Putting Amazing Back into Grace - Michael Horton

Paul Bukauskas

Putting Amazing Back into Grace - Horton • Sermon • Submitted 4 months ago • Presented 4 months ago

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The Reformation opened up to the common man

— The bible was chained down during the dark ages

— Put a bible in the hands of the common man and I’ll make a plowman the best theologian in the land - William Tyndale

Faith

— God sees their faith, but we see their works, we can’t see faith like God

Total Depravity

— We’re not as bad as we could be, but you’re as bad as you could possibly get in relation to God

— The greatest sin of all is to think we are righteous and not need faith

Creation is the starting point for our recovery

— via the gospel

— We think that to “err is human”

— In fact, “to err is the result of human falleness”

— Nothing wrong with the manufacture or his product, but what we did with our freedom

Creation marks us with God’s image

— Made similar to God in moral perfection ( Gen 1:31 )

Righteous

Holiness

Godliness

Nothing to predispose man to sin

Everything was god centric (writing, music, playing sports, etc.)

— Enjoyed a creative link to God, creative capacity but only a reflection of God who creates “ex nihlo” (Lat) out of nothing.

— We share his concern for the eternal

— We cannot deny spiritual issues

Creation is universal

— Only justified believers are saved from God’s judgment

— Even those outside of faith bear his likeness, therefore, do not curse them

James 3:9 “With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God;”

— All humans share a capacity for moral, creative, and religious interest. We share a common moral, creative, religious dimension

There is no such thing as an atheist or one who has never heart

— Religious dimension is intrinsic

— God clearly demonstrates his existence in nature

Why are we here?

— Science can never answer “why we are here”

— Every craft points to the skill and character of the artist

— We are lonely without God

— It is not for our happiness or pleasure that we exist, but for God’s

— What is the chief end of man? To glorify God and enjoy Him forever

The Doctrine of Creation has His Benefits

— Respect our neighbor even if they are not Christians

— Everyone has a calling. Even ungodly rulers are considered “god’s servants” ( Rom 13:1-6)

— We are different in terms of eat, drink, watch but share a common humanity

— God is in control

— A single intelligence created the universe

— Randomness is excluded from God’s universe

— God determined the number of stars and calls them each by name ( Ps 147:4 )

— Leaves us without excuse

Gnosticism

— From the Greek word knowledge

— The church was a club for the illuminated, not for the redeemed

— What did they believe?

— How does the divinely originated soul become imprisoned in matter?

— Celus - who was not a gnostic wrote:

God is so utterly transcendent that He can have no direct contact with the world; that matter is inherently evil can have no contact with God; and that men, or at least some men, have within them a spark of divine which is now incarnated in the material prison of the body

— A gnostic can lead to either hedonism — indulge in immorality

— Or asceticism - deny the body of everything

Created out of Nothing

— There is no randomness

— A finality is in picture - not evolution

— The universe displays a master design, one architect

We know deep down the lemonade is sour

— Just the same we move on

— Pretend that we can conquer every obstacle

— This tendency we inherited from Adam

Fallen Stars

“Must not eat from the tree of Knowledge”

Genesis 2:16–17 “The Lord God commanded the man, saying, ‘From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.’ “

Satan rebelled against God’s Word

— Genesis 3:4 “The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die!”

— Satan always down plays the gravity of sin

— God is not quite as holy as scripture makes Him out to be

— He exists for our pleasure, not His

— Satan also uses the small lie he used himself, “you will be like God” (Gen 3:5)

— Adam and Eve decided to “have it their way”

Satan Undermined God’s Authority

— He made God legalistic

— He added to God’s Word

— Genesis 3:1 “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?””

Legalism drives people away from God

— Adding and subtracting from the Word is condemned

Deuteronomy 4:2 “You shall not add to the word which I am commanding you, nor take away from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you.”

Deuteronomy 12:32 “Whatever I command you, you shall be careful to do; you shall not add to nor take away from it.”

Proverbs 30:6 “Do not add to His words Or He will reprove you, and you will be proved a liar.”

Revelation 22:18–19 “I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book.”

To eat from the tree of Knowledge was

— out of rebellion

— Not out of necessity, they could eat of all the other trees

We can not find God for all the same reasons a thief cannot find a police station

— He will expose us for what we really are

Romans 3:11 “There is none who understands, There is none who seeks for God;”

We declared our independence but we cannot live independent from God

— Fish cannot live out of water

— Acts 17:28 “for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His children.’”

Qualifications for Grace

— To qualify, you must realize you don’t qualify

— Jesus said it is hard for a rich man to enter into the kingdom. It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle...

— Matthew 19:25–26 “When the disciples heard this, they were very astonished and said, “Then who can be saved?” And looking at them Jesus said to them, “With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

Bad things happen to good people

— Always looking for someone to blame

— The world is not as God created it

— We have shaped it after our own character

— God look at the world as said, It is very good

— We blame God, yet release pollution. This our way, we pollute life and blame God for the results

All sinners not only by choice but birth

— Adam left an estate to his heirs

— His Nature: Adam was our federal head

— His Condition: Women are protected by the man

— His Guilt: Sin entered into the world thru one man (Rom 5)

— His Enemies: God

— None of us enter into the world with a blank slate

— Romans 5:12 “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned—”

— We are by nature children of wrath, by nature (Eph 2:3)

— Jeremiah 17:9 “The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it?”

We cannot stop sinning when we want to

— The heart is desperately wicked (Jer 17:9)

— Everyone who sins is a slave to sin (Jn 8:34)

— Cannot cease from being sinful

John 6:44 “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.”

— Adam experienced spiritual death when he ate from the tree

— When you eat of it you will surely die

— And you he made alive who were dead in trespasses and sins (Eph 2:1)

Sin and the child of God (1 John 3:4-9)

— If we continue to habitually sin, John make it clear, we are not saved

— While we sin, it is not the pattern of our lives

— Reasons why we are not characterized by sin:

— Incompatible with God’s law

1 John 3:4 “Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness.”

Psalm 119:34 “Give me understanding, that I may observe Your law And keep it with all my heart.”

Psalm 119:77 “May Your compassion come to me that I may live, For Your law is my delight.”

Psalm 119:97 “O how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day.”

— Incompatible with the work of Christ

1 John 3:5 “You know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin.”

— Christ died to sanctify us: we became righteous in Him ( 2 Cor 5:21)

— Christ destroyed the Devil’s stronghold

— 1 John 3:8 “the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.”

— Incompatible with the ministry of the Holy Spirit

2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”

He chose me

John 15:16 “You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you.”

— He chose us despite our track record

John 15:19 “If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you.”

He adopted us into His family

1 Peter 2:9 “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;”

Election

— Not a popular topic

— It takes Grace to its logical conclusion

If God saves me without my works, then he must choose me apart from them too

Free Will

— A prisoner has no choice over the sentence he receives, but rather whether to commit the crime

— We follow our desires, rather our father the devil

John 8:43–44 “Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot hear My word. “You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”

Total Depravity

— Total inability

— Not as bas as we could be

— Anything that falls short of perfection is short of his standard

He Chose Us

1 John 4:10 “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”

— He loved or chose us first

— We we come, it is a free choice in that God changes our natural, self oriented disposition and frees us for the first time from bondage to our sinful will, and then we make the decision that is in harmony with our new, regenerated nature

Predestination is the Antithesis of Fatalism

— If God had given/offered salvation to everyone and let the chips fall where they may

— Fatalism is que sera, sera - whatever will be will be

He chose us before the world began

— Ephesians 1:4–5 “just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will,”

Ephesians 1:11 “also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will,”

1 Peter 1:20 “For He was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you”

— From eternity past, god determined purpose was that Christ would die an atoning death as part of His pre-ordained plan ( Acts 2:23, 4:27, 28, 13:27-29; 2 Tim 1:9; Rev 13:8)

— Peter’s sermon: Acts 2:23 “this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death.”

— Peter and John: Acts 4:27–28 “For truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose predestined to occur.”

Salvation is not based on our will or our effort

— “So then it is not of him who wills nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy” Rom 9:16

— Even our faith, like grace, is a gift from God

Ephesians 2:8 “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;”

Christ is the center of our election

— He chose us in Him before the foundation of the earth ( Eph 1:4)

— We must not look to

— Our works

— Our success or failure

— Anything

— For confirmation of our election

Fairness

— No one deserves salvation

— God is not “our business partner, our co-pilot”

— It is His universe

— He can save some, damn others

Misgivings about Election

— Election itself

— not not exclude those want in

— Rather, it includes those whose direction is away from the kingdom

— The Gravity of my sin

— None of us deserve what we have

— We don’t ask a millionaire why she helps one person and not another

— She can do whatever she wants with her money

—Jesus didn’t heal everyone at the pool, just one person ( Jn 5:3 )

— “What amazes me is not that God does not choose everyone but that He chose me” Charles Spurgeon

Foreknowledge

— We expect to get what we deserve

— Julia Andrews, when she realizes that the Captain loves her sings:

“Nothing comes from nothing, nothing ever could. So somewhere in my youth or childhood, I must have done something good.”

God chose Jacob and rejected Esau ( Rom 9:11-12)

— God’s choice had nothing to do with the nature of the twins

— Depended on God to love whom he loved

Romans 9:18 “So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires.”

— Based on God’s prerogative and unrelated to human effort

God’s purpose not our response governs the universe ( 2 Tim 1:9 )

— 2 Timothy 1:9 “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,”

— Everything happens according to His will ( Eph 1:4-14)

— Saying this is just saying God is God

Foreknowledge is not information but knowing people intimately

— It s knowledge of people

— Adam knew Eve ( Gen 4:1)

— God knew Jeremiah before he was born ( Jer 1:5)

— Jesus knew no sin ( 2 Cor 5:21)

— Foreknowledge is synonymous with being intimately acquainted

Free Will

— We have no “free” will in the sense that it is free to chose because it always chooses evil

Origen

— “Our free will … or human nature is not sufficient to seek god in any manner”

Eusebius

— “The liberty of our will in choosing things that are good is destroyed”

Pelagianism

— Now “semi-pelagianism”

— Today in the form of secular humanism, i.e. if you can think it, you can make it happen

— Teaching of a monk Pelagius

— Taught humans are not good or evil, but neutral

— You will is:

— free to accept or reject Christ

— you do your part, God does His part in salvation (cooperate with God)

— Rejected by Catholic Church at the council of Orange

St Augustine came to the defense of Grace Alone

— 2 Cor 3:14-17 talks about how we are blind as sinners but when we come to Christ the veil is lifted and we have liberty

Martin Luther

— We sin voluntarily not against our will. It is the only thing we have, but it isn’t free

— When God works in us He changes our will but we don not have free-will to come to God

— He takes us captive, prisoner, bond slave

Unconditional Election

— We do not place ourselves in Christ when we chose Him; rather, the Father placed us in Christ when He chose us before creation

— Early Church fathers taught election:

— Clement of Rome

— Ignatius

— Just Martyr

— Cyprian

— Clement of Alexandria

— Irenaeus

— Ambrose of Milan (AD 380) buttressed the beauty, grandeur and mystery of the church with this doctrine: “In predestination the church of God has always existed” p.287

But many people think “Yes, but He knew I’d believe”

— No! Conditional election is not election

— Augustine said, this is a vain argument and not the language of “You did not choose me, but I chose you” John 15:16

— Reformation turned on the issue of Grace and Election

Romans 9:16 “So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy.”

— Salvation is not based on our free will (he who wills) bor our self effort (he who runs)

Limited (Definite or peculiar) Atonement

1 Timothy 2:6 “who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time.”

— The Lord’s mission was to redeem the elect of god not to make possible the redemption of every person

— On Limited Atonement, Tertullian wrote (AD 200)

— “Christ died for the salvation of His people… for the church”

The Church of Smyrna (AD 169)

— “Christ suffered for the salvation of the whole world of them that are saved” p.291

Barnabas (Paul’s partner)

— Christ speaking: I see that I shall thus offer my flesh for the sins of the new people

Anselm lost a lot of friends over this one

— If you die in unbelief, Christ did not die for you

Christ died “for all” 1 Tim 2:6

— He is the savior to all men in a sense:

1 Timothy 4:10 “For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have fixed our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of believers.”

— He is Savior to all in a temporal sense

— Common Grace : Psalm 145:9 “The Lord is good to all, And His mercies are over all His works.”

— In restraining Sin: Romans 2:15 “in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them,”

— He administers in Judgement: Romans 2:3 “But do you suppose this, O man, when you pass judgment on those who practice such things and do the same yourself, that you will escape the judgment of God?”

— Enabling man to appreciate beauty: Psalm 50:2 “Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God has shone forth.”

— Temporal Blessings: Matthew 5:45 “so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.”

Irresistible Grace

— Repentance is impossible unless it is the work of God

— You “believe” because the Holly Spirit resurrects your soul and gives you faith

— You recognize your need and cry for mercy

— Repentance is not a natural ability rather a gift from God

So what ramification does it have in our life?

— Romans 9:15 “For He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.””

I am saved because I...

— If we say this, we lose affirmation of Grace Alone

— This is human nature

— It is not our “willing” or “running” that saves us (Rom 9:16)

Romans 9:16 “So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy.”

People think of Jesus like a teammate

— Jesus is my co-pilot

— Jesus take the wheel - sung by Carrie Underwood

— Give Jesus a chance

— let Him into your life

NO. Rather the Lord God is absolutely sovereign

— Nebuchadnezzar acknowledged it:

“…the most high rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He chooses” (Dan 4:32)

Daniel 4:35 “All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, But He does according to His will in the host of heaven And among the inhabitants of earth; And no one can ward off His hand Or say to Him, ‘What have You done?’”

He is not a frustrated Deity

— He is not pacing heaven’s floor

— He is not ringing His hands, hoping people will let him have his way

— This is a God, who is anything but a co-pilot

James 4:6 “But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

For many, motivation is

— “fear of punishment and hope of rewards”

Rather, we should be motivated to holiness because

— We are adopted

— Why should we love and do works of charity?

— Ephesians 2:10 “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”

— Do we persevere because we are afraid of losing our salvation? No:

Romans 9:29 “And just as Isaiah foretold, “Unless the Lord of Sabaoth had left to us a posterity, We would have become like Sodom, and would have resembled Gomorrah.””

Ephesians 1:4 “just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love”

Evangelism and Missions

— Election changes our

— Message

— Our methods

— Our motivation

— We are to be salt — create a thirst

— We are witnesses:

— a witness testifies to something outside of yourself

— We witness what the Lord has done

— We can’t witness to something we’ve done

— Christ calls us to witness ( Act 1:8)

— The message

— The message is law and gospel

We cannot say

— “God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life”

— Instead: Will you be separated from God

— “You can make it with God’s help”

— Instead: you need salvation to restore your relationship, not to save you from drugs, etc.

This doctrine should make unbelievers nervous

— Their salvation is in God’s hands

— John 15:5 ““I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.”

Methods

— Don’t need to worry about inventing methods

— Use a biblical message and biblical method

Motivation

— God will save those He calls

— We don’t have to save everyone, just discharge our duties

Know you are chosen

2 Peter 1:10 “Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble;”

— How do we know it?

1 Thessalonians 1:4 “knowing, brethren beloved by God, His choice of you;”

— Why he knew they were chosen

1 Thessalonians 1:5 “for our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction; just as you know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake.”

— Have you heard Christ’s voice?

— Has the Holy Spirit come in power? In Assurance?

Climbing Jacob’s ladder: his ladder typifies Christ

— The promise

— Land v. 14

— To be with Him v.15

— The promise ultimately points to Christ (Christ becoming human)

— Angels ascend and descended the ladder

— John 1:51 “And He said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see the heavens opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

— Jesus was the ladder!

— We don’t ascend the ladder

— Jesus came down to earth

— He ascended to us

— Christ had to come to us, because there in none who seeks God ( Rom 3:11 )

— Every step of salvation is God moving towards us

— He does not wait for us to move towards him

— He is active; we are acted upon

The humanness of Christ

— The Word came down and we rejected Him ( John 1:14-15)

— he was too human for us to admit He was Savior

Mark 6:3 ““Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? Are not His sisters here with us?” And they took offense at Him.”

— We think we are chosen because we are special

— God did not chose Israel because of their righteousness

— They were a stiff-necked people ( Dt 9:1-6)

Salvation is universal in the sense that:

— It crosses all barriers

— Includes people of every nation

— The slain lamb purchased a people of every tribe and nation

Revelation 5:9 “And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.”

For Whom Did Christ Die?

— He accomplished redemption for His people ( Luke 1:68 )

— No where does it say that He “made all men savable”

— He was slain from the creation of the world ( Rev 13:8 )

Ephesians 1:4 “just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love”

— The Father’s plan is selective

2 Thessalonians 2:13 “But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth.”

— If some were chosen, then some are not chosen. What if God wanting to show His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction ( Rom 9:22 )

— He laid down His life for His sheep, but some are not His sheep. His atonement was limited (John 10:15, 26)

Acts 13:48 “When the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord; and as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed.”

God does not love everyone the same

— He loved Jacob

— He hated Essau

Romans 9:11–13 “for though the twins were not yet born and had not done anything good or bad, so that God’s purpose according to His choice would stand, not because of works but because of Him who calls, it was said to her, “The older will serve the younger.” Just as it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”

Psalm 5:5 “The boastful shall not stand before Your eyes; You hate all who do iniquity.”

Two Choices

— Either Christ died for everyone ( universalist)

— Or, the work of Christ is limited in Scope

— Charles Finney rejected both and chose to accept an atonement limited in its nature

— He believed atonement paid for sin, why should we work out our salvation

— Finney held a weak view of atonement. Did not believe it paid for sin, otherwise it would pay for all men’s sins

Redemption

— Means to “buy back”

— Christ paid the ransom price

— “if it was Christ’s intention to redeem all men, how deplorably has He been disappointed” Charles Spurgeon

Propitiation

— Remove God’s wrath

— God is waiting to release His wrath on the “objects of wrath” (Rom 9:22)

Reconciliation

— To render no longer opposed

— People who are reconciled are made friends

John 15:13–14 “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. “You are My friends if you do what I command you.”

Christ’s Atonement

— Christ’s atonement applies without exception but not without distinction

Matthew 1:21b “for He will save His people from their sins.”

Luke 1:68 “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, For He has visited us and accomplished redemption for His people,”

Matthew 26:28 “for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.”

For whom did He buy atonement

— Atonement is either limited in:

— Power

— Died for someone but they are not saved

— He did not actually save anyone

— Scope

— If His death is sufficient, but only for the church, then the scope is limited

Simultaneously Justified and sinful

— God declared us righteous while we were still unrighteous

— Grace then, is not first a power infused to help us become good. But, God’s acceptance of us as good even while we are still evil

— Even on a good day, the average Christian is wicked

The Pharisees had a low view of sin

— They viewed sin as external

— As actions rather than attitudes basic to fallen human nature

— Anselm (11th Century) said:

“You have not yet considered how great your sin is.”

Original Sin

Jeremiah 17:9 ““The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it?”

Psalm 51:5 “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me.”

Justification by Faith alone

— He demands his best, not our best

— We could never change enough in this life to NOT sin

Romans 7:14–15 “For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin. For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate.”

We need “alien righteousness”

— Someone else’s righteousness in order to be saved

— Just as if I had never sinned AND instead loved God and my neighbor perfectly all my life

— Our glass must not only be empty of unrighteousness but full of righteousness

Sin and the Christian Life

— We’re still sinners

— If we downplay the seriousness of sin, and the ongoing struggle, it will result in an unhealthy view of sanctification

Psalm 51:3 “For I know my transgressions, And my sin is ever before me.”

Romans 7:14 “For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin.”

Romans 7:18–19 “For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want.”

We are born into this world in union with Adam

— Everything he had, we had

— We got his sinful, rebellious nature

— We were baptized into Adam

Ephesians 2:1 “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins,”

There is only one “Sold-out Christian”

— One totally surrendered

— One completely consecrated

God demands righteousness

— But God gives righteousness

— Romans 5:17 “For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.”

— In the Law the righteousness is revealed

— But in the gospel the righteousness is set forth!

Romans 3:22 “even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction;”

Our justification comes at the beginning not at the end

Romans 4:5 “But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness,”

Christ Alone

— Christ-centered not believer centered

— We are “in him”

— We should not rest in Him, not use Him to get blessings

In Him we should be holy

Ephesians 1:4 “just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love”

In Him we have redemption and forgiveness

Ephesians 1:7 “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace”

In Him we have been sealed with the Holy Spirit

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.”

Lord and Savior

— We don’t make Christ anything!

— He is Lord regardless of what we think or make Him!

Let go and let God?

— No!

— Let the Spirit lead is a haphazard way of saying: if it feels good, do it

— We are to be active

— Instead of hiding, we seek

— Instead of hating, we love

— Produce through faith, not self-righteousness

We do not cooperate with regeneration

— We did not cooperate with our birth

Philippians 2:12–13 “So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.”

Avoid: Once saved always saved

— The new birth is an event

— Justification is a one-time declaration

— Salvation involves a process

— Over time becoming righteous

— Daily pursuit of God

— Transformation of the heart, mind and will

— We do not cooperate in our justification rather our sanctification

Take up your cross

— Deny yourself

— Die to sin

— Deferring to others

Free Will

— Nice to know that you can gauge your life by God’s decision for you and not your own!

To lose our salvation, we would have to return to spiritual death

1 Peter 1:23 “for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God.”

Perseverance

— That they remain faithful is as much a gift of God’s grace as their election and calling

Revelation 17:14 “...and those who are with Him are the called and chosen and faithful.”

Matthew 24:13 “

But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved.”

One of the reformation’s goals was

— Rid the church of sacraments not commanded by the Lord

Sacraments that are commanded

— Baptism

Lord’s Supper

Sacrament

— Translated from gr “musterion”

— Eph 1:9, 3:9, 5:32

— Col 1:27

— 1 Tim 3:16

— Rev 1:20, 17:7

— Gospel orientated

— Means of Grace

— channels of God’s grace

— Baptism looks forward to faith

— Lord’s Supper strengthens faith

Baptism: Beginning Grace

Genesis 17:10–11 “This is My covenant, which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: every male among you shall be circumcised. “And you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin, and it shall be the sign of the covenant between Me and you.”

God does not work with individuals, primarily, but families

— This is His way of creating His church

— Children of believers are not considered unregenerate pagans

Isaiah 65:23 “They will not labor in vain, Or bear children for calamity; For they are the offspring of those blessed by the Lord, And their descendants with them.”

Circumcision began with Abraham’s children

— Why not wait until Isaac could make his own decision?

— Salvation is God-centered

— Focus is not on choosing but on God’s

Peter said to them repent

Acts 2:39 ““For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.”

— He calls us

— Calls our children through baptism and the Word

There is a difference between believer’s and unbeliever’s children

1 cor 7:14 “For the unbelieving husband is sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified through her believing husband; for otherwise your children are unclean, but now they are holy.”

Infant baptism replaces the OT practice of circumcision

— Performed by early church leaders

— The sign is water

— The seal is the Word

— Linked to “washing of regeneration”

Titus 3:5 “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,”

— Christ was baptized with God’s grace, so that we could be baptized with Christ’s grace

Romans 6:3–4 “Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.”

Baptism compared to Noah’s ark

— 1 Peter 3:20–22 “who once were disobedient, when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the water. Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you—not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience—through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, after angels and authorities and powers had been subjected to Him.”

— The Israelite’s wilderness experience

1 Corinthians 10:2 “and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea;”

The Lord’s supper replaces the OT Passover

— The Lord’s supper is a symbol of His wrath having passed over us

— Christ endured the cup of wrath, so that we could drink the cup of salvation

Psalm 116:13 “I shall lift up the cup of salvation And call upon the name of the Lord.”

We are weak

— Instead of attacking Thomas’ doubt, the Lord invites him to see and feel His wounds

— He also offers us physical, tangible tokens of “inward grace”

Limited Atonement

— Either limited in Extent

— For certain sinners and not others

— A narrow bridge that spans a river

— Or limited in effectiveness

— Make it possible

— Did not actually secure salvation for anybody

— A bridge that goes 1/2 way across

Arminians say

— Christ died for all men

— Did He die to secure salvation for all men? No

— Did He secure salvation for anyone in particular? No

— Rather, any man who follows certain conditions, believe in faith

Arminians limit Christ’s death

— Christ did not die to secure your salvation

— Your salvation is based on your faith

Calvinists limit the extent of His death

— Christ infallibly secured salvation for some

Christ came to save not enable men to save themselves

Matthew 1:21 “She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

Luke 19:10 ““For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.””

Titus 2:14 “who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.”

— Good works are the product, not the means (Eph 2:10)

— Special people ( 1 Pet 2:9 )

God’s choice of believers always precedes and enables their choice of Him

— John 15:16 “You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you.”

Acts 13:46–48 “Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and said, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first; since you repudiate it and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles. “For so the Lord has commanded us, ‘I have placed You as a light for the Gentiles, That You may bring salvation to the end of the earth.’ ” When the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord; and as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed.”

— John 6:65; Eph 1:4; Col 3:12; 2 Thess 2:13

Romans 9:15–16 “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 does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy.”