I'm glad we sang that song only
of sinners saved by grace. This verse just hit me. Tears unavailing, no merit had
I. Mercy had saved me or else I
must die. Sin had alarmed me. Fear in God's
face, but now I'm a sinner saved by grace. Suffer a sinner whose heart overflows,
loving his Savior to tell what he knows. Once more to tell it,
would I embrace. I'm only a sinner, saved by grace,
would to God. That's what I preach tonight. Would you turn to Hebrews chapter
9? I've entitled this message, They
which are called. They which are called. Let me read my text. Hebrews
chapter 9, verse 15. And for this cause. What cause? Well, let's back
up to verse 11. the cross, being become a high
priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect
tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building,
neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood,
he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal
redemption for us. For if the blood of bulls and
of goats and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean
sanctify to the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall
the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself
without spot to God." Now, purge your conscience from dead works
to serve the living God and for this cause, because he obtained
eternal redemption for us. because he purified us and purged
us. For this cause, he is the mediator
of the New Testament, that by means of death, for the redemption
of the transgressions that were under the First Testament, they
which are called, they which are called, might
receive the promise of eternal inheritance. Have I been called? Has God called my name? Are you called of I hope that
by the end of this message, every one of us will know whether or
not God has called us. I read that passage of Scripture
regarding the Lord. He calleth whom he would. It's
a sovereign call. He calls whom he wills to call. Not everybody is called by God.
You see, everybody he calls comes to him, and not everybody's come
to him. Everybody he calls comes. personally been called by God. Now, the writer to the Hebrews
says, for this cause, he is the mediator of the New Testament. The Old Testament could not save. It demonstrated to us our need
of righteousness, but it didn't provide us a righteousness. showed us our need of atonement,
but it didn't atone. You see, the blood of bulls and
goats could never take away sin. It showed us our need of cleansing,
but it didn't cleanse. It showed us our need of a priest
to represent us, but it didn't provide us with a priest that
really could represent it. It gave fellows like Aaron and
Nadab and Abihu, what good could they do you, in reality? The
Old Testament could not say that he is the Mediator of the New
Testament, the New Covenant, the Covenant of Grace. Now, what
is a Mediator? The meaning we attach to it in
our day is a negotiator between two contending parties. The Mediator
has the contending parties to make mutual concessions and compromises,
trying to bring them together. That's the job of the Mediator.
That's not what the Bible means by mediator. You see, God does
not negotiate with sinners. God does not compromise. God doesn't concede anything.
Why should he? He's God. He doesn't need to
compromise anything. In the Bible, mediator has two
meanings. First, literally a go-between. One who mediates between two
parties with the view of producing peace. There is one God and one
mediator between God and men, the man, Christ Jesus. And the other meaning is a guarantee.
One who acts as a guarantee to secure something that would have
otherwise not been obtained. Hebrews uses this word three
times and all three times it means a guarantee. He's the guarantee. He's the surety. He's the guarantee
of the New Testament. And here's how he's the guarantee
of the New Testament. Look in verse 15. And for this cause,
he's the mediator of the New Testament that by means of what?
Death. Death. Now, this is how he's
the guarantee of all the blessings of the New Testament, the blessings
that give me a new heart. and a new spirit and a new soul.
Give me faith. Give me repentance. Oh, the things
the Lord gives His people. He gives me a love for Christ.
He causes me to persevere. He puts away all my sins. He
gives me perfect righteousness. All the blessings of the New
Testament, the New Covenant. Oh, they're so infinite and glorious. How does He give them? How is
He the guarantee? By means of death. It's his death that secures all
the blessings of the New Testament. You see, look in verse 16. For
where a testament, that's talking about a will is. Where a testament
is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. Now, I've got a will. Everything's
going to Aubrey. It's all going to her. But you
know what? It ain't hers yet. It's not a bit hers. It's mine
and it's not hers until I die. And when I die, it all becomes
hers. For where a testament is, there
must also of necessity be the death of the testator. For a
testament is a force, or a will is a force, after men are dead.
Otherwise, it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth.
Whereupon neither the first testament was dedicated without blood. Now, what did the Lord accomplish
by his death? And this is something I... I'll
tell you what. If I ever preach a message without
dealing with this, I don't care what subject I'm dealing with.
If I ever preach a message that doesn't exalt the glorious death
and the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, I've missed it. I've missed it. By means of death. You see, why did he die? There's
only one reason for death. What is that? Sin. The wages
of sin is death. The sins of the elect were placed
upon the Lord Jesus Christ. They became His so that He was
guilty. When God killed Him, it's because
He was sin in God's sight. And God's wrath came upon Him.
And just as truly As he was made sin, his perfect righteousness
is given to every single one of his people. I love the thought
of his death, what it accomplished. What was it that Abel brought
to the Lord? He brought death. He brought
the blood of that sacrifice, that life to his death. I know
that the only way I can be accepted is through the death of the Lord
Jesus Christ. And his death is a successful
death. You know, I love particular redemption.
I love definite atonement. I love successful redemption. All the elect must be saved,
that by means of death, those transgressions that were under
the first covenant, they're put away. That's what he did by his
death. When he said it is finished, the salvation of the elect was
I like to think of the salvation of the elect being accomplished,
but there's something I like even a little bit more. I like
thinking of my salvation being accomplished. When he said, it
is finished, all that God requires of me, he has. I don't need anything else. Isn't
that wonderful? That by means of death, this
is what he did by his death. Oh, what? Remember who it was
that died? Oh, how glorious is his death? I've got to say this. In my very
heart, I despise and hate the doctrine of universal redemption
that says Jesus Christ can pay for your sins and you might end
up in hell anyway if you don't do something to make it work.
I despise that because that's taking away my only hope, my
hope. is his death. And if you tell
me, I know I say this a lot, but I'm going to say it again.
If you tell me that he can die for somebody and they wind up
in hell anyway, you've taken away the only hope I've got.
The only hope I have is his death. His life, his death, his resurrection. That by means of death, for the
redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament,
they which are called. Is everybody called? Now, you
can't honestly look at that passage of scripture and say, yes, everybody's
not called. They which are called might receive
the promise of eternal inheritance. Now, the Bible has a lot to say
about the call of God. Have I been called? Has he called
my name? Listen to this, Romans 8, 28,
and we know that all things work together for good to them that
love God, to them who are the what? Called. According to his
purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he
also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that
he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom
he did predestinate, then he also what? Called. And whom he called, then he also
justified, and whom he justified, then he also glorified. Calling is a part of the great
chain of salvation. Now, you can only make your election
sure by making your calling sure. That's what Peter said. Make
your calling And election, sure. The only way I can know that
my election is sure is if my calling is sure. If everybody's called the same,
this call would be meaningless, but not everybody is called.
Let me show you that in scripture. Turn to 1 Corinthians chapter
one. Now, rather than. Rather than arguing over the
fact that not everybody is called. Or thinking, why didn't God call
everybody? I tell you what, I can understand why he wouldn't call
me. Can you understand that? Can you understand why he'd pass
you by? Would he be just if he passed you by? Would he be right? So I'm not going to argue about
that. I'm just thankful he calls sinners to himself. What I want
to find out, I don't want to argue over why he doesn't call
everybody. I want to find out if he's called
me. I want to know if he's called my name. I want to know if he
said to me, come unto me. I want to know if I'm one of
them. Now look in 1 Corinthians, chapter
1, verse 23. Let's look in verse 22. For the Jews require a sign.
The religious fellows, they like something they can see, something
tangible. This proves God's image. And the Greeks seek after wisdom.
These are the intellectuals. But we preach Christ crucified. Unto the Jews, a stumbling block,
a scandal. Unto the Greeks, foolishness,
but unto them which are called." Both Jews and Greeks. Christ. The power of God in Christ. The
wisdom of God. Now, the Bible has a whole lot
to say about this calling. It's called a high calling. It's
called a heavenly calling. It's called a holy calling. When somebody calls you, you
hear something, don't you? Something's said, something's
directed to you. When you're called by God, there's
something you hear. You know what you hear? You hear
the gospel. He called us by the gospel to
the obtaining of the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. You hear
the gospel. There's no calling of God without
hearing of the gospel. It's an external hearing, but
it's also an internal hearing. You know what happens when it's
an internal hearing? You know it's the truth of God.
It's not just the preacher's opinion. It's not just the church's
doctrine of the state. You know, this is the truth of
God. You know this is God's gospel. You know it's the very truth.
It didn't come as the Word of man, but it comes as it is in
truth. The Word of God, the absolute
Word of God. When God calls you, you know
this is the truth. This is God's Word. This isn't
just a man's opinion. This is God's Now, this call
by the gospel, it's a sovereign call. I mean, you know the Scripture,
you're familiar with this. The children being not yet born,
neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of
God, according to election, might stand not of works, but of what? Him that calleth. It was said unto her, The elder
shall serve the younger, as it is written, Jacob hath a love,
but Esau hath a hated." This is a sovereign call. God calls
whom he will. And thank God it's a most gracious
call. Paul said to the Corinthians,
you see your calling, brethren. Have it not many wise men after
the flesh, not many mighty. Not many noble are called. Who is it that God calls? The
things which are not. The things which have no merit. That song we just sang, no merit
had I. Mercy must save me or else I
must die. That's who God calls. It's a
most gracious call. And it's a most effectual call. Lazarus, come forth. I don't think I'm going to. It
didn't work that way, did it? He that was dead came forth. You see, everybody God calls
comes. He never calls ineffectually. If he calls, you'll come, and
if you don't come, it's because he never called you. He calls
you, you will come. Now, being called by God, we're
called to something. I love what the scripture points
out, we're called to. Galatians 5.13 says you're called to liberty.
You're called by God to liberty, to freedom. You know what liberty
is? It means you don't owe anything. Isn't it wonderful to not to
be debt free? I owe my gratitude, but as far
as having to owe him for any of my sins, no, I don't have
any sin. It's been put away. I have liberty. I have freedom. I'm doing what I want to do.
You know, following the Lord is what I want to do. There's no way
that grace will lead somebody to sin. It might lead a goat
to sin, but it won't lead a sheep to sin. No way. The only liberty
there is following Him sends bondage. We're called to peace. That's what Colossians 3.15 says. We're called to peace. Peace
with God. Peace knowing that He's at peace
with me. Isn't it wonderful to know that the Lord's not mad
at you because most of the time we think He is. But He's not. He said, I know the thoughts
I think of you. Thoughts of peace and not of evil to bring to you
an expected end. Peace with God. The joy and peace
of believing, the peace of knowing that the righteousness of Jesus
Christ gives me peace with God. Oh, what peace? I have peace
with you. You know the reason folks fight? If I fight with you, it's because
you've got something I want. Now, in Christ, I've got all things.
I don't need to compete with you. We're not in competition.
We're brethren. We all are saved the same way,
by the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. We're at peace with one
another. We're called to light. God has called you out of darkness,
Peter said, into his marvelous light, the light of knowing. The light of knowing. I love
the way Paul said, and we know. They may not, but we do. We know. How do you know? Because he's
given us life, the light. I know how God can save me in
a way that honors his justice. I know that. I know that the
death of Christ put away my sin. I know his righteousness is the
only righteousness. I know that I'm walking in the
light of the gospel. He's called us out of darkness
into his marvelous light. Now, I see in the scriptures. Three evidences that will show
me. If I'm one of these happy people
that God has called. I want to know, don't you? I
don't want to take something like this for granted. I want to know that the Lord
has called me. Now let me give you three evidences
that you can know whether or not the Lord has called you.
Stay there in 1 Corinthians chapter 1. Paul said in verse 23, but we
preach Christ crucified. unto the Jews, that's a stumbling
block. It's scandalous. Why? You say
salvation comes wholly by what somebody else did and has nothing
to do with our works. Well, that'll lead to sin. That'll lead to
dissonance. That's a scandal. And unto the
Greeks, foolishness. You expect me to believe that
God became a man? You expect me to believe you're saved by
somebody else's righteousness? It doesn't have anything to do
with it. Well, that's foolishness. But unto them which are called both
Jews and Greeks, Christ, the power of God. Not Christ who is made powerful
by God, but Christ himself, the very power of God. You know what omnipotence means?
Jesus Christ, the power of God. He's the power of God in creation.
He's made the world into existence. He's the power of God in providence.
He's the one who controls everything. He upholds all things, the Scripture
says, by the word of His power. Oh, how powerful He is. And oh,
He's the power of God into salvation. You think of the power that's
demonstrated in Jesus Christ becoming a man. What mighty power! What power there was in His life
when He never sinned! What power there was in His death
in that He actually put away sin by His death! What power
there is in His resurrection where He justified everybody
He died for! What power there is in His intercession!
If He prays for you, you must be saved! If He represents your
name before the Father, is the Father going to say, no, I'm
not going to save Him? No! If He represents you, everything's
fine! Oh, what power. Do you see Christ as the power
of God? Not only do you see Christ as the power of God, if you're
a believer, this is what you think about Jesus Christ himself.
You think he's the mighty power of God. And he's the wisdom of
God. He has made a way. And I hope
this isn't just cliché with us and something we just repeat
over and over again, but we lose the wonder of it. He's made a
way for God to be just and yet justify somebody like me. I see the wisdom of God there.
Only God could come up with this. That's not a good way to say
it. Only God could do this. Now, here's how I can tell if
you've been called, or here's how I can tell if I've been called.
Do I, in my heart, see Christ, Jesus Christ, the Son of God,
as the power of God and the wisdom of God? Yes, I do. I do. And look what it says next,
back in our text, Hebrews chapter nine. Well, no, I'm sorry, stay in
1 Corinthians chapter one for just a second. Here's the second
evidence. First, the first evidence is that if God's called me, I see Christ
as the wisdom and power of God. Here's the second evidence. Verse
two. Our first one Paul called to
be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God and sustenance
our brother under the Church of God, which is a Corinth to
them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus called to be saints. With all that in every place,
call upon the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord, both theirs and ours.
Now, if I'm called, I call. Evidence of being called. If
you're called by God, you know what you do? You call upon the
name of the Lord. You say, Lord, save me. You know, I pray that all the
time. I didn't pray it one time. I
prayed, Lord, save me. Lord, I'm calling on your name.
Save me by your... His name is who he is. Save me
by your sovereignty, by divine fiat. Save me by your grace. Save me by your righteousness.
Save me by your loving kindness. Save me. I call upon the Lord's
name all the time. I'm so thankful for that Scripture.
Whosoever... I'm one of them. Whosoever shall
call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. The called call. I'm doing it right now. In my
heart, Lord, have mercy on me. Lord, save me. Lord, I'm calling
on your name. Do something for me. Lead me
not to... Call me, Lord. Call me. Don't
pass me by. While on others thou art calling,
do not pass me by. Call me. The called call. Now, turn back to Hebrews chapter
9, our text. And to this cause, he is the
mediator of the New Testament, that by means of death, for the
redemption of the transgressions that were under the First Testament,
they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance. Those who are called receive. Now if you don't receive, he
never called. He never gave. If he gives something,
you receive it. If you don't receive it, he never
gave it. The called receive. Now there's no merit in receiving. I want you, I hope I can say
this the way it ought to be said. man's religion, the false perversion
of the gospel, they make the act of reception, the act of
salvation. If you receive, then that's what saves you. I mean,
he loved everybody, died for everybody, wants to save everybody,
but you need to receive him or what he did won't work for you.
And I remember talking to a fellow one time and I was trying to,
I was trying to talk about the gospel and he said, well, there's
something we got to do. And I said, well, what can you do? He said,
well, I received him. And I thought, well, is there merit in that? For one thing, he didn't receive
him or he wouldn't have been talking the way he was. I don't believe him per
se that he didn't receive him because if you receive him, you
receive grace. You receive the truth. You bow to what God says.
But the point I'm trying to make is people try to make a merit
in receiving like there's some kind of merit in all I received.
That's the difference. The difference between me and
the man that has lost is I received Christ and he didn't. No, no,
that's not the difference. The difference is God himself. It's called the Father in election.
It's called the Son in redemption. It's called the Holy Spirit in
regeneration. And if you receive it, it's because
He gave. If you don't receive, He never gave. But if you've
received, it's because He's given. He never gives an unreceived
gift. There's no merit in the act of
receiving. Now, you take a paycheck. You
know, when I've heard preachers say, should
even take this paycheck i think i'll put that you know are you
know you know i mean my i take it
i don't i don't bow down and scrape all thanks for the fact
that you know i mean and when when you pay when you're paid
when you give it when you get a paycheck you don't think oh
i shouldn't get it don't take it you receive a gift take a
paycheck you receive a free gift. You're awful glad you got it.
I remember one time, this was one of those miraculous things. I didn't have money to pay the
rent when I was in college. I didn't know what I was going
to do. And it was that very day. And I thought, what in the... I was troubled. You know what
I got? I got a check in the mail from
my aunt. She'd never done that before.
She'd never done that since. It was exactly what I needed to
pay my rent. You know what I did? I received it. Gratefully, thankfully,
but I received this free gift. Well, what's it mean to receive
the Lord Jesus Christ? I love what John 1, 12 and 13
says, but to as many as received him, And there's no salvation
apart from receiving the Lord Jesus Christ. To as many as received
Him, to them gave He the power to become the sons of God, even
to them which believe on His name. You know what it is to
receive Christ? It's to believe on His name. If you believe on
His name, you've received Him. You really believe that His name
brings you into glory. You need nothing else. That's
what it is to receive Him. It's to believe. It's to rely.
It's to trust His name. There are so many things in the
Scripture the believer is said to receive. We're said in John
20, 27, we receive the Holy Spirit. You know why we receive the Holy
Spirit? Because He gave Him to us. If He didn't give Him, we
wouldn't receive Him. We're said to receive the remission
of sins in Acts 10, 49. You know why we receive the remission
of sins? Because He remitted them. He put them away. We receive
forgiveness because He forgave us. We didn't do something in
order to get Him to forgive us. He forgave us. We receive it.
And we receive it joyfully. In John 1, 16, we read of his
fullness. Of his fullness. How full is that? I don't know.
I mean, that's glory, isn't it? Of his fullness have we all received
and grace for grace. You know what that means? It
takes the grace of God to receive grace. You can't even receive
grace unless God gives you the grace to receive it. In Romans
1, 5, we read of receiving grace. In 2 Corinthians 4.1, we read
of receiving mercy. If He gives you mercy, you'll
receive it. And if you don't receive it, it's because He never
gave it. Romans 5.17, we read of receiving the gift of righteousness. You know, people naturally think
there's something you do that makes you righteousness, but
the believer knows better than that. We receive His righteousness
as a free gift. And we receive it. You know,
I am I am so happy to be saved by the righteousness of Jesus
Christ. I don't want to be saved any other way. I receive it.
Galatians 4, 5 says we receive the adoption of sons. Romans
5, 11 says we receive the atonement or the reconciliation. We receive
what he's done for us. Acts 1, 8 says we receive power.
That's the strength to do. I can do all things through Christ
which strengtheneth me. In 1 Corinthians 2, 12, we receive
the knowledge of the things freely given to us of God. That's why
we know about Him. 1 John 2, 12 speaks of the anointing
which you have received. You know the reason I believe
what I believe? Well, first because it's in the
Bible. But God's made it known to me, the anointing, the teaching.
I know. You know, we can say we know,
can't we? We know that we were not redeemed with corruptible
things like silver and gold. from your vain conversation,
but with the precious blood of Christ. We know that. We know
that because of the teaching. Hebrews 12, 28 says we receive
a kingdom that cannot be moved. And 2 Peter 1, 9 says we receive
the salvation of our souls. And then in our text, it says
we receive the promise of eternal inheritance. I like that word
eternal. I don't understand it. We live
in time. And there's no way we can really
grasp hold of what all eternity means. But I have, this inheritance
that I have, however old God is, that's how long I've had
it. Eternal. We read of eternal redemption. Everything God does is eternal.
The elect have always been in the Lord Jesus Christ. There's
never been a time when they were not in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Now, can I explain that? No. Well, were you saved when
you were born? No. No, I wasn't. I was born
lost like all natural men are. I don't understand how this works.
I was born lost and I wasn't saved until I heard and believed
the gospel. But I also know in the mind and purpose of God,
I've always been in the Lord Jesus Christ. And God has never
looked upon me and said he's full of sin. No, the scripture
says he'll by no means clear the guilty. If God ever sees
you as guilty, he's not going to clear you. It's not going
to happen. God's just. God's elect have always been
viewed in the land slain from the foundation of the world.
Eternal inheritance. You know, I love that. I do. I love it. I don't understand
it. But, you know, when it comes right down to it, what do you
understand that you don't believe? I don't understand. I mean, there's
a sense which I don't understand any of it. I just believe it.
And I'm so fine with that. I don't understand Trinity, but
I believe Trinity. I don't. We receive the promise of eternal
Inheritance. That means all the blessings
we have. Second Timothy one nine said
he saved us. And he called us. What came first, the saving or
the calling? Think about that. He saved us and he called us
with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to
his own purpose and grace, which were given us in Christ Jesus,
when before the world began. Every blessing that God has to
give, justification, sanctification, glorification, it was given to
me in Christ Jesus before time began. Now, have I been called? Well, do I see that Christ is
the wisdom and the power of God? Yes, I do. Yes, I do. I really
believe that. Have I been called? Well, do
I call? Yes, I'm called right now. If I have been called, do
I receive? One last scripture. Turn with
me to Luke chapter 19. is on the way to the cross. He's
passing through Jericho on his way to Jerusalem. And Jesus entered
and passed through Jericho. And behold, there was a man named
Zacchaeus. Which was the chief among the
publicans. And he was rich. He was rich because he ripped
people off. He was a wicked man. He was an evil man, and he gained
his riches through unjust gain. And I'm sure everybody in Jericho
despised him. They hated his guts. There goes
Zacchaeus. Boy, we'd like to get him back.
Look what he's done to us. And he was an unjust man. Let's go on reading. And he sought
to see Jesus who he was. Now here's where salvation begins.
You want to find out who he is. And you want to find out when
you're next, you find out the same thing he did, he could not. I can't know him. I can't, unless
he's pleased to make himself known. I'm helpless in this thing.
He could not. For the press, for he was little
of stature. I like to think of him being
like, say, Danny DeVito. You've seen him in movies. You can see Zacchaeus being kind
of a character like that, you know, just a little of stature. I hope Danny DeVito never hears
this message, but he won't. Verse four, he ran before and
climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was to pass
that way. You know, wherever the Lord's
passing through, that's where I want to be. That's where I want to
be. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and he saw him. He saw one whom he loved with
an everlasting love. He saw one that he was coming
to die for. He saw one of his legs. He saw
one of his chosen. And when Jesus came to the place,
he looked up and saw him and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make
haste and come down. Now, when the Lord calls you,
you don't delay. If you can wait, He never calls
you. When He calls you, you come right
now. And let me tell you what kind
of direction you go down. Every time he calls, it's a call
to come down, down off your high horse, down off your self-sufficiency
and pride. You come down. Zacchaeus, make
haste and come down, for today I must. And the only reason he
must do anything is he must do his father's will. He must do
it. Today I must abide at thy house. Now, can you imagine how shocked
Zacchaeus was? He knew my name. I bet he was
up in that tree. But what did he do? He made haste. And he came down. And what did
he do? He received Him. How? Joyfully. Joyfully. You can't receive Him
without joy. And when they saw it, they all
murmured, saying that he was going to be a guest with a man
that's a sinner. And Zacchaeus, he didn't pay
attention to him. He stood and said unto the Lord, Behold, Lord,
thou hath of my goods I give to the poor. If I've taken anything
from any man by false accusation, I'll restore him fourfold. And
Jesus said unto him, This day, if salvation come to this house,
forasmuch as he is also a son of Abraham, that's why, not because
of his works, But because he's the son of Abraham, for the son
of man has come to seek and to save that which was lost. Lord, save me. Pass me not, O tender Savior. Hear my humble cry. While on
others thou art calling, do not pass me by. I picked out another
hymn and I think maybe we might want to sing that hymn. Let's
pray.