Election

Q: What does the Bible say about election?

The Bible teaches that God sovereignly elects His people for salvation, as stated in John 15:16 and Ephesians 1:4. Election, as described in Scripture, is the sovereign act of God whereby He chooses certain individuals for salvation. Jesus emphasized this in John 15:16, stating, 'You have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you.' This theme is consistent throughout the Bible, illustrating that God's choice is not based on human merit but solely on His grace and purpose (Ephesians 1:4). Furthermore, in Romans 9:11, Paul clarifies that God's election is not contingent on works but on His mercy, confirming that salvation is rooted in God's gracious will rather than human action.

Q: How do we know election is true?

Election is supported by numerous biblical passages, emphasizing God's sovereign choice before the foundation of the world. The doctrine of election is firmly established in Scripture, with multiple passages underscoring its truth. For instance, in Ephesians 1:4, Paul states that God chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, highlighting that this choice was made entirely apart from our actions. Romans 9:11 reiterates that election is grounded in God's purpose and mercy, not our works. Additionally, this doctrine aligns with the teachings of early church leaders, as seen in Acts 4:24. Thus, the overall biblical witness confirms that election is a central truth of the Christian faith, taught consistently throughout Scripture.

Q: Why is the concept of election important for Christians?

Election assures Christians that their salvation is secure and solely based on God's grace. The concept of election is fundamentally important for Christians because it emphasizes the sovereignty of God in the salvation process. Understanding that God has chosen individuals for salvation provides believers with profound assurance and security in their faith. As seen in John 15:16, believers are reminded that they are selected by God, which underscores the full weight of grace—none of us could earn our way to salvation. Furthermore, the unconditional nature of God's election, as discussed in Romans 9:11, illustrates that our standing with God is not dependent on our merits or actions, but solely on His sovereign will and purpose. This truth encourages believers to bask in the security that comes from being chosen by God.

Q: How does election relate to evangelism?

Election encourages Christians to preach the gospel, knowing that God has a people who will respond in faith. Some may argue that the doctrine of election could discourage evangelism, but the opposite is true. Understanding that God has elected a people should invigorate and motivate believers to spread the gospel message. As noted in Acts 13:46, those who are appointed to eternal life will believe. This realization frees evangelists from the pressure of conversion, knowing it is ultimately God who saves His elect. Instead of feeling indifferent, Christians can confidently share the gospel with the assurance that God will bring His chosen ones to faith. This truth propelled the apostle Paul in his ministry, as exemplified in his interactions with the early churches, reaffirming that election and evangelism are intricately linked.

Come with me to John chapter
15. While you're turning there, I'll
announce what I'm going to speak on tonight. I'm going to speak
on the forerunner. The forerunner. Do you know one
of the names of the Lord or the titles of the Lord is the forerunner? And we're going to look at what
that means. It's a real blessing to me to
think about that. John chapter 15. Verse 16, the Lord is speaking to his disciples
and he says, you have not chosen me, but I have chosen you and
ordained you that you should go and bring forth fruit. and that your fruit should remain,
that whatsoever you shall ask of the Father in my name, he
may give it you." Quite literally, you did not
elect me. But I elected you. I've entitled this message. Election. This is the election where Christ
has the only vote. Now. I want to preach this morning
upon a subject that is very dear to me. Divine election. You have not chosen me, but I
have chosen you. Now this I know, I will not have
to convince any believer of the truthfulness of this doctrine. It's so clearly taught in scripture
that no believer, and notice I said believer, it's so clearly
taught in scripture that no believer could possibly deny that it is
in fact the teaching of the Bible. Our Lord says, you have not elected
me, but I have elected you. David said in Psalm 65, four,
blessed is the man whom thou choosest. You see, this is a
doctrine of blessing. Blessed is the man. whom thou
choosest and causes to approach unto thee that he may dwell in
thy courts. We shall be satisfied with the
goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple. Paul said in Romans 9 11, I'm
going to quote several scriptures just to set out how this is the
uniform teaching of the scriptures. Paul said for the children, talking
about Jacob and Esau being not yet born. either having done
any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election
might stand. Not of works, but of him that
calleth. It was said unto her, the elder
shall serve the younger. I just read that passage of scripture
from 2 Thessalonians 2.13, but we're bound to thank God. It's a doctrine of divine praise. We're bound to thank God always
for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord, because God has from
the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the
Spirit and belief in the truth. Paul said in Ephesians 1, 4,
He chose us before the foundation of the world. How the Lord Jesus
delighted in this holy truth. He said in John 6, 36, you've
seen me and you don't believe, All that the Father giveth me
shall come to me, and him that cometh to me I will in no wise
cast out. He said in John 17, 9, I pray
for them. I pray not for the world, but
for them which you've given me, for they are thine. It is impossible to approach
the scriptures honestly and deny that the Bible does in fact teach
this holy truth. Every believer bows to what God
says in his word. You know what believers do? They
believe. That's what they have in common. They believe, they
believe all that God says. And you know, regarding election
and regarding a believer, I don't have to convince any believer
of this truth because you know in your heart that you're so
sinful. that you would never choose him
unless he first chose you. Don't you know that's so? You
know that if the Lord left you to yourself, you'd never come
to him. Oh, thank God for this. You've not chosen me, but I have
chosen you. Now this way of thinking was
ingrained in the thinking of the early church. Now turn with
me to Acts chapter four for just a moment. Acts chapter four.
Now this was just, these people had just been converted a couple
of weeks at the most. This was right after Pentecost.
And this is the early church. They say in Acts chapter four,
beginning in verse 24. And when they heard that, I think
maybe this was just a few days after Pentecost. When they heard
that, they lifted up their voice, Acts 4.24. They lifted up their
voice to God with one accord. I mean, they were all agreement
here. And they said, Lord, thou art God. which has made heaven
and earth and the sea and all that in them is, who by the mouth
of thy servant David has said, why did the heathen rage and
the people imagine vain things? The kings of the earth stood
up and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and
against his Christ. For the truth against thy holy
child Jesus whom thou hast anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate
with the Gentiles and the people of Israel were gathered together
for to do whatsoever thy hand. and thy counsel determined before
to be done." They understood that God was
God. You know, when Paul was converted,
what was the first thing he heard from the mouth of Ananias? Anybody
remember? The God of our fathers hath chosen
thee. This is certainly an important
and a vital element of gospel preaching, election. You can't
preach the gospel and not preach election. It's impossible. You
know, I know even in my own experience that I never asked for mercy
until I was made to see that God had elected a people and
there wasn't one single thing I could do to make myself one
of them. It was only then, when I saw I had no control in this
thing of salvation, it's all up to the Lord, that I cried,
oh be merciful to me, the sinner. Paul wrote to the church at Thessalonica
saying, knowing brethren beloved, your election of God. Peter wrote
to the elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father.
And when he closed the same epistle, he said, the church at Babylon
elected together with you. Salute you. John wrote to the
elect lady. And he spoke of the children
of thy elect sister. You know, if you had presented
the doctrine of election to the early church as a doctrine less
than absolutely vital in preaching the gospel, they would have said,
what? They would have treated that
with disdain. This was just a part of the speech of the early church,
even in their greetings. Now, what does the Bible mean
by election? Our Lord said, you have not chosen me. You have
not elected me, but I have elected you. Men have attempted at explaining
in a way, but what does the Bible mean by this holy truth? What our Lord said to his disciples,
you have not chosen me. but I have chosen you. Well,
the first thing I think of is angels. In 1 Timothy 5, verse
21, we read of the elect angels. Now, there was a fall of angels
sometime before men were around. I don't know when it happened,
but you know, they're demons. Satan is a fallen angel. He didn't
start out Satan, he fell. And the difference between the
angels who stood and the angels who fell was God's election. We read of the elect angels. Now, what about the nation of
Israel and all the rest of the nations of the world? God made
a difference. God chose Israel and He passed
everybody else by. Turn with me to Deuteronomy chapter
7 for just a moment. Deuteronomy chapter 7, verse
6. God says to Israel, For thou
art an holy people unto the Lord thy God. The Lord thy God hath
chosen thee. to be a special people that are
upon the face of the earth. The Lord did not set his love
upon you nor choose you because you were more in number than
any people for you were the fewest of all people, but because the
Lord loved you and because he would keep the oath which he
had sworn into your fathers, that the Lord brought you out
with a mighty hand and redeemed you out of the house of bondman
from the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. Now, God made a difference
with Israel. You can't read the Old Testament
and deny that God made a special difference between Israel and
everybody else. And God elected who would be
saved. He chose who would be saved.
If you're saved, it's because God chose you to be saved. He
made a difference. He did something for you that
He didn't do for everybody else. Turn to Ephesians chapter 1.
Ephesians chapter 1. Verse 4, according as He hath
chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should
be holy. and without blame before Him,
in love having predestinated us unto the adoption of children
by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,
to the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made
us accepted in the Beloved." Now, who chose who? It's so simple. He chose us. When was this choice made? Was
it when you believed? No, this choice was made according
to this passage of scripture before the foundation of the
world. Paul said in 2 Timothy 1, 9,
he saved us and he called us with a holy calling, not according
to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which
were given us in Christ Jesus before the world began. Now, Why did He choose us, the
elect? He didn't choose everybody. He
chose a certain number. Why did He choose us? Was it
because He foresaw we would believe? Was it because He foresaw we
would be better than somebody else? No, according to this passage
of Scripture, He saved us, He elected us to the praise of the
glory of His grace. Now listen to me. I am proof. the elections of grace, because
if God had to find one reason in me to choose me, you know
what? He wouldn't do it. He'd let me go to hell. I'm living
proof that election is all of grace. Don't you believe that?
Don't you believe it from the very depths of your being? Why
did God choose you? Because He's gracious, not because
of anything in you. Well, how does He make this choice?
According as He hath chosen us in Him. before the foundation
of the world. How did He choose me? In Christ. Now, this choice is absolute. It's not in any way conditioned
upon something that we must do in order for it to work. That's
why we call it unconditional election. Let me show you this
in Scripture. Turn to Romans chapter 9. Romans chapter 9. Verse 11, For the children, being
not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the
purpose of God according to election might stand. Not of works, but
of him that calleth. It was said unto her, the elder
shall serve the younger, as it's written. Jacob have I loved,
but Esau have I hated. Oh, what shall we say then? Is
there unrighteousness with God? Is God unfair in choosing Jacob
and passing by Esau? God forbid, for he saith to Moses,
I'll have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I'll have compassion
on whom I will have compassion. So then it's not of him that
willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy. This election is unconditional,
and this choice is eternal. In Jeremiah 31, verse three,
we read, behold, I have loved thee with an everlasting love. You see, if I'm elect, I've always
been elect. I've always been viewed in the
lamb's flame from the foundation of the world. And this election
is personal. God hath from the beginning chosen
you. God hath from the beginning chosen
you, you to salvation through sanctification of the spirit.
and belief of the truth. I've heard people say, well,
election has to do with nations, and that's the way they explain
it away. Election has to do with nations.
Well, what are nations but individuals, units of individuals? If it's
bad to elect a person, it's even worse to elect a nation, isn't
it? It's not bad at all. What is election? It's God's
sovereign choice of a people in Christ before time began,
a number that cannot be added to or taken from. Now, I realize
that men will argue with the fairness of this. They say, how
can it be fair for God to choose some and pass by others? How
in the world can that be fair? Now, if I say that, you know
what else I say? God owes me salvation. I am righteous
and God should choose me. This is wrong. You see, if you
really believe you're a sinner, if you really believe you're
a sinner, you would not think it's unfair of God if he elected
everybody but you. You believe that? It would not
be unfair of God if He elected everybody but you because you
deserve damnation. You believe that? It's so. It's so. He chose who would be
saved. Now, I can tell you who loves
election. The elected. The elected, every
one of them, they love election. Aren't you thankful the Lord
chose you? Because you know you would have never chosen Him.
You know you would have rejected Him. You know you would not be
saved if it were not for Him electing a people. Election's
not the sinner's enemy. Election's the sinner's friend.
It's good news that God chose a people to salvation. Now, if
I do not love election, How can I charge God with injustice for
not choosing me to something I don't love anyway and that
I hate? Somebody says, I hate election.
Well, is it a wrong thing for God to not choose you to something
you hate anyway? Not at all. Now, our Lord said to His disciples,
you have not elected Me, but I have elected you. I want to
talk some about the results of this election and the fruits.
of this election. You have not elected me. First
of all, election speaks of a God who is God indeed and not one
who is God in name only. A God who is anything less than
absolutely sovereign is no God, a paper God, a figment of man's
perverse imagination. Election says that God is God
indeed. and that he's in control of everything. Election speaks of a sovereign
God who controls. Election says God has all control
and I have no control. I'm in his hands and he can do
with me whatever he sees fit to do. He can save us or he can
pass us by and his authority is such that he doesn't need
to give us an explanation for that. He said, can I not do what
I will with my own? What are you going to do about
it? Oh, the authority that election says God has. He has absolute
control. And you know, the Lord Jesus
rejoiced in this. He said, I thank Thee, O Father, Lord of heaven
and earth, because You've hid these things from the wise and
prudent and revealed them unto babes, even so, Father, for so
it seemed good in Thy sight. If it seems good in His sight,
you know what? It's good. It's best. And every believer bows to this. So essential to God is election
that God calls it His glory, rooted in His goodness. You remember
when Moses said, I beseech thee, show me thy glory. Exodus chapter
33, verses 18 and 19. And God said, all right, I'll
make my goodness pass before thee. And I'll proclaim my name
before thee, and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious. And
I'll show mercy on whom I will show mercy. Now, I've heard a
number of men say that they believed in election, but they relegated
it as not essential in gospel preaching. Well, if God's glory
is not essential, in gospel preaching, then election is non-essential
in gospel preaching. But would anyone dare to say
that the glory of God is non-essential? If I say election is non-essential
in gospel preaching, I say the glory of God is non-essential. An election enlightens us as
to Why Christ came and what he actually accomplished. You can't
really understand the cross without some understanding of the doctrine
of election. Our Lord said in Matthew 121, the very opening
pages of the New Testament, Thou shalt call his name Jesus, for
he shall save, anybody know the next two words? His people from
their sins. And what were his last words?
It is finished. What's that mean? He saved His
people from their sins. There's no understanding of the
cross. If I believe that Jesus Christ came to this earth and
died for everybody and put away everybody's sins and made salvation
available for everybody, they just do their part. You know
what I say about that? I don't even have a clue as to what the
cross means. Our Lord Jesus Christ put away the sins of everybody
He died for. And here's my hope. Understand
this, this is the very hope of salvation that He died for me.
If you tell me that He can die for me and I might end up in
hell anyway, you take away the only hope that I have because
the only hope that this sinner has is that Christ died for me
and put away my sins. There's no understanding of the
cross without some understanding of the doctrine of election.
Election teaches us that salvation really is all of grace. Turn with me to Romans 11. Paul says in Romans 11 verse
1, I say then, hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite of
the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God hath not cast
away his people which he foreknew." And remember that word foreknow
doesn't just mean he knew them beforehand. It means something
to do with love. Adam knew his wife Eve. Our Lord said, depart from me,
I never knew you. He didn't mean I never, I don't
know who you are. He says, I don't love you. I never knew you to
be mine. Now God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew,
what ye not what the scripture saith to Elias, how he makes
intercession to God against Israel, saying, Lord, they've killed
thy prophets, and dig down thine altars, and I'm left alone, and
they seek my life. But what saith the answer of God unto him? I
have reserved to myself seven thousand men which have not bowed
the knee to the image of Baal. Even so, then, at this present
time, there's a remnant, a small number, according to the election
of grace. And if by grace, if elections
by grace. Now, if election is God foreseeing,
He sees, well, I foresee that one will believe, therefore,
I'm going to elect him. Or I foresee that one is going to be a little
bit better than somebody else, therefore, I'm going to elect
him. That makes salvation all of works. He says in verse 6,
let's read it together. And if by grace, if elections
by grace, the free favor of God, the goodness of God, then it's
no more of works. Otherwise, grace is no more grace.
But if it be of works, It's no more grace. Otherwise, work is
no more work. You see, election tells me that
my evil works, my sin, cannot prevent God from saving me. And
it also tells me that my good works will not cause God to save
me. Salvation is by grace. for the
children being not yet born, neither having done any good
or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might
stand not of works, but of him that calleth." Election encourages evangelism. Isn't this one of the great knocks
against election? Why, if I believe that only the elect would be
saved, why witness? Why preach? Sin missionaries. Why do any of this stuff? That'll
discourage evangelism. That'll make people apathetic
and indifferent and careless about witnessing and so on. That's
a lie. It doesn't do me that way. Not
at all. As a matter of fact, I wouldn't
bother to preach if I didn't know God elected a people. But
that's why I'm encouraged to preach and to preach the gospel
to everybody that'll hear. Because I know God's got a people.
Remember when Paul said, when the Lord said to Paul while he
was sitting in Corinth, be not afraid and don't hold thy peace
but speak for I have much people in this city. And that was his
encouragement to go on preaching. Election doesn't kill evangelism. You don't even know what evangelism
is if you don't know that God's elected a people. It's part of
preaching the gospel. Now election, remember we're
talking about the fruits of election. No doubt the Bible teaches it.
You can't read the scripture and deny that the Bible teaches
that God did in fact elect who would be saved by his own free
and sovereign will. It tells us who God is. But election
is the great stripping and humbling doctrine. It strips a man of
all hopes of self-salvation. It strips a man of all ability. God says it's not of him that
willeth. nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy."
And what little I know about my own experience, I know something
about my own experience, and I know this. I know that until
I was confronted with this holy truth that God chose who would
be saved and there wasn't one thing I could do to make myself
one of them. And that salvation was altogether out of my hands.
Nothing I could do to save myself. I totally depended upon God to
do something for me. It was only then that I said,
have mercy on me. There's nothing I can do to get
you to save me. Oh, have mercy on me. You know, election gives hope
to the very chief of sinners. Turn with me to 1 Corinthians
1. 1 Corinthians 1. Verse 26. For see, you see your calling,
brethren. Verse 26. For you see your calling, brethren,
how that not many wise men after the flesh Not many mighty, not
many noble are called. You know, I look in this room,
I don't see any movie stars in here. That doesn't mean God can't
save a movie star, but I don't see any in here. I don't see
any elected officials, government officials. I don't see any sports
stars. Don't see a one of them. Look
what he says, you see your calling brethren. How that not many wise
men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called,
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 the things which are not, to bring to naught the things
that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence, but of
Him are you in Christ Jesus. How'd you get in Christ? God
put you there. That's the only way you could be there. You didn't
get yourself in there. God put you there. Who of God
is made unto us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption,
that according as it is written, he that glorieth, let him glory
in the Lord. Now, election. God's choice of
his people. You have not chosen me, but I've
chosen you. You know what else election does?
It guarantees fruit. Look back in our text in John
15. Verse 16, You have not elected
Me, but I have elected you and I have ordained you, I have appointed
you, that you should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit
should remain. Divine election guarantees fruit. Now, what is the fruit he's speaking
of? There's several things I could
say about that that the Bible says. First of all, it's talking
about the fruit of faith. The fruit of faith. Hold your
finger there in John 15, and I want you to look in Acts 13.
I want you to see this from the scripture. Acts chapter 13. Paul had been preaching. This
is, as a matter of fact, his first recorded sermon. Verse 46. Acts 13 verse 46, then Paul and
Barnabas waxed bold and said, it was necessary that the word
of God should first have been spoken to you, but seeing you
put it from you and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life,
lo, we turned to the Gentiles for so hath the Lord commanded
us saying, I've set thee to be a light of the Gentiles that
thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth. And
when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and they glorified
the word of the Lord. And as many as believed were
ordained to eternal life. Did I read that right? Didn't
read that right, did I? As many as were ordained to eternal
life, what did they do? They believed. You see, everybody
that God chooses will believe the gospel. Every single one
of them. It's talking about also the fruit
of the Holy Spirit. The fruit of the Holy Spirit.
Every one of God's elect will demonstrate the fruit of the
Holy Spirit. Love, joy, peace, long-suffering,
gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance. He's talking about the fruit
of good doctrine. The fruit of the Word of God.
Turn with me to Matthew chapter 7. Matthew chapter 7. Verse 13, "...Enter ye in at the straight
gate, for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leads to
destruction. And many there be which go in thereat, because
straight is the gate, and narrow is the way which leads unto life,
and few there be that find it." Now beware false prophets, which
come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they're ravening
wolves. You shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes
of thorns or figs of thistles? Even so, every good tree bringeth
forth good fruit. But a corrupt tree brings forth
evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth
evil fruit. Neither can a corrupt tree bring
forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not
good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire. Wherefore, by
your fruits you shall know them." And he's talking about preaching.
He's saying, beware of false prophets. You'll know them by
their fruits. Not only by their doctrine, but by their converts.
Look at the man that preached. Look at his converts and you
can tell what he really believes and what he really stands for.
Our Lord said, you've not chosen me, but I've chosen you and ordained
you that you should go and bring forth fruit through the Holy
Spirit, the fruit of faith, the fruit of the truth, good doctrine,
and that your fruit should remain. It won't be temporary. It won't
last just for a little while. It will remain. And back in our
text in John chapter 15, notice this. You have not chosen me, verse
16. You've not elected me, but I've elected you and ordained
you that you should go and bring forth fruit. And your fruit should
remain that whatsoever you shall ask of the Father in my name,
he may give it to you. Now understand this, election unites us so much with
Christ. I was chosen in him. Then it
makes me somebody who God listens to. and gives me what I ask for. That's what election does. It
makes me somebody, when I ask the father in his name, he gives
it to me. Every time. Now, wait a minute. You say, if you just ask for
a million dollars, he'll give it to you? You all know it's not talking
about that. Talking about spiritual blessings. Talking about true
need. I don't need a million dollars,
but I sure enough need grace. I need mercy. I need His Spirit. I need Him to do something for
me because I can't do anything for myself. And everything I
ask in His name, what I need, He gives me. You see, all of
God's elect have the ear of God. That's a powerful thought, isn't
it? I've got the very ear of God when I speak through the
Son's name. He listens, He hears, and He
grants. You see, there's something special
about being one of God's elect. We have royal blood flowing through
our veins. Not human royal, but God's people. Oh, they're so special. God hears
what they say. Now I want to close with this
thought. How can I meet this holy doctrine of election? How
can I meet it? How can I receive this truth
that God chose a people before time began to be saved? How am
I to deal with this doctrine? Well, let me show you a passage
of scripture in Matthew chapter 15. I preached the message once
entitled, How to Deal with the Doctrine of Election, and this
was my text. Matthew chapter 15, verse 21. Then Jesus went thence, and departed
into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a woman of Canaan
came out of the same ghosts, and cried unto him, saying, Have
mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David! My daughter is grievously
vexed with the devil. Now, I want you to think about
this woman. She comes to the Lord with a pretty impressive
resume. She knew who he was. The son of David. God's anointed
Christ. She came with a great need. Her daughter was demon possessed. Grievously vexed with the devil. And she came for the right thing. Mercy. That's all she asked for. Mercy. Now, if you've got mercy
coming to you, it's not mercy, is it? She knew it was in His
sovereign hands to give it. Now, she comes knowing who He
is. She comes with a great need.
And she comes asking for the right thing. That's an impressive
resume. Verse 23, But He answered her, a word. He ignored her. He did not respond to her request. Now, is that right? Remember, right is me and you
going to hell. You believe that? Right is me and you going to
hell. He answered her not a word. Have you ever in your mind come
to the Lord and your heart come to the Lord and he answered you
not a word? You know, we've never got anywhere
until we've dealt with the silence of God. He answered her not a
word. And his disciples came, verse
23, and besought him, saying, Send her away, for she crieth
after us." Now, evidently, this didn't shut this woman up. He
answered her, not a word, and she said, Have mercy on me. And
he answered her, not a word, have mercy on me. It wouldn't
stop her. I know this. Election never stopped
anybody from asking for mercy. Never has happened. Matter of
fact, let me give you some real wise counsel right now. You don't
need to worry as to whether or not you're one of the elect.
You need to ask for mercy. Ask for mercy. Ask the Lord to
do something for you. Verse 24, now look how he answered
his disciples. They said, shut her up. She's
driving us crazy. She keeps crying after us. Boy,
they were real compassionate fellows, weren't they? He said, I'm not sent, but unto the lost
sheep of the house of Israel. And our Lord says in no uncertain
terms, I did not come to save everybody. Is there any other
way to take that? I'm not sent for everybody. I'm only sent for the lost sheep
of the house of Israel." Now listen to me real carefully.
Jesus Christ, when He came to this earth, He did not come to
save everybody. He only came to save His people. And this woman had to deal with
this. Now let's go on reading. He said, I came not. I'm not
sent for everybody, just the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
Then came she and worshipped Him. I'm not real sure whether
she worshipped him before this. But then, when she's made to
see the fact that he only came for a certain people, then came
she and worshipped him. Now, she didn't know if she was
going to get what she was asking for. She didn't know if the Lord was
going to have mercy on her daughter. She didn't know if the Lord was
going to have mercy on her, but she worshipped him anyway. Now,
I want you and I to deal with this. Is the Lord worthy of worship? if He passes you by? Is He worthy of worship if He
chooses that one sitting by you and lets you go to hell? Is He
still worthy of worship? That's the question. That's the
issue. Then came she and worshipped
Him. She bowed before Him. Whatever
you do is right. But you know what? It didn't
stop her. It didn't stop her. Then came
she, and worshipped him, saying, what did she say? Lord, help
me. If you don't help me, it's over
for me. I have no other way to look.
Help me. Have mercy on me. Verse 26, but
he answered and said, It's not. Meat. It's not right. It's not appropriate to take
the children's bread. My gospel, my grace, my kindness,
my tender mercies. It's not right. It's not appropriate. It's not meat to take the children's
bread and throw it to dogs. Why? You're nothing more than
a dog. You're not fit for my gospel,
Grace. You're not fit for the children's
bread." Now, how did she answer that? Most people, all right,
I'll just leave. It's not right. How did she respond
to this? You know what she said when the
Lord said it's not right to take the children's bread and throw
it to the dogs? She said, what? Truth, Lord. That's the truth. I'm not fit
for your mercy or grace. I'm not fit for the children's
bread. That's the truth. But the dogs
eat the crumbs that fall from the master's table. I'm not looking
for a place setting with the children, but oh, I would be
thankful. I would be eternally grateful
for any crumbs of mercy that come my way. I'd just sit here
under the table. I won't dare take a place setting.
I'll sit here under the table waiting for the crumbs of mercy
that may fall my way. And look what our Lord said to
this woman. Verse 28, then Jesus answered, and said unto her,
O woman, great is thy faith. You know what the world would
do to this woman? They'd send her to a psychologist.
Let her get her self-esteem pumped up. What does the Lord say? O woman, great is thy faith. Be it unto thee even as thou
wilt. Now, I want you to listen to
me. God has elected a people, and they're the only ones that
are going to be saved. You can just write that down. And anybody,
anybody, anybody who asks for mercy, He saves. He never turns away any sinner
who comes to Him for mercy. And I'll tell you what they find
out. They find out the only reason they came is because He chose
them to do it. You know that. Can you thank God for election? If you're a believer, you can.
Now, I've asked Kara to come and sing that song, "'Tis not
that I did choose thee, Lord." For Lord, that could not be.
This heart would still refuse thee. but thou has chosen me. And that's going to be our closing
hymn. I just want us to listen to the
words of this hymn. Let's pray together.

Election

What does the Bible say about election?

How do we know election is true?

Why is the concept of election important for Christians?

How does election relate to evangelism?

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Election

What does the Bible say about election?

How do we know election is true?

Why is the concept of election important for Christians?

How does election relate to evangelism?

Sermon Transcript

About Todd Nibert

Comments

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