God's Distinguishing Grace

Q: What does the Bible say about God's distinguishing grace?

God's distinguishing grace is His sovereign choice to reveal Himself to some while hiding from others, as seen in Luke 17:20-37. In Luke 17:20-37, Jesus illustrates God's distinguishing grace, emphasizing that salvation and understanding of the kingdom are wholly dependent on God's sovereign will. He reveals truths to 'babes' while hiding them from the wise, demonstrating that no one can claim salvation as a result of their own merit. This grace is not merely about knowledge; it encompasses the entire act of God drawing His elect towards Himself, as evidenced by the examples of Noah and Lot, whom God saved amidst a wicked generation. This grace is ongoing and manifests in God's long-suffering nature toward His chosen people.

Q: How do we know election is true according to the Bible?

Election is affirmed in scripture by God's sovereign choice to save specific individuals, as displayed in the lives of Noah and Lot. The doctrine of election, which asserts that God chooses certain individuals for salvation, is clearly established throughout scripture. In Luke 17, Jesus speaks of how God preserved Noah and Lot as examples of His grace amidst a corrupt world. God's decision to save Noah, who found grace in His eyes (Genesis 6:8), illustrates His sovereignty in choosing whom He will save. Similarly, Lot was dragged out of Sodom by divine intervention, signifying that God’s efforts in saving His elect are not based on human actions but rather on His merciful will. This theological foundation is further fortified by passages like Romans 9:11-13, which reaffirm that God’s election is determined according to His purpose.

Q: Why is God's long-suffering important for Christians?

God's long-suffering demonstrates His patience and desire for His elect to come to repentance and faith. God’s long-suffering is an expression of His grace, allowing time for His chosen ones to come to repentance. In Luke 17, we see that just as God was patient with Noah's generation, giving them time to heed the warnings before judgment, He remains patient with humanity today. This long-suffering is not a sign of weakness but rather reflects God's intention to save His elect and demonstrate His mercy. For believers, understanding God’s long-suffering is essential as it reassures them of His commitment to their salvation. It reminds us that His grace is not slack, but purposeful, giving us the confidence to proclaim the gospel to others while we await the completion of His redemptive plan.

Q: What is the significance of remembering Lot's wife?

Remembering Lot's wife serves as a warning against longing for the world while following Christ. In Luke 17:31-32, Jesus instructs, 'Remember Lot's wife' as a sobering reminder of the danger of looking back towards the sinful comforts of this world. Lot's wife perished because she disobeyed the command to not look back, demonstrating a divided heart that valued earthly security over divine instruction. This narrative emphasizes the necessity of complete devotion to Christ; following Him requires total abandonment of worldly attachments and a focused commitment to His kingdom. For Christians, this serves as both an admonition to be vigilant in our faith and a reminder that true discipleship demands undivided loyalty to Christ above all else.

What a blessed service the Lord
has given us already. Let's begin tonight in Luke 17
and verse 20. Our Lord Jesus on one occasion,
after preaching the gospel and performing wonders before men
and being spurned of them, lifted his heart to heaven and
said, I thank thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because
thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent and has
revealed them unto babes. And in doing so, he declared
his thanksgiving as our Savior. for God's distinguishing grace. Who maketh thee to differ from
another? What hast thou that thou hast not received? Now if
thou hast received it, why dost thou glory as if thou hast not
received it? If your eyes see, blessed are
your eyes. If your ears hear, Blessed are
your ears if your heart believes. Blessed is your heart because
God has been gracious to you. Now that's the subject before
us in Luke chapter 17 beginning at verse 20 and going through
the end of the chapter. The Lord Jesus is on his way
to Jerusalem to lay down his life for us to die as our substitute,
the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God. Now
this passage is commonly thought by many to be an abbreviated
version of our Lord's Olivet Discourse given in Matthew 24
and 25, because there are portions used in this passage that are
identical with what's stated in Matthew 24 and 25. But that's
a mistake. There are some portions, some
words that are exactly the same as what you find in Matthew 24,
but the occasion is not the same. In Matthew 24, our Lord was already
at Jerusalem. Here he is on his way to Jerusalem,
passing through the area of Samaria and Galilee. In Matthew 24, our
Lord is answering a question that was raised by his disciples
concerning the destruction of the temple at Jerusalem and the
rebuilding of it, the time of his coming. Here in Luke 17,
our Lord Jesus begins this message as a response to an accusation
or really an accosting question that was raised by the Pharisees.
when the kingdom of God should come. When it was demanded, verse
20, when it was demanded, accosted by the Pharisees, when the kingdom
of God should come. You've been talking about the
kingdom, when's it going to come? He answered them and said, the
kingdom of God cometh not with observation. It ain't like you
think it is. It's not something that is a
political kingdom you see. Not something that you think
of in a natural way at all. Verse 21. He says, Neither shall
they say, Lo, here or there, Behold, the kingdom of God is
in you. When Christ comes in saving grace,
the King of glory sets up his throne in the hearts of chosen
sinners. Casting out Satan, the strong
man, binding him, casting him out. He sets up his throne, his
rule, his dominion in the hearts of chosen sinners. Verse 22. And he said unto the disciples,
now he's not talking to these Pharisees anymore, he's talking
to his disciples. The days will come when you shall
desire to see the days of the Son of Man and shall not see
it. I'm fixing to leave you, and
you're fixing to head for great trouble. And there will be times
to come when you will wish that I were back here with you on
this earth. You're going to desire to see one of my days. But there's
clearly application to us. The times come when we desire
to see Him and see Him not. He hides His face from us. He
says in verse 23, And they shall say to you, that is, folks everywhere
say to you, see here or see there, go not after them, nor follow
them. In your most desperate trouble,
when your heart's the heaviest, don't be deceived. For as the
lightning that lighteneth out of one part under heaven shineth
unto the other part under heaven, so also shall the Son of Man
be in his day. I'm coming for you. But first,
must. First must. Before I ascend to
the Father, I've got some business to do. And before I have finished
my work in creation and saving my people, before I come again
in my glory, I've got some work to do. Must, because this is
the only way I can save you. Must, because this is what God
has determined. Must, because this is why I came
into the world. First, must he suffer many things
and be rejected of this generation. And then in verse 26, and we'll
start with the message here. Our Lord continues his instruction
to his disciples. And as it was in the days of
Noah, So shall it be also in the days of the Son of Man. Now notice our Savior specifically
says days of the Son of Man, not the day of the Son of Man.
He is talking about any day when the Lord Jesus comes to his own. It can be applied to his first
coming in his incarnation. And certainly to his second coming
in resurrection glory, when he shall come with the brightness
and brilliance of his manifest glory to gather his saints to
himself and to judge the world. And certainly to his coming to
you in grace. Coming to you in the visitations
of his grace. While most are convinced that
these verses refer to our Lord's second coming, I am fully convinced
otherwise. In this passage, our Savior is
talking to his disciples about God's great distinguishing grace. He's talking to his disciples
about these times when men would come and say, although here is
Christ and there, don't believe them. Don't pay any attention
to them. He's telling his disciples that everything in life is the
work of God's almighty grace. And certainly everything in life
evidences and displays the fact that God is gracious to whom
he will be gracious. In verses 26 through 30, our
Lord teaches us a lesson about the state of man in this world. Now that's the subject. It's
a lesson we all tend to forget. It's a lesson we need desperately
to bear in mind all the time. Here it is. Man never changes. Doesn't matter how educated he
is. Doesn't matter whether you're talking about a man, a tribal
man in New Guinea running around naked with bones in his nose.
Worshipping this, that, and the other, calling on demons. We're
talking about a man raised in the most refined, most educated,
most civilized society in the world. Man never changes. We all tend to think that the
present generation is the worst that has ever lived. Now don't
misunderstand me. I do not in any way minimize
or excuse the horrid ungodliness of this day. Many mothers and fathers, educators
and preachers, social workers and so on, will excuse the ungodliness
and the rebellion and the filth of the generation of their own
sons and daughters say, well, they faced things we didn't face
when we were growing up. It ain't so. It ain't so. You young people don't face anything
I didn't face 35 years ago. You don't face anything your
mom and daddy didn't face. This generation is no worse than the
one that preceded it, and that one is no worse than the one
that preceded that one, and no better. But the ungodliness isn't
excused or minimized. The fact is our Lord says plainly
that the state of man on the earth today is exactly as it
was in the days of Noah, exactly as it was in the days of Lot,
nothing has changed. Nothing has changed. Men and
women live in exactly the same way. And that's the way it's
going to be until the end of time. Luke 17 verse 26. The only difference between this
generation and the one that preceded it is this one's bigger and less
capable of hiding the things it would. That's the only difference. Verse 26. And as it was in the
days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of
Man. They did eat, they drank, they
married wives, and they were given in marriage. Now let me
pause a minute. He's not talking about something,
I've heard fellows almost all my life, ever since I've had
any remembrance of hearing anything about religion, talk about this
passage, talk about the great destruction of the home and divorce,
divorce, divorce is going to be constantly on the rise. They
married and they did what men are supposed to do in marriage.
They gave themselves to their wives. Wives gave themselves to their
husbands in marriage. That's what he's saying. Horribly evil about that. Hang
on. Until the day that Noah entered into the ark and the flood came
and destroyed them all. Likewise also as it was in the
days of Lot, they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold,
they planted, they builded. What's so bad about that? Hang
on. But the same day that Lot went
out of Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and
destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the
day when the Son of Man is revealed. That's the way things are going
to be when Christ comes and is revealed in his glory, whether
today he comes to reveal himself to you or whether we're talking
about him coming in his glorious second advent. That's just the
way things are. Now turn back to Genesis chapter
6. Hold your hands here. In the days of Noah, before God
destroyed the whole race, except for Noah and his family in the
flood of his wrath, the whole human race lived unto itself. Lived to gratify each man his
own heart's lust. That and nothing more. The same
was true in the days of Lot. The same is true today. And that's
the way things are going to continue. What's the state and condition
of this world? What is the state and condition
of mankind? Let me make the question more
personal. I don't want you to sit there and think about other
folks. I want you to sit there and think about yourself. What
is your state? What is your condition before
God Almighty? Now hear what God says in His
word. If you're without Christ and
tremble. Because I want you to understand.
that your state and condition living as you do right now in
this world is a state of rebellion and selfishness and ungodliness
and idolatry, calling constantly for the wrath of God upon you. In those days, in Noah's day,
in Lot's day, as in ours, ungodliness, corruption, lust, vanity, pleasure,
engrossment with business, the business of life in this world,
so utterly consumed the hearts of men that there was just no room for
God. That's the way it was 50 years
ago. That's the way it was 6,000 years ago. That's the way it
is now. And that's the way it is for
you who are without Christ. Oh, you have time for religion.
They did too. You have time to go to church
once in a while. They did too. But you live unto yourself. Folks say this is the me generation.
I've grown up in the 60s. This is the me generation. Every
generation has been the me generation. I want to be happy. Well, I'm
just not happy. So that will excuse any kind
of ungodliness I want to do. Just be happy. That's exactly
how men live. To be happy without regard to
God. Look at Genesis 6. The Lord God
saw that the sons of men But the sons of God saw the daughters
of men, that they were fair, and they took them wives of all
which they chose. Verse 5. And God saw that the
wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination
of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. Wait a minute now, what did our
Lord say? They did eat, they drank, they married wives, were
given in marriage. Only evil continued? What is
he talking about? They lived, but to live as they
pleased. Gratifying their own heart's
lust. Our Lord tells us this is the
way men live. They had no other concern. except
food and drink, family and home, business and pleasure. Does that describe you? Does
that describe this generation? The same was true in Sodom. Look
in chapter 18 of Genesis. The Lord said in 1821, I will
go down now and see whether they've done all together according to
the cry that Abraham's interceding for Sodom because his nephew
Lot lives in Sodom. And the Lord said, I'll go down
there and I'll see if there's anybody there who isn't ungodly. I'll
see if the cry of the city is like it appears, which has come
to me. And if not, I will know. Now
this is how Peter describes that. When he looked down upon that
city, the Lord God saw one righteous man in the cities of the plain. Just one. Just one man. Just one man. Now these were not little towns
like Danville and Lancaster and Stanford. These were huge metropolitan
cities. Sodom and Gomorrah. One man. in them all who vexed his righteous
soul from day to day with their ungodly deeds. Now I can't help
noticing As I prepared this message, and as I read our Lord's description
of Sodom and Gomorrah, and as I read the same thing, his same
description of that ungodly city in Matthew 24, I can't help noticing
that he doesn't even mention, in either place, he doesn't even
mention that horrid perversity of homosexuality practiced in
Sodom. Not in Matthew, and not here
in Luke. He doesn't mention that for which Sodom is universally
known. He doesn't say a word about it.
Why? Why? How many of you have ever
thought of Sodom who didn't think of it? Our Lord doesn't even
mention it. The omission certainly is not
intended to imply that there's nothing in that reprobate behavior
of reprobate men so common and so promoted in our day as to
make men shudder and tremble with anger. He's not suggesting
that there's nothing evil about it. Oh, no. That immoral conduct
is ever the result of self-willed idolatry. Read the first chapter
of Romans. It is the result of man worshipping
himself. I'll do what I will to hell with
God. Oh, preacher, you shouldn't talk
like that. You understood me, didn't you? That's my intention. And that's the attitude of this
generation. I'll do what I will. It doesn't matter what God says.
And that's what homosexuality is the fruit of. It is the ruin
of social order, the ruin of social decency, the result of
divine judgment upon a generation. So why doesn't the Savior mention
it? That one horrid thing for which Sodom is known throughout
the world and has been throughout history. I'll tell you why. He would have us to understand
that all who live unto themselves live like sodomites. Yeah, you too. To please yourself,
no matter what God says, no matter who God says he is. They live
for themselves without regard to God, His Son, His gospel and
eternity. They are like the reprobate,
filthy Sodomites, children of wrath, abiding under the wrath
of God and courting eternal damnation. The just and righteous sentence
of God upon Noah's generation and upon Sodom was announced
clearly. Look back in Genesis 6 again.
Not only did these men of Noah's day and of Sodom's day live for
pleasure, they were warned of judgment. Called to repentance. And they
spit in God's face and said, we don't have time for you. That's
called unbelief. That's called unbelief. Look
at Genesis 6.3. The Lord said, My spirit shall
not always strive with man. I'm not going to always talk
to you. There won't always be somebody to tell you who I am
and what I've done. For that he also is flesh, yet
his days I'm going to leave you alone to hear my word for 120
years. His days shall be 120 years. And God said I'm going to give
you 120 years and judgment's coming. Judgment's coming. Well it would help folks to prepare
for God if they knew exactly when judgment day was coming,
wouldn't it? No. He said in 120 years I'm coming in judgment. 120 years from right now I'm
going to destroy the world. They still didn't pay any attention. And the Lord said, I will destroy
man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man
and beast, and creeping thing and the fowls of the air, for
it repenteth me that I have made them. And when this Lord says,
it repenteth me, that doesn't imply a change in God. No. He's speaking in human terms.
God changes not. It does describe his utter disgust. with men living to themselves. And it describes a change in
action toward them. Verse 13, God said unto Noah,
the end of all flesh has come before me, for the earth is filled
with violence through them, and behold, I will destroy them with
the earth. Chapter 19, verse 11. the angels, these three angels
that Abraham had entertained in Genesis 18. One of them is
the angel of the Lord. Abraham worshipped him. Lot did
too. One of them is a pre-incarnate
manifestation of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. They've come
to Lot now. And the Sodomites saw these three
men go into Lot's house and they just about beat down the door
to get those men to themselves, to rape them, and abuse them
as they would. The angels struck them with blindness. Verse 11, they smoked the men
that were at the door of the house with blindness, both small
and great, so that they were weary themselves to find the
door. And the men said to Lot, these three angels, these three
messengers of mercy, These three whom God sent down to Sodom before
judgment came. Hast thou here any besides? Son-in-law,
and thy sons, and thy daughters, and whatsoever thou hast in the
city, bring them out of this place. For we will destroy this
place, because the cry of them is waxen great before the face
of the Lord. And the Lord has sent us to destroy
it. Judgment day is coming. And Lot
went out and spoke unto his sons-in-law, which married his daughters,
and said, Up, get you out of this place, for the Lord will
destroy this city. But he seemed as one that mocked. You sit and listen politely to
this preacher. tell you about yourself and you know I've told you the
truth. You sit and listen politely to me tell you about redemption
and grace and mercy in Christ Jesus. You listen politely as
I talk to you about eternity and judgment and hell and eternal
life. You walk out. Because everything I say to you,
I seem to you as one who's just telling a fairy tale. As one
who mocks. You refuse to believe. Yet, even in those days, when
God describes as the days of Noah. Those days that our God
describes as the days of Lot. Those days when the whole world
lived unto itself and the whole world courted the wrath of God
and the whole world despised the mercy and grace of God. There
was an elect remnant whom God was determined to save and save
them he did. And as it was in the days of
Noah, as it was in the days of Lot, so it is now and so it shall
be until Christ comes again. God will not destroy the earth
until his Noah, the man who found grace in the eyes of the Lord,
is shut up in his ark. God will not destroy Sodom until
his chosen one Lot is safely tucked away in Zohar, finding
refuge and safety there by the hand of God. The longsuffering
of God waited in the days of Noah while the ark was preparing. God told that generation, 120
years. It's going to take 120 years
for Noah to finish this. 120 years are given to you. And
all that 120 years while the ark was preparing, God is longsuffering. Wherein few That is, eight souls
were saved. So it is now. God's determination to save his
elect makes him long-suffering. Now don't misunderstand what
that term means. God's long-suffering was not
his long-suffering toward the reprobate, neither in Noah's
day, nor in Lot's day, nor in our day. His long-suffering,
Peter tells us, is to usward. He was long-suffering because
he had pitched his heart on Noah, and he would not destroy Noah.
He would not destroy the world while Noah was in it. He's long-suffering
toward Lot, and he would not destroy Lot, or destroy Sodom,
until Lot has escaped. The angel said to Lot in Genesis
19, we can do nothing until you are under Enzor, so come on.
We can do nothing. God is long-suffering to us. Peter tells us in the long-suffering
of our God is salvage. He's long-suffering to us, not
willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance
and the knowledge of the truth. I can't tell you how thankful
I am. that Christ didn't come prior to 1966, I'd have been swept away with the rest
of this world. And I can't tell you how thankful
I am that Christ couldn't come prior to 1966. Because God had
pitched His heart on me from eternity. And He would not let
me die. Oh, it may just be that the reason
our Savior hasn't yet stepped back into this scene of time
manifestly to destroy this world for another hour is because He's
long suffering to you. And He has appointed the day
of your salvation. As in the days of Noah and Lot,
God sovereignly intervened and exercised his free distinguishing
grace in the salvation of his elect. And as it was in those
days, so it is now and so it shall be until the end of the
world. found grace in the eyes of the
Lord. You pick up any kind of literature
or listen to folks talk about that these days and you would
think that the Lord had found grace in the eyes of Noah. The
book says Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Noah was
made righteous. He wasn't born that way and he
didn't make himself that way. Noah had Christ revealed to him
and in him. Because Noah found grace in the
eyes of the Lord. And the Lord came to Noah. And
Christ, the angel of the Lord, laid hold on Lot's hand while he lived. How come? Because
he had some sons-in-law and some daughters in that city that were
about to be destroyed. He said, I can't leave them.
I can't leave them. I can't leave! The angel
said, I can't do anything until you're out of here! And Lot said,
I can't leave! But the Lord Jesus said, leave
you will. And He takes him by the hand
and brings him out of the city. And so God sovereignly exercises
His distinguishing grace, effectually even conquering our hearts and
our wills to bring us to His Son. Thank God Oh, I can almost
hear Brother Lott say, thank you Lord for not letting me stay. Thank God He would not leave
me to myself. Thank God He did not leave me
to my will. Thank God He chose us and redeemed
us and came to us and snatched us out of ruin by His sovereign
grace. Let's look at it described by
our Lord in Luke chapter 17. The Lord Jesus displays here
the distinguishing grace of God, calling us to continually consecrate
ourselves to Him. As in Noah's day and in Lot's
day, so it is today. None will repent and believe. until God, by an act of omnipotent
grace, forces them to. I preach to you, and I warn you.
And you are responsible to believe. And if you go to hell, it'll
be your fault. And yet, as I plead with you, pray for you, and weep
for you, I know you will never repent. And you will never believe. unless God Almighty forces you
to. It won't happen. Oh, go ahead
and stick your fingers in your ears. If God speaks, you're going
to hear me. It won't happen. It won't happen. Our Lord here tells us about
that grace. Verse 30, Even thus shall it
be in the day, when the Son of Man shall be revealed. Just as Noah was shut up in the
ark, and Lot was brought to refuge in Zohar, Christ will save His
own. Verse 34. I tell you that in that night,
when Christ is revealed, when Christ is revealed, Two men shall
be in one bed, the one taken, the other left. Two women shall
be grinding together, the one shall be taken, the other left. Two men shall be in the field,
the one shall be taken, the other left. Two fellows in bed sleep,
one is taken, the other left. Two women going about the daily
business of being a housewife, grinding up the meal, one take,
the other left. Two men out in the field, going
about the business of providing for the families, one take, the
other left. What's he saying? I will have
mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on
whom I will have compassion. Adam and Eve had two sons. One
was taken, the other was left. Abraham had two sons. One was taken, the other was
left. Isaac had two sons. One was taken,
the other was left. God takes one as he pleases and passes by the other. Thirty-five years ago, I started
attending church because as a young lady there, I was interested
in dating and her father had enough sense not to let her go
out with me unless I went to church. I went to church, sat
down and held her hand. And I had a friend who went with
me. Lived right behind me. We were raised up together, if
you can call it being raised. Name was Tommy Bailiff. We did
everything together. All the time. If we got in trouble,
we both got in trouble because we were together. All the time. I decided to stop going to church. What are you going to do today?
I'm going to church. I want to see the girl. I'll go with you. He went with
me. Sat in the same classes. Listened
to the same preacher. Heard the same sermons. Heard
the same songs. One was taken. The other left. For as I know to this day, if
he's still alive, he doesn't know God. It's called distinguishing
grace. He comes to one in a family,
takes it, leaves the rest. Comes to a husband, leaves his
wife. Comes to a wife, leaves the husband. Comes to a father, leaves the
child. Comes to a child, leaves the mother. And then our Lord gives us another
lesson. Faith in Christ is nothing less
than consecration to Him. You see these religious signs
out on church fronts and churches every now and then are going
to have discipleship revival, going to have discipleship classes.
That's because they've conned folks into thinking they're Christians
and they act like they're not. So now we're going to teach them
how to act like they're Christians. Folks talk about, oh, he's a consecrated
believer. There ain't any other kind. There
ain't any other kind. Faith in Christ is consecration
to Him. This is what He demands of us.
Look at verse 31. In that day he which shall be
on the housetop And the stuff in the house, let him not come
down and take it away. Here that is in the field, let
him likewise return, not return back. Peter, come follow me. Dropped his nets and followed
the master. Matthew, follow me. He left the money and the table,
left the receipt of customs and followed the master. Don't come
down and take your stuff. Remember Lot's wife. Whosoever
shall seek to save his life. That's been your problem all
your life. You've been holding on to it. I'll live the way I
want to. I'll do what I want to. You can.
You can. If God lets you, you can and
you will. But if you save your life, you're
going to lose it. And whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve
it. And then our Lord gives a solemn
warning. about this undivided allegiance. There are many who try to hold to the world and
Christ. And it can't be done. The Master
says, remember Lot's wife. Remember her. She left Sodom
with her husband. She was married to a righteous
man. She worshiped God with Abraham. She was taught the things of
God from Abraham's lips. She was standing in the presence
of three angels of God, one of whom is Christ himself. And she looked back. Because though she had left Sodom,
she hadn't left it at all. That's where her heart was. And
she disobeyed the explicit direct command of the angel, look not
back! Don't go down from the housetop! Don't be carried for your stuff!
I demand that you cleave to me. And it was in that day, that
she perished just like the Sodomites. And so it shall be until the
days of the coming of the Son of Man. Now look at verse 37. And the disciples, they heard
these things, and they just, where? Where is this going to happen?
Where is this going to happen? Look at it. They answered and
said unto him, Where, Lord? Where, Lord? They didn't understand
what he was saying. As is common with us, it was with them, we
often just don't realize that our Master is teaching something
in every word he says. And they thought he was talking
about some locality, some physical place, some specific time. And
our Lord answered them. Wheresoever the body is, thither
will the eagles be gathered together. What on earth is that? What's
he talking about? Modern translations haven't helped
a bit. Most modern translations translate the word body to be
carcass and translate the word eagles to be vultures because
vultures feed on dead things, not eagles. And you know what? That's exactly right, but it's
totally wrong to translate scripture that way. Vultures feed on dead
things, eagles eat live things. Well, we can't have eagles feeding
on a carcass then. The translation is exactly right.
It's exactly right. We bow our understanding to the
Word of God. Don't bend the Word of God to
your understanding. Wherever the body is, the word body means
one that has fallen or been slain. Usually it's used with reference
to one who has fallen in battle. The word eagle, properly translated,
it refers to an eagle. Well, that doesn't help a lot,
does it? What's the passage mean? Remember
the context. That's the answer. Our Lord is
talking about God's distinguishing grace. He's talking about faith
in Himself. The body of one slain in battle. Do you know who it is now? It's
Christ Himself. The eagles are God's elect, gathered
to Him. Let's see if this is according
to the book. God's elect are spoken of in
scripture as eagles. His church is given the wings
of the eagle, that great eagle. They that wait upon the Lord
shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings
as eagles. Turn to Deuteronomy chapter 32.
Deuteronomy 32. Our Lord uses this same term
when He talks about His distinguishing grace back here to the nation
of Israel. Verse 8. When the Most High divided
the nations, divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated
the sons of Adam, and he's the one who did it, he set the bounds
of the people. How did he do that? According
to his love for Israel. According to the number of the
children of Israel. For the Lord's portion is his people. Jacob
is the Lord of his inheritance. Verse 10. He found him in a desert
land, and in a waste and howling wilderness. He led him about.
He instructed him. He kept him as the apple of his
eye. Verse 11. As an eagle stirreth up her nest,
fluttereth over her young, spreadeth aboard her wings, taketh them,
beareth them on her wings, so the Lord alone did lead him. And there was no strange God
with him. Job said, my days are like an eagle that hasteth to
the prey. Our Lord answers his disciples
when they said, where? With this question. Christ crucified is set forth
in the preaching of the gospel. Wherever the crucified Christ
is revealed to men in the power and grace of his spirit through
the gospel, there will his elect be gathered to him in the day
when the Son of Man is revealed. Christ's eagles gather to Him
who is their food. He's the one upon whom we live.
Christ crucified is the meeting point of chosen sinners. He is
the great magnet that draws the souls of men from all over the
earth. He said, I, if I be lifted up
from the earth, will draw all men unto me. God, our creator,
in the book of Job, says the eagle, his creature, she abideth
upon the rock. From thence she seeketh the prey.
Her eyes, behold, are far off where the slain are. There she
is. God, our Savior, adds this to
it. As the eagles gather round the corpse, the souls of chosen
men, redeemed and called by my grace, gather unto me. You see,
keen and swift as eagles are for the prey, God's elect are
for Christ crucified. My soul. These words are the words of
my Savior about me. Wheresoever the body is, thither
will the eagles be gathered together. The eagle is a bird of prey.
And birds of prey There is a vast quickness of sight and smell
for their proper food. Even from a great distance, the
eagle spots out his prey. And add to that, he has a ravenous
appetite, so that he constantly is searching for food. Compelled
by hunger and his sense of smell, he flies quickly to grab that
which he must have to survive. But the eagle is not a vulture.
It does not feed upon dead things, but living. And the man, the
woman, called by the grace of God to life everlasting, is given the blessed knowledge
of Christ crucified. And he has a ravenous appetite
for evil. And that one we must have is
not a dead carcass, but rather the living redeemer who once
died. And the believer is gathered
where Christ is, in his house, at his table, under the gospel
of his grace, and feeds upon him. Oh, taste and see that the Lord
is gracious. we've tasted everywhere. God give me and you such an appetite
that we so hunger for Christ as David for the waters of Bethlehem. As the heart panteth after the
water book that our hearts may pant after our God. Such an appetite
and hunger for Christ that we can never have enough. such a hunger, such a satisfaction
with Christ, that these hearts cease to care
for all the stuff that's in the house of this world with which
the souls of men are damned. Oh, blessed Savior, Graciously
make me to hunger and feed upon you all that you are, all that
you are, and feeding only to want more. Amen.

God's Distinguishing Grace

What does the Bible say about God's distinguishing grace?

How do we know election is true according to the Bible?

Why is God's long-suffering important for Christians?

What is the significance of remembering Lot's wife?

Sermon Transcript

About Don Fortner

Comments

Joshua

Articles

Featured Authors

Podcast

Sermons

Featured Preachers

Books

Browse by Format

Music

Recent Comments

About

Legal

Subscribe

Account

Articles

Featured Authors

Podcast

Recent Comments

Sermons

Featured Preachers

Books

Browse by Format

Collections

Music

About

Legal

Subscribe

God's Distinguishing Grace

What does the Bible say about God's distinguishing grace?

How do we know election is true according to the Bible?

Why is God's long-suffering important for Christians?

What is the significance of remembering Lot's wife?

Sermon Transcript

About Don Fortner

Comments

More from Don Fortner

Same Scripture

Articles by Don Fortner

Books by Don Fortner

Joshua

Where this book stands in the tradition

Plato

Augustine

The Western Christian Tradition

This Book