Dale Partridge - PART THREE： God's Sovereignty and Man's Will

00:00:01.000 Amen. Well, what a blessing it is to continue to go through this great passage of Scripture in Romans.

00:00:12.120 Today is the third and final sermon on Romans 8.28.

00:00:20.240 This is a vital passage of Scripture.

00:00:24.380 And as I mentioned last week, this passage, while it is small in word count,

00:00:30.000 It's only a handful of words, has more essential doctrine than some entire chapters of scripture.

00:00:38.380 Romans 8.28 is kind of like a reservoir that has multiple streams of doctrine that are coming

00:00:47.100 and feeding into this reservoir. It talks about sovereignty and providence and adoption and

00:00:53.800 anthropology and salvation, all of these things are streaming into the reservoir of this one

00:01:00.540 verse. You cannot escape the potency of this passage. Contextually, just because we are smart

00:01:09.180 Bible interpreters, we want to know the context for which our scripture sits. The word context

00:01:16.720 is actually two Latin words. It's con and textus. The word con is with and textus is woven together.

00:01:23.040 So we want to know where our passage is woven in so that we can understand the details of it.

00:01:33.520 We have to remember that this is a declaration of providence between verses 28 to 30.

00:01:40.600 So we're talking about God's overall providence over his people.

00:01:45.860 And this is just one of many aspects of divine support that the Christian receives in light of suffering in their life.

00:01:55.640 So in addition to this benevolent providence that we're seeing in verses 28 through 30, even on to 31,

00:02:04.340 we're also in the past, we've already looked at five different elements there.

00:02:08.340 We've talked about there's no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

00:02:11.760 We've already been removed from the guilt that comes with sin.

00:02:15.000 We've talked about the experience of adoption, which is in 8, 12 through 17.

00:02:20.000 We can anticipate the promises of a renewed creation, of a renewed body.

00:02:24.880 Even though we groan in anticipation for these realities, these are promises of these things to come.

00:02:29.760 We also receive intercession from the Holy Spirit when those prayers become groanings and they're too deep for words.

00:02:38.220 And then here, we see this benevolent providence that comes in as just another one of these divine

00:02:46.500 assistances in supporting us in this time. Because remember, there's that key verse in Romans 8

00:02:53.400 that these present sufferings cannot be compared to the glory that will be revealed in us. So there

00:03:00.740 is a suffering, but we are not left to suffer independently without God's support. Any Christian

00:03:08.160 can feel this, can see this, can know this, that you are not left alone. You are not left as the

00:03:16.540 pagan is left without any sort of assistance or benevolent providence in your life. In my first 0.99

00:03:22.720 sermon, which you can watch online or listen to on our sermons podcast, I addressed a prerequisite

00:03:28.800 matter prerequisite matter it's the relationship between god's sovereignty and man's will this is

00:03:34.080 a very important discussion especially in the church today what is the idea of man's free will

00:03:41.440 is that a biblical concept we discussed that deeply i defined the will of man is man's highest

00:03:49.280 desire and i said the statement that i say often is that we have a will but it's never free it's

00:03:56.000 It's either enslaved to Christ

00:03:57.980 or it's enslaved to sin in the flesh.

00:04:01.820 But our will, our highest desire.

00:04:04.820 I demonstrated with over 20 passages of scripture

00:04:07.100 how fallen man does not have a free will

00:04:10.940 in the sense that we discuss it in America,

00:04:13.820 but he actually has a will that is enslaved to his nature.

00:04:18.980 We have a nature and our will is enslaved to that nature.

00:04:22.220 So if his nature, if your nature is in the flesh, your highest desire will be for the things of the flesh.

00:04:30.840 If your nature is in the spirit, then your highest desire, your affections will be for the things of the spirit.

00:04:37.200 That is exactly what Romans 8 earlier just spoke of.

00:04:42.880 But we did learn that within a person's nature, scripture teaches about what theologians call free agency.

00:04:52.220 You need this.

00:04:53.940 You need to have this theological term

00:04:55.660 because it's a helpful glossary term

00:04:57.700 to coordinate all the deep details of this doctrine.

00:05:03.080 We are free to operate within our nature.

00:05:07.460 God is not robotically moving your life

00:05:11.480 at every possible element.

00:05:14.320 No, you have a free agency within that nature,

00:05:16.800 within the flesh, within the spirit.

00:05:18.960 but what we cannot do is change our nature. Do you understand the distinction there?

00:05:26.180 You're free to operate as a sinner. If you're a sinner, you're free to sin.

00:05:30.480 If you're a Christian, you're free to obey. But what you cannot do is change your nature. We 0.89

00:05:36.920 cannot will ourselves from death to life. We cannot will ourselves from deaf to hearing.

00:05:43.500 We cannot will ourselves from blind to seeing.

00:05:47.640 This is the clear evidence of Jesus's miracles.

00:05:50.700 What is he doing?

00:05:51.960 He's communicating to you that you need divine assistance

00:05:54.600 to come from death from life.

00:05:56.480 You need divine assistance to go from being deaf to hearing.

00:05:59.580 You need divine assistance to go from being blind to seeing.

00:06:03.400 You cannot do those things without the assistance of God.

00:06:08.460 Transformation of nature requires divine assistance.

00:06:13.500 This is vital, and it will lay down deep foundations for the coming chapters in Romans.

00:06:22.040 John 1, 12 through 13 says, quote, but to all who did receive him, who believed in his name,

00:06:31.180 he gave the right to become children of God. But then he talks about how,

00:06:34.380 how they become children of God. Verse 13, who were born, not of blood,

00:06:40.700 nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man but of god

00:06:48.220 so in my second sermon we talked about that in the first time we talked about

00:06:54.360 free will free agency the reality of how god works within our nature changing our nature

00:07:02.820 divinely in the second sermon i spoke about the distinctions between sovereignty and providence

00:07:10.460 Sovereignty is the reality and the ability for God to have a supreme rule over his creation.

00:07:18.920 Providence is God exercising that sovereignty in specific actions.

00:07:26.360 Okay, we know that God has a will and he exercises providence to accomplish that sovereign will.

00:07:33.680 We saw through the accounts of Job and Joseph, how God carries out his providential acts

00:07:41.500 in all things, all things. It's easy to believe that we had some sort of dualism where we're

00:07:49.680 fighting against the devil and we're fighting against God and the devil's doing things that

00:07:53.520 God did not allow and that there's some war and that something happens to you and that

00:07:58.260 God's sitting there going, oh, I wish that, I wish that that didn't happen.

00:08:02.640 No, nothing happens in this world that God does not permit or decree to happen throughout all

00:08:08.940 creation. There's an ordination of reality, as we saw in Job. How did the attacks of Satan come

00:08:17.820 upon Job? It's, have you considered my servant Job, God says to Satan?

00:08:28.260 we realized that even sinful acts,

00:08:31.680 even natural disasters, even tragedies work together

00:08:36.020 for good for those who love God

00:08:40.160 and are called according to his purpose.

00:08:42.700 We read difficult passages like Job 42, 11,

00:08:46.120 that says, quote,

00:08:47.820 and they showed him sympathy and comforted him

00:08:50.060 for all the evil that the Lord had brought upon him,

00:08:54.200 end quote.

00:08:55.940 What do you do with that?

00:08:58.260 what do you do with the reality of scripture saying that god brought evil circumstances upon

00:09:07.620 one of his people in genesis 50 20 which says and as for you you meant evil against me speaking to

00:09:16.660 his brothers but god meant it for good it doesn't say that god caused all things to work together

00:09:26.580 for good there it doesn't say that god used it for good but god meant it for good

00:09:35.300 ultimately we learned that according to scripture god can use the actions of evil individuals in

00:09:43.460 the fallen state of our world to bring about the suffering for his people

00:09:46.820 all without being held accountable for the sin present in those circumstances

00:09:50.900 this is one of the great mysteries of the scriptures how does God's sovereignty and

00:10:00.880 man's will combine with one another how can evil exist in God's world where God creates evil but

00:10:09.840 yet God is not the author of evil there is a difficult and mysterious paradox

00:10:16.920 that we, every time I study,

00:10:20.140 I end up getting to this black door that you can't open.

00:10:24.060 And that happens with two other passages

00:10:25.680 or two other themes in scripture.

00:10:27.640 The other is the Trinity.

00:10:29.860 Try it.

00:10:30.880 Try to study as deep as you can possibly go

00:10:33.000 and you get to the black door.

00:10:34.860 There's a mystery.

00:10:37.180 Try to study the hypostatic union

00:10:38.800 that Jesus is fully God and fully man 0.68

00:10:41.920 and you'll find the black door.

00:10:45.200 There's a mystery.

00:10:45.880 How do those realities work together?

00:10:53.960 The blessing is that we learn that when God does work these circumstances together,

00:10:58.820 when God does permit a tsunami to take 300,000 lives,

00:11:04.380 after we know that even the wind and the waves obey him,

00:11:08.300 we know that when God does so it'll always be worked together for our eternal good and God's

00:11:19.540 eternal glory for those who love him and are called according to his purpose this truth is

00:11:26.260 actually seen clearly in Acts 23 where Peter preaching at Pentecost declares quote this Jesus

00:11:36.280 delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God.

00:11:43.120 You crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men, end quote.

00:11:48.120 In other words, God's providence, pay attention here,

00:11:51.180 God's providence orchestrated the most heinous act

00:11:55.020 against the most innocent person ever to exist.

00:11:59.400 What do you do with that?

00:12:00.620 God is orchestrating the crucifixion of his own son

00:12:06.520 and yet you think that it's not fair

00:12:10.540 that you have a disease

00:12:14.840 or that it's not fair

00:12:17.900 that you had a trial and a tragedy.

00:12:24.600 Isaiah 53.10 even says,

00:12:27.580 quote, yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him.

00:12:33.700 How do you deal with these passages?

00:12:37.680 That God is sovereignly causing all things to work together,

00:12:42.360 even the crucifixion of his son for the good of those who love him

00:12:50.040 and are called according to his purpose.

00:12:53.120 This raises profound questions.

00:12:56.680 how do we how do we reconcile the divine orchestration of suffering with the inherent

00:13:02.280 goodness and kindness of god these seem like they're opposing one another how do you deal

00:13:09.080 with that reality here's the perspective whatever god does whether it pertains to christ or to us

00:13:19.960 is ultimately work together for our good it's ultimately worked it might not be our

00:13:28.360 circumstantial good it might not be our material good it might not be our carnal

00:13:31.720 good but it is certainly for our spiritual and eternal good if you

00:13:39.600 struggle to embrace that truth you're always going to view your illness your

00:13:43.280 tragedy, your car accident, your poor circumstances as arbitrary outcomes, random outcomes of

00:13:51.160 some chaotic and demonic world, that you're under attack without the permission of God,

00:13:55.980 that you have no, there's no order to your life whatsoever.

00:13:59.300 You will never find peace because you will always feel haunted by some sort of unguided

00:14:03.360 fate.

00:14:05.040 You will always feel like something's happening to you that God couldn't stop.

00:14:09.140 but you forget that paul says lord take this from me but because of the immense pride that

00:14:21.180 could come from being apostle what does he do he gives him a messenger of satan to buffet him

00:14:27.180 and a thorn in his flesh to humble him

00:14:30.640 god gave him those things

00:14:34.400 does god give you those things does god give you circumstances that might lead you to a place where

00:14:46.280 you go when i am weak then the lord is strong

00:14:50.140 but if you surrender to this beautiful beautiful doctrine of sovereignty that god is ruling your

00:15:03.540 life and that no demon and no satanic and no tragedy can occur without the permissive will

00:15:10.000 of God, a sovereignty that includes providential appointments of suffering, you're going to find

00:15:18.800 peace knowing that God causes all things, including our pain, to work together for our

00:15:28.240 ultimate good and his ultimate glory. You can rest knowing that in one day in the fullness of glory,

00:15:37.260 you're going to stand in agreement with God. You're going to stand in agreement with God,

00:15:42.220 recognizing that his work in your life, no matter how difficult it was, no matter how difficult your

00:15:47.500 circumstances were, you're going to ultimately sit in agreement with the Lord, looking at the

00:15:53.240 beautiful masterpiece that he wove together for your good and his glory. So as we move on

00:16:03.800 to the third portion of this beautiful text, this is the final sermon. I want to look at

00:16:11.860 our text one more time. You're going to notice that the main clause in 828 is God works all

00:16:19.480 things together. That's the main clause of the text. But in the subsequent sections of

00:16:28.020 the verse, the two descriptions are given about the intended recipient of that main

00:16:35.260 clause. God is not causing all things to work together for the random pagan, for the random 0.73

00:16:43.480 heathen, for the guy that hates God, for the demonic. God is working all things together

00:16:48.900 for those who love God and for those who are called according to his purpose.

00:16:56.860 The text says, again, 828, memorize it. And we know God causes all things together,

00:17:06.880 or all things to work together for good to those who love God. And our text today,

00:17:12.980 to those who are called according to his purpose.

00:17:18.000 So in scripture, we see two uses of the term calling.

00:17:26.460 Two uses of the term calling.

00:17:29.520 They are most easily broken down into an external calling and an internal calling.

00:17:36.900 In the epistles, the term calling or called is always used with the use of internal calling.

00:17:44.680 But in the Old Testament, in the Gospels also, you're going to find the term calling being used in both ways.

00:17:52.060 Speaking to an external calling, like the calling of a vocation or the calling of an action or the calling of an office or duty.

00:17:58.680 In the Gospels, in Matthew, we actually see Jesus using the term of an external calling in the form of an invitation.

00:18:05.900 Now, if you guys want to turn with me to Matthew chapter 22, I'm not going to read it, but

00:18:13.360 I'm going to paraphrase it.

00:18:14.680 But if you want to look at Matthew 22, verse 14, it's the parable of the wedding feast.

00:18:24.580 And when you study the parable, you'll see that the king sends out his slaves to call

00:18:33.860 all of those who have been invited to the wedding feast.

00:18:36.760 Now, he's speaking of the Jews, those people that have been called.

00:18:40.240 They are on the list of invitations, but they're unwilling to come.

00:18:47.240 The Jews are unwilling to come to the wedding feast. 1.00

00:18:51.040 They either ignore the calling. 1.00

00:18:53.440 They either prioritize other realities above attending the wedding. 0.99

00:18:57.880 they also are said here to kill the slaves that are doing the calling

00:19:04.500 they are not interested in the call in verses 22 7 it says that the king was enraged

00:19:14.900 and burned the city as a result of their unwillingness to heed the calling now this

00:19:21.000 is actually a prophetic reality speaking of 70 AD where God's judgment comes down and actually does

00:19:27.240 burn Jerusalem. But then the king tells his slaves to invite the outsiders, the Gentiles, 0.97

00:19:36.600 everybody who's in the streets, and the wedding feast is full. 0.92

00:19:42.720 And if you look at verses 11 through 14, I'll read these.

00:19:47.640 It says, but when the king came in and took look over the dinner guests,

00:19:55.240 He saw a man there who was not dressed in wedding clothes.

00:19:59.220 Just to give you a little context here, he's saying that when he saw a man without wedding

00:20:02.340 clothes, he's saying that he saw a man in the church that never came to Christ.

00:20:06.740 He saw a man that looked like he's here, but he's not really here.

00:20:10.940 He saw a man that was externally moral, but not actually wearing a new heart.

00:20:16.480 That's the exposition behind that passage of scripture.

00:20:18.680 friend how did you come in here without wedding clothes and the man was speechless then the king

00:20:29.680 said of the servants bind him foot and hand and throw him into the outer darkness in the place

00:20:34.120 where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth but pay attention to verse 14

00:20:37.860 for many are called but few are chosen many are called but few are chosen this verse

00:20:47.480 will trip many people up. Many are called, but few are chosen. The same word called kletos in the

00:20:57.460 Greek is being used in our passage in Romans 8, 28, exact same word. And here's why the distinction

00:21:07.460 is very important. In our text, Paul uses the term called as a synonym for saved.

00:21:14.320 okay uses as a synonym for saved in fact two verses later he says if you're called

00:21:20.580 you will be justified if you're justified you will be glorified so without understanding the

00:21:27.380 difference between an external and an internal calling it might seem contradictory when jesus

00:21:33.360 says that many are called but few are chosen while paul asserts that if you're called you are chosen

00:21:42.800 You see the conflict there? If you don't understand the distinctions between the two

00:21:48.160 types of uses of this word, you're going to be very confused with the doctrine. So which is it?

00:21:55.160 Which is it? Is the calling of God an audible invitation? Or is it a sovereign act of

00:22:02.180 providence to save the elect? Well, it's both. It's both. But the resolution lies in recognizing

00:22:10.560 how the term is actually used in each particular verse. Jesus is using the term as an audible

00:22:15.560 invitation. He's talking about the proclamation of the gospel, the external call of the gospel.

00:22:22.020 Whereas Paul uses it as a term as a result of election. Two different contexts for the reality

00:22:29.920 that's going on here. Furthermore, Jesus is not saying, and pay attention here, many are called,

00:22:34.060 but few choose to respond. That's not what he said. He does not say many are called,

00:22:39.560 but few of them chose to respond of their own free will.

00:22:43.360 He did not say that.

00:22:46.220 No, he said that many are called, but few are chosen.

00:22:51.880 Even here, the emphasis is not on man's decision,

00:22:54.800 but on God's providence.

00:22:58.380 You didn't choose God, God chose you.

00:23:01.060 Jesus says this to his disciples.

00:23:02.700 You did not choose me, but I chose you.

00:23:04.360 I don't know why this is so difficult for our independent and autonomous generation.

00:23:13.680 I want to digress for a moment.

00:23:15.340 Just give me a second.

00:23:16.740 Some interpret this passage in Matthew to suggest that God only intends to save a select few.

00:23:24.420 Okay, the argument goes like, hey, look, if few are chosen, then, you know, few are going to be saved.

00:23:32.080 but jesus's intention here is not to imply that god's plan of salvation is limited to a select

00:23:39.800 few that's not the intention of the parable revelation 7 9 says that the number of the saved

00:23:45.940 will be so great from every tribe nation and tongue that no man will be able to number it

00:23:51.000 how do you square these up jesus is simply pointing out that the number of individuals

00:23:57.580 who receive the external calling of the gospel

00:23:59.700 will always surpass those who receive

00:24:03.780 the internal call of salvation.

00:24:06.120 And that lines up with reality.

00:24:08.340 Anybody that's preached the gospel to a crowd

00:24:10.260 will realize that more people will hear

00:24:14.620 than actually hear internally.

00:24:17.200 More people will hear with the ear

00:24:18.920 than hear with the heart.

00:24:23.980 And while Jesus used this term as an external calling,

00:24:27.580 He also uses the term calling as an internal or an effectual call.

00:24:33.000 He uses it in different spots, and I'm going to show you a few passages of Scripture.

00:24:36.640 John 6, 37 says, quote, all that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes

00:24:45.080 to me, I will never cast out.

00:24:48.860 In John 10, 3 through 4, it says, Jesus speaking, he's speaking of the good shepherd.

00:24:53.480 He's describing himself as the good shepherd.

00:24:55.440 It says, quote, the sheep hear his voice and he calls his own sheep by name.

00:25:04.120 Okay, this is a very important verse because we have many people in the church that say,

00:25:08.340 oh, God elects groups of people, but he doesn't elect individuals.

00:25:14.200 No, he calls the sheep by name.

00:25:20.940 And it says, and he leads them out.

00:25:22.880 When he has brought all that are his own, he goes out before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice, end quote. 0.56

00:25:34.700 John 10, 16, speaking of the elect Gentiles, Jesus says, quote, 0.83

00:25:40.020 And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice.

00:25:47.840 John 10, 24 through 30. Jesus demonstrates why some don't hear and why some do hear. Why some

00:26:00.000 only hear with ears and some hear with the heart. He says to the Jews that are gathered around him,

00:26:08.840 the Jews say to him, actually, how long will you keep us in suspense? If you're the Christ, 0.57

00:26:13.960 tell us plainly jesus answered i told you and you do not believe the works that i do in my father's

00:26:21.000 name bear witness about me pay attention verse 26 but you do not believe because you are not

00:26:28.360 among my sheep verse 27 my sheep hear my voice you could even say my sheep hear my calling

00:26:36.600 and I know them and they follow me and I give them eternal life and they will never perish

00:26:47.780 and no one will snatch them out of my hand my father who has given them to me is greater than

00:26:53.440 all and no one is able to snatch them out of the father's hand I and the father are one

00:26:58.440 beautiful beautiful so the meaning of the term called and Romans 828 refers specifically to the

00:27:10.460 effectual the internal call of the Holy Spirit R.C. Sproul comments on this verse he says quote

00:27:19.500 Paul speaks not of an external call of the call to the gospel but of the inward call of the Holy

00:27:25.020 Spirit. In theology, the term is called, quote, effectual calling. That is a doctrine. It's a

00:27:35.960 doctrine so close to the doctrine of irresistible grace. But that is a true set of particular

00:27:45.720 passages of scripture that make up that reality, effectual calling. Romans 11, 29 states on the

00:27:53.520 form of calling. He says, quote, for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable, end quote.

00:28:03.340 Can you go from called to uncalled?

00:28:07.820 No, the callings of God are unstoppable. They're immutable. They're unchangeable.

00:28:13.420 If God calls you, you are his and you will follow. You will hear his voice

00:28:19.440 and you will never perish.

00:28:27.880 Acts 13, 48, speaking to the result of Paul and Barnabas' external call of the gospel at Antioch.

00:28:36.720 It says, quote,

00:28:38.060 And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord,

00:28:43.240 and all who were appointed for eternal life believed.

00:28:47.320 I'm going to say it again just so you guys grasp what just happened and all who were

00:28:54.640 appointed for eternal life believe not everybody believed who believed who were appointed to

00:29:02.800 believe who were called before the foundation of the world many were called but some were chosen

00:29:11.720 Many heard the external call of Paul, but some heard the internal call of the Holy Spirit.

00:29:22.080 Again, this is a doctrine of effectual calling or irresistible grace.

00:29:31.360 When God calls a lost sheep, now we have to remember, right?

00:29:35.540 God does not turn goats into sheep.

00:29:38.640 God takes lost sheep and turns them into found sheep.

00:29:43.960 There are sheep and there are goats.

00:29:47.840 There are people before the foundation of the world that God has destined for salvation.

00:29:53.080 And there are people that God has destined for justice.

00:29:58.520 Over and over and over again, we learn this.

00:30:02.440 And we are going to learn this over Romans chapter 8 and Romans chapter 9.

00:30:08.040 When God calls a lost sheep, he does so with a power that overcomes their flesh's resistance.

00:30:22.080 He overcomes your resistance.

00:30:24.500 It's why it's called irresistible grace.

00:30:28.000 Because without irresistible grace carried out by the Holy Spirit, our flesh would never heed to the call.

00:30:34.620 our flesh would never heed to the call first corinthians 1 18 says for the message of the

00:30:40.360 cross is foolishness to those who are perishing but to us who are being saved it is the power of

00:30:46.300 god do you think without the holy spirit first changing your heart that you would hear the

00:30:52.880 gospel and say that's a great thing i want to relinquish the authority of my life and submit

00:30:58.120 to lord jesus christ do you think that your flesh would do that if you do you think much

00:31:03.960 highly of yourself much too highly of yourself first corinthians 2 14 says the natural person

00:31:10.520 does not accept the things of the spirit of god that's enough right there the natural person the

00:31:17.800 unsafe person does not accept the things of the spirit of god for they are folly to him and he

00:31:25.000 is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned it requires spiritual life

00:31:33.960 Prior to spiritual comprehension.

00:31:37.660 Does that make sense?

00:31:39.600 You cannot have spiritual actions before spiritual life.

00:31:47.100 So in this work of calling, what comes first?

00:31:53.020 Regeneration, the new birth, or faith and repentance.

00:32:00.140 again we often want to believe that salvation works like i repent and i have faith and then

00:32:09.340 i'm born again that is not biblical that is not what the scriptures teach the scriptures teach

00:32:16.140 that you are born again called by the holy spirit giving you ears to hear eyes to see

00:32:22.860 a heart to understand resurrected you spiritually

00:32:29.340 grants you repentance gives you faith which allows you to say

00:32:37.020 all glory be to god all glory be to god because if it was you if it was you who said i heard the

00:32:45.420 message i heard the message of the cross and i thought you know what i need that

00:32:52.860 And if you say that you did that without the help of the Holy Spirit first coming and changing your

00:32:57.860 heart, if you say, you know what? I think that's a good deal. The cross, that sounds good to me.

00:33:05.200 I'm going to follow Jesus. You're going to believe that you were the catalyst, the decisive reality

00:33:11.060 for your own salvation. And if you stand before God and God says, hey, Dale, why are you here?

00:33:18.120 And I say, well, because I trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ. This is great. Amen.

00:33:23.380 But why are you here and John's not here?

00:33:26.540 Because John heard the gospel too.

00:33:29.600 Well, because I believed and he didn't.

00:33:32.080 But why did you believe and he didn't?

00:33:34.580 No matter what you say, you will find yourself in a boast.

00:33:39.780 Because I was smarter.

00:33:41.800 Because I was more spiritually aware.

00:33:44.500 Because I was wiser.

00:33:46.360 Because I wasn't as corrupt as John was.

00:33:48.560 Whatever it is, you cannot give the appropriate answer.

00:33:52.860 The appropriate answer is, why are you here?

00:33:54.740 Is because it pleased you to save me.

00:33:56.880 Because it was your purpose to save me.

00:33:58.780 Because you loved me before the foundation of the world.

00:34:02.640 That's the only answer.

00:34:04.700 It's the only answer.

00:34:09.800 Now our passage doesn't just say

00:34:14.960 that we were called.

00:34:16.740 It says that we were called according to his purpose.

00:34:22.860 Christians need to realize that God's calling of their soul

00:34:27.040 was not according to their purpose, but to God's purpose. 0.78

00:34:32.820 You are the clay and not the potter.

00:34:37.980 And God can do whatever he wills with the clay.

00:34:41.360 He can make some for dishonorable use,

00:34:43.560 and he can make some for honorable use,

00:34:45.400 which we will learn in chapter 9.

00:34:49.180 God can make you for a life of suffering.

00:34:52.200 God can make the next person for a life of riches and blessing.

00:34:57.040 God can make you in a life of chronic illness, as he has done with me.

00:35:02.520 God can make you with a life of joy.

00:35:04.520 God can make you a life of barrenness.

00:35:07.120 God can give you ten children. 0.91

00:35:09.820 God can do all that he wants with the clay.

00:35:14.680 God is God, and we are not.

00:35:21.380 You're saved not because you purposed yourself to be redeemed,

00:35:26.900 but because God, before the foundation of the world,

00:35:29.980 purposed that you would be redeemed.

00:35:33.180 2 Timothy 1.9 says of God,

00:35:38.920 quote, who saved us and called us to a holy calling,

00:35:45.140 not because of our works,

00:35:47.400 but because of his own purpose and grace,

00:35:50.600 which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the world began.

00:35:57.060 James 1.18 says of God the Father,

00:36:00.220 quote,

00:36:00.860 It's God's will to save his sheep, to save his people.

00:36:18.540 What does the angel say to Mary?

00:36:20.600 You shall call him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.

00:36:29.440 Jesus isn't here to save every single person.

00:36:32.860 We know that because if he willed to save every single person, every person would be saved.

00:36:42.060 It is the will of God who saves men.

00:36:44.740 as i read earlier john 1 13 these people were born not of the blood nor of the will of the

00:36:53.900 flesh nor of the will of man but of god romans 9 15 through 16 says of god's electing power it says

00:37:00.920 quote i will have mercy on whom i will have mercy and i will have compassion on whom i will have

00:37:06.000 compassion. So then it depends, quote, not on human will or exertion, but on God who has mercy.

00:37:16.680 I don't know how many times this generation needs to hear the phrase, not on human will,

00:37:22.480 to crucify this idea of man having a free will. And that that free will is the reason that we

00:37:31.340 came to Christ. No. No. Isaiah 46, 9 through 10 talks about God's purposes cannot be changed.

00:37:49.800 If God has wrote your name in the Lamb's book of life before the foundation of the world,

00:37:54.760 which is said in Revelation, then he has designed the world in a way that he will save every single

00:38:02.520 one of his sheep. What a blessing this is because we have this idea that, oh, Jesus is going to come

00:38:07.280 back once we get the gospel to every single individual. That's not true. No, Jesus will

00:38:11.320 come back when the last of his sheep are saved. The gospel doesn't need to go out to every single

00:38:18.880 individual. It actually doesn't. It actually needs to go out to every single sheep.

00:38:24.760 Now, we want the gospel to go far and wide.

00:38:27.280 That's a blessing.

00:38:28.240 That's part of the Great Commission.

00:38:30.160 But the truth is that God will not let one sheep be lost. 0.79

00:38:38.060 He leaves the 99 and chases the one. 0.82

00:38:42.840 Isaiah 46, 9 through 10, he says,

00:38:44.580 I am God, there is none like me,

00:38:46.640 declaring the end from the beginning

00:38:47.820 and from ancient times things not yet done,

00:38:50.720 saying, quote, my counsel shall stand.

00:38:52.700 I will accomplish all my purpose.

00:38:56.860 Like, let that sink in.

00:38:58.640 I will accomplish all my purpose.

00:39:02.120 And God causes all things to work together for good

00:39:04.380 for those who love him and are called according to his purpose.

00:39:08.980 Job 42.2 says, I know you can do all things

00:39:12.060 and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.

00:39:15.440 No purpose of God can be changed.

00:39:19.240 So there is no situation where God purposes

00:39:22.260 to save a person, and that person is not saved.

00:39:27.680 Did you know that not one person that was elected

00:39:30.720 before the foundation of the world has ever perished?

00:39:34.600 Think about that.

00:39:36.420 There is not one person that God chose

00:39:39.500 before the foundation of the world who has ever perished

00:39:42.720 because God is a good shepherd.

00:39:47.080 In the parable of the lost sheep, Jesus says in Matthew 18, 14,

00:39:50.440 so it is not the will of your father who is in heaven that one of these little sheep perish

00:39:58.100 there it is do we have a god that cannot fulfill his own will

00:40:04.700 god will not let one of his elect sheep perish

00:40:11.260 the question might arise in your mind what if you're not called but want to be called

00:40:17.920 What if a person's not called, but wants to be called? I get this conversation

00:40:22.600 all the time. To this, I would say the Bible is clear. No unsaved man wants to be called.

00:40:30.520 Self-love is blinding. We think far too highly of ourselves. No unsaved man wants to be called.

00:40:38.700 Yesterday, standing at the courthouse, looking at the wickedness, it's easy to think that 0.99

00:40:47.920 You were not as bad as them.

00:40:51.560 But when that woman said, I love sinning,

00:40:56.280 I thought to myself, without Christ, that could be me.

00:41:02.560 Without Christ, I could be just as wicked as that individual.

00:41:10.220 Romans 3.11 says that none is righteous.

00:41:12.360 No, not one.

00:41:14.540 No one understands and no one seeks for God.

00:41:20.720 The sheep don't seek the shepherd.

00:41:23.420 Anybody who's ever dealt with sheep understands this.

00:41:28.420 The shepherd seeks the lost sheep.

00:41:32.540 That is the massive theme of Jesus's ministry.

00:41:37.120 Romans 8, 7 tells us,

00:41:38.900 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God.

00:41:43.640 for it does not submit to God's law. Indeed, it cannot.

00:41:51.160 Yesterday, we saw hostility.

00:41:55.000 You cannot give a persuasive intellectual argument to persuade them to Christ.

00:42:00.420 The only way that they will come to Christ is a proclamation of the gospel

00:42:07.180 by which the Holy Spirit opens the heart,

00:42:10.000 performs a spiritual resurrection that they can hear and see

00:42:14.900 their own sin and their own need for righteousness.

00:42:21.760 Almost done here, guys.

00:42:24.320 John 3, 19 through 20 says,

00:42:27.220 quote, the light has come into the world

00:42:28.860 and people loved darkness rather than the light

00:42:33.220 because their works were evil.

00:42:36.680 For everyone who does wicked things, which is all of us,

00:42:40.000 hates the light and does not come to the light,

00:42:44.860 lest his work should be exposed.

00:42:46.800 You want to know why people don't come in the flesh to Christ?

00:42:51.160 Because they hate the light.

00:42:52.540 They hate Christ.

00:42:53.800 They know if they come to Christ, their love for sin will be exposed.

00:43:00.060 So in conclusion,

00:43:01.140 Salvation requires God's inward and life-giving call of the Holy Spirit.

00:43:12.300 You can't save your kids.

00:43:14.560 You can't save your friends.

00:43:17.100 You have to rest in the fact that God is the only one that can save.

00:43:24.180 Yes, God loves to save families.

00:43:27.160 Yes, God loves to save the children of believers.

00:43:30.180 Yes, God loves to save.

00:43:33.780 But we cannot save.

00:43:36.600 We can proclaim.

00:43:37.760 We can become the midwife of the new birth.

00:43:40.960 But we cannot do the work of the heart.

00:43:46.060 Without that call of the Holy Spirit, our souls remain dead.

00:43:49.580 They remain in Ephesians 2, 1 through 3 description,

00:43:53.580 clinging to worldly desires, cherishing sin,

00:43:56.380 following the prince in the power of the air,

00:43:58.420 and loving the enslavement to our flesh.

00:44:01.780 You know why that group didn't want to come to Christ?

00:44:04.080 Because they love their life.

00:44:06.820 They love their sin.

00:44:09.920 They cherish their wickedness.

00:44:14.640 But for those who God purposes to save,

00:44:19.980 such were some of you.

00:44:25.120 Such were some of you as wicked as those people were yesterday.

00:44:28.420 such were some of you. 0.91

00:44:31.160 I used to sell drugs.

00:44:33.980 I used to do the most wicked things that you can imagine.

00:44:42.440 But God came in and changed me.

00:44:45.320 I didn't will it by my own nature.

00:44:50.340 But God changed my nature.

00:44:51.840 God's call to your soul is as potent as Christ's call to Lazarus from the dead

00:45:03.120 it's that potent if God calls Lazarus to come out and he comes from death to life that is

00:45:11.520 literally a picture of what happens to your soul when Christ calls you

00:45:16.220 your soul comes to life if God wills you to hear you will listen if he calls you

00:45:24.900 from spiritual death to life you will be resurrected he has bestowed his

00:45:32.060 benevolent providence upon your life and it allows us to know that again God

00:45:38.060 causes all things to work together for those who love him and are called

00:45:43.040 according to his purpose. This is exactly the reason why just three verses later,

00:45:52.040 Paul says this great verse that we can all rest on, that we can all end with,

00:46:02.120 if God is for us, who can be against us? If God is working everything together for you,

00:46:08.600 who can be against you.

00:46:12.280 Amen?

00:46:13.100 Let's pray.

00:46:15.320 Father, we thank you for the gracious work

00:46:18.240 of the internal call of the Holy Spirit on our lives.

00:46:25.140 Lord, we thank you for saving us.

00:46:27.240 We thank you for the work of saving our children

00:46:29.700 and the work that you will do in saving those that are yours.

00:46:33.240 Lord we ask that you would use us

00:46:37.600 in the midst of your call

00:46:38.620 that we would proclaim the gospel

00:46:41.020 and that you would open the ears

00:46:43.420 and the eyes and the hearts

00:46:44.720 to receive that message

00:46:46.840 we thank you for the work

00:46:49.500 that you're doing here in this church

00:46:51.360 for the gospel clarity

00:46:53.420 for the reformation of the church

00:46:55.720 for the renewal

00:46:56.580 of a gospel generation

00:46:59.320 in Jesus name

00:47:01.440 Amen

00:47:03.240 Amen.

Dale Partridge - March 12, 2024

PART THREE： God's Sovereignty and Man's Will

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