Our Lord Jesus said, There shall
be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning
of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except
those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved. But for the elect's sake, those
days shall be shortened. Then if any man shall say unto
you in those days, Lo, here is Christ, or there, believe it
not. For there shall arise false Christs
and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders
insomuch that if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Unless I am sadly mistaken, we are living in those days. We are living in days of great
darkness, deception, and delusion. Many, many antichrists are going
out into the world. The papist points to what he
calls the sacrament, the bread and the wine, or to the confessional
booth, or to the altar, or to the baptismal font, or to the
rosary, and he says, Lo, here is Christ, and many follow after
him. The free willer points to his
decision, his little prayer for Jesus, his altar to the front
of the church And he says, lo, here is Christ,
and multitudes follow him. The fundamentalist points to
his separation to the works of religion, works of sacrifice,
works of devotion, works of righteousness. And he says, lo, here is Christ,
and multitudes follow him. The social do-gooder points to
the starving children in Ethiopia and tells you that for $21 a
month you can do this, or for a cup of coffee a day you can
do that, and lo, here is Christ. And multitudes follow them. The
legalist points to the law of Moses, and he says, keep the
law, obey the commandments, and in keeping the law, in obeying
the commandments, lo, here is Christ, and multitudes follow
them. The Pentecostal points to his
marvelous gifts, speaking in tongues, seeing visions, dreaming
dreams, performing miracles, his wonderful ecstatic experiences
of emotionalism, his songs of praise, his shouting, the deep
down shouts, the hallelujahs, the joy, the waving of hands,
all the excitement, and he says, lo, here is Christ, and multitudes
follow him. The liberal points to social
moral consciousness, feeding the hungry educating the ignorant,
improving the ghettos, rehabilitating the criminal, straightening out
the drunks, helping the drug addicts, and he says, lo, here
is Christ, and multitudes follow him. The positive thinker points
to your positive mental attitude, to your state of mind, to ability
to think your way out of difficulty, and he says, lo, here is Christ,
and lots of folks follow him. The religious ritualist points
to the reading of prayers, the reading of the Bible, baptism,
observing the Lord's table, ceremonies, choirs fixed up in their robes,
and preachers fixed up in their robes, and the ceremonies of
religion, and he says, Lo, here is Christ. And multitudes follow
him. Indeed, before it is over, everybody
will. Everybody will, except those
whose names are written in the Book of Life of the Lamb, slain
from the foundation of the world. You have it in Revelation 13
and verse 8. And all that dwell upon the earth
shall worship him, the beast, Antichrist. All that dwell upon
the earth shall worship according to the direction and the influence
and the dictates of Antichrist. Not that they will worship a
singular man, not that they will worship a singular system of
religion, not that they will worship under a singular name,
but that all the world will worship under the influence of Antichrist. These days are days for concern. The souls of men are at stake. The darker the day, the more
clear and precise we must be in declaring the truth of God.
The more men depart from truth, the more bold we must be in confessing
truth. The more men depart from the
faith, the more clearly we must identify the faith. The more
men confuse doctrine, the more clearly we must declare the doctrine
of the gospel of the grace of God. The souls of men are at
stake. These are days of concern. I'm
concerned. I'm concerned. My prayer, my
heart's desire to God for this generation is that they might
be saved. To that end, I give myself in
relentless labor in the study, in the preaching of the gospel
of God's grace. I recognize that for which I recognize I
must suffer criticism and isolation and slander, but I recognize
that this generation has been shot a curve, they've been hoodwinked,
they've been deceived, they've been conned, they've been tricked,
they've been led down a rosy path by men who are supposed to be
the messengers of God who are in reality messengers of Satan. I don't say that with any measure
of pleasure or satisfaction. I say it with firm confidence
that it is the truth. Men and women will wind up being
damned by the very religion through which they have hope of being
saved. That's the darkness. and the
delusion of this day. And I'm concerned. But I'm not
concerned for God's elect. I'm not concerned for God's elect. This I know. God's elect shall
be preserved from the religion of Antichrist. God's elect shall
be preserved from deception. God's elect can not perish, no
matter how dark the days get. You see, Christ's sheep hear
his voice and they follow him. But a stranger they will not
follow because they don't know the voice of strangers. They
know how to distinguish between things that differ. God's elect
know the difference between free grace and free will. They know
the difference between the works of Christ and the works of the
flesh. They know the difference between
self-righteousness and imputed righteousness. They know the
difference between glory of man and the glory of God. They know
the difference and they clearly distinguish those things. And
here's the reason why God's elect must and shall eternally persevere
in the way of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Their names are
written in the book of life of the Lamb, slain from the foundation
of the world. Multitudes will perish. In the
last day, In that last generation, before
the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, the whole world will be deceived, except those
whose names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life, the Book
of Life of the Lamb, slain from the foundation of the Now our
text teaches this one thing with unmistakable clarity. It is not
possible for God's elect to be deceived and to perish with the
world. This is our security. Our names
are written in the book. Our names are written in the
book. Now in this text, John casually
reminds us of three comforting, assuring, soul-cheering truths
taught throughout the Word of God. In the midst of this vision
of woe, this vision of the beast and the false prophet, this vision
of Antichrist controlling government and Antichrist controlling religion
and Antichrist controlling the minds and the hearts of men,
John has a vision of comfort and cheer and assurance. And
he points us to three things. I'll give them to you as we go
along. First, the verse before us sets before us the eternal
election of grace, the eternal election of grace. Our text speaks
of the book of life and those whose names are written in it,
as well as those whose names are not written in it. We are
here assured that there is a book. A book in which all the names
of God's elect are registered and have been registered from
the foundation of the world. This book is called in Revelation
22 and verse 27, the Lamb's book of life. There is yet, there
is yet, even in this day, there is yet a remnant according to
the election of grace, as there always has been. there always
has been. God never has left himself without
a witness and he never will. Even in the darkest days of apostasy,
Though all the world seems to be engulfed in the religion of
Antichrist, I mean to be specific and clear, though all the world
seems to be engulfed in a religion of free willism, in a religion
of works salvation, in a religion of emotionalism, in a religion
of sensationalism, all the world is engulfed in the religion of
Antichrist. God has an elect people whom
he will and must save, a people who cannot and will not perish
with the world. Why is it that these elect sinners,
men and women of every nation, kindred, tribe, and tongue must
be saved? It is simply this, the purpose
of God according to election must stand. It must stand. This election of grace took place
and the names of God's elect were written in the Lamb's book
of life from the foundation of the world. Turn over to the book
of Ephesians. We'll look at some familiar scripture.
I hope you don't get tired of it. Fella doesn't get tired of something
that's good. I was down at my sister's Friday. We had dinner together and she
picked some homemade rolls. She pulled them out of the oven
and I smelled that yeast. I bit down into that roll. I
enjoyed it as much as I did the first piece of bread I ever ate
in my life. That's the way it is with the bread of life. That
which is given us of God is refreshing and delightful to the hearts
of his people. Look here in Ephesians 1 verse
3. Blessed, 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."
According as. Now, all spiritual blessings,
all spiritual blessings are dependent upon and determined by the eternal
election of grace. to deny election is to deny all
spiritual blessings. He hath blessed us according
as he hath chosen us in Christ before the foundation of the
world. Do you see that? God has chosen
us in Christ before the foundation of the world. In that passage
we read earlier, 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 and verse 13. The apostle
tells us that the reason why we are not deceived with the
world, the reason why we are not carried away with that strong
delusion by which the rest of the world perishes, the reason
you're not engulfed in freewill fundamentalist religion, the
reason you're not engulfed in papacy or in Buddhism, the reason
you're not engulfed in all of the various forms of religion
in this world is just this. God hath from the beginning chosen
you to salvation, not to service, though that's included, not to
some special work, though that's included, but God hath from the
beginning chosen you, you, you, individual men and women whom
he loved with an everlasting love to salvation through sanctification
of the spirit and the belief of the truth, whereunto he called
you by our gospel to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus
Christ. Now these elect ones were given
by God the Father to the Lord Jesus Christ in the covenant
of grace that they might be a peculiar people unto him. They were given
to him so that he might see in them. so that he might see of
the travail of his soul and be satisfied. God gave Christ a
people for whom he was to suffer and die, a people who would be
the satisfaction of his soul as he made his travail in agony
and in death to redeem them. And he for this joy that was
set before him. What joy? The joy of his elect
ones being with him in glory, he for the joy that was set before
him endured the cross despising the shame. He went to the cross
with the full knowledge and assurance that as the result of his sacrifice,
as the result of his sin atoning death, as the result of his substitutionary
redemption, these elect ones would be with him in glory. The
Lord God gave them to him. before the world began. Turn
over to John 17. John chapter 17. This is our Lord's high priestly
prayer. I just went through it before
the services this evening and made a couple of notes here.
Let me show you how many times our Lord uses this expression
as he speaks to God. When the Lord Jesus makes his
intercession to God on our behalf as our great high priest, he
constantly reminds God of his electing purpose. He constantly
reminds God of his eternal purpose of grace. He constantly reminds
God, now do this because you've chosen these folks. Do this because
you've given them to me. Look in John chapter 17 and in
verse 2. John 17 verse 2. as thou hast given him power,
authority, dominion over all flesh, that he should give eternal
life to as many as thou shalt give him. Is that what it says?
Not what it says, is it? To as many as thou hast given
him. Look in verse 6. I have manifested
thy name to the men which thou gavest me out of the world. Thine they were and thou gavest
them me. Do you see that? They were given,
given to Christ before the world began. Look in verse 9. I pray
for them. I pray for them, I pray not for
the world, not for everybody. My interest, my concern, my love,
my designs of grace, my designs of redemption, the purpose of
my coming into the world, the purpose of my dying, the purpose
of my intercession is not for the world at large, but rather
I pray for them which thou hast given me, for they are thine. Look in verse 11. And now I'm
no more in the world, but these are in the world. And I come
to thee, Holy Father, keep through thine own name. That is, keep
for your own name's sake. Keep for the glory of your name.
Keep them because your name's glory is at stake in keeping
them. Keep through thine own name those
whom thou hast given me. Those whom thou hast given me. Look in verse 24. Father, I will
that they also whom thou hast given me. There it is again. Those people who are chosen of
you and given to me, those people who have been given into my hands
as a mediator, as a covenant head, as a representative, as
a surety, as a high priest, Keep them through thy name, and I
will that they also whom thou hast given me be with me where
I am, that they may behold my glory which thou hast given me,
for thou lovest me before the foundation of the world." These
elect ones then were given by God the Father to the Lord Jesus
Christ. That is, they were given by the
triune Godhead. into the hands of Christ, God's
eternal Son, the chosen, appointed, ordained mediator and covenant
head, Christ who was to come as the God-man, our Savior. These
elect ones were given into his hand for his own peculiar treasure,
to be his own peculiar people in this world, and that they
should be to him the satisfaction of his soul's travail, and it
is for these he has engaged and undertaken to perform the work
of redemption. These men and women, whose names
are written in the Lamb's Book of Life, were chosen by God the
Father and predestinated unto the adoption of children by Jesus
Christ to himself. That is, God predestinated us
to be His sons by our association with, by our relation with, by
our union with the Lord Jesus Christ, His Son. That He has
predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to
Himself for this purpose. that we might be to the praise
of the glory of his grace wherein he hath made us accepted in the
beloved. That's God's purpose in election.
That's the reason God's chosen such things as he has as the
objects of his grace. That's the reason God has given
us to Christ that we should be to the praise of the glory of
his matchless grace. And in the time appointed by
God, each of these elect ones is called by the effectually
irresistible call of his grace to the obtaining of eternal life
and to the obtaining of eternal glory in Christ Jesus. Called. What do you mean by called? I
mean the Spirit of God fetches them to Christ. That's what I
mean. David sent Ziba down into Lutibar, into the house of Mathcar,
and he told him to fetch Mephibosheth. That's what God the Son does
with God the Holy Spirit in the covenant of grace. God the Father
has given us into the hands of the Son to redeem us. And God
the Son, being the mediator to whom all things are given, has
sent his Spirit into this world, into the land of no bread, into
the house of bondage, into the house of slavery. And he says,
go and fetch them unto thee. and fetching them what he does.
That's what the Spirit of God sent to do. He fetches folks
to Christ. He fetches folks to Christ. I
know that there is a general call that goes forth to all men. I preach the gospel to you and
I call you earnestly, sincerely with the authority of God and
that makes you responsible to obey it. I call you earnestly
and sincerely to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ the Lord.
But if all you hear is the voice of this preacher, you'll never
come to Christ. It will never bring you to repentance.
It will never bring you to faith. It will never bring you to Jesus
Christ. Oh, but if God, the Holy Spirit
speaks to your heart through this word of his grace, he will
fetch you eventually to Jesus Christ, the Lord. And you'll
come. You'll come. That's all there is to it. Blessed
is the man whom thou choosest and callsest to approach unto
thee. Thy people shall be willing in
the day of thy power. That's the way of his grace.
Don't you believe that God calls some folks who don't come? No.
No, because the book doesn't speak of that. The book doesn't
speak of that. Find me a place in the word of
God where Jesus Christ ever spoke a word to a man he didn't obey.
Find me a time where the Spirit of God ever called a man to do
anything he didn't perform. You'll not find it. When the
Spirit of God speaks, men perk up and listen and they obey.
And the time appointed, the Spirit of God calls these elect ones
by his effectually irresistible grace and brings them to Christ. Divine election is altogether
entirely completely the work of God's sovereign, effectual,
irresistible, independent, free grace. Altogether a matter of
grace. God did not choose us because
of anything we had done, for we weren't yet born. He didn't
choose us because of anything that he saw we would do, because
he could not possibly see that we would do anything making us
worthy of his choice. We never have. Who has ever done anything which
makes him worthy of God's choice of love? What proud presumption
and arrogance men must have who dare to stand before God and
men and declare that God chooses men on the basis of what he sees
they will do. He chooses men on the basis of
him seeing that they will exercise their almighty free will and
give him the credit for saving them when he didn't do anything
at all. No, sir. God almighty chose his people
in sovereign, unconditional election. There is an everlasting covenant
of grace made between the three persons of the Holy Trinity before
the world began, in which the salvation, the redemption, the
eternal life, the eternal glory of God's elect was completely
secured. And in that covenant of grace,
God determined whom he would save and accomplished in virtualness,
in virtue, the reality of our salvation. Turn back to Jeremiah
chapter 31. Jeremiah chapter 31. God says, I've loved you with
everlasting love. Therefore, with loving kindness
have I drawn thee. The apostle Paul tells us that
God had saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according
to our works. Oh, I wish somehow I could put
that up on a billboard and make everybody in the world read it.
three or four times every hour of every day, not according to
works. Not according to works. No, your works have nothing to
do with the accomplishment of grace and salvation. Not according
to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which
was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began. Now that's
covenant language. That's the language of one who
speaks to us in a representative man and deals with us in a representative
man and deals with us in a federal head, a surety, a mediator. God called us and saved us, not
according to works, but according to his purpose and his grace
given us before we ever breathed our first breath, before Adam
was made in the garden, before ever there was an angel in the
heavens. God gave that grace and that salvation in the hands
of one who stood before God to represent us, even Jesus Christ
the Lord. Now look here in Jeremiah 31
and verse 31. Behold, the days come, saith
the Lord. that I will make a new covenant.
That is, I will establish a new covenant. The covenant was made
before the world began. It's called a new covenant because
it's always fresh. It's the second covenant in time
revealed, but the first covenant in eternity made. I'll make a
new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of
Judah. That's God's church, His elect. Not according to the covenant
that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by
the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, which my covenant
they break. I'm not going to make a covenant
of law and works, although I was a husband unto them, saith the
Lord. But this shall be the covenant
that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith
the Lord. I'll put my law in their inward
parts and write it in their hearts and will be their God and they
shall be my people. But what if I will? But what
if they shall? But what if I will? But what
if they shall? But what if this happens? I will
be their God. But what if this happens? They
shall be my people. But what if they're not willing?
I will be their God and they shall be my people. But what
if Satan is full of deception and power? I will be their God. And they shall be my people. I will put my law in them. I will write it upon the table
of their hearts. Now look at it. And they shall
teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying,
Know the Lord. For they shall know me, all of
them, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith
the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and will remember
their sin no more. That's His covenant, where it's
given in Christ before the world began. made with Christ, dependent
upon Christ, accomplished in Christ before the world was made. That's the book of God's election.
God's election of his people is sovereign and unconditional.
It is an election that is personal, choosing specific men and women
to salvation and eternal life. God's choice of his elect is
an immutable choice of everlasting love. That simply means he doesn't
ever change his mind. He doesn't ever change his mind. In the covenant of grace, God
sovereignly determined these four things. He determined who
would be saved. Read the ninth chapter of Romans. Somebody's got to determine who's
saved and who's not. Somebody does it. Somebody does
it. The religion of the day says you do it. The religion of the
day says you and Satan do it. The religion of the day says
you and God decide together. The word of God declares he determined
who would be the objects of his mercy. He determined it all together
by himself, all together according to his own will and purpose.
The Lord God determined how he would save his people. He determined
to save them by the sacrifice of his Son in their stead. In
substitution, Romans chapter 3, verses 24 through 26, God
set forth Christ to be a propitiation for sin, to be a sin-atoning
satisfaction. The Lord Jesus Christ, God the
Father, God the Holy Spirit, in the covenant of grace, determined
when he would save them. In due time, Christ died for
the ungodly. When the fullness of time was
come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the
law, to redeem them that were under the law. When Christ Jesus
came into the world, you ever notice how many times he said,
mine hour is not yet come? Mine hour is not yet come. The
Jews wanted to take him by force and make him a king. He said,
mine hour is not yet come. They took up stones and would
have stoned him. He escaped out of the midst. He said, mine hour
is not yet come. And then he comes to his father
the night before his crucifixion. He says, father, the hour has
come. The hour, precisely at the moment
in time, which God from eternity ordained, the Savior accomplished
redemption and cried, it is finished. And the work was done exactly
as God himself would have it. And the Lord God determined by
what means his elect would obtain salvation and eternal life. God has chosen you to salvation
through sanctification of the spirit. The word simply means
regeneration. by the Spirit of God sanctifying
you, giving you a new heart and a new nature, a new will and
a new motive, a new principle of life. By creating a divine
nature within you, even the Son of God himself, you're born of
the Spirit and made to have the seed of God implanted in you. That holy thing which makes men
new creatures in Christ Jesus. And that new birth, that sanctification
of the spirit is accomplished by the word of truth, by the
preaching of the gospel. Whereunto he called you by our
gospel. That's how God saves sinners.
I know what logic says. I know what religion says. Somebody
turns around and they say, well, if I believed in election, I
wouldn't believe in preaching or evangelism. Well, if you believe
God, you believe what God says. Somebody else says, well, we
believe in the sovereignty of God, so we don't concern ourselves
with the lost and we don't concern ourselves with preaching and
we don't concern ourselves with missions. Let me tell you something.
God has ordained by the foolishness of preaching only by the foolishness
of preaching to save them that believe. That's the reason we
give ourselves to the work of the ministry. That's the reason
we will not be turned aside to anything else, but rather we
give ourselves to the preaching of the gospel here and through
our missionaries and teachers to preach the word, the word
of the gospel by which God calls sinners to life everlasting.
And without that gospel, the nations of the world are perishing. Perishing. But preacher, don't you believe
that the heathen who've never heard the gospel, as long as they're sincere and
do the best they can, God will look upon them with mercy and
favor. Of course, I don't believe that. No, I don't. The book of God doesn't teach
that, does it? The book of God teaches that men are dead, perishing
and lost. If men are saved without the
gospel, my soul don't go tell them the truth and get them damned
by it. Folks are saved through the hearing
of the word of the living God. And all those whose names are
inscribed in the Lamb's book of life shall most assuredly
attain that eternal life which God who cannot lie promised before
the world began, for the foundation of God standeth sure. We trace
the promise of life back to its original source in the sovereign
purpose of our God, And we find the veracity of God, his truth
and his faithfulness placed in an oath taken by God himself,
by which he bound the honor of his name to the accomplishment
of salvation for his elect. For those covenant people, God
has sworn by his holy name that he'll save them. Read Hebrews
chapter six. He's sworn by his holy name that
he'll fulfill his covenant. Indeed, the apostle Paul gives
us a golden chain of divine grace, reaching from eternity to eternity,
a chain which cannot be broken. Not one link of the chain can
be snapped asunder by man or by the demons of hell. Pastor,
what is that chain? You know it well. Romans chapter
8. Romans chapter 8. Here it is. We know that all things work
together for good to them that love God, to them who are the
called according to his purpose, his purpose. Now here's the chain,
for whom he did foreknow, whom he did foreknow, those whom he
loved experimentally with an everlasting love before the world
began. Pastor, you get all that out
of the word no? Yeah. All that and more. All that and
more. Our Lord says to those on the
day of judgment, depart from me you cursed. I never knew you. That's strange language for God
to use, isn't it? Never knew you? You mean you
didn't know who they were? You made them. You mean you didn't
know what they did? You gave them bread. You mean
you didn't know where they were? You fed them. You mean you didn't
know anything about them? That's not what he's saying at
all. He says, depart from me, you cursed. I never knew you
like I know mine. I never loved you. I never loved you. I never entered
into an experience of love with you. Whom he did foreknow, whom
he knew by loving acquaintance, by loving experience in the covenant
of grace, them he also did predestinate. He predestinated those whom he
foreknew, nobody else but all of them. And he predestinated
them to be conformed to the image of his Son, that Jesus Christ,
his Son, might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover,
whom he did predestinate, them he also called and whom he called,
them he also justified, and whom he justified, them he also glorified."
Now you read the text. There are some saints who are
going to wind up around the throne of glory bearing the image of
Jesus Christ in perfect conformity to him. Who are they? They're
those who are justified by God. Well, who are they? They are
those who are called by divine grace. Well, who are they? They
are those who were predestinated unto eternal life by the purpose
of God. Well, who are they? They are
the men, the women whom God in covenant mercy loved before the
world began, exactly then. This eternal election of grace
cannot be frustrated. We rejoice in it and we glorify
God for it, realizing that it cannot be defeated until God
ceases to be God. But the whole purpose of God
in election, the whole covenant of grace, stands or falls upon
one condition. A condition? Yes. It is not conditioned
upon man. Nothing in salvation is conditioned
upon man. Election, salvation, and all
the blessings of grace in the covenant are conditioned upon
the obedience of Christ, our Mediator. His obedience unto
death, even the death of the cross. And this condition was
met by Christ from the foundation of the world. What we have in
the text. This is the second thing I want
you to see. The eternal redemption. of our Lord Jesus Christ. Here,
John describes our Savior as the lamb slain from the foundation
of the world. In those words, the Holy Spirit
is telling us that redemption was virtually, virtually accomplished
for God's elect before the world began. Now, preacher, how can
that be? How can that be? In the purpose
of God, Christ was slain before the world began. Had it not been
for the eternal accomplishment of grace in the covenant, that
accomplishment of redemption before the world began, God would
have immediately destroyed the race as soon as Adam sinned against
him. Turn over to 2 Peter chapter
3. 2 Peter chapter 3. God's benevolence. We hear much
talk about the benevolence of God and much talk about common
grace. Now listen to me. What men call
common grace, the benevolence of God, the long suffering of
God with men is the result of his eternal grace and purpose
of election toward his elect. Turn to second Peter three in
verse nine. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some
men count slackness, but is long suffering to us. The long-suffering
of God is to usward. Christ will come when the usward
have been saved. He is long-suffering to usward,
not willing that any... How many times have you had that
passage thrown in your face by some Arminian freewheeler who
despises the gospel of God's grace? The Lord's not willing
that any should perish. Read the text. not willing that
any who, any of those us words to whom he's long suffering,
not willing that any of his elect should perish, but that all,
all the us word, all his elect ones should come to repentance,
should come to the knowledge of the living God through Christ
Jesus. The reason why God allows this world to exist The reason
he tolerates, reprobate men upon the earth is just this. The lamb
was slain before the foundation of the world. And God looks at
that lamb and his purpose in that lamb. And according to that
lamb, according to his purpose in that lamb, he rules the universe. This passage here. shows us that there
is an elect people, an elect people to be born from the loins
of Adam, a people whom God has sworn to save, and therefore
he allows Adam to live on. Why on earth did not God kill
Adam in the day he ate the forbidden fruit? Why did Adam continue
to live for another 800 years? Why? Because God has an elect
people who must be born of the loins of that fallen man. And therefore God allows Adam
to go on living so that he might be merciful to us. There is an elect people for
whom Christ has been slain in the purpose of God. whom he has
sworn to save, a people for whom he stood as a mediator before
the world began. And because of those elect people,
God withholds his wrath from the world for a season. People
say, God can't put up with things much longer. Oh, yes, he can.
Oh, yes, he can, for the elect's sake. Why does God tolerate? the blasphemers. Why does God
tolerate all that men do? Why does God tolerate the iniquity
of men? Most especially, why does God
tolerate the iniquity of freewill religion? Why? Because he has
an elect people whom he's determined to save, and somehow or another,
in the purpose of his grace, he'll use even these evil things
to accomplish his purpose. Before the world was made, God
turned everything over to the hands of Christ as the mediator
of the covenant, as the lamb slain for the accomplishment
of his purpose. Turn back in Revelation 5 and
verse 7. Revelation 5, John speaks of
that book. Judy sang about it for Message.
No man could open the book, but there was a lamb. who stood in
the midst of the throne as it had been slain. And in verse
seven, that lamb came and took the book out of the right hand
of him that sat on the throne. And he rules the world according
to the book of God's eternal purpose. The world was made by
the lamb because the book said, create the world and the world
is ruled by the lamb. so that the Lamb might come into
the world as a man, and that the Lamb might be slain as a
sacrifice for sin. Everything in the book of God.
points to Christ, the Lamb of God, slain from the foundation
of the world. From eternity, Christ was devoted
to the work of redemption for the glory of God. He was set
apart before the world began as an offering, just as the Paschal
Lamb had been set apart four days, or was to be set apart
four days before it was slain. So Christ Jesus was set apart
and designated the Lamb slain even from old eternity. In all
the prophecies of the Old Testament, Christ was presented as one already
sacrificed. I find this interesting, Darwin.
You correct me, you know what I'm talking about. If there's
anything here mistaken, all other prophetic scriptures, now listen
to me, all other prophetic scriptures speak of things that shall be
accomplished. The prophecy of Joel spoke of
the coming of the Holy Spirit in the future. The prophecies
concerning the house of David were all given in the future.
The prophecies concerning the throne of David and the kingdom
of David were all given in the future. The prophecies of Israel
going down into Egypt were all given in the future. All those
things spoken in future tense. But every prophecy in the Old
Testament scriptures relating to the suffering, the death,
and the redemption of the Lord Jesus Christ, every last one
of them is spoken of in the past tense. Every one. Why? Because he's a lamb slain
from the foundation of the world. It's not something that is going
to be accomplished. but rather it is something that
has been accomplished that shall be revealed in due time according
to God's purpose. So you mean Christ was actually
slain before the world began? No, no, no, a thousand times
no. But I mean that he was virtually
slain for God said it in his heart. And when God sets it in
his heart, it's done. It's done. All the types bear testimony
to Christ as the Lamb that had been slain. In every age, from
Abel to Malachi, men who came before God and worshipped Him
by faith offered a sacrifice. By faith, Abel offered a more
excellent sacrifice than Cain. Well, what was his faith based
upon? It was based upon a revelation given by God. And I'll tell you
when it was given. It was given by God when God
killed the first animals on this earth to clothe his naked couple,
Adam and Eve, in the garden. And God said, this is what I'm
going to do. God revealed that the only way any man could approach
the Holy God is through the blood of an innocent lamb, even the
blood of the lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
You mean people saw that back then? I don't know what all they
saw, but they saw that. Abraham rejoiced to see my day and he
was glad. When did he see it? When he was
on the Mount Moriah and he had his knife drawn back to kill
his son. And behold, a ram caught in the thicket. God will provide
himself a sacrifice. And there he saw the day of the
Savior. This lamb was typified by all
those sacrifices in the Paschal Lamb offer on the Day of Atonement
year after year. Reckon why Moses ordained it
just that way. Reckon why he gave those specific
instructions. Well, you know why. God said,
Moses, this is how you do it. The picture is the lamb on the
throne. Let's have a lamb sacrificed.
The picture is Christ, the true tabernacle. Now Moses, make the
tabernacle like this. Yeah, that's him. And everything
was made with reference to the Lord Jesus Christ, the lamb slain
from the foundation of the world. And from old eternity, God regarded
Christ as the lamb who had been slain. That's right. There's
always been just one way of salvation. Always just been one. Folks say,
well, God saved folks in the Old Testament by works. Oh, no,
he didn't. Somebody says, God's going to
save folks out yonder in the tribulation period by works.
Well, there are two things wrong with that. They're not some future
dispensation to be had. And the other is, if there were,
God doesn't save men by works. God always forgave sin. He always remitted sin. He always passed by sin. He always put away sin on the
basis of the Lamb who was slain from the foundation of the world.
He did it for everybody who trusted Him. Abraham believed God and
God looked at the Lamb and would not impute sin to him. David
believed God and God looked at the Lamb and would not impute
sin. And now, Merle Hart believes
God, and God looks at the Lamb and will not impute sin for exactly
the same reason, because the Lamb has satisfied justice. The Lamb has established righteousness. The Lamb has magnified the law
and made it honorable. And when Christ actually died
at Calvary, He died according to the eternal purpose of God,
which can never be frustrated, defeated, or overturned. This
lamb verily was foreordained before the foundation of the
world. And when men came and took him by their wicked hands,
and viciously nailed him to a tree, and with malice shoved the cross
down into the socket made in the ground, and laughed and mocked
as he hung there in agony, as they passed by and spit in his
face and plucked out his beard, they did what God's hand from
eternity ordained must be done. Nothing was out of control. This
lamb was sacrificed by God's purpose. He was delivered by
the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God. The whole point of John
in giving us this vivid picture about Christ Jesus is to assure
us that those for whom the lamb was slain can never perish. His atonement for sin is an effectual
atonement for a particular people. by which he obtained eternal
redemption for God's elect. This lamb being slain for these
people, Antichrist shall not have them. This lamb being slain,
deception shall not touch them. This lamb being slain, hell has
no claim upon them. This lamb being slain, justice
shall not afflict them. The lamb slain from the foundation
of the world. One last thing, I can only mention
it. I've already touched on it. Our text speaks of the eternal
security of God's elect. All that dwell upon the earth
shall worship the beast, the Antichrist, worship according
to his rule. All of whose names are not written
in the Book of Life of the Lamb, slain from the foundation of
the world. Because you see, these folks have been given eternal
life, and they shall never perish. That's what it said, Oscar. They
shall never perish. Never. Never. Those whose names
were written in the Book of Life. Who? Those for whom the Lamb
was slain from old eternity. They'll never perish. Never perish. They must and they shall be saved
by God's almighty, free, irresistible grace. Amen.