The Magnificat – Part 1
Luke 1:39-56 (39-45)
August 27, 2017

Well, it’s been a couple of weeks since we were last in the book of Luke,
Having taken last week to commission our teachers and students.

This morning we return,
And I remind you where we are in this “History of Redemption”

Luke is revealing the Messiah who was promised,
And a he is also revealing to us a great deal
About the type of people God used to send Him here.

• We’ve seen God use a righteous barren couple named Zacharias and Elizabeth to bring the forerunner into the world.

• And last time we saw that God plans to use a 13 year old Jewish virgin to bring His Son into the world.

Obviously both of those realities has reinforced the truth to us that
“God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

Last time we actually saw the angel Gabriel appear to Mary
And announce to her that she was going to give birth to God’s own Son.

He told us that this child would be great,
And would be the eternal reigning king.

And despite the circumstantial difficulty and despite the social danger, Mary fully consented herself to God’s divine plan.

After revealing that she would become pregnant, Mary simply responded:
Luke 1:38 “And Mary said, “Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.”

This morning we are going to move forward with the story.

We are going to approach the text that is commonly referred to as
“The Magnificat”
It is the Latin word that means “To Magnify”,
Which is precisely what Mary seeks to do to the Lord.

But before we get to Mary’s exaltation of the Lord,
We first are given information about a conversation she had.

Before Mary set out to magnify the Lord,
We find that she first went to visit Elizabeth.

I was really quite prone to just sort of skim over the top of these verses very quickly
And get straight to Mary’s words of praise.
But, I was just compelled, to slow down a bit.
The question in my mind was, “Why did Luke include this meeting?”

• Why was it important for him to that you and I know about this conversation between Mary and Elizabeth?

The obvious answer is that this meeting
Was to provide CONFIRMATION for Mary.

Remember when she questioned exactly how she could give birth to God’s Son, that God gave her a sign as proof that He could do anything?

Luke 1:36-37 “And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month. “For nothing will be impossible with God.”

Just in case Mary needed a little confirmation
That she really had heard from God and that God really could do it,
He had provided Mary with proof.

That proof would be that her relative Elizabeth was pregnant.

And if you read the text you’ll see that
Mary was eager to cash in on that confirmation.

(39-40) “Now at this time Mary arose and went in a hurry to the hill country, to a city of Judah, and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth.”

Gabriel departed from Mary and she wasted no time
Traveling to see if Elizabeth was in fact pregnant.

I think it’s obvious that Mary was in search of something
To help calm her nerves and confirm her faith.

After all, I remind you again that
What Mary consented to was not only costly, but dangerous.

If a 13 year old girl shows up pregnant, without being married,
She’s not only about to lose her fiancé, she’s about to lose her life.

Mary consented, but she still needed some encouragement.

So before we get to Mary’s Exaltation, we first need to see the meeting that inspired it.
#1 ELIZABETH’S ENCOURAGEMENT
Luke 1:39-45

Here we have Mary, barely pregnant, and I’m sure at least a little anxious.

It’s probably a pretty safe bet to assume that no one knows yet that Mary is pregnant, that is until she decides to confide in Elizabeth.
(39-40) “Now at this time Mary arose and went in a hurry to the hill country, to a city of Judah, and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth.”

And “greeted” there doesn’t just mean that Mary say, “Hi Elizabeth”.
It means that Mary filled Elizabeth in on what was going on in her life.

She told her all about the messenger Gabriel
And God’s plan to use her to deliver His Savior to the world.

And (41) “When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.”

As Mary revealed all that God was doing in her and through her,
Sheer excitement came over Elizabeth
And the child she was carrying.

And Scripture says that “Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.”

That is an important phrase.
And what happened to Elizabeth was an occurrence that happened to prophets before they spoke God’s word.

And so what is happening here to Elizabeth is remarkable.
God is about to use Elizabeth to deliver a message to Mary.

Certainly it is Elizabeth speaking,
But it is also the Holy Spirit using her to do so.

This is more than just Elizabeth encouraging Mary,
THIS IS HOW GOD SEEKS TO ENCOURAGE MARY.

And if you want to see the profound effect it had on Mary,
It is not hard to see.

After Gabriel visited Mary and revealed the entire plan to her, you remember Mary’s response:
Luke 1:38 “And Mary said, “Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.”

However, after Elizabeth is finished encouraging Mary, then look at Mary’s response.
Luke 1:46-47 “And Mary said: “My soul exalts the Lord, And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.”

Did you pick up on the difference?
After Gabriel Mary was willing, after Elizabeth, Mary is excited.

I think it’s worth looking at exactly what Elizabeth said to see
If we can’t learn a little about what it means to be an encouragement to people.

Certainly you know that encouragement is important.
It is a word used numerous times in Scripture.

Isaiah 35:3 “Encourage the exhausted, and strengthen the feeble.”

1 Thessalonians 3:1-3 “Therefore when we could endure it no longer, we thought it best to be left behind at Athens alone, and we sent Timothy, our brother and God’s fellow worker in the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you as to your faith, so that no one would be disturbed by these afflictions; for you yourselves know that we have been destined for this.”

1 Thessalonians 5:11 “Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing.”

1 Thessalonians 5:14 “We urge you, brethren, admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone.”

Titus 2:3-5 “Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good, so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored.”

Hebrews 3:13 “But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called “Today,” so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.”

AND YOU UNDERSTAND THE PURPOSE.

Any time God asks us to walk in faith or to walk in obedience
There is always plenty of opposition.

The Bible tells us that we war against the enemy
And he has no shortage of people whom he uses
To discourage God’s people from walking in faith.

No doubt Mary was already bracing herself
For that opposition and discouragement.

And so it is very important that as a church we step up to the plate
To counter that discouraging message of the world.

NOW, DON’T MISUNDERSTAND ME.
Most of the world thinks encouragement just means that it is my job
To make you feel good about yourself and what you are doing REGARDLESS.

THAT IS NOT ENCOURAGEMENT. That is a combination of flattery and enabling, and God isn’t interested in that at all.

Biblical encouragement is when we approach a brother or sister
And seek to motivate them to walk by faith and not by the flesh.

It is when we seek to push someone to obedience and faith
In spite of the apparent hardships.

This is one of the functions of the church.
Hebrews 10:24-25 “and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.”

One of the main reasons we commit to gather together
Is so that we may all be a voice of encouraging to one another.

That we may “stimulate one another to love and good deeds”

We don’t just want people to feel good about themselves,
Instead we want them to know that
Walking in obedience to God is always the goal.

And we see this type of encouragement from time to time in the Bible.

Consider Paul to Timothy:
2 Timothy 1:5-7 “For I am mindful of the sincere faith within you, which first dwelt in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am sure that it is in you as well. For this reason I remind you to kindle afresh the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline.”

Consider the writer of Hebrews:
Hebrews 6:9-12 “But, beloved, we are convinced of better things concerning you, and things that accompany salvation, though we are speaking in this way. For God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love which you have shown toward His name, in having ministered and in still ministering to the saints. And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you will not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.”

In both of those cases you hear a writer seeking to encourage another
To get up and be what they are intended to be.

That is what it means to be a Christian encouragement.
It is to refuse to allow our brothers or sisters in Christ
To settle for less that God’s purposes for their life.

Well, the Holy Spirit is going to use Elizabeth to do just that for Mary.
• Here is a 13 year old girl.
• I’m sure she’s scared
• And she has run immediately to Elizabeth for confirmation that God really does know what He’s doing.

And what a wonderful job Elizabeth does of
Giving Mary the kind of encouragement that she needed.

In fact, we can learn from her.
I think we can break Elizabeth’s encouragement down into 4 main things.
1) SHE ENCOURAGED MARY’S IMMEDIATE DECISION (42a)

“And she cried out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women,”

You can tell how Elizabeth is seeking to single Mary out here.
She tells Mary, of all the women on the earth, you are blessed.

Now, not to miss the point.
Elizabeth is NOT here saying that
You are more fortunate than all other women,
Though that could easily be said.

The word “blessed” translates EULOGIA (from where we get our word Eulogy) and it means “to speak well of; to praise”

ELIZABETH IS PRAISING MARY.
And again, don’t miss the point, she is not worshiping Mary, not by a long shot.

But she is giving Mary a huge “at-a-boy!”

See… Mary had just heard from Gabriel about a terrifying reality that was about to take place in her life and Mary consented.
• Mary then ran straight to Elizabeth and told her about it.
• Elizabeth then praised Mary for making the right decision.

Think about that for a moment. Ever had a time in your life when you were compelled by God to walk by faith?
• Who did you first tell?
• What was their response?

You know and I know that
The first response you receive after you make your decision
Can make all the difference in the world can’t it?

What a blessing when we come across that person who says,
“Well done!” at your decision to walk by faith.

What a tragedy when we come across that person who says,
“What were you thinking?”

We’ve all dealt with both of those in our life.
What I’m really interested in, is which of those are we being to others?

Here is a girl who has plenty of reasons to second-guess her decision,
It sure is a blessing that she ran across a woman
Who praised her for choosing to submit to God.

Elizabeth encouraged Mary’s Immediate Decision
2) SHE ENCOURAGED MARY ACCORDING TO GOD’S PLAN (42b)

“and blessed is the fruit of your womb!”

Of course this is a reference to Jesus.
And here Elizabeth uses the same word EULOGIA

So after praising Mary’s decision to submit to God,
Elizabeth then makes a statement of praise
Regarding the baby she is going to have.

WHY?
Well, you know, and I know that this baby is certainly worthy of praise.
I mean after all, He is going to be called the Son of the Most High.

But beyond that, what an encouragement to Mary
For someone else to be excited about what God is gonna do through her

Think about it again.
• God asks you to trust Him in an area and you say, “yes”.
• You tell another believer about it and they say, “good for you”

And then they say, “but I’m sure glad it’s not me, this is going to be hard, this is going be brutal.”

“I think you were right to say yes Mary, but wow, did you ever just sign up for something terrible!”

That is not what Elizabeth did.
You don’t get a hint of negativity from her do you?

All you get is:
• Way to go Mary!
• Wow, how awesome is this child gonna be!

See how Elizabeth helps Mary focus on the good that is going to come out of her obedience and not the hardship that will come as a result?

There are only about a million negative things Elizabeth could have pointed out at this time.
• You know Mary, Joseph isn’t going to be happy about this…
• You know Mary, you’re parents are going to be disappointed…
• You know Mary, you’re preacher is going to want to stone you…
• You know Mary, you’re gonna get morning sickness…
• You know Mary, child bearing is painful…

When God asks you to trust Him,
Don’t you love those people who remind you how hard it’s going to be?
What we really appreciate
Are the people who help us see the blessing
Of what God will accomplish through it.

And again I ask you, “Which role do you more commonly fill?”
• Are you the person who helps a brother see that his decision to trust God was
the right one?
• Or are you the person who feels the need to point out just how difficult it’s
going to be?

And again, I’m not talking about are you negative or positive in general.
Sometimes there are things that people do that require a negative word.

What I’m talking about is a person who is walking in obedience to God.
Do you encourage that or do you discourage that?

• Elizabeth pushed Mary to focus on the good that God was doing.
• Elizabeth was seeking to help Mary trust God.

Encouraged Mary’s Immediate Decision, Encouraged Mary According to God’s Plan
3) SHE ENCOURAGED MARY BY BEING EXCITED FOR HER (43-44)

(43-44) “And how has it happened to me, that the mother of my Lord would come to me? “For behold, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy.”

Again,
• There is no negativity here…
• There is no rationalism…
• There is no realist…

Elizabeth is proud of Mary, excited about what God is doing,
And grateful that she gets to be a part of it.
Isn’t that something?

It sure beats:
• Trust God if you want…
• It’s gonna be hard…
• Don’t come crying to me when it gets hard…

Some people can’t be excited for what God is doing in your life
For fear that it might upset their life.

The tragedy is that we are often this person to others.
• We aren’t excited about other people’s faithfulness because there is a chance it might affect my life too.

But that isn’t Elizabeth.
Listen to her, she is pumped!
She is grateful to be a part, and so is her child.
“For behold, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy.”

And incidentally, this is a joy that would permeate the life of Elizabeth’s child his whole life.

John 3:29-30 “He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. So this joy of mine has been made full. “He must increase, but I must decrease.”

John’s entire life would be characterized by joy over the One coming after him.

And think about that.

Elizabeth is rejoicing over the child
That will be more important than her own.

Her you have an older woman, well past child bearing years.
• And finally God grants her request at an old age and allows her to become pregnant.
• You know Elizabeth was flying high.

And then, here comes this 13 year old girl who has a similar story to yours, but in reality she one ups you in every way.
• God sent an angel to announce the birth of your child, well, God did the same for her.
• God said your child would be great in the sight of men, but God just said her child would be great period.
• God said your child would bring a nation to repentance, but her child is going to bring a nation to salvation.
• Your child will be filled with the Holy Spirit, but her child will be the Son of God Most High
• Your child will drink no wine or liquor and will be Holy to the Lord, but her child will be the Lord, actually called the Holy Child

Do you see how Elizabeth might have felt “one upped”?
• Do you see how she might have been bitter?
• Could it seem like Mary was stealing the limelight a little bit?

Well, you’d never know that from Elizabeth,
She is genuinely excited for Mary.

She is overjoyed that Mary will have the child
Who will become greater than her own.

Now that is being an encourager.
There is no bitterness there, there is no sorrow there

She is giving Mary every reason in the world
To be happy about what God has chosen to do through her.

On Wednesday nights we are studying with the youth
What it means to live for Jesus.
And to do that we are looking at those commands of Romans 12.

Romans 12:15 “Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.”

And at first look, that might seem easy.
But what if a person is rejoicing at your expense?

I asked Zek about when Lockney would high five and rejoice after beating his team in baseball?
• Could you rejoice with them?
• Could you be happy for them?

I asked some of the girls about when another girl gets cheerleader and they don’t.
• Can you rejoice for that girl?

That is really what Elizabeth is up against here.
She is carrying the child who is born to play second fiddle to Mary’s child.
But that doesn’t stop Elizabeth from rejoicing.

What an encouragement that must have been to Mary.
NO PEER PRESSURE TO STOP

And then Elizabeth gives her one more word of encouragement
4) SHE ENCOURAGES MARY’S CONTINUED FAITH (45)

(45) “And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her by the Lord.”

Now here “blessed” is a different word.
This is not EULOGIA, this is MAKARIOS which simply means “happy”

Elizabeth is not praising Mary here,
Elizabeth is exhorting her to continue.

She already praised her for so willingly consenting to the Lord’s plan,
Now Elizabeth is encouraging her that
True happiness is found in continuing to trust God.

Isn’t that great?

And what a blueprint for what it means to be an encourager.
I can’t get over the enormity of the role that Elizabeth played in Mary’s life.

Here was a young girl and although willing
She had to be scared out of her mind.
What a blessing that when she finally did tell someone,
It was someone like Elizabeth!
• Someone who was proud of her faith…
• Someone who could see that this was a good thing…
• Someone who genuinely rejoiced at the event…
• Someone who encouraged her to stay the course…

I want you to know it takes a lot of humility and grace and perspective to be that type of person.
• Anyone can point out the negative.
• Anyone can give all the reasons trusting God will be hard.
• Anyone can be a discouragement.

In fact, most of the time we don’t even need any help for that.
Wouldn’t you imagine Mary had already thought of all the reason why this was a bad idea?

Well, thank God for Elizabeth who encouraged Mary
At a very pivotal time in her life!

And again, the difference it made to Mary is obvious.

In verse 38 Mary is willing, but in verse 46 Mary is excited!

“And Mary said: “My soul exalts the Lord, And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. For He has had regard for the humble state of His bondslave; For behold, from this time all generations will count me blessed. For the Mighty One has done great things for me; and holy is His name.”

Now is that true?
Had God done great things for her?
Absolutely He had!

But if Mary’s perspective had been different
She might have seen what God had chosen to do as a burden.

It’s not far-fetched to think that a 13 year old girl
Might respond with a “Why me God?”

But Elizabeth has encouraged Mary’s faith.

And I just think it’s important you see that.
I think it was important to Luke that you see that.

It’s not surprising to us why Elizabeth was the type of person God used.
• She was humble…
• She was joyful…
• She trusted God…
• She encouraged others to do the same…

Can I remind you that God’s people NEED this type of encouragement?

Hebrews 10:24-25 “and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.”

The world provides plenty of people
Who will encourage our flesh and discourage our faith.
The church must be a voice of true encouragement.

The writer of Hebrews told us to “consider how to” do it.

Well, I can tell you how.
• When you encounter someone who has made a decision to trust God in some area of their life, reinforce that decision with praise.

• And when they tell you exactly what they are going to do, leave the negativity at home. Help them see how good it’s going to be, not how hard it’s going to be.

• Then rejoice with them, and even that you get to have a role in it through your encouragement.

• And finally help them to see that as good as their initial step of faith was, it is nothing compared to how happy they will be when their faith becomes sight.

Remind them just how “worth it” it will be.

That is how Elizabeth encouraged a 13 year old girl who really needed it.

And that encouragement inspired one of the greatest doxologies of praise recorded in the Scripture and we’ll look at it next time.

The Preservation of the Saints – Part 1
Romans 8:28-39 (Romans 5:1-8)
August 20, 2017

As you know we are in the middle of our study called “500 Years of Reformation” in which we are remembering those precious doctrines that were rescued for us during that Great Reformation.

The 5 Solas that immerged are:
Sola Scriptura – Scripture Alone
Sola Gratia – Grace Alone
Sola Fide – Faith Alone
Solus Christus – Christ Alone
Soli Deo Gloria – The Glory of God Alone

And we are currently in that second one.
We have been talking about what it means to be saved “By Grace Alone”

And in that study we have been walking through those Doctrines of Grace.
Also referred to as Calvinism.

And just to make sure everyone maintains a comprehensive view here, you know there are 5 of those doctrines.

THE DOCTRINE OF ABSOLUTE INABILITY (Total Depravity)
Which is that doctrine that reminds us that at the fall Adam ruined us all.
Because of him sin entered the world and death came through sin.
Humanity is spiritually dead and therefore cannot do anything to effect salvation.

If man is to saved it will be a monergistic effort (the work of one).

And of course Ephesians 2 really bears that out as we see the work of grace to take sinners who are dead in spirit and raise them to life and salvation.

THE DOCTRINE OF SOVEREIGN ELECTION (Unconditional Election)
Which reminds us that the only reason any man is saved is because God chose for some to be saved.
We call this election, and it saturates Scripture.
Namely that God foreordains, predestines, elects, even chooses who will be saved.

If election did not occur, then no man would be saved because no man chooses God. God had to do it.

THE DOCTRINE GOD’S EFFECTIVE CALL (Irresistible Grace)
Which says that all who are chosen will in fact come to Christ.
It is not that God saves men against their will but that those whom God has chosen, He first changes their will and their desires so that they also desire to come.

It is what is seen in Jeremiah’s “New Covenant” where God writes His Law on our hearts and causes us to walk in His commands.

THE DOCTRINE OF FULL ATONEMENT (Limited Atonement)
Which is the means by which God redeems those whom He has chosen.
That on the cross we have Christ fully atoning for all the sin of all the elect for all time.

There was nothing potential about what Christ did.
He said “It is finished” for on the cross He paid in full the penalty for all the sin of the elect. He propitiated God’s wrath fully on them so that there is now no longer any condemnation.

So, thus far we have learned that no man would be saved apart from grace.
However through grace, God chose to save unworthy sinners, caused them to cry out to Him and fully atoned for them through the death of His Son.

Tonight we begin to look at the 5th and final doctrine of grace which is:
THE DOCTRINE OF THE PRESERVATION OF THE SAINTS (Perseverance of the Saints)

And this is the one everyone loves.

Hands down (at least among Baptists) this doctrine is the least controversial.

But honestly this is the area where Baptists are most confused.

All Baptists seem to agree that salvation is forever.
They agree on the security of the believer, or what some refer to as “Once Saved, Always Saved”.

Baptist agree on that, yet there are only a few who believe in sovereign election.

And here is why that is strange.

THE SECURITY OF THE BELIEVER IS ONLY BECAUSE OF ELECTION.

Again I remind you of our two options.
Monergism – “the work of one”
Synergism – “a cooperative work”

And it is quite humorous to me to recognize that while most Baptists want to be synergists in regard to being saved, they all quickly become monergists in regard to staying saved.

And if you are going to believe in the security of the believer
You have to be a monergist.

WHY?
Because we all recognize that we still fail….a lot.

And if maintaining my salvation is up to me and God,
Then I’m in trouble because I am not keeping up my end of the deal.

Every believer, if they are honest, MUST RECOGNIZE that if salvation is a synergistic effort (cooperative effort)
Then salvation cannot possibly be considered secure.

At least in this way our Armenian friends are consistent.
Take the Church of Christ for a moment.

They are going to argue for synergism all the way.
To be saved, you must repent, believe and be baptized.
To stay saved, you must keep the sacraments, the fellowship and persevere in faith.

Now, we don’t agree, but you can at least see that they are consistent.

That is why I say that Baptists are confused.
We want to be synergists in regard to being saved and maintain our precious ideas of “free will”, but when it comes to staying saved we all want to be totally absolved of any responsibility and cry “security of the believer”.

And perhaps you understand then why other denominations have taken such issue with us on this point.

They see the inconsistency.

The fact of the matter is, there is only one way that all believers could ever be secure in their salvation and that is if God has sovereignly chosen to make them secure regardless of who they are and what they do.

And this is what I want to show you.

The basic premise tonight is this:
SECURITY IS REAL BECAUSE ELECTION IS REAL

Salvation is only secure because God made the decision to save sinners who would not and could save themselves, nor keep themselves saved.

And just like we find election everywhere,
We also find this SECURITY ALL OVER THE PAGES OF SCRIPTURE.

Let me give you a few

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”

Look at that verse for a moment.

The promise could not be clearer.
“whoever believes in Him shall not perish”

Jesus didn’t say “most who believe won’t perish”
Jesus didn’t say “whoever believes and keeps obeying won’t perish”

Jesus just unequivocally stated that the salvation He came to provide for believers is an eternal salvation.

All who believe “shall not perish, but have everlasting life”

Not temporary life
Not momentary life
But “everlasting life”

In fact, every time you read the word “eternal life” in Scripture it ought to reinforce to you the reality that salvation is in fact eternal.

John 6:37-40 “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out. “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. “This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. “For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.”

Certainly we examined this passage in regard to election, but notice what clearly comes with it.

“This is the will of Him who sent Me that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing”

And again:
“everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I myself will raise him up on the last day.”

Do you see the security there?
There are not clauses mentioned there.
There are no contingencies.

Not “most who behold the Son” but “everyone” who does.
“and I myself WILL raise him up”

He will “lose nothing”
It is security all the way.

Everyone of the elect will be saved forever.

John 10:27-29 “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. “My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.”

It’s unmistakable.

“I give eternal life to them”
“they will NEVER perish”
“no one will snatch them out”

You see it don’t you?

Again, there is nothing temporary or contingent about those statements.
Jesus is simply declaring the will of the sovereign God regarding the salvation of the elect and how that will will be carried out perfectly.

All those whom God willed to saved will be saved eternally.

Listen to the High Priestly prayer of Jesus:
John 17:6-12 “I have manifested Your name to the men whom You gave Me out of the world; they were Yours and You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. “Now they have come to know that everything You have given Me is from You; for the words which You gave Me I have given to them; and they received them and truly understood that I came forth from You, and they believed that You sent Me. “I ask on their behalf; I do not ask on behalf of the world, but of those whom You have given Me; for they are Yours; and all things that are Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine; and I have been glorified in them. “I am no longer in the world; and yet they themselves are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep them in Your name, the name which You have given Me, that they may be one even as We are. “While I was with them, I was keeping them in Your name which You have given Me; and I guarded them and not one of them perished but the son of perdition, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled.”

There again you see the inseparable link between election and security.

Jesus is referring to those “whom You gave Me”
And on their behalf Jesus prays “Holy Father, keep them in Your name”

And let me tell you something about the prayer life of Jesus.
Jesus doesn’t pray prayers that don’t get answered.

This is the night before Jesus dies, but you don’t find Him pleading with the disciples, “Oh please, please, please, just stay with Me! Please don’t quit, please don’t stop!”

You don’t find Him threatening them, “Look, if you don’t stand with Me tonight, if you blow it, you’re gonna be cut off so fast…!”

None of that.
Jesus doesn’t place the burden of their security on them,
He takes it to the Father and prays, “keep them”.

Security is the Father’s prerogative.

Beyond that, Jesus expected the failure of the disciples, did He not?
Matthew 26:31-32 “Then Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away because of Me this night, for it is written, ‘I WILL STRIKE DOWN THE SHEPHERD, AND THE SHEEP OF THE FLOCK SHALL BE SCATTERED.’ “But after I have been raised, I will go ahead of you to Galilee.”

Probably the most telling was what Jesus had to say to Peter:
Luke 22:31-32 “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat; but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.”

Jesus knew they were going to fail, but there was no threatening or begging.
Jesus took those pleas to the Father.

And in that, Jesus trusted that the Father would restore them all.
He knew where the security rested.

Jesus understood that just as salvation was the prerogative of God,
So is security.
THEY ARE BOTH A MONERGISTIC EFFORT.

And that is good because God is most certainly capable of keeping the elect saved.

Philippians 1:6 “For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.”

Jude 24 “Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy,”

God does, He secures.
He is the One who is able to “keep you from stumbling”

Listen to Peter on the subject:
1 Peter 1:3-5 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”

Did you catch what Peter said there about us?
It was heavy on election and security.

God “has caused us to be born again”
God has given us “an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away”
And this inheritance is “reserved in heaven for you”
And we are “protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation”

I mean, that is God doing it all.

Ephesians 1:13-14 “In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation — having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.”

There Paul says we “were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise”

Not just saved, but “sealed”.
We are secured.

Paul actually says that God gave us the Holy Spirit which is “a pledge of our inheritance”. That is to say, He is the down payment, the deposit, the guarantee that we are going to receive the inheritance.

It just becomes obvious that God has willed to save the elect forever.

And if you’re curious how this works,
Then again it all stems back to that perfect atonement of Christ.

When He died, He did not just pay for our sins up until salvation and then just leave us alone, He bore all our sins; even the ones we’ve yet to commit.

And it is on the basis of that atonement
That Christ now intercedes for all believers thus securing them.

Listen to the writer of Hebrews.
Hebrews 7:23-25 “The former priests, on the one hand, existed in greater numbers because they were prevented by death from continuing, but Jesus, on the other hand, because He continues forever, holds His priesthood permanently. Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.”

He doesn’t just save initially, He saves forever.

And I hope you see that.
This salvation which is rooted in God’s sovereign election
Is also secure for the very same reason.

We weren’t saved because we chose God and we don’t stay saved because we choose to.

It is all rooted in the sovereign choice of God to save us.

Incidentally, if you’ve ever wondered,
This is why we are SO INTERESTED IN GOD’S PLANS FOR ISRAEL.

Maybe as a Gentile you’ve wondered why it matters so much that we believe that God is not finished with Israel.

The reason is because Israel was also chosen.
And if Israel, after being chosen, can then be discarded, then what does that say about the security of our election?

That is why we love Romans 11 where God promises to graft Israel back in again and to save them.

It reinforces to us that when God makes a decision to choose someone, nothing can undo that.

Romans 11:25-29 “For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery — so that you will not be wise in your own estimation — that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written, “THE DELIVERER WILL COME FROM ZION, HE WILL REMOVE UNGODLINESS FROM JACOB.” “THIS IS MY COVENANT WITH THEM, WHEN I TAKE AWAY THEIR SINS.” From the standpoint of the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but from the standpoint of God’s choice they are beloved for the sake of the fathers; for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.”

What a great statement:
“for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.”

That is security right there.
What God has decreed to occur, will most certainly occur.

I just want you to see that.

As a Baptist, if you’ve grown up your whole life believing in the security of the believer you need to know that the only reason that is possible is if all those other doctrines are too.

If any part of salvation is up to the free will of man, then it is all up to the free will of man and man is sunk.

It’s the old “weakest link in the chain” mentality.
If the chain has 100 links, but 1 in the middle is weak, then that is all it takes to break the chain.

It’s funny that Baptists seem to realize that in regard to security, but sort of turn a blind eye to it in regard to election.

The reality is, man’s free will is not a part of that chain, it is all up to the sovereign prerogative of God and therefore it is strong.

For one thing I am certain of.
If I could lose my salvation, I would.

• I sin too much…
• I trust too little…
• I’m far too fickle…
• I am too easily tempted…
• I am overcome with far too much weakness…

Now certainly those are things that I hate about myself, and even things that I strive to see changed and things that I can see God changing in me, but any of those is enough to cause me to lose the salvation I hope for.

That is reality.

But I rejoice, just as you do, in the understanding that my salvation and the security of it rests beyond me.

And that is what we want to begin looking at tonight.

And since, after that introduction, it is obvious that we are not going to get through the entire Romans 8 passage tonight, I actually want to back up a little and give you even more depth here.

Now, just to make sure we make the point of the link between election and security, I will go ahead and read the verse that links them together more than any other.

That is Romans 8:29-30
“For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.”

As we have said before, there is absolutely no hint in that passage regarding anyone who only makes it through part of the list.

It does not say that “those whom He foreknew, most of them He predestined, and those whom He predestined, some of them He called, and those whom He called, part of them He justified, and those whom He justified a portion of them He glorified.”

No, there is a seamless certainty that runs from foreknowledge all the way to glory.

In fact, by reading those passages what becomes clear to us that when God chose us, He chose us first and foremost for glory.

He chose us primarily “to be conformed to the image of His Son”

The whole reason God chose us was to glorify us.
The means through which God causes that to happen
Is through election and justification and sanctification.

So it is actually more accurate to say that God chose us for glory and that selection is what made salvation necessary.

God does not stop on us half-way and Romans 8 makes that clear.

However, because we aren’t on any type of real time crunch here, and we can stay on this topic as long as we want, I think it will be beneficial if we actually back up a little.

I think you might find some benefit if I can give you a “zoomed out” view of the book of Romans to understand just how foundational this idea is to Paul.

Now to do that, let me give you a superfast outline of the book, and it actually might shock you when I give it to you.

Let me give it to you in themes or doctrines.

The first major doctrine of the book of Romans is THE DEPRAVITY OF MAN.
Paul sets out to prove how lost man actually is, and this task takes him a little over 2 chapters.

He really hits it hard beginning in chapter 1:20 and he stays on it until chapter 3:18.

He covers the depravity of the carnal pagan in chapter 1
He covers the depravity of the religious person in chapter 2

And then he sort of just lumps all of humanity together in chapter 3 with that ever famous sweeping statement of Old Testament passages.

Romans 3:10-18 “as it is written, “THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE; THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS, THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD; ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS; THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD, THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE.” “THEIR THROAT IS AN OPEN GRAVE, WITH THEIR TONGUES THEY KEEP DECEIVING,” “THE POISON OF ASPS IS UNDER THEIR LIPS”; “WHOSE MOUTH IS FULL OF CURSING AND BITTERNESS”; “THEIR FEET ARE SWIFT TO SHED BLOOD, DESTRUCTION AND MISERY ARE IN THEIR PATHS, AND THE PATH OF PEACE THEY HAVE NOT KNOWN.” “THERE IS NO FEAR OF GOD BEFORE THEIR EYES.”

And really, that is the low point of the book.
If you read through Romans at that point you should be squirming on the floor begging for God’s forgiveness.

That is the point.

And then Paul introduces his next major theme/doctrine which is THE ACTUAL ATONEMENT OF CHRIST

And this he covers in Romans 3:19-26

It is a short but rich and powerful section where Paul reveals that Christ propitiated God’s wrath on all those who believe.

He tells us of the cross and redemption and how God is both just and the justifier.

It is the first ray of hope after crushing us under our sin.

And then Paul turns to his third major theme/doctrine which is where he explains how we become partakers in this atonement, and so Paul gives us THE DOCTRINE OF JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH

And this is Romans 3:27-4:25

And here Paul uses David a little and Abraham a lot to reveal to us that man is justified by faith alone (we’ll get there in more depth eventually).

Sinful man can be justified in the sight of God when they place their faith in the substitutionary atonement of Christ.

So, at that point you’ve made it through 4 chapters of Romans and Paul reveals that we are lost and how to be saved.

In chapter 5 he begins his next major theme/doctrine.

It is THE DOCTRINE OF ETERNAL SECURITY and it is a doctrine that Paul addresses for the next 7 chapters!

Does that surprise you?
Paul devotes 7 chapters of this 16 chapter book to security.

• Chapter 5 reveals security
• Chapter 6 fights off arguments against security
• Chapter 7 explains security apart from the Law
• Chapter 8 reveals assurance of security and why we trust it

And then chapter 9-11 are the illustration of security as Paul shows us the nation of Israel and how despite what they are, God will not forsake His choice of them.

And it ends with that passage we read a moment ago that “the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable”

It is all about security.

I want to look at these 7 chapters.

Now, obviously we are not going to dwell there as though we were doing a book study, you can go online and listen to those sermons on Romans if you like.

Instead, I’m going to scrape the tops of the mountain peaks until we can land on the text I want to study a little more which is Romans 8:28-39

But I think it will do us good to see what a giant them security is in the Scriptures and ultimately how that security rests upon the sovereign will of God.

So let’s start the journey quickly.

TURN TO: ROMANS 5

Romans 5 is where Paul first introduces security, and it is unmistakable, as he quickly gives us reason after reason that we are secure.

Let me just give them to you quickly.

1) WE HAVE PEACE WITH GOD
(1) “Therefore having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

This is the effect of propitiation.
There is no more war.
When man is lost, Scripture says that he is God’s enemy, but Christ brings peace.

• He propitiated God’s wrath
• He satisfied God’s justice
• He atoned for sin

And now God has no longer a desire to be angry at us.
He has been appeased.

Hence the famous statements like Romans 8:1
Romans 8:1 “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

There is no longer a reason for God to ever cast us away since Jesus has made peace on our behalf.

2) WE STAND IN GRACE
(2) “through whom [Christ] also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand;”

We don’t stand in effort
We don’t stand in works

It is not as though God has reluctantly let us in and now is watching our every move to see whether or not He wants to kick us out.

It is grace that let us in when we didn’t deserve it and grace that allows us to stay while we still don’t.

We stand in grace.

3) WE REJOICE IN HOPE
(2) “and we exult in hope of the glory of God.”

Now here, “hope” is not a verb, it is a noun.
It is not something we do, it is something we have.

We have been promised “the glory of God”.
That is to say we have been promised a full and complete salvation and this hope that we have bears constant testimony to our security.

Namely because there is only one place this hope could have come from.
God gave it to us.

4) TRIBULATIONS STRENGTHEN INSTEAD OF SEPARATE
(3-5) “And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”

This is a daily proof that reinforces our security.
When the world suffers they get angry at God.
When we suffer we draw near to God.

WHY?
Is it because we are more noble than they? NO

It is because God has poured out a supernatural love for Him into our hearts that causes us to run to Him when all others run away.

For this reason trials don’t wreck our faith, they strengthen it.
Just as we saw with Job, there was no measure of torment that could cause him to “curse God to His face”

We don’t fear turning away from God
Because our attraction to God is not of ourselves anyway.

Remember that “Effectual Call or Irresistible Grace” we talked about.
That love for God that we have came from God and it is therefore beyond us.

Even if given the opportunity, true believers don’t turn away because God has put it in their hearts not to. (And we’ll see that more later)

5) WE ARE ATONED FOR BY CHRIST WHILE ENEMIES
(6-8) “For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

This is another theme we will return to later, but the simple point is so clear.
God chose us at our lowest and redeemed us at our worst through Christ.

People who fear that
God will somehow remove their salvation now
Have never fully contemplated
What they were when God first chose them.

Let’s be honest, are you more righteous now than you were when you were lost?

Me too.
And yet God chose us then.

It is a strange thing to me
• That so many believers have such a tough time believing that God could love them
• While unbelievers seem to be convinced that God loves them.

Both suffer that deception because they are ignorant of the truth.

God chose you when you were absolutely deplorable,
That is the real miracle.
Keeping you now, is far less far-fetched than that.

Yes you fail and yes you make mistakes, but the God who loved you at your worst, will most certainly not forsake you now.

We were atoned for by Christ while enemies.

And there is more, that we will get back to next time, but I hope we are starting to build a foundation in your heart as to why salvation is secure.

The Watchman
Ezekiel 2-3 (1-10)
August 20, 2017

This morning we are going to take a break from our study through Luke
And we are doing so for a very important reason.
I typically do not like breaking up our book studies because I think the continuity is important, but this is one of the few reasons worthy of taking a break.

Tomorrow begins another school year,
And each year I grow more and more convinced
That it also begins a mission endeavor.

And I really don’t think I have to convince you of this anymore.

It is clear that the church and the school
Are not moving in the same direction.

SOCIETY PUSHES POLITICAL CENSORSHIP…
• While the message of false religions and things like evolution are fine, the message of Jesus is not.

SOCIETY EMBRACES SOCIAL IMMORALITY…
• Our culture is in love with immorality, especially deviant sexual immorality. Homosexuality is not just tolerated or accepted, it is encouraged.

There is absolutely zero effort given from the world
To stop your kids from premarital sex, homosexuality, transgenderism, abortion, pornography, etc.
• Our culture will not say no to any of these things, they will merely offer tolerance and acceptance.

SOCIETY ENCOURAGES SPIRITUAL APATHY…
• Even those who claim to be Christians will dishearten you with their constant lack of concern.

Most, though claiming a love for Christ, will not stand for Him.
They won’t speak His name, they won’t uphold His standards,
They won’t proclaim His gospel, they won’t enforce His discipline,
Most won’t even attend a service to worship Him

There was a day when the church could expect a certain amount of help from the world on both moral and spiritual issues.

We could at least expect that blatant immorality would be opposed
And that the school would at least give some basic scheduling latitude
To the church regarding things like Wednesdays and Sundays

Those days are gone.
The only reason we ever enjoy any of those things
Is because of committed Christians inside the school system.
I know that’s sort of harsh here on the day before we start school.

I just want you to know that if you live under some mindset
That the school is going to help us produce Godliness in our society, think again.

BUT ALL IS NOT LOST…
We have you.
• We have Christian men and women whom God has strategically placed in roles throughout the school system.
• We have Christian students whom God has saved even in the midst of the culture in which they live.

They are lights in the midst of the darkness in every sense of the word.

Tomorrow these candles are headed back into the darkness.
It is our desire and even our responsibility
To both commission and encourage them this morning.

And it is our desire and responsibility to pray for and support them throughout their mission.

THIS MORNING WE COME TO EMPHASIZE THAT.

To do that we are going to look at a passage that is very dear to me,
As it is one God used in a very instrumental way in my life.
We are looking at the commissioning of the prophet Ezekiel.

First, let me give you a little background.

• You remember from our study of Kings that by in large, Israel was littered with wicked kings who pushed the nation further and further into idolatry.

• Their leadership brought about an almost universal rebellion against the Law of God and ultimately resulted in the entire nation being exiled from Israel.

• The Northern Kingdom was obliterated by Assyria in 722BC and the Southern kingdom about 150 years later.

The exile of the Southern Kingdom (Judah) occurred in 3 stages.
• The first was in 605 BC when Daniel and his friends were carried into Babylon.
• The second wave was in 597 BC when 10,000 of the most skilled Jews were carried into exile.
• The final wave was 586 BC when the temple was burned and the rest of the Jews were killed or exiled.

Alive during this time was a young priest named Ezekiel.
• He was about 18 years old when the first wave of captivity happened, but he himself was left behind.

• At the age of 30 he would be eligible to enter the priesthood and serve God in the temple, but he never made it that far.

• At the age 26 Ezekiel would be exiled along with that second wave of 10,000 who were carried into exile.
No doubt it knocked the wind right out of Ezekiel’s sails.
He would NEVER serve in the temple.
The purpose for why he had been born was seemingly taken from him.

Until one day when the glory of God visited Ezekiel
And God revealed that He had another plan for him.

Ezekiel was a lone candle.
• He was a single light in the midst of darkness.
• God had a definite plan for him among his people in the land of Babylon.

We’re going to look at God’s plan for him this morning,
Because the ministry Ezekiel faced
Is so similar to the one we face here in America.

The main issue he dealt with was certainly unbelief.
But it wasn’t like he was dealing with people in a foreign land who had a totally different culture, or even who practiced a different religion.

He was sent to people just like him.
• People who were raised in the same culture he was raised in.
• People who had the same basic knowledge about religion that he had.

But they were people who were not interested in allowing
Their knowledge of God to penetrate their lives or change their behavior.

It was a culture high on knowledge, but low on commitment.
I tend to think that fits here as well.

So let’s look at this calling of Ezekiel.
(We have to hit it quickly since we are covering it all in the time we have left)

5 things
#1 THE COMMISSIONING
Ezekiel 2:1-7

Ezekiel is fresh off of his vision of the glory,
So it stands to reason why he was on his face
And had to be told to “stand on your feet”.

And we hear that God has a plan for Ezekiel.
(3) “Then He said to me, “Son of man, I am sending you…”

This is a commission.

Ezekiel would never serve in the temple in Jerusalem,
But it did not mean that God did not have a plan.

Certainly you must understand that the ministries of God
Are not limited to the physical location of the church.
Certainly there are those who are commissioned to serve here,
But this is far from the only place of ministry.
Ezekiel was being sent by God.

WHERE?
(3) “I am sending you to the sons of Israel”
• Ezekiel’s ministry was to be a domestic one.
• He was not a foreign or international missionary.

Ezekiel had already been exiled to Babylon along with 10,000 other Jews,
And now God reveals that his presence in Babylon was no mistake.
HE HAD BEEN SENT THERE FOR A REASON.

But this mission was No Cake Walk,
For God immediately describes the problem.

(3-4) “I am sending you to the sons of Israel, to a rebellious people who have rebelled against Me; they and their fathers have transgressed against Me to this very day. I am sending you to them who are stubborn and obstinate children, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’”

SO WE ARE CLEAR ON THE ASSIGNMENT.

Ezekiel is being sent to people he knew and understood.
• People of common language…
• People of common culture…
• People of common nationality…
• People of common knowledge…

The problem is that these people were rebellious.
They did not obey God.

And the mission is clear: TELL THEM WHAT GOD HAS SAID

“you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God’”

In fact…
(5-7) “As for them, whether they listen or not — for they are a rebellious house — they will know that a prophet has been among them. “And you, son of man, neither fear them nor fear their words, though thistles and thorns are with you and you sit on scorpions; neither fear their words nor be dismayed at their presence, for they are a rebellious house. “But you shall speak My words to them whether they listen or not, for they are rebellious.”

Speak with no concern as to the response you receive.

There is no pragmatism here.
You are not to try various gimmicks and tactics
Until you find something that works.

The goal is not success
The goal is faithfulness

God just wants His people to hear His word
And Ezekiel is not to concern himself
With whether or not the people listen to it.

And regardless of the difficulty he faces,
He is to let nothing dissuade him from his job.

EZEKIEL WAS IN BABYLON FOR 1 REASON
And that was so that he might deliver God’s word to Jews in exile.

Ever wonder why you are at the school?
• It’s certainly not for the money…
• It’s certainly not for the hours…
• It’s certainly not for the retirement…
• It’s certainly not for the stress free atmosphere…
• It’s certainly not because they’ll hire anybody…

Listen, God is sovereign, and you are at that school (in whatever capacity)
Because God has placed you there.

That is true for STUDENT and TEACHER alike.
You have been sent to people just like you.

The Commissioning
#2 THE MESSAGE
Ezekiel 2:8 – 3:3

There again the point is clear.
Ezekiel is to deliver God’s word to the people.

God gave him a scroll to eat (you’ve seen that also in the book of the Revelation)
And in this case we find out that the message is a harsh one.

“written on [this scroll] were lamentations, mourning and woe.”

What God had to say to the people was a message of judgment.

WHY?
Because they were rebellious

God wanted His people to know about the coming punishment they were going to receive as a consequence of their wicked behavior.

(And that is saying something since this group had already been exiled)
There was more judgment coming,
And Ezekiel was charged to make the people aware of it.

(3:1) “Son of man, eat what you find; eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.”

Take My word and deliver it to the people.
• The goal wasn’t to be popular…
• The goal wasn’t to be liked…
• The goal was to deliver God’s word.

Ezekiel wasn’t to immerse himself in various tactics.
• God didn’t call for random acts of kindness…
• God didn’t call for letting his loving actions do the talking…
• God didn’t ask him to just be a voice of positive encouragement…

God wanted Ezekiel to make sure the people heard God’s word.

And I don’t mind telling you that in most evangelistic efforts today,
THIS IS THE FIRST CASUALTY.

It seems rather obvious that people don’t mind service ministry or kindness ministry or being a compassionate listening ear, etc.

But most people are quick to forget
To deliver what God says about the matter.

And do you realize that when we never deliver what God says,
THEN WE HAVE CAUSED GOD TO LOSE HIS VOICE.

WHAT WAS THE MAIN REASON EZEKIEL WAS SENT?
To get God’s word into the ears of the people.

THAT IS THE PRIORITY.
People need to hear about God from God
And that only happens when we deliver God’s word to the people.

This was Ezekiel’s job
Regardless of how hard it was and whether they listened or not.

Are we clear there?

#3 THE EQUIPPING
Ezekiel 3:4-16

Here we find that age old adage “Where God guides He provides”

We find that in addition to sending Ezekiel to Babylon,
God had also equipped Ezekiel
With everything he needed to accomplish the task.
What was the one character trait that God gave Ezekiel?
A hard head.

You are going to a stubborn people:
(8-9a) “Behold, I have made your face as hard as their faces and your forehead as hard as their foreheads. Like emery harder than flint I have made your forehead.”

Now listen, we talk about things like SPIRITUAL GIFTS and rightly so.
Spiritual gifts are the way in which the Holy Spirit
Specifically chooses to manifest Himself in us.

Mine is preaching, perhaps you are familiar with yours.

But what we are talking about here with Ezekiel is NOT A SPIRITUAL GIFT.
It was A CHARACTER TRAIT with which he was born.
• Ezekiel was a hard-headed individual.
• Ezekiel was a stubborn individual.
• Ezekiel was the type of person you couldn’t argue with.
• Ezekiel was the type of person who did not easily give in.
• He was strong-willed.

It was no mistake that Ezekiel was like this.
God made him like this because God planned on using
This hard-headed priest to reach hard-headed people.

And right off the bat we see that it is a perfect fit.

The first place Ezekiel goes is to the exiles by the river Chebar.
Why there?
Because that’s where he was.

If you look at the very beginning of this book.
Ezekiel 1:1 “Now it came about in the thirtieth year, on the fifth day of the fourth month, while I was by the river Chebar among the exiles, the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God.”

Ezekiel was already among the exiles at the river Chebar.
So, when God told him to go and share His word with the exiles,
He just turned around and started with the exiles right next to him.

(14-15) “So the Spirit lifted me up and took me away; and I went embittered in the rage of my spirit, and the hand of the LORD was strong on me. Then I came to the exiles who lived beside the river Chebar at Tel-abib, and I sat there seven days where they were living, causing consternation among them.”

If you want to see the work of the Spirit in Ezekiel, it is clear.
It was the Spirit which caused him to be “embittered in the rage of my spirit”

That is to say, when God’s Spirit entered him,
He started hating what God hated.

There may have been a time when he was ok with the rebellion and apathy that surrounded him, but not anymore.
God’s Spirit made him angry at the sin around him.

And when God sent this hard-headed priest to deal with it, he did.

Notice it says “I sat there seven days where they were living, causing consternation among them.”

That is to say: For a week, Ezekiel drove them nuts!
He was a relentless and stubborn force
Continually addressing the error of their ways.

That was the first demonstration of his ministry.
That was his first taste of dealing with hard-headed people.
And after 7 days of that, God had another message for Ezekiel.

The Commissioning, The Message, The Equipping
#4 THE ANALOGY
Ezekiel 3:17-21

We are not told what Ezekiel thought about his first 7 days on the job.
We don’t know if he was frustrated and wanted to quit.

Jeremiah bears his soul plenty in his book
And we know about how frustrated he was, but not Ezekiel.

But I can certainly imagine how I would have felt.
After 7 days of non-stop preaching to people who won’t hear it, I’d be done.

I’d want to go elsewhere.

And perhaps that is the reason for this analogy,
To remind Ezekiel that his responsibility is not in the results,
But in the exercise of his job.

EZEKIEL WAS TO BE A WATCHMAN.

You understand the role.
• The cities were walled as a first line of defense.
• On the wall stood the city watchman, whose only job was to alert the people when he saw danger approaching.

• No one expected him to fight off the danger…
• No one expected him to fix the problem…
• His only job was to make sure everyone was aware of the imminent danger.

• If danger came and the watchman warned, all was well with the watchman regardless of the outcome.
• If danger came and the watchman DID NOT warn, then the watchman was in trouble.

And God tells Ezekiel, you are a watchman.
The approaching danger is judgment.
The cause is sin.
And you’d better tell the people.

And again, results are insignificant.
Your job is not to change the people, your job is to warn them.

And I especially want to drive this home to you this morning.
There is admittedly a little confusion
Regarding exactly how we are to apply this to our lives.

Does this mean that if we don’t evangelize then we go to hell for the people we didn’t warn? No, the New Testament does not teach that.

However we do find in the New Testament
That failure to evangelize is no laughing matter.

Listen to Paul:
Romans 1:14-15 “I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. So, for my part, I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.”

1 Corinthians 9:16 “For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for I am under compulsion; for woe is me if I do not preach the gospel.”

Paul knew that God had set him apart for this.
Paul knew that God expected him to share the truth.

Galatians 1:15-16 “But when God, who had set me apart even from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace, was pleased to reveal His Son in me so that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with flesh and blood,”

Ephesians 3:1-3 “For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles — if indeed you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace which was given to me for you; that by revelation there was made known to me the mystery, as I wrote before in brief.”

You see that?

And this obligation was enough to cause Paul to push forward despite the opposition and despite the danger.
2 Timothy 1:8-12 “Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me His prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity, but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle and a teacher. For this reason I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day.”

We are not saying that failure to evangelize brings eternal judgment,
But it is clear brings with it some sort of sentence.

If you know the truth and you fail to warn the wicked you are accountable.

AND FRIENDS, WE KNOW THE TRUTH.

TURN TO: ROMANS 1
Look quickly at verses 18-32

• Do you see the revealed wrath of God in those passages?
• Do you understand these very sins are all over our school?

I can’t tell you about the number of times I’ve heard of another youth engaged in sexual immorality, or who has come out as gay, or who is given to drunkenness or rebellion against their parents.

These sins are everywhere, and in some cases even in the faculty.

And look at what Paul says about those sins in the next chapter
Romans 2:2 “And we know that the judgment of God rightly falls upon those who practice such things.”

We know they will be judged for it.

1 Corinthians 6:9-10 “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.”

Galatians 5:19-21 “Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”

Do you not know that?

Then how is it that we so easily decide to tolerate an entire generation who are running headfirst into those sins?

The cowardice of the church today is absolutely deplorable.
We have teenagers (and not just a few) running faster and faster
Into sexual immorality, homosexuality, drunkenness, etc.

And we have a church that chooses to sit silent,
Or even worse, chooses to “love them as they are”.

People go to hell for that!
And if you can convince yourself that you are “loving them”
By being silent then you are self-deceived.

Charles Spurgeon once said:
“If sinners will be damned, at least let them leap to hell over our bodies. And if they will perish, let them perish with our arms about their knees, imploring them to stay. If hell must be filled, at least let it be filled in the teeth of our exertions, and let not one go there unwarned and unprayed for.”
–Charles H. Spurgeon, Spurgeon At His Best, compiled by Tom Carter, (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1991 reprinted edition, first published 1988), 67.

But we often times refuse to do either, and that is a shame.

A watchman too afraid to sound the trumpet at the sight of danger
Is a coward and a traitor to his people.

What is more, we know how they can avoid the danger.
Through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ,
They can be forgiven, justified, and transferred into the kingdom of light.

How could any of us know such truth and be unwilling to share it?

You see the danger,
You know the truth,
TELL THEM WHETHER THEY LISTEN OR NOT!

And there is one more thing God has to say to Ezekiel
#5 THE EXPECTATION
Ezekiel 3:22-27

Ezekiel is told to go to his house and God has another revelation for him.

God is about to reveal how his ministry will be accepted.
The key idea being, that it won’t be.

(25) “As for you, son of man, they will put ropes on you and bind you with them so that you cannot go out among them.”

Now that’s what you call extreme measures to silence the truth.
In short, they aren’t going to want to hear it.

And that’s not all, look at what God will do.
(26-27) “Moreover, I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth so that you will be mute and cannot be a man who rebukes them, for they are a rebellious house. “But when I speak to you, I will open your mouth and you will say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD.’ He who hears, let him hear; and he who refuses, let him refuse; for they are a rebellious house.”

Seriously?

God is going to make him a mute, unless he has a message from God
In which case God will open his mouth to speak.

WHAT IS THE POINT THERE?
With all the hardship you will face there will be a great temptation to talk about what doesn’t matter and perhaps what is even unproductive.

But God is ensuring that Ezekiel stays on task.
• He will never be given the opportunity to speak about trivial things.
• He will never be able to offer his own defense.
• He will never be able to offer human logic and reasoning.

He is there for one purpose,
To deliver God’s word to the people and to emphasize that,
God will make him mute except for when he has something to say.

That may indeed sound harsh, but the point is unmistakable.

NOTHING THAT YOU DO IN THAT SCHOOL MATTERS AS MUCH
AS THE DELIVERY OF GOD’S WORD TO THE PEOPLE.

Can you see that?

Faculty, Student… you are the only vessel available.
• Like Ezekiel, God placed you where He did for a purpose.
• Like Ezekiel, God made you like He did for a purpose. (Ezekiel was hard-headed)

DELIVER HIS WORD TO THE PEOPLE
Fulfill the role of a watchman and warn them of the danger that is coming.

And incidentally, we are focusing on teachers, but those who work in other places, do we assume that our role is any different or that God placed us there for any other reason?

It’s just that today we commission our students and teachers.

We want to encourage their faithfulness, but also to pray for them.
• We pray for their purity and strength to overcome temptation.
• We pray for their boldness and courage to confront sin.
• We pray for their clarity and compassion to proclaim God’s word.
• We pray for their endurance and perseverance as it is a long year.

But make no mistake that school needs you.

So this morning, let’s pray for these.

The Coming King – Part 2
Luke 1:26-38
August 13, 2017

As you know, we are working through Luke’s gospel which is
“The History of Redemption”

And after linking us to the Old Testament
By revealing to us the Coming Restorer (John the Baptist)
Luke has now begun to reveal the Coming King.

We began looking at this text last Sunday.
• It is the event where the angel Gabriel appears to the virgin Mary in order to reveal to her that she is about to have a Son.

As I told you last time, instead of giving this text a conventional outline
I found it more important rather to find LUKE’S MAIN POINTS.

There are two things that Luke really drives home here in this passage.
• One is the description of the child who is to be born,
• The other is the character of the mother who will deliver Him.

And those are really the things I think we need to see.

So last week we started looking at this text and we saw:
#1 THE MESSAGE
Luke 1:30-35

• We really just looked at the announcement of Gabriel to Mary.
• We wanted to know heaven’s description of this child which was to be born.

By listening to Gabriel we learned 4 very important things about this child.

1) He is Human – allowing Him to be a great high priest and a sacrifice for men.
2) He is Savior – as evidenced by His name; Jesus
3) He is Divine – which makes it possible for Him to bear an eternal amount of sin.
4) He is King – which indicates to us the type of response He expects from us.

This is the child that Gabriel tells Mary is on His way.

Surely that is the absolute focus of the text.

However, there is another slightly more subtle point
That Luke is also making.
I’ve told you since we began this study that
Luke loves to point out the type of person God uses.

He loves to highlight the humble.
He loves to showcase the meek.
He loves to focus on the outcast.
We’ve already seen him make mention of Zacharias and Elizabeth.
• They are the parents of John the Baptist, and no other gospel writer includes them, only Luke.

And that is almost true for the girl we see here.
Now it is true that other gospel accounts do mention Mary as the mother of Jesus.
We hear it mentioned that she is His mother and John even puts her at the cross.

But read the beginning of the other gospel accounts.
Neither Mark nor John mention her role at all.
Matthew does, but it is clear that his emphasis is on Joseph
Since his main objective is to reveal that Jesus is of the line of David, Matthew seems only to mention Mary so as to validate that Jesus was born of a virgin.

Matthew doesn’t mention this visit with Gabriel.

In fact Matthew only mentions that the angel came to Joseph.
Matthew 1:18-25 “Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly. But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. “She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: “BEHOLD, THE VIRGIN SHALL BE WITH CHILD AND SHALL BEAR A SON, AND THEY SHALL CALL HIS NAME IMMANUEL,” which translated means, “GOD WITH US.” And Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took Mary as his wife, but kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus.”

You can see there that Matthew’s focus is really more on Joseph
And he’s the only gospel account that mentions here at all.

But in Luke’s gospel we get a great deal more information.
• We get this announcement.
• We get why she was chosen
• We get her response
• We find out about her visit to Martha
• We get her song of exaltation (Magnificat)

Luke focuses on Mary’s response to the shepherds
Luke 2:19 “But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart.”

Luke tells us that Simeon spoke directly to Mary
Luke 2:34-35 “And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary His mother, “Behold, this Child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and for a sign to be opposed — and a sword will pierce even your own soul — to the end that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”

And even into the early years of Jesus’ life
Luke makes sure to give us insight into Mary’s take on everything.

Like after they left Jesus at the Passover and had to go back to find Him and Jesus informed them that He had to be about His Father’s business.
Luke 2:51 “And He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and He continued in subjection to them; and His mother treasured all these things in her heart.”

I just want you to see again how important this all is to Luke.
HE FOCUSES ON THE TYPES OF PEOPLE THAT GOD USES.

None of the other gospel writers were compelled to mention Zacharias or Elizabeth or really even that much about Mary.
None of the others mention Simeon or Anna
Or the lowly shepherds who attended His birth; only Luke.

And it is important that you see that because we are learning a great deal about the type of people God desires and the type of people God uses.

So, it was important to reveal to us THE MESSAGE that the angel spoke,
But that wasn’t all Luke wanted you to know.

He also wanted you to know:
#2 THE MEANS
Luke 1:26-31, 34-38

Luke wanted you to know the means of the arrival of this Christ child.
• How would God send this King into the world?
• How would His Son break into the human realm?
• What would be the method through which the God-Man would arrive?

And who would God recruit on earth to be a part of this process?

It is important to Luke that you see exactly what kind of person God used.

Let’s look at 3 specific things here.
1) AN UNLIKELY CANDIDATE (26-29)
“Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. And coming in, he said to her, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” But she was very perplexed at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was.”

Well let’s start in a bit of a shocking place.

“Now in the sixth month” – which refers to the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy.

“the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth”

OK, stop right there.
Any Jew reading what Luke had to see would already be in shock.

It’s one thing for God to send Gabriel into the temple to meet a priest,
But sending him to “Nazareth” is beyond shocking.

You remember it:
John 1:45-46 “Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote — Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” Nathanael said to him, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.”

Nazareth was an especially vile town to the Jews since it was seen as a bit of a traitor.
• Nazareth housed a Roman garrison and that certainly didn’t sit well with Israel.
• Beyond that, Nazareth only had a population of about 400 so it was pretty
insignificant.

It just wasn’t a place where
You’d expect to find someone God would use.

Well, that was one problem, but it wasn’t even close to the biggest.

“Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.”

Well, forget all the Nazareth stuff, now we’re on to the real problem.
GABRIEL IS BEING SENT TO THIS LITTLE VIRGIN GIRL.

And by the way, the culture of the day was that most Jewish girls
Were betrothed to marriage around the age of 13-14.
That engagement period would last for a year and then the couple would be married.

Let that one sink in for a moment.
This is a 13 year old girl.

(On A SIDE NOTE to you youth who expect that you need to be an adult before God can or will use you for anything important, think again)

This was a 13 year old girl from Nazareth who was engaged to be married.

Why in the world would an angel of God appear to her?
Of all the people in Israel who might expect to catch an angelic vision, I promise you Mary was way down on the list.

Mary is the very epitome of worldly insignificance.

But look at what the angel says to her.
(28) “And coming in, he said to her, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.”

That is a remarkable statement. Sadly it has been grossly misinterpreted.
This verse became the bases for the Ave Maria or “Hail Mary”
In which Mary is attributed to be full of grace.

But that is not what Gabriel said.

“favored one” translates CHARITOO
Which literally means “receiving grace”

Ephesians 1:6 “to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.”

Gabriel did not say, “Hail Mary full of grace”
Gabriel said, “Greetings Mary, grace receiver!”

Gabriel called her the one who was receiving grace.

Gabriel even goes a little further by revealing that “The Lord is with you.”
• It was a statement of acceptance.
• It was a statement of approval.
• It was a statement of usefulness.

We are NOT at all assuming that Mary
Is in some way without sin or perfectly righteous; not at all.

Later Mary will praise God for being her savior.

NOR ARE WE trying to attribute some sort of unprecedented worth or special love toward Mary.

Perhaps you remember Jesus’ statement:
Luke 11:27-28 “While Jesus was saying these things, one of the women in the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, “Blessed is the womb that bore You and the breasts at which You nursed.” But He said, “On the contrary, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.”

We’re not trying to overplay the natural worth of Mary.

We’re just pointing out that of all the people God could have used,
He used this insignificant 13 year old girl from Nazareth.

We’ve learned a thing or two about this kind of sovereign grace recently haven’t we? (This is 1 Cor. 1 in its finest)

Now you’ll notice that even Mary saw this as peculiar.
(29) “But she was very perplexed at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was.”

And that again speaks volumes about her.

When this angel = tells her God is with her and she has found favor,
She doesn’t respond by saying (in typical 13 year old girl fashion)
“Duh! Of course God likes me!”

She was humble.
She was meek.

It is Luke continuing that point that he makes throughout his gospel:
Isaiah 57:15 “For thus says the high and exalted One Who lives forever, whose name is Holy, “I dwell on a high and holy place, And also with the contrite and lowly of spirit In order to revive the spirit of the lowly And to revive the heart of the contrite.”

Isaiah 66:2 “For My hand made all these things, Thus all these things came into being,” declares the LORD. “But to this one I will look, To him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word.”

And that reality once again comes to the forefront.
Mary, in her humble state, “found favor with God.”

And that is a good point to be made to sort of bring balance.
We are talking on Sunday nights about sovereign grace and things like election.
Certainly we give no credit to man for being chosen.

However, you never find a man being saved
Who doesn’t come to God in humility.
Make sure that truth enters your heart.

BUT THE POINT HERE IS SIMPLE:
If you were given the task of picking the mother of the Lord, you wouldn’t have gone to Nazareth and you wouldn’t have ended up with Mary.

(Your search would have been more in line with the search for Esther)

Mary’s value was that which the world does not see.

1 Samuel 16:7 “But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”

An Unlikely Candidate
2) AN UNNATURAL CONCEPTION (34-37)
“Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God. “And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month. “For nothing will be impossible with God.”

Well, we thought it strange that an angel of the Lord
Would visit a 13 year old virgin in Nazareth,
But all of that seems totally normal
Once we realize exactly what this angel comes to tell her.

We studied the verses last week,
And you will remember exactly what Gabriel said:
(30-33) “The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.”

So Gabriel comes to Mary (which is strange enough)
And now he reveals that she is
Going to give birth to the Son of the Most High.

Well aside from the fact that he picked Mary,
There is an obvious problem that immediately comes to the forefront.

Mary thought of it instantly “How can this be, since I am a virgin?”

We understand the process of how a child is conceived
(If you don’t, your mother will tell you when you’re older)
And Mary knew that it was utterly impossible for her to be pregnant.

To which Gabriel explains:
“The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child will shall be called the Son of God.”

There is no other way to put it other than
God will perform a miracle in the womb of Mary.

I know we tend to look at the birth of every child as a form of miracle, but that isn’t totally accurate.

A miracle is something that transcends the laws of nature.
While child birth is wonderfully amazing, it is also natural.
It happens all the time. I have a cat that is especially good at it.

What Gabriel says will happen to Mary is a miracle.

And to prove that God can do it,
Gabriel even provides a little evidence for Mary.

(36-37) “And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month. “For nothing will be impossible with God.”

TO SATISFY ANY DOUBTS that might be forming in Mary’s mind Gabriel reveals to Mary that even Elizabeth is pregnant in her old age.
And then Gabriel tells Mary “For nothing will be impossible with God.”

I think Gabriel is bringing to Mary’s mind another important story there.
Genesis 18:11-14 “Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in age; Sarah was past childbearing. Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I have become old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?” And the LORD said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, when I am so old?’ “Is anything too difficult for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, at this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.”

Certainly Mary would have known that story, and Gabriel uses similar terminology to remind Mary that God is in the miracle business.

God can do what is otherwise impossible.

An Unlikely Candidate; An Unnatural Conception
3) UNRESTRAINED CONSENT (38)
(38) “And Mary said, “Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.”

Here we find Mary’s answer, and it is absolutely remarkable.
Mary submits herself totally.

She refers to herself as “the bondslave of the Lord” (literally “slave”)
And says, “may it be done to me according to your word.”

She writes God a blank check and says whatever You want.
It is the equivalent of Isaiah’s “Here am I, send me.”

There is not a hint of reservation from her.

Several years ago we had a Christmas day service where we talked about the various players of the nativity and what we can learn from them.

We talked about how from the Angles we learn RESPONSIBILITY (because it was their job to announce the birth of the King)

We talked about how from the Shepherds we learn PRIORITY (because shepherds left their flocks to see the Christ child)

We talked about how from the Wise Men we learn WORSHIP (because they traveled from afar just to worship this king)

We talked about how from Joseph we learn OBEDIENCE (because he did what the angel commanded and married Mary despite her pregnancy)

We talked about how from Jesus we learn HUMILITY (because He humbled Himself by becoming a human)

And without a doubt from Mary we learn something – WE LEARN FAITH.

If you will notice, God didn’t ask Mary to “do” anything here.
HE ONLY ASKED HER TO TRUST HIM.
And Mary consented in full faith of whatever God chose to do with her.

And it is important for us to see that because
Luke is showing us the type of people God uses.

It is obviously important to Luke that you see this.

So let me push just a little further here this morning and let’s consider this faith which Mary possessed.

Some attributes of her faith we have already seen.

For example:
This thing Mary was believing: WAS CIRCUMSTANTIALLY DOUBTFUL

What Mary was choosing to believe was unlikely to say the least.
She was choosing to believe that
She would conceive the Son of God without ever being with a man.

That is what we call far-fetched to say the least.
And yet Mary here believes it and totally consents to it.

But that is not the end of Mary’s faith.

I’ll tell you something else about her faith.
This thing Mary was believing WAS SOCIALLY DANGEROUS

This 13-year old girl is consenting
To become pregnant without being married.

Certainly in our day we are aware of teenage pregnancies and I’ve talked with many people who have been touched by that closely.

And I always remind them that while all sin brings with it consequences that particular sin carries an added amount of shame because it is impossible to hide.

When a 13-year old girl gets pregnant without being married, she is going to wear that on her belly for 9 months and she is going to endure all the stares and all the murmuring.

And that is nothing compared to what Mary faced.

First, she faced the loss of her fiancé.
Matthew 1:18-19 “Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly.”

At the very least Mary was about to lose Joseph.

Second she faced certain death by stoning.
Leviticus 20:10 “If there is a man who commits adultery with another man’s wife, one who commits adultery with his friend’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.”

TURN TO: Deuteronomy 22:13-29

And we have seen this even in the days of Jesus.
Remember this story?
John 8:4-5 “they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in adultery, in the very act. “Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women; what then do You say?”

So listen, when Mary says “let it be done to me according to your word”
We are talking about an enormous amount of faith here.

She is not only trusting that God can cause her to conceive,
But she is trusting that God can preserve her life
Throughout the process.
And that God’s favor is enough to satisfy her
In the presence of the world’s scorn.

THIS IS HUGE.

What she is believing is not only Circumstantially Doubtful,
But it is also Socially Dangerous.

AND YET THAT IS NOT ALL.

Mary is NOT JUST believing that she will become pregnant.
Mary is believing that the child she will deliver
Will be the Savior and the reigning king of Israel.

Isn’t that what Gabriel told her?
“He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David”

Listen to what Martha says to Mary later:
Luke 1:45 “And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her by the Lord.”

Mary isn’t just believing that she will conceive,
She is believing that through this child she will be saved.

Later when we get to Mary’s statement of praise, listen to what she will say:
Luke 1:46-47 “And Mary said: “My soul exalts the Lord, And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.”

Again:
Luke 1:54 “He has given help to Israel His servant, In remembrance of His mercy,”

Mary is talking about salvation.

And let me tell you, that faith would have to continue long after this child is born.

And what I want you to understand is that Mary’s faith NEVER FALTERED.
It didn’t shrink back at the announcement
And it didn’t fail even in the most dyer of circumstances.

For this thing Mary was believing WAS SEEMINGLY DESTROYED

Do you remember what happens to this child Mary delivers?
He is crucified.

And where do we find Mary?
Right there at the cross.

John 19:23-27 “Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His outer garments and made four parts, a part to every soldier and also the tunic; now the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece. So they said to one another, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, to decide whose it shall be”; this was to fulfill the Scripture: “THEY DIVIDED MY OUTER GARMENTS AMONG THEM, AND FOR MY CLOTHING THEY CAST LOTS.” Therefore the soldiers did these things. But standing by the cross of Jesus were His mother, and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus then saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He said to His mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then He said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” From that hour the disciple took her into his own household.”

Even then, even there, Mary’s faith endures.
Mary continued to believe even though her hope was seemingly destroyed.

Mary believed even though her hope WAS SEVERELY DELAYED

Did Gabriel not promise that her son would reign?
Did Mary ever see that? No

She saw Him born, she saw Him grow up, she saw Him die,
She saw Him rise from the dead, and she saw Him ascend,
BUT SHE NEVER SAW HIM REIGN.

And yet, after the ascension do you know where we next see Mary?

Acts 1:12-14 “Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away. When they had entered the city, they went up to the upper room where they were staying; that is, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas the son of James. These all with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer, along with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.”

There is Mary, numbered among the 120 believers in the upper room after the ascension of Jesus.

I just point that all out to you because I want you to understand something about the faith of this 13 year old girl.

• It was faith in the midst of unlikely obstacles
• It was faith in the midst of certain danger
• It was faith even when all hope seemed lost
• It was faith that waited even when the fulfillment wasn’t as soon as expected

• She had faith
• She had courageous faith
• She had unwavering faith
• She had enduring faith

She was willing to be used of God and to trust whatever He desired to do with her and through her.

And so are you beginning to see why God used her?
• God didn’t care that she was from Nazareth.
• God didn’t care that she was 13 year old girl.

Isaiah 66:2 “For My hand made all these things, Thus all these things came into being,” declares the LORD. “But to this one I will look, To him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word.”

And what a constant theme Luke is going to bring in that regard.

This world puts so much value on so many wrong attributes.
• This world values those who are rich
• This world values those who are athletic
• This world values those who are charismatic
• This world values those who are successful
• This world values those who are physically attractive

But Luke is going to make sure that you understand that that is not the type of people that God exalts and values.
• The Lord is looking for the humble.
• The Lord is looking for the submissive.
• The Lord is looking for those with faith.

And that could not be clearer than the fact that this 13 year old girls is handed the greatest assignment of any human ever.

It is true when we read that
God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.

The Full Atonement – Part 2
Selected Scriptures
August 6, 2017

I know you are typically used to a verse that we are going to walk through, but tonight I just want to sort of follow up again on what we were talking about two weeks ago. And to do that we are going to look at a lot of different scriptures, not just one in particular.

Let’s pray to get started…

As you know we are working through those 5 SOLAS of the Reformation
And we have been spending a great amount of time on SOLA GRATIA

It is the belief that we are saved By Grace Alone.
Not Grace A lot, but Grace Alone.

We believe salvation to be a totally monergistic effort (the work of one)
It is not a synergistic effort (a cooperative work)

God saves us.

And of course we’ve talked about several issue here already.
We’ve looked at ABSOLUTE INABILITY, which reveals WHY salvation must be a monergistic effort.

Namely because man can’t choose God and even if he could, he wouldn’t.
He is dead in sin as a result of the fall and there is none who seeks for God,
Not even one.

We’ve looked at SOVEREIGN ELECTION, which reveals that in spite of our wickedness God has chosen His elect to be saved according to His own free will.

It is not that God is picking some and excluding others,
It is simply that none would come if God didn’t choose to save some,
And by His grace, that is exactly what He has done.

We’ve looked at EFFECTIVE CALL, which reveals that God does not save sinners against their will.

That is to say that He does not drag them kicking and screaming into heaven,
But rather God first changes their will and causes them to desire Him
So that when He calls they always respond.

And two weeks ago we looked FULL ATONEMENT.
I call it full atonement because on the cross Jesus provided an absolutely full atonement for the elect.

It is often referred to as LIMITED ATONEMENT
(because it is limited only to the elect)

And of course this is a highly debated topic.

The reality is that the atonement is certainly limited.
We know that because not everyone goes to heaven.

Hell is full of people whose sin has not been atoned for.
Revelation 21:7-8 “He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son. “But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”

Revelation 22:14-15 “Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city. Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the immoral persons and the murderers and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying.”

Obviously these people are in hell because of their sin.
Their sin is even listed.

They are cowardly and unbelieving and immoral and sorcerers and murderers and idolaters and liars.

And these people who have committed such sins
And who have not had their sins atoned for by Christ
Will go to hell and pay for those sins for all eternity.

Paul said:
1 Corinthians 6:9-11 “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.”

It is clear there that people who commit sin go to hell and pay for that sin.
People who are fornicators and idolaters and adulterers and effeminate and homosexuals and thieves and covetous and drunkards and revilers and swindlers.

These people go to hell
Where they suffer God’s wrath on their sin for all eternity.

The difference for the redeemed is that they have been washed and sanctified and justified through the atonement of Christ.

Christ paid for their sin
So that they will not have to pay for it themselves in hell.

Even Jesus said to the Pharisees:
John 8:24 “Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”

People who go to hell do so because their sin has not been atoned for.
They then die in their sins and pay the penalty for that sin for all eternity.

And the point to that of course is to reiterate the fact that
THE ATONEMENT IS ABSOLUTELY LIMITED.

Not all people are saved.
Not all people go to heaven.

The questions we have to ask are these:
• HOW IS IT LIMITED?
• WHO LIMITED IT?

Last week I told you of the CURRENT VIEW regarding the atonement.
It is quite popular to say today that CHRIST DIED FOR EVERYBODY.

• They like to say that Christ already paid the sin debt for every single person.
• They like to say that the atonement of Christ is absolutely unlimited as to its
extent; it is for everyone.
• That when Christ died on the cross He paid for the sins of every human being
who has ever lived.

And that sounds good,
Especially if you refuse to think about it a little deeper.

The problem with that is this:
Not everyone who Christ died for then goes to heaven.

Under that view you have Christ paying for everyone’s sin,
But whatever He did wasn’t enough to keep them out of hell
Since most people that He died for are still going there.

That is to believe that
On the cross Jesus paid in full the sin debt of all men and satisfied God’s wrath on all men who are still in hell paying that debt and suffering under God’s wrath.

And it forces you to ask the question:
THEN WHAT DID CHRIST ACTUALLY DO ON THE CROSS?

And under that view, you have to say:
“Well, actually, He didn’t do anything”

In fact, He did the exact same thing
For people in heaven as He did for people in hell.

What they are really believing in is a POTENTIAL ATONEMENT.
That Christ potentially died for all men, but He actually died for no one.

Their atonement is limited, and it is limited as to its effect.
What Christ did is not effective until the sinner chooses to activate the atonement to their account.

SO… (Are you ready for this?)
Under that view, the atonement is limited as to its effect
And it is limited by the will of the sinner.

Under that view, sinners decide who partakes in the atonement.
So it is sinners who limit the effect of the atonement.

• Under that view we have a multitude of sinners who render the atonement of Christ null and void because they refuse to accept it.

• The death of Christ is rendered powerless on their behalf because they don’t choose to make it powerful.

And friend that is a disturbing notion…
That salvation would be up to the will of the sinner.

Because we have already learned that
“There is none who seeks for God, not even one.”

If salvation is up to the sinner then no one is going to be saved because no one is going to choose God apart from God’s divine intervention.

TRUST ME: You don’t want any aspect of salvation dependent upon the will of the sinner.
• You don’t want election up to the sinner…
• You don’t want the response up to the sinner…
• You don’t want atonement up to the sinner…
• You don’t want security up to the sinner…

If it is, then it won’t happen because the sinner will always choose sin.

If salvation hinges upon the cooperation of the sinner
Then the sinner is in a world of hurt.

But what we believe and WHAT SCRIPTURE TEACHES is that
It is not up to the will of the sinner, it is up to the will of Holy God.
• He elects
• He causes the response
• He atones
• He secures

We believe that all of salvation is by grace alone, even the atonement.

We believe the atonement is also limited (since people are in hell)
But we believe it is limited to its extent, not its effect.

We don’t believe that Jesus paid the debt for every single human,
But we do believe that those humans for whom He did pay the debt,
He totally paid it.

This we saw in passages like:
Isaiah 53:11-12 “As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; By His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, As He will bear their iniquities. Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great, And He will divide the booty with the strong; Because He poured out Himself to death, And was numbered with the transgressors; Yet He Himself bore the sin of many, And interceded for the transgressors.”

Matthew 26:27-28 “And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.”

Hebrews 9:28 “so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.”

Christ didn’t potentially die for everyone, He actually died for the elect.
On the cross He actually and totally and finally
Paid for all the sin of the Redeemed.

We don’t believe there was anything potential about what happened there.
• We heard Christ say, “It is finished!”

And we even saw that as we looked briefly at the crucifixion account.
• We saw that on the cross Jesus was actually bearing the wrath of God.
• We saw that on the cross Jesus was actually separated from the Father.
• We saw that on the cross atonement was actually being made.

There was nothing potential about it.
Jesus did it.

He certainly did not pay for everyone’s sin on that day
(Or else no one would go to hell,)
But for those whose sins He did pay for, He paid them in full.

SO WE SAY the atonement is limited as to its extent, but absolutely unlimited as to its effect.

Our question then is the same as the others.
WHO LIMITED IT?

And the only possible answer here is: GOD LIMITED IT.
God limited who the atonement would reach to,
He’s the only One who could have done it.

And I’ll be honest, I find much more comfort there
Than I do with some notion that sinners
Are limiting the atonement by their own will.

That idea really causes me to question how powerful the atonement was
If it can be so easily nullified by willful sinners.

On the cross Jesus fully atoned for
All those whom God chose to redeem.

And look, I’m well aware that
THAT PUSHES OUR TOLERANCES RIGHT OUT TO THE MAX.
I’m aware that this is difficult for many to wrap their minds around.

I’m also aware that if this is the first time you’ve come across this doctrine
That there are probably a host of verses that popped into your head that you’d like dealt with.

And because I certainly want to be exhaustive
I thought tonight we’d hit this topic again
With the idea of addressing some of those passages.

I know the words that we need to deal with are the word “WORLD”
Like in:
John 1:29 “The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”

And we have to address the word “ALL”
Like in:
2 Corinthians 5:14-15 “For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf.”

So let’s look at some of those.
We’ll start with the idea that Christ died for the whole WORLD

Now, in order to grasp what the Bible writers are saying
I have to remind you of the Jewish mindset of the day.

And what I want you to understand is the absolute racism of the Jews.
• They hated Gentiles
• They hated Samaritans
• They hated Romans
• They hated Greeks
• They hated Barbarians

They did not at all see them as common heirs of the kingdom of God.

If you’ve read through the book of Acts,
It is impossible to miss the tension that quickly arises
When Gentiles start believing.

We could read Acts 10 and see
• Peter’s hesitancy to even go to Cornelius’ house,
• The half-hearted gospel presentation Peter gave,
• Peter’s amazement when God did the unthinkable by giving these Gentiles the Holy Spirit.

When you come to Acts 11
• Peter is actually in trouble for going to Cornelius’ house to begin with and is left having to defend himself.

And then of course we find the tension that arises
Regarding how much of the Law these Gentiles should have to follow.
Some demanded full adherence starting with circumcision

And that is what prompted the meeting of the Jerusalem council
In Acts 15 and such letters like the letter to the Galatians.

IT WAS A HARD TIME.
Jews had a very difficult time understanding that
Gentiles could be common recipients of the grace of God.

In fact, Paul calls that reality a mystery.
Colossians 1:26-27 “that is, the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations, but has now been manifested to His saints, to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

Ephesians 2:11-19 “Therefore remember that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called “Uncircumcision” by the so-called ” Circumcision,” which is performed in the flesh by human hands — remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace, and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity. AND HE CAME AND PREACHED PEACE TO YOU WHO WERE FAR AWAY, AND PEACE TO THOSE WHO WERE NEAR; for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household,”

Jews just didn’t think Gentiles would be or could be saved.
It was a massive stumbling block for them.

And that is what is being addressed most of the time
When you see the word “world” being used.

It is simply the New Testament writer’s way of indicating that Jesus is not just the Savior of Israel,
But also the Savior of the world.

It DOES NOT INDICATE that He is going to save everyone in the world (obviously the Bible doesn’t teach that)
But that He is a Savior for MORE THAN JUST ISRAEL.

Jesus will save people from every tribe and nation and tongue.
He is the world’s Savior.

Let’s look at some:
TURN TO: JOHN 1

You read it first there in verse 9;
“There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man.”

Obviously there “world” simply means the scope of humanity.
Christ came into the human realm, that’s all it means.

You keep reading and you find that He did not come to save the whole world, but rather only those who would receive Him.

(Read 10-13)

It wasn’t everyone He saved, but only those who received Him
(and we know why they received Him; because they were chosen)
And these are the ones who received the right to become children of God.

You see it again in verse 29;
“Then next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”

And all you have to do is use your brain a second.
If Jesus did what so many imply here; namely that He atoned for the world, then what does this verse teach?

If He did in fact take away the sin of the whole world then what would be the effect of that?
• Everyone would be saved.
• There would be no hell
• There would be no condemnation
• There would be no judgment

Obviously the Bible doesn’t teach that.

No, John is not indicating that Jesus took away everyone’s sin,
He is merely making the point that
Jesus is the Savior for the whole entire world.

TURN OVER TO CHAPTER 3.
And of course you are familiar with verse 16.
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”

People jump on that again and say, “See, God loves the whole world!”
But what does “world” mean?

It simply means the scope of humanity.
Certainly God has shown love to humanity, to the whole world.
He did in fact send His Son into this world, that was an act of love.

But that passage DOES NOT INDICATE
That Jesus somehow paid the sin debt for every single human.
In fact, we see in this verse exactly who the atonement was limited to.

Who in this passage is being saved? “whoever believes”

See, the forgiveness and atonement of Christ is limited to believers.
It is limited to the elect.

TURN OVER TO CHAPTER 4
Jesus has the conversation with the Woman At The Well and she goes home and tells everyone in the city about Him.

And we read in verse 42, “and they were saying to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this One is indeed the Savior of the world.”

If you take that to mean that He is saving everyone in the world then you have a bigger question to answer, which is:
Why are they still going to hell?

The reality is that these are simply statements which John used
To break Jewish racism and reveal that
Jesus is a Savior to more than just Israel.

TURN OVER TO CHAPTER 12
Jesus has raised Lazarus and He is at the height of His popularity. Everyone wants to see this Jesus, and look at the response of the Pharisees.

(19) “So the Pharisees said to one another, “You see that you are not doing any good; look, the world has gone after Him.”

Certainly that doesn’t mean every person in the world.
It’s just a statement to indicate
The scope of Jesus’ ministry and popularity at the time.

Just because you read verses that talk about Jesus saving the world,
You certainly understand that if that were true in a universal sense
Then no one would go to hell.

What it is really saying is simply that Jesus is the world’s Savior
And not just that of Israel.

Let me GIVE YOU ONE MORE, and one that was a big question for me when I first heard this doctrine.
TURN TO: 1 John 2:1-2
Now that can be read to sound very much like Jesus died for everyone,
But you really need to wait a second and understand what John is saying.

Definitely there is that same notion of addressing racism where John is indicating that Jesus is more than just a Jewish Savior, but literally a Savior to the world.

But there is even another important clue in this passage
That must be noticed.

John says that Jesus is “the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only but also for hose of the whole world.”

“propitiation” is a very strong word.
It means “appeasement” or “satisfaction”

If John is saying that Jesus did in fact die for the whole world
Then He is saying that Jesus actually fully satisfied
God’s wrath toward the whole world.

But we know Jesus did not do that because so many still go to hell.

This word “propitiation” is not a potential word, it is an actual word.

Whoever John is referring to here have no more wrath on them at all
Because Jesus has fully placated the Father.

You can read that verse flippantly, “See Jesus died for the whole world!”
But if you’ll be responsible and think it through
You quickly see that this is not at all what John is saying.

John is again merely revealing that Jesus is a Savior for the world
And not just Israel.

And I’m sure there are other uses of the word “WORLD”
But I think you’re getting the point.

Another word that seems to give people fits is the word “all”

The idea that Jesus died for “all”,
Indicating that He must have died for every single human.

But again, I need you to tap the breaks.
You and I know that the word “all” doesn’t always mean “all”

“I went to church and they all laughed at me” – well not everyone in the world and probably not even everyone in the church, it’s just a phrase that means there was an overwhelming response.

You always have to be careful about strictly applying “all” to everyone.
But let’s look at some.
TURN TO ROMANS 5
We already looked at this passage a couple of weeks ago when we talked about the absolute inability of man.

And we learned the overwhelming point of the passage is that
Paul is explaining how 1 man’s actions can affect everyone else.

He is trying to explain how Jesus can make you righteous
And in order to do that he first explains how Adam first made you sinful.

It is an analogy.
But people read verse 18 and try to push it beyond it’s intent.

Look at verse 18, “So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men.”

Now there many would say
“See! It’s for all men. What Adam did was for all so what Jesus did was for all.”

And that’s not true.
Adam’s transgression did not affect all men.
It affected all but one.

Who was the one that it did not affect?
Jesus, because He was not born of Adam, He was born of a virgin.

But what that does mean is that Adam’s transgression
Affected all who came from Adam.

And that understanding fits perfectly for we realize that
Just as Adam affected all who came from him,
SO ALSO DID JESUS AFFECT ALL WHO CAME FROM HIM.

And to make sure that you don’t push the “all” concept too far beyond what is intended, look at what Paul does in verse 19.

“For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous.”

See how careful Paul is there
To make sure you don’t misunderstand the point?
He is not preaching some sort of universal atonement.

TURN TO: 2 CORINTHIANS 5:14-15
And again people focus in on the “all” there, but look at it closer.

Paul says that “one died for all, therefore all died”
Now let me ask you, who is “all” in that passage?

The “all” He died for is the same “all” who “died”
He is talking about believers.

That verse isn’t talking about all humanity,
It is talking about all believers.
(15) “and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf.”

You just can’t push those words too far or else you end up with the doctrine of universalism, which the Bible does not teach.

The reality is that
• Christ came and actually atoned for all believers,
• And those believers were more than just Jews, they were people from
the whole world.
• And when He died He actually atoned for them, it wasn’t potential.

And it is important that you understand that
So that you won’t go around thinking that
The atonement someone was the result of your own efforts.

That you are saved because Jesus died
AND
You activated it by accepting it.

We are talking about salvation by grace alone.
Jesus did it all, you didn’t contribute anything
Except the sin that made it necessary.

Salvation is totally God’s doing.
Titus 3:4-7 “But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”

So we say that the atonement was absolutely limited as to its extent,
But it is totally unlimited as to its effect.

And let me tell you another reason this is so important.
IT ABSOLUTELY CHANGES YOUR PERSPECTIVE IN EVANGELISM
(I’ve got on my list to talk about how evangelism fits in all this later,
But I can hit you briefly with it here.)

One of the main objections to these Doctrines of Grace
Is that it kills evangelism.
I mean, after all, if God has already chosen then why bother?

Well, first of all, because we are commanded to.
• The Great Commission is the command of God to every believer.
• We are absolutely to go and share the gospel with this entire world.

And let me hit you one better.
Every single person you share the gospel with
Is receiving a 100% valid offer.

If you are looking at it like: “Well, I’m sharing with you, but it might be in vain because you might not even be chosen” then you are totally misunderstanding.

You can pick any sinner in the world and approach them
And tell them that if they will repent and believe in Christ
They will be saved, and that is a 100% true offer.

I mean even Jesus gave that offer, over and over and over.
“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy laden…”

What we have learned is that the only people who will respond are those whom God performs a supernatural work in their heart.

But let me also remind you of this important thing.
Chosen or not chosen; Elect or not elect
NO ONE WILL COME APART FROM HEARING THE GOSPEL.

The gospel is the means through which God calls out His elect.
And so we go and we share the gospel relentlessly with the lost,
Offering salvation to every person on the planet
And trusting that God will use that gospel to save His elect.

WHAT DOES THAT DO FOR YOUR EVANGELISM?
It totally takes the pressure off.

Aren’t you glad to know that salvation is not up to the will of the sinner?
If it were, then people who reject the gospel
Do so because you weren’t persuasive enough.

And that’s why people don’t want to share the gospel.
• “What if I mess it up?”
• “What if I’m not good enough?”

And that’s why people always want to go get the preacher to do it because they somehow assume the preacher is better at it and will be more effective.

But evangelism is NOT the art of convincing sinners to accept Christ.
If that were evangelism, no one could do it.
Evangelism is merely the commitment
To preach the gospel to all of Creation.
And if people respond – Glory to God, He did it.
And if people don’t respond – don’t be surprised, sinners never will.

This doesn’t nullify evangelism it merely gives us
The proper perspective when we evangelize.

Here is a passage with a beautiful balance.
2 Corinthians 5:18-21 “Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

Again, don’t get caught up on the word “world” there, we’ve already talked about that.

But who does this verse say is doing the “reconciling”? Christ is.
What is our job? “the word of reconciliation”

Christ is saving, we are merely out there proclaiming His salvation.

And so, how should we go forward with this?
“Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.”

Should we really beg sinners to be saved?
ABSOLUTELY!

Paul knew all about election and limited atonement and all those things,
But he also knew his role in the whole process.

His role was to preach the gospel to all creation
So that God could use that gospel to draw out His elect.

Romans 1:14-16 “I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. So, for my part, I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome. For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”

That is us, unashamed of the gospel and committed to preaching it.
It’s just that we know that those who are saved
Are not saved because we were convincing or manipulative.

They were saved because of God’s GRACE ALONE

The only reason they are saved is because God chose them, called them, and atoned for them apart from any work on their part.

And we rest in the fact that as we go and share the gospel with all creation
That as many as have been appointed to eternal life will believe.