Sermon Illustrations on Election

I Am Not "One of the Elect

Revelation 22:17

The Spirit and the Bride invite all, regardless of doubts about election.

I can imagine some men saying, "Mr. Moody has not touched my case at all. That is not the reason why I won't accept Christ. I don't know as I am one of the elect." How often I am met with this excuse--how often do I hear it in the inquiry room! How many men fold their arms and say, "If I am one of the elect I will be saved, and if I ain't I won't. No use of your bothering about it." Why don't some of those merchants say, "If God is going to make me a successful merchant in Chicago I will be one whether I like it or not, and if he isn't I won't." If you are sick, and a doctor prescribes for you, don't take the medicine, throw it out the door, it don't matter, for if God has decreed you are going to die, you will: if he hasn't, you will get better. If you use that argument you may as well not walk home from this tabernacle. If God has said you'll get home, you'll get home--you'll fly through the air; if you have been elected to go home. I have an idea that the Lord Jesus saw how men were going to stumble over this doctrine, so after He had been thirty or forty years in heaven, He came down and spoke to John. One Lord's day in Patmos, He said to him, "Write these things to the churches." John kept on writing. His pen flew very fast. And then the Lord, when it was nearly finished said, "John, before you close the book, put in this: 'The Spirit and the Bride say, Come; and let him that heareth say; Come.' But there will be some that are deaf, and they cannot hear, so add, 'Let him that is athirst, Come;' and in case there should be any that do not thirst, put it still broader, 'Whosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely.' '' What more can you have than that? And the Book is sealed, as it were, with that. It is the last invitation in the Bible. "Whosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely." You are thirsty. You want water. I hold out this glass to you, and say, "Take it." You say, "If I am decreed to have it, I am not going to put myself to the trouble of taking it." Well, you will never get it. And if you are ever to have salvation, you must reach out the hand and take it. "I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name, of the Lord."

Election, Certainty of

Those written in heaven are assured to inherit eternal life, unlike earthly records.

They that are written in the eternal leaves of heaven shall never be wrapped in the cloudy sheets of darkness. A man may have his name written in the chronicles, yet lost; written in durable marble, yet perish; written on a monument equal to a colossus, yet be ignominious; written on the hospital-gates, yet go to hell; written on his own house, yet another come to possess it. All these are but writings in the dust, or upon the waters, where the characters perish as soon as they are made. They no more prove a man happy than the fool could prove Pontius Pilate a saint because his name was written in the creed. But they that are written in heaven are sure to inherit it.

— T. Adams

Election, Christian

God's election involves free agency and grace, not forced reprobation or wrath.

In the smiling plains of primitive Christianity, you have God's election without Calvin's reprobation. Here Christ chooses the Jews, without rejecting the Gentiles, and elects Peter, James, and John to the enjoyment of peculiar privileges, without reprobating Matthew, Thomas, and Simon. Here nobody is damned for not doing impossibilities, or for doing what he could not possibly help. Here all that are saved enjoy rewards through the merits of Christ, according to the degrees of evangelical obedience which the Lord enables, not forces, them to perform. Here free wrath never appeared. Our damnation is of ourselves, when "we neglect such great salvation" by obstinately refusing to "work it out with fear and trembling." But this is not all: here free grace does not rejoice over stocks, but over men who gladly confess that their salvation is all of God, who, for Christ's sake, rectifies their free agency, helps their infirmities, and "works in them to will and to do of his good pleasure." J. Fletcher.

Election, Insured

A son learns his name's inscription depends on noble deeds, prompting assurance in election.

A senator related to his son the account of the book containing the names of illustrious members of the commonwealth. The son desired to see the outside. It was glorious to look upon. "Oh! let me open it," said the son. "Nay," said the father: "it's known only to the council." Then said the son, "Tell me if my name is there."—"And that," said the father, "is a secret known only to the council; and it cannot be divulged." Then he desired to know for what achievements the names were inscribed in that book. So the father told him; and related to him the achievements and noble deeds by which they had eternized their names. "Such," said he, "are written, and none but such are written, in the book."—"And will my name be there?" said the son. "I cannot tell thee," said the father: "if thy deeds are like theirs, thou shalt be written in the book; if not, thou shalt not be written." And then the son consulted with himself, and he found that his whole deeds were playing and singing and drinking and amusing himself; and he found this was not noble nor temperate nor valiant. And as he could not read, as yet, his name, he determined to "make his calling and election sure." And thus, "by patient continuance in well-doing, the end is crowned with glory, honor, immortality, and eternal life."

— E. P. Hood

Election, Lasering

Assurance of election motivates believers to live godly lives and confirm their salvation.

Like as if an astrologer could or should tell an ambitious cardinal that he should be pope, although he did put an undoubted trust therein, yet, for all that, he would not be idle, but would use all the means he possibly could to attain and come to that dignity; even so the children of God, the surer they are that Christ hath redeemed them, so much the more they understand the great good will of God towards them, and therefore they are always forced more and more, by godly conversation of life, to make certain unto themselves the knowledge of their election and redemption by Christ.

— Cawdray

Election, Nature of

Ancient military selection illustrates God's choosing based on reputation and suitability.

The expression is supposed to refer to the manner in which the ancients selected men for recruiting their armies. The honor of being chosen was esteemed the reward of superiority, and, among the Romans, was as follows: The consuls summoned to the capitol, or the Campus Martius, all citizens capable of bearing arms, from the age of seventeen to forty-five. They drew up by tribes; and lots were drawn to determine in what order every tribe should present its soldiers. That which was the first order chose the first four citizens who were judged the most proper to serve in the war; and the six tribunes who commanded the first legion selected one of these four whom they liked best. The tribunes of the second and third legions, likewise, made their choice one after another; and he that remained entered into the fourth legion. A new tribe presented other four soldiers, and the second legion chose four. The third and fourth legions had the same advantage in their turns. In this manner, each tribe successfully appointed four soldiers till the legions were complete. They next proceeded to the creation of subaltern officers, whom the tribunes chose from among the soldiers of the greatest reputation. When the legions were thus completed, the citizens who had been called, but not chosen, returned to their respective employments, and served their country in other capacities. Townsend.

Election

Love for God assures believers of their election as a response to His initiating love.

Signs of. Make your calling sure, and by that your election; for, that being done, this follows of itself. We are not to pry immediately into the decree, but to read it in the performance. Though the manner sees not the pole-star, yet the needle of the compass, which points to it, tells him which way he sails; thus the heart which is touched with the loadstone of divine love, trembling with godly fear, and yet still looking towards God by fixed believing, points at the love of election, tells the soul that its course is heavenward, towards the haven of eternal rest. He that loves may be sure that he was loved first, and he that chooses God for his delight and portion may conclude, confidently, that God hath chosen him to be one of those that shall enjoy him, and be happy in him forever; for that our love and electing of him is but the return of the beams of his love shining upon us. Leighton.

Grace, Election of

Possessing grace is the true evidence of election, not mere theological debate.

A gentleman of Arminian principles, being about to pay a Cornish miner, who was a Calvinist, a certain sum of money, addressed him thus: "Malachi, is it decreed that I should pay thee this money?" The miner promptly replied, "Put it into my hand, and I'll tell you." Is it not to be wished that many professors of religion would imitate the conduct of this miner, and infer their "election of grace" merely by their actually possessing the blessing of grace?

Egotism

Election involves God and the devil voting for or against a person, with the person breaking the tie.

See SELF-MEASUREMENT.

ELECT, THE

Two modern statements of the doctrine of “election,” neither of which would quite satisfy John Calvin or Jonathan Edwards, are given in _The Congregationalist_.

One was Henry Ward Beecher’s epigrammatic and convincing phrase: “The elect are whosoever will; the non-elect are whosoever won’t.”

Good as this is, there is another explanation that is a star of equal magnitude. It was made by a colored divine, who said:

“Brethren, it is this way. The Lord, He is always voting for a man; and the devil, he is always voting against him. Then the man himself votes, and that breaks the tie.” (Text.)

Who's Lost, Who's Not?

Punt, a Christian Reformed pastor, believes all are elect in Christ except those whom the Bible expressly declares will be lost. Most Christians believe all are outside Christ except those expressly declared to be saved. Punt gets support from Hodge. Original sin does not put us outside Christ; they must also reject God's revelation to them. They are lost by their own willful decision. The Bible does not teach that God destines people to hell. Infants are saved because they do not willfully reject Christ. The "good" in the good news is emphasized.

Motive for missions is joy, and the message is salvation. We should treat all people as the children of God.

"Who Will Be Elected?"

2 Peter 1:3

Sermon for Election Sunday 2 Peter 1:3-11

"WHO WILL BE ELECTED?"

I. Elections demand a lot of a person.

II. Human elections are interesting, but God's election is vital.

A. First, God elected (chose) Jesus to be our Savior. 1 Pet 2:4

B. Second, God elects Christians to salvation.

1) God takes the initiative.

2) Dilemma of predestination and "puppets."

III. Our election is not a "sure thing." We have to make it so. 2 Pet 1

A. It is not a rigid system of unfeeling predestination. Mat 22:14

B. Election is affirmed by obedience. Col 3:12

C. Those who are truly elect, tough it out till the end. Mat 24:31

IV. Implications of election.

A. Many religions have used it to judge and divide people.

B. Divine election is meant to emphasize God's love for us.

C. If God is for us, nothing else matters. Rom 8:33

D. The importance of knowing we are chosen.

#2351

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A Living Hope

1 Peter 1:1

First sermon in 1 Peter series. Theme of Salvation. 1 Peter 1:1-9

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A LIVING HOPE

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I. The life of a fisherman.

II. Salvation is God's doing. 1:1

A. "Election" is a much-abused term.

B. Election reveals the wonder of gospel. Deut 4:37; 7:6-8

C. Foreknown, then chosen. 1:2

III. Salvation is a process. 1:2

A. It is far more than a past decision.

B. Sanctifying work of Spirit.

C. Obedience to Jesus.

IV. Salvation requires a dramatic change. 1:3

A. It is not a gradual touch-up but a new birth.

B. Living hope.

C. We have an inheritance waiting for us. 1:4

V. Salvation protects us.

A. Shielded=guarded. 1:5

B. Revealed in the last times.

VI. Salvation is not always easy. 1:6

A. We can rejoice in spite of sufferings.

B. Real faith is an enduring faith. 1:7

C. Real faith brings glory to Jesus.

#2859

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You Are Wrong If You Do Not Vote

You are wrong if you do not vote.

You are to render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s. Our Caesar [in the United States] is a government of the people by the people for the people. One vote may make the difference.

In 1645 Oliver Cromwell gained control of England by one vote.

In 1649 Charles the First of England was executed because of one vote.

In 1776 one vote gave America the native language English rather than the German. (humor insert: you ought to be glad for that because none of us speak German). One vote!

In 1839 Marcus Morton was elected Governor of Massachusetts by one vote.

In 1845 one vote saved president Andrew Jackson from impeachment.

In 1876 One vote gave Rutherford B. Hays the presidency of the United States.

In 1923 ... one vote ... gave Adolph Hitler the leadership of the Nazi party. One vote.

I'm only one but I am one. I can't do everything but I can do something and what I can do I ought to do and that by the grace of God I will do.

Brett Blair, Sermon Illustrations, 1999

Is Our Future Determined Or Free?

Mark 13:20

The issue of free-will and predestination is one that has raised its head in every generation of Christians. Do we exercise choice, or has everything already been decided? The resultant mental gymnastics leave many feeling confused, and others feeling disappointed. Did you choose to read this article, or has God already determined that you will... or won’t? Maybe if you get halfway through, put down the article, and then pick it up again, you might think that you have double-bluffed God. Yet we know that nothing takes Him by surprise. On the other hand, Christians throughout the ages reject the kind of fatalism that is seen in some parts of the world.

The problem with the question as it is presented is that it is not nearly difficult enough. In order to truly appreciate the magnitude of what we are discussing, we must first deal with an even greater question. And it is this: Imagine if I were able to stop time right now. What would you be thinking? What would you be feeling? The answer is NOTHING.

In the absence of time, we cannot think or feel or do. Everything is frozen. People sometimes complain that I speak too quickly -- the problem being that there is not sufficient time for them to think about what has been said. I always try to cheer myself by saying that at least something has been said for them to think about! But it is a fair criticism because in the absence of sufficient time we cannot think things through. In the absence of time altogether, however, we cannot even begin to think, as there is literally no time to think IN.

We live and have our existence in a space-time continuum. We “belong to eternity stranded in time,” observes Michael Card.(1) This also means that before God created there was no time. Time is not co-eternal with God. But we also know that God was a thinking, feeling, doing Being even before He created. Can you imagine a Being who is able to think in the absence of time? Of course not, but the God we worship not only exists outside of time, He can think and act in the absence of time.

Just reading about this is enough to make us feel overwhelmed. And so it should. WHENEVER WE THINK ABOUT THE PERSON OF GOD, WE SHOULD RIGHTLY FEEL THAT WE HAVE COME ACROSS SOMETHING TRULY AWESOME. And maybe this is part of the problem. We are not faced with a logical contradiction here. Rather, we are faced with the reality of what it means for God to exist, for God to be GOD. You and I are only able to think in time, and thus, God confronts us with choice: “Choose this day whom you will serve,” “choose life” and so on (Joshua 24:15; Deuteronomy 30:19). But God, outside of time, sees all of history stretched out before Him. The problem comes, therefore, when we confine the God we worship within time. But this needn’t be the case. A proper understanding of the tension drives us back both to God’s divine nature and to our knees, acknowledging how wonderful He is.

This understanding also helps us with the issue of eternal life. Many people find the idea of eternity frightening. What will we be doing for all of that time? Once again, our dilemma arises because we are captive both to the passage of time and too small a view of who God actually is. People also then ask: if God truly knows all things, then why did He create knowing that we would experience pain in a fallen world? But we know that God did not create the world and then think of a plan to rescue it. In the book of Revelation, we are told that the Lamb was slain before the foundations of the world were laid. This does not mean that the crucifixion took place in our space-time history before creation (there was no space-history for it to take place in). What it does mean is that even before God created, God also knew the price it would cost Him -- the suffering of his own Son -- to redeem his creation and save us. God didn’t count that cost too great -- and hence we sing of God’s amazing grace.

Let me conclude with the following. People who assert that everything comes down to choice and that the future is full of possibilities believe that they have a basis for hope, but acknowledge that the future is unknown. The French existentialists were famous for this, and miserable because of it. For all their desire for hope, when their open future was realized, it always disappointed. In this sense, hope becomes wishful thinking when it has no secure future. On the other hand, fatalists believe they have a future, but no hope. Nothing is or can be done, for all has been determined.

But on the contrary, God is big enough to be able to say, “I know the plans I have for you... plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11). There is no hope without a secure future, and the future is frightening in the absence of hope. Only God is big enough to bring these two things together -- hope and a future -- and this is what He has done for us.

________

1. Lyrics from “Joy in the Journey” by Michael Card, 1986.

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[Original illustration at this number was a duplicate of HolwickID #5116]

(untitled)

Matthew 22:14

This is Henry Ward Beecher's epigrammatic and convincing phrase,

"The elect are whosoever will; the non-elect are whosoever won't."

- {The Youth Companion}

See \reference{Matt. 22:14}{Matthew 22:14}

How to be Elected

An African-American divine was once asked to explain the doctrine

of election. Said he, "Brethren, it is this way: The Lord He is

always voting for a man, and the Devil he is always voting against

him, then the man himself votes, and that breaks the tie!"

- {The Sunday School Times}

No Fatalistic Election

Many men fold their arms and say, "If I am one of the elect I shall

be saved, and if I am not, I won't. No use bothering about it." I

have an idea that the Lord Jesus saw how men were going to stumble

over this doctrine of election, so after He had been thirty or forty

years in heaven. He came down and spoke to John. One Lord's day in

Patmos He said to him: "Write these things to the churches." John

kept on writing. His pen flew very fast. And then the Lord, when it

was nearly finished, said: "John, before you close the book, put in

one more invitation. 'The Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let

him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And

{whosoever} will, let him take of the water of life freely.'"

- D. L. Moody

For Whom Did Christ Die?

John 1:29

Most evangelicals believe in the doctrine of penal substitution, that Jesus took the place of the sinner when He died on the Cross. However, the question of the extent of the atonement drew two very different responses from theologians David Nelson and Sam Waldron at a Southern Baptist conference.

Nelson, senior vice president for academic administration and professor of theology at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina, defended the non-Calvinist view of atonement which argues Christ died for every person without exception, but that salvation is given only to those who believe.

Waldron, academic dean and professor of theology at the Midwest Center for Theological Studies in Owensboro, Kentucky, defended the Calvinistic view of limited or “particular” atonement, which asserts that Christ died only for the elect and not the whole world.

Both Nelson and Waldron agreed that the Bible clearly insists that Christ died as a substitute for sinners, bearing the wrath of God for their sins.

Nelson briefly examined the diversity of views on the atonement, which Christians have held across the sweep of church history before presenting a biblical apologetic for a non-Calvinistic view of atonement.

Texts such as John 3:16-18, 1 Timothy 2:1-6 and 2 Peter 3:9, which speak of God desiring to save “all” or the “world,” are not sufficiently explained by those who hold to limited atonement and, thus, give credence to atonement for all who believe, Nelson said.

Nelson proposed several exegetical considerations to support interpretation of cosmos or world as “all” without exception:

• In John 1:29 and 12:46 cosmos means the earth and all inhabitants of the earth in the sense Jesus came to save all who believe in Him. Attempts to make cosmos mean other than “all people” are strained and unnecessary; the necessity of faith is clear.

In 1 Timothy 2:1-2 Paul is speaking about the Gospel in telling the church to pray for “all” people, for kings and all who are in high positions in order to promote an environment of peace. This is good to God who Himself is shalom and who brings shalom. God desires all people to be saved, to come to knowledge of the truth that Christ Jesus is the one mediator who gave Himself as a ransom for all.

• Hebrews 2:9 says Jesus tasted death for everyone and verse 17 reads that He makes propitiation for the sins of the people, drawing an analogy between Christ’s mediatorial role as High Priest and the high priestly ministry of the tabernacle. If “everyone” and “the people” are not read in general terms, understanding that only those who believe are saved, it presents a dilemma for Calvinists. Arguing the Calvinist’s position that “everyone” and “the people” pertain only to the particularly redeemed allows analogies of universalism that are not intended.

• Paul’s statement in 2 Peter 3:9 that God desires none should perish is similar to Paul’s statement in 1 Timothy 2:4, and with the truth revealed in Ezekiel 18 that God genuinely desires the wicked to repent and live, though none would do so without the grace of God.

“These texts and others like them lead me to a general atonement,” Nelson said. “I find no compelling reason that leads me to see the use of ‘all’ and ‘world’ as meaning anything other than Christ dying for all men without exception.”

Nelson argued that the atonement of Christ must be considered within the broader context of the “mission of God” to redeem the world, noting that the atonement includes divine intentions that reach beyond the reconciliation of individuals. Those intentions also include the redemption of the church as a corporate body and the restoration of the created order, he said.

Nelson warned Calvinists in the SBC against embracing limited atonement simply on the ground of human logic.

“Do Calvinists hold to limited atonement primarily for logical or exegetical reasons?” Nelson asked. “Calvinists must answer this and other questions for the sake of clarity and for the sake of building bridges in the SBC.”

Nelson concluded by posing two lingering questions to those in the Southern Baptist Convention who affirm limited atonement: “Does God love all people such that He shows common grace to all men?” and “How is limited atonement consistent with the free and universal proclamation of the Gospel?”

Waldron said those who believe the doctrine of particular redemption simply place profound importance on penal substitution.

“When we ask, ‘For whom did Christ die?’ I think Southern Baptists see in the preposition ‘for’ the idea of substitution when they speak of Christ dying for men,” Waldron said. “Most evangelicals hold to limited atonement of some form because they hold to a penal substitutionary atonement.”

Waldron set forth four proofs in favor of limited atonement:

• The substitutionary nature of the atonement demands that it be limited. If the wrath of God was satisfied by Christ as a substitute for every individual without exception, then God would be punishing unbelievers in hell even though their sins have been atoned for, Waldron argued. “Was God propitiated toward me or not?” Waldron said. “Real penal substitution results in a real purchase of men.”

• The New Testament demonstrates that the benefits of Christ’s atoning death are restricted to a certain group of people. This restriction is seen in texts such as John 6:37-40, 15:13-14, 17:9 and Ephesians 5:25, Waldron said.

• The saving effects of the atonement are guaranteed in texts such as Romans 8:32-39. “There is a guaranteed salvation for those for whom Christ died,” Waldron said.

• The covenant context of the atonement shows that Christ’s death was effectual only for His covenant people. “That the non-elect are not included in the new covenant is explicit in the Bible,” Waldron said.

Waldron concluded by addressing opposing arguments, two of which were articulated by Nelson: how universal terms such as “all” and “world” in Scripture are to be understood and how those who assert limited atonement are able to freely offer the Gospel to all people.

The universal terms in Scripture are often restricted by their context, Waldron said, and orthodox Reformed Christians have always held to a free offer of the Gospel as evidenced by the Canons of Dort, which established the Five Points of Calvinism in 1619.

The issue of the atonement should not divide Southern Baptists, Nelson said. Scripture demands that all believers love one another and seek to find common ground in working together for the sake of the Gospel, he said.

________

Jeff Robinson, director of news and information at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, was among the writers covering the “Building Bridges: Southern Baptists and Calvinism” conference at LifeWay Ridgecrest Conference Center.

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[Original illustration at this number was a duplicate of HolwickID #320]

Make Your Election Sure

2 Peter 1:5

Sermon on election (predestination) theme 2 Peter 1:5-12

MAKE YOUR ELECTION SURE

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I. Unnerving election. [Gore/Bush fiasco]

II. Principles of election in Bible.

A. Election is God's gracious choice.

B. Election is God's sovereign choice.

C. Election is God's eternal choice.

D. Election is God's choice of individuals.

III. Significance of election for believers.

A. Reveals to us our salvation is all of God.

B. Assures us of eternal security, removes fear.

C. Spurs us to ethical living.

IV. Making your election sure.

A. If God elects us, how will we know?

B. Positive effort makes a difference.

C. Add to your spiritual character.

V. Don't take it for granted.

A. Danger of complacency.

B. Blessings are forfeited through unbelief and disobedience.

VI. How has the election turned out for you?

I Demand A Recount!

Carl Miner of Blytheville, Mississippi, ran unopposed for a local school board seat and got no votes because no one, not even Miner, showed up to vote. Miner still got the seat because no one else was running.

________

Source: The Oregonian, Copyright (c) September 29, 2003, http://www.oregonian.com/

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[Original illustration at this number was a duplicate of HolwickID #7016]

View God's Love Through Scripture, Not Through Culture

John 3:16

Believers can misinterpret the love of God and make chaos of Christian theology by isolating one aspect of God's love at the expense of a fully biblical understanding of it, New Testament scholar D.A. Carson said July 16 at the Southern Baptist Founders Conference.

Carson, longtime research professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois, warned believers against isolating individual texts when grappling with the biblical doctrine of God's love.

Carson was the keynote speaker for the 21st annual Founders Conference June 15-18 at Samford University. The conference theme was “The Love of God.” Carson is author of scores of books and commentaries, including “The Difficult Doctrine of the Love of God” and “A Call to Spiritual Reformation.” Founders is an organization founded in 1982 for the perpetuation of historic Calvinistic doctrines within the Southern Baptist Convention often referred to as “the doctrines of grace.”

Carson noted that the first -- and perhaps most critical -- error is using one expression of God's love as the lens through which every expression of it in Scripture is viewed.

“It is a mistake to fail to observe the ways in which the Bible speaks of the love of God and not to listen to them carefully in their respective contexts,” Carson said.

“This is important today because there is so much in our culture that is trying to squeeze all notions of love into one or two narrow categories and therefore” avoid other texts, he said.

As a contemporary illustration of such erroneous “proof-texting,” Carson pointed to what he said was the mainstream news media's most- quoted verse, “Judge not, lest ye be judged.” Many pundits quote it but few can cite the place it is found in Scripture (Matthew 7:1), he said.

Contemporary pundits typically aim the verse at Christians as if it settles every moral or ethical question, be it homosexuality or gambling, he said. Christians often use the same hermeneutic when quoting verses out of context regarding the love of God, he said.

“That [Matthew 7:1] is the sum total of contemporary western Christian ethics in the mind of the media,” he said. “[In their minds] that settles the argument, doesn't it? It is very easy to rip texts out of context.

“Somehow, in this whole area of the doctrine of the love of God, I think that we are particularly prone to do so and from different sides. It is possible to absolutize several different kinds of biblical texts and really play around with our theology in very detrimental ways by simply absolutizing one strand of biblical truth.”

Carson said Scripture speaks of the love of God in at least five distinct ways:

-- Love between God, the Father and Christ, the Son, often called God's “intra-trinitarian love.”

-- Providential love. This type of love points to God's watchcare over and superintendence of creation. This sort of love is spoken of in Matthew 5:45 by which God sends rain and sun on both the “just and unjust.”

-- Yearning, inviting love, by which God cries to all sinners to repent and be saved.

-- Electing love. This is His love directed at those whom He has chosen for salvation by His own sovereign choice and will.

-- Love as conditioned by obedience. This type of love accompanies the Ten Commandments and occurs throughout Scripture, including in John 15. It is presupposed in Jude and is prominent in the Old Testament, Carson said.

Carson gave several examples of how God's love might be misinterpreted.

If one views God only by His providential love over creation, something close to pantheism is the result.

“[Then] all religions are the same, all of nature is the same,” he said. “God becomes this genial granddaddy who has lost about three- quarters of His marbles and sort of exercises a beneficent watch over the world without power, without truth. But He's sort of nice and He's sort of kind and He smiles a lot and has a snowy white beard.”

Making God's electing love ultimate leads to hyper-Calvinism and scuttles evangelism, Carson said. On the other hand, absolutizing God's yearning, inviting love to sinners leads to the notion that salvation depends on human effort, he said. A full-orbed biblical understanding will hold the two together in unison, he said.

“You can absolutize God's love that is conditioned by obedience,” Carson said. “Then, God loves the good and hates the wicked. It's as simple as that. You are lost in a quagmire of merit theology and looking at yourself to see if you have been good enough today to please God.

“More recently, some people have tried to absolutize God's intra- trinitarian love. That is, we sort of all become part of God by a certain understanding of theosis, of becoming divine. The whole distinction between God and human beings is lost and we all become a part of this circle of love that begins with the Trinity and reaches outward.”

Carson also warned against over-characterizing the different categories of God's love. God must not be viewed as mechanically turning on one expression of His love while simultaneously “switching off” another aspect, he said.

“I may truly say I love my wife and I may truly say I love my brother's wife,” Carson said. “I hope I don't mean the same thing by both. I love woodworking and I love reading, and in each case the object of love means that I am thinking about love in slightly different ways.”

A fully biblical comprehension of God's love also will assist Christians in rethinking well-worn cliches such as “God loves everybody the same way” or “God loves us unconditionally,” he said.

In many places in Scripture God's love is specifically conditioned by obedience. On the other hand, God's love for Christians is unconditional, Carson said.

Carson compared God's love to that within family relationships. There are different contexts within a family relationship between father and son in which it is proper to speak of both conditional and unconditional love.

Finally, Carson said Christians are often in danger of thinking of God as toggling on and off certain attributes so that He has room for others. But God is constantly and unchangingly loving, holy, just, merciful and altogether perfect. All of His attributes are always operative and work out in the dynamic interchange with His people, Carson said.

For example, God loves Christians and at the same time can express His wrath toward them due to sin. But it is important to note that God's wrath does not suddenly awaken because He is ill-tempered, Carson said.

“What God never does is display His wrath because He loses it,” Carson said. “It [God's wrath] is always principled. He is never controlled by His emotions. He always works out of His the perfection of all His perfections. He can never be less than perfect. And therefore, He never falls in love and He never loses His temper.

“And as we grow in conformity to Christ, there are ways in which these sorts of things must be seen in our lives as well.”

Line of Jacob

Romans 9:10

”And not only [this], but when Rebecca also had conceived by one man, [even] by our father Isaac (for [the children] not yet being born, nor having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works but of Him who calls), it was said to her, ‘The older shall serve the younger.’ As it is written, ‘Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated.’” (Romans 9:10-13 NKJV)

Line of Jacob

• not…this — Gen 25:21 — which if taken alone might suggest to some that Ishmael was rejected on the ground of character

• children…evil — before character was formed

• purpose — concerning the root of the visible Church

• election…calleth — Rom 11:5-7, Eph 1:4–11, Tit 3:5 — might be decided by will of God, and not human merit; just as Isaac, and not Ishmael, had been chosen

• it…her — Gen 25:23 — only a part of what was said is here recorded: but enough to show the point — the Divine choice

• elder…younger — referring to nations in the words spoken to Rebecca

• Jacob…loved — chosen to be channel of visible Church

• Esau…hated — this is explained by the prophet quoted, in the words, “And laid his mountain, etc., waste.” — Mal 1:2

Esau have I hated — W. Burkitt

This hatred may be understood —

I. In a qualified sense, for a less degree of love; God, preferring Jacob before Esau

II. In its strict sense, as real hatred of Esau, that is, the Edomites, after their wicked and unnatural conduct towards the Israelites

Force of the word “hate” — In the Scriptures a less degree of love is often spoken of as hatred. Thus in Gen 29:30–31, it is said Jacob “loved also Rachel more than Leah; … and when the Lord saw that Leah was hated.” See also Deut. xxi. 15. Jesus Christ used the word in the sense of loving less, when turning to the multitude He said, “If any man come to Me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.” And Solomon has as a proverb, “He that spareth his rod hateth his son.”

“The election of wh. the Apostle speaks, is not an election of Jacob to eternal life, but of his posterity to be the visible Church and people of God on earth, and heirs of the promises; in their first and literal meaning, agreeably to what Moses declared (Deut 7:6–8), and Paul preached (Acts 13:17).” — Macknight

Vessels of Wrath and of Mercy

Romans 9:22

”[What] if God, wanting to show [His] wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, and that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had prepared beforehand for glory, [even] us whom He called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?” (Romans 9:22-24 NKJV)

Vessels of Wrath and of Mercy

• what — i.e., what shall we say; who shall complain

• willing…wrath — Exod 9:16 — for abuse of privileges

• make…known — in punishing for abuse of mercy 2 Pet 3:9, 1 Pet 3:20

• vessels…wrath — Gen 15:16, 1 Th 2:16 — such as unbelieving Jews, and all impenitent sinners

• fitted[prepared] — 1 Th 5:9, 1 Pet 2:8, Jude 1:4 — having fitted themselves

• destruction — Matt 5:13 — certain, overwhelming

• riches…glory — Rom 2:4, Eph 1:1, Col 1:27 — “the unsearchable treasure of His own perfections” (Vaughan). “The exceeding greatness of His goodness.” (Macknight)

• vessels…mercy — 2 Tim 2:20-21 — believers in Jesus

• prepared — Tit 3:3-7, 1 Pet 1:2-4, 2 Th 2:13-14, 1 Cor 6:20, Rom 8:29-30 — by calling, converting, perfecting

• even us, etc. — Eph 3:6, Rom 3:29-30 — explaining who the vessels of mercy are

Vessels of mercy — Evangelical Preacher

They are vessels of mercy in their –

I. Formation

II. Position

III. Condition. Mercy –

1. Pervades their thoughts

2. Is uttered in their words

3. Is expressed in their actions

4. Beams in their looks

5. Glows in their prayers

IV. Preservation

V. Progression

VI. Glorification

Application –

1. If thou art a vessel of mercy, let love and gratitude prompt thee to commend that mercy to others which thou hast received

2. If a vessel of wrath, let nothing divert you from an earnest seeking of mercy at the cross of Christ.

Vessels of honour and dishonour — A certain minister, having changed his views of some parts of Divine truth, was waited upon by an old acquaintance, who wished to reclaim him to his former creed. Finding he could not succeed in his object, he became warm, and told his friend in plain terms that God had given him “up to strong delusion,” and that he was “a vessel of wrath fitted to destruction.” “I think, brother,” replied the one who was charged with the departure from the faith, with great calmness, “I think, brother, that you have mistaken the sense of the passage you last referred to. Vessels are denominated according to their contents. A chemist, in conducting a stranger through his laboratory, would say, ‘This is a vessel of turpentine, that of vitriol,’ etc., always giving to the vessel the name of the article it contains. Now, when I see a man full of the holy and lovely spirit of Christ, devoted to His service, and imitating His example, I say that man is a vessel of mercy, whom God hath afore prepared unto glory; but when I see a man full of everything but the spirit of the Bible — opposed to the moral government of God, seeking his own things rather than those which are Christ’s-and filled with malice, wrath, and all uncharitableness, I am compelled to consider him ‘ a vessel of wrath fitted to destruction.’”

“God delays the punishment of wickedness, and does not strike presently, for a glorious manifestation of His holy attribute of patience. His two great attributes of Justice and Mercy, the full season of their manifestation upon the vessels of wrath and mercy, is at the end, at the great ! day of reckoning.” — Bp Browning

Remnant According To Election of Grace

Romans 11:4

“But what does the divine response say to him? ‘I have reserved for Myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.’ Even so then, at this present time there is a remnant according to the election of grace.” (Romans 11:4-5 NKJV)

Remnant According To Election Of Grace

• what…answer[response], etc. — “the case is now just as it was in the time of Elijah; an apparently universal defection, but in reality a considerable faithful remnant, even among the Jews.” (Vaughan). “If even Elijah was deceived in his estimate of the number of God’s faithful servants, how much more may you reckon them amiss” (Wordsworth).

• Baal — [article in Greek is] te, i.e., feminine. A goddess, Astarte, was worshipped under the name of Baal

• election…grace — “according to a selection of free favour”

The election of grace — Homilist

I. The election is eternal, in the same sense as Christianity is eternal.

II. It does not of itself imply eternal salvation.

III. It does not imply a decree of reprobation.

Apostolic preaching — “To preach practical sermons, as they are called,” says Bishop Horne, “that is, sermons upon virtues and vices, without inculcating those great Scripture truths of redemption, grace, &c., which alone can incite and enable us to forsake sin and follow after righteousness — what is it but to put together the wheels, and set the hands of a watch, forgetting the spring, which is to make them all go?”

The atonement is fundamental — The late Thomas, Earl of Kinnoull, a short time before his death, in a long and serious conversation with the Rev. Dr Kemp, of Edinburgh, thus expressed himself:- “I have always considered the atonement the characteristic of the Gospel; as a system of religion, strip it of that doctrine, and you reduce it to a scheme of morality, excellent, indeed, and such as the world never saw; but, to man, in the present state of his faculties, absolutely impracticable.”

The present and the future — I see the first handsel that God gives them [the Israelites] in their voyage to the land of promise, thirst and bitterness. Satan gives us pleasant entrances into his ways, and reserves the bitterness for the end. God inures us to our worst at first, and sweetens our conclusion with pleasure. — Bp Hall

“God’s people are His children; they are born of God, and sons of the Most High. Natural love will not cast away a child. They are His portion, the lot of His inheritance, His revenues of glory, He has by them. A man will not despise his own glory, or reject his own inheritance.” — Caryl

Grace and Works

Romans 11:6

“And if by grace, then [it is] no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace. But if [it is] of works, it is no longer grace; otherwise work is no longer work. What then? Israel has not obtained what it seeks; but the elect have obtained it, and the rest were blinded. Just as it is written: ‘God has given them a spirit of stupor, Eyes that they should not see And ears that they should not hear, To this very day.’” (Romans 11:6-8 NKJV)

Grace And Works

• grace — Rom 4:4-5, Lal 5:4, Eph 2:8-9 — unmerited favour

• works — meritorious obedience

• Israel — nation as a whole

• that…for[what] — “ the honour of continuing to be the people of God” (Macknight)

• election…it — Rom 9:6 — by grace of God

• blinded — 2 Cor 4:4 — or hardened (see Romans 9:18), given up to judicial blindness

• written — Isa 29:10, 6:9, Jer 5:21, Ezek 12:2, Matt 13:14, Acts 28:27, 2 Cor 3:14-15 — another fulfilment of Scripture

• spirit…slumber[stupor] — stupefaction of mind

• unto…day — Deut 29:4 — to Apostle’s day, and to ours [originally to Moses’ day]

The Christian doctrine of Divine grace — Dr R. W. Hamilton

I. Man is the object of grace:

1. The atonement is the effect of Divine grace;

2. Christianity is entirely independent of man in its contrivance. Grace is not impaired by any arrangements which had reference to ourselves;

3. The death of the cross is only a means to the most benevolent end;

4. The Gospel, while it upholds the claim of the Divine law, has an exclusive bearing upon us as sinners. Salvation is not a question of justice, but of grace;

5. No blessing of the Gospel is, in any legitimate sense, the subject of purpose. By Christ’s righteousness a free gift of salvation was made unto us.

II. The grace, which is so pre-eminent, cannot be confounded with any inferior or incongruous principle:

1. Grace is free favour. It can be –

(1) Related to no right;

(2) Contained in no law;

2. Work is individual action or conduct;

3. Grace is therefore opposed to work, as it is –

(1) Extrinsic of the person;

(2) Independent of the volition;

(3) A most jealous challenger of that merit which sinless obedience claims, and the Divine code awards.

III. Grace and work are often violently tortured into an unnatural alliance. No system can reconcile itself to grace, which –

1. Proceeds upon the merits of human conduct;

2. Rests human acceptance on a foreknowledge of good qualities of character;

3. Reckons on the will’s self-determining power;

4. Accounts the Gospel as a simple facility to man to save himself;

5. Varies the Gospel’s freeness by moral differences in man;

6. Founds our duty upon a bestowment of grace.

IV. The effects of these opposing principles. How differently they –

1. Explain Christianity;

2. Christ’s mission;

3. Influence the human mind.

Salvation by grace — Some are all their days laying the foundation, and are never able to build upon it to any comfort to themselves or usefulness to others. And the reason is, because they will be mixing with the foundation stones that are only fit for the building. They will be bringing their obedience, duties, mortification of sin, and the like, unto the foundation. These are precious stones to build with, but unmeet to be first laid to bear upon them the whole weight of the building. The foundation is to be laid in mere grace, mercy, pardon in the blood of Christ; this the soul is to accept of and to rest in merely as it is grace, without the consideration of anything in itself, but that it is sinful and obnoxious to ruin. This it finds a difficulty in, and would gladly have something of its own to mix with it; it cannot tell how to fix these foundation-stones without some cement of its own endeavours and duty: and because these things will not mix, they spend fruitless efforts about it all their days. But if the foundation be of grace, it is not at all of works ; otherwise grace is no more grace. If anything of our own be mixed with grace in this matter, it utterly destroys the nature of grace, which if it be not alone, it is not at all. — Dr Owen

“Grace is a free gift; it is such a gift as can neither be deserved beforehand, nor be requited after it is received.” — Bp Lake

“God’s grace bath no dependence out of God’s self, but solely and wholly relieth on God’s pleasure. For how shall the effect father his own cause? All grace in man doth issue from grace in God; which, therefore, cannot rise from aught in man.” — Dr Clerke

“It is reported of Sextus, that, every night before he slept, he asked of his own heart, ‘What evil hast thou this day amended? what vice hast thou shunned? what good hast thou done? in what part art thou bettered?’ Such review is always profitable.”

Christians and Voting

Luke 13:34

Millions of Americans go to the polls and vote for the next president of the United States. On what basis should we make our decision? Should a candidate’s religious faith — or lack of faith — have an impact on whom we vote for?

I’d like to share with you the views of two of the twentieth century’s greatest religious figures: Chuck Colson and Billy Graham.

Chuck felt very strongly about the duty of Christians to vote — and to vote for the best qualified candidate no matter what his personal religious convictions. He considered voting a spiritual duty. On BreakPoint, Chuck noted that as voters, we are to choose the most competent people to be God’s magistrates to do justice, restrain evil, and preserve order. He pointed to Exodus 18, where Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses, told him to select men of good moral character who were competent to help judge the people.

Chuck also quoted Martin Luther, who reportedly said he would rather be judged by a competent Turk than an incompetent Christian. He meant that he’d prefer to choose the best qualified leader available than vote for someone less qualified who happened to share his religious beliefs. We do this in other areas of our life all the time. For instance, if you needed to undergo brain surgery, would you choose a Christian surgeon, or the best surgeon available no matter what his beliefs?

Billy Graham also has strong views about voting for the best candidate no matter what his private beliefs are. A few days ago [late October 2012], the Rev. Graham took out newspaper ads in USA Today, the Wall Street Journal, and the Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch urging people to vote for candidates who supported biblical teaching on some of the great moral issues of the day.

As Graham put it, “We are at a crossroads, and there are profound moral issues at stake. I strongly urge you to vote for candidates who support the biblical definition of marriage between a man and woman, protect the sanctity of life, and defend our religious freedoms.”

Some commentators criticized Graham for mixing in partisan politics. But is that really what he was doing?

Dr. Timothy George, Chairman of the Board of the Chuck Colson Center for Christian Worldview, does not think so. In an essay he published at the Christian Post, George points out that Graham, who will turn 94 in a few days, is nearing the end of his life — which means his words “have a certain gravity” that we should respectfully listen to.

Second, George says, “Graham reveals in his words a deep love for his country. Jesus (and Jeremiah before him) loved Jerusalem and wept over it. There are some tears in Billy Graham’s lament about the turning point we face in our American republic today.”

And third, Graham — as Chuck did in the Manhattan Declaration — asks Christians to “take a stand on three nonnegotiable commitments of the Christian worldview: the sacredness of every human life ... the dignity of marriage as God intended it to be ... and religious freedom.”

And I agree.

We need to pray about who is best qualified to lead our country, in Congress and in the White House. And then, when we go to the polls on Tuesday, we must do our best to choose the candidates who will best fulfill biblical commands for leadership: men and women of good character who are committed to preserving order and promoting justice for all.

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[Original illustration at this number was a duplicate of HolwickID #12189]

What Does the Bible Teach About Election?

John 6:44

Election is the act of God whereby in eternity past He chose those who will be saved. Election is UNCONDITIONAL, because it does not depend on anything outside of God, such as good works or foreseen faith (Romans 9:16). This doctrine is repeatedly taught in the Bible, and is also demanded by our knowledge of God. To begin with, let's look at the biblical evidence.

The Bible says prior to salvation, all people are dead in sin -- SPIRITUALLY DEAD (Ephesians 2:1-3). In this state of death, the sinner is utterly unable to respond to any spiritual stimulus and therefore unable to love God, obey Him, or please Him in any way. Scripture says the mind of every unbeliever “is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for IT IS NOT EVEN ABLE TO DO SO; AND THOSE WHO ARE IN THE FLESH CANNOT PLEASE GOD” (Romans 8:7-8, emphasis added). That describes a state of total hopelessness: spiritual death.

The effect of all this is that no sinner can ever make the first move in the salvation process. This is what Jesus meant in John 6:44, when He said, “No one can come to Me, unless the Father who sent Me draws him.”

This is also why the Bible repeatedly stresses that salvation is WHOLLY GOD'S WORK. In Acts 13:48 we read, “And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord; and as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed.”

Acts 16 tells us that Lydia was saved when, “...the Lord opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul.”

Romans 8:29-30 states, “For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the first-born among many brethren; and whom He predestined, these He also called; and whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.”

Ephesians 1:4-5,11 reads, “Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will ... also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will.”

Ephesians 2:8 suggests that even our faith is a gift from God.

In 2 Thessalonians 2:13, the apostle Paul tells his readers, “God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation.”

Second Timothy 1:9 informs us that God “has saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity.”

Occasionally someone will suggest that God's election is based on His foreknowledge of certain events. This argument suggests that God simply looks into the future to see who will believe, and He chooses those whom He sees choosing Him. Notice that 1 Peter 1:2 says the elect are chosen “according to the foreknowledge of God the Father,” and Romans 8:29 says, “whom He foreknew, He also predestined.” And if divine foreknowledge simply means God's knowledge of what will happen in advance, then these arguments may appear to have some weight behind them.

But that is not the biblical meaning of “foreknowledge.” When the Bible speaks of God's foreknowledge, it refers to God's establishment of a love relationship with that person. The word “know,” in both the Old and New Testament, refers to much more than mere cognitive knowledge of a person. Such passages as Hosea 13:4-5; Amos 3:2 (KJV); and Romans 11:2 clearly indicate this. For example, 1 Peter 1:20 says Christ was “foreknown before the foundation of the world.” Surely this means more than that God the Father looked into the future to behold Christ! It means He had an eternal, loving relationship with Him. The same is true of the elect, whom we are told God “foreknew” (Romans 8:29). That means He knew them -- he LOVED them -- before the foundation of the world.

If God's choice of the elect is unconditional, does this rule out human responsibility? Paul asks and answers that very question in Romans 9:19-20. He says God's choice of the elect is an act of mercy. Left to themselves, even the elect would persist in sin and be lost, because they are taken from the same fallen lump of clay as the rest of humanity. God alone is responsible for their salvation, but that does not eradicate the responsibility of those who persist in sin and are lost -- because they do it willfully, and not under compulsion. They are responsible for their sin, not God.

The Bible affirms human responsibility right alongside the doctrine of divine sovereignty. Moreover, the offer of mercy in the gospel is extended to all alike. Isaiah 55:1 and Revelation 22:17 call “whosoever will” to be saved. Isaiah 45:22 and Acts 17:30 command all men to turn to God, repent and be saved. First Timothy 2:4 and 2 Peter 3:9 tell us that God is not willing that any should perish, but desires that all should be saved. Finally, the Lord Jesus said that, “the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out” (John 6:37).

In summary, we can say that God has had a special love relationship with the elect from all eternity, and on the basis of that love relationship chosen them for salvation. The ultimate question of why God chose some for salvation and left others in their sinful state is one that we, with our finite knowledge, cannot answer. We do know that God's attributes always are in perfect harmony with each other, so that God's sovereignty will always operate in perfect harmony with His goodness, love, wisdom, and justice.

From WWW.GTY.ORG (Grace to You, the teaching ministry of John MacArthur)

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Is There A Plan?

Romans 9:6

Sermon in Romans series, #12 Romans 9:6-21

IS THERE A PLAN?

================

I. Is there a Master Plan?

II. God doesn't operate like we do.

A. Humans focus on merit and rights.

B. God focuses on grace.

C. A shocking statement.

III. The only election that counts.

A. Election involves the difficult concept of predestination.

B. Important truths about election.

IV. Is God unfair?

A. Predestination seems arbitrary and unfair. Always has. 9:14

B. The power of a negative example. 9:17

V. It is not as arbitrary as it sounds.

A. Human responsibility is not eliminated.

B. He is God and we are not.

C. Surrender to God's plan for your life.

God's Purposing Salvation

2 Thessalonians 2:13

God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth … by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. — 2 Thessalonians 2:13, 14.

Some years ago a woman said to a minister of the gospel, “I would apply for membership in your church if your church did not preach election.” He asked if she was saved, and she answered that she was, He then asked her if God saved her or did she save herself. She replied that God saved her. And then he asked whether God saved her by accident or because He purposed to save her. She had never looked at it this way, but could only reply that God must have had a purpose in saving her. And this, said the servant of the Lord is election.

Not to ourselves we owe that we, O God, are Thine;

Jesus, the Lord, our night broke through and gave us light divine.

Does God Love Only the Elect and Hate the Non-elect?

Psalms 26:5

The fact that some sinners are not elected to salvation is no proof that God’s attitude toward them is utterly devoid of sincere love. We know from Scripture that God is compassionate, kind, generous, and good even to the most stubborn sinners. Who can deny that these mercies flow out of God’s boundless love? Yet it is evident that they are showered even on unrepentant sinners.

It must be acknowledged, however, that explaining God’s love toward the reprobate is not as simple as most modern evangelicals want to make it. Clearly there is a sense in which the psalmist’s expression, “I hate the assembly of evildoers” (Ps. 26:5) is a reflection of the mind of God. “Do I not hate those who hate Thee, O Lord? And do I not loathe those who rise up against Thee? I hate them with the utmost hatred; they have become my enemies” (Ps. 139:21-22). Such hatred as the psalmist expressed is a virtue, and we have every reason to conclude that it is a hatred God Himself shares. After all, He did say, “I have hated Esau” (Mal. 1:3; Rom. 9:13). The context reveals God was speaking of a whole race of wicked people. So there is a true and real sense in which Scripture teaches that God hates the wicked.

So an important distinction must be made. God loves believers with a particular love. It is a family love, the ultimate love of an eternal Father for His children. It is the consummate love of a Bridegroom for His bride. It is an eternal love that guarantees their salvation from sin and its ghastly penalty. That special love is reserved for believers alone.

However, limiting this saving, everlasting love to His chosen ones does not render God’s compassion, mercy, goodness, and love for the rest of mankind insincere or meaningless. When God invites sinners to repent and receive forgiveness (Isa. 1:18; Matt. 11:28-30), His pleading is from a sincere heart of genuine love. “‘As I live!’ declares the Lord God, ‘I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil ways! Why then will you die, O house of Israel?’” (Ezek. 33:11). Clearly God does love even those who spurn His tender mercy, but it is a different quality of love, and different in degree from His love for His own.

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Adapted from John MacArthur’s book, THE GOD WHO LOVES, pp. 14, 16.

Dual Citizenship and the Ballot

John 1:12

Every election cycle, certain concepts and buzzwords seem to resurface in the Christian community, such as “moral majority” and “values voter.”

It seems impossible to argue that a biblical “moral majority,” silent or otherwise, exists in the United States today. A moral revolution has swept through our culture like Hurricane Matthew swept through Haiti. Our cultural collapse in Christian ethics and morals is reflected vividly in the major party candidates.

The current election cycle has stretched the “values voter” principle beyond the breaking point. The question is no longer, “Which values are most important in inspiring me to vote for candidate ‘A’ rather than candidate ‘B’?” The new question is, “Which candidate requires me to give up the fewest of my treasured values?”

No candidate this year even claims to share our biblical values. As more and more ethical and moral failures come to light, both candidates are dismissive and self-justifying. Neither is repentant.

We have less than a month to decide. Will you vote for Hillary or the Donald? Or the Green and Libertarian party candidates who will be on some state ballots? Will you write in a different name or will you simply stay home on Nov. 8 [America's election day in 2016]?

The reality of our dual citizenship can provide guidance.

If you have received Jesus, trusting Him to take away your sins (John 1:12) and you are a citizen of the United States, you hold dual citizenship. First and foremost, you are a citizen of heaven. “Our citizenship is in heaven,” Philippians 3:20 tells us; we are “strangers and pilgrims on the earth,” we read in Hebrews 11:13. Like Abraham, we look forward to eternal life in a real “city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God” (11:10). Our primary allegiance and responsibility is to Jesus Christ, our King of Kings.

Second, and significantly, we remain citizens of the United States with the constitutional privilege and responsibility to vote. For this small voice in the direction of our country, we can be grateful.

Consider, then, 10 principles for reconciling our dual citizenship responsibilities.

1. Recognize the only hope for America is Jesus. Many believers tend to invest their hope in political candidates, but it is misplaced. Humans will inevitably fail. Disappointment may transition into depression and despair -- simply because we forget our only hope is Jesus.

2. Recognize that only the Gospel can redeem and transform lives. The primary responsibility of heaven’s citizens is to spread the Gospel to every individual on earth.

3. Pray. Pray. Then pray some more. We say prayer changes things but act as if politics changes things. Believers must turn to the Father like never before. The times are desperate. Pray for a 2 Chronicles 7:14 spiritual awakening across our nation and our neighboring nations. It will solve the border problems far more quickly than any political solution. Pray for both major candidates to be radically transformed by the Gospel and make wise decisions that honor God.

4. Seek the Father’s wisdom for your vote. Get on your face before God. Tell Him that all you have belongs to Him; submit your vote to His lordship. Ask Him to show you for whom to vote. Ask Him to guide fellow believers in the same way.

5. Do not defend sin. Sin cannot be justified, even if the sinner is your favored party’s candidate. At the same time, we cannot expect sinners to act like believers. Speak the truth in love. Do not attack people, but do not justify their sinful behavior.

6. The sanctity of life is still an issue. Even though little is being said about the innocent blood of unborn babies, the sanctity of human life matters to our loving Father. Many years ago I made a personal commitment to the Lord that the sanctity of life would be the ultimate factor in my vote.

7. Know the difference between an endorsement and a vote. While a believer may not be able to endorse either candidate in good conscience, a believer can vote for one candidate for reasons beyond the candidate as the Lord leads.

8. Treat your brothers and sisters in Christ with love and respect. The world is watching how believers respond to one another. They read our Facebook and Twitter posts. When we attack each other over political issues, we damage our testimony. We can learn to debate issues thoughtfully without attacking personalities.

9. Religious liberty remains an issue. While I am a dual citizen, I’m also a Baptist. Historically, Baptists stood for religious liberty. According to the Baptist Faith and Message 2000, we still do. It is Article 17. We believe that men and women, made in God’s image, have been “endowed by our Creator with the inalienable rights of Life and Liberty.” Paul encouraged Timothy to pray “for kings and all who are in authority,” and that included the polytheistic Roman rulers. Notice why believers pray for our leaders. “That we may lead a quiet and peaceable life. ... For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior” (1 Timothy 2:2-3).

10. Supreme Court nominees are always at stake. A president is elected for four years. If reelected, he or she will serve a maximum of eight years. However, the next president’s Supreme Court nominees will likely serve for multiple decades. It matters whether one will appoint “strict constitutionalists” or progressives who believe the Constitution is a “living document.”

As a dual citizen, I cannot endorse one of the 2016 presidential candidates. Neither is biblically moral. Neither holds biblical values. I do, however, plan to vote and use the principles of dual citizenship as my voter’s guide.

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Mark Ballard is president of Northeastern Baptist College in Bennington, Vermont, and a member of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee.

If Christians Can Lose Their Salvation, We All Lose The Gospel

Mark 10:45

I grew skeptical when he called it “an offer you can’t refuse.” Either this man was hiding something about the house he was trying to sell me, or his sales technique was deeply influenced by “The Godfather” movies. The “deal” was a dirt-cheap price on a house in one of the best parts of Louisville. It didn’t make sense. Deals like this one never find me.

Soon, I learned why he had stamped a giveaway price on the house: the foundation was cracked. In a matter of time, the structure would be compromised, and the house would crumble like my son’s Lincoln Log creations. Needless to say, I said no to this house with a hidden but fatal flaw.

Christian theology is similar: If we remove any of the foundational doctrines — the Trinity, the incarnation, the authority of Scripture, the person and work of Christ, and so on — then the entire building of our faith comes tumbling down. The cardinal doctrines of Christianity stand or fall together.

I want to suggest that one crucial doctrine is sometimes relegated to the “good men disagree” category that should sit closer to the heart of orthodox Christianity: perseverance of the saints. Why do I say so? Is it really heresy to reject the doctrine of perseverance, a doctrine often referred to as “eternal security”? I’m not ready to call it heresy to reject perseverance of the saints and embrace the possibility of apostasy by genuine Christians. But I think it is far more dangerous to reject this doctrine than perhaps first meets the eye. Like the rickety house I once nearly bought, rejection of perseverance renders unstable many other critical doctrines that rely on it as a solid foundation.

If genuine believers can lose their salvation and be cast away forever, consider the collateral damage to other biblical doctrines:

ELECTION

If God chose His people in Christ before the foundation of the world, is it possible for those same people to then “unchoose” themselves? No matter one’s view of election, final apostasy seems to render meaningless Scripture’s teaching on God’s eternal predestining of a people.

Even if one holds to election based solely on foreknowledge, final apostasy seems to make God unreliable at best. Thus, no matter your view on election, if a saved sinner can successfully wiggle his way out of God’s hand, then Scripture’s account of that doctrine is nonsense.

THE ATONEMENT

According to Mark 10:45, Christ gave His life as a ransom for many. Jesus bore God’s wrath we deserved so He could buy us back from the curse of the law. If a ransomed one can be finally lost, doesn’t that then mean that the ransom price paid was not enough to actually purchase its intended product — the eternal salvation of God’s people?

Final apostasy also seems to undermine the substitutionary nature of the atonement, since Christ was condemned in the place of His people. This view would seem to indicate that due to an exercise of their free will, some of God’s people have once again fallen under condemnation with their sins no longer covered by the sacrifice of the substitute — even though they were once covered through the blood of Christ.

JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH

Justification is a legal declaration that says because of faith in Christ’s work on the cross, one is no longer guilty, positionally or legally, before God. Final apostasy seems to undermine God’s verdict and re-establish guilty charges against those who were exonerated by faith in Christ. This view mangles the foundational Reformation truth of sola fide.

INDWELLING (OR SEALING) OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

In Ephesians 1:13–14, Paul describes believers as those who have been “sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.” It seems that a doctrine of final apostasy undermines Paul’s teaching of the Spirit given as a down payment guaranteeing salvation. If salvation can be lost, then the guarantee is meaningless, as is the down payment. And yes, we can grieve the Spirit (Eph. 4:30), but can we evict Him? Scripture never says that.

GOD’S PROMISES

In John 10, Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice, I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish and no one will snatch them out of my hand ... and no one is able to snatch them out of my Father’s hand.”

Also, Philippians 1:6 promises that God will complete the work He begins in His people, and the glorious passage in Romans 8:31–39 promises that nothing can separate the believer from the love of God. But how comforting are these promises if we can, as some argue, remove ourselves from Christ’s hand or circumvent the work God has begun in us? In what way do they remain promises? Is God not a promise keeper? Indeed, He is the ultimate promise keeper.

If these promises are not true, doesn’t that undermine the very Word of God? Can we trust a God who is unable to keep His promises from being undone by the power of human choice? Is the will of man stronger than the will of God?

INTERCESSORY WORK OF CHRIST

If Christ lives to intercede for us as Hebrews and Romans 8 contend and as John 17 and Luke 22 demonstrate, then in what meaningful way can we trust His prayers if He does not get what He prays for? If Christ prays that we will be kept as in John 17 and those prayers are frustrated, then it would seem to undermine both His intercessory work and His infallibility — Christ prays and then hopes His prayers will be answered and that we will remain in the faith, but our future salvation remains uncertain.

PRESERVATION OF THE SAINTS

Inextricably linked to perseverance (and Christ’s intercession) is preservation. First Peter 1:3–5 contains a beautiful promise of God’s preserving grace for His redeemed people: “He has caused us to be born again ... to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation to be revealed in the last time.” If God is guarding our inheritance in heaven, then to assert that free will can lead one to lose his or her salvation seems to exalt the power of man and denigrate the power of God, not to mention what it means for Peter’s language describing the inheritance as “imperishable, undefiled, and unfading.” Those words seem to ring with an empty note if it is possible for human beings to give away their inheritance.

LOSE SALVATION, LOSE THE GOSPEL

No doubt, there are many additional implications for the denial of this doctrine, but these are a few of the most devastating consequences that show how crucial the doctrine of final perseverance is for Christian theology. If my reasoning is fully biblical, then it would seem that perseverance of the saints is anything but a tertiary matter. If the foundation crumbles, how can the building stand? Let us preach, teach, and defend this doctrine and demand it as critical winsomely, but without apology.