Who Are The Elect?

hey everybody I'm pastor Jeff Durbin with apologia Church I want to thank you all so much for watching the content right here on apologia Studios channel well you're about to watch is a sermon a message from apologia church's worship service and again I want to thank you all so much for watching for liking for commenting for sharing the sermon itself we truly believe that it's important for the Christian Church to have an engagement in the public square with the Word of God so we thank you so much for partnering with us to send this out across the world I just wanted to say something before you actually watch this and that is that I'm not your pastor though I'd love to be I am NOT your pastor and it's very important as you're watching this you know that it's God's design for individual Christians to be part of a local Christian Church under the care of qualified faithful biblical elders and so as much as we love all of you watching these sermons and we're thankful to God that God uses them to bless you to encourage you I do want to encourage you as a minister of the gospel to get plugged into a local body of believers particularly I think important a reformed church would be it would be best but we want to encourage you to get plugged into a solid biblical church where you can fellowship where you can worship where you can serve where you can be connected that is vitally important and actually a biblical command and so as much as again as we love for your participation your partnership and we are so thankful to God that he's using these in your lives we want to encourage you to get plugged into a local church you can though actually partner with apologia church as we proclaim the gospel and provide a defense of the biblical gospel all around the world you can do that by going to apologia studios.com you can partner with us by becoming all access when you do you help to make all of this possible and you get all of our TV shows our after shows and apologia academy all of that and you're a part of all that God is doing with us in the world to proclaim Herald the gospel of the kingdom you can partner with us and I want to say one last word about that do make sure that none of your giving and partnership towards apology a chirp Church interferes with your giving your worship your tithes your offerings to a local body of believers in your area so thank you again so much for watching these and sharing them god bless you alright I mentioned in the Facebook page for the church that you needed to bring your sword drill Bible the one with the thumb indexing would be legal for this sword drill your that or to warm up your fingers because we have a number of texts to get to and look at today more than we normally do pastor Jeff asked me to look at the subject of the elect because it appears in Matthew chapter 24 and was touched upon when know you all were last together I was in Melbourne Australia at that last time you all got together been gone for a little while it's good to be back and I appreciate the fact that we're cooling it off just the right time you know this could be in the 40s on Tuesday night you all know that you know what that means next time preach in a coogee that's that's what's gonna happen but that's my wife going oh no you're not but last time you were together you touched upon the the fact that the term the elect the chosen ones appears there in Matthew chapter 24 and obviously if if Jeff were a true Puritan what he would want to do is to spend about seven or eight months on the subject of election before going to the next verse but I think he's already pretty much proven his buritan this ship by the fact that he's spent as many years as he has now in Matthew chapter 24 so it's not really any problem with that at all don't worry I have looked at Jeff's Bible Matthew 25 26 points that is there so and if you're you're starting to panic about that it's there if there hasn't fallen out hasn't been taken out it's over so we will get to it eventually his beard will look like mine by then but we will get to it eventually so what I want to do is there are two terms two words that I want to basically look at almost every New Testament reference though so we're gonna be moving quick but you may recall back in Matthew 22 these two terms appeared together remember Jesus's words in Matthew 22:14 for many are called but few are chosen now what's the difference between called and chosen this is as we mentioned a reformed fellowship we believe in the sovereignty of God we believe in the fact that God has the right and freedom to act as he chooses to act in accordance with his nature with his own creation and that God by His sovereignty elects a people into salvation in and through Jesus Christ and in him alone that the number of the elect is fixed in God's knowledge that means that it is personal that when you sing songs about my hand my name was graven on his hands it actually means something it doesn't mean that you great group engraved your name on his hands when by your free will you chose him what it means is that when Christ died he died specifically for a special people a specific people who are chosen not because of anything in and of themselves at all but solely and completely on God's free grace that there is no condition that we fulfill to cause us to be chosen that it is totally of God's free grace grace has to be free or it will not be grace well why do we believe something like that it's certainly not to make ourselves popular with the world and certainly not to make ourselves popular with evangelicalism as a whole or many other traditions within what is broadly called Christianity we believe this because this is the only I believe the only consistent way to read scripture when you apply the same method of interpretation sometimes we call the hermeneutics when you apply the same hermeneutics that you use to prove that there's only one true God that Jesus Christ is God come in the flesh the resurrection justification by faith whatever it might be the coming judgement when you use the same set of rules and ask what do the Scriptures teach on this subject the message is plain and consistent but obviously it is highly controversial and therefore you may have heard many many different excuses and explanations for example it's very popular for people to say well the yes I believe an election Jesus Christ is the elect one and if I am in him by my free will choice then I become part of the elect that's one of the viewpoints that is out there others will say ah election it's only about Israel it doesn't have anything to do with the church you wonder which group is saying that and there are other ways to try to get around this particular issue that well Christ is deal is is elect and if you're in him then you're sort of chosen and and there's there's there's many different explanations but hopefully by looking at these texts we'll get an idea of the ranges of meanings and you will have Illustrated for you today a very important reality of biblical study and that is you do not assign a single meaning to a word and then force that meaning into every single passage of the Bible there are a lot of people who do that it is impossible that's not how human beings communicate and doing so ends up turning the scriptures on their heads so let's look at the first let's look at called Matthew 22:14 says many are called alright but few are chosen so there's some sort of a difference between calling and election at that point so make a note that these two terms can be differentiated from one another one can be a subset of the other all right next one I told you gap turn Romans 1:1 Romans 1:1 I'm not gonna ask you who got there first anybody don't go ripping the pages in your Bible or in like that Romans 1:1 Paul a servant of Christ Jesus called an apostle and it's interesting it's it's the word we're looking at right now for those of you who want to know is clay toss clay toss in the original language and it's clay toss apostolos a called apostle so there is a there is a use of the term here that has a specific application the Apostles were called and Paul was called as an apostle he didn't call himself he was called as an apostle and set aside for the gospel of God so that's a different use than what we saw in Matthew 22 so make note what you need to understand is that this is true in English it's true in Greek as well that every word has what's called ready to learn a new phrase today mostly prior to heard this one but every word has something called a semantic domain semantic domain now some words have a very narrow semantic domain they have a very technical term technical meaning and so it can only mean one little thing a USB port there's only a certain number of things it can be a USB port but there are other words in the English language that can have broad meanings and the same thing is true in the Greek language and so if you think about it it's a it's like a large circle and what you need to do whenever you look at any usage of a term is find out where in that circle the author is focusing your attention he'll normally do that by means of what it's called context it's called context and so by the use of other words their meanings verbal forms adjectives adverbs infinitival phrases all that stuff you learned in eighth grade and wished you hadn't had to learn but it was actually important all that kind of stuff is used in language to help us find the portion of the semantic domain of the meaning of a word that the author is focusing upon so what you're seeing here is this term clay toss and the singular clay toy plural has a semantic domain that is not super super focused it's a little bit wider and hence there are different aspects of meaning that you can determine by looking at a particular verse so Romans 1/6 then says including you who are clay toy called in Jesus Christ so here within six verses Paul uses the term singularly of himself in regards to his office as an apostle and then he uses it of all the Roman believers who are called in Jesus Christ that's obviously a different kind of calling he's not saying they're all apostles so there is a different kind of calling that is found in verse six and then notice it continues in verse seven to all those in Rome who are loved by God and clay toys Hagios called Saints Holy Ones called Saints or holy ones so there is a calling here this would be parallel to Romans 1:1 because he's called as an apostle here called as Saints it is a calling it is an intention that God has that someone is to fulfill Paul's to fulfill the position of being an apostle we are to fill the position of being holy ones we are called Saints in Romans one seven then interestingly enough in Romans the next use is Romans 8:28 Romans 8:28 and we know that for those who love God all things work together for good for whom for those who are called according to his purpose for those who are called according to his purpose this is a different use this is a different area of of meaning it's still something God has done God's determining the area of this calling but there's a specific people who are called according to his purpose and if you continue on that's the beginning of one of the strongest sections teaching the specificity of salvation of an elect people that you'll find anywhere in scripture and so this term called can have a soteriological or salvation related meaning in regards to what God has done and to whom he is extending that grace first corinthians 1:1 Paul called an apostle we won't go back over that but likewise in 1st Corinthians 1:2 called as Saints same parallel what you had in Romans 1 here in 1st Corinthians chapter 1 this idea that that God determines how we are to function in his economy by the use of this term called now very interesting similar to Romans 1st Corinthians 1:20 for in 1st Corinthians chapter 1 you have the contrast between those who are perishing and those who are being saved the message of the Cross is to those that are perishing foolishness to those who are being saved it is the power of God and so in one of the verses in that chapter where Paul is delineating this distinction he says now we know that you know two Jews they are there seeking signs and the Greeks they're there seeking after wisdom but verse 24 to the called whether Jews or Greeks Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God that's that's absolutely that what I think it's the pivotal in first corinthians chapter 1 in its discussion of the message of the cross what makes the difference when you hear the message of the gospel what makes the difference if you are called whether Jews or Greeks you will hear Christ the very power of God and the wisdom of God if you're not foolishness a stumbling block what makes the difference the calling of God now is that the exact same meaning as calling an apostle well they both depend upon the sovereignty of God but no it's not they're not exact parallels you see here how you have to allow words to be colored by the context in which the author places them now interestingly enough you would think there'd be lots more references not in this particular form there's only two more in Jude 1 Jude 1 Jude a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James to those who are called beloved in God and kept for Jesus Christ so those who are called it's it's it's interesting and Jude likes to do this it's we don't have a lot of Jews writings so it's sort of hard to get in get a focus on his style but it is both in it later he's going to talk about the once for all delivered the saints faith he uses a particular construction where you take an article you put the but it's referring to at the end and you sandwich all the description in between so it's the once for all delivered to the Saints faith well here it's the beloved in God the Father and kept in Jesus Christ called once okay so it's a it's sort of a sandwich Inge type idea where you you get to describe something really fully before you actually end up expressing the word the word clay toys here is at the end of the at the end of the sentence and that's nice or nice way to wrap things up but to those who are the called and they are called beloved in God the Father and kept in Jesus Christ man we could stop and preach on that one for the rest of the time without much difficulty but we will not just make a reference to that one that's a good memory verse right finally revelation 17:14 and they will make war on the lamb and the lamb will conquer conquer them for he is the Lord of lords and King of Kings we're hearing that a lot over the past few days Jesus is king I'm not sure what's going on but it's it's trending all over it's trending all over Twitter I'm not sure what it is but I'm sort of glad I like hearing that that's that's a good thing and those with him are called and chosen and faithful it's not they are called as in a verb chosen and faithful but here interestingly enough just as you had back in Matthew 22 you have called and chosen used together remember math back I'm at the 22 it was many are called few are chosen here those who are with the king who is king of kings and Lord of lords the ones with him called chosen a collector this is that's we're about to look at that and pistoi faithful so these are descriptions of those who are with him they're called chosen and faithful so they're called and chosen are being used together not necessarily completely synonymously with faithful but they are descriptive of those who have overcome and who concur with the king alright so there's all the uses of that particular phrase and so we can go back to Matthew chapter 22 if you want to or you don't have to go there if you don't want to I'll tell you where we're gonna start and now let's look at the term chosen chose them remember Matthew 22:14 then it appears in both Matthew 24:22 and Matthew 24:24 which is why we're doing this and of course that is discussion in those days had not been cut short no human being will be saved but for the sake of the elect now here's the problem in English because of the concept of this word our translations are not consistent in rendering it this is one place where to be honest with you this is this is where it's it's good to be able to access the original language utilize your phone if you've got programs like olive tree and stuff like that that can give you the underlying words and then you can search on those words it helps so much because the problems in English is not in Greek the problem in English is when we talk about a term such as choosing or the chosen we don't know whether to render it as a verb or as a noun in our language and the problem is modern translations want to try to be smooth they want to be smooth they don't want to they don't want be like the new American Standard which is just so hard to read it's like chewing on wood I've heard people say it's like really so they so they smooth things out the problem is amuse me things out sometimes something is lost and the specificity gets lost you'll see that in a couple of the texts here now I'm not jumping into Matthew chapter 24 because that's somebody else's area he's got it the man has it copyrighted if I even try to open my mouth I'm gonna get shocked by the pulpit or something I'm not sure what's gonna happen but don't even want to go there but you'll notice that it does appear elsewhere in Matthew 24 Matthew 24 31 and he will send out his angels a loud trumpet call and he will gather his elect from the four winds so here you have the in the exact same form as found in verse 24 the elect except here it's called the elect of him that is as foot in the possessive so he has a specific elect that are gathered from the four winds so elect chosen ones are both too perfectly fine English translations the meaning of the term contains within it as we will see an anus a necessary element of choice and selection choice and selection but it's a choice in selection that takes place outside of its object we don't choose ourselves we are chosen those who are are gathered from the four winds are chosen and so you get you get the same utilization the term in mark 13 verse 20 and that again is the parallel to the Olivet discourse there in the synoptic Gospels they're the specific phrases but for the sake of the elect whom he chose he shortened the days so there is I think there really an emphasis upon the idea that the elect aren't the elect just because of their genetics or something else the elect of the elect because they have been chosen and here specifically chosen by him so don't don't miss that element of of what is to be found there then of course in verse 22 of Mark 13 lead astray if possible even the elect again and then in mark 13 27 the parallel to Matthew 24 as well he will set out his angels and gather his elect from the four winds and I could go back over each one of these because there's so many more references to this specific term before we can get to our application that we need to look at that now let's look at Luke chapter 18 verse 7 Luke chapter 18 verse 7 and will not God literally it is do justice for his elect who cry to him day and night will he delay long over them so will not God do the right thing for his elect that's another time where you have the word his attached becomes possessive so it makes sense that this is God's elect they are his he is the one who's chosen them but there seems to be an element by God's choosing of ownership of ownership now if we had more time I would expand upon that looking at John chapter six especially where the doctrine of election laid out there by the Lord does specifically flow from the idea that god the father owns the specific people that he gives to the son so that God has it all of this only makes sense when you understand that God is not limited by the United States Constitution okay and unfortunately there's a lot of people who think that that somehow is a bad thing but God is king and he rules over all things and since he created all things than he can do with all things as he pleases he is the owner of all things and here he has his elect and he gives them justice in Luke chapter 18 Luke chapter 23 and the people stood by watching not here this is the catch back up here if he started to started to wander and the people stood by watching this crucifixion but the rulers scoffed at him saying he saved others let him save himself if this is Haq estas - Theo ha eclectus the Christ of God the chosen one the elect one now there's a really interesting use of this term and there are numerous parallels in the intertestamental literature that is the literature of the Jews written between what we would call Malachi the last of the inspired prophets and the writing of the New Testament that for hundred years you will find a number of terms used in in messianic speculation as to the Messiah about the Prophet or here the elect one the chosen one and here on the lips of his enemies you have hakka stas tooth they you the Messiah of God and then using the same nominative form so it's called an appositive use renaming the chosen one the elect one so there is the idea that the Messiah is the one chosen by God so when you hear someone saying well well Christ is the chosen one to try to get around the doctor of election you don't you don't go oh no no he's not no yes he is but in what context and in what office in what context and in what office he is the chosen one he is the Messiah of God and that is being proven by the fact that his enemies are standing at the foot of his cross Isaiah 53 in Psalm 22 are being fulfilled right before their eyes and they're blind to it they're blind to it the early church understood why that was Acts chapter 2 Acts chapter 4 read what they had to say God was doing what his purpose and Han had predestined to occur is the term that is used there all right we keep going and we go where you would expect to go Romans chapter 8 I remember we already said in Romans 8:28 we had the the term used there of the called those who are called according to his purpose and then in verse 33 after the golden chain of redemption and the mention of free destination election what do you have who will bring a charge gita' I collect owns they you against the elect of God against the elect of God it's a legal term to bring a charge and it is directed at the elect of God that is those whom God has chosen the answer is God is the one justifying so this is all that's in that in the context of the law court and so when you when you ask the question who can bring a charge in the law court and the question is who the charge be brought against Paul's answer is the elect of God and that then defines what has come before who does who is the son given for who did not spare his own son but deliver him up for us all how that will he not with him freely give us all things who will bring a charge against the elect of God so for whom was the son given the elect of God Romans chapter 8 I believe is not only one of the clearest sections on predestination election but on the particularity of the work of Christ to accomplish in perfect harmony with the Father the salvation of the elect of God it's also used and very interestingly enough in Romans 1613 there it is used greet Rufus the elect one in the Lord and a norm lest that again that's that's the literal rendering but it's not smooth and so most of the translations they said like that shows and in the Lord or something like that but it's it's the one chosen in the Lord the elect one in the Lord now is there a specific something special about Rufus that we should drive from this I we're not given enough information but the terminology is used of believers and here a description of a believer elect in the Lord Colossians chapter 3 verse 12 put on therefore it's as in clothing put on them as the elect of God holy and beloved so this is a description the description before your to put on compassionate hearts kindness humility meekness patience all these other things all the Christian virtues you put the Christian virtues on because it is appropriate because as the chosen ones of God holy ones or Saints and beloved ones that term beloved there is used in the singular of Jesus in Ephesians chapter one in the beloved one in the beloved but here chosen Saints beloved ones descriptions of those who are to put on all of these descriptions that are given to us of Christian characteristics alright we're almost through all of them first Timothy chapter 5 first Timothy chapter 5 verse 21 I charge you in the presence of God and Christ Jesus and the elect angels the elect angels that you keep these rules these precepts without prejudging doing nothing from partiality so here you have a very interesting utilization and again we see that the uses of this term are not limited just to Romans 8 or Matthew 24 or whatever else it might be you also see something that we do see a good bit in a new testament and that is when you do have a term such as Hagios holy it ends up turning into a noun and being used as a description of those who are made holy the Saints now if you have a Roman Catholic background you may get itchy when I say that let's start twitching a little bit like that and start looking at your watch it's a perfectly wonderful word it was just abused and continues to be abused regularly within the Roman Catholic system it is all through the New Testament it's a beautiful word but it's descriptive of all believers and it's not their personal holiness that is in view it is the holiness that is theirs in Christ Jesus we are called to be holy because we are in fact Saints we have been set apart by God the same thing happens when it comes to this issue of election and falling you have the verb God does this and then you have the application becoming descriptive of who believers are they are called Saints they are the call of God then in verse 21 as we saw you also have the elect angels now what does that mean here's where you really tune in here for a second you see if we do what a lot of people do and we insist on squishing down the semantic domain of any particular word to where it only fits what we're comfortable with or the really bad thing is if we decide that a certain verse in the Bible has a meaning that we really like regarding a particular word and we start shoving it into all these other verses we can end up creating some really weird theologies if people didn't do this the Christian bookstore would have half as many books in it as it currently has really does but here the whole idea is this charge is being made before those who are observing Timothy's life before God before Christ Jesus and the chosen angels I think what's being said there is God the Father has knowledge of what we are doing he is observing we are serving the Lord Jesus Christ he knows what is taking place and then there are certain chosen angels who likewise are witnesses of what is taking place on this earth not all angels have that function so there is a specific subset that has that function and again God's the one that chooses that we're not the ones that choose that but there is a head there are heavenly witnesses of what is taking place and we are to be faithful in their sight if God has chosen them then they are truly spectacular beings and they are observing as well we are not alone in what's going on here God always knows what is taking place with his people then we have in 2nd Timothy chapter 2 verse 10 2nd Timothy 2:10 I love this verse I love it because it teaches something as it's going along it's not the purpose of the verse to teach something but the only way to understand the verse is to recognize that there is already a specific understanding on the part of the people to whom this letter was written so therefore Paul says for this reason I endure all things diya to cyclic Deus for the sake of the elect the chosen ones in order that they may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus together with eternal glory Wow this is Paul's last letter to Timothy if you want an idea of why he endured shipwreck why he endured stonings and beatings and imprisonments here he lays it out for you I endure everything for the sake of the elect and so I when I talk with folks who just refused to believe that God has the right to do this and don't know their own heart well enough that you better believe God does this because if it's up to you you are not gonna make it and I talked to them about these things and I say well what do you think Paul means here I endure all things for the sake of the elect so that they may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus eternal glory if you think we elect ourselves by our freewill actions and the number of the elect is is is just left open it's really not something that is a part of God's choice if this is all up to us then you have it backwards because if the elect make themselves the elect by believing in Jesus Christ how does Paul say I'm enduring for the sake of the elect so that they may obtain the salvation is in Christ Jesus you see what I mean if if you are the one who obtained your own salvation and therefore make yourself elect Paul was confused he had the wrong motivations for everything but he didn't he didn't Paul recognized that he was an instrument in the hand of God God ordains the ends as well as the means and so we hear it all the time over and over and over again if you believe that why why would you ever do evangelism if God's already chosen just sit back and relax how many times have you heard that all the time right always the objection and what's it based upon completely ignoring the fact that first of all God commands us to go he changes your heart you're gonna want to be obedient to him so if he says go I don't need to know the reasons I just need to I need to go I need to do it but it's completely missing the fact that when God saves us he has a purpose for leaving us here and that is to conform us the image of Jesus Christ and to use us as the means of the proclamation of the gospel and the extension of his kingdom in this world and so he ordains the ends as well as the means Paul understood it and what did it do for him it gave him great endurance I endure everything for the sake of the elect I recognize that God is using me as a means by which they also as have I may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory this is important we're doing in this world it's important stuff and he's using me and mother you can listen to these words at two o'clock in the morning when you don't think you're there's no way you've got enough energy to take care of this sick kid and get everybody else ready for the next day and you haven't gotten enough sleep since you can't even remember when you got no sleep and you're just ready to give up and wonder if God's forgotten all about you and what in the world am I doing here anyways how is this have to do with any cosmic purpose but by your patient endurance in the place in which God has placed you you become that means by which the gospel is being ministered to those who may well we pray with our greatest desire be amongst God's elect and how many times have I read in church history great men of God who went facing great trials and tribulations you know what they spoke of they spoke of the patient loving care and tender mercies of their mothers who may not have even still been alive at that time but God had ministered to them and they in their old age recognized how God had used those mothers those father's in their lives don't think this is only about the big people to get to do the big things that's just the Apostle Paul he endured all things the saiga what does that have to do with me you don't know the glory that is going to reveal to us when we see the beauty of what God has done in this world we know this much of what God is doing in this world and when we see the final tap / stre that he has woven in the history of this world we will fall on our faces in worship as to what he has done don't as a creature in a fallen world with limited knowledge limit what God can do don't sell yourself short in your place God will use each of us in this way it is not just for the Apostle Paul a few more Titus 1 1 Paul a servant of God apostle of Jesus Christ and specifically for the faith of God's elect and their knowledge of the truth which accords with godliness Paul a servant of God an apostle of Jesus Christ for the faith of the elect of God and there and the term here is epignosis it's not simply to know something like you know facts facts of mathematics it's to know experientially to know truthfully the truth that is in accordance with godliness Paul is telling Titus that there is an elect of God and the faith of that elect people is should be vitally important to you the minister of God and you want the the elect of God to truly know their knowledge of the truth which accords with godliness this really is the whole purpose of the Ministry of the word why we focus so much upon the Ministry of the word when we come together we have to have doctrine and discipline and order the elect of God the faith needs to be nourished but it's based upon the whole idea that there is an elect of God there is an elective God and that's what allows a minister even in the midst of great difficulty in trials to continue to press on even when there's people who leave the church there's slander there's attacks there's divisions what can allow you to continue on a recognition that God has his people God knows his elect we are simply called to be faithful he will bless his elect people even when we've been fooled as to who they were because sometimes we can be that's the whole subject of apostasy we can get to it another point in time not from being the elect but from looking like you were first Peter 1:1 Peter an apostle of Jesus Christ to those who are elect exile of the dispersion and so you have this idea of the Diaspora the the dispersion of the Jews after that it takes place there in the first century there they're out in the they're not in Israel themself they're there they've been dispersed and here are the elect ones that chosen ones same term is used at first Peter 2:4 as you come to him a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God what chosen and precious chosen and precious so here is a another of the passages that would rightly identify Jesus as chosen by God in his specific role as Messiah and Savior it is a true statement that is the truth of who Jesus is but as we've seen all the different uses you can see that trying to conflate all them together is not good and then just a few verses later that cornerstone precious cornerstone that's where Peter was was drawing from in verse 4 he's drawing from the Greek translation of the Old Testament the fulfillment in Jesus Christ and then he quotes from that verse that's very section of Scripture in first Peter 2:6 and then goes on to say in 1st Peter 2:9 but you are a chosen genis a chosen race a royal priesthood a holy oath nos from which we get ethnicity or nation a people for his own possession these are all phrases that are being drawn from the Greek Septuagint there were descriptions of the people of God that Yahweh himself was redeeming and so clearly for Peter there is a consistency it's not you've got what was going on in the Old Testament you got what's going on in the New Testament and this is all new and it's there's there's no connection no God has continued the fulfillment of his promises in his drawing a people unto himself finally 2nd John 1 you have the elder to the elect lady this is one day only this is only time here in 2nd John where you have a feminine form used the elect lady and her children now we're not exactly sure who that is named wives or something like that but there is a description here the elder John the elder the pres beuter oz2 the elect lady and in verse 13 the children of your elect sister greet you so again the term elect being used their description of Christian people only one left Revelation chapter 17 verse 14 we already saw this one just to remind you of the phrase that was used there and has three terms chosen and elect and faithful called chosen faithful descriptions of those who are with the king of kings and the Lord of lords in his victory so that's pretty much all of them that's pretty much all of them and you're sitting here going but we didn't look at John six and we didn't look at Ephesians one we did look at Romans eight but what you're saying is there are entire sections in the Bible about predestination and election that don't use these specific words that's right the scripture uses many different types of words to describe what God has done and so if we were to change our direction and we were to simply look at verbs we're not going to do that don't freak out it was like oh no look at the time does he know what the time is I don't know as Jeff probably got into him I don't know is he gonna start doing with Jeff does I don't know Jeff laughs he walked out of the room so we're good no I'm not going to do that but that's what we would have to do if we wanted to look at such terms that are used such as the term predestinate or to elect an eternity past or simply the term to choose or simply determine that the father gives me will come to me and the one coming to me I will never cast out for example and so there are numerous terms that can be utilized to describe the concept of election so what does what's it what can we what can we draw from all of this well I'm gonna leave it up to Jeff to make application in Matthew chapter 24 he can pick up on this and and make application and say this is this is how it's gonna fit into what we're seeing and what is happening in regards to the Olivet discourse but here's what we need to understand as believers I recognize that there are many people who struggle greatly with the concept that God has chosen to save a specific people I don't know what those folks do with the first 39 books of the Bible because when you think about it God's grace his word and His mercy was sent to one particular people it wasn't Egypt it wasn't Babylon it wasn't the Assyrians it wasn't the amirite there was a specific people who received his law in his revelation and His Word they're the ones that received the beautiful hymns of David one people there were many other people in the world and one of the objections that atheists have is well this whole Christian message but what about all those people who lived before Christ I mean Israel is a small little nation what's God doing and so I struggle a little bit and it seems that a lot of people the idea they have aside from that sort of disconnection with the Old Testament is well I just have the idea I want a God that's trying to save everybody an election doesn't fit with that idea I want a God who's trying his best to save everyone that sounds good doesn't it play along [Applause] oh you don't have to go that far it was a rhetorical question really it was got some literalists in here no it sounds good it doesn't make any sense biblically or logically do you really want a God who's doing the best he can but he's going to fail over and over and over again I mean if he really is trying to save every person equally then doesn't that mean in in in heaven that God's gonna be extremely disappointed with his results I mean think about it that would basically mean God's gonna have to be standing on the parapets of Hell going oh I'm so sorry I tried I tried my best Father Son and Holy Spirit we did our absolute best for you do you see that picture in Revelation anywhere I don't see a picture in Revelation anywhere I hear about God's justice and I hear about the recognition of the fact he's accomplishing his purposes but I I don't get the idea that God is going to be eternally bummed at how many people he wasn't able to get saved it's not what the New Testament teaches there is a purpose that he's accomplishing don't get me wrong some people say well election means that some people get injustice never never well people get something different from God's that that must be unjust no if you receive mercy and grace from God that's not injustice if Jesus hadn't died in our place if we had not been United with him that would be injustice because then our sins would just simply be forgiven for no basis there would be no mediator there would be no forgiveness God's justice would be destroyed but because of Jesus Christ and our union with him we receive mercy and grace God's justice is fulfilled because we have a substitute who bears penalty in our place and those who do not receive the electing grace of God do not receive injustice they receive justice no one receives injustice at the end God will be justified in all his acts in all his deeds and I simply believe very firmly that a person who objects that simply doesn't know the depth of their own sin simply doesn't know the depth of their own sin the worthiness of their own punishment but there are many who would say no no no no that I I will never accept that in fact I'll never forget this was back when I had a full head of hair and large glasses I have pictures to prove it you can ask Kelly she remembers I had a full head of hair and large glasses and a lady came over from the local keno Institute which is a Roman Catholic organization and she was doing a master's degree and she wanted to interview a fundamentalist now that term I don't use it positively almost at all anymore but it had a historically valid and positive meaning and there still is a valid meaning to it just a mindset that goes along with it anymore is why it's become problematic but she wanted to talk to someone who wasn't a Roman Catholic who just believed the Bible and so we started talking it didn't get long didn't take long to get into the sufficiency of Scripture and then the gospel and when I laid out for her what Jesus taught in John chapter 6 she was stunned maybe she had never heard this before I don't know she was stunned but I'll never forget what she said she asked me some questions so are you saying are you saying and so when I finally said yes God has the right to choose those to whom he is going to give his saving grace and to justly punished others she said I would never worship a God like that and I looked at her and said I know that's the point you wouldn't you would not of your freewill which is a myth biblically speaking you would not have your free will ever worship the God who exists you would create an idol that looks more like you'd like him to walk now please recognize something I know what the tough questions are here I worked for years as a hospital chaplain I did funerals for unbelievers i sat in the emergency room with people whose loved ones had just died who had no hope of their salvation none whatsoever this isn't just pie-in-the-sky theology but the question is how are we going to answer when people ask us the tough questions are we looking for the easiest answer that will not work that will cause them to like us or the answer that will actually have meaning to them in their lives because it's true it's been revealed by God there are far tougher questions to be answered by the person who rejects this teaching than by the one who believes it because when you boil it all down when you boil it all down who would you rather have in charge of salvation and eternal glory sinful man or the judge of all the earth who proved his righteousness in the sending of His Son Jesus Christ who died upon the cross which one do you want there are good answers to all the objections there truly are but the reality is scripture teaches the doctrine of election God chooses that results in a people who are the elect do I know who they are do I know who the elect are well again how are we using the term are you asking me when I look out over this group that I can identify the elect are you saying that when I when we're witnessing to Mormons and Salt Lake City that when they're walking up I can go up save the track sales wreck them out that one trust me most of the time if we if we have that feeling we're the one that's wrong we're the ones that gets it completely wrong I mean look at us yeah we wouldn't be the first people god ah there's those are those people over there those must be there like no we don't know but there are descriptions of the elect we are called to act as the elect and to put on compassion and mercy as the elect so there's different uses of the term if we're going to be a part of this fellowship claim the name of Jesus Christ then what we're saying is I have been called of God to follow Jesus Christ and therefore there you go are you saying well so you all of a sudden gain and fallible knowledge of for the elect of God oh no I do not I do no I'm not saying that I'm saying that in Scripture the people of God are called the elect of God they're called his elect he knows who they are the Sheep we don't get to choose our Shepherd the Shepherd chooses his sheep the Sheep follow his voice and the Shepherd knows them and they know him and there is no safer place in the universe than to be one of his sheep is elect it's a biblical teaching it's founded in Scripture we believe it we proclaim it but as an individual you should rejoice in it because any person my friends listen to me and will close any person who would take this doctrine and use it as an excuse for sin is worthy of the judgment he or she will receive there is nothing in this doctrine that would begin to give anyone ground for a life of sin and licentiousness and apathy because there is nothing in us that drew God's grace in fact there was everything in us that should have repelled God's grace but he did not choose me because I'm better than anyone else and if I fully understand what God is doing in conforming me to the image of Christ I should be an individual who desires to know him and to serve him and if I don't if I love the things of this world so much more than I love him I have no reason to call myself elect we read all of what scripture says and the very one who chose us also chooses to conform us to the image of Christ remember those words of Philippians 1:29 it has not only been granted to us to believe in him everybody skips that part but it's been granted to us to believe in him but also to suffer for his sake the same grace that gives us faith is the grace that will then cause us to endure in suffer that's the doctrine of the New Testament that is what we believe let's pray together our gracious Heavenly Father we have but barely touched upon what your word says about the divine truth that you are king and as king you can make choices you can choose in accordance with the perfection of your will in your power we have barely touched upon these truths but Lord we know it takes a work of your spirit to remove the rebellion that we as creatures that can so often have against your truth we want to have a part we're willing to give you most of the glory but we want to have that final element of control Lord we know that's not what your Word teaches remove that final bit of rebellion and stiff heartedness from us may we rejoice in describing you as the one who has chosen your people Lord during this time if there'd be any amongst us it does not know you even as we've been discussing something that may not seem to them to have great meaning even at this time will they hear the message about sin and redemption and may you bring conviction of sin and draw them unto yourself we thank you for the freedom we have to gather together and worship in the name of Jesus Christ thank you for loving us thank you for choosing us we desire to live for you as a result we pray these things in Christ's name Amen

Channel: Apologia Studios

Views: 49,649

Keywords: jeff durbin, apologia studios, apologia church, jeff durbin sermon, james white debate, james white sermon, the elect, predestination, calvinism debate, calvinist movie, predestination debate, reformed theology, r.c. sproul sermon, r.c. sproul sovereignty of god, calvinist, calvinism, calvinism sermon, doctrines of grace, tulip, total depravity, unconditional election, limited atonement, perserverence of the saints

Id: _PnRq2i-zhY

Length: 65min 37sec (3937 seconds)

Published: Wed Oct 30 2019