As you may have guessed, I want
to tell you my favorite Bible story this morning. I haven't
told it in a long, long time, and I've been working on this
most of the week. There are many, many pictures
of grace given in the Scriptures, and I delight in them all, but
if I had to choose one to be my favorite and perhaps the clearest
picture of God's grace, both as it is taught in this book
and as I have experienced it, it would be the story of Hosea
and his adulterous wife, Gomorrah. The picture is a picture of redemption
and grace in and by Jesus Christ our Lord. Turn with me, if you
will, to Hosea chapter 1 and verse 2. This will be our text,
but really it's just a springboard from which I want to show you
that which is taught in the first three chapters of this blessed
prophecy. Hosea chapter 1 and verse 2. The beginning of the word of
the Lord by Hosea. And the Lord said to Hosea, Go
take unto thee a wife of Hortems, and children of Hortems. For
the land hath committed great whoredom, departing from the
Lord." What a command! God tells His prophet, Hosea,
to go down to the red-light district and pick out a whore and marry
her. Hosea, whose name means Savior,
is clearly set before us in this prophecy as a picture of our
Lord Jesus Christ. who came into this world to take
a wife from among harlots, the fallen sons and daughters of
Adam and his wife Eve. He chose Gomer. Gomer's name
means consumption. That's us. God's elect are a
people consumed with sin and consumed by sin. Gomer was the daughter of Diblium. That name, Diblium, means dried
or dead, a dried, dead fig. And like Gomer, we are the children
of a dead father, the dead sons and daughters of dead parents,
spiritually dead. And Gomer also means consummation. That's the better part of the
story. That's us too. because of his great love for
her was that by which and with which Hosea was consumed. Now get this if you can. Because
of his great love for us, God's elect are those by whom God in
all his heart and thoughts and deeds He's consumed with you, utterly
taken up with you. And as Gomer was the consummation
of everything Hosea desired and determined, the consummation
of all his works, so the salvation of God's elect is the consummation
of all God's purpose, all His work, and all His grace. The
Lord gave Hosea and Gomer Three children. Three children whom
God himself specifically told Hosea to name. The first was
Jezreel. His name means seed of God. That's who the people of God
in this world are. We are his seed. Remember in
Psalm 22, a seed shall serve him? We're the seed. We're that
seed promised to our Lord Jesus Christ. The seed of God's elect. Then he had a daughter named
Laruhama. Her name means no mercy, no mercy. And Loeme means not mine, the
third son, not my people. All three of these represent
you and I who are God's elect. We are God's chosen seed, but
a people who had not obtained mercy, but a people who are now
made his people. and have obtained mercy. Now
hold your hands here and turn to Romans chapter 9. That's not
a guess. I didn't just pull that out of
my head. This is exactly how God the Holy Spirit interprets
this passage here in Hosea 1, Romans chapter 9. We who were
not a people, who had not obtained mercy, are now by the experience
of his grace made his people and have obtained mercy. Romans
9, verse 25, Paul is talking about God's sovereign purpose
of grace in election. Jacob have I loved, Esau have
I hated, him having mercy on whom he will have mercy, and
whom he will hardening. He's talking about vessels of
mercy and vessels of wrath. And now he explains to us the
meaning of these words, the names given to Hosea's three children,
his two sons and his daughter. He says in verse 25, He says
also in Hosea, I will call them my people, which were not my
people, and her beloved, which was not beloved. And it shall
come to pass that in the place where it was said unto them,
ye are not my people, there they shall be called the children
of the living God. Okay, let's go back to Hosea.
Hosea came home one day after he had gone down and married
this fallen woman, and Gomer was gone. In chapter 2, her fall
is described for us, and Hosea's great purpose of love and grace
concerning her is described. Then in chapter 3, The Spirit
of God tells us how that Hosea's love and grace prevailed, and
he fetched Gomer home again. Not only did he bring her home,
but he made her delighted to be brought home. Let's read chapter
3 together, beginning in verse 1. Then said the Lord unto me,
Go yet love a woman. Just go right back and love the
same woman. A woman beloved of her friend, yet an adulteress. Now watch these words. According
to the love of the Lord toward the children of Israel. According
to the love of the Lord toward his elect, who look to other
gods and love flagons of wine. According to the love of the
Lord toward his chosen bride, to whom he has espoused himself,
who are an adulterous people. So I bought her to me for fifteen
pieces of silver, and for an omer of barley, and a half omer
of barley. And I said unto her, Thou shalt
abide for me many days. Thou shalt not play the harlot,
and thou shalt not be for another man, so will I also be for thee."
I never read this story, I never think of this story, except what
I'm reminded of Calvary's Tremendously comforting and instructive words,
God moves in a mysterious way his wonders to perform. He plants
his footsteps in the sea and rides upon the storm. Deep in unfathomable minds of
never failing skill, he treasures up his bright designs and works
his sovereign will. Now here, God shows us how he
works the wonders of his grace, both in providence and in the
mighty operations of his grace. I don't need to remind you again,
but I want to because I like to say it. Salvation is by grace. There is no aspect of salvation
that is not accomplished by God's free, sovereign grace. God's grace in bringing salvation,
in giving salvation, in working salvation for us and in us, in
preserving us in salvation, and in consummating our salvation
in everlasting glory is altogether free, sovereign, and unconditional. That means you don't do anything
to get it, you don't do anything to improve it, you don't do anything
to keep it, you don't do anything to make it better. God's grace
is altogether free. Well, surely something depends
on us. You didn't hear me. I said salvation
is by grace. And that means it's not a works,
lest any man should boast. It is grace given us in Christ
before the world began, flowing to us through the precious blood
of our Lord Jesus Christ, and grace by which Christ himself
holds us in his omnipotent hands. Now the book of God makes this
abundantly clear. We are justified freely by his
grace. And with that justification comes
all other blessings of grace. according as he chose us in Christ,
in his free and sovereign grace before the world began. God's
saints, all, all of them, freely acknowledge and confess, by the
grace of God, I am what I am. All of them. Well, Brother Don,
I know Christians who believe they work for their salvation.
No, you don't. You know religious folks who believe that. But brother
John, I know Christians who believe they have something to do with
their salvation. No, you don't. They're religious folks. You
got that right. Not believers. Not believers. Every sinner saved
by grace gladly acknowledges, by the grace of God, I am what
I am. And you won't find them fighting
it. But what do we mean when we say salvation is by grace?
That we're saved by grace alone. Let's look here at the story
of Hosea and Gomer, and let me give you a few characteristics
of grace. I won't attempt to say how many. I might not get them all said,
so you can jot them down as we go along. Number one, God's grace,
that grace by which we are saved, is sovereign electing grace. Don't ever be afraid of or ashamed
of the word election. debate and fuss and wonder, does
the Bible teach election? All you have to do is read it.
Just read it. It's not taught here and there.
It's taught everywhere. It's not taught in some secluded
places, you know, folks say, well, yeah, the Bible teaches
that, but that's for, that's, that's things we keep in the,
we talk about those in the coffee shop and we discuss them, but
we don't talk about those to people. Since when did you become
an authority? by which you can decide what
part of God's book folks ought to have and what part they ought
not to have. No, salvation is that work of God's free, eternal,
sovereign, electing grace. Look here in chapter 1 of Hosea,
verse 2. God said, Go take unto thee a
wife of whoredoms, and children of whoredoms. For the land hath
committed great whoredom. departing from the Lord. So he
went and took Gomer. Hosea, brother Savior, went and
found this harlot consumed with sin, the daughter of death, Dibliam,
which conceived in Barim-assad. God told Hosea to go love a woman,
not just any woman, but a fallen woman, a streetwalker, a prostitute,
a harlot. Oh, we do everything we can to
keep from saying things the way God says them, don't we? A whore. That's what you call a woman
who sleeps with men. That's what you call it. They
do it for a price, and the price may be as low as just the pleasure
of doing so. That's what you call such. That's
exactly right. He comes and says, Go love this
fallen, corrupt, depraved woman. So he went and took Gomer. How come? How come? Look back
to chapter 3 verse 1 again, and you'll see how come. According to the love of the
Lord toward you and me. according to the love of the
Lord toward Israel." Well, brother Don, are you comparing us all
to harlots? No, no, no. God is. According to the love
of the Lord toward the children of Israel. There are many in
this world to whom God is never gracious. I know people these
days and have the foolish idea that God's gracious to everybody
and has to be. He is not and doesn't have to be to anybody.
There are many to whom God is never gracious. He said, Jacob
have I loved. Does anybody know what he said
about Esau? Anybody? But Esau have I hated. Try to
get some preacher to just read that text in the pulpit sometime.
Just read it. Just read it. We have to explain
that away. No. God wasn't gracious to Esau. The only reason he gave Esau
existence was because he loved Jacob. That's exactly right.
The angels who lost their first estate, they're reserved in chains
of darkness under everlasting destruction with no grace. No
grace. God gives everybody an opportunity.
He didn't give the angels an opportunity. No sir. There are
multitudes in this world to whom God never sins. The sound of a gospel preacher's
voice. Multitudes. There are multitudes
who've never heard the gospel by which God saves sinners. The
Apostle Paul tells us on one occasion that he wanted to go
over here and preach the gospel to some folks, and the Spirit
of God said, no, you can't go. I tried to go, he said, and God
said, no, you can't go. There are multitudes who hear
the word preached. who never hear God speak by the
Word. Some of you sitting here today will hear God speak. And it may be the one sitting
beside you holding your hand won't hear a thing. People talk
about common grace. Common grace is an utter denial
of grace. There's no such thing as common
grace. God's grace is always sovereign, distinguishing, electing
grace. Our Lord Jesus bowed his head
after speaking of the condemnation of the scribes and Pharisees
and showing how much better off in the day of judgment, how much
better off in eternal hell the Sodomites would be than they
were. This is how he responded to that. I thank thee, O Father,
Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from
the wise and prudent. and has revealed them unto babes.
Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in thy sights." God gave
Abraham a covenant, made a covenant with him. And he brought Abraham's
children down into Egypt where they stayed for 400 years. And
he did that so that he might specifically perform this work,
that he might put a difference between Israel and Egypt. That is, I brought you down here
to bring you out of here so that I could show the whole world
how I make a difference between men. Well, I don't believe God's
a respecter of persons. That's what I'm telling you.
The whole of the religious world says God does respect some folks
because they do, or they will, or they want to, or they have. We declare, no, God is no respecter
of persons. He has mercy on whom He will
have mercy. And He did it before the world
began. Before the world began. For 4,000 years, Israel alone
had a prophet. 4,000 years. For 4,000 years. God sent nobody, any revelation,
except in the land of Israel for 4,000 years. God has mercy on whom he will
have mercy. Blessed be his name. He is gracious
to some. There is a people in this world
to whom God is gracious, always gracious, only gracious, and
gracious in everything he does. That's the meaning of Romans
8.28. We know that all things work together for good to them
that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose. That's not a good luck charm,
Darwin. That's truth. That's truth. He does everything
for His elect. Turn to Ephesians 1. Let me show
you one more time that blessed, blessed passage. Ephesians 1,
verse 3. Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us. It's already
done. With all spiritual blessings, that is everything he's got to
give. In heavenly places. That means in heavenly places.
Had to do it according as he hath chosen us in him. When did he do it? Before the
foundation of the world. Why did he do it? that we should
be holy and without blame before Him. How do you do it? 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. God said from eternity, I will
love them freely. For mine anger is turned away
from him." You can find that in Hosea 14 verse 4. God said,
I will love them freely. For my anger is turned away from
him. What's he talking about? that
for the world was He looked on Him, our covenant surety, as
our substitute, the Lamb slain in His wrath and in His fury
for the satisfying of His justice from old eternity. And He looked
on Him and satisfied justice in Him by the sacrifice of Him
and turned His anger away from Him. And now He loves us freely
in Him. God's grace, number one, is sovereign
electing grace. "'Tis not that I did choose thee,
for, Lord, that could not be. This heart would still refuse
thee, hadst thou not chosen me." Number two, God's grace is free,
unconditional grace, unqualified grace, independent grace. Why do you reckon when the Lord
said, Jacob have I loved, Esau hath I hated, he made a point
of explaining, the children being not yet born, neither having
done any good or evil, it is written that the purpose of God
according to election might stand. Jacob have I loved, but Esau
have I hated. There was no consideration of
anything done by us by which God was called to love us and
to choose us. Who portrays the objects of God's
love here? A strumpet, a streetwalker, a
whore. She wasn't looking for a husband.
She didn't want a husband, and she didn't deserve a husband.
But Hosea chose her. He loved her. He wanted her.
His heart couldn't be satisfied without her. That's our Redeemer. in His love for us. His grace toward us is altogether
undeserved by us, totally undesired by us. His grace toward us is
grace given us freely and unconditionally. We were chosen unconditionally,
redeemed unconditionally, born again unconditionally, called
unconditionally, and we are kept unconditionally. It's amazing
to me, amazing to me, how men who kindly want to make a mix
of grace and works, you know, and man is a messy mix. They'll
do things real good until they get to this thing of perseverance. Now we're camped by the power
of God's grace, but you've got to do your part. Which part did
Peter do? Which part? Which part was it
that you did? Huh? We are kept unconditionally. That means our perseverance in
grace is the result of God's persevering in grace and preserving
us in grace. All right? Thirdly, and I want
to spend a little time here, God's grace is prevenient, preparatory
grace. Look at chapter 2. Prevenient grace is grace that
goes before grace, grace that precedes grace, and grace that
makes way for grace. I don't know, it may be that
this is what John is referring to when he spoke of the fullness
of Christ, when he said, of his fullness have all we received
grace for grace. Grace that I'm talking about
now, this prevenient grace, is the grace by which God Almighty
operates toward His people in all things from everlasting and
distinctly in their own life experience before they know anything
at all about His grace. Here in Hosea chapter 2, Hold
your heads there, we have a picture of it. You remember that familiar
passage, Psalm 23. Surely goodness and mercy shall
follow me all the days of my life. That doesn't mean goodness and
mercy are going to be left in my trail. That means goodness
and mercy had been chasing me since I drew my first breath.
These twin hounds of heaven sent by God to chase his sheep into
the fold. Jude writes to those who are
sanctified by God the Father and preserved in Jesus Christ
and called. And he got the order right. Merle
Hart, he sanctified you before the world was. He said, He's
mine. And preserved you in Jesus Christ to you a grown man. He said, He's mine. And called
you. He said, I told you, He's mine. That's called prevenient grace.
Chapter 2, verse 8, Hosea. Or verse 5 of that. that their
mother hath played the harlot she that conceived them hath
done shamefully. For she said, I will go after
my lovers that give me my bread and my water, my wool and my
flax, mine oil and my drink. Therefore, behold, I will hedge
up thy way with thorns, and make a wall that she shall not find
her path. Hard to tell whether God's talking
to Hosea here, isn't it? That's because that's the way
it's intended. Both are talking. He says, I'll hedge up thy ways,
and she shall not find her paths. Verse 7. She shall follow after
her lovers, but she shall not overtake them. She shall seek
them, but she shall not find them. Then, then, shall she say,
I will go and return to my first husband, for then was it better
with me than now. For she did not know that I gave
her corn, and wine, and oil, and multiplied her silver and
gold, which they prepared for Baal. Paul said, When it pleased
God who separated me from my mother's womb. The psalmist said,
Thou didst make me hope upon my mother's belly. When does
God begin to work in the lives of His people? Back in the garden
when He separated us from our Father Adam in depravity and
death. And we came from the loins of
our Father Adam all those days through the history of mankind.
He's been working for us with grace. And we come forth from
our parents' womb, our mother's womb. Lord, wherever we are,
to whatever parents we are, God Almighty has arranged it exactly
as was needful for our soul's good because of his great love
for us. Let me see if I can give you
a couple of illustrations in Scripture and then some that
you can relate to. A fellow by the name of Philemon
had a house servant, Onesimus. He had heard Paul the Apostle
preach many times. Onesimus and Paul, I mean Philemon
and Paul were good friends. Philemon had been converted under
Paul's ministry. He was a wealthy man. And one day, his servant Onesimus,
who paid no attention to Paul, paid no attention to him. Ah,
that Babylon Jew. What does he know about anything?
He doesn't know anything about my circumstances and conditions.
He and Philemon, how could they possibly know? And Onesimus had
no willingness, no inclination, whatever, to hear what Paul had
to say. So he stole his master's money and ran away down the road. And as luck would have it, he got locked up with a fellow. He heard him preaching, and he
said, I've heard that voice before. And he heard a man by the name
of Paul preaching the gospel of his grace, and he believed. Love didn't have anything to
do with that, as God arranged it. As God arranged it. The prodigal son left his father,
demanding all his father's goods, wasting his father's substance,
with rioters living, with spending all his livelihood on harlots,
found himself at last ready to feed his soul on the husk of
false religion, ready to feed his soul on that which was but
the destruction of his soul, the slop and the husk that they
feed swine. And at last he came to himself. But all the while, the father
was watching after him. All the while. How do you know
that? Because when he got home, he had the fatty calf in the
pit ready to be eaten? He's ready to go! Because he
had all the while been working to bring his son down, that he
might bring his son home. It's called prevenient grace.
Grace begins with God's elect. in their formative years, he
puts us in our homes, providentially molds our dispositions, forms
our thoughts. Some he puts in great homes,
others not so great. I had a chance to talk to Josh
this other day, and you young people hear what I told him.
And I say young people, you young folks who are still alive, if
God gave you the blessed privilege of a happy home where God was
honored, Christ was worshiped. Don't ever cease to give thanks. It's one of the rarest things
in this world. I was raised in a hell hole.
It's a wonder. My three sisters and I aren't
all in an insane asylum. It's an absolute wonder. But
I want to tell you something. I was raised right where I needed
to be raised, with exactly the kind of parents
I needed to have, in exactly the kind of circumstances I needed,
because God was forming me as a potter forms the clay, a vessel
of mercy. Grace secretly orders our steps,
protecting us, providing for us. He causes his own to have
angels, ministering spirits sent forth to minister to those who
shall be the heirs of salvation. Angels watch you over them. Angels. Audre Grace was just two or three
years old. I can't remember. Wasn't more
than two or three years old. Doug called me one Sunday afternoon.
They'd stopped at Biltmore Day Bar in Asheville, and she was
just waiting to get ice cream This old woman who was traveling
looked at her and started talking to her. And Audre Grace looked
at her and saw a necklace. And she said, what's that? And
I said, what? She said, that. She said, what's
my necklace? And Audre Grace said, no. Stuck her finger on
the pendant. No, that's that. And they said,
oh, that's my guardian angel. It watches over me when I'm traveling
so nothing will happen to me. And my two-year-old granddaughter
is a little smarter than that pagan. She said, hey, I've got
no eyes. But now listen to me. Listen
to me. We have guardian angels. Oh, yeah. All of them. Created
by God to be ministering spirits. To minister to those who shall
be the heirs of salvation. Preserving them. Keeping them. I just told you about Mindy.
I expect every one of you could look back at times specific events
in your life, except that God intervened, you'd have been dead. But He wouldn't let you die.
Though you played with death and courted hell, He wouldn't
let you die. Why? Because He said, He shall be
mine and I shall be His God forever. Grace not only protects but provides
for us. I'm not going to get it said,
but you read the second chapter of Hosea four times, it uses
the word therefore. I love God's therefores. He said,
since she won't come to me, therefore I'll come to her. Since she's
forsaken me, therefore I won't forsake her. Since she's forgotten
me, therefore I won't forget her. Now look at chapter 2, verse
8. She didn't know that I gave her
corn and wine and oil and multiplied her silver and gold, which they
prepared for Baal. She didn't know. I took care
of her. All the time she was sleeping
in another man's arms. I took care of her. Grace prevents
us in the days of our rebellion from many things. Some of you
were raised in a moral uprightness that others never knew anything
about. Not because you were more morally upright. You weren't.
You weren't. Your heart's just like mine,
my heart's just like yours. Not all are harlots in deeds,
but all are harlots at heart. That's just fact. Matthew chapter
19, you'll find it. Not all are thieves in deed,
all are thieves at heart. Not all are murderers in deed,
all are murderers at heart. That's our nature. But God preserves
some from a path of open propagacy. Others he restrains in a path
of propagacy and rebellion. He says, hitherto shalt thou
go and no further. Because he brings some down the
road with solitarsis and religious legalism, self-righteous uprightness
and morality. And others he brings down a dark
road, propagate rebellion and ungodliness. Bringing them both
to the appointed place at the appointed time called the time
of love. When he prepares their hearts
to hear his word, makes them willing in the day of his power.
Let's see what the book says here. Gomer was a harlot, but
a loved harlot. The godly prophet brought her
to his house, made her his wife, lavished her with his affection
and all he could give her. Gave her three children. He had
taken Hosea out of the Red Light District, but he hadn't taken
the Red Light District out of Gomer. Hosea had taken Gomer
out, but he hadn't taken the Red Light District out of her.
She probably was religious, but not redeemed. Correct, but not
chaste. Very beautiful, but not devoted.
She lusted after her old companions, and one day, one day she, sitting
out on the porch, sipping lemonade, saw one of her old companions
come by. And he winked at her, and she
called him over, and they made their desires known to one another.
Her stupidity. Oh, her stupidity. Hosea came
home. Gomer was gone. Back in the gutter. He looked
for her. He looked for her. Walked the
streets calling her name. Gomer! Gomer! No doubt she heard his voice.
But when she did, she'd slip behind the wall and hide from
him. Finally, Hosea found out where she was. He found that
cheap city motel where she was sleeping, where she thought her
lovers had done her so good. And you know what he could have
done? He could have gone down and taken
her home anytime he wanted to. That was his right by law. He
could have taken her home and had her put to death. That was
his right by law. But he wanted to go. He wanted
her, but he wouldn't have her until she wanted him. We read
that passage in verse 8. When he found her, he'd go up
at night while she was sleeping in the arms of her lovers, and
he'd set a bag of groceries by her door. She'd get up in the morning,
her lovers would be gone, and she'd see a bag of groceries
sitting there, and she'd say, look what my lovers gave me.
She didn't know I provided her with all that that they prepared
for Baal. Look at verse 14. Therefore, what is God's reason for grace
to Laird Chris? Because you desperately need
it. That's all. Therefore, behold,
this is how I'll get her. I will allure her. I'll charm
her heart. I'll bring her into the wilderness.
Religion wants to do everything in a crowd. That's because religion
wants you to see. God does everything in isolation.
He doesn't care whether you see or don't. I will allure her into the wilderness
and speak comfortably to her. The word is, I'll speak to her
heart and I'll give her vineyards from fence and the valley of
acre for a door of hope and she shall sing there. as in the days
of her youth, and as in the day when she came out of the land
of Egypt. And it shall be at that day, saith the Lord, that
thou shalt call me my husband, and shalt no more call me my
master." That's the word. Call me Isha. No more call me
Bala. For I will take away the names
of Balaam, of slavery, out of her mouth. slavery to works,
idolatrous religion, and they shall no more be remembered by
their name. Hosea finally came and found
Gomer over in chapter 3. God's grace is the distinguishing
grace of an effectual call flowing from a lawful purchase. Did you
get that? It's the distinguishing grace
of an effectual call flowing from a lawful purchase. Hosea
walking the streets. Hearts fixed on Gomer. And he
one day came by the slave block. There's Gomer. All kinds of slaves
there. She's in the back row. Old, wrinkled,
broken, dirty, derelict, abominable. Nobody wanted her. wants to sell
herself into slavery. She's come to nothing. She's
found the way of the transgressors hard. Nobody wanted her except
Hosea. Gober? Is that you? I can picture
her hanging her head in shame. Hosea said, I bought her to me
for an omer of barley and a half omer of barley. So the Lord Jesus
Christ bought you with the silver of his sweat and the gold of
his blood. And then he walked over Gomer's head still hanging
low as it can hang. And he tucked her arm right under
his arm and started home with her. Oh, I can imagine how she
wept and hung on to his strong arm, hiding her shameful face
nestled up in his bosom. And he's walking as proudly home
with that old harlot as any man walked home with any bride any
day. And he said, I betrothed you
to me. You're mine. And I'm going to
make you faithful to me. And I'm going to cause the whole
earth to be fruitful for you. And he brought her home. I sure
wouldn't like to have been a fly on the wall that night, wouldn't
you? Here, Hosea and Gomer speak to
each other, my love, my dove, my undefiled. And she says, he brought me to
his banqueting house, and his banner over me was love, and
he shall lie as a bundle of myrrh between my breast all the night
long. And that's God's grace, as best
I know it. May He make it yours. Amen.