The Heart of the Gospel - Pt 21

And they brought the boy to him. And when the spirit saw him, immediately it convulsed the boy, and he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth. And Jesus asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. And it has often cast him into fire and into water, to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” And Jesus said to him, “‘If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes.” Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:20-24 ESV).

Persevering in faith does not mean that we do not go through seasons of doubt and measures of unbelief in the promises and the goodness of God. Our reading shows this conundrum clearly. The father of the afflicted child cried out to Jersus, “I believe; help my unbelief!” (v. 24). It is not a contradictory prayer. Measures of unbelief can coexist with a true faith. Therefore what we mean when we say that faith must persevere to the end is that we must never come to a point of renouncing Christ with such hardness of heart that we can never return; Esau is such an example of this hardness (cf. Hebrews 12:15-17). He became so spiritually hard and calloused in his love for this world that when he tried to repent he couldn’t. All he could do is weep over the consequences of his folly, not the true ugliness of his sin or the dishonor he had heaped upon God in preferring a single meal to his entire God-given, God-accompanying birthright. We also see the truth that we must not think that backsliding and waywardness in sin is a one-way street. It is possible to repent and return. That process of wandering and returning is included in “the perseverance of the saints.” John says, “If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life. All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that does not lead to death” (1 John 5:16-17). John’s aim here is clearly to give hope to those who might be tempted to despair, and to those who love them and pray for them. John began his letter the same way he is ending it: “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:8-9). So when we speak of the necessity of perseverance we do not mean perfection. And we do not mean that there are no struggles or serious measures of unbelief. Belonging to Christ is a supernatural reality brought about by God and preserved by God. The saints are not marked most deeply by what they do but by who they are. They are born again. They are a new creation. They do not go in and out of this newness. It is God’s work. And it is irrevocable. Of that, there can be no doubt!

The Heart of the Gospel - Pt 20

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. (Romans 8:28-30 ESV). For the last few weeks we have been traveling through the Scripture in a reexamination of the principles that describe what I have called The Heart of the Gospel. In each case we have been challenged to go a little deeper and wrestle with some of the most difficult of thoughts. Today we begin a study of the last of the five principles, “the Perseverance of the Saints.” You may have heard it espoused under the declaration of “once saved always saved.” Either phrase is both essential and accurate. If indeed God is at the root of our redemption, it follows that these same born again people of God will persevere to the end and not be lost. The Apostle Paul is clear in our reading today: the foreknown are predestined, the predestined are called, the called are justified, and the justified are glorified (v. 30). No one is lost from this group. To belong to this people is to be eternally secure.

It is no doubt a very long and winding road for all of us. Mary and I are returning to Tennessee for a few days next week. We will be able to see lots of friends. I’ll be preaching at my former pastorate; Santa Fe Baptist Church; and, we’ll spend a little time in the Smoky Mountains. We will see our share of winding roads! I have no doubt they will be beautifully lined with the colors of Fall’s beginning; however, I also know I will need to pay close attention to the road rather than the scenery! We will see both these elements in our study of this last tenet of grace. When we look at the full scope of the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints, we must understand that the saints will and must persevere in faith and the obedience which comes from faith. Election is unconditional, but glorification is not. Our faith must endure to the end if we are to be saved. This means that the gospel is God’s instrument in the preservation of faith as well as the begetting of faith. We do not act with a kind of cavalier indifference to the call for perseverance just because a person has professed faith in Christ, as though we can be assured from our perspective that they are now beyond the reach of the evil one. There is a fight of faith to be fought. The elect will fight that fight. And by God’s sovereign grace they will win it. We must endure to the end in faith if we are to be saved.

The Heart of the Gospel - Pt 19

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. (Romans 8:28-30 ESV).

Our reading today brings us to the most often quoted passage in Romans. It may be the most important text of all in relation to the teaching of this part of the Gospel called unconditional election. Focus for a moment on the fact that all whom God calls he also justifies; however, this calling is not given to all people. The reason we know it’s not is that all those who are called are also justified. There is an infallible connection between called and justified. This calling is not the general call to repentance that preachers give or that God gives through the glory of nature. Everybody receives that call. This call (v. 30) is given only to those whom God predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son (v. 29). And, it is a call that leads necessarily to justification. Therefore, what this magnificent text teaches is that God really accomplishes the complete redemption of his people from start to finish. He foreknows (that is, elects) a people for himself before the foundation of the world, he predestines this people to be conformed to the image of his Son, he calls them to himself in faith, he justifies them through that faith alone, and he finally glorifies them. And nothing can separate them from the love of God in Christ forever and ever (v. 39). If you are a believer in Christ, you have been loved by God from all eternity. He set his favor on you before the creation of the world. He chose you when he considered you in your helpless condition. He chose you for himself unconditionally. We may not boast in our election. When we had done nothing to commend ourselves to God in any way, he set his favor on us freely. It was with us the way it was with the election of Israel: “It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the LORD set his love on you and chose you . . . but it is because the LORD loves you” (Deuteronomy 7:7-8). Read that carefully. He loves you because he loves you. He chose to do that in eternity. And because his love for you never had a beginning, it can have no end. It takes your breath away! It turns you more toward peace and joy than anything else. I hope you may be taken by this gracious, merciful deeper and deeper into the experience of this amazing sovereign grace!

The Heart of the Gospel - Pt 18

What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God's part? By no means! For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. (Romans 9:14-16 ESV). In Romans 9, Paul stresses the unconditional nature of election, he describes the principle God used in the choice of Jacob over Esau (cf. Romans 9:11-12). He is showing us that God’s election is preserved in its unconditional nature because it is transacted before we are born or have done any good or evil. I know that some interpreters say that Romans 9 has nothing to do with the election of individuals to their eternal destinies, but only deals with corporate peoples in their historical roles. I think this is a mistake mainly because it simply does not come to terms with the problem Paul is addressing in the chapter. What is clear is that something has made it look as though God’s promises have failed.

The deepest issue Paul is addressing is not why Israel as a nation has this or that historical role, but that individuals within Israel are accursed and cut off from Christ. In other words, individual eternal destinies are indeed at stake. And the nature of Paul’s argument confirms this. Then he moves on to show how God’s unconditional election was at work within Israel. Our reading is very specific at the point of this unconditional nature of God’s electing grace. It depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. The very nature of the mercy we need is will-awakening, will-transforming mercy. Our only hope is sovereign mercy, irresistible mercy. We are in no position to merit mercy or elicit mercy. If we are to receive mercy, it will be at God’s free choice. Fortunately this is not the only passage that points us to this truth. Paul underlines again the individual nature of election within Israel when he writes, “Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened” (Romans 11:7). Throughout Romans 9–11 Paul assumes that election deals with individuals and with eternal destinies, and that it is unconditional. There is, I believe, a divine covenantal commitment to corporate Israel, but that does not contradict or annul the individual, eternal thrust of Romans 9. God elects this way so that “though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad, in order that God’s purpose of election might continue” (v. 11). Unconditional election does not mean that there will be people in heaven who do not want to be there, nor will there be people in hell who wanted to be saved but could not be because they were not elect. Unconditional election properly recognizes that, apart from God’s supernatural work in the life of a sinner, men will always choose to reject God and rebel against Him. What unconditional election does correctly recognize is that God intervenes in the lives of the elect and works in their lives through the Holy Spirit so that they willingly respond in faith to Him. That produces such relief in the heart of the understanding believer that we then are free to truly love Him in return. Nothing he asks me to do is now a burden; it is always a blessing!

The Heart of the Gospel - Pt 17

At that time the Feast of Dedication took place at Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the colonnade of Solomon. So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name bear witness about me, but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep. (John 10:22-26 ESV).

When does that “new” puppy become your puppy? If you have ever been to pick out your new puppy you know that all of them want to go home with you. They simply want out of where they are at the moment. However, when you choose one and take it home, you give it a new name and begin to treat it as your own. You have chosen it over all the others. It isn’t long until that puppy has believed in you as they caregiver and owner. In a similar way we have been chosen by God and then become faithful. This is the root of our fourth principle in the study of the Heart of the Gospel. It is best known as “Unconditional Election.” If all of us are so depraved that we cannot come to God without being born again by the irresistible grace of God, and if this particular grace is purchased by Christ on the cross, then it is clear that the salvation of any of us is owing to God’s election. He chose those to whom he would show such irresistible grace, and for whom he would purchase it. Election refers to God’s choosing whom to save. It is unconditional in that there is no condition man must meet before God chooses to save him. Man is dead in trespasses and sins. So there is no condition he can meet before God chooses to save him from his deadness. This does not mean that final salvation is unconditional. It is not. We must meet the condition of faith in Christ in order to inherit eternal life. But faith is not a condition for election. It is just the reverse. Election is a condition for faith. It is because God chose us before the foundation of the world that he purchases our redemption at the cross, and then gives us spiritual life through irresistible grace, and brings us to faith. This is the point at which many become uncomfortable. However, as our reading today makes the point, belief in Christ only comes to those who are “among His sheep.” We don’t join the flock; He chooses us and places us in it. We’re going to see later why this is so essential. Today let me simply say that it is the foundation for our peace and joy in the midst of every circumstance of life, good or bad (cf. Romans 8:31-39). This is the basis for our confidence that nothing can separate us from God’s love. That has been important to me on more than one occasion. Usually it’s when I feel most vulnerable after some specific failure or difficulty. That’s when it most important for me to know that nothing I do or don’t do is the basis for God’s love and forgiveness.

The Heart of the Gospel - Pt 16

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. (Romans8:31-34 ESV).

Now we come to the end of our examination of “limited atonement.” Some truth leaves us almost speechless. This is our case here. But it is the foundation of one of the greatest of all promises in the Scripture. The Apostle Paul declares that “all things work for our good (Romans 8:28); and then he breaks into this declaration of praise in our reading today. God sees to this good because he foreknew you, predestined you to glory with Christ, called you when you were dead in trespasses and sins, justified you freely by his grace through faith alone, and is now glorifying you little by little until the day of his coming when it will be consummated with a body like Christ’s glorious resurrection body. This leaves Paul almost speechless — almost. He says, “What then shall we say to these things?” I hear two things in those words for Paul and for us. I hear, “It is hard to find words for these great things.” And I hear, “We must find words for these great things.” I think when Paul says, “What then shall we say to these things?” his answer is: We must say it again another way. We must find different words and say it again. That’s what he does with the words, “If God is for us, who is against us?” That’s what he has been saying all along. But he must say it another way. Think of it: God is FOR us! And, therefore no one can be against us. God foreknew us in love, predestined us to be his children, called us from death, declared us righteous, and is working in us from one degree of glory to another until the great and glad day of Christ. These are the wonderful words of the Gospel. We live forever with God against us or with God for us. And all who are in Christ may say with almost unspeakable joy, “God is for us.” He is on our side. There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (cf. Romans 8:1). God is entirely for us, and never against us. None of our sicknesses is a judgment from a condemning judge. None of our broken cars or failed relationships is a punishment from God. None of our lost jobs is a penalty for sin. None of our wayward children is a crack of the whip of God’s retribution. If we are in Christ, God is for us, not against us. He is for us in and through all things, good or bad, ease or pain! Now, that’s Good News! That’s the heart of the Gospel!

The Heart of the Gospel - Pt 15

But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant. (Hebrews 9:11-15 ESV).

What we find when we come to the New Testament is that Jesus is the Mediator of this new covenant and that he secured it by his own blood. This is the connection between the atonement and the new covenant: Jesus’ blood is the blood of the covenant. At the Last Supper, Jesus took the cup after they had eaten and said, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood” (Luke 22:20). Therefore all the promises of the new covenant are blood bought promises. When they come true for us they come true because Jesus died to make them come true. This means that the particular promises of the new covenant to create a people of God and keep a people of God are what Jesus died for. The point I am making is that not all the promises of the new covenant depend on the condition of faith. Rather, one of the promises made in the new covenant is that the condition of faith itself will be given by God. That’s why I say that the new covenant people are created and preserved by God. “I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me” (Jeremiah 32:40). God puts the fear of God in us in the first place. And God keeps us from turning away. He creates his new people and keeps his new people. And he does this by the blood of the covenant, which Jesus said was his own blood. In the death of Christ, God secures a definite group of unworthy sinners as his own people by purchasing and guaranteeing the conditions they must meet to be part of his people. The blood of the covenant — Christ’s blood — purchases and guarantees the new heart of faith and repentance. And since he did it through Jesus Christ, the Great Shepherd, who laid down his life for the sheep, we say, “to [him] be glory forever and ever” (Hebrews 13:21). This is the joy of being the child of God. When life crashes in on us, we can now have the assurance that nothing is so bad that it can take away that blood-bought eternal life Jesus has secured for us! Now, we have rest for our souls!