Ordained Unto Eternal Life

(Article for publication week of 12-29-2010 AD)

“And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained unto eternal life believed” (Acts 13:48).

Ordination unto eternal life is the fountainhead of all spiritual blessings. Note well that our text plainly declares that those who believe the gospel were first ordained unto salvation. If you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, be sure you are among the elect of God and you were chosen in Christ from before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4).

We see in our text that faith is a result of the saving purpose of God, and not the cause of salvation. Faith is, properly speaking, a fruit of election. God the Father chose His elect people in Christ before He made the world. Christ became the covenant Head of His people and agreed in the covenant of grace to come into the world to save them from their sins (Matthew 1:21). All the sins of all of God’s elect were laid on the blessed Redeemer and He satisfied Divine justice and turned away God’s holy wrath from us. At the set time, the Holy Spirit enters into the heart of every child of grace, regenerating them and giving the gift of faith and enabling them to believe savingly in the Lord Jesus Christ. Thus, as many as are ordained unto eternal life will believe in Christ for their salvation.

So we see in our text this week that God has ordained both the end of our salvation and all the means thereunto. In our text Paul and Barnabas were preaching in Antioch Pisidia. God sent them there for He had some of His elect there that must hear the gospel to be saved. The Jews rejected the gospel and thus showed that they were not among the elect of God. However, the Gentiles rejoiced and were glad to hear the good news of salvation and believed to the saving of their souls, proving that they were of God’s elect and ordained to eternal life from before the beginning of time.

What God has joined together we may not separate. God has ordained who will be saved, and He has also ordained the preaching of the gospel as the means to bring salvation to all His chosen ones. It is unbiblical to assume that God will save His elect whether we preach or not. “It pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe” (I Corinthians 1:21). The gospel must be preached for God has ordained it as His means of converting His elect people and turning them from darkness to light (Acts 26:18). This is clearly shown in places like II Thessalonians 2:13-14 where we read, “But we are bound to give thanks for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord, for God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth, whereunto He called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

The true gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ embraces both the sovereignty of God and the responsibility of man. A supposed gospel that neglects either of these is a truncated “gospel”, and not the whole gospel. May the Lord call out His elect in these parts by the power of His gospel.

Election Known by Calling

(Article for publication week of 12-22-2010 AD)

“Wherefore, the rather brethren give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall” (II Peter 1:10).

Quite frequently when we have preached the doctrine of election, we have had those who have inquired, “How may I know if I am among the elect of God?” This is a good question, and our text tells us something of how we may have the answer. Our text tells us that assurance is attainable, and that we must give diligence to obtain it. We may have assurance of our election, by making sure of our effectual calling.

Effectual calling is that inward, special and irresistible calling of the Holy Spirit whereby an elect sinner is called out of the darkness of this world into the glorious kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ. The apostles spoke of this calling in Acts 2:39 saying, “for the promise is to you and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even to as many as the Lord thy God shall call.” Paul spoke of this calling in Romans 8:28 when he wrote, “them who are the called according to His purpose.” Also in I Corinthians 1:26, “not many mighty, not many noble are called.” Again, in II 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.” The Lord spoke of this calling in John 6:37 when he said, “all that the Father giveth me, shall come to me.”

When the Holy Spirit effectually calls one that was given to Christ in the everlasting covenant, that sinner quits the hateful ways of sin and comes by faith to the Saviour for salvation. Coming to Christ is the same as believing in Christ (John 6:35), so we may safely say to you that if you have repented of your sins and come to Christ as a lost sinner to be saved by His grace alone, you have been effectually called by the Lord. You could not have come to the Saviour except the Lord had drawn you (John 6:44). So if you have come to Christ for salvation it was because He drew you to Himself.

Now if you have been effectually called, be sure you are among the elect of God, for God will certainly call all of His elect to faith in His Son. This is what our Lord is talking about when he says, “all that the Father giveth me shall come to me, and him that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out.” Every elect child of God will be brought to faith and will be saved. And so Peter puts it in our text, ‘make your calling and election sure. Calling is first in the text, not because it precedes election in the order of salvation, but because it is first in our experience and is that which we can make sure of. We are not permitted to look on the Lamb’s Book of Life (the book of God’s eternal decrees) to see if our name was recorded there before the foundation of the world (which it was if we are saved), but we can look by faith on the Lamb who saves His people from their sins.

In a nutshell, we may have assurance through faith. If you believe in Christ for salvation, you are certainly saved and you were chosen in Christ from before the foundation of the world. Make your election sure by believing in Christ.

Making Our Election Sure

(Article for publication week of 12-15-2010 AD)

“Wherefore the rather brethren, give all diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fail” (II Peter 1:10).

The first thing we note about our text is that we can have assurance of our salvation. Many false teachers actually advocate against believers being able to have assurance in grace. The Council of Trent pronounces anathema upon those who preach that a person may have assurance of his personal salvation. On the other end of the spectrum, I actually heard a hyper Calvinist preacher once preach publicly that no one can know if they are elect and thus encouraged his hearers to not worry about it one or the other. Both of these are wrong according to our text this week. We can make our calling and election sure. Eternity is too long, and our peace of mind too important not to give the proper diligence to being sure that we are saved.

The second thing we note in our text is that diligence is required to obtain assurance. It is widely taught in these parts that if you have ever made a profession of faith, then you need never doubt your salvation. This is also patently false according to our text; diligence must be employed, to enjoy a full assurance of salvation. Besides, the scriptures are clear in places like Matthew 7:21-23 that multitudes are deceived and have never been genuinely converted, though they have a great profession. There are multitudes who joined the church that have never been joined to Christ savingly. There are multitudes who have a profession of Christ, who do not possess Christ and are not possessed of Him. There are multitudes who have been baptized in water by a preacher who have not been baptized into Christ by the Holy Spirit. Friends, if you value your never dying souls, give DILIGENCE to make your calling and election sure.

Thirdly, we note the peculiar terms used for salvation. I say peculiar because they are peculiar to most churchgoers today, not because they are absent from the Bible. Even though the doctrines of calling and election are all through the Bible, the majority of preachers have never preached these Bible truths and the majority of church members are completely ignorant that they are in the Bible. Make your calling and election sure is a way of saying, “be sure you are saved.” Salvation is by the electing purpose of God who chose a people for salvation before the foundation of the world. Salvation is by the effectual call of the Holy Spirit, and not just by the general call of the gospel.

Fourthly, we see the method we are to employ. Calling is stated first, for it is by making our calling sure, we thereby make our election sure. No one may look into the Lamb’s Book of Life and see if his name is recorded there, that is one of the secret things of the Lord. But if we have faith in Christ, we may be sure we have been effectually called. The general call of the gospel did not give us the faith that it called us to, but the effectual call of the Holy Spirit working powerfully in regeneration gave us the gift of faith to look to Christ Alone for salvation. I will have more on the subject next week (DV), and until then, may the bless all of you.

Few Are Chosen

(Article for publication week of 12-8-2010 AD)

“For many are called, but few are chosen” (Matthew 22:14).

The Lord Jesus Christ has commissioned His ministers in every age to preach the gospel to the whole world (Mark 16:15; Matthew 28:19). All men are commanded to repent (Acts 17:30). There is a genuine invitation preached externally to everyone that the Lord Jesus Christ is able and willing to save the chief of sinners. This is the general call of the gospel. Thus many are called externally and generally. This general call of the gospel leaves sinners without excuse. Every one of you who are reading this article are being called by the general call of the gospel, and if you refuse to repent and believe in Christ, ye shall die in your sins (John 8:24).

However there is another call that is internal, special, and effectual. This call is given by the Holy Spirit Himself and is given only to those that God chose for salvation. So our Lord says in John 6:37, “all that the Father giveth me shall come to me.” While God’s true ministers are calling the whole world to repentance and faith, God’s Holy Spirit enters into the hearts of His elect and effectually calls them to salvation. This is not only an effectual call, but also an irresistible one. Thus few, comparatively are chosen to salvation and effectually called by the Lord.

The general call of the gospel to the whole world and the special call of the Holy Spirit limited to God’s elect may be shown by the following illustration attributed to a black minister of a by gone day. He said, “brethren, you know how when the train is at the station ready to depart for the next station and a great crowd has gathered in town, and then the conductor steps up and says, ‘ all aboard’. Brethren, when the conductor says ‘all aboard’, everybody in town doesn’t get on the train- just the ones with tickets”! I’ve never heard it illustrated better. The conductor’s call is sincere. But not everyone in town is interested in that call, just the ones with tickets. So it is with the preacher’s call to repent and believe in Christ. But not everyone is interested in our message, just those who have come to mourn over their sins and feel the burden of sin and the terror of the law. Only God’s elect, His chosen few are interested in our call and hear it for their salvation.

Does it offend you that only a comparative few are saved? Friend don’t be offended for I have given you the truth of God’s word. I know the popular preachers today will tell you that about everybody is saved, but that is not what the Bible says. “Many are called, but few are chosen.” Now the question for you my friends, and neighbors and kindred is, “are you one of the few?”

Elect According to the Foreknowledge of God

(Article for publication week of 12-1-2010 AD)

“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” (I Peter 1:2).

The doctrine of election is not an obscure doctrine in the Bible, but is found throughout the scriptures from Genesis to Revelation and is a foundational truth of the gospel. God’s chosen people were known and loved by Him from all eternity. In II Timothy 2: 19 we read, “the Lord knoweth them that are His.” Again, in John 10:27 our Lord said, “my sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” The Lord’s knowledge of His people, that is His elect, is not just a knowledge of their existence. The Lord knows about all men, but He knows His people. When the Bible says that the Lord knows His people, it means that God knows His people in the way that a man knows His wife, or in the way a father knows his children. In other words, God loves His people specially, intimately, and savingly.

God loved His people and knew them before He made the world. This is the sense of our text. God’s election of a definite number of the Adamic race unto grace and glory was according to His everlasting love for them. From before the foundation of the world, God marked out a people to be His Own. He set His affections on them from all eternity. Thus we read in Jeremiah 31:3, “yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love.” Well has the hymn writer expressed it, “ ‘twas with an everlasting love, that God His Own elect embraced, before He made the worlds above, or earth on her huge columns placed” (hymn #417 Old School Hymnal #11). This is a most comforting and delightful truth for the believer to lay hold on. There never was a time when God did not love the believer! The hymn writer continues, “ believer here thy comfort stands, from first to last salvation’s free. And everlasting love demands an everlasting song from thee”!

Since God’s love for His elect had no beginning it will never have any end. God’s people are eternally secure in the hands of Him Who chose us in His Son from before the foundation of the world. He has made all the arrangements necessary to bring us to grace and glory. Our text goes on to say that God’s elect are sanctified by the Holy Spirit and sprinkled with the cleansing blood of the Son. The Triune God is bound and determined to save the objects of Divine foreknowledge and electing love. This is a little measure of what our text means. May our little column this week be a blessing to God’s elect.

(Article for publication week of 11-17-2010 AD)

“For whom He foreknew, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the Firstborn among many brethren” (Romans 8:29).

Some who deny the absolute sovereignty of God have tried to explain away predestination by saying that predestination is simply God foreknowing all things. It is amazing what lengths to which some will go to try to deny the sovereignty of God! Man just cannot have it that God is sovereign instead of himself!

All Bible believers will acknowledge the foreknowledge of God. That God is omniscient is a truth that no one can deny. In Acts 15:18 we read, “known unto God are all His works from the beginning of the world.” The reason God foreknows all things is that he has predestinated all things. If God foreknows all His works, it is apparent that he foreknows them because he had already decreed them. To acknowledge the foreknowledge of God is to acknowledge also His predestination. Since God foreknows all things, it follows that what He foreknows is certain to occur. Now if a thing is certain, then what is it that makes it certain? It is either certain because man wills it, or because God wills it. No reasonable person could have it that anything is certain because of the will of man. Even an unbeliever knows that man cannot ordain anything with absolute certainty. Only God has that kind of power. So why argue against predestination? If you believe in an omniscient God, you must also believe in an absolutely sovereign God Who has decreed all things from before the foundation of the world.

Now the wonderful thing about our text this week is the particular foreknowledge and predestination which is under consideration here. “For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image” of Christ. The word “for” indicates that verse 29 is an explanation of verse 28 where we read “we know that all things work together to good for them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose”, and then follows our text explaining it. God is working all things for good to them who love Him. And those who love Him have Him have been called according to His purpose. And these were foreknown and predestinated to be conformed to the image of Christ.

The reason that any sinner ever comes to love God is because God’s saving purpose has been set upon that sinner from all eternity and the Sovereign Lord has decreed the end of His purpose is that His elect people would be restored to the image of Christ. Man was made to be the image bearer of God, and that image was shattered when we fell in Adam. God’s sovereign grace restores elect sinners to be image bearers of God’s Son. Through the justifying righteousness of Christ, God’s elect people have a good record before God. Through the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit, God’s elect have a new nature that is now being conformed to the image of Christ. Finally, God will glorify all those He foreknew and predestinated to be like His Son for eternity. The final happiness of God’s people rests not on their own fickle will, but on the sovereign purpose of God Who has decreed salvation as an absolute certainty.

If you love God and believe in His Son, it is because God foreknew you and predestinated you to be saved. Such a wonderful God ought to be loved and worshipped.

Predestinated According to God’s Purpose

(Article for publication week of 11-10-2010 AD)

“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” (Ephesians 1:11). According to this text there is no limit to God’s predestination. God has absolutely predestinated all things.

The absolute predestination of all things is easily shown by the scriptures. Our text this week says that God works all things (all things without exception) after His Own counsel (or purpose). The end that God has in view is that His elect people should obtain an inheritance. God’s elect have an inheritance reserved in heaven (I Peter 1:4), and they are joint heirs with their Elder Brother, Christ (Romans 8:17). Note well that our text here in Ephesians 1:11 speaks of God’s people as having obtained (past tense) an inheritance. The reason it is in the past tense is that since God has foreordained our inheritance, it is as good as done! It cannot fail for God has predestinated it. Some other passages that plainly show God’s absolute predestination of all things are Isaiah 46:9-11; Daniel 4:35; Romans 8:28-30; Psalm 115:3; Isaiah 45:3; Acts 2:23; Acts 4:28; and Ephesians 3:11. I urge you to go read these passages and see if they do not show the absolute sovereignty of God.

Now I am going to ask you to think with me a little and reason from the scriptures. If God has an elect people, (and He certainly does, as we have well shown in our last several articles), is it not true that they were foreordained to be born? Is it not reasonable, in light of the scriptures, that God predestinated that each of His elect people would be conceived and born? Now think a little more with me: if God predestinated the final end of His elect (their eternal inheritance), and their natural lives, did He not also predestinate the conception and life of each of their ancestors. It took all of our ancestors all the way back to Adam and Eve to get each of us here as the unique individuals that each of us are. That should be plain from scriptural truth. Now if God predestinated the natural lives of His people and their natural ancestors, is it not plain and clear that he predestinated the birth and life of every one who has ever lived. In other words, there is not a misplaced atom, or misplaced atomic particle in the universe, for everything is exactly where God has ordained that it should be.

This is a little of what is conveyed in my text this week. God works all things after the counsel of His Own will. God has left no small detail to chance. He has decreed from all eternity all things whatsoever comes to pass by an unalterable, and immutable decree. That is what it means for Him to be God!

Predestinated to Sonship

(Article for publication week of 11-3-2010 AD)

“Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will “ (Ephesians 1:5).

For several weeks now we have been writing on the doctrine of God’s sovereignty. This is part of a longer series that we are in, on the attributes of God. I have felt compelled to spend awhile on the sovereignty of God, for it is one of the most neglected doctrines in our day. Sadly, most professing Christians, including the preachers, appear to believe in the sovereignty of man, rather than the sovereignty of God. The Lord knoweth whether such are truly saved. We can only hope and expend the effort to teach the truth.

When we say “the sovereignty of God”, we simply mean that God is God. God is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent. Since He is all-powerful, He has the power to do whatever pleases Himself, and He does exactly that, and man cannot hinder His will. Our text says that God is a God of predestination. No study of the doctrine of God’s sovereignty would be complete without bringing in the doctrine of predestination.

God has predestinated from all eternity everyone that He was pleased to save. The number of God’s elect is so certain that it cannot be diminished or increased. If this is not true, then the scriptures would be meaningless. The word predestinate means to predetermine or foreordain with an unchangeable purpose (Webster’s 1828 dictionary). The Greek word translated “predestinate” in our text here is “proorizo” and it means “to limit in advance”, or to “predetermine”. It is translated in other scriptures “determine before”, and “ordain.” Now friend, you cannot make anything of this except that God has absolutely decreed from all eternity by an unalterable and unchangeable decree who would be His children and enjoy the blessing of salvation.

Notice further that that this was done by God “according to the good pleasure of His will”, not according to the good pleasure of man’s free will. My text strikes a deathblow to the heresy of “free will.” Predestination rules out man’s free will. God does not consult with you and me concerning His purposes, if He did that would make us sovereign instead of God, for the sovereign is the one who has the last word. God has the last word, not man.

Now notice what God predestinated- that we, that is His elect chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world (as we saw in Ephesians one verse four), would be His children. We who believe in Christ were predestinated to sonship. That is the reason we are sons of God, and that is the reason we believe, and that is the reason we are saved. Salvation is the operation of the Sovereign Lord Who has predestinated many sons to eternal glory. See how wonderful predestination is?! It means we who are saved are in the family of God! As the hymn writer says, “Sons we are through God’s election, who in Jesus Christ believe; By eternal destination, saving grace we now receive”(Gadsby’s hymnal # 69).

May the Lord bless you all, my brethren, friends, and relations.

Chosen in Christ

(Article for publication week of 10-27-2010 AD)

"According as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love;” (Ephesians 1:4).

What a rich and delightful text we have before us this week! The very first thing we notice is that it was God Who chose us, not that we chose Him.

Secondly, we notice that God chose His people in His Son. There is an eternal election union between Christ and His people that can never be broken. This eternal election union is made vital when the elect sinner is regenerated (II Corinthians 5:17). By virtue of this union, the believer has all covenant blessings. Christ is the Head of His body; He is the vine and His people are the branches.

Thirdly, we note the time of our election in Christ. Properly speaking, it was before time, for it was before the foundation of the world. There was a time (again, properly speaking before time) when there were none in God's universe but Himself. Before God created the angelic host, the material universe, and man, He in His glorious Triunity inhabited eternity. The great I AM chose an innumerable seed in election union with His Son before the beginning of time. It was an eternal, and sovereign act of God that marked out a people for Himself. I am thrilled to set this truth before you and I hope you are able to rejoice in it.

Fourthly, our text tells us the end that God had in view in election, that is that His people should be "holy and without blame before Him." I shall take these in reverse order, and consider first that God chose His people in Christ before the foundation of the world that they should be without blame. That is that they should be declared just in His holy Sight through the merits of their covenant Head, the Lord Jesus Christ with Whom they have eternal union. The elect of God have Christ as their whole and sole righteousness (Jeremiah 23:6), so that legally they stand before God as if they had never sinned and as if they had perfectly obeyed the law of God. This is because Christ is their surety and has stood good for all their obligations to God.

The second great end for which God chose His people in Christ was that they should be holy. God's people have a positional holiness by virtue of eternal election and eternal union with Christ (Hebrews 10:14; I Corinthians 1:30). And in due time God imparts a holy nature to His people when they are born again (I Peter 2:9). When a man is made a new creature in Christ, old things pass away, and all things become new. If a man is not a holy man, he has no reason to think he is one of God's elect, for the great end of election was that we should be sanctified as well as justified.

Thank the Lord for sovereign, eternal election!

The Blessed Man

(Article for publication week of 10-20-2010 AD)

“Blessed is the man whom Thou choosest, and causest to approach unto Thee…” (Psalm 65:4a).

The greatest of all blessings is the blessing of salvation. Nothing in this present world is even close to the blessing of eternal salvation. Everything in this world shall have its end, but salvation is forever. Truly you are blessed if you have been saved.

Our text this week traces the blessing of salvation all the way back into eternity past. “Blessed is the man whom Thou choosest.” Our text tells us that it was God Who chose us for salvation, not the other way around. Before the foundation of the world, God chose, or elected an innumerable, but definite number of the human race for salvation. This is wonderful, for if the Lord had not chosen us we would never have chosen Him! If you are saved, it is because God chose you for the blessing of salvation. As the hymn writer expressed it, “My Lord I did not choose you, for that could never be. My heart would still refuse you, had you not chosen me”! (The Baptist Hymnal , #289). Sovereign election secured salvation , and nothing can alter the sovereign plan and purpose of Jehovah. Election is the first great blessing of which our text speaks.

The second great blessing we have here is the blessing of effectual calling. Blessed is the man that Jehovah “causest to approach unto” Himself. Election is a blessing pronounced upon the elect sinner before he even had an existence. Effectual calling is a blessing that the elect sinner has in this life. All that God chose in Christ before the foundation of the world, He calls them effectually by His grace , so that they actually experience this great salvation. Unless the Lord causes a person to come to Him, that person will not (John 5:40), nor cannot (John 6:44) come unto Him. The elect sinner (like reprobate sinners), is dead in sins until quickened into spiritual life by the Lord (Ephesians 2:1). When the Lord sends His Spirit from above into the heart of an elect sinner, that sinner is made sensible of his sins and begins to mourn and repent of his sins. God brings that poor sinner to the end of his way that he might see that he is an unclean thing and no good thing is in himself. Then God graciously shows that sinner that salvation is in Christ, and gives that sinner faith to come to the dear Saviour. Thus the elect sinner, who was chosen to salvation from all eternity, is caused by the Lord to approach unto Himself.

Now I ask you dear reader, “Are you a believer in the dear Saviour? Have you been brought to the end of yourself? Are you trusting in Christ Alone?” If I speak of your experience, you are the blessed man in my text. You would not, nor could not have come to Christ except the Lord drew you on. And if the Lord caused you to approach unto Himself, it is because He purposed to save you before you were born, yea even before the foundation of the world. Blessed is the man chosen for salvation and called by the effectual call of the Holy Spirit.

The Sovereignty of God in Hardening Sinners’ Hearts

(Article for publication week of 10-13-2010 AD)

“Therefore hath he mercy on whom He will have mercy, and whom He will, He hardeneth” (Romans 9:18).

One of the most solemn facts that we face in all of scripture is that God is not going to save everyone. God has mercy on whom He is pleased to have mercy, and the rest he rejects and hardens their hearts. The previous verse gives as a stark illustration, Pharaoh of whom God said in Exodus 7:3, “ I will harden Pharaoh’s heart.”

The first and most obvious way that God hardens sinners’ hearts is by leaving them alone. This is a dreadful truth that God leaves some sinners alone. God gives to His elect people new hearts. He takes away their heart of stone and gives them an heart of flesh (Ezekiel 36:26). With a new heart, an elect sinner is able to repent of his sins and believe in Christ. When God takes away the heart of stone and gives an heart of flesh, that sinner is able to believe the precious gospel of Christ and understand spiritual realities. But the unregenerate, hard hearted, lost sinner cares not for the things of Christ and is unable to see the kingdom of God (John 3:3). God is not obligated to give anyone a new heart. He is perfectly just in leaving sinners just as they are with a hard, unregenerate heart. It is all of His mercy that he gives any a new heart. So God hardens the reprobate’s heart by leaving him alone. And this is what you who are unconverted want; you want God to leave you alone. And so He does.

Another way God hardens sinners’ hearts is by removing providential restraints. How often we see this when children from Christian homes grow up and get on their own. Under the influence of Godly parents they were kept from much gross sins and perhaps even influenced to make a profession of faith. But then get away from home and the restraints are removed and they prove they were reprobate after all. It is a frightful thing for God to remove His restraints and let you go in the sin that you love and crave.

Also God hardens sinners’ hearts by blinding their eyes to the truth. That is right- you read right, God blinds some so they cannot see the truth. Jesus said in Matthew 11:25, “I thank Thee O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because Thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.” Romans 11:7 says “the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded.” Again there is no injustice with God in blinding reprobates, for they do not desire the Lord and His salvation anyway. God does you no wrong if He hides from you what you don’t want anyway.

Finally, God hardens hearts by causing the gospel to be a savour of death unto them (II Corinthians 2:16). The same gospel that softens the elect of God, hardens those that God leaves as they are. This is easily illustrated. The same sun that melts butter hardens clay. So it is with the Son of Righteousness Who arises with healing in His wings. When he arises on His children it softens them. But those that God has ordained to condemnation are hardened by the precious truth of Christ.

Poor sinner, your only hope is if God takes away your hard heart and gives you a new heart of flesh. It would be an awful thing if God left you alone and hardened your heart to your eternal damnation.

God's Sovereign Restraint of Sin

(Article for publication week of 10-6-2010 AD)

"Surely the wrath of man shall praise Thee: the remainder of wrath Thou shalt restrain" (Psalm 76:10).

We saw last week how that God ordains the sinful actions of men to work for His eternal praise, yet He is not the author, nor the approver of sin. We saw that most clearly in the crucifixion of Christ (Acts 2:23; 4:28), and the betrayal of Joseph (Genesis 50:20). God Who is the First Great Cause, causes all things to work for His glory and His people's good.

Our text this week says that God permits sin for His praise, and restrains the rest. Thank God that He is pleased to restrain sin! The world is under the curse of sin caused by the Fall. Yet, it is still a bearable place to live because God restrains sin. Men would sin much more were it not for God's restraint of sin.

One way that God restrains sin is by His good Providence. God is pleased in His Providence to situate many in families where there is discipline. To have Christian parents is a wonderful blessing from the Lord, for in such a good situation we are restrained from much evil. Even to have moral parents that are not believers is a blessing for moral unsaved parents will still restrain their children.

Another way God restrains sin is by blessing states with wholesome laws. When a commonwealth has laws that are based on God's Law, there will be much happiness in the land. When commonwealths punish murderers and require thieves to restore, it restrains much evil. When a commonwealth rewards the institution of marriage by denying divorce except for Biblical cause, it is a blessing. When a state punishes perversion, it is a blessing to the people. And when the commonwealth holds high regard for the Lord's Day, it is a great blessing. When our part of the world was the Bible Belt (it no longer is), the people were greatly blessed. It appears that God is loosening His restraint of sin in our part of the world, and that is a fearful thing.

God also restrains sin by direct intervention. In Genesis 20 we see a vivid example of this. Abraham had gone to sojourn in Gerar. In the providence of God, Sarah his wife was taken to the harem of King Abimilech. However God kept the man from violating her chastity. Verse 6 says that God "withheld" Abimilech from sinning. This is a wonderful thing, that God prevented this powerful man from touching Sarah!

But the most wonderful way that God restrains sin is by regeneration. When the Lord is pleased to quicken one who is dead in sin into spiritual life He gives that person a new nature that hates sin and loves holiness. "The grace of God that bringeth salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world " (Titus 2:11-12).

But the most dreadful way that God restrains the wrath of man is when He shuts up sinners in the prison of hell. (I shudder to write it!) Dying sinner, you are presently restrained by law and God's providence from going as far into sin as you could. But unless God begins to restrain you now by regeneration, He will send you to hell forever and ever where you can't hurt the Lord's people anymore and where you can't be a menace to God's order. Hell is spoken of as a prison and a place where sinners are bound with chains. Unless God has mercy on you, you will be chained up in hell. May He have mercy on some of you this day.

The Sovereignty of God and Sin

(Article for publication week of 9-29-2010 AD)

“…the Gentiles, and the people of Israel were gathered together, For to do whatsoever Thy hand and Thy counsel determined before to be done” (Acts 4:27-28).

Since God is absolutely Sovereign, and has decreed from all eternity whatsoever comes to pass, this would of course include the sinful actions of men. However, since man is responsible for his sins, God is not the author, nor the approver of sin. The sovereignty of God and sin is shown beautifully in our text this week where we read plainly that the Crucifixion was ordained of God, and performed by wicked men. The same truth is declared in Acts 2:23: “Him being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, you by wicked hands have crucified and slain.” Christ was put to death because He was appointed from all eternity to be a sin bearer for His people. Without the death of Christ, none could ever be saved, because it was by His death that His peoples’ sins were atoned. The perpetrators and participants in the crucifixion of our Lord were doing what God ordained, but it was by their own hands that they committed the worst crime in human history. As we have shown in previous articles, man is absolutely responsible for his actions, although God is absolutely sovereign in the affairs of men. These two passages in the Book of Acts indisputably show that God has ordained all the actions of men, but is not the author of sin.

If this is true as regards the Greatest Event in human history, it should be evident in all lesser matters. For an example of a lesser matter ordained of God and carried out by sinful men is the example of Joseph recorded for us in Genesis 37-50. You remember how Joseph’s brothers were moved by envy to sell him into slavery to the Ishmaelite traders. You remember how Joseph was carried into Egypt and became the slave of a man named Potiphar. He was falsely accused and sent to prison for two years. In the all-wise providence of God, Joseph became the prime minister of Pharaoh and was put in charge of the agricultural system and the food supply of Egypt. As a result of Joseph’s wisdom and planning, as he was directed of God, there was plenty of food in Egypt when God sent a great famine into the mid east region of the world. Joseph’s brothers had to come to him and bow before him in order to get food. Finally all of Joseph’s family moved to the land of Egypt. When Jacob died, the brothers feared that Joseph would take vengeance for their sins against him. Joseph told them in Genesis 50:20, “ye thought evil against me, but God meant it unto good.”

We see in these two notable examples that God leaves sinners to themselves to carry out His foreordained will. As it says in Psalm 76:10, “ the wrath of man shall praise Thee: the remainder of wrath Thou shalt restrain.” Men would sin even more than they do if God did not restrain them. Yet God is pleased to make man’s sins praise Him as in the crucifixion of Christ and the evil treatment of Joseph. What men mean for evil, God means for good. God means in all things to get glory to Himself, to bring eternal good to His people, and to advance His kingdom of grace. In His sovereignty and wisdom, He uses the sinful actions of men to accomplish these great ends. Glory to be to our great God Who hath done all things well.

God's Sovereignty and Man's Responsibility

(Article for publication week of 9-22-2010 AD)

“The secret things belong unto the Lord our God; but those things which are revealed belong unto us and unto our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.” (Deuteronomy 29:29).

Charles Spurgeon was once asked, “how do you reconcile the sovereignty of God with the responsibility of man?” Mr. Spurgeon replied, “I don’t have to reconcile friends!” This was a wise and scriptural reply for the sovereignty of God and human responsibility are not opposed to one another. Our little puny brains may not be able to fully comprehend how God has foreordained everything that comes to pass, and yet holds us responsible for all our actions, yet we believe both truths for they are clearly laid down side by side in scripture.

This is easily proven in nature. God has promised that as long as the earth shall stand there shall be seed time and harvest (Genesis 8:22). God has foreordained that there shall be planting and reaping. Yet there will be no harvest except we plant and cultivate. God has ordained that His people shall be fed and clothed (Luke 12:22-30). The means by which He accomplishes this is by our productive labour. It is clearly revealed in God’s word that if any will not work, “neither should he eat” (II Thessalonians 3:10).

It is also true in the spiritual realm that God is sovereign and that you are absolutely responsible. God has ordained who would be saved and elected them in His Son from all eternity and predestinated them to be conformed to the image of His Son (Romans 8:29-30). This is among the “secret things of God.” God has not shown us the contents of the Lamb’s Book of life wherein was recorded from all eternity the names of all God’s elect. But He has commanded all men everywhere to repent. My friend you are responsible for your sins and God commands you to repent. You will not obtain salvation except you repent (Luke 13:5). On the Day of Judgment no one will be able to protest their damnation on the basis of God’s sovereignty. Your refusal to repent is laid to your own charge. Your sins are laid to your charge. God’s law is clearly revealed to you and you cannot claim that it is a secret thing of God. God has clearly revealed that all who repent of their sins and come to His Son shall be saved. That is the revealed will of God. Election and predestination are among the secret things of God, and the only way you will rejoice in those things is by believing in Christ, for all who believe in Christ are the elect of God (Acts 13:48).

Frequently in scripture the sovereignty of God and the responsibility of man are laid side by side in the same passage. For example John 6:37, “all that the father giveth me shall come to me (God’s sovereignty), and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out” (man’s responsibility). Again, Matthew 11:25 “Thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes” (God’s sovereignty). Then in verse 28 Christ sweetly says, “come unto me” (man’s responsibility). I could multiply texts, but these are two notable examples. God is absolutely sovereign, and we are absolutely responsible.

I want to thank my many readers who encourage us in this little work and pray for us. I appreciate it so much when I go to town and one of you mentions that the Narrow Way has been a blessing, or when I get an email or phone call from you. I also want to invite you all to the Fall Meeting of Particular Baptist Fellowship September 24-26. Elder Jimmy Barber from Oak Ridge, Tennessee will be preaching for us (DV). If you will call me at 601-927-5070, I will give you all the details. God bless you all.

The Sovereignty of God and Evangelism

(Article for publication week of 9-15-2010 AD)

“Therefore I endure all things for the elect’s sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory” (II Timothy 2:10).

For the past several weeks we have been declaring the scriptural doctrine of the Sovereignty of God. One of the first questions people raise when presented with this truth is, “if God is absolutely sovereign (and He is) and has predestinated who would be saved (and he has), then why preach?”

The first answer to this question is BECAUSE GOD SAID TO! Our Lord plainly told us to preach the gospel to every creature (Mark 16:15-16). Whether we understand anything else about it, we must obey God. “Our first duty is not to understand, but to believe” (A. W. Pink). Paul said he endured all things for the elect’s sakes that they would obtain salvation. We must imitate his example, whether we understand the Biblical connection between the end and the means of salvation.

Secondly, we preach the gospel to the whole world because the only way we know who the elect are is by their response to the gospel. In Acts 13:48 it says, “as many as were ordained to eternal life believed.” As surely as God ordained salvation, He also ordained to bring all His elect to faith in Christ, and He accomplishes this by the preaching of the word. Let no one imagine themselves to be among the elect of God who is not trusting in Christ Alone for salvation. The gospel draws out the elect from the rest of the world. I will illustrate my point like this. If you had a pile of steel shavings mixed with sawdust and drew a magnet over the pile, the magnet would draw out the steel shavings. So it is with the drawing power of the gospel. It draws out the chosen of God. The Lord sends His Holy Spirit into the hearts of His elect so that the gospel comes to them in power (I Corinthians 1:18).

Thirdly, we preach the gospel to the whole world because it is the means God ordained whereby His elect should obtain salvation. Although salvation has been decreed from all eternity, it must be obtained. It is through “sanctification of the spirit and belief of the truth” (II Thessalonians 2:13) that God’s elect come into possession of salvation. This is the reason Paul endured all things (no small statement) for the elect’s sakes, for he knew that not a single soul would be saved, unless the gospel be preached.

The preachers that have been most used of God in evangelism and missions have been Calvinists; men like George Whitefield, Jonathan Edwards, Charles Spurgeon, William Carey, and Rolf Barnard to name a few. Their belief in the sovereignty of God moved such men to do as the Apostle Paul and endure all things for the elect’s sakes that would obtain salvation. May we do likewise for God has commanded it, and it is His means to bring salvation to His elect.

The Sovereignty of God and the Gospel Call

(Article for publication week of 9-8-2010 AD)

"But we are bound to give thanks for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation, through sanctification of the Spirit, and belief of the truth, whereunto He called you by our Gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ." (II Thessalonians 2:13-14).

We have in recent articles shown that the scriptures declare that God is absolutely sovereign and that He has chosen from all eternity who will be saved. Our text this week affirms this glorious truth. Paul thanked the Lord for the salvation of the Christians at Thessalonica, because God had chosen them to salvation "from the beginning". No one will be saved unless God chose them to salvation before the foundation of the world, and every one that God chose for salvation will be saved without the loss of one.

Our text this week also says that it was "through sanctification of the Spirit" and "belief of the truth" that we are saved. Furthermore, our text says that it is by the calling of the gospel that we obtain this great salvation. The doctrine of God's sovereignty does not negate the necessity of faith in Christ. Nor does this truth in any sense relieve us of our responsibility to preach the gospel to the whole world. That is one reason I write this column each week, to call by the gospel those of you that I cannot reach in person.

At first glance these two Biblical truths seem to be at odds with each other. Indeed, many professed Christians reject one or the other of these two Biblical truths. Many, having seen the plain words of scripture that promise salvation to all who believe in Christ, and pronounce judgment on all who will not believe in Him, find the truth of God's sovereignty hard to reconcile with the call to faith. Some, on the other hand, seeing election and predestination plainly taught in the scripture, and delighting in it, find it hard to reconcile that with the responsibility of man. Actually, we do not have to choose between the two, because both are taught in the Word, as is seen in our text this week.

The fact is, God has ordained both the end and the means of our salvation. He has ordained that His elect would obtain the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. God has also ordained that His elect should hear the gospel and believe it to the salvation of their souls. God has joined these two together, and let us not try to separate what God has joined. There is a great banner over the door of salvation that says, "whosoever will may come." That is a sincere proclamation. All who will repent of their sins and believe in Christ may be saved. We preach that to every rational creature that we can reach. After you have entered through the door of salvation, you may see the backside of that banner has written on it, "chosen to salvation from all eternity" (Illustration borrowed from Charles Spurgeon). My friend, if you are lost, you do not need to be trying to figure out the high doctrine of predestination, you just need to come to Christ. George Whitefield once said, "no one should try to enter the university of predestination until he has gone to the grammar school of repentance and faith." But after you have been saved, you may rejoice that it was all of the Lord from first to last.

Sinners in the Hands of a Sovereign God

(Article for publication week of 9-1-2010 AD)

“For He saith unto Moses, ‘I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion‘ ” (Romans 9:15).

Poor sinner, you are in the hands of a Sovereign God Who can do with you as seems good to Himself. And God only does one of two things with sinners- He either has mercy on them and saves them, or He damns them and sends them to hell. One of these two things he will most certainly do with you.

Now there are three wonderful things in our text that I want you to see. First, mercy is the sovereign prerogative of God. God is not obligated to have mercy on any sinner. If God were so pleased, He could withhold His mercy from every one of us and He would be no less good and holy. If God were obligated to us, then it would cease to be mercy. God will have mercy on whom He will.

Second, our text tells us that God will have mercy. Ephesians 2:4 tells us “but God Who is rich in mercy for His great love wherewith He hath loved us.” God has been showing mercy to sinners for six thousand years now and He still is. He has extended mercy to a vast number of sinners, and He has still not run out, for He is rich in mercy. Micah 7:18 says this pardoning God “delighteth in mercy. God just gets much delight in showing mercy to sinners. Why there is joy in heaven over every sinner that repents and finds mercy with the Lord. Did you get that? God delights in mercy! Our great God is just tickled to show mercy to undeserving sinners. God will have mercy! I am about to shout while I type this out! I want you to see that God is not short on mercy. Charles Wesley wrote, “plenteous grace with Thee is found”! He has mercy enough for the vilest offender who comes to Him through His Son. God will have mercy. Heaven will be filled with a great number that no man can number who all were recipients of undeserved mercy.

But, thirdly, I will ask you, “will He have mercy on you?” Remember now, He only does one of two things to sinners. He either gives them what they deserve and sends them to hell, or He withholds what they deserve, showing mercy and takes them to heaven. Which will it be with you neighbour? Will God have mercy on you, or will he give you what you deserve? Since our text tells us that God will have mercy, you ought to apply for mercy. I have read the Bible through more times than I remember, and I have not found one sinner who came to God through His Son the sin bearer that was turned away. Poor sinner, plead with God for mercy, for He will have mercy on whom He will have mercy, and He may have mercy on you.

The Sovereignty of God in Reprobation

(Article for publication week of 8-25-2010 AD)

“(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;) It was said unto her, ‘ the elder shall serve the younger.’ As it is written, ‘Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.’” (Romans 9:11-13).

As long as Romans chapter nine is in the Bible, no one has any excuse for being an Arminian, or a Pelagian, or a humanist or a free-willer of any kind. Romans chapter nine presents a sovereign God Who does what He will with Hs Own. This chapter presents us with a God Who sovereignly chose a remnant of the Adamic race for salvation, and at the same time sovereignly left the rest of mankind as they were. This rejection of the unsaved, we call the doctrine of reprobation.

This is not the only text in the Bible that speaks of the doctrine of reprobation. In Romans 11:7 we read, “the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded.” In I Peter 2:8 we read of those who “stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto they also were appointed.” Jude 4 tells us of those “who were of old ordained to this condemnation.” Just as God in His sovereignty loved His elect from before the foundation of the world and chose them in His Son, so in His sovereignty, He rejected the rest.

Our text plainly tells us that God rejected Esau before he was ever born. God decreed form all eternity to save a definite number of the human race, and their number is so certain that they can neither be diminished or increased. God also decreed to leave the rest of mankind to fall in Adam and act in their sins to their own destruction. God chose His people for salvation to the praise of His glorious mercy, and He rejected all others to the praise of His glorious justice. God will get eternal glory for Himself in both cases.

God was not obligated to choose any of the race of man for salvation. He would have been perfectly good and holy and righteous and just had he rejected the whole human race. So none may say unto Him, “what doest Thou?” God is the potter, and we are the clay, and He may justly form some clay into vessels of mercy, and form others into vessels of wrath.

What do you do with this great doctrine of reprobation? Does it make you mad to know that God is everything and you are nothing? Or does it humble you down to know that? Does this truth make you fear such a great God? Here is the application of this truth: cry unto Christ for mercy! He has promised that He will not reject any who come to Him! If you will believe in Christ, you are certainly not reprobate. But if you persist in rebellion and reject Christ, you will find that you have been rejected by Him. May God have mercy on your poor soul.

The Sovereignty of God's Love

(Article for publication week of 8-18-2010 AD)

"Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated" (Romans 9:13b).

Contrary to popular opinion, God does not love everybody indiscriminately. Our text is clear and plain; God loved Jacob and hated Esau. If you back up to verse 11, you will see that the reason for this is, that God's purpose according to election might stand. Romans chapter nine is one of the clearest and plainest passages in the word of God concerning eternal election and reprobation. I just wish you would stop now, and go and read the ninth chapter of Romans. As long as this chapter is in the Bible, no one has any excuse for rejecting the sovereignty of God in salvation.

Nor is this the only scripture that speaks of God's hatred. For example, we read in Psalm 5:6, "the Lord will abhor the bloody and deceitful man." Again, in Psalm 11:5, ""the Lord trieth the righteous: but the wicked and him that loveth violence, His soul hateth." Also in Proverbs 6:19 we read that God hates him "that soweth discord among brethren." Now, I want you to note these texts speak of God's hatred for the persons of the wicked. It is a half-truth that is often parroted that "God hates the sin, but loves the sinner." It is true that God loves elect sinners, and sent His Son to die for them and sends His Spirit to regenerate them and make them holy people, but God hates those who are reprobate and will punish them in the lake of fire forever.

Now, there is a sense in which the Lord loves everyone, and that is that He will treat all men right. God will deal justly with every person according to His law. And this is one definition of love according to Romans 13:8 where we read that love is the fulfilling of the law. God will treat you right, stubborn sinner. If you persist in your rebellion until the bitter end, God will send you to hell for breaking His perfect law. There are countless billions already in hell, and God is treating everyone of them right. No one can say that God has not treated him or her right. In that sense, God does love everybody.

But my text this week is plain, God has not set His saving affections on the whole world. He has set His saving affections on His elect that He chose in Christ before the foundation of the world. And He has loved them with an everlasting love that had no beginning and will have no end. God loved His elect so much that he sent His Son into the world to die a sustitutionary death for them. He loved them so much, that He has washed away all their sins in the blood of His Son. He loves His elect so much that he sends His Holy Spirit into their hearts to make them holy people like unto Himself. It is an amazing thing that God would love any sinners, but He sovereignly chose to set His affections on a remnant of Adam's lost race so that they might be saved. God was not obligated to love Jacob nor you nor me, but in His mercy and grace He did!

And I want to say this before I close. If you sincerely love the Lord, then you are one that He loved in eternity. We read in I John 4:19, "we love Him because He first loved us." If you love the Lord, and are trusting in His Son for justification, and mourning over your sins and turning from them, then it is evidence that you are one of His. May the Lord bless each of you, my dear readers.

Sovereign Election

(Article for publication week of 8-11-2010 AD)

"Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you..." (John 15:16a). In this text our Lord reminded His disciples that they had not chosen Him, but rather He had made choice of them. It is a good thing that God chose us, for we would never have chosen Him. Our hearts are deceitful and desperately wicked and we cannot know them. No man has ever sought the Lord, until the Lord sought him.

That the Bible teaches the doctrine of election, no Bible reader can deny. A few of the many passages that teach the doctrine of election are Psalm 65:4; John 6:37; Romans 9:11; Romans 11:5; I Corinthians 1:27; I Thessalonians 1:4; II Thessalonians 2:13; Ephesians 1:4; I Peter 1:2; and I Peter 2:9. Lord willing, we will consider these passages in coming articles, but I just ask you, if you have never heard of the doctrine of election, or if you have refused to believe it, please look up, and prayerfully read these references.

Salvation is God's choice, not man's. God is absolutely sovereign, and He has the right and the power to do with His Own as wills. This is a fact that you need to face- you belong to a sovereign God Who is able to save and He is able to damn. You need to face the solemn fact that God is not obligated to you. You need to humble yourself under His mighty hand and acknowledge His sovereign power over you. You need to admit that you do not have any "rights". You have squandered your birthright by leaving the Father's house.

No one has any reason to be opposed to the truth of election. Christians have no reason to oppose this Biblical truth, for it was God's choice that made you one of His Own. You would never have chosen the Lord, had He not first chosen you. It is grace alone that causes the Christian to differ from other sinners. Each of us who now believe in Christ for our salvation was once lost, and we could never have found our way to God had He not rescued us by marvelous grace. We once were blind, but God opened our eyes to behold the King in His beauty and see the land that is very far off. And why did God open your eyes and not the eyes of others who are yet in spiritual blindness? Why, the only answer is, it was His sovereign pleasure so to do! God could have left you lost and blind, but by sovereign grace He sought you out, for He had from the beginning chosen you to salvation and ordained all the means to bring you to faith in His Son. If you are a Christian, it is all of grace.

Nor do the unsaved have any reason to oppose the truth of election. You say yourself that you do not want Christ. You love your sin and do not want to be holy. It is your own depravity and rebellion that keeps you from repenting of your sins and fleeing to Christ. You want God to leave you as you are, and that is exactly what He has done. So you who are lost have no reason to complain if God has not chosen you, for you do not want to be chosen of Him.

The doctrine of election exalts God and abases man. The doctrine of election is a Biblical truth that cannot be denied. The doctrine of election should be embraced by all, and should be preached from every pulpit. Thank God for His sovereign election.

The Sovereignty of God in Salvation

(Article for publication week of 8-4-2010 AD)

"Salvation is of the Lord" (Jonah 2:9).

The salvation of certain sinners to grace and glory is all of the Lord from first to last. Salvation is not , I repeat, salvation is NOT a joint effort between God and sinners. The natural state of man is such that he is powerless to do one thing to help the Lord in his salvation. We have not one thing that we can contribute to our salvation. The only thing we can bring to Christ is our sins. But thanks be to God! He is the Saviour of sinners.

Salvation is of the Lord in its inception.

Such a wondrous thing is beyond the comprehension of the natural mind of man. The truth that the thrice holy and sovereign God, would condescend to save poor sinners is a truth that could only have been conceived in the mind of God. That God would become a Man to die a substitutionary death that vile sinners might rise was never thought of by philosophers and poets. It is one of the great proofs of the veracity of God in His written word that such holy and lofty subjects could never have been thought up by the smartest of men. Only God could have even conceived such a thing.

Salvation is of the Lord in its planning.

It was God who purposed and planned salvation before the foundation of the world. Salvation was no afterthought or reaction with God. But He Who decreed all things in eternity planned salvation. God the Father chose a number that no man can number in His Son in eternal election before He framed the worlds (Ephesians 1:4). None of us would ever have chosen the Lord had He not first chosen us.

Salvation is of the Lord in its execution.

None of us would ever have thought of Christ, the Eternal Son of God coming into a sin-cursed world to work out a perfect righteousness for the elect of God, but that is the way that God executed His plan of salvation. Christ did not come into the world to try to save sinners, but He came into the world to save every one of His elect sheep that the Father gave Him in the everlasting covenant (Matthew 1:21). Not one for whom Christ died can ever be lost, for His blood has washed away ALL their sins and not one charge can be laid upon them (Romans 8:33). Every one for whom Christ died shall be saved without the loss of one.

Salvation is of the Lord in its application.

He sends His Spirit from above to quicken and call every one for whom Christ died (John 6:37). Every chosen vessel of God's mercy shall hear the glorious sound and be effectually called into salvation by the Holy Spirit Who , like the wind, blows when and where He please. The work of regeneration cannot be stopped by men. None can resist the Sovereign workings of the Holy Spirit. There has never been a sinner so stubborn , that God the Holy Spirit could not humble him down and bring him to the foot of the cross , pleading for mercy. There has never been one of Christ's sheep that was so far away, that the Holy Spirit could not draw him back to the sheep fold.

God is absolutely sovereign in salvation, from first to last. Thanks be to our Great God, salvation is of Him!

No Such Thing as 'Luck"

(Article for publication week of 7-28-2010 AD)

"The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord" (Proverbs 16:33).

The word "luck" is a word that should be banished from our vocabulary. According to the scriptures, there is no such thing as "luck", for all things are foreordained by God. The casting of the lot is ordained by God, for He disposes of all things by His sovereign and absolute and all wise counsels. The movement of the heavenly bodies is by God's determinate counsel and foreknowledge. Every germ and bacterium on the earth is under the sovereign control of God. All atomic activity is by God's sovereign decree. God works all things after the counsel of His Own will (Ephesians 1:11). As our text this week says, "the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord".

Nothing in the universe is left to blind chance. The universe is governed by an all-wise God. God's eternal decrees are in accordance with His wisdom. Don't you see that the worlds are upheld by the One Who is all wise? You see, there is no wisdom in "luck". Those who believe in "luck" are simply saying that they do not believe in the all wise God. Now I know some of you use the word "luck" out of habit, rather than unbelief, but you should labour to eliminate the word "luck' from your vocabulary as much as you would labour to guard against unclean or blasphemous speech. You see, "luck" denies that God is absolutely sovereign. Actually, it ultimately denies that there is a God. There is no such thing as luck in a universe created and governed and upheld by Jehovah.

I thank our Great God that He rules, and over-rules all things for two glorious purposes; God's first great purpose is His Own eternal glory (Psalm 8:1; Romans 11:36). The whole idea of "luck" or "chance" ascribes no glory to God. Those who think that way are not giving God the glory that is due His holy name. Everything that happens in a universe governed and controlled by our Sovereign Lord is for His eternal glory.

God's other great purpose in all things is the eternal good of His people (Romans 8:28). God hath determined in Himself to do good to the objects of His love. We Christians know that our great God is too good to be unkind, and He is too wise to err. All things work together for the good of God’s chosen people. God is infinitely wiser than we. And He is infinitely more holy than we. So we trust Him that when things happen that are painful, He knows it will be for our spiritual and eternal good. He is good, and He is wise, and He will glorify Himself and work good for His people. There is no such thing as "luck", because God is absolutely sovereign.

The Absolute Sovereignty of God

(Article for publication week of 7-21-2010 AD)

"Being predestinated according to the purpose of Him Who worketh all things after the counsel of His Own will" (Ephesians 1:11).

Last week we showed the sovereignty of God in creation, providence and salvation. This week, we wish to show that God is absolutely sovereign. Actually, the term "sovereignty of God" is being used more today than in my earlier years, and for this we are thankful. The renewed interest in the doctrines of grace and calvinism is an encouraging sign. But I suspect that many who are using the term "sovereignty of God", do not really believe it as the Bible says.

The great theologian, Lorraine Boetner once remarked, "there is no consistent stopping place between absolute predestination and atheism." This is the reason I entitle this week's article "The ABSOLUTE Sovereignty of God." According to our text here in Ephesians 1:11, God is not only sovereign, but He actually excercises His sovereignty. He works all things after the counsel of His Own will. God is the First Great Cause of all things. God has foreordained everything that comes to pass. "All things" means "all things"! As Boetner expresses it, to move from this high pinnacle of God's sovereignty is to move toward atheism.

This is a most comforting truth to know and to believe. I do not have to worry about what is going to happen tomorrow, for God has already ordained what will happen. He is working all things out for my eternal good and His eternal glory. The great Christian, General Stonewall Jackson was absolutely fearless in battle. When asked of his calmness on the battlefield, he responded, "I am as safe here as at home in my bed." This is the faith and confidence of those who understand that God has predestinated all things and that He is too wise to be mistaken, and too good to be unkind. Our lives and our deaths are predetermined by Him, and we cannot die a second before our appointed time, for he "worketh all things after the counsel of His Own will."

And most comforting of all, God has exercised His sovereignty in the matter of our salvation. Our salvation is certain and we cannot lose it, because it has been foreordained of God from all eternity. Not one that God predestinated to an eternal inheritance shall lose that inheritance. Our sovereign God has worked salvation according to His purpose which cannot fail. Praise be to Him Who rules over all!

The Sovereignty of God

(Article for publication week of July 14, 2010 AD)

"Our God is in the heavens, He hath done whatsoever He hath pleased" (Psalm 115:3).

I begin this week by asking you, who do you believe is running the world? Some think that man is running the world. There are of course rich and powerful men in businees, finance and state who appear to have great power. Others don't believe anyone is running the world- they suppose that some blind "fate" controls the world. But our text tells us Who is actually running the world- God!

The God of the Bible does not consult with His creatures as to how He will run the world and the whole universe- He does as He pleases in all things. When God created the world, it was by His Own sovereign decree. Before creation there was none but God, so He did not have to consult with anyone as to whether or how He would create a universe. God rules the creation by His Own Sovereign power, and as one dear Brother often preaches, "there is not a misplaced atom in the universe." Every atomic particle in the universe is exactly where God ordained it to be and is kept in its place by the Sovereign hand of God.

So you see, when we speak of the sovereignty of God, we simply mean that God is in absolute control of everything and that he does as he pleases with His Own. And that includes you my dear reader- God owns you and He will do with you as seems good to Him. Your temporal existence is in the hands of Jehovah, the absolute sovereign of the universe. When he is so pleased, He will cut you down and take you out into eternity. God is not obligated to you to let you live a specified time on earth. Your days are numbered and are foreordained of the Lord. And your eternal destiny is in the hands of the Lord God, Who has power to save and power to damn.

The God of the Bible is much bigger than the God many of you believe in. I love this great God, because he is absolutely sovereign over all things and is working out all things for His glory and the good of His people. I love this omnipotent and absolutely Sovereign Lord, and I wish all of you loved Him. May the Lord help you to see how glorious God actually is and that he is the Sovereign of heaven and earth.

The Omnipresence of God

(Article for publication week of 7-7-2010 AD)

"Whither shall I go from Thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from Thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, Thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold Thou art there." (Psalm 139:7-8).

The Psalmist declares in our text the omnipresence of God, that is, God is everywhere present, and nowhere absent. God is present everywhere in His great universe. He is a spirit (John 4:34) so is unbounded by space. He is in heaven, and he is everywhere on earth, and according to our text His presence is known , even in hell itself.

Ever since man sinned in the Garden of Eden, we have been trying to hide from God. The presence of God is a frightening thing to a poor sinner. In Genesis 3:8 we read that Adam and Eve hid themselves from the presence of the Lord. Before they sinned, they delighted in the presence of God. But after the fall their consciences were guilty and they feared the presence of God, knowing they were now under His judgment. But Adam and Eve found out there was nowhere to hide. And there is still no place for a poor sinner to hide.

Poor sinner , you cannot get away from God! There is no place for you to hide! We read in the Book of Revelation that at the reality of the day of Judgment , sinners will cry to the rocks and mountains to fall upon them (Revelation 6:15-17). But there will be no place to hide in that awful Day.

And after God's judgment is passed upon you poor sinner, there will still be no place to hide. Our text says , that when you have made your bed in hell, God will be there. God will be your judge and executioner for eternity. For all eternity you will be in the hands of an angry God Who will punish you forever. You will never get away from Him!

But for us who are saved, the omnipresence of God is a delightful thing! God is with His people at all times, wherever they are. Our great God has promised to never leave nor forsake us. Though we walk through the valley of shadow of death, He is with us. He is with us in every dangerous situation. He is upholding and protecting the sheep of His pasture. Our God is with us!

And we look forward to eternity, for we shall spend eternity with our great God. The thing that is frightening to the unbeliever is a source of endless joy for the believer. "If I ascend up into heaven" , our Great God is there. Christians, let this be your consolation- God will never leave thee nor forsake thee, and you shall be with Him forever.

The Omniscience of God

(Article for publication week of 6-30-2010 AD)

"Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O Lord Thou knowest it altogether" (Psalm 139: 3-4).

The omniscience of God means that He knows everything. The Psalmist here in our text declares that God knows every word that he has ever spoken and every word that he will ever speak. God knows every fact that can be known. He knows everything that has ever been done and everything that ever will be done. He knows every thought that every person has ever thought. He knows where every animal is in the forest and where every fish is in every ocean, river and lake. He knows where every germ is. And this He knows at once. Right now He knows what every person on earth is doing and what everyone will do tomorrow. He knows everything past, present and future. God has never learned anything, for He knew the end from the beginning and He has never been surprised by anything. Well would the Psalmist go on in Psalm 139 and say, "such knowledge is too wonderful for me”!

God knows what you are thinking right now. He knows everything you have ever said. He knows everything you have ever done. He knows everywhere you have ever been. He knows every website you have ever visited. Sinners may hide their sins from their parents or from the sheriff or from the pastor, but you have never hidden anything from God. The eye of the Lord is in every place beholding the good and the evil. Poor sinner, does it not strike fear and terror into your trembling heart to know that God has beheld all your sins? When you stand before Him on the Day of Judgment, He will know all about you and all your transgressions against Him. What an awful thought! The omniscience of God should provoke you to repent of your sins and cry out to Him for mercy before it is everlastingly too late!

But, on the other hand, the omniscience of God is a glorious comfort for the children of God. Job said in Job 23:10, "He knoweth the way that I take." God knew His people before they ever had a being in themselves. He knew every trial we would ever go through. He knew every sorrow we would ever have. He knew our desperate condition when we were lost in our sins. And He knew everything that He would do for our salvation. God knows our every need, and He knows what we need before we ask and what is for our eternal good. He knows what we will pray, before it enters into our minds to pray. Our great and good God knows everything about us.

And not only does He know, but He cares. God cared for us in eternity past when He marked us out for His Own and ordered our salvation and made it sure in His Eternal Son. He cared for us when He showed us what sinful wretches we are, and He cared for us when we cried for mercy. And He will continue to care for the objects of His everlasting love. God in His omnipotence and His omniscience is working all things out for our eternal and spiritual good (Romans 8:28). God knows all things, because He has decreed all things for His Own glory and the good of His people. Let us worship the omniscient God of heaven and earth.

The Omnipotence of God Displayed in Salvation

(Article for publication week of 6-23-2010 AD)

"And what is the exceeding greatness of His power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of His mighty power, Which He wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and set Him at His Own right hand in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 1:19-20).

According to our text, it takes the same power to save a sinner as it did to raise the Son of God from the dead. It is nothing less than Divine Omnipotence that enables a poor sinner to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation. We believe in Christ "according to the working of His mighty power." A poor sinner is helpless to save himself, or help save himself.

The first thing we note about the condition of man is that by nature he is dead in sin (Ephesians 2:1; Romans 5:12). Some advocate in their doctrine that man is sick, but the Bible says that he is dead spiritually. Some would suggest that Adam was injured by the fall, but the Bible says that he died. The spiritual condition of man in his natural state is that he is dead. Just as one who is dead naturally can do nothing to restore himself to life, so one who is dead spiritually can do nothing to give himself spiritual life. Poor sinner, you are in desperate straits! You are dead in sin and can do nothing to give yourself life!

The next thing we see about the sinner's condition is that he is in rebellion against God. His will is averse to God. Our Lord said in John 5:40, "ye will not come unto me that ye might have life." Not only are you helpless to come to Christ, but you are unwilling to come to Christ. You love yourself instead of God and you love your sins more than holiness, so you will not come to Christ and be saved, you are a rebel against the High King of heaven.

Were it not for Divine Omnipotence, no sinner would ever be saved. But thanks be to God! The power of the Almighty has engaged to save poor sinners! The omnipotent energy of the Triune God regenerates those dead in sin and gives them spiritual life. "The Son quickeneth whom He will" (John 5:21). The quickened sinner then has spiritual life and is made sorry for his sins and enabled to cry to the Lord for mercy.

Not only does the Lord regenerate one dead in sins when He is pleased to save such a one, but the Lord also conquers the stubborn will of the rebel. "Thy people shall be willing in the day of Thy power" (Psalm 110:3). There has never been a sinner so stubborn that God was not able to conquer that sinner when God was pleased to save that sinner. So we read in John 6:37, "all that the Father giveth me shall come to Me." The elect sinner comes to Christ most willingly when Divine Omnipotence overcomes him.

Now I ask you dear reader, "has Divine omnipotence given you life and changed your rebellious nature?" Has the power of the Almighty intervened in your life for your salvation? I pray it may be true of you, my dear readers.

The Omnipotence of God

(Article for publication week of 6-16-2010 AD)


"Ah Lord God! behold Thou hast made the heaven and the earth by Thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for Thee" (Jeremiah 32:17).


There is nothing too hard for God, for He is all-powerful, or omnipotent. There is no limitation to His great power. When God promised Abraham and Sarah a son in their old age, He confirmed His promise to them and answered their doubts by asking them, "is anything too hard for the Lord?" Our Lord told His disciples in Matthew 19:26,"all things are possible with God."


One of the great proofs of the Deity of Christ is His omnipotence. In Matthew 28:18, our Lord said "all power is given unto me in heaven and earth." As we write on the attributes of God for the next several months, we will notice from time to time how that the Lord Jesus Christ has the incommunicable attributes of God, proving that He is God.


The omnipotence of God is shown first of all by His creation of the universe. God created the heavens and the earth out of nothing. The only reasonable account of the beginning of the world and of man is found in the first two chapters of the Bible where we read that God created the heavens and the earth and all that is in them in six literal twenty-four hour days. Everyone who rejects the Biblical account of creation is unsaved and will perish in hell. You do not show yourself to be smart by rejecting the Genesis account of creation, on the other hand you show yourself to be very stupid. You read right- I said you are stupid if you do not believe in the creation of the universe in six literal days by an omnipotent God. Worse than being stupid, you are lost world without end. You are in the gall of bitterness and the bond of iniquity. Your problem is worse than ignorance, it is rebellion.


Secondly, the omnipotence of God is shown by His governance of the world. Colossians 1:17 says that by Him all things consist, or held together. Every atomic particle is held in its proper place by the Omnipotent God. There is not a misplaced atom in the universe. God actively governs His creation. Acts 17:28 says it is in God that we "live and move and have our being." The omnipotent God gave you your life. He is keeping you alive. And when He is ready He will end your life. If you do not now believe in the omnipotence of God, you will when He is pleased to end your life. You will see then that God has all power, and you have none. And if you die in your sins, you will feel the omnipotence of God as He sends you to hell. You will see then that you are a helpless worm in the hands of an all powerful God.


But the most glorious display of the omnipotence of God is in the salvation of sinners. Ephesians 1:19 says that we believe "according to the working of His mighty power." When a poor sinner is saved it is the work of the Triune God. Poor sinner you are powerless to save yourself, or help save yourself. But the God of the Bible has power to save. The thing that is impossible with you is possible with God. May He spare you before it is too late.