How does God call the elect to himself? Canons of Dort, Third and Fourth Head of Doctrine, Articles 4, 5, and 6. Well, what have we looked at so far in the canons of Dort? Well, we looked at unconditional election. This is where God chose a certain number to save in Jesus Christ out of his own free will, love. Then we looked at definite or what is often called limited atonement. Definite is a better term. This is where Jesus died for that certain number given to Him by the Father, fully saving them. Then we looked at total inability, which is a better word than total depravity, which shows man's total inability to please God and receive the atonement offered in Jesus Christ. Today we start or we continue to look at the effectual call, the call which is the fourth head of doctrine showing how God calls man from the cesspool of his life and then establishes him on the rock even on the Lord Jesus Christ. Our headings are three, the light of nature cannot call. Second, the law of God cannot call. Third, it's the Lord who calls. And our goals are that you will love your covenant keeper, that you'd hold on to him by faith. And third, that you will serve in his kingdom, knowing he graciously sent his Holy Spirit to call you and others from darkness into his marvelous light. First, the light of nature cannot call. Article 4, the inadequacy of the light of nature. And we say together, There is, to be sure, a certain light of nature remaining in people after the fall, by virtue of which they retain some notions about God, natural things, and the difference between what is decent and indecent, and demonstrate a certain eagerness for virtue, for good outward behavior. But this light of nature is far from enabling them to come to a saving knowledge of God and the conversion to God. So far, in fact, that they do not use it rightly, even in matters of nature and society. Instead, in various ways, they completely distort this light, whatever its precise character, and suppress it in unrighteousness. In doing so, they render themselves without excuse before God. So you hear a lot, you've heard a lot here about the light of nature. What is this light of nature? Well, the light of nature is glimmerings, like lights or sparks, of who God is. Glimmerings of the wonder of God's creation, and glimmerings of what God expects from those whom he created. The light of nature gives man some sense of right and wrong. So man knows, for instance, that if you steal somebody's property, that's not good. If you murder someone, that's wrong. You don't have to be a Christian to know that. That's how God made us. That's the remaining light of nature. It's kind of flickering, it's not very bright, but it's there. But because there are only sparks, they don't produce enough light to see the holiness of God, the sinfulness of man, and the necessity of the work of Jesus Christ. Now, our Arminian friends argue that the light of nature is sufficient to enable a sinner to come to full conversion. And when we say Arminians, we mean like Pentecostals and a lot of Baptists as well. They believe that the light of nature is much brighter. But this is palpably false. And the question then, why are they wrong? How can you prove them to be wrong? Well, they're wrong because while God created man good with the ability to keep his law and to image God, to reflect God, when man sinned, he was adversely affected and unable to fulfill the mandate of imaging or reflecting God. He was no longer positively inclined to do what is good. He could do no good, or he could not do any good, put it positively. He wasn't interested in doing any good. He was separated from God. Beautifully put for us by the Apostle Paul in Romans chapter 3, verse 11 and 12, and let's say together, There is none who understands. There is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside. They have together become unprofitable. There is none who does good. No, not one. There's none righteous is how this starts off. None righteous. So you can't come to that understanding of God by yourself like some people would say. They're wrong for another reason. They're wrong because spiritual things require a clear spiritual mind, which an unregenerated man does not have. Again, 1 Corinthians 2, verse 14, together, But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. The natural man does not receive the things of God. He can't. It's against his nature. When God says, this is what you need to do, he says, no, I want to go over here. It's the opposite. He will not move towards God by himself. Remember, you can't add a side to your salvation. That's the depression. That's the condition of man. Let me illustrate it to you in another way. If you look at a car in a junkyard, and by the way, there are lots of those. If you want to see some of the beautiful electric cars, there are dozens and dozens of them, nice looking, perfect shape on the outside. They're all dead on the inside. Those cars wouldn't move. You'd have to lift them to make them move. They just will wait there and rust away because they have no engine. And so man has a tarnished image of God and can't come to God without the total renewal from the inside, from the soul, from the engine. So man can know God exists, he can know something about the beauty and holiness of God to some degree, see the way the world works, things don't go random and go in confusion. I mean, they're talking about, well, the earth can flip completely over. Well, God made things and he put them in place. He'll take care of the earth. And we can see a lot about God's work. But the need for salvation and the method of salvation cannot be deciphered without God's help. It's only man's fault that he can't understand it. He doesn't know his way back to God. That's because he was totally unable to do so because of his sin. Now let's go back to this famous passage from Romans 1. You can see some of why man is in this condition and therefore why man needs to be called or pulled by God. Romans 1.20 says together, For since the creation of the world, his invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse. Because although they knew God, they did not glorify him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. professing to be wise, they became fools. You see the problem there? Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools. They saw God, they didn't glorify God, so they're without excuse. They became futile in their thoughts, and their hearts were darkened. There's no light there anymore. You know, if you want to read something, even if you have a candlelight, you can look and read and learn. But there was nothing now. The light is so dim, you can't see. And because man does not see something of the attributes of God, His glory and wonder and power, I'm sorry, because man does see some of that, he has grounds for being condemned by God. You know why God is saying, you saw so much of me. You look at the beautiful things. You ever take the time to look at some of the tulips and the colors where there are multiple colors and see how gradually that changes? So beautiful when you look at it or the design of even some of the simplest flowers. And you say, there's got to be a creator. This didn't come by accident. What kind of accident would produce such a flower as this? And when you see that and you don't search out for that God who made it, you've got grounds for being condemned. There's another problem, the law of God cannot call. That's article five or second point, the inadequacy of the law. And let's say together. In this respect, what is true of the light of nature is true also of the 10 commandments given by God through Moses, specifically to the Jews. For humanity cannot obtain saving grace through the Decalogue, because although it does expose the magnitude of human sin and the increasingly convict people of their guilt, Yet, it does not offer a remedy or enable people to escape from the human misery, and indeed, weakened as it is by the flesh, leaves the offender under the curse." Just remember the discussion group with the Muslims when One of the Muslims asked, well, how are people saved in the Old Testament? And Jesus didn't come yet. And one nicely dressed guy, very polite fellow, said, let me answer that. And then he said, of course, in the Old Testament, they were saved by keeping the law. And he was supposed to represent the Christian side, and I almost died. Because I'm the leader, and then he says something like that. And I have to be kind to him and yet say, you don't know what you're talking about there, buddy. How do you do that? Well, obeying the law is inadequate to lead a man back to God. Remember, to obey God's law, you must have faith. You can't do anything good without faith. If it's not from faith, it's sin. And to obey God's law, you must do it for the glory of Christ. If your heart hasn't changed, you are not doing it for the glory of Christ. So it's impossible to keep the law and be saved. Plus, you're already sinful. You're condemned because you were born, because your parents were wretched, and then you add to those sins every day. How could keeping the law take away those sins? In fact, the more you know God's law, the more you realize, whoa, how much I need Jesus Christ. Never be afraid to talk about the law of God. When you're evangelizing people, it's not simply about the cross. The cross makes no sense. Without the law of God, you've got to talk about sin and how we break God's law. Not be afraid to do so. And don't let it overwhelm you because the sins were put on Jesus. Plus, He kept the law for us and gave us His obedience. So, talk about the law. Our Arminian brothers believe that man could ultimately move back to God by keeping this law. That's another brand of them. Many even believe the Old Testament saved them just by purely keeping the law. And more, they believe that man is able to keep God's law because they don't believe man really became evil. You see, that's where the problem is. If you don't think man is as bad as he is, then you think man by himself can struggle and eventually be able to find his way back to God. They just believe man's will was hampered by the fall. It was not destroyed by the fall. And this causes, and this is where the application comes in. And if you remember nothing else, I hope you do more today, remember this part. This is what causes the Armenian to insist on training and imitation. And that's how they want to make Christians. You do what we do. If we close our eyes, you close your eyes. We wave our hands. If we sing the songs and we say the same things, then you're a Christian. Because they believe that it's obedience to the law that will save. And that's where the danger is. That's why this is so important to understand, that God must call you. If you understand the nature of sin, you will realize you can't come to God by yourself. And those who try to make people imitate them to become Christians by imitation, they're sinning. And that's why in typical Armenian places, I got a note from a friend this past week, and he says, oh yeah, he's just drinking and smoking now, as if that's the evidence of not being a Christian. It's a whole lot more than that. It's a whole lot more than that. But the Armenians will say, oh, you don't dress that way. That's not a Christian way to dress. And you must not act that way. And you must not drink alcohol. And you must not do this, this, this. Because they're thinking that salvation is by imitation, by works. Now many of those things might be bad things and you should avoid some of those things for sure. You should dress modestly. You should stop the abuse of alcohol and the misuse of drugs and all of that. We understand those things. But those are not the things, if you avoid those things, that's not what will save you. It's what Jesus does and what he did on the cross for you. We are not to look at the law that way. Look at what the Apostle Paul says in Romans 7, verses 5 and 6. Together, for when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which were aroused by the law were working in our members to bear fruit to death. But now you have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit, and not the oldness of the letter. Your work in our members to bear fruit of death. That's what the law was leading to. Can you keep God's law and be saved? Can you go to church and be saved? Can you dress properly and be saved? Can you stop drinking alcohol and be saved? No, none of those things will save you. None at all. The Christian must view it that way. In fact, the law did not encourage man to go back to God. And then we have the nature. We are naturally opposed to God's law. So when God says, you shall not steal, the sinner says, I want to steal. When God says, you shall keep the Sabbath day holy, the sinner says, I want to do what I want to do on the Sabbath. What did the law do? The law showed you your sins more and more. Look at the sense of what is in the unconverted heart in Romans 7, 8 and 10. For apart from the law, sin was dead, and the commandment which was to bring life I found to bring death." That's the law. That's what imitation does. The law was given to Adam and Eve, and it was sufficient to bring them the rewards that God had promised them, but because of sin, The law lost its effectiveness because man couldn't keep the law anymore. The law is perfect by itself. If Adam and Eve had kept that law and passed that test, they would have been confirmed in a good way, confirmed in righteousness, and so would you have been. But they didn't, and so you aren't. So how do we find our way back to God? The light of nature doesn't do the job. It's enough to condemn us, but not to save us. The law of God doesn't do the job. It just shows us how much we need help. Well, the Lord must call us. And that's our final point. The Lord who calls. Article six, the saving power of the gospel. What, therefore, neither the light of nature nor the law can do, God accomplishes by the power of the Holy Spirit through the word or the ministry of reconciliation. This is the gospel about the Messiah, through which it has pleased God to save believers in both the Old and the New Testament. By the way, I love that phrase. The word of God, of the gospel, is the ministry of reconciliation. It's the way of making men right with God, making peace with God. Now, not only can you be brought back to God, or the only way you can be brought back to God is when the Holy Spirit calls you and pulls you to receive Christ's work as your own. And I want you to notice something in this verse we're going to read now. The passive nature of man. Because man of himself would not come. John chapter 6 verse 44 says together, no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. There's a sense of force in this word, a pull, where God must work in you, otherwise you will not come. No man chooses, for example, to be born. And Jesus used that as a picture of how a man is saved. Man is passive at birth. John chapter 3 verse 5 says, together, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. I mean, no child even decides, well, I want to be born, or I want to be conceived. That's outside of your purview. You need the work of parents to be able to give birth. And so it is when God works in this. He must work in us first so that we are able to to have life, unless he draws us, and you are passive, because you will not go in the direction he's going. He must pull you in the way you ought to go. So how is this call played out in time? Well, the gospel message comes through the preacher or a teacher. This is called the call of the gospel. Romans 1, verse 16 says together, for I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation to everyone who believes. No gospel, no salvation. So it starts with the gospel that someone has to bring or take. to those who are lost. When the hearer hears the gospel, God works in him by the Holy Spirit to produce faith. And when he gets that faith, he then, remember faith is the hands of the soul, then you're able to receive what Jesus did. His life of obedience, keeping God's law, the Ten Commandments perfectly, and then taking the punishment for you breaking the Ten Commandments. Galatians chapter 2 verse 16 says, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified." We're justified by faith, not by the law. Now there's some notable implications that we must consider now because of the necessity of God's call for man's salvation. We're getting to the practical side now. The noblest man, the most charitable woman, the most helpful boy to his parents, the girl who speaks the truth, or the boss that gives you that nice bonus at the end of the year, or maybe one in June as well, will not enter the kingdom of heaven on account of his good works. He can't come to God by himself and is so lost by himself. God must call him. Every single one of your non-Christian friends and acquaintances, even the ones born in a Christian home, even the one who was baptized, will go to hell unless he has true faith in Jesus Christ and responds to God's call. Every single person from every single religion, Regardless of how peaceful and kind they might be in their religion, as sweet as they may be, as generous as they may be, they will go to hell without being drawn to God. You see what this means, brothers and sisters? This must humble you. You don't deserve salvation. You don't deserve Christ's work. You don't deserve faith. You don't deserve to be called to Christ. But you have these gifts, they're given to you for free. By the way, you see good doctrines, how it lead to good applications. The fact that you must be called cause you to praise God when you are called. More than being humble, let this give you the desire to tell others of this salvation. The gospel is what the Spirit will use to pull others to the Savior. You know, your niceness might bring people in the door, but it's the gospel that will bring them to Jesus Christ. And that's why you have to speak up. Remember, we all have our different gifts. Everyone has to give a reason for the hope that he has. That means you need to talk about the holiness of God, the sinfulness of man, and the redeeming work of Christ. Even your charm might be nice. but your charm will save no one. It's the Holy Spirit who will work, and He will bring the change in the heart as the gospel is heard. For hearing and believing the gospel has always been the means by which man is saved in the Old Testament and the New Testament throughout all dispensations. Abraham had faith in Jesus, Jesus Christ said so in John 8. Hebrews 11 and 12 speak of the great cloud of witnesses who had faith in Jesus Christ. And Jesus said so too in Luke 24. He says, the law, the Psalms, the prophets, they all spoke of me, pointing the people to him. Hebrews 11, 24 and 26, let's read this together. By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, esteeming the reproach of Christ's greater riches than the treasures in Egypt, for he looked to the reward. By faith Moses looked to Christ. In fact, Moses said, a prophet greater than I am will come. and to him shall be the obedience of the people. He knew what he was talking about. He knew that someone will come and preach the gospel. Jesus Christ is called what by John in John chapter one, and the word became flesh and dwelt among us. It's the word that brings change. He is that true prophet for the people of God, for those given to him. For faith then, they had to have the gospel, and for the gospel, they needed to hear preaching. As they heard the gospel, the Holy Spirit called them to Himself. And brothers and sisters, this is what the Holy Spirit does today. Let's conclude. Neither nature nor the law can call you to Christ. Neither one can call you to the Savior and tell you how to be saved. In fact, both leave you guilty. Nature leaves you guilty. The law leaves you guiltier. Only the Holy Spirit can call you through the gospel to the Savior. So brothers and sisters in the Lord, seeing the futility of man to come to God and seeing man's lacking desire to come to God by himself, Do you love God more now that He has called you to Himself by His Holy Spirit? He would have been justified if He'd left you in your sins, and He didn't have to do this. But He didn't. He chose to call you, to teach you, to fight with you when you were wrestling against Him. Shouldn't that make you love God more? Good doctrines always lead to more love. And seeing the gracious gift of faith from God to hold on to the promises of Jesus, will you now serve him with more zeal? Do you have passion in coming to worship? It's too easy to get into a routine and you just do it. How do you have passion? How would you have passion when you reflect on what he has done, how he chose you, how he had to pull you to himself because you were pushing him away? Do you set aside your pleasure and comfort to teach others, to teach your children about the gospel? Or is money and entertainment more important to you? This is what the Holy Spirit will use to pull your children to himself. Take time for that. Take time to pray for missions. Get a list of those missionaries, those newsletters that come. Take the time to learn so you can pray for the spreading of the gospel. That's how the Holy Spirit will draw people to himself. Show you value the effectual call by promoting the means of that effectual call. That's a way of summarizing it. Support the work of the Lord everywhere so the gospel can spread. Third, seeing you have this message of life that can save the world from its constant attempt to please God by good works, how faithfully are you personally telling others about the free gift of Jesus Christ? Your personal testimony here. How faithfully are you telling them about Jesus so that the Holy Spirit will pull them to himself? It's okay for us, many, to send money for somebody else to do it, but God expects you to personally be involved. You heard that already today. Building up the walls of the church requires everyone. And if you're not a Christian, hear God's call to you today. Are you feeling ashamed of your sins, of the things you think, do, and say? Do you see the failure of trying to please God with good works, even imitating what other people do? If so, He's calling you to repent of your sins and then ask Him to be your Father. Christ did for you what you couldn't do for yourself. He brought you back to God. Let us pray. Thank you, Heavenly Father, for your words that we have heard proclaimed again. Lord, we see you in nature. We learn a lot about you from the law, but neither one could bring us to you, but your Holy Spirit working through that word that is proclaimed by us. and by people we send and people we encourage and support. So, Lord, let us not be negligent about the Word of God, that you will call men and women, boys and girls, from the farthest parts of the earth to yourself. Hear us, then, we pray. For Jesus' sake, amen.