Who Will Be Saved?

Q: What does the Bible say about salvation?

The Bible teaches that salvation is wholly the work of the Lord, not dependent on our will or actions (Jonah 2:9). The Scriptures provide a clear declaration that 'Salvation is of the Lord' (Jonah 2:9). This statement encapsulates the Reformed understanding that salvation is entirely God's work from beginning to end. It emphasizes God's sovereignty in the process of redemption and clarifies that salvation does not rely on human effort or merit. The work of Christ on the cross is the completed act of redemption, fully satisfying God's justice and paving the way for the salvation of His chosen people.

Q: How do we know God's election is true?

God's election is a doctrine clearly taught in Scripture, indicating that He chose individuals for salvation before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4). Ephesians 1:4 states that God chose us in Him before the foundation of the world. This passage is a foundational element supporting the doctrine of election, affirming that God's choice is not based on anything we have done, but solely according to His sovereign will and purpose. This doctrine is essential because it highlights the grace and mercy of God towards sinners, ensuring that salvation is rooted in His eternal plan rather than human action. Furthermore, understanding election amplifies the assurance of salvation, showing that those whom God has chosen will certainly be saved.

Q: Why is the doctrine of limited atonement important?

Limited atonement affirms that Christ's death effectively secured redemption for the elect, ensuring that His sacrifice is not in vain (Hebrews 9:12). The doctrine of limited atonement, which asserts that Christ's atonement is particular and not general, emphasizes that His death truly secured the salvation of those chosen by God. Scripture reveals that Christ did not merely attempt to save, but actually accomplished redemption for His people as stated in Hebrews 9:12, where it declares He obtained eternal redemption for us. This understanding safeguards the integrity of Christ's sacrificial work, ensuring it fulfills God's justice and effects salvation rather than being a mere possibility that might not be realized. Those who are redeemed by His blood can rest in the certainty that their salvation is secured because of Christ’s effective atonement.

Q: How do we reconcile God's sovereignty with human responsibility?

While God is sovereign in salvation, humans are still responsible to believe in Christ unto salvation (Romans 10:13). Reconciling God's sovereignty with human responsibility is crucial in understanding the framework of salvation in Reformed theology. Romans 10:13 explicitly states, 'for whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved,' which indicates that individuals have a responsibility to trust in Christ for salvation. However, this does not undermine God's sovereignty, as faith itself is a gift from God. His sovereign grace enables sinners to believe, demonstrating that He works in the hearts of the elect, making them willing to come to Christ. Thus, both doctrines are held simultaneously: God sovereignly elects and regenerates while also commanding individuals to believe, ensuring the proclamation of the gospel is made to all.

Q: What should I do to be saved?

To be saved, one must believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, trusting fully in His finished work (Acts 16:31). The call for salvation in Scripture is straightforward: 'Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved' (Acts 16:31). This instruction highlights the simplicity of the gospel — salvation is received through faith, not through works or merit. Acknowledging one's need for a Savior and placing trust in Christ alone for redemption is essential. The assurance of that salvation rests not on feelings or performances, but on the promise of God's Word. As one looks to Christ by faith, they can be confident of their salvation, recognizing that it is grounded in God's grace and not in personal achievements.

I frequently received letters
from people across the country, some wanting to debate and fuss
about doctrine, justify themselves and what they believe, and some
very sincere, asking questions that confuse them. I received
two just exactly those opposite extremes this week. One was from
a young man down in North Carolina, I presume a young man, who wanted
to take me to task over the doctrines of God's sovereign grace and
raising Scriptures, you know, just quoting Scripture one after
the other, suggesting that since John 3.16 is so, then we can't
teach God's sovereignty and Christ's redemption and so forth. And
then I got a letter later from a young lady I met out in California
a few months ago, who came up to me then and was concerned
about her soul. wrote asking about the same text of scripture,
about the same conflicts. How can you teach God's sovereignty
and and yet at the same time declare the freeness of God's
grace to sinners? How can you declare that every
elect sinner is going to be saved and only the elect, and at the
same time declare that whosoever will, let him come and take the
water of life freely? How can both be so? And this
young lady was simply confused by some of those things, and
I think probably confused as perhaps some of you might be.
And so this morning I want, with those things in mind, to look
at two texts of Scripture. I want us to look first at Jonah
chapter 2. Jonah chapter 2 and verse 9.
And then turn with me again to Romans chapter 10, if you would,
please. Jonah 2 and verse 9. You're familiar with the passage
here. Jonah is, of course, in the belly
of the whale. And he makes this cry from the
belly of the whale, from the depths of the sea. He says, I
will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving. I
will pay that I have vowed. Salvation is of the Lord. What a glorious, glorious good
news that statement reveals. Salvation is God's work in its
entirety from start to finish. It is not God's work and ours. It is not God's work in part
and our work in part. Salvation is God's work. It does
not in any way depend upon, it is not in any way determined
by our will, our worth, or our work. Salvation is the work of
the Lord. Salvation is of the Lord. That's the universal testimony
of Holy Scripture. Now turn with me again to Romans
chapter 10 for just a moment. Romans 10. Let's look at this
second text. Verse 13. The apostle told us in Romans
9, 16, so then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that
runneth, but of God that showeth mercy. And then he turns around
in Romans 10, 13 and says, for whosoever shall call upon the
name of the Lord shall be saved. Now that's good news. Listen
to me now, listen. Whoever you are, whatever you
are, whatever you've been, whatever you now are, No matter what crimes
against God you have committed, no matter what crimes against
yourself and society you've committed, no matter how vile, how base,
or how hypocritical you've been all your life long, whosoever
shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. That means you may be whiter
than snow right now. Right now. That means God Almighty
is willing to be gracious to sinners wherever they're found. God Almighty receives all who
look to His Son in faith. God Almighty freely pardons and
forgives the sins, iniquities, and transgressions of all who
look to His Son in saving faith. Anyone in the world, anyone in
the world, no exception, who calls upon the name of the Lord,
who trusts the Lord Jesus Christ, shall be saved. Now that promise
is made without condition, without qualification, and without exception. I trust the Lord Jesus Christ.
Trust in Him. I'm saved. Got that? I trust Christ. Trust in Him. I'm saved. A fellow called earlier this
week, another one, and he was asking me, he said, folks were
asking about assurance, and the fellow said he didn't know whether
he was saved or not. And I said, well, he probably
isn't. He probably isn't. The fact is, we keep looking
to ourselves because we haven't looked to Christ. We keep looking
to ourselves for some basis of assurance because we haven't
looked to Christ. We keep looking to our feelings or our doings
or our experiences or our emotions and think that somehow we find
assurance here. And when the feelings and emotions
and doings are good, then we think we're saved. But when they're
bad, we think we're lost. That means we don't know Christ
at all. Not at all. Trusting Christ, I'm saved. That's all. That's all. So that
faith itself is the evidence of life and salvation. If I trust
the Lord Jesus Christ, I shall be saved. I have God's word for
it right here. That's what he says. It is written,
whosoever will, let him take to the water of life freely.
You come, take the water of life and it's yours. You believe on
Christ, he's yours. You call on the name of God and
he's yours. It's just that simple and just
that lesson. In Jonah 2 and verse 9, we have
a clear declaration of God's sovereign grace. In Romans 10,
13, we're given a declaration regarding man's responsibility,
and both are absolutely true. Both need to be understood. Both
need to be believed. And both must be preached with
clarity. God Almighty is totally, totally, totally, absolutely
sovereign in the salvation of sinners. And we are, every one
of us, responsible to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Now
these two facts are, as I intend to show you, clearly revealed
in Holy Scripture. We cannot believe, listen now,
listen carefully. Some of you are here without
Christ. You cannot believe on the Lord Jesus Christ without
God's sovereign grace. You cannot believe unless God
gives you faith. You cannot believe unless God
raises you from your death. You cannot believe unless God
does for you what you cannot and will not do for yourself.
And yet, at the same time, faith, while it is the gift of God and
the fruit of the Spirit and the operation of His grace, faith
is absolutely essential. And God Almighty, in His sovereign
grace, will never save you if you do not believe on His side.
Won't happen. Won't happen. Someone asked the
other day, is our faith in Christ something that we willingly do
or is it something that we're passive in? Well, that's nonsense.
That's utter nonsense. We willingly believe if we believe.
God doesn't knock you in the head and say, now you're going
to believe whether you like it or not. Oh no! He woos us. He wins us. He shows us the beauty
and glory of Christ and causes us to come to Him. But we come
with willing hearts. With willing hearts. I've got
a little scratch in my throat. I'm a little thirsty. Mmm. That's good. I took it because
I wanted it. Because I wanted it. Do you understand
that? And if you ever take Christ, and you must take Him, if you
ever receive Christ, and you must receive Him, If you ever
believe on Christ and believe on Him, you must. It'll be because
you've got to have Him and you want Him more than life itself.
You understand that? Salvation is God's work and God
works giving salvation to every sinner who believes on His dear
Son. Now, regrettably, there are some,
I've met a few along the way, who have such a distorted understanding
of God's sovereignty and of the doctrines of grace that they
become hard uncaring, negative, and anti-everything in their
preaching. They're opposed to everything
and in favor of nothing. They act like a big wrecking
ball. You can take a wrecking ball and tear about anything,
damn, but you can't build anything with it. And I find a lot of folks
who use what they call the doctrines of the gospel, what they call
the doctrines of grace, just to tear down. And God never sent
anybody just to tear down. That's just not so. God Almighty
gives us the responsibility of preaching the gospel with warmth,
with compassion, with love in our hearts, with compassion for
the souls of men, and compassion for the glory of God. And it's
our responsibility to do so. Really, some men preach like
they're scared to death. One of the non-elect might possibly
get saved. Hey, they seem like they're just
scared that somebody might get in who ought not get in. What
a pity. What a pity. Let's preach the
gospel with warmth and zeal and compassion for the souls of men.
That's not the spirit of the New Testament to just hold back
the gospel or to not be zealous for the salvation of men's souls.
That's not the spirit of Christ. It's not the spirit of the New
Testament. It's not the spirit of the apostles. Our Lord Jesus,
as He beheld Jerusalem, stood over that city and said, Oh,
Jerusalem, Jerusalem. Would I have gathered thy children
together, even as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings?
And you would not. The Apostle Paul said in that
passage we read earlier, Brethren, my prayer and my heart's desire
to God for Israel is that they might be saved. He said, I become
all things to all men that I might by all means save some. I've
given myself wholly to this business of seeking the salvation of sinners.
But then there are others who totally deny God's sovereignty,
who totally deny God's purpose of grace in election and predestination,
and the effectual, irresistible power of His grace in salvation. They look at the scriptures and
all they see. Everything they read in the Bible,
everything they hear, they interpret in the light of these words,
or in their case, the darkness of these words. Whosoever will.
They can't see anything else. Whosoever will. Whosoever will.
Whosoever will. No matter what you say to them,
no matter what you preach, no matter what scriptures you quote,
they say, I believe in whosoever will. I believe in whosoever
will. Let me tell you something. I don't believe in election and
I don't believe in whosoever will. I believe in the Son of
God. There's a huge difference. My soul is not resting upon a
doctrine or a creed but a person. Believers look to Christ. We
believe the Son of God and we believe his word even when it
seems to conflict with reason and logic as we perceive reason
and logic. Now I detest the doctrine of
free will. I detest the doctrine of man's
boasted free will as being itself that which is most abhorrent
in all the world. I contend that free will religion
is the religion of Lucifer. He was the first free willer.
He said, I will be as the most high God. Free will religion
puts God Almighty under the dominion of man's puny will. Free will
religion makes man to be the God of God. It's utterly blasphemous. And yet, at the same time, I
recognize and I declare to all men, you must believe on the
Lord Jesus Christ. I declare to all men, whosoever
will, let him come and take of the water of life freely. I recall
several years ago, my friend, Brother Herbert Wilson, pastor
in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. This has been a long, long time
ago. It was when I was in school.
Somebody came up to him and said, well, you folks, y'all don't
believe in whosoever will. And he said, oh, no. You're mistaken,
we just don't believe in whosoever won't. We recognize that anybody
who will may come to Christ, but if you won't, you won't.
Anybody who will may come, but if you won't, then none do make
you come. We recognize the scriptures teaching
concerning man's responsibility, but we don't turn man's responsibility
into his ability. Now the Bible teaches these two
facts. They are as plain as the noonday sun. You cannot deny
either without denying the Word of God. And you can't really
believe either as it is revealed in the Scripture without believing
both. Salvation is of the Lord. And
whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
Now I want this morning to answer one question. And I'm going to
have to give you four answers to answer it in a biblical way.
I want to answer this one question. Who will be saved? I look at this congregation,
and I look in your faces, eternally bound sinners with immortal souls. And I wonder frequently, who
here will be saved? Who will be saved? Which of you will enter into
life? Which of us will believe on the
Lord Jesus Christ? Who will? I know exactly who
will. I'm going to tell you who will.
Number one, I want you to turn to the book of Ephesians. We're
going to look at some Scripture, and I want you to follow with
me. Ephesians chapter 1. Who will be saved? I make no
apology for making this statement. It is a statement that is as
obvious as it can possibly be to anyone who reads the Scriptures. God's elect will be saved. All
of them. and none but them. Nobody is
going to be saved that God didn't choose from eternity. Nobody
is going to enter into glory that God didn't predestinate
unto everlasting salvation. Nobody is going to believe on
Christ that God Almighty has not chosen to believe on Christ
from everlasting. And everybody shall whom the
Father has chosen. God's elect will be saved. Now
there is such a thing as the election of grace. We're not
ashamed of it, we rejoice in it. The Bible teaches it very
plainly. Our Lord said, you have not chosen
me, but I've chosen you. Look here in Ephesians 1 verse
3. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who
hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places
in Christ, according as he hath chosen us in him. Notice the
language. God hath chosen us one time back
in the past. In Him, that is, He chose us
in Christ. When? Before the foundation of
the world. Before God ever calls the sun
to rise in the east. Before He ever set the stars
in the sky. Before He ever said let there be light and there
was light. God chose us in Christ before the world began. Read
on. That we should be holy and without blame before Him. The object of God's election
is to make us perfectly holy in everlasting salvation, in
love, having predestinated us under the adoption of children
by Jesus Christ to Himself according to the good pleasure of His will.
So God's election is a matter of absolute certainty. He chose
us, He loved us, He predestinated us to make us holy. That's plain,
isn't it? The Scriptures are abundantly
clear concerning that. There's no problem concerning
election. Men and women say, well, that's confusing. That's
difficult to understand. It's not difficult to understand.
It's not confusing. It's not fuzzy. It's as plain
as nose on your face. God chose some folks. God said
concerning them, I will be their God and they shall be my people.
And God's election will stand. The purpose of God according
to election will stand not of him that worketh, nor of him
that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth
mercy. So election is plainly taught
in the scripture. It is not itself salvation. We recognize that. Election is unto salvation. But
it is as necessary a part of salvation as is redemption and
regeneration. What do you mean by that? I mean
that you can no more be saved without God's election than you
could be without Christ's death or the Spirit's call. Election
is absolutely vital to salvation. Folks say, well that's just a,
that's one of those minor doctrines, that's one of those doctrines
we'll agree to disagree about. Oh no. Oh no, we won't agree
to disagree about this. This is not a minor doctrine.
It's as minor as redemption. It's as minor as the new birth.
It's as minor as the Godhead of God. And no more so. So the
election becomes a very vital doctrine as you understand it
in the live scripture. I don't know who the elect are.
Neither do you. Therefore we preach the gospel
to all men because God knows who they are. He knows where
they are. He knows exactly what it will
require for Him to save them and when He will do it. He knows
when He will pass by them in the time of His love and He will
bring them to the hearing of the Word so that they may hear
the Word of faith and have faith imparted to them by His grace.
But God's election does not in any way, it does not in any way,
Alter our responsibility to preach the gospel to you, or yours to
believe it. Not in any way. You see, our responsibility is
determined not by the decree of God, but by the Word of God.
Does that make good sense? You're not responsible to seek
the Lord because He's decreed to save you. You're responsible
to seek Him whether He's decreed to save you or not. His Word
is the basis of responsibility. You're not responsible to preach
the gospel because God has decreed to save certain people out there.
You're responsible to preach the gospel because God said,
go preach the Word. His decree has nothing to do
with our responsibility. His Word has everything to do
with our responsibility. So we're responsible to render
obedience to it. All right, second, every sinner
bought, purchased, redeemed, By the blood of the Lord Jesus
Christ shall be saved, all of them and none but them. In this day, I hear a lot of
fellows talk about particular redemption, limited atonement
to factual redemption. And they say, well, you know,
that's one of those things that's kind of a knotty point. And a
lot of folks just don't understand that. Let me tell you something,
and I want you to hear me well. Every saved sinner understands
that Jesus Christ put away his sins. Every saved sinner understands
that justice satisfied cannot demand my punishment. Every saved
sinner understands that Jesus Christ, by the shedding of His
blood, has satisfied the justice of God and obtained eternal redemption
for His people. Now there's no question concerning
that. I don't suggest that a man or woman's got to have an understanding
in the details of limited atonement and the controversies concerning
it. I don't suggest that a person has got to read Pink or Owen
or anyone else on the atonement. I am saying this. Those who know
Christ, those who are born of God's Spirit, understand by divine
revelation through the Word that Jesus Christ, dying at Calvary,
accomplished redemption. He didn't just try, He did. He
didn't just provide it, He did. He didn't just offer it, He did!
He, with His blood, entered in once into the Holy Place, having
obtained eternal redemption for us. That's the reason the Apostle
Paul cries, God forbid that I should glory save in the cross of our
Lord Jesus Christ. It's worth glorying in. Let's see, it's been 25,
26 years ago. More than that, maybe 27 years
ago, I was sitting in chapel in Winston-Salem at Piedmont
Bible College, and we didn't often have chapel preachers who
were worth listening to, but we had one that day. He was a
Welchman, Paul. Wales and they hired him to teach
the school for a little while. He preached from Galatians chapter
6 verse 14. God forbid that I should glory
save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. And I remember
his outline like it was yesterday. I'll never forget it, I don't
reckon. He said I must glory in the cross first and foremost
because it is a compassion revealed. God commendeth his love toward
us. And that while we were yet sinners
Christ died for us. so that the cross of our Lord
Jesus Christ is the revelation of the love of God. The cross
of Christ is not that which calls God to love us, but it is the
revelation of God's love for His people. God so loved the
world that He gave His own, the begotten Son, that whosoever
believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. The
Lord Jesus Christ is that one who is sent of God to die at
Calvary because of His infinite eternal love for us. And then
Mr. Lawrence said, I must glory in
the cross of Christ secondly because it is a covenant respected. And he took us to Hebrews 13.
Turn there for a minute. Hebrews chapter 13. Now the God of peace that brought
again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of
the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant.
Do you see that? Christ Jesus came forth from the dead through
the blood of the everlasting covenant, and upon the basis
of His blood, Paul prays that God will make you perfect in
every good work to do His will, working in you that which is
well-pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ to whom be glory
forever and ever. Amen. And Mr. Lawrence proceeded to talk to
us about covenant grace. And I thought, This is just about as good as
it gets. I just didn't hear much preaching when I was in school. He said before the world was,
God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit entered
into a solemn covenant of grace by which the salvation, the redemption,
and the everlasting glory of every chosen sinner was accomplished
from eternity. That's exactly what Paul thought
about it. The blood of the everlasting covenant is the blood of Christ.
Christ shed his blood at Calvary in time because from eternity
he had agreed to do so. And when he came into the world,
he said, Lo, I come in the volume of the book it is written to
me. I delight to do thy will. Oh my God. The Jews wanted to
take him and make him a king. And he was determined to go to
the cross. They wanted to stone him. He was determined to go
to the cross. They wanted to throw him off a hill. He was
determined to go to the cross. He set his face like a flint
to go up to Jerusalem there to suffer and die in the room instead
of Mark Henson because from eternity, he said, I'll redeem Mark Henson.
And the father said, all right, I'll give him to you. I'll give
him to you. And so it was accomplished. And
then Mr. Lawrence turned us to Galatians
3.13. And he said, I must glory in the cross of our Lord Jesus
Christ because it is a curse removed. Christ hath redeemed
us from the curse of the law. Being made a curse for us, for
it is written, cursing is everyone that hangs on a tree. You get
hold of that? Bobby, we were under the curse
of God's law. The law said you got to die.
The law said cast him into hell. The law said he's a sinner. He
cannot live before God. The Lord Jesus Christ took your
sin. He took the curse. He endured the curse and has
redeemed you from the curse of the law. What's that mean? There
is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus,
to them which walk not after the flesh but after the spirit.
That is to those who look to Christ alone for life and salvation. And then he said, the cross of
our Lord Jesus Christ is that in which I must glory because
it is a conquest realized. And he turned to Romans chapter
8 and read these verses. Listen carefully. Who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect? It is God that justifies. Who
is he that condemneth? It is Christ that dies. Yea,
rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand
of God, who also maketh intercession for us, who shall separate us
in the love of Christ. Shall tribulation, or distress,
or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril assured?
As it is written, for thy sake we are killed all the day long.
We are counted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these
things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For
I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities,
nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height,
nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us
from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. The
Lord Jesus Christ cannot fail to save those for whom he bled
and died upon the cursed tree. The cross of our Lord Jesus Christ
shall never be discovered a miscarriage. Thinking about this, yesterday
I wrote these words, maybe we'll sing them soon. We were once
condemned and lost, now we glory in the cross. Since Christ's
blood, the crimson tide, has God's justice satisfied. All
for whom the Savior bled by His blood are justified. All for
whom He lives above shall be conquered by His love. He who
vanquished death and hell shall in saving grace prevail. Chosen
sinners bought by blood, called by grace, shall come to God. He shall see of the travail of
his soul and shall be satisfied. Now this is what that means.
All for whom Christ was made to be sin shall be made the righteousness
of God in him. All who were redeemed by Christ
from the curse of the law are forever freed from the curse
of the law. All for whom the Son of God obtained eternal redemption
shall possess eternal redemption. The blood of Jesus Christ, God's
dear Son, simply cannot be shed in vain. He didn't die for nothing. I wish people would just stop
and think for a moment the consequences of teaching that Jesus Christ
died for folks who perish in hell at last. Merle, that is
to declare that his blood was shed for nothing. His blood doesn't
make any difference. His work doesn't determine anything. His sacrifice merits nothing
before God. It's utter blasphemy to talk
like that. Jesus Christ's blood shall never
lose its power till all the ransomed Church of God be saved to sin
no more. That's the inspiration by which
we preach. Thirdly, All who are chosen shall be saved
and all who are redeemed shall be saved. And everyone who is
called by the grace and power of God the Holy Spirit will be
saved. Every one of them. Now I know
there is a general call. I'm aware of that. I'm preaching
to you. And that general call gets a
little frustrating to preachers like myself because I preach
to you and I recognize that what I'm saying won't do you one bit
of good. You'll sit and ignore me until
your eyes glaze over with death and you're finally at last swallowed
up in hell. It'll do you no good. My voice
will never reach your heart. Not unless God speaks. My voice may be trained to stir
your emotions, My voice may be trained to move the congregation. My voice may be trained to give
telling stories and illustrations that will excite you to humor
or stir you to great sorrow. But my voice can't call you to
believe. But there is another call. a
personal, effectual, irresistible saving call. This effectual call by which
faith is produced in chosen, redeemed sinners, by which life
is given to sinners, is the call covered by the power and grace
of God Almighty in regeneration and conversion. It is that call
which is issued when sinners are born again by the power of
His Spirit and faith in Christ. And the evidence of God's election
and Christ's redemption and this call by the Spirit. Turn to 1
Thessalonians chapter 4, let me show you. Paul wrote to the Corinthians
and he said, I deliberately came to you not with the excellency
of speech, not with craftiness, not with skilled oratory, lest
your faith should stand in the words of men. I want your faith
to stand, Bob, not in my ability to preach, but in the Word of
God. You understand that? I read something by Spurgeon
yesterday. Occasionally, you go preaching,
folks, they get wrapped up in the preacher. And I hear folks
say, well, how did you like him? I told you he was good. Sometimes
our conferences, we get a little bit of this preacher idolatry.
It's utterly foolish, utterly ridiculous, utterly abhorrent.
Don Fortner, Maurice Montgomery, Henry Mahan are just nothing
but voices. Just nothing but voices. And
it doesn't really matter which voice God speaks through. He
speaks through whichever one he wants to. He may speak to
a man who has great oratorical skills, or he may speak to a
man who stutters and stammers and doesn't have any speaking
skills whatsoever. You understand what I'm saying?
Don't come here to hear me. Don't go to hear this man or
that man. Go to hear God. Oh, if God speak,
if God just speak, it doesn't matter who he speaks by. I remember reading some time
back, some lady went to hear Samuel Rutherford preach. He
was quite well known, very popular preacher. And she came to hear
him preach when he was in the area and her heart was just stirred.
She wasn't able to worship God. She didn't know he was preaching
there that Sunday. She was just there. And then the next month
or so, he was back in the area, and she heard he was going to
be in a certain place, and she went over to hear him preach
again. This time, she went to hear Mr. Rutherford. And it was
nothing. Nothing. Just dry. Empty. Dead. Just echoes off the walls.
And she made him at the door, and she said, Mr. Rutherford,
I don't understand. Last month, when you were over
such and such a place, I went to hear you preaching. And God
spoke to my heart. And today, nothing. He said,
Sister, when you came over to so-and-so place last month, you
didn't know I was going to be there, did you? She said, no.
He said, why did you go? She said, I went to hear from
the Lord. He said, why did you come here
today? She said, well, I came here to hear you preach again.
He said, you got what you came for. You understand the difference? Don't go to hear a man. Go to
hear a man, that's all you're going to hear. Oh, but if God
will speak. Listen to what Paul says to the
Thessalonians. Verse 4. 1 Thessalonians 1 verse 4. Knowing, brethren beloved, your
election of God. I know God chose you. For our
gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and
in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance. Oh God, speak like
that through these lips of clay. When God speaks to your heart,
you'll know it. You'll know it. Blessed is the man whom thou
choosest and callsest to approach Him today. I baptize a good many
of you. You'll bear me witness. When first you begin to be disturbed
about your souls, you generally will speak to me and say, Pastor,
I believe the Lord is speaking to me, or I want to be saved. What shall I do? And my response
is, just listen. Ask God to speak. Seek the Lord. And then you come up and you
say, well, I believe God gave me faith. I believe the Lord
saved me on confession and baptism. I wasn't around. You don't need
me to tell you when God saved you. Matter of fact, if you need
me to tell you when God saved you, you don't know God. That's
just that. We're living in an age in Protestant
and Baptist churches, when preachers treat folks like they were priests
and people treat the preacher like they were priests. Let's
go to the preacher. He can tell us where God is.
He can tell us when we found God. He can tell us when God
speaks. Oh no! I'll speak to you and pray that
God speak to you. And when God speaks to you, you
do business with God. Do business with Him. I've said it to you before and
I'll say it again. I'm more and more convinced of
it all the time. In this society in which preachers are involved
in these counseling ministries and you've got to counsel this,
counsel that, counsel the other thing. Preachers are determined,
if they can, to keep you from doing business with God. They're
determined to. They're determined to. Won't
you depend on me? I don't want you to depend on
me, I want you to depend on Him. I can't solve your problems,
I've got plenty of them all. But Christ can, and He will. Look to Him. Believe Him. Trust
Him. Follow Him. Blessed is the man whom thou
choosest, and calls us to approach him to thee. It is the Spirit
that quickeneth in the flesh. It profits nothing. To be called
is to be regenerated, born again, raised from spiritual death.
to spiritual life in Christ by the power and grace of God the
Holy Spirit. And that takes a little bit more
than what I can do or you can. That takes what God can do. And
so we pray, Lord God, send your Spirit. Oh God, send your Spirit and
speak. Send your Spirit and cause your
Word to have power. Send your Spirit. and fetch home
your Mephibosheth, send your Spirit, and raise your Lazarus,
send your Spirit, and call your Zacchaeus to come down and follow
you. All who are chosen by God the
Father in eternal election, all who were redeemed by God the
Son at Calvary, and all who are called by God the Holy Spirit
shall at God's appointed time be saved by His grace, and they
shall be saved forever. Not one of them shall perish,
Not one chosen, not one redeemed, not one called shall perish because
this is God's work. And what God does, God does forever.
There's one more answer to the question. Who will be saved? Every sinner who believes on
the Lord Jesus Christ. It's written in the book. If
any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. It's written
in the book. Come unto me all ye that labor
and heavy laden, I'll give you rest. It's written in the book,
plain as it can be. Whosoever will him, come and
take of the water of life freely. There's absolutely no contradiction
between those statements and everything else I've said this
morning. Faith in Christ is the proof and the evidence of our
election, our redemption, and our calling, or our regeneration
by the Holy Spirit. The Apostle says, now faith is
the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not
seen. I've heard lots of sermons on
assurance and making your calling and election sure. Usually Rex,
the sermons are like this, believe on the Lord, trust the Lord Jesus
and then you start watching and see how good you live, and see
how much holiness you can produce, and see how much you pray, and
how much you read the Word, and how faithful you are. And as
you look at yourself and you see yourself, then you can look
up and say, well, now I'm a child of God. I'm sure that I am because
I read my Bible and I prayed. I'm studied up, prayed up, prayed
up, and gave up. No, no. Now read, study, and
pray. Give, seek to walk with Christ,
seek to honor Christ, but don't ever grow above this, a sinner
saved by grace. That's all. Here I stand, right here, right
now. I forget everything behind me.
Everything. I've had some experiences. But
there's lots of folks in hell who've had better experiences.
I've been through some things, but there's lots of folks in
hell who've been through more. I've seen some things, but there are
folks in hell who've seen more. I forget everything about it.
Everything. Even this morning, I forget it. But what's your
hope? I trust you. That's all. I trust Him. I trust
Him. I'm not clinging to a profession
of faith. I'm not clinging to baptism. I'm not clinging to
a work. I trust Him! A sinner in need of mercy. I trust Christ. And He is made
of God and to me wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. Now I'm calling on you right
now, right where you are, to believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ. Believe it. Believe it. Right now. That's what you're responsible
to do. And if you believe it, It's because
God gave you life. It's because Christ redeemed
you. It's because our gospel came to you not in word only,
but in power, and in much assurance, the demonstration of the Holy
Spirit. It's because God from eternity chose you to salvation
by the hearing of the Word, the obedience of faith. I'm not calling
on you to seek, but to believe. Not to pray, but to believe. Not to feel, but to believe.
Not to mourn, but to believe. Not to do, but to believe. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Put nothing between yourself
and the Savior. And let no one else put anything
between you and the Savior. Anything that keeps you from
Christ or comes between you and Christ is idolatry and it's damage. I don't care if it's nothing
but a prayer. I don't care if it's nothing but a resolve. I don't care if it's nothing
but a determination to change. Anything that comes between you
and Christ is idolatry and it's damage. Anything. Believe. on the Lord Jesus Christ,
and thou shalt be saved. Now listen to me. I tell you
upon the authority of God's own word, that if you believe on Jesus
Christ, you're saved. You're saved. God elected you. Christ redeemed you. The Spirit's
called you. and you shall not come into condemnation.
This is what God says in his word. Salvation is of the Lord. And whosoever shall call upon
the name of the Lord shall be saved. Now you can't read your
election until you believe. But you never could or would
believe without God's election. I recall hearing someone years
ago said, entering into the door of life is sort of like this,
sort of like this here. You see the door, Christ is the
door. It's written overhead, whosoever will, let him come
and take the water of life freely. It's written overhead, come unto
me, all you that labor, and I'll give you rest. And you walk through
the door, they turn around and look and it says, chosen in him
for a foundation to work. That's about right. That's just
about right. Don't try to determine whether
or not you're elect until you believe. And if you believe,
buddy-duddy, God chose you. It's that simple. You reckon
He'd have me? You reckon God would save me?
Bet you don't know what I am. You don't know what I've been.
Yes, I do. Because I know what I am. I know what I've been, know what
I've done. And He has said, He that believeth on the Son
of God shall not come into condemnation,
for he passed from death unto life. God help you to believe. Amen. Please come lead us in a hymn
if you will. Our brother Paul Harris, most
of you have met him from Wales, has no place where he can worship
God and hear the gospel of God's grace and he has asked if I would
be, if I would consent to baptize him while he is here. He wants
to confess Christ and believe his baptism, identify with the
gospel of his grace and so I'm going to go back and change while
you're singing and we'll I'd be delighted to participate in
this ordinance of the worship of our God with our brother.
If God's given you faith in Christ and you want to confess him and
believe his baptism, you see me after the service and we'll
arrange to take care of that tonight or next week, whenever
it's convenient for you.

Who Will Be Saved?

What does the Bible say about salvation?

How do we know God's election is true?

Why is the doctrine of limited atonement important?

How do we reconcile God's sovereignty with human responsibility?

What should I do to be saved?

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Who Will Be Saved?

What does the Bible say about salvation?

How do we know God's election is true?

Why is the doctrine of limited atonement important?

How do we reconcile God's sovereignty with human responsibility?

What should I do to be saved?

Sermon Transcript

About Don Fortner

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