Sermon Tone Analysis

Dr. Harry Ironside told of a man who gave his testimony, telling how God had sought him and found him.

How God had loved him, called him, saved him, delivered him, cleansed him, and healed him.

It was a tremendous testimony to the glory of God.

After the meeting, one rather legalistic brother took him aside and said, “You know, I appreciate all that you said about what God did for you, but you didn’t mention anything about your part in it.

Salvation is really part us and part God, and you should have mentioned something about your part.”

“Oh,” the man said, “I apologize.

I’m sorry.

I really should have mentioned that.

My part was running away, and God’s part was running after me until he found me.”

Election is God’s deciding who gets on the plane bound for heaven.

Predestination is his charting the route the plane will take, the schedule, the accommodations both during and after the flight, and each passenger’s safety.

With God as the pilot of the plane and the plane itself, all who board the plane make it to heaven.

Predestination means God himself makes sure the elect actually board the plane.

Their response of faith in Christ is like checking in at the gate with a boarding pass.

The gospel call, in contrast, is like advertising for the trip.

The church is commissioned to get the word to the whole world.

Unfortunately most people treat God’s free offer as “junk mail” and throw it in the trash.

However, those whom God has elected to salvation he also moves to accept his free offer.

Many are called, but few are chosen.

Yet all who are chosen are predestined to end up in heaven.

Can you imagine what it was like to have been the guy who wasn’t there when Jesus fed the 5000?

The guy who, for some reason, was too busy to go hear Jesus teach that day - maybe he had business to attend to, or he was taking his kids to the circus, or maybe he just figured that there would be plenty of opportunities to hear the rabbi from Nazareth.

The next day, he heard his neighbors talking about the feast of fish and bread that Jesus had graciously provided.

“Fish and bread?

What’s so great about that?” he asked.

“It was all we could eat, and it was free!

Man, what if Jesus were king instead of Herod!”

I bet that man was at teh

Predestination is his charting the route the plane will take, the schedule, the accommodations both during and after the flight, and each passenger’s safety.

With God as the pilot of the plane and the plane itself, all who board the plane make it to heaven.

Predestination means God himself makes sure the elect actually board the plane.

Their response of faith in Christ is like checking in at the gate with a boarding pass.

Blessed Lord, You have caused all Holy Scriptures to be written for our learning.

Grant that we may so hear them, read, mark, learn, and take them to heart that, by the patience and comfort of Your holy Word, we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life.

… through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

Amen.

Election is God’s deciding who gets on the plane bound for heaven.

Predestination is his charting the route the plane will take, the schedule, the accommodations both during and after the flight, and each passenger’s safety.

With God as the pilot of the plane and the plane itself, all who board the plane make it to heaven.

Predestination means God himself makes sure the elect actually board the plane.

Their response of faith in Christ is like checking in at the gate with a boarding pass.

The gospel call, in contrast, is like advertising for the trip.

The church is commissioned to get the word to the whole world.

Unfortunately most people treat God’s free offer as “junk mail” and throw it in the trash.

However, those whom God has elected to salvation he also moves to accept his free offer.

Many are called, but few are chosen.

Yet all who are chosen are predestined to end up in heaven.

The gospel call, in contrast, is like advertising for the trip.

The church is commissioned to get the word to the whole world.

Unfortunately most people treat God’s free offer as “junk mail” and throw it in the trash.

However, those whom God has elected to salvation he also moves to accept his free offer.

Many are called, but few are chosen.

Yet all who are chosen are predestined to end up in heaven.

[26] We322 should not judge this matter according to our reason, nor according to the law, nor on the basis of outward appearance.

Nor should we have the temerity to search the secret, hidden abyss of divine foreknowledge.

Instead, we are to pay attention to the revealed will of God.

For he has revealed to us and “made known to us the mystery of his will,” and has accomplished it through Christ, that it may be proclaimed (Eph.

1[:9*, 10*]; 2 Tim.

1[:9–11*]).

[27] However, this is revealed to us, as Paul says in Romans 8[:29*, 30*]: “Those whom God has foreseen, chosen, and preordained, he has also called.”

Now, God does not call apart from means.

He calls through the Word, which he has commanded us to preach, the word of repentance and the forgiveness of sins [Luke 24:47*].

St. Paul also testifies to this very thing when he writes, “We are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God” (2 Cor.

5[:20*]).

The guests whom the king wants to have at his son’s wedding he calls through servants whom he sends out (Matt.

22[:2–14*]).

Moreover, he called some at the first hour, some at the second, third, sixth, ninth, and even at the eleventh hour (Matt.

20[:1–16*]).

[28] rTherefore, if we want to consider our eternal election to salvation profitably, we must always firmly and rigidly insist that, like the proclamation of repentance, so the promise of the gospel is universalis, that is, it pertains to all people (Luke 24[:47*]).

Therefore, Christ commanded preaching “repentance and the forgiveness of sins in his name to all nations.”

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son” for it (John 3[:16*]).

Christ has taken away the sins of the world (John 1[:29*]); his flesh was given “for the life of the world” (John 6[:51*]); his blood is “the atoning sacrifice for … the whole world” (1 John 1[:7*; 2:2*]).

Christ said, “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest” (Matt.

11[:28*]).

“God has imprisoned all in unbelief, that he might have mercy on all” (Rom.

11[:32*]).

“The Lord does not want any to perish but all to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3[:9*]).

He is “Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him” (Rom.

10[:12*]).

“Righteousness” comes “through faith in Christ” to all and “for all who believe” (Rom.

3[:22*]).

“This is the will of the Father, that all who … believe in Christ shall have eternal life” (John 6[:39*, 40*]).

Therefore, Christ commanded that the promise of the gospel must be proclaimed to all those to whom repentance is preached (Luke 24[:47*]; Mark 16[:15*]).

These are two views regarding eternal security, which actually consists of two topics, Predestination and Election.

The one regards God’s purpose, and the other, God’s process.

[1] Robert Kolb, Timothy J. Wengert, and Charles P. Arand, The Book of Concord: The Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2000), 644–645.

Michael P. Green, ed., Illustrations for Biblical Preaching: Over 1500 Sermon Illustrations Arranged by Topic and Indexed Exhaustively, Revised edition of: The expositor’s illustration file.

(Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1989).

It might help you if you remember that there really is a Kingdom of Heaven, and Jesus Christ really is a King.

He actually rules, or has authority over, this Kingdom, and we are His subjects.

That is the “Big Picture.”

The world, which since the days of the Fall in the Garden, has been captive to sin and its effects.

God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to redeem us from that captivity, through His death on the cross and His resurrection from the grave.

The Victory of God is certain, as is the eradication of sin from His creation.

Our Gospel text takes us from that big eschatological picture to the intimate portrait of how that impacts each of us.

Jesus’ words in this passage are a foreshadow of His Words of Institution.

These words echo Jesus’ blessing to those who hunger and thirst after righteousness...

Just as the physical hunger of the crowd was satisfied by the bread and fish, so those who have the hunger in their spirit for the righteousness of God will be satisfied through the Bread of Life, Jesus Christ.

Our Lord has promised you that He is the source of eternal life, that it is the Father’s will that you have eternal life, and that, as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, Jesus Christ has the authority and ability to both declare and enforce His will.

It is painful to see people perishing because of a lack of knowledge.

We see this fulfilled in our own day, as generation after generation arises that rejects the knowledge of God.

Our educational, economic, social and governmental institutions operate as if God no longer cares about His creation.

The fear of God has left our hearts.

We no longer meditate upon the Law of the Lord, but despise and reject it - so we perish.

Our current state of affairs is “our fault - our own fault - our own most grievous fault.”

God has not withdrawn His love, His mercy, or His Gospel from us.

It is we, through our refusal to trust in “His exceeding great and precious promises,” who have put ourselves in this predicament of sin, sorrow, and shame.

We have lost sight of “the blessed Hope, our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, even as we gather for worship, enjoy access to Gospel music and Christian programming, and declare our hatred of the sins that infect our community and country - at least, the sins that we have judged to be sinful.