Sermon #1459[1]
Miscellaneous Sermons
Title: Divine Election
Text: Psalm 65:4
Subject: Divine Election
Date: Thursday Evening – May18, 2001
Tape #
Introduction:
Psalms 65:4 "Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and causest 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."
The
title of my message today is Divine Election -- The Source and Cause of All Blessedness.
Proposition: This
is what I want you to see clearly from our text and from the Scriptures as a
whole. This is the doctrine taught throughout the Book of God. -- God’s
choice and election of his people is not the result of something we do, but the
cause of everything he does for us in Christ.
In our text, election is spoken of as being in the present tense, though it was done before the world began, because this great work of grace is known and experienced in time. No one knows his election until he has been effectually called by the Holy Spirit to life and faith in Christ.
Notice
the progression of grace running through this verse of Scripture. "Blessed
is the man whom thou choosest.” That is election. God chose to save
some in eternity; and those whom he chose to save in eternity he graciously cuts out from the rest of mankind in time, like a
rancher cutting his cattle out of the many roaming the open range. They were
his cattle before. He simply rounds them up at the appointed time.
“And
causest to approach unto thee.” This refers to irresistible, saving grace, the
effectual call of God the Holy Spirit. Election both precedes and is the source
and cause of this call. Now look at the next line.
“That he may dwell in thy courts.” Sinners chosen and called by
grace are caused to dwell, not to visit, but to dwell in the courts of divine
worship. Those who are chosen and called by the grace of God to life and faith
in Christ, are kept and preserved by that same grace unto
eternal glory.
Moreover,
election is the source and cause of the everlasting happiness and satisfaction
of God’s saints in heaven. “We shall be satisfied with the goodness
of thy house, even of thy holy temple." The house and
No
wonder David sang, “O the blessedness of
the man whom thou choosest and causest to approach unto thee.” No wonder
God’s election was so much on his heart. It was the thought of God’s election
that made him leap and dance before the ark of God (2 Sam.
I
want us to look into the Word of God and see what God teaches us about this
glorious gospel doctrine of election. For most of you, this will be a refresher
course. For some of you, it may be entirely new. But, if God the Holy Spirit
will be our Teacher and bless his Word to our hearts, we will leave here
saying, “Thank God for his electing love!” Go with me now through the
Scriptures. I want you to see seven things revealed in this
Book about God’s election.
I. God Chose
Some To Salvation And Eternal Life In Christ Before The World Began.
There are some who will tell you, “The Bible
does not teach the doctrine of election.” Those who make such foolish
statements have either never read the Scriptures, or totally forgotten what
they read, or they are out and out liars. Election is taught every where
in the Bible.
The
Scriptures speak of “elect angels,” an “elect nation,” an “elect lady,” and
“elect churches.” God chose some angels, and passed by others. Of
the first two men born in the world, Cain and Abel, he chose one
and passed by the other. He chose Noah and his family, and left
the rest of the world to perish. He chose Abram, but no one else
in his father’s house. He chose Jacob, but not is brother
Esau. God chose
No
one can, with any measure of integrity, teach that the Word of God does not
teach the doctrine of election. That is too obvious to even discuss. However,
the question of importance is this - Does
the Bible teach the election of some to salvation to the exclusion of others?
Does the Word of God declare that God chose some, but not all, the sons and
daughters of Adam to be the heirs of grace and glory in Christ? Indeed it
does. We will not look at all the relevant passages now, since we will
be considering them later in the message. For now, let me just show you a few
texts where this blessed doctrine is clearly taught.
Matthew
Matthew
John
Romans 9:11-18 "(For 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 him that calleth;) (12) It was
said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger. (13) As it is written, Jacob have I
loved, but Esau have I hated. (14) What
shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness
with God? God forbid. (15) For he
saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have
compassion on whom I will have compassion.
(16) So then it is not of him
that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy. (17) For the scripture saith unto
Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might show my
power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth. (18) Therefore hath he
mercy on whom he will have mercy, and
whom he will he hardeneth."
Romans 11:5-7
"Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to
the election of grace. (6) And if by
grace, then is it no more of works:
otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it
be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work. (7) What then?
There
is absolutely no question about the fact that the Bible clearly and distinctly
teaches the doctrine of election. God chose to save some and passed by others.
Really, the only question to be answered is -- What does the Bible teach about election? So, secondly, I want to show you that…
II. The Purpose Of God In All
Things Is The Salvation of His Elect.
Romans 8:28-30
"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love
God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. (29) 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. (30) 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."
We
recognize, of course, that the Word of God teaches the doctrine of God’s
glorious, sovereign predestination. Like election, it is a truth so plainly
revealed in Holy Scripture that it simply cannot be denied by honest men. For
that matter, I cannot imagine why anyone would want to deny it.
Predestination is the all inclusive
purpose of our great and glorious God in which he sovereignly determined all
things that come to pass in time for the salvation of his elect. In
other words, everything that has been, is now, and hereafter shall be was
purposed by God in eternity and is brought to pass by God in time for the
salvation of that great multitude whose names were inscribed in the Lamb’s book
of life in sovereign election before the world began. No one since the apostles
ever stated the doctrine more beautifully than Isaac Watts did in his hymn…
“Keep
silence all created things,
And
wait your Maker’s nod;
My
soul stands trembling while she sings
The honors of her God.
Life,
death, and hell, and worlds unknown;
Hang
on His firm decree;
He
sits on no precarious throne,
Nor borrows leave to be.
Chained
to His throne a volume lies
With
all the fates of men,
With
every angel’s form and size
Drawn by th’ eternal pen.
His
providence unfolds the book,
And
makes His counsels shine;
Each
opening leaf, and every stroke
Fulfills some bright design.
Here
He exalts neglected worms
To
scepters and a crown;
And
then the following page He turns,
And treads the monarch down.
Not
Gabriel asks the reason why,
Nor
God the reason gives;
Nor
dares the favorite angel pry
Between the folded leaves.
My
God, I would not long to see
My
fate with curious eyes,
What
gloomy lines are writ for me,
Or
what bright scenes may rise.
In
Thy fair book of life and grace
May
I but find my name,
Recorded
in some humble place
Beneath my Lord the Lamb!”
This is the Bible doctrine of
predestination. I give it to you in the very language of Holy Scripture.
“In love,” God our Father “predestinated us unto the adoption of
children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his
will, To the praise of the glory of his
grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved…In whom also we have
obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him
who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: That we should be to the praise of his glory,
who first trusted in Christ" (Eph. 1:4,5,6,1,12).
God
chose some to salvation; and the purpose of God in all things is the salvation
of all the chosen, whom he loved with an everlasting love. Thirdly, I want to show you that…
III. The Purpose Of God Shall Be
Accomplished.
All that God has purposed, God will perform.
The Bible never talks about God purposing what he does not perform, or trying
to do what he does not do, or willing that which he never actually brings to pass, or of him in any way trying to prevent anything that
does come to pass. God almighty does not try. He does! He does not wish.
He accomplishes! He does not plan. He purposes.
Men
talk about God’s plan, because men can do nothing but plan. God does not talk
like that. God talks about his purpose. His purpose of grace is much more than
some imaginary plan of salvation. A
plan may be interrupted, hindered, altered, or utterly rejected. That is not
God’s purpose of grace. God’s purpose
is the eternal determination of his heart to save the people of his love whom
he chose to salvation before the world began.
That
purpose cannot be frustrated, altered, or even hindered to any degree. Not even
the rebellion of Lucifer or the fall of Adam hindered God’s purpose of grace.
Oh, no! Those events were just part of that which was and is necessary to
accomplish God’s sovereign purpose of grace according to election.
Isaiah 14:24,
26, 27 "The LORD of hosts hath sworn, saying,
Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand.…(26) This is the purpose that is purposed upon the
whole earth: and this is the hand
that is stretched out upon all the nations.
(27) For the LORD of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? and his
hand is stretched out, and who shall
turn it back?"
Isaiah
46:9-11, 13 "Remember the former things of old: for
I am God, and there is none else; I am God,
and there is none like me, (10) Declaring the end from the beginning,
and from ancient times the things that
are not yet done, saying, My counsel
shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:
(11) Calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executeth my
counsel from a far country: yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it…(13) I bring near
my righteousness: it shall not be far off, and my salvation shall not tarry:
and I will place salvation in Zion for Israel my glory."
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, not of works, but of him that
calleth.”
We
have seen that…
·
God chose some to salvation.
·
The purpose of God in all things is the salvation of the chosen.
·
The purpose of God must and shall be accomplished. Fourthly, I want to remind you that…
IV. Election Is In Christ.
Ephesians 1:1-14
"Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints
which are at
Obviously,
I cannot expound these fourteen verses to you now; but I do want to remind you
that everything God does for, gives to, and requires from sinners is in Christ. God does nothing for us, requires nothing from
us, and gives nothing to us apart from Christ. I want you to see just three
things in this passage of Scripture concerning our election in Christ.
A. Election took place in eternity, before the worlds
were made.
God’s love for us did not begin yesterday. It is from everlasting to everlasting. He chose us in Christ before time began. He inscribed our names in the book of life from the foundation of the world.
B. Our eternal election in Christ is the source and
cause of all the other benefits and blessings of grace.
Apart from election there are no blessings of
grace here or glory hereafter; but for the elect all the blessings and
blessedness of grace and glory are sure. Read verses three and four again. God’s
blessings of grace and glory flow to sinners “according as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the
world.” Adoption, acceptance with God, redemption and forgiveness,
regeneration, preservation, resurrection, and the heavenly glory of the inheritance
awaiting us, all are ours, all are sure to all the elect, according to the
election of grace! All the chosen shall obtain all these things according to
the purpose of God in election.
Do
you see this? Everywhere people are talking about the fact that Christ came
into he world, but few have any idea who he is or why
he came. Very few indeed realize that the
cause of his coming here to live and die for sinners is to be found in God’s
electing love and his sovereign purpose of grace. The Son of God came
here to save his people, the people chosen by and given to him by God the
Father, from their sins (Matt.
“`Twas not to make Jehovah’s
love
Towards the sinner flame,
That Jesus, from His throne
above,
A suffering man became.
`Twas not the death which He
endured,
Nor all the pangs He bore,
That God’s eternal love
procured,
For God was love before.
He loved the world of His
elect
With love surpassing
thought;
Nor will His mercy e’er
neglect
The souls so dearly bought!”
John Kent
C. Election is for the glory of God.
Here is the reason why God chose to save
sinners, why he chose some unto eternal life, and why he saves us in a manner
that clearly demonstrates both his supreme sovereignty and his glorious grace.
It is, as Paul here declares three times, “That we should be to the praise of his
glory!”
Ephesians 2:7 "That in the ages to come he might show the exceeding
riches of his grace in his kindness
toward us through Christ Jesus."
·
God chose to save some.
·
God’s purpose of grace in all things is the salvation of his elect.
·
God’s sovereign purpose according to election shall stand.
·
Election is an eternal work and benefit of God’s grace in Christ. Fifthly, the Word of God teaches us plainly
that…
V. God’s Election of Sinners
in Christ is unto Salvation.
2
Thessalonians 2:13-14 "But we are bound to give
thanks alway 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: (14) Whereunto
he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus
Christ."
1 Peter 1:2 "Elect according to the
foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto
obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and
peace, be multiplied."
Without
question the Bible teaches eternal salvation. There is a sense in which all who
are saved in time were saved from eternity. The passages we read earlier (Rom.
8:28-30; Eph. 1:4-6), declare that all God’s elect were in Christ, redeemed,
accepted, justified, sanctified, and glorified from eternity in the mind,
purpose, and decree of God. But do not ever think of election as salvation.
Election, by itself, is not salvation. Election, by itself, saves no one.
Election is unto salvation. Be sure you get the language of the Scriptures. Put
2 Thessalonians 2:13-14 together with 1 Peter 1:2, and
you will see these seven things about God’s election.
A. Election is a cause for great thanksgiving and
praise to God.
B. Election is according to the foreknowledge of God, according to his everlasting love and
sovereign foreordination.
Note: The word foreknowledge in 1 Peter 1:2 is the
exact same word translated foreordain in
verse twenty.
C. Election is a personal,
distinguishing work of grace. “God hath
from the beginning chosen you!”
D. Election is unto salvation.
I realize that there is a sense in which some are
elected to specific service in the
E. We were chosen to be saved in a manner consistent
with and honoring to the holiness, justice, and truth of God.
Peter tells us that we were chosen by God “unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood
of Jesus Christ.” That is to say, No one, not even the elect, could ever be
saved apart from the obedience and death of Christ by which redemption was
accomplished. The sprinkling of his blood in 1 Peter 1:2 has a double
significance. Both are necessary to the salvation of God’s elect.
1. The Sprinkling of His Blood
in Heaven.
2. The Sprinkling of His Blood
upon Our Hearts
F. We were chosen to salvation through the
sanctification of the Spirit.
In other words, no one can ever be saved who is not born again, regenerated, sanctified by God the Holy Spirit, election and predestination notwithstanding.
G. We were chosen to salvation
through the belief of the truth.
Not only has God ordained who will be saved, he has also
ordained the means by which they shall be saved; and the means he has ordained
is the hearing of faith. Those who were chosen of God in eternity and redeemed
by Christ at
2 Thessalonians 2:13-14 "But we are bound to give thanks alway
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: (14) Whereunto
he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus
Christ."
·
God chose some to be saved.
·
God’s purpose in all things is the salvation of his elect.
·
God’s purpose of grace toward his elect is sure.
·
Election is an eternal work of God’s free grace in Christ.
·
Election is unto salvation. Sixthly,
in 2 Timothy 1:9 we are taught that…
VI. God’s Eternal Choice of His
People to Salvation in Christ was An Unconditional Election of Grace.
2 Timothy 1:9 "Who hath saved us, and
called us with an holy calling, not
according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was
given us in Christ Jesus before the world began."
God did not choose us and he does not save us because of our works. His choice of us was not based upon foreseen merit, or our foreseen choice of Christ, or our foreseen faith in him. Oh, no! Our only merit before God is Christ. Our choice of him is the result of his choosing us. Our faith in him is the fruit and result of his election.
“`Twas with an everlasting
love
That God His own elect
embraced,
Before He made the worlds
above,
Or earth n her huge columns
placed.
O love, how high thy glories
swell,
How great, immutable, and
free!
Ten thousand sins, as black
as hell,
Are swallowed up, O love, in
thee!
Loved when a wretch defiled
with in,
At war with heaven, in
league with hell,
A slave to every lust
obscene,
Who, living, lived but to rebel.
Believer, here thy comfort
stands,
From first to last
salvation’s free;
And everlasting love demands
An
everlasting song from thee.”
John Kent
I hope each of you see and clearly understand these things regarding God’s election.
·
God chose some to be saved.
·
God’s purpose in all things is the salvation of his elect.
·
The purpose of God according to election shall stand.
·
Election is an eternal work of grace in Christ.
·
Election is unto salvation.
·
Election is unconditional. Now,
look for just a moment at 2 Timothy
VII. God’s Electing Grace is
Always Effectual.
That simply means it gets the job done! All who were chosen in eternity shall be called and saved in time, by the irresistible power and grace of God through the gospel.
2 Timothy 1:9-10
"Who hath saved us, and called us with
an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose
and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, (10) But is now made manifest by the
appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath
brought life and immortality to light through the gospel:"
Application:
I have no way of knowing until God makes it
manifest, but perhaps the reason you are here is God’s election. It may be that
he has graciously and sovereignly brought you here that he might bring life and
immortality to light in your soul through the gospel you have heard.
Do
you now find yourself trusting the Lord Jesus Christ as your
only, all-sufficient Lord and Savior? If you do, if you truly trust the Son of
God, it is because “God hath from the
beginning chosen you to salvation!”
Let every child of God give praise honor, and glory to him forever for his free, electing love and favor, sovereignly and graciously bestowed upon us from eternity in Christ. He who chose us redeemed us, called us, gave us life and faith in Christ; and he will keep us unto eternal glory by his grace.
Who shall condemn to endless
flames
The chosen people of our
God,
Since in the book of life
our names
Are written in the Savior’s
blood?
Christ for the sins of His
elect
Has full, complete atonement
made;
And justice never can expect
That the
same debt should twice be paid.
Neither
the craft and pow’r of hell,
According to God’s faithful
Word,
Nor all the sins that in us
dwell,
Can
separate us from our Lord.
Nothing in life, nothing in
death,
No pow’rs on earth, no
pow’rs above,
Our God has sworn, the God
of truth,
Can change
His purposes of love.
His sovereign mercy knows no
end,
His faithfulness shall yet
endure;
And those who on His Word
depend
Shall find
His Word forever sure.
Psalms 115:1 "Not unto us, O LORD, not
unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth's sake."
Amen.
Scripture
1 Chronicles 16:7-36
"Then on that day David delivered first this psalm to thank the LORD into the
hand of Asaph and his brethren. (8) Give
thanks unto the LORD, call upon his name, make known
his deeds among the people. (9) Sing
unto him, sing psalms unto him, talk ye of all his
wondrous works. (10) Glory ye in his
holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the LORD. (11) Seek the LORD and his strength, seek
his face continually. (12) Remember
his marvellous works that he hath done, his wonders, and the judgments of his
mouth; (13) O ye seed of