He Called You By Our Gospel

We're turning in the Bible for
our Scripture reading today to the book of II Thessalonians,
II Thessalonians chapter 2, verse 13 and 14. Now, while you're
finding the Scripture, let me announce my subject. I'm preaching
on the subject, He Called You by Our Gospel. He called you
by our gospel. In II Thessalonians 2.13, Paul
writes, But we're bound to give thanks always to God for you,
brethren, beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning
chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the spirit
and belief of the truth, whereunto he called you by our gospel to
the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now, I
like nothing better when I try to preach the gospel than to
set forth in the introduction some things that are certain
and sure and as positive as the very throne of God. I'm going
to give you in the introduction to this message four things that
are as certain, that are as sure as the Bible is the Word of God,
as certain as God reigns in heaven and earth. These things are sure.
Now, you take note. If you'd like to, jot them down. Now, here's the first one. I'm
confident, absolutely confident, that the Scripture teaches that
salvation is the gift of God. Do you have any doubt about that?
Salvation, redemption, is the gift of God. That glorious blessing
that lifts a man from the dunghill and washes him, and sanctifies
him, and makes him a new creature, and takes him to the presence
of God, perfectly conformed to the blessed image of the Lord
Jesus Christ, is the very gift of God Almighty. That's what
the Bible says. In Romans 6, 23, the Scripture
says, the wages of sin is death. But the gift of God, the gift
of God, is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. And in
1 John 5, 10, the apostle John rebukes men for calling God a
liar. You say there are men who call
God a liar, make God a liar? Certainly. John said, when we
do not believe the record that God has given concerning His
Son, we make God a liar. And he says in the next verse,
and this is the record. This is the record that men do
not believe. This is the record that they
do not believe, thereby making God a liar. This is the record
that God hath given us eternal life. And this life is in His
Son, and he that hath the Son of God hath life. And he that
hath not the Son of God hath not life. Our Lord Jesus said
on one occasion, My sheep hear My voice. And I give them eternal
life. He didn't say, I sell it to them,
or I lend it to them, or I let them have it for a certain length
of time and then take it back. I give them eternal life. I give
them eternal life, and they shall never perish. My Father which
gave them Me is greater than all. No man's able to pluck them
out of My Father's hand. I and My Father are one. My sheep
hear My voice, they follow Me, and I give them. I give them. eternal life. You see, a man
can receive nothing except it be given him from above. And Paul said this, Who maketh
thee to differ? What do you have that you did
not receive? Receive from whom? I received
it from God. How did you receive it? You didn't
work for it, you didn't earn it, you certainly didn't deserve
it. I received it as a gift of God. A gift of God. A man can
receive nothing except it be given him from above. And who
maketh thee to differ? What hast thou that thou didst
not receive? Now if thou didst receive it,
why do you boast as if you did not receive it? My friends, to
be perfectly frank with you, repentance itself is the gift
of God. The Scripture says, God hath
granted repentance to the Gentiles. God hath granted repentance.
And another scripture says, it's the goodness of God that leadeth
thee to repentance. If I have felt a godless sorrow
because of my sins, if I have wept before God because of my
sins, if I have genuinely repented before God over my sins, that's
the gift of God. That's the work of the Spirit
of God within me that made me willing to confess my sins and
to follow Christ. I'll tell you this, faith is
the gift of God. Faith, not only repentance, but
faith, and these are inseparable. You can't have genuine repentance
without faith, and you can't have genuine faith without repentance.
If a man turns to God, he'll turn from his idols. And if he
turns from his idols, he must turn to the living God, because
any other God would be an idol. So faith itself is the gift of
God, for by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of
yourselves. It's the gift of God, not of
works, lest any man should boast. Faith is not a flower that blooms
in the natural heart of men. Faith is the gift of God. So
this is indeed the truth. According to the Word of God,
faith, is the gift of God, repentance is the gift of God, and all of
salvation, from beginning to end, is verily the gift of Almighty
God. And the Scripture of Scriptures,
regarding our Lord Jesus Christ and all the blessings, spiritual
blessings we have in Him, led the Apostles to declare, thanks
be unto God for His unspeakable gift, His incomprehensible guilt. Thanks be unto God. All right,
here's the second statement now. That's the first one. Beyond
question, salvation is the gift of God. Secondly, according to
the Scriptures, this salvation, this redemption, which is the
gift of God, and I'm saying the whole of the work, the whole
of the work, whereby a lost sinner is lifted from a spiritual grave
from a grave of inability and unwillingness and corruption
and defilement and depravity, and translated into the kingdom
of God and made like the Son of God, the whole of that work
is of the Lord and of Him only. And that glorious work of salvation
is purposed by God in Christ before the world began." Now,
that's what I just read to you from II Thessalonians 2.13. Paul
said, we're bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren,
beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen
you to salvation. Someone says, well, I've heard
of election. That's Presbyterian doctrine or primitive Baptist
doctrine or hard-shelled Baptist doctrine or some other kind of
Baptist doctrine. No, my friends. No, sir. Election and sovereignty. These
are not Presbyterian doctrines or Baptist doctrines or hard-shell
doctrine. This is the Word of God. It's
the Word of God. What sayeth the Scriptures? Look
at 2 Timothy 1. Now watch this carefully. 2 Timothy
1, verse 8. The Apostle Paul is sitting down
there in prison, and he's writing to a young minister called Timothy.
And he says in 2 Timothy 1, 8, now, Timothy, Don't you be ashamed
of the gospel of our Lord. Don't be ashamed of the gospel,
the offensive gospel, the hated gospel, the gospel of God's glory.
Don't you be ashamed of it. And don't you be ashamed of me,
his prisoner." But he says, Timothy, you be ready yourself to bear
the afflictions and persecution and harassment that comes from
preaching the gospel. Now, you be ready to do that.
For he said, the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath saved
us, and called us with a holy calling, not according to our
works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was
given to us in Jesus Christ before the world began." That's what
the Scripture said. This salvation, which is the
gift of God, was decreed and purposed and planned by Almighty
God before the world began. That's what that's saying. And
in Ephesians 1, 3, listen to this, Paul says, Blessed be the
God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with
all spiritual blessings in the heavenlies, in Christ Jesus,
according as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the
world. Known under God are all his works from the beginning.
He said, I declare the end from the beginning. He said, I purposed
it, I'll do it. I've spoken it, I'll bring it
to pass. I'm saying that whatever takes
place in time in reference to God and Christ and salvation
and his people and his kingdom, whatever takes place in time
was decreed and purposed and foreordained from all eternity.
That's what the Word of God teaches. See, his covenant is an everlasting
covenant. David on his deathbed. These
are the dying words of the psalmist of Israel, King David. When he
was talking about his hope and salvation, he didn't base it
on what he had done for God. He didn't base it on his psalms
he'd written, or victories he'd won, or battles he'd won, or
fought, or nations he'd conquered. When old David was dying, After
all those years of walking with God, a man after God's own heart,
these were his words. He said, "'Although it be not
so with my house, God hath made with me an everlasting covenant,
ordered in all things and sure. And this is all my salvation
and all my desire, although he make it not to grow.'" Here's
David resting his hope and confidence of eternal happiness on a covenant,
an everlasting covenant which God made with him and for him
and in Christ. And then in Hebrews 13, he said,
God who brought again from the dead that great shepherd of the
sheep through the blood of the everlasting covenant. And his
book of life is the book of the Lamb slain from the foundation
of the world. That's what the Scripture says.
It says, these people's names were not written in the book
of life of the Lamb of God slain from the foundation of the world.
His elect are chosen in Christ from the foundation of the world.
I read it to you. The glory of the Redeemer is
eternal. When he prayed in Gethsemane's
garden, John 17, he said, Father, glorify me with the glory which
I had with thee before the world was. He was our Redeemer, our
Lamb, our surety, our substitute before the world was. Before
there was a sinner, there was a Savior, chosen by God, ordained
by God, anointed by God. And His kingdom is from the beginning. At that great day, He'll say
to those on His right hand, listen, Matthew 25, 34, "'Come, ye blessed,
enter into the kingdom prepared for you before the foundation
of the world.'" I tell you this, it's a certain, As God reigns,
as certain as the Bible is the Word of God, salvation is the
gift of God. Salvations of the Lord, the salvation
of the righteous is of the Lord, holding completely from beginning
to end. And not only that, but this salvation,
this gift of God, was purposed, decreed, and planned before the
world began. And then thirdly, now listen
carefully, according to the Scriptures, now these are truths This is
so. Salvation is a gift of God. Salvation
is decreed, designed, and purposed from all eternity. And thirdly,
according to the Scripture, salvation is sure and certain, just as
certain and sure as God's promise. That's right. I hear men arguing
about once saved, always saved. They like to argue about that.
They like to argue about eternal security. They like to argue
about Once in grace, always in grace. Listen to me. That's all
wasted effort. All wasted effort. But let me
tell you something. Now listen to me. The security
of God's sheep, the security of God's people, the security
of every person in the kingdom of God is inseparably, always
inseparably connected with God's purpose and God's grace in Christ
Jesus. Write it down. I'll show you
that in the Scripture. Now listen to Romans 8, 28. Paul
said, I know, and we know, that all things work together for
good to them who love God, who are the call according to his
purpose, for whom he did foreknow. He did predestinate to be conformed
to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among
many brethren, and whom he did predestinate, he called, and
whom he called, He glorified. And whom He glorified, whom He
justified, He glorified. So whom the Lord purposed to
save, He called. Whom He purposed to save, He
justified. Whom He purposed to save, He
glorified. Those who are glorified are those
whom God purposed to redeem. It's always in the glorification
of God's people is inseparably joined to God's purpose. Listen
to John 6. Our Lord said this, John 6, 37,
All that my Father giveth me shall come to me, and him that
cometh to me I'll in no wise cast out." In other words, those
who truly come to Christ will never be cast out, because the
Father gave them to him. He said, I came down from heaven
not to do my will, but the will of him that sent me. And this
is the will of him that sent me, that of all which he hath
given me I'll lose nothing, nothing. But I'll raise them up again
at the last day. Paul, writing to the church at
Philippi in chapter 1, verse 6, said this, I'm confident,
confident, fully persuaded, that he which hath begun a good work
in you shall perfect it, perform it, complete it, finish it in
the day of Jesus Christ. In Malachi 3, he said, I'm the
Lord. I change not. I don't change
in my purposes or in my plans or in my callings. The gifts
and calling of God are without change. That's what Romans 11,
29 says. The gifts and calling of God
are without change. He said in Malachi, I'm the Lord, I change
not, therefore you sons of Jacob are not consumed. What are you
saying, Preacher? I'm saying this. Let those whom
God purposed to save, and those whom He gave to Christ, and those
for whom Christ suffered, bled, and died, and those whom the
Holy Spirit calls, and regenerates, and makes new creatures in Christ,
and brings them to saving faith, shall never perish." Never perish. My sheep hear my voice, and they
follow me, and I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish.
Never. Never. No man is able to pluck
them out of my hand. No creature, no power can pluck
them out of my hand. My Father gave them to me." You
see, the security of God's sheep is always inseparably connected
with the fact God gave them to Him. He said, my Father gave
them to me, and no man can pluck them out of my Father's hand.
He's the Good Shepherd, the Great Shepherd, the Chief Shepherd.
And I'll tell you this, the shepherd will never lose his sheep. If
he lost a sheep, he wouldn't be the great shepherd. If he
lost a sheep, he wouldn't be the good shepherd. Nor would
he be the chief shepherd. Now, here's the fourth thing.
My friend, these things are true. This is according to Scripture.
Salvation is a gift of God. Salvation is eternally planned,
purposed, and decreed by Almighty God. He cannot fail. Christ cannot
fail. And thirdly, this salvation is
sure and certain. Now, here's the fourth thing.
According to Scripture, the God of salvation, the eternal God
of salvation, who purposed to have a people, who chose us in
Christ Jesus from every tribe, kindred, nation, and tongue unto
heaven, who sent His Son to be our surety, who was in Christ
reconciling the world unto Himself, will call you, if you're His
sheep, He'll call you by His gospel. I read that in the text. Beloved, he said, I give thanks
to God for you, because God hath from the beginning chosen you
to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the
truth, whereunto he called you by our gospel. You remember when
I read in Romans 8, 29, it said, Whom he did foreknow, he did
predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, and
whom he predestinated, he what? He called. He called. And then in II Timothy 1, it
says, Don't be ashamed of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who hath saved us, and what? And called us with a holy calling,
not according to our works, but according to his own purpose
in Christ Jesus, given us before the world began. In Galatians
1.15, Paul said this. He said, God, when it pleased
God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me,
He called me by His grace. He called me. Don't be mistaken.
God will cross your path. He will call you. If you're one
of His own, He'll call you. Now, election is not salvation. It's unto salvation. You see,
when the Bible talks about election, I'll give you some clues here. Always when the apostles wrote
or talked or preached about election, it was with thanksgiving. Always
thanksgiving. Thanksgiving, here in our text,
he said, I'm bound to give thanks. I'm bound to give thanks for
you, brethren, beloved of the Lord, because God has chosen
you. I give thanks. And then in Ephesians 1, when
Paul wrote about the election of God's people, he said, Blessed
be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath chose
us before the foundation of the world in Christ. Bless God. And one day, our Lord Jesus Christ
was contending with the Pharisees and Sadducees and the Sanhedrin
who were trying to trap Him in His talk and trying to turn the
people's hearts away from Him. And our Lord finally lifted His
eyes to heaven. That's what Matthew 11 said.
He lifted His eyes to heaven. And He said, I thank you, Father.
I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you've
hid these things from the wise and prudent. And you've revealed
them to babes. I thank you, Father. Thank God
for His elective grace. Thank God for His predestinating
purpose. Thank God that Jesus Christ was
given to us. Thank God He loved us. We never
would have loved Him. Herein is love, not that we loved
God, He loved us. If He hadn't chosen us, we'd
have never chosen Him. Tis not that I did choose thee,
for, Lord, that could not be. This heart of mine would refuse
thee, but thou hast chosen me. He loved me, he called me, he
called you if you wanted his sheep. Thanks be unto God." Election
is a doctrine of thanksgiving. It's a doctrine of love, beloved
of the Lord, beloved of the Lord, an object of his affection, an
object of his mercy. It's a doctrine of eternal grace.
It's from the beginning. It's from the beginning. It's
a doctrine of salvation, to salvation. It's a doctrine of me. through
sanctification of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit regenerates.
The Holy Spirit quickens. The Holy Spirit gives ears to
hear and a heart to believe and eyes to see the glory of Christ.
It's the Holy Spirit that awakens the dead sinner. You have to
quicken who are dead in trespasses and sin. And the Holy Spirit
sets us apart and takes the seed of the Word, which is the truth,
and grants unto us faith in that truth through sanctification
of the Spirit and belief of the truth. Belief of the truth. A man must hear the gospel. Election is unto salvation. Whereunto
he called you by our gospel. He must needs go through Samaria.
Why must he go through Samaria? One of his sheep there. The Son
of Man must be lifted up. Oh, the sheep I have, them I
must bring. There's none other name under
heaven given among men whereby we must be saved." Let me tell
you this. This is the question Paul asked.
Whosoever awakened by God, troubled by the Holy Spirit, hearing the
Word of God, whosoever shall call out of his misery, out of
his inability, out of his sin, out of his depths, out of the
depths, call upon the name The name of the Lord Jesus Christ,
His redemptive name, His glorious name, His saving name, whosoever
shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. But how
shall they call on Him in whom they've not believed? And how
are they going to believe in Him of whom they've not heard?
And how are they going to hear without a preacher? Huh? And
how are they going to preach except they be sent? You may
be a young lad listening to me there Like Timothy. But Timothy
learned the gospel sitting at the knee of his mother and grandmother.
That's what Paul said, from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures
that are able to make thee wise unto salvation. You learned it
from your grandmother Eunice and your mother Lois. You may
be a religious teacher like Saul, a Pharisee, a legalist, a moralist,
who didn't know God. And God sent him a preacher,
old Ananias. He said, The God of our fathers hath chosen thee,
Saul, that thou mightest know his will, and see the just one. You may be a businesswoman like
Lydia, who traveled all the way from Thyatira down to Philippi,
and wandered down there by the riverside, and met God's preacher,
and got open to heart, and she attended to the things spoken
by the apostle Paul. You may be an important official
like the eunuch, traveling from Jerusalem down to Ethiopia, and
God crossed his path with Philip and preached the gospel to him.
You may be a runaway slave like Onesimus. You may be a jailer
like the man in Philippi. But I tell you this, you will,
you must hear the gospel. For Ephesians 1, 13 says, "...in
whom you trusted after you heard the word of truth." I'm not talking
about just hearing something religious. I'm talking about
hearing the word of truth. The Word of Truth, who God is,
what happened in the garden, who Jesus Christ is, what He
did, why He did it, where He is now. How can God be just and
justify? How can He be clean that's born
of a woman? Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? Who
shall stand in His holy praise? If thou, Lord, shouldst mark
iniquity, who would stand? If a man sins, who's going to
stand for him? Who shall deliver me from this
body of death? If a man dies, shall he live
again? Oh, I tell you, there's so many questions, there's so
many vital issues. But in whom you trusted in Christ,
after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation,
in whom, after you believed, you were sealed with that Holy
Spirit of promise. You say, Preacher, what can a
sinner do? What can a lost sinner do? Let
me give you four things. Number one, he can seek the Lord.
Cornelius did. You've got to hear the gospel.
Hear the truth, the Word of God. You can seek the Lord. Cornelius
did. Secondly, you can read the Bible. The eunuch did. He's sitting
there in the chariot reading the Bible. He didn't understand
what he was reading, so God sent him someone to show him. And
he believed on Christ, and God met him. Tell you something else,
you can go where the Gospels preach. Onesimus did. He ran away from Philemon, but
he ran right into the arms of the apostle Paul down there in
Rome in jail and sat at his feet. and heard him preach the gospel.
What can a sinner do? He can cry for mercy. The publican
did. God be merciful to me, the sinner.
The thief on the cross did. Lord, you're not going to stay
dead. You're coming into a kingdom. Remember me when you come into
your kingdom. Oh, God chose His people. He chose them from eternity
to salvation, but through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the
truth, whereunto He called you by our gospel. Have you heard?
Have you heard it? God speak through his word. Now
I have this message on a cassette tape. He called you by our gospel
and one I'll bring next week. If you'd like to have it, write
to the address listed on the screen and send two dollars and
we'll mail it to you. God bless you everyone.

He Called You By Our Gospel

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He Called You By Our Gospel

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