holy Spirit is striving and trying to convince men to
believe, and salvation is left up to whether or not that man
or woman believes, then the will works, merit and choosing of
the sinner that saves and not God. I'm telling you as plainly
and as directly as I know how. If that is so, then God the Father,
God the Son, and God the Spirit, the Holy Trinity, has no power
to save. And God's a failure and a liar. If these things are true, then
the scripture which says salvation is of the Lord is just not so. Salvation ends up being of man. And that's why people are confused.
People are confused. They're confused. Scripture which
declares the blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanses us from all
sin. That's what the scriptures say.
It may cleanse you, but it may not cleanse you is what men say.
It may cleanse you, but you it may not cleanse. It all depends
on what you do about it. This type of preaching is totally
inconsistent with the Scriptures. And not only that, but it's inconsistent
with logic. It's inconsistent with reason.
And it's most definitely inconsistent with justice. Is it any wonder
that most people won't even go to church? What does the Bible say? What
does God declare in His Word? Oh, I know you're so thankful.
that God's given you a faithful pastor whom God's made him responsible
to declare unto you, made him responsible to declare unto you
what the scriptures say about the love of God, the will of
God, the blood of Christ, and the irresistible and invincible
power of God in the Holy Spirit. He tells you faithfully every
time you meet. I know what He tells you. Every
time He stands, He proclaims to you that God's love and God's
will and Christ's blood are in perfect harmony. Perfect harmony. Whom the Father chose, the Son
redeemed, and the Holy Spirit calls. It's a certainty. These are the ones for whom Christ
died. He died because He was made sin
for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. Everybody, everybody for whom
He was made sin, will be made the righteousness of God in him. Christ loves, Christ died, and
Christ paid for all the sins of all the elect throughout all
time. By one offering, the scripture
says, he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified. The
law of God insists that you must be perfect to be accepted. It
must be perfect to be accepted. Are there any who are perfect
that will be lost? No. Are there any perfect men
and women in hell? No. If God loves you and God
wills your salvation and Christ died for you, the Holy Spirit
will call you and you will be saved. For whom he foreknew. He predestinated,
predetermined, purposed beforehand to be conformed to the image
of His Son. Whom He predestinated, He called. And whom He called, He justified. And whom He justified, He will
glorify. Now what do we have to say about
these things? Well, we say salvation is of
the Lord, don't we? We say if God be for us, Who? Who can be again? God's
not a failure. He cannot fail. God's will cannot
be defeated. His purpose shall stand. Christ's blood is effectual,
and all to whom it is applied, God will pass over, and the plague
shall not be upon you to destroy you. If I'm His, then there's
nothing that I can do to cause Him to love me more. But you
want me to tell you a glorious truth? If I'm His, there's nothing
that I can do to cause Him to love me less. That's a great comfort to me.
No, God doesn't love everybody. Not everybody in the world, but
I tell you this with all certainty. God loves everybody that loves
His Son. God loves everyone that loves
His Son who died for their sins. And we love Him because, because
He first loved us. He first loved us. Bill, I appreciate
you giving me an ear. May God be pleased to make His
Word effectual. to sinners hearts. Okay, Pastor. Thank you, Chris.