Good News From a Far Country

Q: What does the Bible say about God's love for sinners?

The Bible reveals that God's love for sinners is unconditional and is expressed through Jesus Christ. The Scriptures affirm that God's love is freely given and is not based on any merit or action of the individual. In Romans 5:8, we see that God demonstrated His love for us while we were still sinners by sending Christ to die for us. This divine love is not merely a sympathetic feeling but a commitment to save and redeem those chosen in Him. God's love for His elect is eternal, immutable, and distinct from any love experienced in this fallen world.

Q: How do we know that God's grace is sufficient for salvation?

God's grace is sufficient because it is through Christ alone that we are saved, demonstrably shown in Scripture. The concept of grace in salvation emphasizes that it is God's unmerited favor that leads to redemption. Ephesians 2:8-9 explicitly states that we are saved by grace through faith, not by our works. This grace is not just sufficient; it is abundant and perpetuated through Christ's sacrifice on the cross, which fully satisfies God's justice. Grace is integral to the sovereign plan of salvation, serving as the means by which we can enter into a relationship with God despite our sinfulness.

Q: Why is knowing our citizenship in heaven important for Christians?

Understanding our citizenship in heaven provides hope and assurance of our eternal identity as God's children. Philippians 3:20 reminds Christians that our true citizenship is in heaven, which is essential for understanding our identity and purpose. This knowledge not only anchors our hope but also encourages us to live in a manner that reflects our heavenly calling. Recognizing that we are citizens of God's kingdom shifts our perspective from earthly concerns to eternal realities, fostering a longing for our true home and strengthening our resolve to live faithfully amidst trials. Our anticipation of heavenly glory fuels our motivation to share the good news of Christ's grace.

Q: How does God's sovereignty relate to the assurance of salvation?

God's sovereignty assures us that our salvation is secure, as it is dependent on His will and purpose. God's sovereignty is foundational to the doctrine of assurance in salvation. Romans 8:29-30 presents the golden chain of redemption, emphasizing that those who are predestined will certainly be called, justified, and glorified. This doctrine reinforces that our salvation does not rely on our efforts but on God's unchanging purpose. Believers can find comfort in Romans 8:38-39, which assures us that nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ. God's sovereign grace guarantees that all who are truly His will persevere to the end.

Q: What is the significance of the good news presented by the Gospel?

The Gospel message is significant as it reveals God's plan for salvation through grace for all who believe. The significance of the Gospel lies in its revelation of God's perfect plan for salvation by grace. It conveys that through Jesus Christ, who is the embodiment of God's love and righteousness, sinners may find redemption. Good news not only serves the purpose of informing but of transforming lives, as it invites individuals into a relationship with God. The Gospel equips believers to grasp the reality of their identity in Christ and the hope of eternal life, emphasizing that their spiritual state is secure through faith alone, in Christ alone.

I invite you to turn back, if
you would, to the book of Proverbs, chapter 25. Proverbs, chapter
25. I'd like to read the 25th verse. Verse 25. As cold waters to a
thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country. This text of scripture is one
that kind of intrigues my heart to read it, and it's been encouragement
to me, and I want this morning, if I can, to speak from this
scripture here, using it kind of as a background for those
things that the Lord has impressed me with. I have been recently
in need of some good news. I am always, I've always got
my ear bent to hear some good news. Is that not the way it
is with you? You want to hear some good news. We hear some, what men call bad
news often, but we like to hear some good news. And then I've
been around some people lately, in the last year or two, maybe
even longer than that, who are very dear to me, dear friends
in the Lord, they're lovers of Christ, who could benefit greatly,
I believe, by some good news from a foreign country or from
near at hand, wherever it might come from, they could benefit
greatly by some good news. Well, I hope today that I'll
be a messenger of good news to you. Now the Bible message of
the gospel of God's sovereign and free grace is full of good
news for helpless sinners. The good news of the Bible, the
good news of the gospel, is from God Almighty, the one who is
Lord of heaven and earth. He has good news in this Bible
in his gospel for needy sinners. The God against whom we've sinned
is a gracious, almighty God. The God, I say, against whom
we've sinned is a gracious, almighty God. It is true that God is holy,
that he's righteous, that he's just. He must and he will punish
sin. But it is the glory of God to
forgive iniquity, to forgive transgressions and sin. His goodness is His glory. His goodness is His glory. Exodus
33, verse 18 and 19 says, and he said, Moses said, I beseech
thee, show me thy glory. And he said, I will make all
my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name
of the Lord before thee, and will be gracious to whom I will
be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. This is the God of the Bible
we're talking about. Now this great God has found
a way. He has found a way to save sinners
without compromising His holy character. Now, I'm talking about
good news. Now, if you knew anything about
the justice, the inflexible justice of God, you would appreciate
the fact this morning that God has found a way whereby he can
save sinners without compromising his holy character. He gave his
son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to be a propitiation or satisfaction
for our sins. The Lord Jesus Christ has obtained
eternal redemption for us, for all who come to God by him. He has obtained eternal redemption
for all who come to God by Him. Hebrews chapter 7 verse 25 says,
Wherefore, He is able also to save them to the uttermost all
that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession
for them. Now, this is wonderful news to
me. because I'm a sinner. And if
I'm ever going to be accepted of God, if I'm ever going to
spend eternity with God, and I certainly think a great deal
about that, the more and the older I get, the closer I come
to the time of my departure from this world, the more I think
about the fact that we're going to be with the Lord for all eternity,
and we certainly want to make sure that we are. And it's a
wonderful thing to know that God, the good news of the Bible
is that God has made a way. whereby he can put away our sin
and it's to his glory and to his honor to bestow mercy on
whom he will and those whom he has bestowed it upon they can
be certain in their hearts that their sins are put away and that
they're going to be forever with the Lord in the beauty of his
holiness and glory. Now the second thing I'd like
to say this morning is, first of all, that God is gracious
to sinners, and He's made a way whereby He can save sinners and
not compromise His holy character. But there's another thing that
I'd like to say, and that is that as I read the Word of God,
there seems to me to be good news for weary, heavy-hearted
pilgrims from our homeland in heaven. There seems to be a message
that comes to me from when I read the word of God from from from
our home Far away our home over there now in Philippians 3 in
verse 20. It says for our conversation
And that word conversation is citizenship Our citizenship is
in heaven from whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord
Jesus Christ. You and I are citizens, not,
well we are citizens of this country, we're legally looked
upon as being citizens of the United States of America, but
our citizenship is truly this morning in heaven. Heaven is
the home of God's people. It's the it's the eternal dwelling
place of the children of God the children of the king and
in this world we live temporarily Here we live just temporarily
when it comes to measuring time with eternity Time can hardly
be mentioned because our eternal home is with the Lord in heaven
now Do you have heartaches and troubles that are too numerous
to count? It will do you good, I think,
to receive some good news from home. What is this good news
that we receive from a far country our home over there? What is
this good news? Well, first thing I think about
when I think about receiving some good news from heaven, some
good news from above, is that our God The word would come forth,
the good news from this far country that would be like a drink of
cold water to my thirsty soul is that the Lord our God is still
on the throne. He's still on the throne. And
the message from heaven is that the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. That God reigns. That God is
in control. That God rules. from His throne
in eternal glory. Now that is a tremendous message.
A lot of people say, well, that's not good news to me. But it is
for the thirsty soul. It is to the man or the woman,
the child of God who's been brought low and has been brought to see
that they do not have the wisdom to direct the affairs of their
own lives, much less the affairs of the world. And you've come
to see that because of the wisdom of Almighty God, He is the one
that ought to be in the position of rulership and sovereignty. And truly God is omnipotent and
He reigns. And the Bible says, let all the
people rejoice. Let the earth rejoice. Let all
the people rejoice because the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. And this morning if you're hearing
or write, The news that is coming back from heaven, it is that
God is still on the throne and the Lord God omnipotent is reigning. And then also I think that we're
hearing this, that our Savior is still in heaven. Our citizenship
is in heaven from which also we look for the appearing or
the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is there now in heaven,
and he's there in heaven preparing a place for his people, for that
little flock to which he's given the kingdom, and he's there representing
us. He is there interceding for us
on our behalf. And there are many in heaven,
I'd like to say, and I think this comes back to me, and I
rejoice in this, this is good news to me, there are many in
heaven just like you and I already. There's many there that's just
like we are. Now there is a fallen David there. There's a doubting Thomas there. There's an angry Moses there. There's a feeble Philip there.
And there's an impetuous Peter there. And there's a righteous
Lot there already in heaven. And that message comes back to
me that there's people there just like you and me. And that's
wonderful news that there's some folks that left this world that
were just like we are and they have been received into eternal
glory and they're there in the fellowship of God right now.
Now that's good news from our homeland. That's good news from
a far country that refreshes our heart. Well, how did they
get there? These people that we just mentioned? Well, all
are there by grace alone. Every one of them got there by
the free grace of God. Not a one of them got there on
their own merit or their own works. All of them left this
world sinners depending upon the righteousness of a substitute,
the righteousness of another. And they could not have entered
in to eternal bliss if they had not have been washed, their sins
had not been washed away in the blood of Jesus Christ. Now they're
there then through the merits of Christ, they're through the
blood and righteousness and merit of the Son of God. Now furthermore,
believing sinners, I believe, are wanted there. I believe this
morning that you, if you're a believer in Jesus Christ, if you have
been washed from your sin, if you've been made holy and righteous
through faith in Jesus Christ, I believe that you are wanted
in heaven. I believe that's the message
that comes back that you are wanted there. God the Father,
the Son, and the Holy Ghost want you there. The angels of God
want you there. And your glorified brethren that
have gone on before you, they want you there. And soon the
Lord Jesus Christ will come again to take us there. Now beloved,
the church of the firstborn must be finally at last assembled
in heaven. It must finally at last, I say,
be assembled there. And until it is, until all God's
elect are gathered home and gathered to Him there, then that church
will not be an assembly. It will not be a complete gathering
of God's elect. But God and the glorified brethren
that have gone on to heaven would have us to be there, and we will
be there. We are wanted there. Isn't it
wonderful to be anticipating going someplace where you're
wanted? Isn't it wonderful that you can
anticipate? Isn't it wonderful news when
you hear that somebody's expecting you and they're preparing a place
for you and that they're arranging all things for your comfort and
convenience and for your blessing when you arrive? Isn't it wonderful
that you're wanted somewhere? Well, that's good news to me.
That's wonderful news to my heart and it refreshes my heart. John
14 verses 1 through 3 says, Let not your heart be troubled. You
believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house are
many mansions. If it were not so, I would have
told you, I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare
a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto Myself,
that where I am, there ye may be also. Now that's what the
Lord Jesus said in John 14 verses 1 through 3. Now then that's
good news from our homeland in heaven. Now I think this morning
that we have some good news also for the church above from the
church below. I think there's some good news
going the other way too. Now, you may not recognize it,
you may not believe it really, but our brethren and sisters
in heaven are interested in God's work on earth. The scripture
teaches that we are surrounded and encompassed with a great
cloud of witnesses. that there are those in heaven,
and I'm not trying to stretch the word of God, I just simply
believe that there's an interest in heaven in what's going on
on this earth now and what's going on with the people of God
and the church of God and the victories that are won here through
the blood of the Lamb. And I believe that the people
of God that's gone on to glory are interested in that, and I
think they rejoice to hear of the lost sheep that's coming
to the fold through repentance and faith. I think they rejoice. They rejoice to hear that God's
saints are running the race with patience. That you and I as the
children of God in this world, that we're running the race,
that we're not throwing in the towel, that we're not drawing
back, but that we're going forward and that we're running the race
with patience. And I think also they rejoice
that gospel churches are being established. I believe this is
good news in heaven and that the gospel is spreading again
throughout America and the world over. That the true gospel of
God's grace is being spread throughout this world. And also that God's
saints are growing in grace, and that some that are growing
old gracefully, some are growing feeble after the flesh, but they're
growing stronger in the Lord as they go on. And I believe
this is welcome news from this world to the world above. And
some will be going home soon, and so there's rejoicing in heaven
that there is going to be a gathering, a home gathering of the brothers
and sisters in Christ. And I believe this is good news
in heaven above. Now then, there's good news all
around then, is there not? And so let us rejoice and let
us be refreshed as the people of God in this world. Now in
first Corinthians chapter 2 in verse 9 and 10 it says this now
follow with me if you will There's something that's been on my heart.
That's been a been a real Blessing to me, and I want you to think
with me a little bit this morning I These two verses, 1 Corinthians
2 verse 9 and 10 says, But as it is written, I hath not seen
nor e'er heard, neither have entered into the heart of man
the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God
hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit, for the Spirit searcheth
all things, yea, the deep things of God. And then also we read
in Romans 8 and 26, likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities. Now, beloved, in this world it's
necessary that God reveal There was no necessity placed
upon him, as far as God is concerned, that he should reveal and that
he should send us, as it were, a message from a far country
that would be good news to us. There was no necessity laid upon
Him, but in mercy and in grace and out of compassion and out
of love toward us, He has been pleased to reveal something to
us in this life that does refresh and rejoice our hearts. Now brethren,
it's a marvelous and wonderful thing when God is pleased in
sovereign mercy and grace to open an individual's eyes, to
open his heart, and to by the Spirit reveal to him that which
eye hath not seen and that which ear has not heard. Now we know
that to the natural man that the things of God are foolishness,
and he's not able to receive the things of God because they're
spiritually discerned. Only God in His sovereign mercy
and grace can open the eyes of a blind man and reveal to him
the truth. And we know the man that was
born blind in John chapter 9, that when he was questioned by
the Pharisees, he said they couldn't understand how it was that this
man, how he had been blind from birth, but now he is seeing. And they asked him about it,
they asked his parents about it, and his parents said, well,
you ask him, he's of age. And he said, well, you know,
they said, well, we don't we don't know what's going on here.
And he said, well, herein is a marvelous thing that you don't
know this man, that you don't know who he is. And yet. He has
healed my blindness, yet He has made me to see. Hearing is a
marvelous thing. And brethren and sisters in the
Lord, if you have been able to receive in your heart any understanding
of that good news which is from God, which is from heaven, that
has refreshed your weary soul in this world. The glory belongs
to God, the praise belongs to Him. It's because He has, in
sovereign grace and mercy, chose to open your eyes and reveal
these things to you. Because the natural man is not
able to receive it. It's only by the Spirit of God
that we're able to receive these things. And one of the things
which the Spirit has revealed to those who have been given
sight, spiritual sight and understanding, in the living family, in this
world, which is such good news and so comforting to our poor
hearts on this side, is this, that there is nothing There is
nothing that shall separate us from the love of God which is
in Christ Jesus our Lord. The assurance and security that
we have in the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. I invite you to turn with me
to Romans chapter 8. I have to give you these things.
You turn with me to Romans chapter 8. I'd like to read verse 35
through verse 39 and I'd like to speak to you about this because
I believe that unless your heart has heard from God in this matter
of His love in Christ that you certainly this morning are without
comfort and you need to hear this good news from the far country
this morning that there is love in Christ for God's people. And I want you to notice this.
Who shall separate us, Romans 8.35, from the love of Christ?
Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or
nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, for thy sake
we are killed all the day long. more than conquerors through
him that loved us. For I'm 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. Now, believer,
it would weary your arm No, let me say that it would weary the
arm of an angel but to write down the thousandth part of the
mercies which has already flowed out of this precious fountain
to the people of God. the mercies which is flowed out
of the love of God to the people of God. Now, someone said, I
believe it was Charles Hatton Spurgeon, he said, I've been
asked to tell people about the love of God. He says, I cannot
tell men about the love of God because none but his loved ones
know anything about the love of God. And if a man hasn't experienced
it, and if he hasn't experienced it himself, then another person
cannot really convey to them what this love is and what it's
about. But now and all that we have
received as children of God in this world or in the world to
come are but the beginnings of mercy and the first fruits of
the love of God to us. What we have already experienced
in this world and what we shall experience in the world to come
are nor things to come. There are
many things that are present right now that you're dealing
with in your circumstances that make you very fearful and very
trembling. But now the things to come, and
most people are very worried about things that are coming.
But here, beloved, here in this list that Paul here gives us
this, and then he defies, as it were, and despises all of
these things, all of them, because neither of them alone nor all
of them together, by their united strength, can never unclasp the
arms of divine love in which the believer is safely enfolded. God's people are a loved people. Now then, beloved, we need to
understand this love of God. And first, I want you to follow
me, if you will, We find it to be an ancient love whose spring
is in eternity itself. This love of God that we've heard
about, that's been revealed to us by the Spirit that searches
all things and understands the deep things of God. The Spirit
has sent this message back to our hearts from a far country
and it's refreshed our souls. And let me share it with you
this morning. Believer, God is your ancient friend who foresaw
and loved you before you were formed in your mother's womb. Before you were ever formed in
your mother's womb, God foresaw and predestinated you and loved
you in Christ. Before the world had being, the
love of God was providing the best of mercies for us in the
person of the Lord Jesus Christ. While as yet there were no such
creatures as we in the world, nor a world prepared to receive
us. Before that time, I'm telling
you that we were loved in Christ. Now that, beloved, is the message
I hear from the Word of God. That's the message which is good
news to me from the God of love that is now inhabiting eternity. Now you listen to me. Do you
want to know about this love from a far country? Do you really
want to know about this love that God has toward His chosen? Well, whenever we think about
the love of God, our thoughts must begin here. and we find
it down here in verse 39 where it says, Nothing shall be able
to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus
our Lord. Now, I want you to understand
what I'm saying. The love of God is in Christ. If I'm going to talk to you about
this love of God, If I'm talking to spirit taught children of
God this morning, I must begin right here I've told you this
is an ancient love. I've told you the spring of it
is in eternity I told you that God has been providing for us
in Christ before the world began He's been providing before we
were ever Created in our mother's womb before we came into this
world before the world was spoken to existence God has been providing
now beloved. Listen to me. I want you to understand
that this love that we're talking about, that it is in Christ. It is in Christ. Now, we rejoice
to know that God is love, love is in God, love comes from God,
and apart from God there is no love, but the love of God, listen
to me, is revealed, it is expressed, it is known, it is manifest,
it is found, and experienced only in Christ. That's the only
place where it's revealed. And that's why so many people
don't understand the love of Christ is because it's only as
they are in Christ and as they're found to be in Him, it is only
as God puts a man in His Son, Jesus Christ, that they know
anything about this love. And until you are put into Christ,
you don't feel it, and you don't know anything about it, and you
haven't experienced it, because you haven't been put into Christ. But when you're put in Him, you're
going to know this love. The love of God is revealed,
expressed, known, manifest, found, and experienced only in the person
of the Lord Jesus. The Bible never speaks of the
love of God outside or apart from Christ. Those who talk of
the love of God for sinners apart from Christ speak in opposition
to the Scriptures. The Lord is good to all, His
tender mercies are over all, His works, Psalm 145 verse 9
says, because of His goodness and mercy, God feeds the raven,
clothes the lily, and sustains the beast of the field. He is
kind in the works of His providence, even to the thankless and to
the reprobates. Luke 6, 35. And God sends both
the sunshine and the rain to both the just and the unjust.
Matthew 5 and verse 45. But the love of God is in Christ
Jesus. That's where you find it. The
love of God is in Christ. It is reserved for and given
to His elect in the person of the Lord Jesus. The love of God
to believers is a distinguishing love. It is not the portion of
all the sons of Adam. It is the love which is designed
by God Almighty for His own. It is designed for their benefit,
their good. It is designed to provide them
with eternal, unchanging mercies. Now, those who declare that God
loves all people alike The saved as well as the damned, they greatly
tarnish the love of God, reducing it to a fickle, helpless, frustrated
passion. But that cannot be. The love
of God is like God Himself. And the Bible says that He's
from everlasting to everlasting, immutable and sure. God is unchanging and He's from
everlasting to everlasting. A. W. Pink said, nothing is more
absurd than to imagine that anyone beloved of God shall ever fail
to be saved, shall ever fail to come out of sin, shall ever
fail to come out of darkness, shall ever fail to be born of
the Spirit of God, regenerated of the power of God's Spirit
from above. God forbid! It's absurd to think that that
will not happen. Now when Paul says nothing shall
be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ
Jesus our Lord, the word us refers to God's elect. Those who are
sinners who are actually saved by His grace. Those who have
experienced salvation, the calling of God, and have been brought
out of their sin. Now there are some people in
this world whom God does not love. Now I'll make that statement
and I'll give you scripture. Listen to Psalm 5 and verse 5,
Thou hatest all workers of iniquity. Psalm 11 and verse 5, The Lord
trieth the righteous, but the wicked, and him that loveth violence,
his soul hateth. And John 3 and 36, he that believeth
on the Son hath everlasting life, and he that believeth not the
Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him. And Romans 9 and 13, as it is
written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. That's what the Word of God says.
That's the testimony of the Word of God. Now then, there are some
whom he does love. There are some whom God does
love, and they are His elect, those who are chosen of God,
redeemed by Christ, and called to life and faith in Him by the
Holy Spirit. They are loved by God. Now, to
tell sinners that God loves them, regardless of their relationship
to Christ, is either to assure them that God will save them
without Christ, or to imply that God is weak, mutable, and helpless,
and frustrated. Now surely, beloved, God will
save those whom He loves if He is able to do so. Don't you think
so? I mean, if God truly loves somebody,
don't you think that if He's able, He'll save them? Well,
I think He would. And, beloved, He is able to do
so. God's love is more than a sympathetic passion. It's more than that. It is His determination to save. When God sent His love and affection
upon a soul from old eternity and chose them in His Son, and
gave them to His Son as a love gift, it was His determination
to save that motivated Him to do that. Now, because the love
of God is in Christ, nothing can separate us from His love,
for nothing can separate us from Christ. We're in Him, and we're
in Him from eternity, not as a second thought, but as the
first thought of an all-wise God who cannot err, and a God
who is not able to fail. One of the things that God cannot
do, do that we're certain of, He cannot do! is he cannot fail. He cannot fail. Now, beloved,
you can mark that down. You can drive a peg right there.
There's one thing that God cannot do and that's fail. He can't
do it. And he's not going to fail. His
love is not going to fail. Everybody that God loves, he's
going to save. And you can be sure of that.
There won't be anybody that God loves in eternal burning. All God's loved ones will be
with him in heaven above. He has the power to secure it,
the power to bring it to pass. And the good news from the far
country is that nothing shall separate us from the love of
God which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord, let happen what will."
Nothing is going to separate us. Now the love of God has been
and forever is manifested and revealed to sinners in the sacrifice
of the Lord Jesus Christ as the sinner's substitute. In the message
of the gospel is where God reveals this love and makes it known.
When you're brought to Christ and you're brought to feel the
power of regeneration in your soul and the love of God is shed
abroad in your heart by the Holy Spirit, this is when you become
aware that God has loved you in His Son, the Lord Jesus, and
that He has freely given to you in Christ. all that was demanded, that heaven
gave up the best for you and you're in Him and that you're
secure in Him. Now here this morning, and I
want to give you these things, there are three characteristics
of the love of God which sets apart the love of God from any
other thing that is called love. from any other thing that is
called love in this world. There are three characteristics
that set apart the love of God which I've discovered and which
I've heard in my soul from the far country which has been good
news and which has just refreshed my thirsty soul. And I want to
give you this morning these three things, these three characteristics
of the love of God that sets it apart from any other kind
of love you ever heard about before. Now you listen to it
this morning. Number one, the love of God is
free and it's unconditional. It's free and unconditional.
Now listen to me, my friend. God's declaration concerning
the manifestation of His love to His elect is, I will love
them freely. I will love them freely. Hosea
14 and 4. Now that simply means this. that
God's love toward us is an unconditional, unqualified, unmerited, and uncaused
love. Now that's what that means. Did
you get that? Well, it means that His love toward us is unconditional,
unqualified, unmerited, and uncaused by us. God loves us freely. He loves us freely. Well, praise
God. God does not love His elect because
of anything amiable and attractive in them. He does not. He says, Jacob have I loved,
and Esau have I hated, and that before either had done anything
good or bad, that the purpose of God according to election
might stand not of works, but of him that calleth. Romans 9
verse 13 and then back to verse 11, that's exactly what it says.
before either had done anything good or bad that the purpose
of God according to election might stand. Beloved, we cannot
find one stone of our merit in the foundation of His love. Not
one stone of our merit. Those who are embraced by the
arms of the love of God have not contributed one iowa to the
foundation of that love which God has extended toward them.
Not one thing. Now listen to me. Not even the
death of Christ caused God to love His elect. Christ's death
as our sin atoning substitute is the result of God's love for
His people. John 3.16 says, God so loved
the world. And that's talking about the
world, I believe there, of the Gentile elect. God so loved the
world. We read in Romans 9 about how
the cutting off of the Jew meant the reconciling of the world.
He was talking about the reconciling of the Gentile believers unto
God. And so I believe that John 3.16
is simply speaking of non-Jews, the elect among the non-Jews
that God so loved them that He gave His only begotten Son that
whosoever believeth on Him should not perish but have everlasting
life. And then 1 John 4 and 10 says
herein is love, not that we love God, but that God loved us. And
He gave His Son to be a satisfaction for our sins. And so not even
the death of Christ caused God to love us. God loved us freely. He loved us freely. And I hope
this morning that we can get that, because if we could just
get that, that the love of God is free, unqualified, and it's
without condition on our part, that it's unmerited, if we could
just get that, that we're ill-deserving and undeserving people, and that
God has loved us without cause, if we could just get that, that
it's free. Now, brother, sister, you don't find that anywhere.
You never heard tales of such a love as that, except from the
far country. And this is good news from the
far country to our poor souls, that there's somebody who's willing
to love us freely. That it's not necessary that
we qualify in that marvelous and wonderful as the people of
God. Now, hear me out. Number two,
the love of God is eternal. The love of God is eternal. He
says, I have loved thee with an everlasting love. That's Jeremiah 31 and 3. Now,
if you can, try to lay hold of this. As God the Father loved
His Son from eternity, so He loves us from eternity. And as the love of God is in
Christ, God's love for Christ and His love for us, can I say
it? It is the same. It is the same. I mean the love that God has
for His people as they stand in Christ is the same as His
love for Christ. This is my beloved Son in whom
I am well pleased. That's what God said of Christ.
And so all those who are in Him, these are my beloved sons in
whom I am well pleased. God is well pleased with those
that are in Christ. Only faith can grasp this blessed
truth. Only by the Holy Spirit can it
be revealed to your poor heart. that God loves you as He loves
His Son. And if it ever gets through your,
if the Spirit of God ever takes up the business of tutoring your
heart, you're going to learn that, that God loves you as He
loved Christ. Now it's higher than reason,
and it's higher, and it's beyond emotion. You can't get it by
reason and emotion. It's when the Spirit of God is
pleased to reveal and unfold it to your heart. It's then that
you understand what I'm talking about, that God loves His elect
in Christ. And as He beholds His people
in His dear Son, He loves us as He loves His Son. He delights
in us as He delights in His Son. And He's pleased with us as He's
pleased with His Son. Now I'm telling you the truth.
John 17 and 23, listen to these words. Jesus said, I am them,
and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one, and that
the world may know that thou hast sent me and hast loved them
as thou hast loved me. That's what Jesus said. He said
it. That's exactly what it said.
Have you ever seen that before? John 17 and 23. Have you ever
saw that before? Has it come to your heart? Has
it been made known unto you? This is the love of God. That He loves us as He loved
the Lord Jesus, His own beloved Son. Now the third thing is this.
That the love of God is immutable. And it is irrevocable. And it
is indestructible. Now brother, sister, I don't
know anything about this kind of love except that I never heard of
this kind of love before that don't change. I never heard of
this kind of love before that is, that can't be withdrawn. I never heard tell of a love
that couldn't be destroyed. I know of a love that can change. I know of a love that can be
revoked. I know of a love that can be
destroyed, but I heard one day good news from a far country
of a love that could not, that could not be changed, that would
never be revoked, and that could not be destroyed. God's love
is not like man's love. It's not. Forget thinking about
it in the same way. Forget it. Don't think about
it in the same way. God's love does not change ever
under any circumstance or condition. Is that all right? Is that too
much for you? I mean, somehow or other, does
that sound like too good news? I mean, is that deceitful news? I mean, I don't know about it
if it is. This is the good news from a far country that the love
of God under no circumstance or condition ever changes. It never does. Now having loved
us, he will never call his love back. He'll never say, well,
hey, I made a mistake. I mean, I shouldn't have loved
that fella. That's wasted love on that fella. The Lord will never do that.
He'll never do it. He don't have to do it. He's
God from all eternity. He don't know nothing now. He
didn't know before this whole business started. He's God, known
unto God all of his works from the beginning of the world. He's
not going to be coming up short saying, I bestowed love upon
this person and he wasn't worth it. He knew he wasn't worth it
to begin with. It was because of the purpose
and motive of his own heart that moved him to have love toward
your poor soul and have a thing to do with you. I've been trying
to preach that all morning long. Have nothing to do with you.
Now then, there's nothing, his love will never be called back.
And there's nothing that we can do, now hear me out, now you
may say, Preacher, you've gone too far now. But there's nothing
that we can do to destroy or even lessen the love of God toward
us. Say, well Preacher, you ought
never to say that from the pulpit. My brother and my sister, if
you understand the love of God, you've not heard, no you didn't
hear the good news from the far country, you just haven't heard
it all yet. I'm here to tell you this morning
that there's nothing you can do to destroy, there's nothing
you can do to even lessen the love of God for us. Now when
Jesus was in the world, John 13, And verse 1, when he was
in the world, he traveled with that bunch of disciples of his,
and he knew their weaknesses, he knew their failings and their
frailties. But the scripture says that having
loved his own, which were in the world, he loved them unto
the end. I mean, and they, you know, they
went to sleep when he was in the garden. I mean, they denied
him, old Peter did, and you know all their faults. I mean, if
God's love was going to be revoked, he'd have certainly revoked it
from that butt. He'd have took it away from them.
But God didn't. Christ loved his own when he
was in the world, and he loved them to the end. And I'm going
to tell you something, God's going to love His people that
He chose in Christ. It's to His glory to do it. It's
to His eternal honor to do it. He's going to love them unto
the very end of eternity if you can find an end. He'll love His
people. And there ain't anything that
you can do about it if you're one of God's loved ones. Now
I know that if God's revealed it to you, it's made you happy. and you're joyful about it, and
you praise God for it, and you rejoice in it, and you're glad
about it, and you wouldn't do anything purposely to ever, if
you could affect it, you wouldn't do anything to destroy it or
lessen it. I mean, you wouldn't trample
on it. You wouldn't do anything that in any way, shape, or form
would in any way suggest that you wasn't appreciative of God's
eternal, unchanging love toward your soul. You wouldn't. You
wouldn't. But now, let me remind you that
we did nothing to attract God's love in the beginning. We did
nothing and we can do nothing to repel God's love now. You're stuck with it. God loves
his people. He loves his own. And God will
blister you, God will deal with you, God is a jealous God, and
God will deal with you if He set His love upon you. Whom the
Lord loveth, He chasteneth. He chastens every soul that He
receives. God will not, He's so jealous
over His own, He loves them. and he will not allow your heart
to be divided and to be on the world and the things Lord God's
going to deal with you about it. You don't get careless about
what I'm talking about this morning. I mean this is serious business. God to love you my If God ever
sets His love on you, that means that God's taken up the business
of parenting your life and soul, and that He will not look away
when you are living contrary to His Word, contrary to His
way. God won't look away. God will
deal with you. He'll chasten you. You must judge
yourself. This is serious business. God
ain't gonna love you any less. But He's gonna deal with you
just like He loved you, and I mean like He really, sure enough,
did love you and He won't let anything get by. He'll deal with
you. He'll deal with you. Because He loves His people.
Now then, the love of God is not depended upon or regulated
by our faithfulness to Him. It is not. Malachi 3 and 6, it
ain't gonna change anything. Now, if you're not faithful,
God's gonna deal with you, but that don't have nothing to do
with His love. His love is toward you. And it's not gonna change. He said in Malachi 3 and 6, For
I am the Lord, I change not, therefore ye sons of Jacob are
not consumed. If I was a God who changed, if
I was a God who took my love away, you would be goners. I'd have consumed you long ago,
you sons of Jacob. I'd have just took this out on
you and I'd have consumed you. But I haven't. And there isn't
anybody in this room this morning, if you had the ability to discern,
if you understood, that would not recognize that if God's love
was not as we've described it to you today, that we'd all be
consumed. We'd all already just be nothing
but dust, Larry. Be dust, a little puff in the
wind, and that's all there is. Nothing left. If God was a God,
He changed. He just don't change. He remains
God. God of love and mercy. Now the
freeness and the eternality and the immutability of God's love
to us in Christ means that our everlasting salvation is a matter
of absolute certainty. That's what it means. Now then,
nothing shall be able, the text says, to separate us from the
love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Well, that's what I wanted to
say. That's what I come here to say to you this morning. I come
here to talk to you about this news from a far country. This
news of a love of God from which the people of God can never be
separated. And that, my friend, is better
than a glass of water on a hot day. That is mighty refreshing
to the souls of God's poor people. God's afflicted, tried, tested
family. May the Lord add his blessing.

Good News From a Far Country

What does the Bible say about God's love for sinners?

How do we know that God's grace is sufficient for salvation?

Why is knowing our citizenship in heaven important for Christians?

How does God's sovereignty relate to the assurance of salvation?

What is the significance of the good news presented by the Gospel?

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Articles

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Good News From a Far Country

What does the Bible say about God's love for sinners?

How do we know that God's grace is sufficient for salvation?

Why is knowing our citizenship in heaven important for Christians?

How does God's sovereignty relate to the assurance of salvation?

What is the significance of the good news presented by the Gospel?

Sermon Transcript

Comments

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