Ephesians chapter one. We're going to get all real Calvinistic tonight. Ephesians chapter one. Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians. We've been journeying through the Baptist catechism. I think there's two surprises for a lot of people. One of them is that Baptists used catechisms. It sounds like a Roman Catholic thing. It doesn't have to be. It's just a way of teaching through question and answer format. Another surprise would be to many that the Baptist catechism is a Calvinistic document. A lot of Baptists hear that and they get all nervous. because a lot of Baptists don't believe that Baptists should be Calvinists. What is that? What is a Calvinist? We'll talk about some of that tonight and why we are and why we believe the Bible teaches as much. Tonight's question is this, did God leave all mankind to perish in the estate of sin and misery? So we've established that we are all in a state of sin and misery. And we deserve that because of the fall and because of our own sin. Does God just sort of leave us there in that state of sin and misery? Or did God do something about it? And further, did God do something so that there is potentially a way for people to come out of this sin and misery? Or did he do something so that there is definitely a people who come out of this state of sin and misery? The answer here is this, and it's a bit wordy, but I'm going to read it and then I'm going to pray and we're going to dive in. Okay. God, having out of his mere good pleasure from all eternity elected some to everlasting life, did enter into a covenant of grace to deliver them out of the estate of sin and misery and to bring them into an estate of salvation by a redeemer. So again, the question is, did God leave all mankind to perish in the estate of sin and misery? The answer is no, that God has elected some out of his mercy to be saved. That's the short answer. Let's dig into it after I pray. Okay. Lord in heaven, we come and we ask that you would open our eyes and to understand and see what you have here. I pray that. This doctrine would help us, encourage us, comfort us, do all the things that biblical truth will do if we will let it and receive it in faith. We pray. Amen. Humanity is in a state of sin and misery and we deserve it. It's something that has come because of the fall of man into sin and something that we have shown our own selves individually as having earned because of our rebellion against God. And God would, let's be honest, I think it ought to be said, and we should be reminded that God would be just in leaving us in such a state. It is not incumbent upon God to fix it. He made a covenant with Adam, our representative of humanity. That covenant was broken. And because of the breaking of that covenant, here we are. But God in his mercy has done something else. He did not leave us in such a state of sin and misery that we deserve. All Christians believe that God has a plan of redemption. Everybody who names the name of Christ, I should say, I'm sure there's a couple of fruitcakes out there that always make up some kind of a weird doctrine to be contrary, but all Christians believe that God has a plan of redemption, that God is working and has worked to save people. But the question that divides many Christians and even divides Baptists is whether redemption was made possible for all, or if redemption was made definite for some. So when God has made this work of redemption, did he do it? And did he provide all the work as far as the potentiality of people being saved? And does he leave the rest up to man? Or did God do a work in which there is definitely a people who will be saved. And those who hold to definite redemption are typically known as particular or Calvinistic Baptists because they believe, we believe, that there will definitely be people saved. And we know that because we understand these to be those whom the Bible describes as the elect. So it's a dividing line here. how you answer this question. Did God choose us or did we choose God? That really is one way to put it. Now, I'll say this out front. One of these days I might just preach a series on this. I have been accused by some of my Baptist brethren, my independent fundamental Baptist brethren of changing. Um, that, uh, I came out of Bible college and that I switched up and I became a Calvinist later on. I understand why they say that. Um, and I know this is probably not relevant for any of you here tonight cause you're none of my Baptist brethren who've accused me of changing, but for the sake of your understanding of a little bit of your pastor's background and for the sake of any of my Baptist brothers who might be watching, I don't know if they are. Let me just say very plainly that when I started the church, we use the New Hampshire Baptist confession, which is a Calvinistic doctrine, a document. And so I didn't change the church to become a Calvinistic church. I just finally realized what our statement of faith was teaching. Nothing in the church documents changed since our inception. And in fact, uh, I might put this up on sermon audio for the sake of, uh, future generations, but the church I came from, uh, before I started this one, the Bible college I went to was Hiles Anderson college. And anybody who's been an independent fundamental Baptist for a while has heard the name of Jack Hiles. Um, a name that is somewhat mired in controversy. But nevertheless, a big name, a recognized name in Baptist fundamentalism. I went to their Bible college and I came here and started Salted Rock Baptist Church with the statement of faith that First Baptist Church of Hammond had as their statement of faith. And that statement of faith, if you're wondering, You can read it, and I've got it here. Let's Use Forms and Letters by Jack Hiles. Do you see that? All of you online, do you see that, Devon? Yeah. Copyright 1966. I wasn't alive back then. But this is a book that was produced by Sword of the Lord Publishers. All of my Independent Baptist brethren would know that. Amen. And on page 41, Let's use forms and letters and an example of their statement of faith. Here is article nine of God's purpose of grace. We believe that election is the eternal purpose of God, according to which he graciously regenerates, sanctifies, and saves sinners. That being perfectly consistent with the free agency of man, God's purpose comprehends all the means in connection with the end. that grace is a most glorious display of God's sovereign goodness, being infinitely free, wise, holy, and unchangeable, that grace utterly excludes boasting and promotes humility, love, prayer, praise, trust in God, and active imitation of his free mercy, that it encourages the use of means in the highest degree, that it may be ascertained by its effect, and all who truly believe the gospel that it is the foundation of Christian assurance and that to ascertain it with regard to ourselves demands and deserves the utmost diligence. That is Calvinistic doctrine. It's also in the section of repentance and faith. It is especially in the section of grace and regeneration. So for posterity's sake, let me just say that we have maintained the statement of faith that the church started with, the New Hampshire Baptist Confession, the same one I brought down here from Bible College a long time ago. And so did Pastor Joe change. Yes, in a way I began to understand the statement of faith. I read it when I was young and dumb. I started the church when I was 23. I do not recommend that for 23 year olds, but I was 23 and I was right on everything. But then I began to realize that I didn't quite understand everything in the statement of faith. Later on, through God's good providence, I did come to an understanding of that. Ironically, through other independent fundamental Baptist preachers, and they're leading me to study Baptist history and the word of God itself. Anyways, having said that, let's talk about this issue of election and Calvinism. A lot of Baptists don't want to be called Calvinists because it's a man's name. My point to that is, okay, so the system of doctrine has a man's name. Does that in and of itself make it incorrect? Let's think critically here. Does that make it wrong if the label to the doctrine is a man's name? No, not necessarily. Uh, the proof is in the what? The pudding. Yeah. So is this, is the doctrine biblical? That's the question. So some read some Baptist rejected because they say that it is the system invented by a man. They say that because, uh, it has a man's name on it. And honestly, you don't have to call it Calvinism. You can call it the doctrines of grace. You can call it reformed soteriology. You can call it historic Baptist soteriology. There might be some fighting over that, but I'll stand by it. Anyways, all of that to say this, the Bible very clearly shows that God chose. God chose. And God chose us in him from the foundation of the world. Look in Ephesians chapter one and verse four. according as he has chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love, having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will. God's choice of saints, and by saints, I mean people who are saved, is an eternal choice. It is one that God made a long time ago from before the what? Foundations of the world. It is an eternal choice. This is something that God did from the, before the foundations of the world. Now my detractors will say, well, God chose us because we, he knew we would choose him. Or some of them like to say, he foresaw that we would choose him. And they would say that God looked down the corridors of time. And he saw that we would choose him, so then he elected us. Here's the point I'm trying to make. God does not learn. And if God is making his decrees contingent upon what the free will of a creature is, the implication there is that he is learning. He's looking down the corridors of time to see. And for people who make arguments from silence to use the language of looking down the corridors of time is an unusual phrase when you don't believe in using language that isn't in scripture. It is an eternal choice. God hath from the beginning chosen you. Second Thessalonians chapter two. From when? From the beginning he hath chosen you. And this choice of God's saints is designed for our salvation. Again, an argument against the Calvinistic doctrine of election is that God didn't choose us to be saved. He chose those who are saved to receive benefits of the salvation. He chose us to sonship. He chose us to be in heaven, but we choose to get saved. And then he chooses the redeemed to have benefits of being saved. Well, the Bible is very clear that he chose us to salvation. And besides, if he chooses us to the benefits of salvation, what would that require first? That you be saved. Yes. So, uh, he, he would not, he could not choose a people to enjoy a benefit if the contingency of that benefit was based on something that he did not have any prerogative over. You see? Probably not. I sort of muddied that with a lot of words. Let me put it this way. God chose us, yes, to sonship, yes, to be sanctified, yes, to grow in holiness. He saved us and ordained us under good works, but also included in all of that and at the foot of all of that, the foundation of all of that, is salvation. He chose us to be saved. 1 Thessalonians chapter five and verse nine, God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain Salvation. He has appointed us to obtain salvation. Now, our dispensational brothers will say that that's a reference to how we're not going to be around for the great tribulation. That's not what that verse is talking about. It has nothing to do with the seven-year Great Tribulation. You won't find it anywhere in that passage. It's talking about our salvation. He has not appointed us to wrath. He has appointed us to obtain salvation. And this choice of God's saints is a definite choice of a people. It is definite. It is not hypothetical. It's not, you know, hopefully somebody will will bite, you know, when you go fishing, you put bait on the hook and you put the hook in the water and you hope that somebody, somebody, something will take the bait. Yeah. But is there a guarantee? No. In fact, Jubilee has been doing fishing camp this week at the YMCA. And what do you have, like 20 kids going fishing? Maybe four or five catch fish. And the rest of them are like the rest of us. They go home empty handed. There is no guarantee in fishing. And it's a hypothetical idea, right? That if you go out, you will catch fish. Is this what salvation is? Did God, if I may, bait the hook and hope that some sinner would have enough sense to latch on? Or did God actually definitely choose actual individual people to be saved? Well, the Bible says, the Lord knoweth them that are his. 2 Timothy chapter two and verse 19, Romans 11 and verse 25, blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in. In other words, God said that there has been a judicial blindness, and that's a whole nother Bible study, but just understand that that's what the reference is there, a judicial blindness to the nation of Israel until the full number of Gentiles has been saved. What does that imply? That God knows who these are, who they are, the fullness. You know, God does not elect people the way that grandma made biscuits. When is enough enough? You'll know when you get there. She has no measurement. She just knows. Well, you know, there is not this hypothetical number in God's mind. He knows who will be saved and who are his people. And not just who will be saved in the sense of the Armenians looking down through history, but God knows them that are his. There is a specific people he has in mind. It is not hypothetical. These are actual individuals. And all of this is based solely on his sovereign pleasure. Why did God elect some to be saved? Are you ready for the deep theological answer? He wanted to. He wanted to as a demonstration of his mercy. He could have elected no one, and he would still be a just and holy God. But in electing some to be saved, he magnified his mercy. And in leaving others in their sin, he has magnified his holy wrath. And yes, his wrath is holy, and it's just, and it's deserved. And, you know, Christians kind of get in the role of apologizing for God's wrath. Like, sorry, my dad is so mean. We don't have to apologize for God. He's not mean, he's just. And what may seem mean to many is to God, pure and holy justice. So God's choice of saints is an eternal choice. It's designed for our salvation. It is a definite choice of people, not a hypothetical choice of, I hope somebody gets saved. It is also solely based on his sovereign pleasure. He did not choose you because he foresaw that you would be saved. He chose you because he wanted to. And there's no other way to describe it. Not because you and I are great or awesome. And it's kind of funny that people who hold the Calvinistic doctrine are sometimes described by non-Calvinists as being prideful. Like, oh, you guys think you're the elect. Yeah, we think we are the elect, you know, because we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. And we know that that wouldn't happen unless we had been elected to believe. Here's what I mean. This election of God on individuals is manifested by the fact that the elect believe the truth. God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation. through sanctification of the spirit and belief in the truth. 2 Thessalonians 2 in verse 13. And so people say, well, how do you know who's the elect? Well, I don't know until after they believe the truth. And people say, well, I can't hold to this Calvinist doctrine of election because how do I know if I'm elect? Well, do you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ? Then he has chosen you. to salvation through belief in the truth. If you believe, then you're in. We don't need to complicate this, but so many do. And those who say that, oh yeah, the interesting thing about Calvinists is they all believe that they're elect. That's like saying the interesting thing about people who believe you gotta be born again is they all believe they're born again. Or people who believe you got to give it saved by faith, believe they're saved by faith. Well, yeah, of course, of course, I believe I'm elect because I believe that as the Bible shows, if you receive the gospel, it is because you have been elected from eternity past, from before the foundation of the world. So this election of God is based, or I should say, is manifested by the elect coming to faith in Christ. And so people who wring their hands over wondering, am I elect, am I not elect? Do you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ? Have you received him in faith? You got it. You don't have to complicate it. You don't have to. This is this is for your assurance. This is not for your your confusion. It is the only true way of assurance. Yes. And this election of God's God electing us is not based on anything in or about the sinner that would merit God's choosing them. OK. Jesus said he had not chosen me, but I have chosen You and I know that again, the detractors would say, well, that was referring to the apostles and do we, are we not included in the words of Christ to the apostles? Didn't Jesus also say just a few verses later, uh, the verses about how we should love one another. Does that just refer to the apostles or should we believe that also you see what I'm saying? So people want to slice and dice scripture up and not use verses that should apply to the rest of Christianity and the church and only make it stick to the apostles, but then they switch gears a few verses later. Well, we can't do that. Miss Lucy, your hand is up. Where is the verse where he prepares? That is in, yeah, that's in calling. He calls us. Jesus said, no man can come to me except the Father draw him. So good question. I think I'll probably answer it a little fuller as the sermon progresses, I hope. If I don't, let me know after the sermon. So not only did God chose, but let me talk briefly about how God chose us. God chose us. Uh, the degree of election is comparatively small. Let's be honest. Uh, many be called, but few chosen. Jesus said in Matthew 20, this said, we see Luke 13, this passage, one asked Jesus, are there a few that be saved? And the answer is this strive to enter in at the straight gate. For I say unto you, many will seek to enter in and shall not abide. We also know that the way to salvation is described as a straight and narrow way. Few there be that find it. And though it is comparatively few compared to those who go to destruction, yet it is wide in scope. What I mean is there will be and have been and will continue to be people saved from many nations. Thou hast redeemed us to God out of every kindred and tongue and people and nation, Revelation 5, 9. We see in Revelation 7, after this, I be held in low, a great multitude, which no man could number of all nations and kindreds and people and tongues. They stood before the throne and before the lamb clothed with white robes and palms in their hands. And they cried with a loud voice saying, salvation to our God, which sit upon the throne and unto the lamb. So comparatively, compared to those who go into perdition, it is a smaller number, but nevertheless, it is a vast multitude of people that God has chosen to be saved from every tribe and tongue and people and nation and kindred. This decree of election extends to the worst of sinners, the worst of them. God doesn't choose to be saved the best people. God doesn't do like what happened to us in grade school at dodgeball time. Remember the teacher would pick two captains and then the captains would pick who was on their team. And I was never picked first, but praise God I was never picked last. And you would hope that you would get picked to be with your friend, right? And the captains of the team would be picking people sort of, not willy nilly, but based upon either A, whom they liked, or B, whom they thought would beat the other team, right? The big guys, the fast girls, the ones who could kick hard or throw hard or dodge fast. God doesn't choose based on how good or how bad you are. But his decree does extend not only to those that we would consider decent people, but God has also chosen to save some of the villainy of humanity. Yeah, look at our front row, amen. Back row. All y'all in between, I don't know what kind of a sandwich this is. It's our election sandwich here. Paul said he was the chiefest of what he wasn't. Paul was not being like, uh, this wasn't a humble brag from Paul. Okay. He was being serious. He, he, he felt like if God was giving out trophies for the worst centers, he would win like that. That's my trophy. I, I am the chiefest of centers. Paul felt that way, and the more he grew in holiness, the more he realized that when the Lord reached down to save him, he reached way down, way down. It extends to the worst of sinners, but this doctrine of election is open to all that will come to Christ in repentant faith. When people say, I can't get saved because I don't know if I'm the elect. That's not the question you should be asking. The question you should be asking is, do you know what you are? You're a sinner condemned by God. Do you want to do something about that? Does that bother you? Does this prospect of being saved by Jesus Christ and coming to him in faith, does that give you hope? Then strive to enter in at the straight gate, said the Savior. It is open to all who come to him in repentant faith. Jesus said him that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out. Nobody's going to come to Jesus in repentant faith and say, I want to be saved. And Jesus isn't going to say, hold on, let me check the list. I'm sorry. Your name's not on the list. You can't be saved. That's, that's not how election works. That is how many people painted though. That's not how it works. If you come to Christ and you want to be saved, Jesus said him that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out. And you know why he won't cast you out? Because you wouldn't be coming to him unless the father was drawing you. Why would Jesus rebel against the will of his father in drawing the center to Christ and then pushing them away? Well, he's not going to do that. They work in tandem, you see. They work together. God is drawing them to himself. Of course, Jesus will receive you. And so this decree of election, understand it does not discourage, but rather encourages the use of means to get the gospel out. What do we mean? What does Bedouin mean when he, and other Puritans mean when they talk about the use of means? It means doing everything you can to get people saved. As Spurgeon said, not only should everything, not only should, how did he put it? It'll catch up to me. Not only should we do as much as we can, but we have to do everything that we can to be saved, to get people to be saved, to share the gospel. So this doctrine of election, some people say that Calvinists believe in fatalism, that since God has chosen who will be saved, then we don't have to do anything about it. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. For one thing, that would be disobedience. God has told us to go and preach the gospel. Secondly, if you understand what this means, this gives us boldness. I know a lot of non-Calvinists who keep saying silly things like, I don't know if anybody can be saved today. What? That's ridiculousness. Why would we say that? I mean, if God has saved, and he has, the scum of the earth, Can he not continue to do that? Yes, of course he can. Why would we think that God cannot work unless you think that God's working and redeeming people is contingent on their willingness to receive the gospel? But I believe the Holy Spirit can so woo a sinner to Christ that there is this irresistible drawing to Jesus, where the blindness is taken off of the eyes, amen, Devon? And they see Christ for who he is, they see themselves for who they are, and they are irresistibly drawn to the Lord Jesus. Now that looks to them like they're coming to Christ, but it looks to God like he is drawing them. We see in one perspective, but God sees what's behind the scenes. And the doctrine of election is behind the scenes. You see preachers preaching. You see sinners coming. God sees people whom he has called and chosen from before the foundation of the world. You see? So this does not discourage preaching soul winning. sowing gospel seed, it encourages it. I mean, if I told you, everybody look, in one of these trees on our property, up at the top somewhere, I've tied a million dollars up. What would you do? We'd probably see, yeah, we're like church outside tonight. You're going to see a blind man climb a tree like you've never seen. You're going to see brother Jamie healed of his crippled ways. We're going to be helping each other. We're going to do all, you're going to do all, because you know, Somewhere there is something worthwhile. And you're going to do all that you can to get to it. Nobody's going to say, well, it's up there somewhere. Maybe it'll fall in my head one day. But that would not be our attitude. We would go after it, wouldn't we? Well, how much more value is a soul? Look, there are souls out there that God has chosen from before the foundation of the world. Preaching is you go find them. Soul winning is you go find them. I don't know where they are, but they're out there. The Lord knows. Amen. And since we don't, you know, people aren't born into this world with a mark of election on them. You just got to share the gospel with everybody. Like you climb every tree. until you found it, right? And so this is not a discouragement to the use of means. Rather, this emboldens us to preach the gospel. I have faith that if, listen, we could go, Devon and I were talking about some of the unsafe, bad neighborhoods, some people would call them St. Louis. You've picked the worst neighborhood in the world. If you stand up on the street corner and preach the gospel, God can save somebody there, amen? They can do it. And by the way, uh, he can do the same in town and country. They probably call the cops on you though, but now not only did God choose us, God chose us in him. And this is where I'm going to go. I knew this was going to be a little bit longer tonight. Um, so I apologize for that, but hang, hang with me. God chose, God chose us. God chose us in him. Election is founded and made possible by the work of Christ through the new covenant. As we see in Ephesians 1 14, he hath chosen us in him. All of God's special grace is through Christ. We are blessed. with all spiritual blessings in Christ, Ephesians 1, 3. All the promises of the new covenant were made to Christ. We see in Isaiah 55 in verse three, they're called the sure mercies of David. David, Jesus Christ is the son of God, but in his kingly position, he's also referred to as the son of, David is of the lineage of David. He has right to the throne of David. All the conditions of the new covenant were exacted from Christ. The Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. When God made a covenant with Adam, he said, do this and live. Adam did not do that and he did not live forever. He experienced death. He received the punishment of the breaking of the covenant. Here's why salvation is so wonderful and all of grace. Christ received on himself the punishment that would come to those who could break the covenant. And once you are in Christ, there is no more punishment for you because he has taken all of your punishment. Christ freely undertook this work of redemption. We see in Hebrews 10 and verse seven and other places that he has come to do the will of his father. And the father determined that this scheme, as our brethren in the UK might call it, this work of redemption, that it would succeed, that it would not fail. He shall see the travail of his soul and be satisfied. Isaiah 53 in verse 11. And as Bedone puts it, these saints in covenant are given to Christ. They're given to him. Thine they were, Jesus said, and thou gavest them me. God gave them to Jesus. to be redeemed, to be called. Jesus said, other sheep I have, which are not of this fold, speaking of those outside of the nation of Israel, them also I must bring and they shall hear my voice. And then there shall be one fold and one shepherd. The father gave us to the son that we may be preserved. Jesus said, those that thou gave us me, I have kept. And we've been given to Christ so that we may be glorified someday. Jesus said, as he prayed, as thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. I put it this way. We're all familiar with John 3 16, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him. Now stop. Who is the whosoever? The elect. They are the ones who will believe. For whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. I like to think of this doctrine of election and God's purposes in Christ this way. For God so loved the world, that He gave them His Son. And God so loved the Son that He gave Him a people. And the elect are a people given to Christ. They are His. I am His. He is...