Romans 9, 11, for the children
being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the
purpose of God according to election might stand. Now, when I announce
a topic such as that, election, and read a text such as the one
I've just read, I'm aware, not so much here, and maybe so, but
not so much here, I'm aware, but in other places I'm aware
of the objections. I'm aware of the complications
that it presents to people. The natural man just rises up
and in anger and in rebellion against what we call the doctrine
of election. And so I've asked several questions
in introducing the message this morning. First of all, a preacher,
if you know that you're going to meet with objections and you're
going to meet with anger and wrath, then why? Why preach on
such a controversial topic as election? Why preach on such
a mysterious and controversial subject. I have one answer, because
it's in the Word of God. That's the first answer. It's
in the Word of God. I could take you through the
scriptures this morning, beginning in Genesis, and go all the way
through and show you how often God speaks of his elective grace. When Moses says, show me your
glory, he said, I'll be merciful to whom I will be merciful. I
will be gracious to whom I will be gracious. And the reason I
preach it is because it's in the Word of God, and I have not
shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God. I've kept
back nothing profitable unto you. That's why we preach it. All right, here's the second
question. Granted, all right, granted, elections in the Bible.
1 Thessalonians 1, 4, knowing, brethren, your election of God.
the purpose of God according to election. You did not choose
me, I chose you, chosen in Christ before the foundation of the
world. God will spare his elect, the angels will gather his elect,
mine elect, all the way through. Granted, all right, all right,
it's in the Word of God. It's in the Word of God. Granted. But shouldn't we keep from the
people, from the general congregation, shouldn't we keep from them some
of these things that disturb and divide. And just keep it
from the people. Just keep it from them and let
the theologians and the teachers and the pastors and the preachers
deal with these things. Hold on right there. Now, you
don't know what you're saying when you say that. You're giving
up your very liberty when you say that. That's dark age, medieval,
popish reasoning. And that's the very thing, that's
the very theory, that's the very theory on which the Catholic
Church operated and operates now, keep the Word of God from
the people and let the Pope and the Cardinals and the Bishop
and the Priest decide what's best for them. Keep the Bible
locked up in the monastery and let the theologians and preachers
and cardinals and bishops study it and argue over it and give
the people what they want them to hear. And that's what gave
birth to the Pope. That's what gave birth to Purgatory. That's what gave birth to Mary
worship. That's what gave birth to all
indulgences. The people didn't know any better,
Donny. They didn't have a Bible. A fellow could stand up in the
pulpit with the clerical collar on with his copy of the Scripture
and tell him anything he wanted to tell him. They didn't have
any Bible in their hands to verify what he was saying. And that's
what you're saying to me. You're saying, well, keep back
from the people these mysterious, controversial things, and you
preachers argue over it. Give us what you want us to have.
I'm not willing to do that. The Bereans were more noble than
those at Thessalonica. They searched the Scriptures
to see if these things are so. You open that Bible in your lap,
and when I preach, you verify it, and if it's not in there,
refuse it. But if it is in there, better
receive it. All right, here's the third thing.
But now wait a minute. All right, granted it's in the
Bible, and granted you ought to preach it, but don't some
people abuse the doctrine? Don't some people misuse the
doctrine of election? Aren't there many people who
received it and believed it and fallen into error like fatalism,
hyper-Calvinism, hardshellism, extreme predestinarianism? Yes, sir, they sure do. Regrettably,
unfortunately, they sure do. They surely do. But you know,
carnal religionists have done that with everything God's given
them. Everything. Everything. Carnal religionists
have made a god out of the Levitical law. God gave the Levitical law,
the tabernacle, the sacrifices, the priesthood to Israel, and
they turned away from God and worshiped that law. Isn't that
right? Well, maybe we shouldn't give it to them then. Oh, yes.
There were some people who came through those types and shadows
to a knowledge of Christ. They've done the same thing with
the Feast and the Sabbaths. Our Lord Jesus Christ gave a
Sabbath day, and what do men do? They worship the Sabbath.
There was a fellow who was lame for 38 years, and our Lord healed
him on the Sabbath. And he told him to take up his
bed and walk. 38 years now, he was known all
over that area. He'd been laying by that pool
all those years, 38 years, lame, unable to walk, and Christ healed
him. He picked up his bed on the Sabbath day and started walking,
and he passed two or three of those religious fellas, and they
looked at him and said, what are you carrying your bed on
the Sabbath day for? They missed the miracle. They missed the
fact that man had been made alive and walking, and they wanted
to argue about the Sabbath day. So, yes, they've made a god out
of Mary. They've bowed down to angels
and men. They've even made a god out of the ordinances. They've
even said that baptism is essential to salvation. Well, I'm not going
to quit preaching baptism because some fool made a sacrament out
of it. And we're not going to quit observing the Lord's table.
Here, we put the bread and the wine down here, and the people
all over the country who believe that Christ's body is actually
present in that wine and in that bread. And they take it on their
lips thinking they're taking salvation. You say, well, we're
just going to have to ditch the Lord's table because people are
misusing it. If you put away everything misused by men, you'd
have no ropes because people hang themselves. You'd have no
knives because men cut themselves. Can you imagine cutting that
roast today with a fork? We'd have no water because men
drown themselves. We'd have no medicine because
men drug themselves. We'd have no alcohol, nothing
anesthetic because folks misuse it. Let me tell you something. It's pure folly to try to preach
this book in such a way that a carnal, natural man will receive
it. Now, you can forget it. You can
just forget it. Our Lord Jesus Christ was teaching
his disciples that going through the motions didn't have anything
to do with cleansing the heart or defiling the heart, washing
your hands and so forth. And he said to them, it's not
what you put in your mouth. It's not what you put in your
mouth that defiles you. It's what comes out of your heart.
And the disciples said the Pharisees were offended by that, the religious
men were offended by that, because they say, touch not, taste not,
handle not. And our Lord is saying that sin
is not in a liquid, it's not in a solid, it's not in a material,
it's in the heart. It's a principle, it's a nature.
And the disciples said, well, you've upset the whole religious
world with this kind of preaching. He said, leave them alone. Leave
them alone. Quit catering to them. Quit tickling
their ears. Quit scratching their back. Leave
them alone. They're blind leaders of the
blind. You better leave them alone.
And so that's the way I feel about Election's in the Word
of God, it's the truth of God, and I'm going to preach it. And
if it offends a Pharisee, my Lord said, leave him alone. Godliness
in the heart is in the Word of God. And if it offends a Pharisee,
my Lord said, leave him alone. Just leave him alone. All right,
watch this. But wait a minute, preacher.
Some men have taken the doctrine of election and become careless
and indifferent to holiness and righteousness. I know that as
well as you do. One time, one of the first men
I ran into that believed in election was drunk, just dog drunk. Back when I came to see this
doctor, not many folks believed him, not in my, you know, knowledge. in my acquaintances and his wife
called me up and and said that he was he was abusive and Ugly
and drunk and for me to come out and and help her so I got
in the car and went out here on Route 5 somewhere Hoods Creek
Pike somewhere over there and I drove up and I'm trying to
think of his name. It keeps leaving me. I know that
bird George's first name Anyway, I went out there, and I walked
in, there he was, and he was after, he was feeling no pain.
And everybody else was upset, and I said, Virgil, I said, he
later killed himself, but I said, Virgil, I said, you gave me to
believe that you were a child of God, a believer. Well, he
said, I am. I said, and there's so few people
that believe in election and grace and sovereignty around
here, and I thought you believed that. He said, I do. He said,
I believe God's will's done in everything. He said, if it wasn't
God's will for me to be drunk, I wouldn't be drunk, would I?
Oh, that was the first head-on-head conflict I had with something
like that. But you know, the natural man
has always been able to find an excuse for his sin. Adam stood
there when God said, what have you done? And he said, it wasn't
me, it was her. And God spoke to her and she
said, it wasn't me, it was the serpent. Man has always shoved
his blame off on somebody else. And I'll tell you this, don't
worry about preaching sovereignty and election and grace clearly
and plainly. Don't worry about the effect
it's going to have on the natural religionists because whatever
you preach, he's going to abuse and misuse. But just remember
this, that glorious sun in the heaven will also ripen that stinking
weed while it ripens that tomato. Now you can just put that down.
That old weed's going to grow in that garden. That old weed's
going to ripe. That weed may outgrow that tomato plant. But the fault's not in the sun.
The fault's in the nature of the weed. And I'm saying if you
take the doctrine of God's sovereignty and elective grace and misuse
it, the fault's not in the doctrine, it's in the stinking weed. It's
in the nature. That's where it is. But I'll
tell you fifth. But I've heard, preacher, I've
heard that believing in sovereignty and election will dampen your
missionary spirit and destroy evangelism. Don't you believe
it? Now that's a smoke screen the
devil's putting up, and I'll give you three reasons. Number
one, our Lord Jesus taught election, and he died for sinners. He loved
sinners. He came to this earth to redeem
sinners. Can you accuse my Lord of lack
of concern? When he came from heaven to earth,
when he died on the cross, when he was buried and rose again
to redeem lost sinners, can you accuse him of lack of concern? Well, he taught election. He
said, you didn't choose me, I chose you. Paul the Apostle. Can you
accuse Paul of having no concern when he said something that I
can't say, you can't say, and no Arminian's ever said? I could
wish myself a curse from Christ for my brethren. That's something. You talk about a missionary heart. You talk about a burden for sinners.
Oh, he sent my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israelites
that they might be saved, and yet he wrote this very verse
that we're reading this morning, the purpose of God according
to Luke. He was the first great missionary. He was the first
pioneer missionary. What about Luther? Calvin? Zwingli? Whitfield? Spurgeon? Bunyan? William Carey? Judson? The greatest missionaries who
ever lived were men who lived for and preached the free grace
of God. That's so. In the sixth place,
but preacher, can't you preach election too much? Of course
you can. Of course you can. If you isolate
any doctrine from the person of Christ, it becomes error. Now, I tell you this, proportion
is beauty. Proportion is beauty. A person
is beautiful because of proportion. The prettiest face in the world
would become ugly if it's all eyes, or all nose, or all mouth. The thing that makes it beautiful
is its proportion to the rest of the face. And what I'm saying
is this. Likewise, what we preach from
the Word of faith If you go out and preach faith to the exclusion
of repentance, you got problems. If you preach repentance to the
exclusion of faith, you got problems. You got people who never have
assurance. If you preach sovereignty to the exclusion of responsibility,
you got folks who have doubts and fears to the judgment. If
you preach responsibility to the exclusion of sovereignty,
you got nobody to be responsible to. What we've got to do is just
preach the word. Let's quit trying to be God's
private secretary. Let's quit trying to make men
like we want to make them. Let's just preach whatever rolls
out of the word, whatever unfolds, whatever we come upon. Just preach
it. Don't protect it. Preach it. Don't try to explain
it. Preach it. All right, here's
a fourfold outline. I want to give you something
I think I can help you. Here's a fourfold outline quickly. First
of all, I'm going to try to use a little wisdom and be a little
brief to get across some certain points. Now, first of all, what
is the doctrine of election? I've already read Romans 9. Now
let's turn to 1 Thessalonians, chapter 1. 1 Thessalonians, chapter
1. What is the doctrine of election?
I'm going to give you two things. First Thessalonians chapter 1
verse 4, knowing brethren beloved your election of God. Your election
of God. Now don't forget, remember that
your election of God. Your God. Two people. Your election of God. All right,
turn to second Thessalonians 2. Second Thessalonians 2, 13. Second Thessalonians 2, 13. But
we, Paul speaking of himself and the other apostles, are bound
to give thanks always to God for you. To God for you. Brethren, beloved of the Lord,
because God hath from the beginning chosen you, God did it. When? From the beginning. What
did he do? He chose whom? You. To what? Salvation. Not to an office. To salvation. Through sanctification
of the Spirit, setting apart of the Holy Spirit, regenerating
work of the Holy Spirit. Not apart from the sanctifying
work of the Holy Spirit. And belief of the truth. God
never saved anybody without him believing the truth. God chose
you to salvation, to eternal life from the beginning, through
means. God is a God of means. He never
saves men without the means of the blood, the death of Christ,
the work of the Spirit, and belief in the truth. But you remember
two things. The cause of election is found
in God. That's the cause of it, salvations
of the Lord. Turn back to our text in Romans
9. The cause of salvation, the cause
of election, is not in you. He passed by the angels. He took
not on himself the nature of angels. He took on him the seed
of Abraham. The cause of election, God didn't leave us in our sins.
He was pleased to have a people out of the human race to be like
Christ, and he chose them. That's what he said to Moses
in verse 15 and 16 of Romans 9. Look at it. He said to Moses,
I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy. I will have compassion
on whom I will have compassion. So then, it's not of him that
willeth nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy.
Mercy is the source of its God, the moving cause of its God,
the reason for its God, the fountain of its God. He chose us. Now
here, I want you to remember two things. Number one, the cause
of election is found in God. The necessity for election is
found in me. And I'll tell you this, when
you preach sovereign free grace, when you preach election, the
salvations of the Lord, that he chose us, that he bestowed
his love on us, that he gave his son to die for us, that he'll
have mercy on whom he will have mercy, a man's reactions to that
message will reveal two things, what he thinks of God and what
he thinks of himself. I guarantee you. If you're sitting
there this morning, now listen to me, You're not, there's not
a novice up here preaching. I've been around and I've been
in some places and preached in some places and observed some
people. You know who fights election? The man who thinks God is not
almighty and he's not a sinner. That's the man that fights. You
know the man that receives it, the man that loves it, is the
man that knows God is eternal, infinitely, everlastingly, immutably
on the throne. and is the sovereign king over
all things, and he's an unworthy, hell-deserving sinner in the
dust with no ability or power to praise God. That's exactly
right. And when I preach this elective
grace, this sovereignty of God, it reveals two things, what you
think of God and what you think of yourself. Well, that's not
fair. Somebody said, God chose a people.
That's not fair. Now, wait a minute. Hold it.
God said, can I not do with my own what I will? Huh? You mean you're charging God
with foolishness? You're charging God with injustice?
You're charging God with unrighteousness? Old man, who are you to reply
against God? You're too big for your britches.
That's what he asked right there in Romans 9. Look at it. In verse
20, verse 19, I will say then, why does he yet find fault? Verse
20, O man, who are you to reply against God? Shall the thing
formed say to him that formed it, why did you make me thus?
Hath not the potter power over the clay? Yeah, I ain't no clay
and he ain't no potter. I thought that was the problem.
I knew where the problem was. I just wanted you to admit it.
I just warned you. See what I'm talking about? You
preach election, and that fella's got a small idea of God. He's
got a small conception of God. He's got a peanut God is what
he's got. He's got him a peanut God, and he's a big shot. And
God needs him, and he's got a right. I got a right! No, wait a minute.
We lost our rights. We lost our rights. We forfeited
our rights. Those traitors in prison for
selling the secrets of the American government ain't got no rights.
Ain't that right? And we are traitors to God. We
tried to throw God off his throne and we lost our rights. He maintained
and retained his throne. I'm telling you the truth. Now,
it's a lesson. Your reception or rejection of the sovereignty
of God and salvation reveal what you think of God. and what you
think of yourself. Because God is the cause of election,
sovereignty, salvation, all things in God. And the necessity of
it's in us. Now let me give you an illustration.
I'm saying that man is a fallen creature. Now I'll help you here
if you want some help. You want some help on this? You say, well,
what about free will? Now will you listen carefully?
Man is a free agent. We're not robots, we're not tin
cans, we're not dead logs. Man is a free agent. He's a free
agent. He can do what he will do. He can do what he really wants
to do in most cases. That's right, what he wills to
do. Man does not have a free will. He's a free agent, he does
not have a free will. Now, Bob, if you don't mind,
I'm going to use you to illustrate. Would you play your Bible down
and stand up? All right, you can sit down.
If you want to, you can stand up again. Just do what you want
to do. You want to stand up again? You can sit down if you want
to. See, he's a free agent. He can
do whatever he wants. He has the power. He can sit.
He can walk. He can stand. He's free to act
or not to act. He's a free agent. He thinks
for himself. All right? Suppose I'd say, now
don't laugh at this, please. Now, this is serious. Suppose
I said, Bob, take off your clothes. He'd say, no. I can't do that. Take out your knife and turn
around and stab Richard. I can't do that. Well, take Luke
when he comes in here and strangle him. Strangle your infant son.
I can't do that. What do you mean you can't? What
do you mean you can't? It means it's contrary to his
nature. See what I'm saying? He can do anything that's not
contrary to his nature. He has the power to kill Richard. He has that power. He could surprise
you and turn around and stab you and you'd never know what
would hit you. But that's not his nature. Now, here's what
I'm saying. I turn to a sinner and I say, receive Christ, love
Christ, crown Christ the Lord of your life. Can he do it? Yes,
he can. If he will, there's the problem. If he will. He's a free agent. But why doesn't he then? He doesn't
want to. It's contrary to his nature.
Almighty God cannot lie. Man cannot tell the truth. Almighty
God can do nothing wrong. We can do nothing right. It's
contrary to our nature. And that's what I'm saying. I'm
not saying man's not a free agent. He's a free agent. God doesn't
have him tied up. God doesn't have him in jail.
God doesn't have him in a prison, in bondage, in a dungeon. No,
he's free agent. He can believe on Christ if he
will, but he won't. He can receive Christ and love
the gospel if he will, but he won't. His nature hates it. His
nature loves himself, not Christ. That's what I'm saying. This
man is a free agent to do what he wants to do and what he will
do. But when I tell him to do something
that's contrary to his nature, he says, I can't do it. I can't
do it. What do you mean? You don't have
the ability? You don't have the strength? No, sir. I don't have the will.
See what I'm saying? And when I tell men Christ is
the light of the world, Christ is the water of life, Christ
is the bread of life, come to Christ! They will not come. But now wait a minute, turn to
Psalm 110, if you will. Psalm 110, verse 3. Listen to
this. Psalm 110, verse 3. Here's the
difference. It says in Psalm 110, verse 3,
Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power. That's
sovereign grace. It's when God comes to a man
and makes him willing. By his grace, by his love, by
his word, makes him willing. Turn to John 1. John chapter
1, verse 12 and 13. And see if that's not what's
taught here. John 1, verse 12 and 13. Listen to this. But as many as
received him. loved him, embraced him, trusted
him. To them gave he the right to
become sons of God, even to them that believe on his name, which
were born, which had a new nature given them, not of blood, that
is, not of family inheritance, not of the will of the flesh,
not of the will of man, but by the will of God. Do you see what
I'm saying? Two vital, important things.
What is election? The cause of it is God. because
of who he is, what God is, sovereign, immutable, almighty, able to
do all things, his will must be done. The second thing we
must remember is that which makes election necessary is my unwillingness,
my ability. I'll never choose God if he doesn't
choose me. I'll never seek God if he doesn't
seek me. I'll never love him if he doesn't
love me. I'll never call on him if he doesn't call on me. I have
no will to come to God. Jeremiah said that. He said,
can the black man change his skin? No, sir. He's a black man
by nature. It's not something painted on.
It's something from within. Can the leopard change his spots? No, sir. The leopard is spotted
not because somebody painted on him so he can't wash it off,
and he can't by willing change it. He's a leper by nature. Can you do good that are accustomed
to doing evil? No, sir, I don't have the will.
But I tell you, if he makes you willing, you'll come. You'll
come willingly, lovingly, continually. All right, quickly, let me give
you some warnings here, secondly, some warnings to the immature.
Listen to me. Election is not a doctrine usually
understood at the beginning of spiritual life. Peter said, brethren,
give diligence to make your what? Calling an election sure. Which
is first? Calling. Calling. My friends, our business is not
with the decrees of God, but with the person of Christ. That's
the first thing to be settled. Let me give you this for example.
The Bible doesn't say, ho, everyone that's elect come to the water.
It says, ho everyone that's thirsty. That's the thing to establish
first, Cecil, the thirst. The thirst. That which brings
me to Christ. I don't come to Christ because
I'm elected to come to Christ. I come to Christ originally and
in the beginning because I need him. I need him. The Bible doesn't
say, Come unto me all ye that are elect, and I'll give you
rest. It says, Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden.
That's what you've got to settle first. The Bible doesn't say,
Whosoever is elect hath eternal life. It says, Whosoever
believeth on the name of the Son of God. So that's the first
thing to establish. We go to Christ, then we go to
the Father. We go to Christ, and then we
go to the covenant. We go to Christ, and then we
go to election. We go to Christ first of all,
and then we go to these eternal councils and mysteries. Don't
get the cart before the horse. Make your calling. election sure
now thirdly what are the evidences of election turn to first Thessalonians
chapter 1 again and I'm just gonna assign you this to read
this afternoon if you will in first Timothy 1 the Apostle Paul
or first I'm sorry first Thessalonians somebody told me Wednesday night
I never did get out of Timothy and I was preaching in Thessalonians
that's what was bad But in 1 Thessalonians 1.4, Paul said, I know, brethren,
your election of God, your election of God. How do you know it, Paul?
Well, number one, our gospel came not to you in word only,
not just in doctrine, theology, but it came to you in power,
life-changing, regenerating, quickening power, in the Holy
Ghost, in much assurance. And then verse 6, and you became
followers of us. followers of us and of the Lord,
having received the Word. In verse 7, you became examples
to everybody around you, the life you live, the conversation,
so forth, your holiness of your life, your integrity and honesty,
your conduct and conversation. You became an example in word,
in deed, in love. In verse 8, and you became missionary-minded. From you sounded out the Word
of the Lord, not only to where you live, but all in every place. You wanted other people to know
this gospel. Actually, instead of election discouraging missions,
it increases a missionary vision. That's one of the marks of a
man who's elect. He's a missionary-minded person.
He's a witness. Got something to tell. And then
verse 9, the last line, you turn from your idols to serve the
living God. And verse 10, somebody says,
Calvinists don't preach the second coming. Well, they wait for it. They wait for it. That's right,
they believe it, they wait for it, they preach Christ. They
don't preach the coming, they preach Him who's coming. Maybe
that's what we need to do after all, is preach Christ, who is
coming, who has come, who is coming. But you're waiting for
His Son. Now, those are the marks of election.
Those are evidences. All right, what are the effects?
Let me give you this and I'll close. And I think this is a
very important part of the message. First of all, Psalm 65, what
are the effects? Well, preachers, since you've
come to believe this gospel of sovereign grace, this gospel
of free grace, this gospel of the sovereignty of God, what
has it done for you? How has it helped you? What are
its effects on your emotions and your feelings and your soul? Number one, it brings joy to
my heart, joy to my heart. Psalm 65, verse 4, blessed is
the man whom thou choosest. and cause us to approach unto
thee, that he may dwell in thy courts. We shall be satisfied
with the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple." You
talk about joy. You talk about satisfaction.
You talk about a heart filled with praise. God Almighty didn't
pass me by. He chose me. I didn't choose
him. He chose me. And that's a blessed
man. That man's blessed above everybody
on the earth. God chose him. God, he's the
object of God's love. Secondly, until he's done this,
it promotes humility. 1 Corinthians 4. Old William
J. or John Newton, one of the others
said one time, 1 Corinthians chapter 4, said, the most inconsistent
thing on earth is a proud Christian. The most inconsistent thing on
earth is a proud believer. And you know why that is? Because
everything he got, God gave him. We're charity cases, did you
know that? He found us stripped and clothed
us. He found us dead and raised us. He found us blind and gave
us sight. He found us hungry and fed us.
He found us poor, mad, insane and gave us my mind. That's right. Everything I've got was a hand-me-down
from God. And here I strut around, you
know. Who maketh thee to differ? Verse 7. 1 Corinthians 4. Who
made you different from anybody else? What have you got you didn't
receive? Now, if you received it, why
are you proud and glowing as if you didn't? I'm ashamed. I'll
tell you one thing, you've missed Christ. If you're proud and arrogant
and lording it over somebody and proud of your intelligence
and proud of your accomplishments and proud of your face and proud
of your grace and proud of your race and proud of your place
and everything else, you've missed Christ. Because I tell you, when
you realize everything you've got God gives you, it'll take
the starch out of you. That's right, it'll just twiddle
you down. Pride goeth before destruction, and haughty spirit
before the fall, and God says a thing I hate worse than anything
this side of hell is pride. That's what he said. You say,
where did you read that? Six things God hates, and he
named that first, so he must hate that word. Pride. Thirdly, you know this gives
comfort? Turn to Romans 8. I don't care
what the trial, what the temptation, what the tribulation, what the
circumstances, it says here, verse 28 of Romans 8, and we
know that all things work together for good to them that love God,
to them who are called according to his purpose. If your sweet,
precious wife drops dead this afternoon, that's for your eternal
good, and God brought it, if you're his child. You're called
according to his purpose. That's exact... all things. You
know what he said? That's exactly right. For whom he did foreknow,
he did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son. Verse
30, in whom he predestinated, he called, whom he called, he
justified. Whom he justified, he glorified. All right, what
do you got to say about that? Well, if God be for me, if God
be for me in election, predestination, calling, and justification, who
can be against me in heaven, earth, or hell? Or what can be
against me? I don't care what it is. I've
got comfort I never had in Arminianism. There ain't no comfort there.
Oh, you're just always wondering, well, have I sinned, or have
I done wrong, or have I believed enough, or have I done enough,
have I worked enough? I don't know. No. Well, he's
done enough, and he's worked enough, and he's given enough,
and he is sufficient. And he's at the right hand of
God, already entered in. And I'm sitting up there with
him. That's comfort. And let the wind blow and the
rain fall and the snow mount and the floods come and whatever.
It's going to be for my good. All right, I'll tell you something
else that gives assurance. Stay right there in Romans 8.
It says here in verse 32, all right, who's going to lay anything
to the charge of God's elect? Who? Paul challenges heaven,
earth, and hell. He challenges demons and angels.
He challenges everybody. Who? God justified me. Now, what you got to say? I've
been cleared by the highest court. I've been cleared by the highest
court. He justified me. Who can condemn me? Christ died. Oh, my. I'll tell you something
else. What effect does this have on a man? Joy, humility, comfort,
assurance, and it gives God all the glory. Now, I know this. Whatever God does, he does for
his glory. And if my gospel doesn't give
God all the glory, it's not his gospel. Because he says in 1
Corinthians 1, you want to look over there a moment, 1 Corinthians
1, verse 26, he said, you see your calling, brethren? See your
calling? Not many wise men after the flesh,
they're too smart. Not many mighty men, too strong.
Not many noble, they're too important. But God had chosen the foolish.
God hath chosen the weak, verse 28, and the base things, and
the things that are despised hath God chosen, and things which
are not, to bring to naught the things that are, that no flesh
should glory in his presence. And that means glorying about
how many souls you've won to Jesus, that means glorying about
how many years you've remained faithful, and that means glorying
in everything having to do with God. No glory. That's the reason
I don't believe there can be the reward system in heaven,
because it sure brings glory to the flesh, and God's not going
to allow it. And I'll tell you something else.
It drives me into prayer. Now, when you realize that salvation
is in the hands of the Lord, it'll drive you to prayer. It'll
make you pray more. I really believe that. It'll
make you pray more, make you witness more. It'll make you
endeavor to be like Christ. Turn to Ephesians 4, and I'll
quit with this. Ephesians chapter 4. Listen to
this, Ephesians 4, 32. And it motivates us. It motivates
us. He says, be ye kind, kind, generous,
gracious, one to another, tenderhearted, tenderhearted, forgiving one
another, in the same way, on the same basis, as God, for Christ's
sake, forgave you. Now when you do that, I mean,
if there wasn't anything about you lovely, and God loved you,
then maybe you can love somebody that's not so lovely. If there's
nothing, if I find out there's no reason for God to forgive
me except His grace, then it just may be I'll find somebody
there's no reason for me to forgive them at all except my grace,
His grace in me. be like Christ. He said, listen,
Christ said this, you love those that love you, there's nothing
to that. He said you give to somebody
from whom you hope to receive something in return, there's
nothing to that. He said I'll tell you what there's
something to when you love those that don't love you, and when
you give hoping for nothing in return, that's when you're like
Christ. That's grace. Free That's it. Well, I hope you've been helped.
I really hope you've been helped. I hope that God, in his grace
and in his mercy, will be pleased to bring us to the place to give
him all the glory and the praise and the thanksgiving for his
mercy and his love. Our Father, we're grateful for
your word. We live in Christ and by Christ
and through Christ. But Lord, we do feed and feast
upon thy word. Thy word is a lamp unto our feet
and a light unto our path. Thy word is our reason for believing. Thy word is the means of thy
grace. Give us a greater love for the
word, greater desire to know the word, submission to the word,
and power to preach the word. For Christ's sake we pray, amen.