Calvinism in a Nutshell (John MacArthur)

that is laid out for us in these two verses 29 and 30 now just to kind of help you sometimes hear about reformed theology here that phrase or the doctrines of grace or Calvinism and and you wonder just exactly what that is okay in a nutshell it's what says here it's right here this is it this is the best summary of the doctrines of grace of the essence of reformed soteriology of the essentials of Calvinism this is it this is this is this is it in in the saving side of it and it's all bound up in a sequence in a process it goes like this verse 29 whom he foreknew he also predestined then go to verse 30 these whom he predestined he also called these whom he called he also justified and these whom he justified he also glorified foreknowledge predestination calling justification and glorification those are five cardinal realities that make up the great redemptive purpose of God in Salvation these five things by the way again we are amazed at the economy of words which the Holy Spirit uses to bring these five things together in those few sentences I might add that millions and millions of pages have been written on these five things but let's take a look at them let's try to understand the process if we can call it a process it's nothing to process in God's mind because he sees everything in its fullness and completion but for us it's a sequence and that's the way it's presented to us here in the language where does salvation begin what's the primitive point at which it all launches verse 29 for those whom he for knew for those whom he foreknew now for some people this this is a meltdown point for accepting the sovereignty of God in salvation they sup that's the key he foreknew he because he knows everything that's going to happen looked ahead and he saw what people were going to do of their own free will and since he knew what they were going to do he chose them to be his own is that what foreknowledge is saying he saw what was going to happen now let me tell you he does know the future he knows the end from the beginning he knows everything that's going to happen before it's going to happen that is true he does have pre sense if you want to call it that he does have knowledge of what hasn't happened full knowledge of it but is that what this is talking about did God just look ahead at these fully independent people and say well they're going to believe and they're not going to believe so since I know who's going to believe those the ones I'm going to elect well there's several responses I have first of all that would make the word elect nonsense because he didn't choose anything so forget the doctrine of election because he didn't choose anything it would be the doctrine of a reaction I don't know if you want to try to preach the doctrine of divine reaction or perhaps you'd like to preach the doctrine of human sovereignty then you have to ask the question by what power did they overcome their fallenness by what power did these people that he looked at in the future who had free will overcome their depravity their fallenness their deadness their blindness their darkness and then you'd have to ask this if god looked ahead and saw that people would not choose the gospel and would not choose to believe and would therefore go to hell why did he go ahead and create them because you see the only reason people come up with this idea that God simply reacted to what he knew what happened is to get him off the hook for what happens there they're trying to save God from a bad reputation like being responsible for people who go to hell so they want to say we can't do that to God so he's just reacting to what people do but then if nobody's been created why did he go ahead and create the people he knew would do that or you can even ask a tougher question why did he create people who had the potential to do that unless he had a purpose for that happening you don't you don't get God off the hook in the end anyway you try what's happening is within his purpose well then what is what do you mean by foreknowledge what do we mean by that well we all understand that that doesn't mean that God just knew what would happen and and then he just reacted we get that why because in John 3 Jesus says in Nicodemus you must be born from above you must be born from above in John chapter 6 Jesus says no man comes unto me except the father draw him at the end of the chapter of verse 65 he said the only people who come to me are the people the father draws to me we understand that listen to Matthew 11 and verse 27 all things have been handed over to me by my father and no one knows the son except the father nor does anyone know the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the son wills to reveal him Wow the only way you can ever know God is is if the son reveals him to you and the only way you can ever know the son is if the father draws you to him and by the way did you notice the word no there this is the first key no one knows the son except the father nor does anyone know the father except the son you could say whoa whoa whoa whoa we know about the son we have information about the son Holy Angels have information about the son demons have information about the father and the son what do you mean no one knows the son except father and no one knows the Father except the son word no must be different than having information okay it must mean something different than having information because holy angels fallen angels and even people have information about the father and information about the son but it's not knowing what do you mean knowing how about John 10 this is a passage that speaks using the same word verse 14 John 10 I'm The Good Shepherd I know my own and my own know me and the father knows me and I know the father what kind of knowing is this you mean when Jesus says I know my own does is he saying I have information about them as if he has no information about anybody else in Amos 3:2 God says Israel only have I known Israel only have I known what what do you mean you know everything Israel only have I known this is something different in John 10 26 you don't believe because you're not my sheep wow my sheep hear my voice and I know them I know them kind of knowing what are we talking about here John 17 verse 25 a righteous father the world hasn't known you I have known you and these have known that you sent me I have made your name known to them what kind of knowing are we talking about let me give you a helpful analogy Genesis 4 don't turn to it Genesis 4 in the original language says this Cain knew his wife and she bore a son Cain knew his wife in the in the beautiful veiled euphemistic language of Scripture that's a carnal knowledge that's an intimate love relationship and the shocking thing for a Mary when Gabriel showed up and told her she was going to have a baby was that she had never known Joseph she had never known him this is the knowledge that we're talking about here we're talking about a knowledge of intimacy Hosea thirteen five I knew you in the wilderness what do you mean I set my love on you I established a love relationship with you in the wilderness this has seen so many places in New Testament many will say unto me Lord Lord we did this we did that we did the other Matthew seven when Jesus says depart from me I never what never knew you didn't know who you were of course you knew who they were he knows who they are I never had an intimate love relationship with you that's the kind of knowing we're talking about let me show you a couple of verses you might want to write these down because this question comes up a lot about foreknowledge and I'm trying to help you to be able to answer it in your own mind and the minds of those that you can help but listen to 1st Corinthians 8 3 it's very simple it says it all if anyone loves God he's known by him got it that's it but an asterisk by that if anyone loves God he's known by him let me ask you a question we love him because what he first loved us he first loved us we loved him back that means he knows us when the Bible says that you are known by God the son says I know the father the father knows me intimately of in John 17 Jesus says the believers are known by the father and known by me intimate love I mean that's that's what this knowledge is about why is it for knowledge because before that love could ever happen before anyone was ever born it was ordained that's why it's for knowledge that's for ordination that's established before it ever happened Galatians 4 9 speaks of salvation this way now you have come to know God or rather I love this to be known by God what does it mean to be saved means to be known by God what does it mean to be known by God that he knows you exist that he has information about you know that he has established a love relationship with you even in Romans chapter 11 that really significant chapter on the whole issue of sovereign election at the very beginning of the chapter verse 2 God has not rejected his people whom he four knew God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew what does that mean whom he predetermined to love go back to the writing of Moses the question comes at why Israel why Israel as Richard wolf once said how odd of God to choose the Jews why Israel he says I set my love upon you not because you were greater than any other people but because I chose to love you that's a predetermined act of sovereign uninfluenced love that's foreknowledge and we read about it in first Peter according to the foreknowledge of God the Father we have been sanctified by the spirit sprinkled with his blood the primitive truth and reality in the scheme of salvation it starts with a sovereign determination to love certain people and as John 13 says to love them to the max that's foreknowledge it is a predetermined foreordained and of course foreseen determination to love I just read from first Peter but I didn't read the whole chapter so let me read you again first Peter 1:2 we have been saved according to the foreknowledge of God listen to this over in verse 19 and 20 same chapter same writer says this we were saved redeemed with precious blood as of a lamb unblemished and spotless the blood of Christ for he was for known before the foundation of the world what does foreknown mean regarding Christ did God just look ahead and say oh wow look at that he's going to end up on a cross I got to do something with that to say Christ was foreknown before the foundation of the world to be offered as a lamb unblemished and spotless is to say that God determined it established it fixed it and he has appeared in these last times for your sake that's how for no knowledge works God determines it in eternity past and it occurs in time one other illustration of the use of this term that helps us in acts 2:23 Peters preaching concerning Christ on the day of Pentecost and he talks about Christ's death and and the people nailing him to a cross but he says that Christ was delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God delivered over to you to be crucified by the predetermined plan of God now mark it Peter is the one who wrote what I just read and Peter's the one who preached this Peter understood the meaning of foreknowledge he this Christ was nailed to a cross by the hands of God us men and put to death by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God the word plan is boule it's used in classical Greek for a decision a prescribed course of action coming from a decision predetermined is horid zou from which we get horizon a line of demarcation something predetermined means to mark out the boundaries or the limits God established by his own Council the boundaries they made the determination then another way to translate predetermined would be destined by the destined purpose plan decision of God marked out pre decided and then he adds and foreknowledge of God that's prognosis in English prognosis it is god's foreordained decision marked out to save to establish a love relationship with certain people said his love on them as he did Israel before the foundation of the world that's foreknowledge it's a fact it's an established fact now go back to Romans 8 in Romans 8 and I just wanted you to get that foreknowledge because the others we can we can kind of draw out of our resource we've talked about them in the past whom he foreknew verse 29 he also predestined what is predestined well that speaks at the end the destiny by the way predestined is pro or rid so it's an intensified form of marking out the boundaries this is the final purpose he predestined tells us to become conformed to the image of his son so that he would be the preeminent one among many so by a decision marked out for ordained and established in eternity past God predetermined an intimate love relationship with certain people he established it by his decree and based on that decision in the past he predestined the future the end the final purpose he marked out from the beginning the very end our names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life from the foundation of the world revelation 13:8 revelation 17:8 says that all that God intended to do was determined at the very beginning and predestined to its very end that's the big picture right there in fact it was in acts 428 that we read that God does whatever his hand and his purpose predestined to occur acts 4:20 whatever he predestined to occur will occur so foreknowledge speaks of his choice you might say that's election predestination speaks of the result of that choice the end so whoever he foreknew he predestined therefore drop down to verse 30 these whom he predestined he also called now we move into time now we move into human history those whom he called what what do you mean called well we don't mean like an invitation we don't mean like it says in the Gospels many are called go out and call them to come in now this is not that kind of a call this is a different kind of call we know from verse 28 in the same context that this is a calling connected it says in verse 28 to his purpose God works all things together for good to those who love God to those who are called according to his purpose now we're talking about what theologians are called an effectual call or an effective call or a powerful call or I love these historic words an irresistible call it's a gracious call but it is nonetheless an effectual call it is not an external call it is not a call that comes to the ears to be rejected or accepted it is an internal call and that's what sets it apart it is really the mighty work of the holy spirit in the full scope of regeneration it is God's saving coal and that's how we are referred to so often Romans 1:7 to all who are beloved of God called to be holy called Saints to all who are beloved of God called that puts it together since God predetermined a love relationship with you he called you internally regenerated you saving redeeming regenerating call listen every time you see the idea of call in the gospel in the epistles and the writings post gospel wherever you see that it always refers to this saving act of the Spirit of God in regeneration and it follows all the way through we are called Romans 8:28 being as good as any to those who are called according to his purpose it is a call connected to his purpose his purpose is to save and he calls to fulfill that purpose in fact in the New Testament and even now of course we follow that up we're called the church you know what church is it comes from a greek word ecclesia which is a noun that draws from the verb at Kaleo Kaleo is call ekiz out of Exile we are the church because we're called out out of the world out of death out of darkness out of ignorance were the called this is the grace of God to us to fulfill his eternal purpose listen to you can't really improve on second Timothy I don't think in Chapter 1 he's verse 9 yes who saved us the power of God that would be the Holy Spirit who is the power of who saved us and called us with a holy calling it that means it's a calling to holiness it's a real transformation at the true regeneration calling to holiness calling to ultimate holiness calling to final perfection calling to eternal glory and it comes by the gospel it doesn't happen apart from the gospel isn't it you know this right faith comes by what hearing the word concerning Christ so they have to hear they have to have a preacher preacher has to be sent so the calling comes by the gospel listen to second Thessalonians 2:13 we should always give thanks to God for you beloved beloved by the Lord I just enjoy that phrase beloved by the Lord that's a phrase that ties into his election he said his love upon us before we were ever born before anything was ever created but we now are beloved by the Lord because God has chosen you from the beginning he has chosen you from the beginning for salvation then he says this it was for this he called you through our gospel that you may gain the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ it's all there he chose you then he called you by the gospel in order that he might glorify you again this is a sovereign call this is an effectual call this is the call that we know as salvation whom he called back to verse 30 he also justified and now we come to the forth of these great realities the great truth of justification what is that that we have been declared righteous before God it's a legal term that God is satisfied with the sacrifice of Christ for all our sins and since God is satisfied with that sacrifice the penalty paid in full justice is satisfied divine justice our sins have been paid for in full imputed to Christ in his death by grace God imputes his righteousness to us and that's what causes us to be declared righteous not that we are then righteous in ourselves not that we have any inherent righteousness but we are granted righteousness in an act by which God declares us just based upon the sacrifice of Christ which covers the punishment we are due and based upon the imputation of Christ's righteousness to us he covers us with the very righteousness of God in Christ we know a lot about that he became sin for us that we might be made the righteousness of God in him 2nd Corinthians 5:21 so god foreknows in the sensitive predetermines a love relationship and an intimate eternal relationship with a certain group of people he predestined that that relationship will end up in eternal glory all of that before time began in time he calls those whom he has chosen and he justifies those whom he calls and then the final verse 30 these whom he justified he also what glorifying we all get to glory folks although the father gives me will come to me and I'll lose none of them jesus said he intercedes for us against all accusations the Holy Spirit intercedes for us from within us and secures us to eternal glory would you just notice something all the verbs in that verse are past tense that works for foreknowledge he foreknew that's a past tense verb works for predestination because those happen in the past but what about called shouldn't it say he will call what about justified shouldn't it say he will justify it means not done and by the way what about glorified why are these all in the past tense that is a that is another little nuance of the Greek one writer calls it a proleptic eres then that is a wonderful reality of you see in scripture the use of the past tense to speak of something so secure that you can talk of it as if it had already happened your glory is as secure as predestination predestination happened in the past for knowing happened in the past then as far as God is concerned both your calling and your justification will produce your final glory and he can speak of it as if it has already happened I hope you're feeling secure the work of the Holy Spirit what is the work of the Holy Spirit to secure us to intercede for us to witness that we're the children of God to enable us to fulfill the law of God to live righteously to cry Abba Father enjoying our sonship our intimacy with God

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Id: 4JkuaUik1Hg

Length: 27min 32sec (1652 seconds)

Published: Mon Feb 27 2012