Is It All Fated?
Topical Address • 7.9.08 • Kingsfield High School Group
Intro.
- Open with me to the book of Romans.
- Let me share a story about how I started to wrestle with the issue of election.
- 19 yrs old. Mullet. Loma Linda.
- 2nd time through Ephesians. First time: Ignorant. Second time: I was stopped.
- It blew my mind. Tailspin…
- “If everything is determined, where is the motivation?” This is where I was.
- Tonight, my purpose is to define some terms, set some context, and carry us into a bird’s eye view of this highly sensitive subject.
Text
- Let’s begin with some terms. We’ll begin with the words that happen or occur on the side of God. Let’s start with “predestined” or “predestine.”
- The word means “to determine beforehand.” It occurs just 4 times in the word of God. Two times in Romans 8 and two times in Ephesians 2.
- Let’s get to the word “foreknowledge.” The word means to “know beforehand.” It occurs only 2 times in the Bible, Acts 2:23 and I Peter 2:1.
- How about “election?” The word means to be “picked out,” “chosen,” and “selected.”
- This word appears 5 times. The word “elect” appears 22 times in the word. Ah, now we are getting somewhere!
- You might also want to check out the word “chosen.” I did not want to add that one, as time is of the essence.
- Now, let’s move onto the terms that are dealing with our side of the equation. How about “free will?” It means to be free to choose any possible outcome.
- We see it 4 times in the book of Leviticus, chapters 1, 19 and twice in 22.
- Based on all the controversy, you would think that all of these words got more coverage! Maybe hundreds of times or maybe a thousand mentions. We barely got past 50!
- Now, let’s set some context. We won’t have time to look at each verse, but here is a decent sampling, a cross section if you will.
- First, in the realm of all the words that refer to the Lord, ie., predestined, election, foreknowledge.
• Romans 8:27-31 : “Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?”
- As we read the entirety of Romans 8, and we don’t have the time tonight, but I encourage it, you will notice that Paul is addressing a group that is now in Christ.
- Looking at the word foreknowledge, only once in the two times does it refer to people, and again, it refers to a group of people.
• I Peter 2:1,2 : “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To the pilgrims of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace be multiplied.”
- Again, notice that Peter is addressing a group.
- Let’s look at elect or election. The word “elect” speaks first to a surprising source.
• Isaiah 42:1-4 : “Behold! My Servant whom I uphold, My Elect One in whom My soul delights! I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles. He will not cry out, nor raise His voice, Nor cause His voice to be heard in the street. A bruised reed He will not break, And smoking flax He will not quench; He will bring forth justice for truth. He will not fail nor be discouraged, Till He has established justice in the earth; And the coastlands shall wait for His law.’”
- Jesus is God the Father’s elect, chosen one. Alright, we need to look at another verse.
• Isaiah 45:4 : “For Jacob My servant's sake, And Israel My elect, I have even called you by your name; I have named you, though you have not known Me.”
- Once again, and not to belabor the point or to insult your intelligence, but I see a pattern here. The elect refers in the Old Testament, either to Christ, or to the people of Israel.
- Other times in the Old Testament, the word elect or chosen, refer to people whom God selected for a task or to represent him in some way.
- Come the New Testament, something happens. The elect, chosen, predestined are the people of the church.
• Ephesians 1:1-6 : “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.”
- Do you see the pattern? Paul, to the SAINTS…God, who blessed US…God, who chose US!”
- In the eyes of God, He sees two groups of people that have been elected to represent Him: Israel and the Church. Remember who Paul is writing this letter to. We forget, but these are a bunch of Gentiles, the first generation of Gentiles, as a matter of fact.
- To these, God has unveiled a mystery, and chosen to reveal Himself in their midst, and ultimately in ours, through our lives as a church today.
• Romans 11:11-20 : “I say then, have they stumbled that they should fall? Certainly not! But through their fall, to provoke them to jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles. Now if their fall is riches for the world, and their failure riches for the Gentiles, how much more their fullness! For I speak to you Gentiles; inasmuch as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry, if by any means I may provoke to jealousy those who are my flesh and save some of them. For if their being cast away is the reconciling of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? For if the firstfruit is holy, the lump is also holy; and if the root is holy, so are the branches. And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree, do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you. You will say then, ‘Branches were broken off that I might be grafted in.’ Well said. Because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Do not be haughty, but fear.”
- Now, let’s talk about our side: Free will. The only place that this is used, as I said earlier, was in the context of sacrifice. In every instance, God is calling His people to choose to give an offering.
- But what about the will of a person who does not know the Lord? Can we say that they have a “free will?” Let’s talk about this.
- Is the will of a person outside of Christ, able to choose whatever he wants or is his will bound by his own nature? Listen to this section of scripture.
• Romans 7:14-19 : “For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin. For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good. But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice.”
- So now, what am I getting at? How does one get saved? That person needs to believe a message of redemption through the life, death and resurrection of Christ. This is where our responsibility meets God’s sovereignty.
• Romans 10:11-17 : “For the Scripture says, ‘Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.’ For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For ‘whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’ How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!’ But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, ‘Lord, who has believed our report?’ So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
- Here is where the rubber meets the road. In the moment of the proclamation of the gospel, there is an opportunity for faith to be born.
- Faith comes by hearing. A man, a woman, who is unregenerate, a slave to their sinful life, gets the chance of a lifetime whenever the gospel message is proclaimed.
- In that moment, they are being pulled, persuaded, called, invited into the life of God. In that moment, their hearts are being moved and are accepting of the possibility of believing.
- In that window of time, salvation becomes a reality for any man. Consider this story from the book of Acts.
- Paul is speaking in front of King Agrippa in Acts 26. He speaks clearly and is given the opportunity to lay out the gospel in it’s entirety. In true gospel fashion, Paul ends his address with a question that reveals the balance between sovereignty and responsibility:
• Acts 26:27-29 : “King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you do believe.’ Then Agrippa said to Paul, ‘You almost persuade me to become a Christian.’ And Paul said, ‘I would to God that not only you, but also all who hear me today, might become both almost and altogether such as I am, except for these chains.’”
- So now coming to a head: What does this all mean for us?
Conclusion
- First, God’s plan of salvation is glorious. It’s wonderful! When you think about what God has done in drawing people to Himself from generation to generation, from every tribe, nation and tongue on the Eartth, it should cause you to praise Him.
- Second, God’s plan of salvation is humbling. You are not just the center of an isolated universe. You are part of a select group of people on the planet that God is using to reveal Himself to the world! That’s humbling,
- Finally, God’s plan of salvation is motivating. Think about this: God is still gathering people unto Himself. What a great joy it would be to find them! What an amazing thing it would be to partner with God in sharing the gospel of life with these people. And what a motivation we have in the reality that when we share the gospel, a person can respond to the greatest offer in history.
Topical Address • 7.9.08 • Kingsfield High School Group
Intro.
- Open with me to the book of Romans.
- Let me share a story about how I started to wrestle with the issue of election.
- 19 yrs old. Mullet. Loma Linda.
- 2nd time through Ephesians. First time: Ignorant. Second time: I was stopped.
- It blew my mind. Tailspin…
- “If everything is determined, where is the motivation?” This is where I was.
- Tonight, my purpose is to define some terms, set some context, and carry us into a bird’s eye view of this highly sensitive subject.
Text
- Let’s begin with some terms. We’ll begin with the words that happen or occur on the side of God. Let’s start with “predestined” or “predestine.”
- The word means “to determine beforehand.” It occurs just 4 times in the word of God. Two times in Romans 8 and two times in Ephesians 2.
- Let’s get to the word “foreknowledge.” The word means to “know beforehand.” It occurs only 2 times in the Bible, Acts 2:23 and I Peter 2:1.
- How about “election?” The word means to be “picked out,” “chosen,” and “selected.”
- This word appears 5 times. The word “elect” appears 22 times in the word. Ah, now we are getting somewhere!
- You might also want to check out the word “chosen.” I did not want to add that one, as time is of the essence.
- Now, let’s move onto the terms that are dealing with our side of the equation. How about “free will?” It means to be free to choose any possible outcome.
- We see it 4 times in the book of Leviticus, chapters 1, 19 and twice in 22.
- Based on all the controversy, you would think that all of these words got more coverage! Maybe hundreds of times or maybe a thousand mentions. We barely got past 50!
- Now, let’s set some context. We won’t have time to look at each verse, but here is a decent sampling, a cross section if you will.
- First, in the realm of all the words that refer to the Lord, ie., predestined, election, foreknowledge.
• Romans 8:27-31 : “Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?”
- As we read the entirety of Romans 8, and we don’t have the time tonight, but I encourage it, you will notice that Paul is addressing a group that is now in Christ.
- Looking at the word foreknowledge, only once in the two times does it refer to people, and again, it refers to a group of people.
• I Peter 2:1,2 : “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To the pilgrims of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace be multiplied.”
- Again, notice that Peter is addressing a group.
- Let’s look at elect or election. The word “elect” speaks first to a surprising source.
• Isaiah 42:1-4 : “Behold! My Servant whom I uphold, My Elect One in whom My soul delights! I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles. He will not cry out, nor raise His voice, Nor cause His voice to be heard in the street. A bruised reed He will not break, And smoking flax He will not quench; He will bring forth justice for truth. He will not fail nor be discouraged, Till He has established justice in the earth; And the coastlands shall wait for His law.’”
- Jesus is God the Father’s elect, chosen one. Alright, we need to look at another verse.
• Isaiah 45:4 : “For Jacob My servant's sake, And Israel My elect, I have even called you by your name; I have named you, though you have not known Me.”
- Once again, and not to belabor the point or to insult your intelligence, but I see a pattern here. The elect refers in the Old Testament, either to Christ, or to the people of Israel.
- Other times in the Old Testament, the word elect or chosen, refer to people whom God selected for a task or to represent him in some way.
- Come the New Testament, something happens. The elect, chosen, predestined are the people of the church.
• Ephesians 1:1-6 : “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.”
- Do you see the pattern? Paul, to the SAINTS…God, who blessed US…God, who chose US!”
- In the eyes of God, He sees two groups of people that have been elected to represent Him: Israel and the Church. Remember who Paul is writing this letter to. We forget, but these are a bunch of Gentiles, the first generation of Gentiles, as a matter of fact.
- To these, God has unveiled a mystery, and chosen to reveal Himself in their midst, and ultimately in ours, through our lives as a church today.
• Romans 11:11-20 : “I say then, have they stumbled that they should fall? Certainly not! But through their fall, to provoke them to jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles. Now if their fall is riches for the world, and their failure riches for the Gentiles, how much more their fullness! For I speak to you Gentiles; inasmuch as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry, if by any means I may provoke to jealousy those who are my flesh and save some of them. For if their being cast away is the reconciling of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? For if the firstfruit is holy, the lump is also holy; and if the root is holy, so are the branches. And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree, do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you. You will say then, ‘Branches were broken off that I might be grafted in.’ Well said. Because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Do not be haughty, but fear.”
- Now, let’s talk about our side: Free will. The only place that this is used, as I said earlier, was in the context of sacrifice. In every instance, God is calling His people to choose to give an offering.
- But what about the will of a person who does not know the Lord? Can we say that they have a “free will?” Let’s talk about this.
- Is the will of a person outside of Christ, able to choose whatever he wants or is his will bound by his own nature? Listen to this section of scripture.
• Romans 7:14-19 : “For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin. For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good. But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice.”
- So now, what am I getting at? How does one get saved? That person needs to believe a message of redemption through the life, death and resurrection of Christ. This is where our responsibility meets God’s sovereignty.
• Romans 10:11-17 : “For the Scripture says, ‘Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.’ For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For ‘whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’ How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!’ But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, ‘Lord, who has believed our report?’ So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
- Here is where the rubber meets the road. In the moment of the proclamation of the gospel, there is an opportunity for faith to be born.
- Faith comes by hearing. A man, a woman, who is unregenerate, a slave to their sinful life, gets the chance of a lifetime whenever the gospel message is proclaimed.
- In that moment, they are being pulled, persuaded, called, invited into the life of God. In that moment, their hearts are being moved and are accepting of the possibility of believing.
- In that window of time, salvation becomes a reality for any man. Consider this story from the book of Acts.
- Paul is speaking in front of King Agrippa in Acts 26. He speaks clearly and is given the opportunity to lay out the gospel in it’s entirety. In true gospel fashion, Paul ends his address with a question that reveals the balance between sovereignty and responsibility:
• Acts 26:27-29 : “King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you do believe.’ Then Agrippa said to Paul, ‘You almost persuade me to become a Christian.’ And Paul said, ‘I would to God that not only you, but also all who hear me today, might become both almost and altogether such as I am, except for these chains.’”
- So now coming to a head: What does this all mean for us?
Conclusion
- First, God’s plan of salvation is glorious. It’s wonderful! When you think about what God has done in drawing people to Himself from generation to generation, from every tribe, nation and tongue on the Eartth, it should cause you to praise Him.
- Second, God’s plan of salvation is humbling. You are not just the center of an isolated universe. You are part of a select group of people on the planet that God is using to reveal Himself to the world! That’s humbling,
- Finally, God’s plan of salvation is motivating. Think about this: God is still gathering people unto Himself. What a great joy it would be to find them! What an amazing thing it would be to partner with God in sharing the gospel of life with these people. And what a motivation we have in the reality that when we share the gospel, a person can respond to the greatest offer in history.
No comments:
Post a Comment