0:05 [Music]
0:07 welcome to back to the Bible radio
0:09 featuring best-selling author an
0:11 internationally known Bible teacher
0:14 Warren where's being and now father
0:16 guide as we study the word helped us to
0:19 understand the word and when we don't
0:21 understand help us to worship and to
0:24 adore and the trust I pray in the name
0:30 of our Lord Jesus Christ amen
0:33 1st Thessalonians chapter 1 beginning at
0:37 verse 2 we give thanks to God always for
0:39 you all making mention of you in our
0:42 prayers remembering without ceasing your
0:45 work of faith labor of love and patience
0:49 of Hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the
0:52 sight of our God and Father knowing
0:56 beloved brethren your election by God
0:58 for our gospel did not come to you in
1:02 word only but also in power and in the
1:06 Holy Spirit and in much assurance as you
1:09 know what kind of men we were among you
1:12 for your sake
1:15 knowing beloved brethren your election
1:17 by God first Thessalonians chapter 1
1:21 verse 4 I suppose the doctrine of
1:23 election is probably the most
1:27 misunderstood and maligned doctrine in
1:30 all of Christian theology some so
1:33 emphasized election that they destroy
1:36 human responsibility it's as though man
1:39 is a robot and God is working out his
1:43 purposes in spite of us rather than in
1:45 US and through us on the other hand
1:47 there are some people who so minimize
1:50 election that they actually deny the
1:53 sovereign grace of God it's as though
1:55 God is the victim of whatever choices
1:59 man is going to make now the doctrine of
2:03 election is not totally explained in the
2:06 Bible there are many mysteries involved
2:09 in the doctrine of election God tells us
2:12 what we need to know and what we do not
2:15 know we simply accept by faith the
2:18 secret things belong to the Lord's is
2:21 Deuteronomy 29:29 and that's the best
2:22 place for them
2:26 I don't live by explanations I live by promises
2:27 promises
2:29 Mark Twain used to say it's not what I
2:31 don't understand about the Bible that
2:33 bothers me it's what I do understand
2:35 there are many things in the Word of God
2:37 that are mysterious to us we can't
2:40 completely understand or explain them
2:42 why well because God's thoughts are
2:44 higher than our thoughts and God's ways
2:47 are higher than our ways but even though
2:50 we cannot understand or explain all of
2:53 God's eternal purposes and plans we can
2:56 receive what he says in the Word of God
2:59 and apply it to our own hearts the most
3:02 dangerous thing we can have in Bible
3:06 study is speculation when you start
3:10 mixing philosophical speculation with a
3:12 humble obedience to the Word of God
3:15 you're going to have trouble we don't
3:18 speculate about these things we ponder
3:19 them we meditate on them
3:22 we rejoice over them we accept what God
3:26 has taught us but we don't speculate I
3:28 received mail occasionally from people
3:31 who are theological speculators now what
3:34 if this what if that well I don't know
3:37 about what-ifs I'm concerned about what
3:40 God says in his word I'd like to try to
3:43 answer two questions the first question
3:46 is what is election and the second
3:49 question is how can we recognize God's elect
3:50 elect
3:52 Paul said he knew that these beloved
3:56 brethren had been elected by God what is
3:59 election well election is God's choice
4:02 of individuals or groups for a
4:06 particular relationship to him or
4:09 function for him let me repeat that now
4:12 election is simply God's choice of
4:16 individuals or groups for a particular
4:20 relationship to him or a function for
4:23 him for example it shows Abraham now why
4:26 did he choose Abraham by his Sovereign Grace
4:26 Grace
4:30 he simply in grace chose Abraham than he
4:32 chose Isaac not Ishmael
4:36 Abraham's firstborn was Ishmael God said
4:39 no not Ishmael I'm going to choose Isaac
4:43 and then he chose Jacob not Esau again
4:46 Esau was the firstborn but Jacob was the
4:49 one that God chose then out of all the
4:52 tribes of Israel he chose Judah to be
4:55 the tribe to bring the Savior into the
4:58 world and out of all of the families in
5:01 Judah he chose the family of David now
5:05 no one can tell god what to do we do not
5:07 second-guess God we don't give God our
5:11 advice or our counsel that's what the
5:15 Paul talks about in Romans chapter 11
5:20 romans 11:33 here he is at the close of
5:22 the three chapters dealing with
5:27 predestination election God's sovereign
5:30 plan in the people of Israel and he ends
5:34 up turning theology into doxology and
5:39 says in romans 11:33 oh the depth of the
5:41 riches both of the wisdom and knowledge
5:45 of God how unsearchable are his
5:48 judgments and his ways past finding out
5:51 for who has known the mind of the Lord
5:55 or who has become his counselor or who
5:58 has first given to him and it shall be
6:02 repaid to him for of him and through him
6:05 and to him are all things
6:09 to whom be glory for ever amen now Paul
6:11 doesn't answer in Romans nine ten and
6:14 eleven all the questions about a for
6:16 ordination predestination and election
6:19 he admits that there are some mysteries
6:21 we can't explain what does he do get
6:23 angry at God oh I've had letters from
6:26 people who because they can't understand
6:29 election get angry at God they blame God
6:31 for all the bad things going on in the
6:33 world that shows a hard heart and a
6:37 proud mind no Paul says I want to
6:40 rejoice I'm going to worship I can't
6:42 explain these things but I don't have to
6:45 explain them God doesn't need my help
6:48 and he worships the Lord the great
6:50 british bible expositor G Campbell
6:53 Morgan used to say when all of my
6:57 attempts at exegesis fail that is Bible
7:00 study I worship and that's the attitude
7:04 we need to have today God chose Abraham
7:06 and Isaac and Jacob God chose the people
7:08 of Israel now why did he choose them
7:11 well he tells us in Deuteronomy chapter
7:16 7 Deuteronomy 7 and verse 6 for you are
7:18 a holy people to the Lord your God the
7:22 Lord your God has chosen you to be a
7:23 people for himself
7:26 a special treasure above all the peoples
7:29 on the face of the earth the Lord did
7:33 not set his love on you nor choose you
7:37 because you were more in number than any
7:41 other people for you were the least of
7:43 all peoples
7:45 now that would humble them immediately
7:47 wouldn't it they thought well God shows
7:49 us because he saw how great we would
7:53 become this or that no God says that's
7:56 not why I chose you he said I chose you
7:59 simply because I loved you verse 8 but
8:01 because the Lord loves you and because
8:04 he would keep the oath which he swore to
8:07 your father's the Lord has brought you
8:10 out with a mighty hand and redeemed you
8:13 now why did God choose Israel because he
8:15 saw something good in them no he saw all
8:17 of the sin that was in them he chose
8:22 them because of his love for them now
8:26 this choice that God makes is a free and
8:29 gracious choice it is not based upon
8:33 anything we have done because he chose
8:36 us in Christ from before the foundation
8:39 of the world Ephesians 1:4 so it's not
8:41 because of any good works we did or any
8:44 good works that he saw we were going to
8:47 do every time someone brings that up I
8:52 try to mention 2nd Timothy 1:9 2nd
8:55 Timothy 1:9 says who has saved us and
8:58 called us with a holy calling
9:02 not according to our works that settles
9:05 it right there but according to his own
9:09 purpose and grace which was given to us
9:14 in Christ Jesus before time began that
9:18 2nd Timothy 1:9 I think that we need
9:23 today a much higher view of salvation we
9:26 sometimes get the idea that salvation is
9:29 something man does for himself or man
9:31 cooperates with God and somehow works
9:34 the whole thing out salvation is of the Lord
9:36 Lord
9:39 it begins with him he took the
9:43 initiative he did the work of planning
9:46 salvation and the Lord Jesus Christ the
9:48 lamb was slain from before the
9:50 foundation of the world that was all
9:51 worked out
9:54 long before ever there was a universe
9:57 I'm glad for that that means that the
9:59 plan of salvation is something eternal
10:03 not temporal it doesn't depend upon me
10:07 or churches or synod's or councils it is
10:17 so election is God's sovereign choice
10:22 his gracious choice and this election is
10:24 something that involves the entire
10:27 Godhead not just God the Father but also
10:30 God the Son and God the Holy Spirit a
10:34 first Peter chapter 1 verse 2 elect
10:37 according to the foreknowledge of God
10:40 the Father in sanctification of the
10:43 Spirit for obedience and sprinkling of
10:46 the blood of Jesus Christ you see as far
10:48 as God the Father is concerned I was
10:51 saved when he chose me in Christ before
10:53 the foundation of the world I knew
10:56 nothing about that as far as God the Son
10:58 is concerned I was saved when he died
11:02 for me on the cross that I was told the
11:04 preacher preached and said that Jesus
11:07 died for me and I trusted him as my
11:09 savior and as far as God the Holy Spirit
11:12 is concerned that night when I trusted
11:14 the Lord Jesus Christ that's when I was
11:17 born again it takes all three it takes
11:19 the choosing of the Father and the
11:22 sacrifice of the son and the working of
11:25 the Holy Spirit of God to bring about
11:28 the salvation of the lost sinner and to
11:32 make this election possible in our lives
11:35 now we don't understand all of these
11:37 mysteries one of my professors at
11:40 seminary used to say try to explain
11:43 election you may lose your mind try to
11:46 explain it away you may lose your soul
11:49 sometimes people write me and they're
11:51 all worked up about election and
11:53 predestination and they're they're
11:55 almost paralyzed you know they're like
11:58 the centipede an ant said to a centipede
12:00 one day how do you know which leg to
12:02 move next in the centipedes that I never
12:04 thought about that and he got paralyzed
12:06 didn't know what to do
12:08 now don't let the doctrine of election
12:12 paralyze you because we know God has his
12:15 elect people in this world we're going
12:17 to preach the gospel and trust him to
12:21 save those he has chosen in Jesus Christ
12:23 now he tells us that he is not willing
12:25 that any should perish so we preach to everybody
12:27 everybody
12:30 God who will have all men to be saved so
12:33 we witness to everybody because God
12:38 alone knows those who are his own in 2nd
12:41 Thessalonians chapter 2 verses 13 and 14
12:44 Paul tells us how all of this is working
12:48 together 2nd Thessalonians 2:13 but we
12:49 are bound to give thanks to God always
12:52 for you brethren be loved by the Lord
12:55 because God from the beginning chose you
13:00 for salvation through sanctification by
13:02 the spirit and belief in the truth
13:05 others with the Word of God comes in to
13:09 which he called you by our gospel the
13:12 same God who ordains the and ordains the
13:16 means to the end the word must go out
13:19 now God tells us to preach the gospel to
13:20 every creature
13:23 he doesn't have us going around saying
13:24 are you one of the elect are you one of
13:27 the elect nor does he want anyone to say
13:29 well if I'm one of the elect I'm going
13:32 to be saved come what may oh no no no
13:35 election doesn't come first
13:37 first you trust Jesus Christ as your
13:39 Saviour then you discover you're one of
13:40 God's elect
13:44 what is election election is that
13:48 sovereign choice of God of a nation like
13:51 Israel of a servant like David of the
13:54 Apostles Peter and Paul and the others
13:57 and of you if you want to know if you're
13:59 one of the elect you trust Jesus Christ
14:02 as your Savior you repent of your sins
14:05 and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and
14:08 you'll find you are one of God's chosen
14:11 now how can we recognize God's elect
14:13 Paul dares to say in 1st Thessalonians
14:16 1:4 knowing beloved brethren your
14:20 election by God we can't always tell if
14:24 somebody is born again oh I know there
14:26 are those who think they can but we
14:28 can't always tell the Apostles thought
14:32 Judas was born again but he was not he
14:34 was a devil and there are those in the
14:37 book of Acts who pretended to be saved
14:40 and they weren't really born again
14:43 jesus said not everybody who says to me
14:45 Lord Lord shall enter into the kingdom
14:46 of heaven
14:48 well the secret here is in their
14:51 response I note that they had a
14:55 three-fold response that gave evidence
14:57 that they were God's people number one
15:01 their response to the Word of God first
15:06 they heard the word in verse six and you
15:09 became followers of us and of the Lord
15:12 having received the word verse five for
15:14 our gospel did not come to you in word
15:18 only first they heard the Word of God
15:22 you see the elect are saved by believing
15:24 on Jesus Christ but how shall they
15:27 believe on him of whom they have not
15:29 heard and how shall they hear without a
15:31 preacher and how shall they preach
15:34 except they be sent the same God who
15:38 ordains the end ordains the means to the
15:42 end and the means to the end is God's
15:44 people going out sharing the Word of God
15:47 paul and silas and timothy came to
15:50 Thessalonica you might want to turn over
15:53 to second thessalonians 2nd
15:57 thessalonians chapter 2 and verses 13
16:01 and 14 but we are bound to give thanks
16:04 to God always for you brethren beloved
16:06 by the Lord because God from the
16:09 beginning chose you for salvation
16:13 through sanctification by the spirit and
16:15 belief in the truth now you can't
16:17 believe the truth until you hear it so
16:22 verse 14 says to which he called you by
16:27 our gospel so the same God who ordains
16:32 calls they heard the word secondly they
16:35 received the word verse 6 having
16:39 received the word that's a great word
16:42 there it means to welcome the Word of
16:45 God and when they received the Word of
16:48 God it was not just they heard preaching
16:50 but there was power and there was a
16:53 surance from the Holy Spirit the Holy Spirit
16:54 Spirit
16:57 of God bore witness as they believe the
17:00 Word of God they heard the word they
17:03 received the word they obeyed the word
17:06 you became followers of us and of the
17:09 Lord they received the word they obeyed
17:12 what they heard it changed their lives
17:15 their work of faith and labor of love
17:18 and patience of hope 1st Thessalonians
17:21 chapter 1 verses 9 and 10 they turned to
17:23 God from idols they serve the living and
17:26 true God their lives were transformed
17:30 they heard the word they received the
17:33 word they welcomed it and when they did
17:36 that the Holy Spirit worked in power in
17:39 their lives and gave them assurance then
17:41 they obeyed the word of God their lives
17:43 were changed and then they shared the
17:47 Word of God verse 8 from you the word of
17:49 the Lord has sounded forth they shared
17:52 that word we are chosen that we might
17:55 share the word with others they didn't
17:57 say well we were among the elect and now
17:59 we trust all the other elect will get
18:03 saved no they shared that word with
18:07 others and others were saved jesus said
18:09 you have not chosen me but I have chosen
18:12 you that's election and ordained you
18:15 that you should go and bring forth fruit
18:18 now that's something else those of us
18:20 who have been born again want to share
18:22 the Word of God how can you recognize
18:25 God's elect their response to the Word
18:28 of God do they hear the word do they
18:30 receive and welcome the word has the
18:33 word changed their lives so that they
18:35 obey the Word of God are they sharing
18:39 that word with others secondly their
18:42 response to God's servants notice in
18:46 verse 5 as you know what kind of men we
18:48 were among you for your sake and you
18:52 became followers of us and of the Lord
18:57 they identified themselves with Paul and
19:01 Silas and Timothy when a person is one
19:04 of God's elect he wants to be with God's
19:06 elect we are sheep and we flock together
19:08 they imitated
19:11 the Apostles they imitated the Lord they
19:13 had a new pattern for their lives they
19:18 wanted to be with God's people I think
19:20 that's a good evidence of the mark of
19:22 election on somebody's life thirdly
19:26 their response to suffering notice what
19:28 it says in verse 6 of 1st Thessalonians
19:31 1 and you became followers of us and of
19:34 the Lord having received the word in
19:38 much affliction with joy of the Holy
19:42 Spirit now suffering came to them
19:44 persecution when you read Acts chapter
19:47 17 the story of the founding of the
19:50 church at Thessalonica you discover that
19:53 there was persecution the unbelievers
19:56 brought pressure against Paul and Silas
19:59 and Timothy and the believers and as a
20:01 consequence Paul had to leave town now
20:06 faith is always tested in the parable
20:08 the sower Jesus tells about the seed
20:11 that had no root it was planted but it
20:14 had no root and when the Sun came up the
20:18 plant shriveled and died because it had
20:18 no root
20:21 now that Sun represents tribulation
20:24 persecution because of the word said the
20:27 Lord Jesus here's someone who professes
20:29 to believe in Jesus Christ persecution
20:32 comes that person falls apart turns his
20:35 back upon the Lord that is evidence he
20:38 has never trusted Christ but those who
20:41 are truly God's elect God's people when
20:44 persecution comes they still receive the
20:48 Word of God joyfully they will receive
20:51 the word of God in much affliction they
20:55 will pay the price to be God's people
20:58 now if these are the marks of real
21:02 election I wonder how they relate to our
21:04 lives today what is our response to the
21:08 Word of God what is our response to the
21:11 apostolic ministry that's given to us in
21:15 the Word of God are we following some
21:17 false teacher are we following some
21:20 human religious leader or are we saying
21:22 we're following Paul
21:24 even as he followed the Lord Jesus
21:27 Christ what is our response to suffering
21:30 have we given up and quit you see you
21:32 don't begin with election you begin with
21:36 conversion in 2nd Peter 1:10 the writer
21:40 says make your calling and your election
21:43 sure first your calling have you heard
21:45 the calling of God in the word have you
21:47 heard the calling of God through the
21:49 preaching of the word
21:51 now if you've responded to the call of
21:54 God and trusted the Savior then you have
21:58 no problem making your election sure DL
22:01 Moody used to say that the elect are the
22:03 whosoever wills and the non elect other
22:06 whosoever wants well there's some truth
22:09 to what he has to say there be sure
22:12 you've trusted Christ as your Savior and
22:15 then share that share the excitement of
22:19 the Word of God because you know you
22:24 belong to the Lord Jesus Christ if you
22:25 miss part of the program or you'd like
22:28 to listen again just come to back to the
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