Election, To Salvation

Election, to salvation Election, to salvation Malachi Goodman / General Doctrines Of Grace / Tulip; Calvinism / Romans 9:15–24 God chooses to bring individuals to salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. Notes For preaching at churches that have not heard of the doctrines of Grace   Election is part of God’s eternal decree Let me start out by saying you’re going to be turning the pages of your Bible a lot today. When you get saved, what happens? All we know is that we become convinced of our sinful nature, and we call out to God. But what happened? Do we move first? Does God? What is the exact process? What the Bible says happens is not how most of us are told. Election is from eternity Ephesians 1:4 KJV 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: 2 Thessalonians 2:13 KJV But we are bound to give thanks alway to God 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: 2 Timothy 1:9 KJV 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, What most of us are told about salvation is actually an ages old heresy, called Pelagianism. This is named for an early Catholic priest named Pelagius. Pelagius maintained that there remains within man a spark of goodness that when encouraged will receive God’s love, and will seek God. Man makes the first few steps, and God meets us in the middle. In 418 AD the Council of Carthage met to discuss Pelagius’s theory and condemned it as a heresy. A quick check of Google will confirm these facts.I see some of you are already doing it. Not to let the matter rest, some priests then tendered the  Semi-Pelagian  position, insisting that Man initiates the beginning of faith, again taking the first steps to God. This caused the Second Council of Orange in 529 AD. They re-affirmed that Pelagianism was a heresy, and added the semi-pelagian position to that condemnation. What constitutes the Christian belief in Salvation today is essentially Pelagianism and at best, semi-pelagianism. Salvation is wholly of God, and so we have to dismiss these systems, because they ARE heresy. You can be assured that anything that exalts Man and diminishes God is not Biblical. What are we left with, then? There are only two belief systems available that do not place salvation in man’s hands.  Arminianism , and  Calvinism . Calvinism strictly speaking finds some of its roots in Augustinianism - Augustine was the first to compile the first steps towards a universal statement of faith for Christianity. He found in the Bible a sufficient number of references for the pre-destination to salvation. This would be largely ignored by the Roman Catholic church as the catholic church descended into a system of works and merit. You had to tap into the surplus merit of the saints, Mary and of Jesus Christ through a system of sacraments in order to gain enough merit. Once you did so, your soul would descend into Purgatory and after an initial period of suffering, you would goo into heaven finally. When Martin Luther nailed his 95 thesises to the doors of Wittenberg chapel, he set into motion the Reformation, a movement to reform the Catholic church. Luther initially envisioned the cleaning out of Rome all these salvation by works heresies. In his studies, he founded the five solas of the Reformation - Sola Scriptura ( faith alone ), Sola Gracia ( grace alone ), sola fide ( faith alone ) sola christus ( Christ alone ) and  sole deo gloria  (the glory of God alone). Shortly after Luther started the Reformation, John Calvin appeared in France. He was the first to call for an entire new system. Calvin felt the Roman church was too corrupted to be saved, so he presented a new system designed from the ground up based upon the five Solas. Calvin spent his life writing and editing The Institutes of the Christian Religion, the definitive Systematic theology that defined the Reformation. Puritans and Reformers would become synonymous, adopting the Institutes, Calvin’s Commentaries, and the works of Luther. Luther would fade into the background as more Puritan writings emerged to replace his initial attempts. After Calvin, his student Beza took over in Geneva. His teachings would offend a student known as Jacobus Arminius. Arminius would develop his own theology, known as Arminianism. His teachings spread, and Arminius’s position was examined at the Council of Dort. The council deliberated over it, and finally returned its verdict - his teaching of predestination by foreknowledge of one’s choices was not Biblical. I’ll be proving this shortly. In answer to Arminius’s Five remonstrances, the Council of Dort codified Calvin’s teachings by the acronym TULIP - Total Depravity, Unconditional Election, Limited Atonement, Irresistible Grace and Perseverance of the Saints. I have provided a verse list with over 200 verses for anyone who owns Logos Bible software - those were just the first verses I found without digging hard. Despite Dort, Arminianism would spread and begin overtaking Calvinism. This would result eventually into several creeds and confessions, finally culminating in the Westminster Confession of Faith, then tweaked and modified into the Second London Baptist Confession of 1689. Before we go on, I want to repeat this initial point - there is no system of Christian belief that does not involve  Predestination . It is a clearly defined teaching of the Bible. The belief systems that say you initiate salvation have all been condemned as heresy by the early Christians. I repeat - and you probably should take note of this - the belief systems that say YOU initiate salvation was condemned as heresy by the early church by the year 600 AD If this is your belief, you probably need to stop and spend a great deal of time in the study of the Bible. Recent polls show that Pelagianism is the default position of probably 70% of professing Christianity today - almost 3 out of 4 Christians today are heretics. That should alarm you a great deal. What you do believe is tremendously important. Romans 9:15–24 KJV For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy. For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth. Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth. Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will? Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour? What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory, Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles? You seriously need to highlight that passage in your Bible. I’m going to repeat this over and over today - not because it’s all I have to say, but because it literally rebuts every argument against Calvinism. The Bible explains that there is two kinds of persons, those called and elected, those who are not. Those who are elected are known as elect, chosen or predestined - these make up the Kingdom of God, also called in Matthew the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus Christ is the King over the Kingdom - the elect are the subjects. Those who are not elect are not in the kingdom. They descend into the lake of fire forevermore. I won’t elaborate on this - the subject of reprobation should be taken with the utmost solemnity - God chose us for His good will, grace and mercy. He could very well NOT have chosen us. So when you speak of the reprobate, do so with utter solemnity. All of us deserve to be in its numbers. God in His mercy and Love chose us. Before you get worried about whether you are Elect or not, I’ll help you. The reprobate are not concerned whether they are elect. They absolutely do not care about the things of God. Those who are elect are chosen, predestined, elected, saved. I don’t care what you call it. I use all of them interchangeably, because the Scriptures do as well. Romans 9:15-24 are the root and center of the Bible’s teachings of salvation. The Old Testament led Jews to understand they were the Chosen people. The choosing and electing continues further in the New Testament. See verse 24 - not of the Jews only. Also, of the Gentiles. Once you accept and understand what the world calls Calvinism, you suddenly understand a LOT more of the Bible. There are entire verses we ignore because we don’t understand them. Once you accept Calvinism, you see Scriptures that made NO sense suddenly open up to you. This fact verifies Calvinism. Here’s one. Romans 9:16 KJV So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy. You kind of grasp that as a Pelagian. But the meaning is stark to a Calvinist. Want one that absolutely no Pelagian or Arminian can explain? Romans 9:19–21 KJV Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will? Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour? Why can’t they explain that? If I tell you it is your choice, that’s fair. Nobody in the world can claim that’s unfair. But a Calvinist grasps it immediately. Why? Because they heard the doctrines of grace and said, “Hey - that’s not fair!” That’s what verse 19 is saying. Verse 20 is God’s answer. Look at it. Read it. That’s the answer of a Sovereign God. Nay, but O man, who art thou that repliest against God? It’s not the most important verse in Romans 9 - but it unlocks the entire Calvinist system by shutting down your objections. God has the right to choose who He wants to save. You have no right to talk back to the Sovereign Creator of the Universe. God is Sovereign. Bottom line. Not one Arminian or Pelagian has EVER had anyone say to them, “God offers us a choice to be saved? That’s not fair!” Said no one ever. It’s not fair that God chooses ANYONE. It’s not justice that anyone goes to heaven. We all like sheep. Have. Gone. Astray. None are righteous. No, not one. Not one. We deserve Hell. God wishing to shew His mercy saves some. Why does He save who He saves? It is not him who willeth or him that runneth, but Him who sheweth mercy. Bottom line. Here’s a test - listen to a steady diet of Reform pastors for a week on SermonAudio - Alistair Begg, John MacArthur, R C Sproul, John Piper, James White, Paul Washer. Now spend a week trying to listen to sermons of non-Reform pastors. You’ll find very quickly that non-Reform pastors preach essentially Bible Lite sermons. There’s almost no doctrinal content. We probably should be calling them life coaches or motivational speakers, because they are not fulfilling the first requirement of pastoring, which is to teach sound doctrine. Any systematic theology that does not unlock the Scriptures is useless, and needs to be thrown out. Listen to ANY Calvinist versus Pelagian debate - any of them. You’ll see very quickly that the Pelagian repeats about three or four verses and then defaults to stories and illustrations . The Calvinist offers up dozens of verses - even chapters. Romans 8-9. John 6. John 10. John 17. John 15:16 KJV Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you. It’s odd, but Arminians and Pelagians always have a default position when you back them against the wall with these facts - they ALWAYS default towards Universalism. “Why then did God not just save everyone?” The best response is to turn this around. “Do you think God SHOULD save everyone?” The Pelagian should agree that God is not required to save everyone - after all, they put the choice upon the individual whether they should be saved. That brings us to the next question - Should God save ANYONE? Here is the bottom line. God is a thrice Holy God. He is under no obligation to save ANYONE. He does not need us. Anyone who claims God needs us hasn’t read their Bible. Man is utterly depraved, dead in our sins and trespasses. We are engaged in a deliberate, minute by minute rebellion against God. The Bible says that the heart is desperately wicked, and than the imaginations of man’s hearts was ONLY evil continually. We never give God His due worship and glory. God does not need man. He would be utterly just to wipe us all out, as He said in Exodus 32:7. He literally proposed wiping out all of Israel, and starting over with Moses. This is a picture of Christ, a type, where Moses begged God not to. Remember Lot’s wife! God was justified in wiping out Sodom and Gomorrah! Lot’s wife looked back and became salt. But God in His mercy and for His glory graciously chose to save some. Is it cruel to the billions who will suffer in the lake of Fire? No, it is just. All we like sheep have gone astray. There is none righteous. No, not one. Say that with me, no, not one! I deserve Hell. If God chose to shew mercy on me, then blessed is His name. If God chose to send us all to hell, it is what we deserve. The amazing thing is not that God chose us, but that God chose ANYONE. If you comprehend this, you grasp a huge picture of a mighty, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent God who is everywhere, all powerful and all knowing. the Arminian God is not omnipotent. He waits for us to choose Him, something we cannot do. We are dead. Lazarus could choose nothing. He was dead. Utterly dead. Until Jesus Christ called him forth. John 17:6 KJV I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word. Another point about Pelagianism is this - to defend “traditionalism”, which is not traditionalism but rather the heresy of Pelagianism - the Pelagian turns immediately to stories, illustrations, fables. The Calvinist turns to the Bible. The standard Pelagian argument is this - you are drowning, and someone throws a life preserver to you With your last breath, you frantically grasp it, and God reels you in. Ephesians 2:1 KJV And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Unfortunately, what the Bible teaches over and over is that man is dead in trespasses and sins. You were born drowning. Very quickly, you went under and died. Calvinism teaches that God swims down, drags you out, brings you to life, and your immediate response is to believe. For God so loved the world that whosoever believeth on Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. Ephesians 5:14 KJV Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. For us to believe is a gift called Grace. God brings you to life. You immediately awaken and call on God. This is called irresistible Grace. You cannot, will not resist the call of God. The Pelagian invokes wishful thinking. The Calvinist invokes Greek Grammar, chapter, verse. Romans 9:10–13 KJV And not only this; but when Rebecca also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac; (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 9:10-13 single handedly shuts down Arminianism. The Bible specifically says that the election of God is not based upon their actions or choices. Ephesians 2:10 KJV For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. There is nothing we choose, think or do that is the basis of Election. Ephesians 1:9 KJV Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: The purpose of God is why He saves us - for His glory. Everything God does is for His own glory. He purposed it, and it shall stand. It is not him who runneth or him who willeth but God. Neither Jacob nor Esau had any say. They did not choose anything. God had elected them LONG before. He elected YOU long before. Romans 8:29 KJV For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. There is no mention of choice or works connected with God foreknowing. This means if God Foreknew, it is not actions but persons. Jesus Christ died for persons whom God foreknew - this is called Limited Atonement. Every christian believes in Limited atonement. If you are Pelagian, you believe Christ shed His blood for those who would accept him. If you believe in Arminianism, you believe that Christ shed His blood for those predestined because of belief. Only Universalists believe in a universal atonement. Ephesians makes it clear we are dead in trespasses and sins, and it is not until God awakens us from death and gives us light that we are able to believe. NOW John 3:16 applies. Whosoever believeth in him. Because we already saw it wasn’t him who willeth. This creates a tension. “I thought it was anyone who believeth!” It is. “But you say it’s not!” That’s not me, that’s the Bible. Your argument is with God! Who are you, o man, who repliest against God? You are dead in trespasses and sins. Jesus said follow me and let the dead bury their dead. Unbelievers are dead. Dead. It is not him who willeth or him who runneth, but of God who sheweth mercy. You are chosen. Kumi Ori Ki va orecht - uchvod Adonai Alayech selahd Isaiah 60:1 KJV Arise, shine; for thy light is come, And the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. Have mercy on me, a sinner. You did not choose me, but I chose you. For God so loved the World that whomsoever believeth on Him shall not perish but have everlasting life. I just gave you the five points of Calvinism, boiled down to their essential verses. Here’s the Arminian rebuttal. (*silence*) here’s the Pelagian response. (*Silence*) God’s election places individuals within the covenant of grace Election is not on the basis of merit 1 Corinthians 1:26–31 KJV For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence. But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. Do you begin to see the Bible is not a book about man’s relationship to God, but about God? God deserves glory. Man deserves destruction. Eternal, unending torment is what we all deserve. No man deserveth mercy. God grants it because He is love. James 2:5 KJV Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him? It’s not the rich. It’s not the powerful. It’s not the geniuses. Its the poor, the afflicted, the downtrodden, the rejected, outcast and forgotten whom God often shows mercy to. I’m the last person God should shew mercy to. None deserve it, do you grasp that? If you’re drawn to the Biblical Gospel, it’s because God drew you! God doesn’t run our lives through gently opening doors and offering choices, it’s because God DRIVES us through doors! He slams one because we’re guaranteed to go the wrong way every time! Find me one verse where God is passive. “Whatever you want to do, O Israel!” That’s not in any Bible in the world. God’s election of his people is the foundation of his saving action 2 Thessalonians 2:13–14 KJV But we are bound to give thanks alway to God 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 our Lord Jesus Christ. Ephesians 2:8–10 KJV For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. Wow, these verses reads a lot different when you look on it in this manner! James 1:18 KJV Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. It is not of him who willeth, or him who runneth, but of God who sheweth Mercy. 1 Peter 1:2 KJV 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. Election works in tandem with the call of the gospel Matthew 22:14 KJV For many are called, but few are chosen. This brings us to the last part of this - how does this work? This is what we call the general call. God calls man everywhere to repent. We all know that. Not a person in this room disagrees. But if man cannot respond, how can God send us to Hell? Who are you o man that thou repliest against God? See how this works? God is just to send everyone to Hell. That God saves anyone is a miracle. God should hate all of us, and would be justified in treating those He saves harshly throughout eternity. But that’s not who God is. God is love. Romans 8:29–30 KJV For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified. This is called the Golden Chain. That God predestines can’t be argued with anymore. Now you see why Pelagius was condemned as a heretic, and his teachings rejected. God predestined. For the Arminians who still disagree, what word is not present in Romans 8:29? Actions. Choices. Whom He did foreknow COMMA He did predestinate. That’s what it says. That’s all it says. To read anything else is reading INTO a verse, or eisegesis. The verb of foreknow ties to the word Whom, not what. No actions or choices are written there or even implied. What verse have I been saying all morning? It is not him who willeth, or him who runneth, but God who sheweth mercy. The general call goes out to every man. Those who are predestined accept the general call, because God wakens them to life. This we call the effectual call, because it is effectual. It produces results. 100% of the Elect respond, because God wakens them. The reprobate cannot accept the general call. The elect cannot refuse it. Anyone who doesn’t like that, here’s a question. Could Lazarus have refused the command of the Lord to come forth from the tomb? Whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate. Them also He called, justified, glorified. Election is evidenced through a positive response to the gospel 1 Thessalonians 1:4–5 KJV Knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God. For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance; as ye know what manner of men we were among you for your sake. What I am preaching this morning is not the iceberg itself, but the very tip. TULIP theology only sums up Reform teaching. To understand the rest, we turn to creeds and confessions. You can say you believe the Bible, but every heretic and cult member says the same thing. Creeds and confessions just put all the doctrines together where you can test yourself to see if you’re in the faith. Baptists turn mostly to the Second London Baptist Confession of 1689, a re-working of the Westminster confession to remove infant Baptism and to cover the ordinances of the church, Baptism and the Lord’s Supper in a Biblical sense. The last thing you really need to understand is this - the perseverance of the saints. We cannot lose our salvation - it’s not ours to lose. If God foreknows, predestines, and elects someone to salvation - how then can you turn right around and lose it? John 6:37–40 KJV All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day. Conclusion There’s a lot I could add about Calvinism that we don’t have the time for. Certainly, I have enough material to preach for about two or three months straight on this subject. I could have expounded the entire list of almost 300 verses but you’d have left here around midnight. The answer here is this - I’ve presented this information. It is up to you to determine whether you accept it or not,and if not, what answer you plan on giving the Lord why you rejected a plain teaching of the Bible. Let us pray. Father, You have promised us in your Word to lead us in all truth. We call upon you now to do this, trusting in your mercy to reveal to us your Glory through the Scriptures and to teach us. Be with these people as they depart into the world over the coming week, in Jesus name we Pray, amen.