Pharaoh's Hard Heart (Exodus 6:10-7:13)
Use this guide to help your group discussion as you meet this week.
Transcript
Good morning. My name is Spencer. I am one of the pastors here. We're going to be in Exodus chapter 6 verse 10 through 713 as we continue to travel through Exodus together. So in college, my wife and I started dating our junior year.
So we were best friends before and we started dating February of my junior year. And it was taking a chance. Dating your best friend was serious enough. By the time the summer came along, it was even more serious. But that summer before senior year, we both spent the summer apart.
I was down in Myrtle Beach doing a summer beach project with a campus ministry and she was working for a camp. And we only got to see each other once in that period about halfway through the summer she came down and visited. That summer was big for me. I was thinking through a lot, processing a lot of bigger questions. And then about a week before she came down, I reached out to her and said, hey, listen, we need to talk. I've been thinking and processing some things and just we'll talk when you get down here.
And then the whole week, she was like, oh, no, this isn't good. Because back then, I don't know if it's still popular now, but like younger Christians would do the whole like breakup thing where it's like, I feel like God's just calling me to like a season of singleness. Or like, like over spiritualize that kind of stuff. And she's like, oh, has he gone down there for four weeks and God's worked in his heart and all of a sudden. So the whole week she's sitting on that.
And then she comes down and visits and I didn't waste any time. I said, let's go for a walk. So I went for a walk and I just said, listen, I've been I've been thinking a lot this summer and I finally have some clarity on something. For years, I've been wrestling with the sovereignty of God and man's free will. And I just I finally I don't know. I have a piece about it now.
And I just started to talk about how I got just been searching the scriptures and I finally had some peace. And she's like, what? Are you serious? She's like, I thought you were going to break up with me. I said, break up with you. Where did you get that crazy idea from?
No, I was falling in love with her. I was I was. No, that was not how that was going down at all. But I let her on and she was very upset. And it's been a joke ever since. We're a high loader with that.
But a couple of weeks ago, we were in Exodus four. And we came across this bigger theological question that showed up in 421 when it says, And the Lord said to Moses, when you go back to Egypt, see that you do before Pharaoh all the miracles that I have put in your power. But I will harden his heart so that he will not let you go. Let the let the people go. So that question I've been wrestling with is a question that many Christians have wrestled with.
When you come across passages like this, where it says he hardened the heart of Pharaoh. So what do you do with that? A couple of weeks ago, I said we didn't have the space to cover it that week. But we would in a couple of weeks. And now we are here. So we're going to take a look at this subject matter, what it means with this language of the hardening of Pharaoh's heart.
Because many Christians have wrestled with this. That if God hardens the heart of Pharaoh, if he makes Pharaoh do a thing, does that make Pharaoh responsible for his own sinful actions? Like how does that work? People ask, how is that fair? Or how is that just? These are some difficult questions to approach in the scriptures.
And this phrasing of God's heart and Pharaoh's heart shows up over and over and over again in the first half of Exodus. So it's front and center of our passage today. We're going to take a look at it. We're going to look at this passage. And then I want us to, as we work through it, take a step back. And then approach this bigger theological question in light of the rest of the story.
Now, I don't promise to resolve all the tension that's been held for 2,000 years as the church has tried to understand this. But I do believe if we take a far enough step back, we'll actually see this as really good. And we'll be able to find some peace about all of this. So, let me pray. And then we'll jump in. Heavenly Father, I pray that you would bless our time.
And your word is sharper than any two-edged sword. It pierces the division of soul and spirit, of bone and marrow. It reveals the thoughts and the tensions of the heart. God, I pray that you would use the word of God to do that in us this morning. And that we would respond in faith and worship and delighting in you. We ask this in Jesus' name.
Amen. All right, so let's jump in in verse 10. So the Lord said to Moses, Go in. Tell Pharaoh, king of Egypt, to let the people of Israel go out of his land. But Moses said to the Lord, Behold, the people of Israel have not listened to me.
How then shall Pharaoh listen to me? For I am of uncircumcised lips. But the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron and gave them a charge about the people of Israel and about king of Egypt to bring the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt. So as we saw a couple of weeks ago in Moses' calling, he has doubt. And this doubt seems to continue. He has a doubt.
He's like, how am I going to convince Pharaoh? I can't even convince the people. See, we left off in verse 9 of last week. And it said they had a crushed, a broken spirit. Because they first approached Pharaoh and then it didn't go as well. And Pharaoh afflicted heavy burdens on the people.
And now they're crushed in spirit. He's like, I can't even convince the people. He says, I'm a man of uncircumcised lips. Which is just a way of saying I have unclean lips. I'm not good enough. If I can't convince the people, how in the world am I going to convince Pharaoh?
Pharaoh. Now we know, as we're going to see next week, how God is going to convince Pharaoh through his wondrous, mighty Acts. He says, no, go to Pharaoh. And they're about to. And 10 through 30 is all one big chunk that's together. All of a sudden, it seems to come out of nowhere as a genealogy.
Which I know is everyone's favorite. It's a genealogy that just kind of shows up out of nowhere. I think a couple of reasons. I think it's there. I think it's to break up the story of Exodus. I think act 1 is the calling of Moses and him coming to Egypt.
And then act 2 is going to start with God performing his mighty, wondrous Acts. Also, this genealogy is Moses and Aaron centered. It doesn't go through all the tribes of Israel. It goes all the way up to Levi, which is the tribe of Moses and Aaron. And in a lot of Old Testament passages, it's told in the form of chiasm. That's a nerdy biblical word.
But what it is is basically this. This 10 through 30 section is Moses, then Moses and Aaron, leading up to the genealogy. Then it flows backwards, Moses and Aaron, and back to Moses, some of the exact same phrasing. So that's what's happening here in this genealogy. It's really legitimizing and verifying this is the Moses and Aaron who God used to do this. So, pick up in verse 14.
These are the heads of their fathers' houses. So, we've done genealogies before. We did it in Matthew. Genealogies are not like Ancestry.com. It's not catching every single person in the line. They're told thematically and theologically.
They're hitting major figures. And that's what happens in this because they're skipping lots of different people in the line. These are the heads of their fathers' houses. The sons of Reuben. Here's the first tribe. The firstborn of Israel.
Hanak, Paulu, Hezron, and Carmi. These are the clans of Reuben. The sons of Simeon. Jemuel. Jamin. Ohad.
Jachin. Zohar. And Shaul, the son of the Canaanite woman. Which, that's some commentary. That Shaul's dad married the wrong woman. He didn't marry Canaanite women.
Canaanites were pagans. They did things like sacrifice their children to foreign gods. That's just some commentary there. The son of the Canaanite women are the clans of Simeon. Verse 16. These are the names of the sons of Levi according to their generations.
Okay, so this is where we get to Moses and Aaron, their tribe. Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. The years of the life of Levi being 137 years. The sons of Gershon, Libni, and Shimei by their clans. The sons of Kohath, Amram, Mali, and Mushi. Sorry.
The sons of Kohath, Amram, Izahar, Hebron, and Uziel. The years of the life of Kohath being 133 years. Then verse 19. The sons of Merari, Mali, and Mushi. Which, those of you that want children's names and you want to alliterate your children's names. Those three are winners.
Okay. Keep going. These are the clans of the Levites according to their generations. Verse 20. Amram took as his wife Jochebed his father's sister. And she bore him Aaron and Moses.
Okay. Let me read that again one more time. Amram took as his wife Jochebed his father's sister. And she bore him Aaron and Moses. Okay. A little gross.
Okay. The Bible is not. Just being honest. The Bible sometimes is descriptive and not always prescriptive. Okay. This is before the Old Testament law that prohibits ancestral relationships.
And that is what happened here. So for those of you that were like, oh, genealogy is so boring. I bet you didn't know that Moses' mom was his great aunt. That's a thing. Which also I feel like had to be a little bit awkward in Leviticus when Moses is receiving the law from God. And we get to Leviticus 18 and it forbids ancestral relationships.
And it specifically in there lists a bunch of them. And it says, don't sleep with your aunt. I mean, that's just probably just thinking, man, I'm glad mama's gone. But daddy's a little younger. So he's going to take it real hard when he hears this.
Anyways. The years of the life of Amram being 137 years. Keep going. The sons of Izahar. Korah. This is the Korah who leads the rebellion against Moses.
Spoiler alert. It doesn't end well for him. Then we've got Nephag and Zichri. The sons of Uziel. Mishael. Elzaphon.
And Sithri. Verse 23. Aaron took as his wife Elishabah, the daughter of Amminadab and the sister of Nashon. She bore him Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. The sons of Korah. Asir.
Elkanah. And Abiaseth. These are the clans of the Korahites. Verse 25. Eleazar, Aaron's son, took as his wife, one of the daughters of Pudiel. And she bore him Phineas.
We'll later see that Phineas, he ends a rebellion against God with zeal and a spear. These are the heads of the fathers, houses of the Levites by their clans. All right. Now we're going backwards in the Chiasm. Verse 26. These are the Aaron and Moses to whom the Lord said, bring out the people of Israel from the land of Egypt by their hosts.
It was they who spoke to Pharaoh, king of Egypt, about bringing out the people of Israel from Egypt. This Moses and Aaron. And then we end with Moses. Verse 28. On the day when the Lord spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt, the Lord said to Moses, I am the Lord. Tell Pharaoh, king of Egypt, all that I say to you.
Here's that phrasing again. But Moses said to the Lord, but behold, I'm of uncircumcised lips. How will Pharaoh listen to me? Okay. So that completes that section.
Then we move into chapter 7. Now, what I want to do first is I want to walk through the story. Walk through the story. Then we're going to come back and work through this bigger theological question of God's sovereignty and man's free will. So, verse 1. And the Lord said to Moses, see, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron shall be your prophet.
So Moses is the mediator, the prophet of God. And then he goes on to say, you shall speak all that I command you. And your brother Aaron shall tell Pharaoh to let the people of Israel go out of his land. But I will harden Pharaoh's heart. So there it is.
That's the phrasing. We're going to come back to that. And though I multiply my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt. So let me pause there for a second. He says signs and wonders. When you think about the ten things that happen that Moses performs to the power of God, what is the word that usually comes up in your brain?
Plagues. Plagues is only used once. That's more of how the Egyptians would have received them as plagues. It's more called five times wonders and then signs and wonders. It's just a very curious way we've learned that. Pharaoh will not listen to you.
And I will lay my hand on Egypt and bring my host, my people, the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt by great Acts of judgment. So he calls them my hosts, which is military language, my people, my children. And he's going to bring them out by bringing judgment on the Egyptians. Verse five. Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring out the people of Israel from among them. So God is going to have the showdown with Pharaoh.
With the king of Egypt. And as we saw last week, which was walking us through chapter five and chapter five, Pharaoh says this. Who is the Lord that I should obey his voice and let Israel go? He arrogantly says that. And as we're going to see, we know exactly who this God is. And fair, you are about to find out who he is as he brings judgment.
On you and your people. Verse six. Moses and Aaron did so. They did just as the Lord commanded them. And Moses was 80 years old and Aaron 83 years old when they spoke to Pharaoh. So I mentioned this a few weeks ago and I'll mention it again.
God doesn't raise up a young, valiant, strong warrior. No, he calls Moses, who's 80 at this point, Aaron, 83. He uses men who are in the latter years of their life to accomplish his purposes. Just a really beautiful thing. So, verse eight. Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, when Pharaoh says to you, prove yourselves by working a miracle, then you shall say to Aaron, take your staff and cast it down before Pharaoh that it may become a serpent.
So this is what happened at Mount Horeb. When God was showing his power to Moses. Through down the staff, it became a serpent. The serpent, which is going to be key, as it shows up here in a moment. The serpent is actually, the snake is actually a sign, a royal sign for Pharaoh. That's why sometimes we see Pharaoh tombs.
They have a snake here. This is part of the royal sign. And God is about to flex his power over this false God, Pharaoh. Verse 10. So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the Lord commanded.
Aaron cast down his staff before Pharaoh and his servants and it became a serpent. So he cast it down before the royal court, before Pharaoh. And then verse 11 says, then Pharaoh summoned the wise men and the sorcerers. And they, the magicians of Egypt, also did the same by their secret arts. For each man cast down a staff and they became serpents. But Aaron's staff swallowed up their staffs.
So in every ancient Near Eastern royal court, a king would have different, different people in his court that had different arts. Magi, magicians, sorcerers. They had all kinds of people. And we were in teaching team this week. And Isaac, who's on our teaching team. He said, were these like, like sleight of hand?
Like almost illusionist type tricks? Or was this like dark, kind of satanic power they were tapping into to mimic, to answer what Aaron did with the staff? To which Chet said in true Chet form, it's a secret. Read the text. We don't know. We don't know if this was just sleight of hand or if this was deeper, darker satanic forces.
But they answer and counter with staffs that turned into serpents. And then as we're going to see in all of these wondrous works, God's power is greater. The snake swallows up their staffs. And then we get Pharaoh's response. Still, verse 13, Pharaoh's heart was hardened. And he would not listen to them as the Lord had said.
So, Pharaoh's heart was hardened. We are going to spend the rest of our time looking at that phrasing that shows up over and over again. So, let me state what I believe is the most biblical position on this. God, because he is the sovereign God and ruler over all things. God hardens Pharaoh's heart for his purposes. And Pharaoh is responsible for his own sinful choices.
That God, because he is the sovereign ruler over all things, God hardens Pharaoh's heart for his purposes. And Pharaoh is also responsible for his own sinful actions. Which in saying that, I know can raise some immediate questions. How do you reconcile those two statements? How does this work together? How do you understand this?
Another question that people ask is, how is this fair? How is this just? We can get to some of those questions. But in order to approach those, we have to do what we do with any question from the Bible. We have to look at the Bible and start there. What does the Bible say about this?
So, I first want to look at Exodus. And see what Exodus says. And then we're going to hopefully see what it means. So, let me put some back-to-back passages. 7.3 says, But I will harden Pharaoh's heart. That's God actively saying, I will harden Pharaoh's heart.
Then you get to verse 13 of chapter 7. And it says, Still, Pharaoh's heart was hardened. That's describing the passive state of his heart. And then in 15, it says, But when Pharaoh saw that there was a respite, he hardened his heart. Now, that is Pharaoh actively hardening his own heart. So, that begs the question, which one is it?
Did God harden Pharaoh's heart? Or did Pharaoh harden his own heart? Now, folks that are uncomfortable with the idea that God hardens anyone's hearts, lean more into, no, Pharaoh hardened his own heart. That is something that I used to do for years. I was very uncomfortable with this idea that God would harden anyone's heart. That he would violate their will.
And for years, I leaned into 8.15. This passage, 8.15. It seemed to be the trump card here. But I came to realize this answer is incomplete. But there are Christians that hold to this.
The late, brilliant theologian, John Stott, once commenting on all of this, said that Pharaoh hardened his heart against God and refused to humble himself is made plain in the story. So God's hardening of him was a judicial act, abandoning him to his own stubbornness. What he just said was, is that, look, the text makes it plain. That Pharaoh hardens his own heart. So what's happening here is that Pharaoh, independent from God, is hardening his own heart.
And basically what God is doing in his justice is just letting him do it. It's pushing him into his own, let him go into his own stubbornness. And that is something that I would have defended years ago because that certainly fit the philosophical understanding of how God works with our will. But the problem is, that's not what Exodus says. That's not what Exodus says. And that argument ignores the rest of the scriptures because that's not how the scriptures treat Pharaoh.
Pharaoh certainly hardens his own heart. He does. Absolutely. But he does so because God ordained it to be that way. So to answer the question, did God harden Pharaoh's heart?
Or did Pharaoh harden his own heart? Yes. Both are true. But Pharaoh's hardening of his own heart doesn't negate the fact that God's plan was to harden his heart all along. But this is the plan from the start.
It was God's plan to bring judgment upon Egypt. He was not waiting for Pharaoh to make the first step. This was the plan all along. And we caught this as early as chapter 3 in Exodus in Moses' calling in verse 19 when it says, But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless compelled by a mighty hand. So I, God, will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with all the wonders that I will do in it.
After that, he will let you go. God says, I know that Pharaoh will not let you go unless compelled by my mighty hand. And when I've performed all of the wondrous Acts that I'm going to perform, I will make him let you leave. Then you will be free to go. And that picks up and continued in chapter 4. Verse 21.
And the Lord said to Moses, When you go back to Egypt, see that you do before Pharaoh all the miracles that I have put in your power, but I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go. God is going to harden his heart. Now, some folks will try to play word games with that word harden. Some will say, Oh, that's just poetic language. It's not meant to be interpreted literally. Others will say, Well, actually, the Hebrew word for harden here, when it's used in other places, means to strengthen or to encourage.
So, for that first argument, this is not poetic language at all. That's the weakest argument there is. This isn't poetry. This is historical recounting. It is not poetic. And the second, it says, Well, the Hebrew word, when it's used elsewhere, means strengthen or encourage.
There are actually two Hebrew words for harden in Exodus. The way it's used in 7-3, but I will harden Pharaoh's heart. That word for harden only, always, means to harden, to stiffen. That's only how it's used. Now, the second word for harden, look at 7-13, it says, Still, Pharaoh's heart was hardened. That's the one that folks will play word games with because it is true.
When that is used outside the book of Exodus, it can mean to strengthen or to encourage. However, even if you take that meaning of strengthen or encourage and bring it into this passage and the other passages that's used in Exodus, what is Pharaoh being strengthened or encouraged to do? He's being strengthened or encouraged to disobey God's command to let the people go. That's what's happening here. That is why every single English translation I could find for 500 years of English translations, all of them translated the same. Harden.
Harden. Harden. Every single one. So, in 4-21, God tells Moses that he's hardening the heart of Pharaoh. That ultimately, Pharaoh's going to resist the command of God and he's going to bring wrath on and judgment on the Egyptians. And then you can go through the rest of Exodus and how this is used.
In 7-3, it says, I will harden Pharaoh's heart. That's God talking. In 7-13, it says, Pharaoh's heart was hardened. 7-14, Pharaoh's heart is hardened. Then in 8-15, it says, Pharaoh hardened, he hardened his heart.
That's Pharaoh actively hardening his own heart. Then in 8-19, but Pharaoh's heart was hardened. Then we get two more uses. We're in 8-32, it says, but Pharaoh hardened his heart this time also. And then it says in verse 34 of chapter 9, he, talking about Pharaoh, hardened, he sinned yet again and hardened his heart. So showing, Pharaoh hardening his heart, sinning against God.
Then, the rest of the story, 9-12, but the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh. 10-20, but the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart. 10-27, but the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart. 11-10, and the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart. 14-4, I will harden Pharaoh's heart. 14-8, the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh.
14-17, I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so they will go in after them. So not just Pharaoh, but the Egyptians too. Only three times does it mention that Pharaoh actively hardened his own heart. The rest is a mountain of evidence that God hardened the heart of Pharaoh for his own redemptive purposes. God is in control of the situation and it is going to come out in the way that he ordains it to be. Over and over and over again, Exodus tells us that God hardened Pharaoh's heart.
And then when you get to Exodus 9, as God is pouring out his judgment through signs and wonders on the Egyptians, this is what 9-16 says, but for this purpose, this is God talking, I have raised you up, to show you my power, show Pharaoh my power, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth. God raised up Pharaoh so that God might display his power through judgment on a regime that has enslaved his people for 400 plus years. That all the earth would know the power of God. That's the rest of the Old Testament right there. Looks back to the event of Exodus. The surrounding nations of Israel and then the promised land, they know who this God is because of what he did to Pharaoh and to Egypt.
And that theme flows throughout the rest of the Old Testament. And it shows up over and over and over again. God, because he is the sovereign king, the ruler over everyone and everything, God hardens Pharaoh's heart for his purposes. And Pharaoh is responsible for his own sinful actions. And the Bible teaches that over and over again. Which can still leave us staggering, lingering with questions.
How do you reconcile those two statements? How do you reconcile those two truths? How does that work? Some will say, how is that fair? How is that just? And for many, that's not an academic question.
It's not. For many, that's not a question that gets debated in coffee shops and ivory tower conversations. There are real faces and real stories and real people attached to that question. You have sons and daughters and brothers and sisters. You have friends and neighbors and family and co-workers, people that you love. That's not an academic question for many at all.
It's a personal one. And when you have that greater theological question and you fast forward and say, what does that mean for our own salvation? What does that mean for us? Then you get to the New Testament. Then you get to the book of Romans chapter 9.
And in chapter 9 of Romans, God, through Paul, uses Exodus and Pharaoh to explain how this works as it relates to our own salvation. So what does all this hardening language in Exodus mean? And the New Testament gives the answer. Verse 14, chapter 9, Romans. What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God's part?
By no means. The forceful by no means. God is not unjust. And then he gives an example. 4, verse 15. 4, he says to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I have mercy and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.
So then, verse 16, it depends not on human will or exertion but on God who has mercy. Does it depend on the will of man? It depends on the mercy of God. Verse 17, 4, the scripture says to Pharaoh, for this purpose I have raised you up that I might show my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth. That's quoting what we just read in Exodus 9. Verse 18, so then, he has mercy on whomever he wills and he hardens he hardens whomever he wills.
So what do you do with that unbelievably difficult teaching? I have four biblical truths to end with. I have four biblical truths that would be helpful for us to humbly submit to and believe in light of all of this in Exodus and all of this teaching in the scriptures. Here's the first. We are responsible for our own sin. The Bible makes that abundantly clear.
We are responsible for our own sin. Just because God is sovereign over everyone and everything and God chooses us to harden whom he hardens and give mercy to whom he gives mercy to that does not absolve us of human responsibility. We are responsible for his own sin. You saw that in Exodus 9. In Exodus 9, 34 it says, but when Pharaoh saw that the rain and hail and the thunder had ceased he sinned yet again and hardened his heart he and his servants. It's taught in Exodus.
He's responsible for his own sinful actions. And then you get to the New Testament. James 1. James 1 says, let no one say when he's being tempted, I am being tempted by God for God cannot be tempted and he himself can't be tempted with evil and he himself tempts no one. And then he goes on to make it clear that each person is tempted when he's lured and enticed by his own desire. His own desire.
We are responsible for our own sin. Our own sin tempts us. God does not. 1 John 1.5 says, this is the message that we have heard from him and proclaimed to you that God is light. In him there is no darkness at all. There is no sin in God.
And he does not tempt and lure anyone into sin. The Bible makes that clear and abundantly clear. We are still responsible for our own sin. God does not make us sin. We sin and incur condemnation all on our own. That's the first biblical truth that we should humbly submit to.
The second is this. It is God's divine right to be sovereign over us. It is God's divine right to be sovereign over us. God is God and we are creatures. He made us. He rules over us.
Now, as Western Americans who celebrate freedom, independence, autonomy, as a birthright, that's what we celebrate as Americans. It is a birthright that we are free, autonomous, independent, human beings. We don't like that teaching at all. It's not something we're naturally accepting of. But God is God and he rules over us.
We are not autonomous. We are not independent. We are not free. The Bible makes this argument very clearly. You are either a slave to your own sinful desires. That you either obey your own sinful flesh and follow it to where it goes or you are a slave of God.
That God is your master. And in servitude to God there is joy and gladness and unbelievable blessings. But there is no middle ground. You are either a servant of one or the other. You are not free. And part of us wants to object and say, how is that fair?
Some will even use the language, I can't believe in a God who would work like this. I can't believe in a God who would do this. How? How can these two truths coexist? And God's answer to that is also in Romans 9. Pick up where I left off in Romans 9.
This is how God answers that. You will say to me then, why does he still find fault? Why does he still find faultness? For who can resist his will? That's the question that we have. Verse 20.
Here's the answer. But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Well, what does molded say to its molder? Why have you made me like this? Has the potter no right over the clay to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? So God answers us.
He says, who are you, a mere pot, to question the infinite potter? Who are you, limited by design, human, to answer the infinite God? the response here is humility, humble yourself, you are a pot. That's fairly blunt. And the reality is, and the Bible also teaches this, that if you want fairness, and I think fairness in the way that people mean nowadays, which there really means justice, you want fair. Fair is that everyone gets condemnation, and everyone gets the wages of sin, which is death. Everyone gets hell. because everyone is responsible for their own sinful actions.
And I know how that sounds to some of you. I know. Like, I know the part of you that's like, I just know. Like, I used to rage against arguments like this. I could not for the life of me reconcile how God could be completely sovereign and we're responsible for our own, how does that work? And for me, it was not an academic exercise.
In the slightest, I had family that did not believe, I had friends that did not believe. Like, I understand that the inner turmoil of the soul and trying to wrap our minds around this, and then something just clicked in a way that's not unique to me at all. It has clicked for millions and millions of followers of Christ when they finally have discovered this third truth that I would encourage you to humbly submit to, and that is this, God's sovereignty and man's free will is a mystery to behold. God's sovereignty and man's free will is a mystery to behold. So the question is, how do you reconcile those two ideas?
We don't have to. We don't have to. You know why? Because we're not God. We don't have to know how all this works. We don't have to know.
It is a mysterious paradox that we're never meant to understand. A paradox is two seemingly contradictory ideas, two seemingly opposed truths that happen to both be equally true. Both of those are biblically true. They may seem contradictory, they are not. We don't know how it all comes together, and we don't have to. It is not a puzzle for mere human minds to solve.
It is a mystery that we're meant to behold. And wrestling with it and trying to understand it is like looking at the sun and trying to behold the sun for all of its power. That's what J.K. Chesterton says about mysteries. Sometimes it's like you're trying to understand the sun and all of its power and you look at it and it's blinding you. It's too much.
You can't take it in, but if you just would look at everything else, the sun lights up. Just behold the sun for what it is and its power and just look at everything else, then everything else will be seen more clearly. If you try to understand this mysterious truth and behold it and try to quantify it, it blinds you. But if you just would look at the Christian life with that lens and just accept the mystery, everything else is more clear. It is a mystery to behold and if you can arrive at that conclusion, then I submit to you a fourth truth that I think is beautiful. The sovereignty of God is meant to lead us to worship.
Four, the sovereignty of God is meant to lead us to worship. We don't have to try to reconcile everything, we don't have to counter debates. And even for those of you that may accept this, there's an arrogance that comes with it that tries to dogmatically go after other people. That is not what this is meant for. It is meant to humble us in worship. It is meant to humble us in worship.
The opposite of a hardened heart is not free will or volition, it is God's mercy. It is the mercy of God. That's what Romans 9 taught for. He says to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, I will have compassion on whom I have compassion. So then it depends not on human will or exertion but on God who has mercy.
The opposite is mercy. And those that want to reject this, I just would humbly submit to you, we don't need free will, we need the mercy of God. And when you realize that beautiful truth, in light of our own salvation, that is when you see how merciful our God is. The path of redemption and spiritual Exodus was not found by God taking judgment on Pharaoh, ultimately it's found in taking judgment on himself at the cross. And then when he takes judgment on himself on the cross and he conquers death at the empty tomb, he redeems and he shows mercy over and over and over again. And he pours out mercy on those who don't deserve it by his own sovereign choice.
I understand how that's hard to hold in your head. I do. Let me ask you this. A lot of times you'll see Christian families. They're a wonderful, Jesus-loving husband and a Jesus-loving wife. And they have two kids.
And they raised those kids in the exact same Christian household. Those kids heard the same teachings. They sat under the same Bible stories at night. They sang the same hymns. They were part of the same kids' ministries, the same student ministries. Their mamas prayed.
Their mama prayed every day for both of them that they both might taste and see that the Lord is good and abide in him forever. They are raised in almost the exact same ways. And you will watch one who furiously follows Christ and serves the kingdom of God. Another one rejects him outright. What do you do with that? What's the difference?
Was the other one more, were they wiser? Were they smarter? Were they morally better? No. It is the mercy of God. And when you realize how beautiful that truth is and how merciful our God is, you just get to worship.
You stop trying to figure all this out and you just say, thank you, Jesus. I don't know why you saved me. I don't know why you showed me mercy, but I'm going to praise you and worship you. And that's what we get to do now.
Proclaim the Gospel
Use this guide to help your group discussion as you meet this week.
Transcript
Good morning. My name's Chet. I'm one of the pastors here. Grab your Bibles and go to Romans 1. That's where we'll start this morning, although we are going to look at a lot of different passages. We're in the second week of our All Nations series.
Last week, we looked at this map. Not that one. Not that map. And what we said was, that's a map. It's from Joshua Project. I would encourage you, you can go to their website and check it out.
You can also go to the IMB's website. They have similar maps. But that is showing unreached people groups. It's a map of unreached people groups. And as we talked about this, we stated three problems that David Platt listed, and we read through them. And it's over three billion people are currently unreached by the gospel.
That was problem number one. Now, unreached does not mean that over three billion people are not Christians or not believers. Unreached means that they don't have access to the gospel. As we said last week, it's unreached does not communicate to you someone standing before God, but their access to the gospel. And so these unreached people groups don't have churches around them, don't have the Bible in their language, don't have any sort of evangelical presence where people are trying to proclaim the gospel to them. Now, this is a map.
Yeah, you don't have to go back. I just forgot that it wasn't going to be there for a second. This is a map done by evangelicals. So there are places on the map that maybe have some Catholicism or some of the Orthodox Church or whatever. But this is just saying these are places where we don't know of anybody proclaiming salvation by faith, by grace in Christ.
We just don't we don't have that at this point. We said the second problem is that the church is practically ignoring the people in places most unreached by the gospel. That ninety nine percent of funds that go to missionaries goes to areas in the green and yellow and three percent and ninety seven percent of missionaries go to the green and yellow, which means that only one percent of money and three percent of missionaries are making it to the most unreached peoples. And we said the third problem was that the number of unreached people is higher today than ever before and will continue to increase until the church decides to change.
The number of unreached people is higher today than ever before and will continue to increase until the church decides to change. This is what we looked at last week. So look at the map again. We said we've got to go. The church has to get to the red area and the red area is difficult to get to. Unreached peoples are unreached for a reason.
They don't want to be reached. They're hostile to the gospel. Their governments don't want Christians there or they're just in really difficult locations. They're hard to get to. And so as we talked about this last week and we said that there's something needs to change. And the church, when I say we, I mean the church, but we're a part of the church.
But the global church has to begin to pursue these areas. We have to change where our money goes. We have to change where our missionaries go. But one of the things that that gets is kind of a natural response. I find that there's there's two. One of the first natural responses is this general.
That's awful. And I don't want to think about that too much. Because I don't really want to have to change what I'm doing. I don't. Oh, man, that's that's terrible. Please let us leave so I can go to lunch and try to think about something else.
I mean, that really is kind of it's a natural that if I think about it too much, the Lord might tell me to do something. If I pray about that, that he would call people, he might call me. So I don't know how like it there's that's part of it. And we've got to overcome that. But one of the other responses is just kind of a is that really how it works?
Like we said last week. That there are three point one eight billion people in unreached people groups. in the 1040 window and that many of them will be born. We'll live and we'll die and we'll have never heard the gospel, never heard the name of Jesus. But they'll live many of them in really hard places, that they'll live in a functional earthly hell, and then they will enter into an eternal reality without Christ. that they'll live in an earthly hell and go to an eternal hell. And one of the responses that is that really how is that really how it works? Is that is that fair?
So I want to address two questions that I think are genuine, come from genuine places as people consider the vast amount of lostness in the church's need to address it. The first one that we're going to look at is doesn't God have a plan for those who never hear? Another way of putting that is how is it fair for people to go to hell for not hearing about Jesus? Maybe a way you've heard it put is does the innocent person in India really go to hell because they never had a chance to hear about Jesus? Is that really how it works? How is that fair?
That's the first we're going to look at. We're going to try to walk through that idea. And the second one is this. If we believe in election, if we believe in the doctrine of election, if we believe, like Ephesians says, that God chose us in him before the foundation of the world, or as we looked in Revelation, that he's already purchased people. We said last week he's purchased people out of every tribe, tongue, language, nation, people group that we that they belong to him and that we can go. If we really believe that.
Isn't God just going to do what he's going to do? I mean, I got a lot going on. Can I just be trying to follow him here and just trust that God's going to do what he's going to do? If we really believe that, do we really have to hustle? I think those are two questions. I think those are two big questions.
I think those are two genuine questions. And we are going to try to trace out an answer to both of those this morning. And that's, we've got all of our work cut out for us to try to talk through both of those this morning. Both of them could have their own Sunday. They could have their own series. They could get their own books.
They're worth looking at and considering. We're going to try to give brief responses, almost the beginning of a response, to try to help us start in the direction of this is how the Bible responds to that. And we can talk more as we go if these are genuine things you struggle with. But we're going to try to trace out an answer to both of those. So we all got to put our adult pants on and get to moving this morning.
So let's pray for the Lord to help us. And we're going to read through this this morning. So, Lord, we ask for your grace. We pray that you would give us ears to hear and hearts to hear. That we might trust your word and trust your goodness. And that you might help us to respond in faith and faithfulness.
In Jesus' name, amen. First question. Doesn't God have a plan for those who never hear? Or how is it fair for people to go to hell for not hearing about Jesus? Or does the innocent person in India really go to hell because they never had a chance to hear about Jesus? The first thing that we need to see from the scriptures, I believe, is that no, the innocent person in India does not go to hell.
The problem is there is no innocent person in India. The Bible tells us that there are no innocent people. There's no innocent people in Yemen. There's no innocent people in Casey. Romans 1. We'll look at verse 18.
We're going to look at Romans 1, Romans 2, Romans 3, and then we'll look in Ephesians 1 at the passage we just read together a second ago. Romans 1. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. Meaning that in our sin, we fight against what is real. We fight against what is true. For what can be known about God is plain to them because God has shown it to them.
For his invisible attributes, namely his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived ever since the creation of the world in the things that have been made. And this next part is key. So they are without excuse. That God has displayed his godness, his divinity, his greatness in creation. And that in creation what we do is we see that and reject it wholesale. Humanity rejects God's glory in creation.
That in our sin and our unrighteousness we suppress this. He goes on to say that we then elevate other things. But he says this. We'll read verse 21. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking and their foolish hearts were darkened. That we choose darkness.
That we can see and perceive the glory of God in creation and that humanity rejects that. And so therefore, God's glory displayed in creation is effective only to help us reject him and to make a conscious choice to elevate something else or ourselves and to be darkened. And we are without excuse. Romans 2 verse 12. He says it this way. As he's talking to both Jewish people about Jewish people and Gentiles and he's trying to show them that even the law, understanding the law doesn't help and not having the law doesn't help.
He says, for all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law. And all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. So he's talking to Jewish people and saying, y'all have the law and all that's going to do is condemn you and they don't have the law and all that's going to do is condemn them. That it's effective for them to perish without it because sin is sin and we've all sinned. Romans 3 verses 10 through 12. As it is written, none is righteous, no not one.
No one understands. No one seeks for God. All have turned aside. Together they have become worthless. No one does good. Not even one.
That our position before God is a position of rebellion and rejection and there is no innocence globally. Or as Ephesians 1 says, as Paul's talking to the church, we read this just a second ago and it gets really encouraging, but it starts very discouraging as it's talking to Christians. But this is the state of humanity without Christ. It says, you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience, among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath like the rest of mankind.
That is humanity before God, carrying out the desires of the flesh and the mind, desires of the body and the mind, children of wrath. That's mankind without Christ. As you begin to wrap your head around this, one of the first things that we want to say, that I want to say, that I used to say, was that seems very unfair. It goes against my general sense of fairness, which we've developed very, very young. Nobody really had to teach you fairness. You would yell, that's not fair.
We were doing something yesterday, and my younger son yelled at his older brother, he's cheating, he's breaking the rules. And we were participating in something that was not a competition, and had no rules. He just suddenly decided, what you have done is wrong. You've broken a rule. He was asked, what rule? And he said, I don't know.
I could just, I could sense it. But we have this sense of fairness, and our two kind of understandings of fairness are fairness of outcome. Everyone gets a treat. Everyone gets a trophy. And we feel this. If you sit a bunch of children down, and you hand out marshmallows, and then you just skip two of them, there's this sense of, oh, you forgot my mom.
I need a marshmallow. And you say, no, you just don't get them. It's like, this is very unfair. There's fairness of outcome, and fairness of opportunity. Everyone who works gets a marshmallow. Well, you didn't do your chores.
You don't get a marshmallow. That feels fair to us. So we have fairness of outcome, and fairness of opportunity. And when we look at the scriptures on this, we say, well, this doesn't feel like it fits either. It doesn't feel like this fits. Either sense of fairness.
Fairness of outcome, we all get the same thing. Or fairness of opportunity, we all get the opportunity to hear the gospel, and reject the gospel. If I knew that everybody would hear the gospel, and reject the gospel, that would feel more fair to me. If everybody would be told that Jesus will save them from their sins, and they would actively choose to reject Christ, that feels fair. Or if we all end up with the same outcome, that feels fair. And the response to this is, I don't think it is either one of those versions of fair.
And Paul, in addressing this in Romans 9, says, is there any injustice in God? So he moves it out of fairness to injustice. He says, no. And the reason he gives in Romans 9, is that God chooses to have mercy. That's very helpful for us to see. He says, there's no injustice.
There's mercy. Because the problem is, we're standing looking at this backwards. The question of the scriptures, is not, why does God not save some? It's, why does God save any? And the answer is, mercy. So it isn't fair, because fairness, is that we are all destroyed, dead in our sins.
What we receive from God, is grace, and mercy. And there is no injustice, because he pays the debt, of those whom he redeems, and pours out grace, and mercy. So the response to this, is to say, thank you Jesus, that I know this, that you in your grace, have redeemed me, that you have offered me mercy. Even if you aren't, a Christian, and you're just checking this out, or you've been around for a while, and you're not sure, how you feel about this, I want you to understand, the grace, and the mercy of God, that you have even been able to hear, that Jesus Christ, offers you salvation, if you will follow him.
Because, there's people all around the globe, that don't even get that, news. So, there's a logical argument, that helped me, because I used to feel this, I'd say, well it feels like, and I would just say, well maybe God does something, maybe God has some kind of plan, for those who don't hear, maybe God, you know, and it's this idea, it's what's called inclusivism, which is this idea that, you know, Jesus has died to save us, from our sins, and there's no salvation, outside of Christ, but maybe God works, in some way, for those who've never heard him, and he just includes them. As long as they've never heard, he just brings them along. But I heard a logical argument, I read it in a book, and it helped me, because it pokes a hole right in that, and what he said was this, if you never hear about the gospel, and by never hearing, you're automatically included, if we believe those are true, then the absolute worst thing, we can ever do to someone, who has never heard about Jesus, is tell them about Jesus.
If we were standing somewhere, and there were people, refugees, pouring off of an airplane, and we saw someone, going to tell them about Jesus, and we knew they'd come from some place, that had never heard the name of Christ, what we should do, if it's true, that they're automatically in, for never hearing the name of Christ, we should not run over, and tell them about Jesus, we should run over, and punch the people, who were trying to. Because all they're going to do, is increase the odds, that this person will reject Jesus, they're fine without him, but if they hear about him, they might reject him. If that's true, then 1040 Hope, is a despicable organization, and Empower One, who we're going to get to talk with, later today, should be removed from our building. We should not call ourselves, send, in the Baptist church, we should refer to it as stay, it should be like three S's, stay, shut up, the reality is, it's insane to think, that you would come to the scriptures, and come to the conclusion, that the worst thing I could do, is share the gospel with somebody, when we are told, explicitly, consistently, that they need to hear.
In the Baptist church, we should refer to it as stay, it should be like three S's, stay, shut up, the reality is, it's insane to think, that you would come to the scriptures, and come to the conclusion, that the worst thing I could do, is share the gospel with somebody, when we are told, explicitly, consistently, that they need to hear. What is, what happens to those, who never hear? The answer is, they are not held accountable, for not hearing, they are held accountable, for their sin. We are not condemned,
For our lack, of hearing the gospel, we are condemned, for our choosing, to reject God, rebel, against him, and the Bible is clear, that it is the gospel, proclaimed, that people need, if you look at Romans 10, love this passage, after Paul, in Romans 9, and if you have concerns, about this, questions about this, read Romans 9, spend some time there, but after Paul, discusses this idea, that God has mercy, and there is no injustice,
In him, he then says this, how then, oh verse 13, for everyone, who calls on the name, of the Lord, will be saved, and I want you to see that, if you have not placed, your hope in Jesus, I want you to know, that everyone, who calls on the name, of the Lord, will be saved, he will not fail, to save anyone, who comes to him, and asks for salvation, and forgiveness, you aren't too far gone, you aren't too sinful, you aren't too broken,
You aren't too anxious, you aren't too messed up, everyone, who calls on the name, of the Lord, will be saved, but then he says this, how then, will they call, on him, in whom they have not believed, so you have to believe, in him, to call on him, how are they to believe, in him, of whom they have never, heard, so he's addressing, this question right now, how will they, believe if they've never heard, he says, how are they to hear,
Without someone preaching, and how are they to preach, unless they are sent, as it is written, how beautiful, are the feet of those, who preach the good news, there are people, who have not heard, there are people, who do not, have not called on him, because they have not believed, and they need to believe, and in order to believe, they need to hear, and in order to hear, somebody's got to go, tell them, in order for them to go, God sends them, and the church, sends them, Paul when he's writing this,
He's going to end by saying, I'm going to come visit y'all, and y'all are going to send me to Spain, I hope to be helped, and sent along by you, to Spain, meaning that the church, sends and goes, and that somebody's got to proclaim, this message, because John 14 6 says, I am the way, and the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the father, except through me, that there is hope of salvation, but it's in the name of Christ, it's in the work of Christ, and it's in those sent by Christ, to proclaim the name, and the work of Christ, we've got to go, second question,
Again that is not, a full answer, but I think it is a helpful answer, second question, is if we believe in election, isn't God just going to save, who he's going to save, isn't God just do, what he's going to do, when we talk about election, I know for some of us, we immediately freak out a little bit, but that's just because, you're an American, and elections are stressful, but when the Bible talks about election, here's the idea, that it's coming with, just try to define, what I'm talking about, Ephesians 1 said, even as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, meaning that God did choosing,
He chose, his prerogative, before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy, and blameless before him, in love he predestined, predestined means destined, is the end, pre is the beginning, so he predestined, us for adoption to himself, as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, not ours, to the praise of his glorious grace, meaning that he offers grace, 1 Corinthians 1 26 29, says it this way, for consider your calling brothers, not many of you were wise, according to worldly standings, again it's a calling, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth,
But God chose, what is foolish in the world, to shame the wise, God chose, what is weak in the world, to shame the strong, God chose, what is low and despised in the world, even the things that are not, to bring to nothing, the things that are, so that, no human being, might boast in the presence of God, this idea that we would not, stand in front of him and go, I'm the one who chose, I'm the one who figured it out, I'm the one who sought, I'm the one who, that's not how it works, we don't boast in his presence, Romans 9, though they were not yet born,
And had done nothing, either good or bad, in order that God's purpose of election, might continue, not because of works, but because of him who calls, or as Jesus says in John 6, no one can come to me, unless it is granted him by the father, so the question is, if that's true, why the hurry, what's all the fuss about, I got personal things, I got to work on, can't we just do, what we're supposed to here, well the Bible, turns that attitude on its head, in an extremely encouraging way, the Bible doesn't say, that election slows down, our drive for mission, it says election,
God's redeeming of those, whom he will redeem, by his grace, drives our mission, Acts 18, I love this passage, Paul's in Corinth, facing opposition, and Jesus says, the Lord said to Paul, one night in a vision, do not be afraid, but go on speaking, and do not be silent, keep proclaiming this message, for I am with you, no one will attack you, to harm you, that's good, because sometimes that's not true, for Paul where he's in places, so if he says that, it's like sweet, for I have many in this city,
Who are my people, you keep proclaiming this message, there are people, who are going to be saved, they belong to me, do not stop talking, you continue, you press on, you don't be afraid, you stand strong here, because we're about to do something, in Corinth, and there are people here, who are mine, I want to read, two quotes, about this idea, from two people to us, who are well known, helpful theologians, one's an African pastor, his name's Christian Lawanda, maybe we don't know him that well, I heard a sermon,
We preach, and he said this, and I felt, it was helpful, he says, preaching is not just a command, this idea that we're to go, proclaim this message, that we're to teach the word, that we're to call people, he says, it's not just a command, it is a divine honor, that we get to participate, in what God is doing, it's not just a command, it's a divine honor, and the well known theologian, George Garcia, who's one of our community group leaders, he said it this way, God's people are out there, we know that, via scripture,
And he has strictly, and graciously, commanded us to go and speak for him, what a wonderful, undeserving opportunity, that is, strictly, and graciously, commanded us to go, and speak for him, what a wonderful, undeserving opportunity, that is, they're there, they belong to him, we get to, go, we have to go, and we get to go, by God's grace, that's the way, the Bible treats it, Acts 13, 48,
Says when the Gentiles, heard this, they began rejoicing, and glorifying, the word of the Lord, and as many, were as appointed, to eternal life, believed, they went, and proclaimed this message, and as many, who were supposed to believe, believed, as many, who were as appointed, to this, believed, which means that, we have the freedom, to proclaim, trusting God, and his sovereignty, to work out,
His gracious work, to redeem, that we get to proclaim, this message, and people will respond, why should you be aggressive, in sharing the gospel, with the people at your gym, because those who are going to believe, are going to believe, and you need to, you need to talk to them, why can you pray, and plead for the people, in your office, and why can you talk to them, and why can you go out on a limb, to share the gospel with them, because some of them, are going to believe, why can you knock on doors, in your neighborhood, people don't do that anymore, well,
People don't have a wonderful message, to share with people, get to know your neighbors, invite them to your home, have a cookout, offer them breakfast, give them coffee, and tell them about Jesus, and why can we do this, why do we go out of our way, to do this, because there are going to be people, who believe, because God has chosen, in his grace, to redeem, and we get to participate, that's what Paul says, in 2 Timothy 2 10, therefore, I endure everything, for the sake, of the elect, that they also,
May obtain the salvation, that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory, I love that, he says, I endure everything, for the sake of the elect, so that they might, obtain, salvation that is in Christ Jesus, why would we go, why would we spend our money, why would we spend our time, why would we spend our energy, here and there, why would you, who don't want to talk to anybody, talk to somebody, who you've never met, why would you endure that, so that the elect, might obtain the salvation, that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory,
Why would you change your budget, to support missionaries, why would you endure that, so that the elect, might obtain the salvation, that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory, why would we learn a new language, why would we translate the Bible, in that language, why would we spend the money, and the effort, and the lives, to get to a place, where people don't want us, why would we endure that, so that those who belong to Jesus, will obtain, salvation, and joy, and hope, and glory, in Christ, if you believe,
In the doctrine of election, that does not slow you down, that spurs you on, if we believe, that God is going to redeem, then we go with confidence, not trepidation, if we believe, that there is hope, of salvation, for those, in every tribe, in every language, in every nation, in every people, that they will all be gathered, around the throne, then we go, to every tribe, and to every language, and to every people, and every nation, why, so that they also,
Might obtain, the salvation, that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory, why will we endure it, because we have brothers, and sisters, who are going to belong to us, and to the king forever, and how will they hear, if no one preaches, and how will they preach, if they aren't sent, so we go, with joy, and delight, and confidence, in the glory of a good God, who redeems, what, doesn't God have a plan, for those who have never heard, yes, it's his church,
That we would be obedient, and go, trusting in his sovereignty, to redeem, and to save, because he's good, it's John 10, 27, where Jesus is speaking, he says, my sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me, so we go, and we proclaim, here, and there, knowing that Jesus, is going to work, and bring about, redemption, the band's going to come back up, and this morning, together,
As a church, we're going to take, communion, we're going to celebrate, that Jesus Christ, died to save, sinners, that we were, like the rest of mankind, children of wrath, that we were, guilty before God, that we were, undeserving of grace, that's the reality, not that God is unfair, in condemning sinners, but that God is unfair, in saving us, that he's merciful, he's not unjust, he's good, and that if we can sit, for a moment,
And know the level, of our sin, and wickedness, and sit for a moment, and clearly see, into our own hearts, how despicable we are, and be overwhelmed, that God would look upon us, to tell us of his son, to pour his love, and his grace on us, and that we might celebrate, one more time together, that Jesus Christ, died to save sinners, and that one day, he's coming back to claim us, that's what communion is, that his body was broken for us, that his blood was shed for us, that our sins are covered, by his work, not ours,
And that we stand, in the middle of two points, two points in eternity, that Jesus Christ came, and he died, and that one day, he returns, to rescue, and reclaim his people, and we have just a little bit, of time here, where we proclaim, his death until he comes, and that's a reality, that we're doing, when we take communion, and that's what our lives, are supposed to look like, that we proclaim his death, until he comes, that Jesus Christ, died to save sinners, so we participate, in his goodness,
In his grace, knowing that he works, to redeem, and to save, so I would, have you take a moment, to consider your sin, to consider, the grace, of your savior, and then to consider, all those in the world, who have not heard, this news, and to ask the Lord, that we might be people, who care, that we might be people, who see that, and that are willing, to change our lives, that we would not, one day stand before him, and have our money,
And our time, declare to us, and declare to him, that we were good Americans, who lived lives, of luxury and comfort, and failed to see, the glory of joining him, in his gracious, eternal mission, but that we would be people, who look like we believe this, so by God's grace, we're going to celebrate, that he saved sinners, both us, with hope, to proclaim his death, until he comes, if you are not a Christian, communion is not for you, this is something, that Christians partake in, taking very seriously,
The work of Christ, on our behalf, if you are not a Christian, I would invite you, to call on his name, and to be forgiven, and redeemed eternally, now, because all who call, in the name of Jesus, will be saved, let's pray, God I pray, that it would be true, for us, that when somebody, asked us, to give an account, for our lives, to give receipts, to explain, why we live, and work the way we do, that we would be able,
To answer in chorus, with Paul, I endure everything, for the sake of the elect, that they may, obtain salvation, in Christ, that by your grace, and the empowerment, of your spirit, that that would make sense, of our lives, God we thank you, that you have, mercy, that you do not leave us, in our sin, and our wickedness, and our rebellion, that you do not leave us, in a place, where we hated you, and love to everything else, so Lord,
As we take communion, this morning, we praise your name, that you are good, and merciful, you, to help us, and we should steadfasten, and both of us, and remaining, as we may as well, and for the sake of the most, as we may as well, as we may as well, as we may as well, as we may as well, as we may as well, and ouraaloo account, and the sign, as we may as well, as we may as well, and almost as we may be,
Empower One Interview with David Taylor
Sola Gratia
Use this guide to help your group discussion as you meet this week.
Transcript
O worship the King, all glorious above, and gratefully sing His wonderful love. Our children defender the Ancient of Days, a billion in slender and burdened with praise. Good morning. My name is Spencer. I'm one of the pastors here. I have a super fun announcement to make.
It seems that our restrooms in the lobby have been going a little crazy this morning. So if you need to use the restroom, you can go check it out. Maybe this situation has resolved itself in the last ten minutes. If it has not, there will be somebody to direct you to a different part of the building. You're welcome. Okay.
So we are in our five solas series, taking a break from walking through books of the Bible to look at the five anthems of the Protestant Reformation. The five main teachings, the five main doctrines that come out of the Protestant Reformation that formed the tradition that we are in now, that shape what we believe and how we practice what we believe. Last week we were in Sola Scriptura, which is Latin for Scripture Alone. And this week we're looking at Sola Gratia, which is Latin for Grace Alone. So when I was in, I became a Christian when I was 17.
That's when I came to faith. And when I came to faith, there were a few things that I understood. I understood that Jesus died for my sins. I understood that He was raised in order that I might have a new life in Christ, that I needed to be born again, that the old was gone, the new has come, is what 2 Corinthians 5 teaches. I understood some of the basics of the gospel, that faith was not the kind of the southern Christian in name only. I'm a Christian, but I don't actually practice this, that it was a full surrender to Christ.
I understood that, but I was real raw and green on everything else. I didn't really know the Bible hardly at all. And then I got to college my freshman year, and I was in a Bible study. And we were reading Ephesians 2 together. And I just went, what? Like this is in the Bible?
Like we were reading Ephesians 2, and it says that you are dead in sin outside of Christ. And then we keep reading, and then we get to verses 8 and 9. And it says, for it's by grace that you, this is what we read earlier together in our liturgy. For it's by grace that you've been saved through faith. That it's not of your own doing. It's not of works.
So that... Oh my God. Look at that. No? No? Let's go one more time.
My back. Head, hand, hand, hand. All right, you guys. I'm going to grip this like it's the rat battle. Here we go. Come on.
Oh, we're back. Here we go, you guys. Yes, technical difficulties all around this morning, but we're good. So, when I read that it was by grace alone, it blew my mind. I was like, you mean to tell me that I didn't bring anything to the table? That I brought my sin and my rebellion, but I have to do anything to earn the favor of God?
It absolutely, it wrecked me. I was like, this is amazing. And guess what? I was not the first person this happened to. I wasn't. 500 years before, the reformers who had not had the scriptures.
This is what we talked about last week. They did not have the scriptures that the Catholic Church had. The translation of the Bible that was in Latin. The common people weren't able to read it. But once the common people got the Bible in their language, they were able to read passages like Ephesians 2.
They went, what? This is in here. This changes the game. And that's what grace does. So, we're going to look at grace alone today and how beautiful and good this is for us. We're going to look at this in three different ways.
The first is the recovery of true grace. The second is the rediscovery of planned grace. And the third is the implications of endless grace. So, let me pray for us and then we will begin. Father, I thank you that we have your word, that it is sharper than a two-edged sword, that it pierces the division of soul and spirit of bone and marrow, that it sinks into our hearts to show us the goodness of the gospel and where we need to grow. And grace is beautiful and it is good.
But we need to have open hearts to hear what you have to say. So, God, I pray that you'd open our hearts this morning, that we would be present, and we would respond. In Jesus' name, amen. All right, first, we're going to look at the recovery of true grace. So, grace can be used, that word, broadly, to mean a few different things in the New Testament. It comes from the Greek word, charis.
So, if you're wondering why we named our third child charis, there you go. It means grace in Greek. It can mean a few different things. It's like people will often say, can somebody, before we eat, say grace? And what do they mean? I mean, can you say the blessing?
Because in the New Testament, you see over and over again, grace is used as a blessing. Grace to you. You hear about spiritual gifts and charismatic, right? Well, the base word for charismatic is charis. It comes from grace. Like, grace has a few different uses throughout the New Testament.
But when we are talking about sola gratia, sola grace, grace alone, what we're talking about is salvific grace, salvation grace. We're talking about how we are saved. And sola gratia and sola fide, grace alone and faith alone, are separated. They came to the realization of Martin Luther at the same time, the Reformers at the same time. But they're separated for a reason.
Because faith alone shows the mechanism, shows how we are saved. But grace explores why. Why we were saved. Now, Catholics and Protestants will both say that you're saved by grace. But how we define grace there is different.
And some of you might be saying, oh my goodness, we're going to argue about semantics and how a word is defined and how it's used. Yes. Absolutely so. Like, our faith is built on the Word of God. It's built on semantics. Like, if someone in the press pool for the President asked him this week and said, hey, are we going to be in a nuclear war with Russia?
And he said, possibly. Yeah. How he defines possibly is really important. The implications of that are huge. If he means, well, actually, yeah, possibly. And at this point, it's a real possibility.
We are buying potassium iodine pills. Like, we're building bunkers. We are getting ready for nuclear fallout. The implications of that are huge. But if you meant, well, actually, possibly.
I mean, there's an endless amount of possibilities. Right? So, I'm sure it's certainly possible. That's a way different definition of the word possible. The implications of that are way different. That's how it works with grace.
It's important how we define our terms. For Catholics, grace is a gift in cooperation. Okay? Grace is a gift in cooperation. They have a few different descriptors of grace, but one of them is justifying grace. So, for the Catholic Church, justifying grace, it starts with baptism.
Because in the Catholic Church, they believe that you are saved by baptism from a Catholic priest. And we as Protestants say, no. No, we don't believe that at all. But for the Catholic Church, yes, you are saved by grace at baptism. And that work continues in penance and in confession and in other sacraments. And grace, therefore, is a cooperative work.
And that is the teaching of the Catholic Church. Now, as we saw last week, as we saw last week in Sola Scriptura, that for the Catholic Church, Catholic doctrine is greater than the Scriptures. Right? So the Scriptures are supporting evidence for what the Church teaches. And we as Protestants say, no. The Bible says something different.
It says in 2.8 and 9 of Ephesians, what I mentioned earlier, For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing. It is the gift of God. Not a result of work, so that no one may boast. First, we look at this very differently. We say, did you not see?
It says, this is not of your own doing in the slightest, that grace is a one-way work of God. And the context of Ephesians 2 leading up to that shows that. It says that we were dead in trespasses and sins. Verse 1, you are dead in trespasses and sins. You are spiritually dead. Unable to make your way to God.
In verse 4, he says, but God being rich in mercy because of the great love with which He loved us. That's the great love that He loved us. Not the love that we bring to the table. Verse 5 and 6, he says, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ. That God is the one that makes us alive. He says, by grace you have been saved and raised up with Him and seated with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.
That God is the one that raises us up in faith. One of the more popular definitions I've heard over the years that I appreciate for grace is an acronym for grace. God's riches at Christ's expense. That we get the riches of God, the infinite beautiful riches of God at the expense of Christ on the cross crucified. That is a gift to us. We cannot earn that in the slightest.
It would be like if I gave you a brand new custom Rolls Royce. Okay? Like the most expensive Rolls Royce in the world is a custom made Rolls Royce. It's about 10 to 12 million dollars. So let's say I give you that Rolls Royce.
You know what? I'm going to up the ante. It's got a full tank of gas. Which pretty much just doubled the value at this point. Right? So I give you this Rolls Royce and you go, man, that is so good.
And then you pull out your wallet and you got five fresh hundred dollar bills. And you say, here you go. One, two, three, four, five. Thank you. Thank you so much for this gift. I would be like, listen, I don't think you understand the exchange that just happened.
I just gave you a 12 million dollar car. I'm not looking for your money. Especially not that. That's us. When we misunderstand that the gift of Christ and what He has done for us, that His crucified flesh, His perfect record that was nailed to the cross on our behalf. That's a gift that we cannot earn in the slightest.
And it doesn't just affect how we define the mechanism, which is faith. Because Protestants, as we'll get into next week, we believe it's faith alone. In the Catholic Church, it's faith and works. It's not just that. It affects how we view ourselves. It affects how we view God in salvation.
Because in grace alone faith, there is no room for boasting. Like we don't have a righteous leg to stand on above anyone else. In grace alone faith, there's no separation between the priesthood and the laity. Meaning the pastors and priests and the lay people. In the Catholic Church, there is. There's a holy separation there.
All the way down to how they are dressed. There's a distinction there between the priesthood and the laity. But we as Protestants, because of grace alone, we look at that and say, no, we believe in the priesthood of all believers. We believe that all of us have received the same amount of grace. There is not this distinct holy separation between us as four elders of this church and you. Now, the Bible does call for respecting the pastors and elders of the church.
So we probably go too far in the other direction because we disrespect each other quite a bit. If you've sat in our sermons long enough, you know that I will make jokes about Chet who preaches the other half of the time. And then Chet will make funnier jokes about me when he comes up and preaches. Right? So we do this.
Probably go a little bit hard in the other directions because it does talk about respecting elders. But the point we're trying to make is that there's nothing great and glorious and super awesome about us. It is grace alone that we are who we are. In a grace alone faith, as we'll get in next week, there's no need for indulgences, which was a practice at the time of Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation of purchasing, buying indulgences to get people out of purgatory, which we looked at last week. Purgatory isn't scriptural anyways. But the idea that you could give money to get someone into heaven is evil.
We don't believe this in the slightest. The scriptures do not teach it. It is by grace and grace alone. There are no rituals, baptism, praying to saints, Hail Marys, anything that, any of those extras, also that we would add to it, none of it. It is by grace and grace alone. We, as Protestants, look at this and say, grace isn't really an act to begin with.
That grace is God's nature towards His people. It's His nature towards God's people. That grace is, like, grace is like a giant lake. Okay? It's like a big lake of God's grace. And what flows out of that is the river of faith.
Alright? So, faith flows from this lake of grace. And as our faith flows from this, there are no outside external tributaries. Right? There are no creeks or small rivers that flow into it outside of the lake of grace. Your good works, your being at community group on a regular basis, baptism, none of that is an outside work.
It all flows completely and solely from the lake of grace. From grace alone from our God. Even as we completed that in the liturgy earlier in Ephesians 2.10 when it says, for we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Those display the faith that God has gifted us but all of that, everything flows from the lake of grace. It all comes from the grace of God. And this had been missing for a very long time in the church.
And then when the reformers like Luther and Zwingli and Calvin, when these reformers and the people of that time read the Bible and saw this, they went, man, we've got to get back to this. This is really, really good news. And that began to be recovered. And as they were recovering this aspect of grace, one of the things that they rediscovered was planned grace. We're going to look at the rediscovery of planned grace. So, as they're rediscovering the Scriptures, they rediscovered this aspect of planned grace that had been lost for centuries.
This aspect of grace reawakened the church, the Western church, to the sovereignty of God in salvation. As they're reading the Scriptures, they began to see this, that a teaching that had been largely lost since about 400 A.D. Augustine was one of the last major church figures to write about this. They saw the Scriptures and said this idea of planned grace needs to be further explored. And in one of Luther's most famous works, he wrote something called The Bondage of the Will. And The Bondage of the Will, which is probably Luther's best work, in The Bondage of the Will was a response to a brilliant Catholic scholar named Erasmus.
Erasmus was brilliant. I mean, everyone in Europe knew Erasmus was one of the top scholars at the time. Now, Erasmus stayed Catholic because he sat on the fence during the Reformation. He agreed with the Reformers and their critiques of the corruption of the Catholic Church. Some of that led to the much-needed Counter-Reformation that cleaned up a lot of the really grotesque things that were happening in the Catholic Church and led it on a better path. But Erasmus was on the fence and he agreed with some of those critiques, but he disagreed with some of the theology of the Reformers.
And as the Reformers were being kicked out and excommunicated from the Catholic Church, he stayed put. He did not go with them. So Luther wrote a very respectful disagreement in the bondage of the will with Erasmus' view of salvation, which for Luther was a lot because if you read his writings, he wasn't very respectful of any of his opponents. But he was very respectful of Erasmus and he wrote this disagreement because Erasmus believed that sinners of their own free will and volition could cooperate with God in salvation. This is a doctrine of, it's called synergism, the idea that you can, your will and God's will combine for faith.
Whereas the Protestant tradition taught monergism, which is one, the will of God. And honestly, Erasmus' position in his theology went on to influence a lot of Protestant denominations, the Methodist Church, a lot of Pentecostal churches, even a lot of Baptist churches. But Luther disagreed with this and he wrote The Bondage of the Will. And in one of the sections of that text, he said this, First, God has promised certainly His grace to the humble. That is, to the self-deploring and despairing. But a man cannot be thoroughly humbled until he comes to know that his salvation is utterly beyond his own powers, counsel, endeavors, will, and works.
And absolutely depending on the will, counsel, pleasure, and work of another that is God only. That he argues that it's utterly beyond our own will, our own good endeavors, our own counsel, that our hope firmly rests on the will, counsel, and pleasure of God alone. Some of you may be familiar with this teaching. This is the teaching of election or the teaching of predestination, the idea that God chooses those whom he will save. And we see this throughout the New Testament over and over again. I'll just give you a few passages.
In Ephesians 1, 4-6, it says, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. That God chose us before the foundation of the world, before time. He says, in love, he predestined us for adoption. That is being, as Ephesians 2 says, we're once children of disobedience. He brings us and adopts us into the family of God. He predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace with which he blessed us in the beloved.
You see that in Ephesians 1. You see it in Revelation. The book of Revelation, there are two references to this book of life. There are those that before time, their names are written in the book of life and in those who are not. And in 13, it's talking about those who are going to worship and follow the beast. That is the Antichrist type figure.
He says, all who dwell on the earth will worship it. That's the beast. Everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain. You get to 2 Timothy when Paul is writing to Timothy to give him encouragement. He says in verse 9, he says, who saved us and called us to a holy calling. Not because of our works, but because of his purpose and grace which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began.
You see this teaching over and over and over and over again in the New Testament. you see the sovereignty of God in salvation. And as the Protestant Reformation was getting going and they were reading the scriptures for the first time, this was being rediscovered. Now, many Christians have wrestled with this, have wrestled with these passages. Myself included. I became a Christian in a Methodist church, which is a Wesleyan, Armenian tradition. And for years, I wrestled with this.
I wrestled with the idea of fairness in this. Well, how is it fair that God would choose some and not others? That's really what it boils down to. Like, I wrestled with this. How is that fair? I got people that I love, that I know, that don't know Christ.
How is that fair? I wrestled with this. And I had some reform-leaning brothers who would sit down with me and some of them not as, some of them very bluntly would say, listen, you know what's fair? Everyone goes to hell. They would say that we all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. We've rebelled against His good nature and His good works and His good design.
Fair is we all receive punishment. And I was like, I don't like how bluntly you're telling me this, but I don't know how to argue with you on that either. And I wrestled with this. And I would do this, it's a bit of a textual dance. I would say, well, no, what's actually happening is that God, outside of time, looks inside of time and He looks at us and He foreknows who's going to choose Him and He knows that who's going to choose Him and place faith in Him and that's who He elects and then outside. And in the past, and I would do this dance, which you can do philosophically, but the text just doesn't say that.
Over and over again, it makes it clear that it's God's sovereign choice. And I wrestled with this. I wrestled with the book of Romans over and over and over again. But I kept reading the Bible. And if you're struggling with any of these aspects of faith, which are very difficult, mysterious, that's my encouragement is to read the Bible and come back to the Bible. Don't deal in outside philosophy.
Come back to the Scriptures. And after years of wrestling with this, there was one summer I had a job at a resort cleaning public bathrooms. Had a lot of time to myself. Cleaning bathroom after bathroom after bathroom. I'm an extrovert, so I love talking to people, but that's a job where you don't talk to people because it's real awkward and weird. So I had a lot of time to think and I was wrestling with this idea, wrestling with this theology, and then it finally dawned on me, I don't have to know why God does what He does.
I don't have to know why God chooses whom He chooses. I don't have to know why God doesn't justifiably give the wrath of God towards all of us for our rebellion. I don't have to know why any of this is the way that it is because I am not God and His ways are higher than my ways. I will never understand the mind of God. These things are too wonderful for me. You know what's funny?
Paul, I think, felt the same way. Romans 1-11, those 11 chapters are some of the most beautiful, some of the most beautiful literature that's ever been written. It's incredible. And he's wrestling with this. Alright? He's saying very tough.
You get to Romans 9, you're just like, oh man, this is really difficult. He's under the inspiration that God is inspiring him. He's writing this beautiful, wonderful text. And then he gets to chapter 11, the end of his long argument because the first 11 chapters are theology and the last 5 are the application of that theology. And he's wrestling with this. And he finally just throws up his hands because it's just too wonderful for him.
And he just starts to praise God in verses 33-36. He says, oh, the depths of the riches of the wisdom and the knowledge of God. It's just too deep for me. He says, how unsearchable are His judgments. How inscrutable are His ways. Who has known the mind of the Lord?
Who has been His counselor? Who has given a gift to Him that He might be repaid for from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever and ever. He's like, I don't get it. I don't understand it. He's too glorious.
And I will rest in the mystery of God. And Luther came to the same conclusion in the bondage of the will. He says, the dreadful hidden will of God who according to His own counsel ordains such a person as He wills to receive and partake of the mercy preached and offered. This will, hear this, this will is not to be inquired into but to be reverently adored as by far the most awesome secret of divine majesty. The doctrine of God's plan's grace is not meant to vex and bother us into this existential crisis where we're like, I don't know. It's not what it's meant to do at all.
Our ways are not as ways. Our thoughts are not as thoughts. It is meant to drive you to a humble, deep worship where you just say, thank you Jesus that you saved me. I don't know why you saved me. I don't deserve it. I haven't earned it.
I've sped upon your goodwill. I've rebelled against you but praise you Jesus that you redeemed me. That is what it's meant to lead us to. That it's not of our own will and it's not of our own good works but praise God and if you can get to that place, brothers and sisters, you will find peace. You will find peace knowing that He's higher than us but He's good to us and as a finite human being that's good enough for me. So, when you get to that place, you can just worship.
That's why an amazing grace, you don't see, He didn't go in there and just write a whole bunch of things about all the theology. He just praises God. He says, amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me, a broken wretch dead in sin like me. I once was lost but now I'm found, was blind but now I see. you can just praise God and rest in the planned grace that He's been given to us and when you get to that place, when you start to understand the depths and the mystery and the beauty of grace, then you can really appreciate and understand the implications of His endless grace. That's the third thing I want us to see today.
The implications of His endless grace. There are lots of them. I only have time for three. First, grace removes the pressure. Grace removes the pressure. In doing a lot of preparation for this series, I spent a lot of time reading different Catholic doctrine and scouring different Catholic teachings and I stumbled upon this Catholic blog from a monastery in Kansas and this monk was writing about one of the most famous stories of Saint Benedict.
So, Benedict of Nercia was basically like the Billy Graham of monks. Okay? Really big deal. And he was writing about this famous story about Benedict who one day was walking down a path and he became tempted to lust over the thought of a woman. Now, this is how he responded. I'm going to read word for word how this monk retells this story because I think how he retells it actually is very helpful to understand the difference here.
He says, just then he noticed a thick patch of nettles and briars next to him. Throwing his garment aside, he flung himself naked into the sharp thorns and stinging nettles. You catch that? He stripped off his clothes naked and he jumped into a briar patch. Then he rolled and tossed until his whole body was in pain and covered with blood.
Yet once he conquered pleasure through suffering, his torn and bleeding skin served to drain off the poison of temptation from his body. I want to read that again and absorb what he said. His torn and bleeding skin served to drain off the poison of temptation from his body. Before long the pain was burning. His whole body had put out the fires of evil in his heart. It was by exchanging these two fires that he gained victory over sin.
Now, part of me wants to admire that approach to sin because Jesus teaches to give a really serious response to sin. In the Sermon on the Mount he says, cut off your hand if you're tempted by lust. That is strong, intense, metaphorical language. You don't read the book of Acts and read about a bunch of one-handed apostles, a bunch of one-handed Christians. You're not going to read the book of Acts and read about how Paul and Barnabas were walking down a path that got tempted and they threw themselves into a barpratch and cut themselves up into the blood, the poison drained from their body. You're not going to read that because they believed in grace alone.
You cannot earn the favor of God and achieve perfection. Jesus did that on our behalf. So, you may look at that story. And look at that story. I think that's kind of silly. But I would argue that we do this in a different way.
That when we approach the sinful fallen parts of our nature, we do this. How many of us will work ourselves into deep anxiety or depression because we're trying to do it all. We're trying to achieve perfection. We're trying to prove ourselves over and over again to God, to others, for the approval of God, for the approval of others. We try to control everything we can because we've got to conquer sin. We've got to do it right.
And we work ourselves into this deep sadness and anxiety because we don't understand the grace of God. How many of us hurt ourselves because we don't like the sin and fallenness in our lives? how many of you have been tempted with suicidal thoughts because you look at your life and you just, you hate it. You hate the sin in your life and you wish it was over. How many of you engage in a negative cycle of cruel talk and you talk down to yourself all the time? You talk to yourself in ways that you would never let anybody else talk to you. We do this.
When we face our sin and our brokenness, we beat ourselves up. We're our own worst enemies. And it's no more effective or pious or holy than what Benedict did. And it never, hear this, it never fuels effective repentance. Christian, the pressure is off. If you're in Christ, there is no pressure that you're not having to fulfill the law and all the commandments of God because that's been fulfilled in Christ.
And that was nailed to the cross on our behalf. The pressure is off. Any attempt to gain righteousness on your own is pulling out $500 bills for a Rolls Royce that's trying to purchase a gift that has been given to us. You need to see the lake of His grace that is upstream and say, praise Jesus that I don't have to earn this. Though I deserve punishment, you paid for me. You need to rest in His grace.
The pressure is off. God, hear this, God the Father, He saw you and He said, you're mine. Before you were ever thought of, He said, you are mine. You are my child. That Christ, before you ever thought of, His death, His brutal death on the cross was for you. His blood shed was for you. that you are gifted the Holy Spirit who sealed your faith and who will carry you all the way to the finish line until He calls us home.
The pressure is off. We need to see the beauty of His grace from the moment of belief until we go home. Listen, the enemy, he can point at the worst parts of your sin and say, how gross is this? How bad are you? How disgusting is this? And you know what you can say?
Yeah, you don't know the half of it. But you also don't know my Savior. You'll never know Him. And He died for all of that and did something. And that's how good my God is. We rest in the grace of God and it takes the pressure off and the next thing it does is it removes our boasting.
Grace removes boasting. I personally have never understood the self-righteous Christian. It's been very hard for me to understand the thought process of anyone that positions themselves above anyone else. I just don't get it. I think maybe God has been gracious to me because He shows me my sin on a regular basis. And I see it and I'm like, man, that crap is gross.
No. Thank you, Jesus, that you died for this. I don't have a category for anyone that can position themselves over somebody else. I just don't. Because I'm like, have you not read when it says, not a result of works that none may boast? Do you not see that?
I don't understand that. But I do understand that you need to get past your own pride and inflated self-worth. Those are heinous in the eyes of God. And that maybe, may be the only reason that you've not gone down the rabbit hole of depravity. Right? For the self-proclaiming Christian that says horrible things about sexuality or drugs or work ethic or fill in the blank, maybe the reason that you've not gone down the rabbit hole of depravity is because God has not let you.
The reason that you are not a drug addict, the reason you did not fall headlong into the opioid epidemic is because God did not let you. The reason that you are not a jihadist Muslim is because you were born in this country. That was God's choosing. You were not born in the darkest parts of Afghanistan. The reason you are who you are is because the sovereign God made it so. So you have to get off your high horse.
You have to realize that you are who you are because God has been gracious to you. And approach him in humble repentance and worship. To look at our souls in the mirror and realize that every decent quality that is of God comes from him. Listen, this is an aside for a few of us. This also applies to those who boast about their theology. This also applies to those, and listen, I am as reformed as the next guy.
You can go to my office, you can go to my bookshelf, and I got Piper, and Keller, and Dever, and Grudem. I got them all. I got the Institutes that's right behind me. Listen, the person who is boastful about their theology has not been humbled by the doctrines of grace. It should not lead you to a position of arrogance. It should lead you to a deep position of humility.
Grace removes boasting, and lastly, grace gives glory. Grace gives glory. Paul, Luther, Calvin, each of them understood good. That grace alone means that it is from Him, and through Him, and to Him. It is to His glory. Calvin once said, he said, the glory of God shines indeed in all creatures on high and below, but never more brightly than the cross.
And that is sure, and that is true. Which means, listen, which means that the darkest parts of your flesh, the parts you are most ashamed of, the parts that plague you the most, that is where His grace shines the brightest. And that is where God gets unbelievable, uncomparable glory. That every time God bends a center to faith and belief, God gets glory. That every time you have victory over sin, God gets glory. glory that God willing as you are on your deathbed and there are saints around you singing hymns and you are murmuring them in your final breaths of life praising God, God gets the glory because all of that is by grace alone.
And that is what we have to remember. Matt and Kelly are going to come up and they're going to finish us out.