Unconditional Election

[0:00] Well if we could, with the Lord's help, this evening if we could turn back to that portion of scripture that we read.

[0:13] Romans chapter 9. Romans chapter 9. And if we read again at verse 13. We're going to look at most of what we read, but we'll just take as our text.

[0:27] Verses 13 to 16. Paul writes, as it is written, Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated. What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God's part? By no means.

[0:41] For 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 it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God who has mercy.

[0:58] And so on. Last week you could say that we entered into the Christian's greenhouse. And we entered in to study just one flower.

[1:11] A flower that should never die. Because there's one flower that should always be in the forefront of the Christian's mind. And as we said before, this flower is not a rose.

[1:22] It's not a daffodil. It's not a Livingston daisy. The flower is a tulip. And the tulip is a flower that the Christian needs to know. And it's a flower that the Christian needs to understand in all its detail.

[1:34] Because as I said, I believe that when we understand this flower in all its beauty, and when we understand it in all its complexity, it will cause us to respond in praise and adoration to the Lord.

[1:48] And a tulip, it ought to remind us that our salvation is not of ourselves. It is the gift of God. It's all of grace. Our salvation is all of the Lord from beginning to end.

[2:00] And of course, as we said last week, the tulip in the Christian's greenhouse is not an actual flower. It's an acrostic. It's a word that encapsulates the beauty and the wonder of the doctrines of grace.

[2:14] Those doctrines that present to us what you could say the glory of the gospel in our salvation. And as many of you know, tulip, it's an acrostic for what has become known as the five points of Calvinism.

[2:27] A tulip, it stands for total depravity, unconditional election, limited atonement, irresistible grace, and perseverance of the saints. And these five points of Calvinism, they were the outcome of a synod.

[2:43] We mentioned this last week. There was a synod in the Netherlands in the 17th century. And they sought, that synod had sought to directly refute the five points of Arminianism.

[2:54] And, well, these five points of Calvinism, they were helpfully summarized as the tulip. Total depravity, unconditional election, limited atonement, irresistible grace, and perseverance of the saints.

[3:11] And last week we considered the T of tulip. Total depravity. And by considering total depravity, we understood that, or what we saw was the total depravity of mankind.

[3:24] We saw the death of mankind, the dungeon of mankind, and then the deliverance of mankind. And we saw that when Adam sinned against God in the Garden of Eden, he brought not only himself, but the whole of the human race into an estate of sin and misery.

[3:40] And that misery was death. Where mankind is dead in trespasses and sins. And because we're dead, the Bible says that we're unable to resurrect ourselves.

[3:53] And we will remain in that spiritually dead condition unless there is this outside influence that brings us back to life. And so the Bible says that in Adam we're completely dead.

[4:05] We're unable to respond to any physical treatment. When someone is dead spiritually, they can't hear, no matter how much they're shouted at. They will never respond.

[4:16] It doesn't matter how many times we poke and prod them. It doesn't matter if they're spoken to with wisdom or eloquence or with passion. They're dead. They can't open their eyes.

[4:28] They can't rise from the dead. They can't change their heart. They can't even confess their sin because they're dead. But as we saw last week, we're not only dead in sin, we're also in a dungeon.

[4:41] We're in chains because of our sin. We're in bondage to our sin. We're imprisoned by our sin. We're enslaved to sin. Our heart, our emotions, our mind, our body, our will.

[4:52] It's all in bondage. It's all enslaved to sin. And without the Lord intervening in our lives, without the Lord working in our heart, and without the Lord taking the initiative, we will never respond.

[5:07] And we cannot be saved. Because he's the only one who can bring a sinner from darkness to light, from death to life, from the dungeon to liberty.

[5:18] The initiative must come from the Lord. Because salvation is all of the Lord. And the Lord is to get the glory in our salvation.

[5:31] Therefore, says the Calvinist, If our salvation is all of the Lord, Then the Lord has chosen who will be saved and who will not be saved.

[5:42] If our salvation is all of the Lord, Then there must be an elect. And this brings us to the second letter in our acrostic. It brings us to the U in the tulip, Which is unconditional election.

[5:59] Unconditional election. And I just want us to think about this doctrine under three headings. Deciphering election, Then discussing election, Then debating election.

[6:11] So deciphering election, Discussing election, And debating election. So first of all, We're deciphering election. Deciphering election.

[6:22] Look again at verse 1 of Romans chapter 9. Paul says, I'm speaking the truth in Christ. I'm not lying. My conscience bears witness in the Holy Spirit.

[6:33] That I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ. For the sake of my brothers. My kinsmen according to the flesh.

[6:44] They are Israelites. And to them belong the adoption, The glory, The covenants, The giving of the law, The worship, And the promises. To them belong the patriarchs. And from their race, According to the flesh, Is the Christ, Who is God over all, Blessed forever.

[7:01] Amen. Now Paul's letter to the Romans, It's full of theology. It's a wonderful letter. It's full of theology. And it's full of theology because, Paul wants to explain, The wonder and the glory, Of the gospel.

[7:18] But you know, When we come to chapter 9, Of his letter, Paul is seeking to teach us about, Election. And that election, Is part of the gospel. Election, Is good news.

[7:31] You might not think that. But election is good news. Because, If it were not for election, No one would be saved. Regardless of how privileged we are. And you know, That's how Paul opens this chapter.

[7:44] He draws attention to, Unbelievers in Israel. These unbelievers, Who are not part of salvation. They've not been elected, To salvation. And, As Paul speaks, He speaks, As he says in verse 1, I speak the truth in Christ.

[7:59] He's speaking, From a human level. And, Paul, He finds election, So hard to deal with, And so hard to get his head around. Because, Paul loves the Israelites.

[8:11] He says that he's one of them. They're my people. They're my kinsmen. And, Humanly speaking, Paul goes as far as to say, In verse 2, I have a great sorrow, And unceasing anguish in my heart.

[8:25] For I could wish that I myself, Were accursed, And cut off, From Christ, For the sake of my brothers, My kinsmen, According to the flesh. Humanly speaking, And emotionally speaking, Paul wishes, That he could trade places, With other people, Those, Who are, Outside of the kingdom.

[8:47] Those who are not in the elect. He wishes that he could trade places with them, So that they would know the wonder and glory, Of salvation in Jesus Christ. And, You know, Sometimes we can feel that way, When we want others to be saved so badly.

[9:03] We want them to know the preciousness of salvation so much, That, Figuratively speaking, We would trade places with them. But like Paul, We know that that's an impossibility.

[9:15] Because Christ died for the elect. And despite the lost condition of some of the people of Israel, Paul draws attention to all the privileges that they had.

[9:28] He says in verse 4, They are the Israelites. And to them belong the adoption, The glory, The covenants, The giving of the law, The worship, And the promises.

[9:39] To them belong the patriarchs. And from their race, According to the flesh, Is the Christ, Who is God over all, Blessed forever. Amen. Paul says that the Israelites, They were a privileged people.

[9:53] They were given all the blessings. They were the elect nation of God. They were God's chosen children. They were the children of Israel. They saw his glory. They received his covenants.

[10:04] They were given the law. They had the tabernacle. Then later they had the temple. They received all these promises of salvation. And from the descendants of Israel, Says Paul, The Christ came.

[10:18] They were a privileged people. They had all these blessings. And yet many of them, He says, Were not saved. And Paul says in verse 6, That the reason they're not saved, Is not because the word of God failed.

[10:34] He says it's not because, The word of God couldn't penetrate their hard heart, And save them. It was all because, They were not in the elect. And Paul makes absolutely clear, In the second half of verse 6, He says, Not all who are descended from Israel, Belong to Israel.

[10:55] Not all who are descended from Israel, Belong to Israel. It's quite hard to understand that. That's why Paul gives further explanation of it.

[11:06] He presents to us a first scenario. He talks about Abraham. And you remember that Abraham had two sons. He had a son born to the housemaid Hagar, And the son was called Ishma.

[11:21] And then he also had a son born to his wife, That he was married to, Sarah. They had a son called Isaac. And Paul is emphasising here, That Ishmael was not the chosen child of promise.

[11:32] Isaac was. Therefore, Not all the descendants of Abraham, Were part of the nation of Israel. Not all of them, Were part of the children of Israel. Only those who were the descendants, Of Isaac.

[11:46] And the point is that, Even though both were Abraham's sons, The Lord elected, Isaac. Instead of Ishmael. But Paul wants to give further clarity, So he brings up Jacob and Esau.

[12:01] And he says in verse 10, Not only so, But also when Rebecca had conceived children by one man, Our forefather Isaac. Though they were not yet born, And had done nothing either good or bad, In order that God's promise of election might continue, Not because of works, But because of him who calls, She was told, The older will serve the younger.

[12:27] As it is written, Jacob I loved, But Esau I hated. You know, Paul makes perfectly clear, Absolutely clear, That God's election of sinners to be saved, Is nothing to do with their behaviour.

[12:43] It's nothing to do with their personality. It's nothing to do with their family. Nothing to do with their upbringing. Nothing to do with their social status. It's nothing to do with what church they've attended, Or if their parents were Christians, Or if their father was an elder, Or if their father was a minister, Or even if they were baptised as a child.

[13:01] Paul says it's absolutely nothing to do with any of these things. It's all according to God's gracious and sovereign election. And you know, Paul's point is so helpful, Because he's explaining to us that, Not everyone who's brought up in the church, Is part of the invisible church of Jesus Christ.

[13:23] Not everyone who's baptised in the church, Is part of the invisible church of Jesus Christ. Not everyone who sits at the Lord's table, And professes their faith, Is part of the church of Jesus Christ.

[13:35] And we might think, Whoa. But you know, That's why Peter says to us, The apostle Peter, He says, Brethren, Brothers and sisters, Give diligence, To making your calling, And your election sure.

[13:51] For if you do these things, You shall never fall. In other words, Peter was saying, Don't rely on your upbringing, Your baptism, Your church attendance, Your Bible reading, Your Bible knowledge, Your position in the church, As an elder, Or a minister, Or, Don't rely on your good works, Don't rely even on your profession of faith, Don't rely on any of these things, He says, Because none of that will save you.

[14:15] You can only rely upon Jesus Christ, As your Lord and Saviour. And you know, Based on all this, Paul then asks in verse 14, What shall we say then?

[14:29] Is there injustice on God's part? By no means. Paul says, God forbid, That we would ever think, That God was acting in an unjust manner, Or that he's unfair.

[14:45] God forbid, That we would ever consider God, To be impulsive, Or unreliable. But that, We have to see that he has acted, And he has elected, According to his sovereign grace, And will.

[15:01] And you know, Paul, He's just building on this argument, All the time, Because from that, He goes on in verse 15, Paul quotes what the Lord said to Moses, In Exodus 33.

[15:13] And in Exodus 33, That was the time when Moses went to the tabernacle door, And pleaded for the nation of Israel, To be saved.

[15:27] And if you remember, It was then that Moses prayed to the Lord, Lord, I beseech thee, Show me thy glory, Reveal yourself to me. And the Lord promised to Moses, That he would reveal himself, To Moses, On the top of Mount Sinai, And that's in Exodus 34.

[15:44] The Lord said to Moses though, I will make my goodness pass before you, And I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you. Why? Why was the Lord going to do this?

[15:56] Because as the Lord says, I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, And I will show mercy, On whom I will show mercy. And for Paul, This is a key point, Because, The Lord didn't have to do anything.

[16:12] The Lord didn't have to reveal himself to Moses. The Lord was under no obligation, To show his glory to Moses. But the Lord chose to do it. And the Lord elected Moses, To see his glory.

[16:26] And the Lord graciously acted towards Moses, And revealed his glory. Therefore Paul concludes in verse 16, So then, It depends not on human will, Or exertion, But on God, Who has mercy.

[16:44] Paul says clearly and plainly, Salvation, It's all of the Lord. It's all of grace. The Lord doesn't have to save anyone.

[16:57] He doesn't have to elect anyone. He's under no obligation, To save any of us. Because, As we saw last week, The whole of humanity is completely depraved. All have sinned, And come short of the glory of God.

[17:10] We're all dead in sin. We're all in the dungeon. Enslaved by sin. Desperately needing deliverance. But the wonder of salvation, Is that the Lord, In his grace, And in his mercy, He chooses to save some.

[17:27] He chooses to save some. And so we've been, Deciphering, A wee bit of election. But now I'd like us to move on, To discussing election.

[17:40] There's a discussion about election. Read again in verse 14. Paul says, What shall we say then?

[17:50] Is there injustice on God's part? By no means. For he says to Moses, I will have mercy, On whom I have mercy. And I will have compassion, On whom I have compassion.

[18:02] So then, It depends not on human will, Or exertion, But on God, Who has, Mercy. Now when we think about, The doctrine of election, The question we should be asking, Is not, Why doesn't the Lord save everyone?

[18:19] The question we should be asking is, Why does the Lord save, Anyone? Why does the Lord save, Anyone? Why does the Lord bother, With us sinful and rebellious people?

[18:32] Why didn't the Lord just leave us, In our sin and misery, And just abandon us completely? Because, We're the humanity, That's rebelled against the Lord, We are the ones, Who have sinned, And come short of the glory of God, We've transgressed the law, We've twisted his word, We've missed, The standard that he has set, We don't deserve to be saved, We have no right, Or claim on God, What we do deserve, Is to be cast, Into hell, For all eternity, Where there is wailing, And gnashing, And weeping, Where the worm dieth not, And the fire is not quenched, That's what we deserve, Because of our sin, And our rebellion, Against a holy and just God, And yet, And yet, God in his grace, And in his mercy, He has elected some, To everlasting life, He has elected some, And you know, With this in mind, We have to ask the question, Why does the Calvinist,

[19:35] Refer to it, As unconditional election, Why does the Calvinist, Refer to it, As unconditional election, Well the simple answer to that, Is because the Arminian, Refers to it as conditional election, But conditional election, Means that, God's election, God's choice, Of who to save, And who not to save, It was based on certain conditions, It was conditional election, And so, On what basis, Does God elect, To save certain people, The Arminian would say, God elects to save certain people, On the basis of, Foreseeing, How they would respond, To the gospel, The Arminian would say, That before, The foundation of the world, Before the world was made, God, For saw, God looked down, The corridors of time, And, Saw in advance, Who would accept the gospel,

[20:37] And who would reject the gospel, And on that basis, On the condition of God's, Foreknowledge, Where he could see, Every single person, Who would commit to Christ, And who would not, The Arminian says, It was on that basis, That God elected, To save those, Who would, Choose him, Those who would choose, To follow Jesus, God elected them, That's conditional election, That God chose sinners, When he foresaw, That they would choose him, But as one commentator, Puts it, Very aptly, Conditional election, Puts the cart, Before the horse, Because, It says that, We choose to believe, And we commit our life, To Jesus Christ, And then we're in the elect, But that doesn't even make sense, Does it?

[21:27] So, When we believe, And then commit our life to Christ, That's when we, Enter into the elect, But as we saw, With total depravity, Last week, We can't choose God, Our hearts and our lives, They are so corrupted, We're in the dungeon, We're enslaved to sin, We can't choose God, Therefore God could, Never foresee us choosing him, Because he's the one, He's the one who chose us, And you know, This is what Jesus said to his disciples, In John 15, You did not choose me, But I chose you, My friend, The Lord didn't elect us, To everlasting life, On the basis of us, Choosing him first, And us loving him first, Because we didn't choose him first, We were completely incapable, Of choosing him first, And we didn't love him first, No,

[22:29] We love him, Because he first loved us, Is that what John said? We love him, Because he first loved us, Because he first loved us, Because he first loved us, And you know, It's interesting, When you consider the way, The apostle John always thought, He always thought of Jesus, As the eternal son of God, For John, For John, Jesus was the eternal word, Who was in the beginning with God, And John says, We love him, Because he first loved us, But here's the question, Where did Jesus first love us?

[23:12] Where did Jesus first love us? And this is what ought to blow our minds, And something you need to think about, And meditate upon, And dwell on, There has never been a time, That Jesus has not loved you, There has never been a time, When Jesus has not loved you, There has never been a moment, Since the foundation of this world, When Jesus Christ has not viewed you, As precious in his sight, There has never been a moment, Since God first spoke, Into the darkness of creation, There has never been a moment, That Jesus has not considered you, To be a precious jewel, In his crown, And why is that?

[23:58] Why is that? Paul reminds the Ephesians, He says, We have been chosen, In Christ, From before the foundation of the world, Chosen in Christ, From before the foundation of the world, We were chosen, We were elected, In Christ, When the Father and the Son, Entered into that, Eternal covenant, Of redemption, It's wonderful, We were elected then, Loved then, When the Father and the Son, Entered into the covenant of redemption, Now as we've said, Many times before, A covenant is a promise, Between two parties, It's a legally binding contract, Between two people, The term covenant, It's often used in the Bible, To show that God has, Covenanted or promised, To be faithful towards his people, And in his covenant, The Lord promises to love his people, And to look after his people, But you know,

[24:59] When you consider, What happened in eternity past, We see that there was a covenant made, Between God the Father, And God the Son, From before the foundations of the world, It was an eternal covenant, Of redemption, Where God the Father, And God the Son, They agreed that God, The Son would die, On your behalf, You know, It's a wonderful thought, And in his, In his works, This is, The 17th century, English Puritan, John Flavel, John Flavel, John Flavel is a brilliant mind, And he has this, Very imaginative conversation, That took place between, God the Father, And God the Son, When they entered into this, Eternal covenant of redemption, To save, You and me, And Flavel, He creates this beautiful image, Because, In this eternal conversation,

[26:00] Or this eternal discussion, Flavel has, God the Father, And God the Son, Speaking, And let's say, They're speaking about you, Or, Say to yourself, They're speaking about me, And I just want to quote, What Flavel says, It's just brilliant, The Father says, About the elect, So you imagine the Father, My son, Here is a company of, Poor, Miserable, Souls, That have utterly undone themselves, And, They now lie open, To my justice, Justice demands, Satisfaction for them, Or it will be, The eternal ruin of them, And the Father asks, What shall be done, For these souls, What shall be done, For these souls, And then you have the Son, The Son responds, Oh my Father, Oh my Father, Such is my love, And my pity for them, That rather than,

[27:00] They shall perish eternally, I will be responsible, For them as my guarantee, Bring your bills, That I may see, What they owe you, Lord bring them all, Bring them in, That there may be, No after reckonings, For them, At my hand, You will require it, I would rather choose, To suffer your wrath, Than they suffer it, And you know, It's wonderful, And he's saying, Upon me my Father, Upon me, Be all their debt, And then the Father, He responds, But my son, But my son, If you undertake for them, You must pay the last penny, Expect no discounts, He says, Because if I spare them, I will not spare you, If I spare them, I will not spare you, And God the son says to the father,

[28:02] It's just wonderful, I am willing father, Let it be so, Charge it all to me, I am able to pay their debt, And though it will undo me, Though it will impoverish, All my riches, And empty my accounts, I am content, To undertake it, So a beautiful discussion, It's great isn't it, And you know, When you think about what Jesus said, Greater love hath no man than this, That a man lay down his life, For his friends, You know, We've been loved, From before time began, We love him, Because he first loved us, And we've been saved by his grace, And in his mercy, He has elected us, And it's all because of his love for us, It's all out of love, And you know, There's a wonderful passage in the Bible, Deuteronomy chapter 7,

[29:04] The Lord is explaining to Moses, As to why he has chosen the nation of Israel, To be his people, And the Lord says to Moses, About his people, You are a people, Holy to the Lord your God, The Lord your God, Has chosen you to be a people, For his treasured possession, Out of all the peoples, Who are on the face of the earth, And it was not because you were more in number, Than any other people, That the Lord set his love on you, And chose you, For you were the fewest, Of all peoples, But the Lord says, It is because the Lord loves you, And is keeping the oath, That he swore to your fathers, That the Lord has brought you out, With a mighty hand, And redeemed you from the house of slavery, From the hand of Pharaoh, King of Egypt, Now therefore, That the Lord your God, Know therefore, That the Lord your God, Is God, The faithful God, Who keeps covenant, And steadfast love, With those who love him, And keep his commandments, To a thousand generations, And you know what was said to Israel, Long ago, Is said to the new Israel,

[30:05] Tonight, You are a people, Holy to the Lord your God, The Lord is saying to you, I have chosen you, As my treasure possession, Not because you chose me, Not because you were special, Not because you loved me first, Not because there was anything good in you, But I set my love on you, And I kept my covenant, For I am the faithful God, Who keeps covenant, And steadfast love, Towards his people, Oh my friend, Our election, Is all of grace, From beginning, To end, It's all of grace, Which is why God is to get the glory, He is to have all the glory in it, And so we've been deciphering election, Then we've seen this discussion, Of election, Discussing election, But lastly, The time is running away, I want us to think about debating election,

[31:08] So deciphering election, Discussing election, And debating election, Debating election, Look at verse 17, Paul says, For the scripture says to Pharaoh, For this very 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, So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, And he hardens whomever he wills, In this section, And in the verses onwards, Paul begins to debate with wrong views on election, And the first question Paul deals with, Is a common question, Maybe you've dealt with it yourself, The question, Who hardened Pharaoh's heart?

[31:52] Who hardened Pharaoh's heart? And Paul, He doesn't shy away from answering this question, Because he says there in verse 18, The Lord has mercy on whomsoever he wills, And the Lord hardens whomsoever he wills, And so the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart, And you know we might be tempted to think, Well that's unfair, Pharaoh wasn't given a chance, He wasn't given an opportunity, Where's the justice in all of that?

[32:18] But then Paul is ready for this debate, He's already asked, Back in verse 14, He asked, Is there injustice on God's part? God forbid, Then Paul drew attention to, What God said to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, And I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion, And Paul is saying that, If God sovereignly chooses to bestow his grace, On some sinners, And withhold his grace, From other sinners, Is there a violation of justice?

[32:51] No. Because we're all sinners. We've all sinned, And come short of the glory of God. Which means that, None of us have a claim on God, Or on his salvation.

[33:04] None of us deserve to be saved, This is the point. None of us deserve it, No, not one. We all deserve God's wrath and curse, For our sin.

[33:15] But God in his grace, And in his mercy, He has elected, Some, You, To everlasting life. Therefore, The elect receives God's perfect grace.

[33:28] And what you could call the non-elect, Whoever they are, They receive God's perfect justice. There is no injustice. No one receives injustice.

[33:40] But Paul knows that people, They will want to debate with this, And they'll want to argue the point. So Paul says in verse 19, You will say to me then, Why does he still find fault?

[33:52] For who can resist his will? But then Paul asks in verse 20, But who are you, O man, To answer back to God? Will what is moulded say to its mould, And why have you made me like this?

[34:03] Has the potter no right over the clay, To make out of the same lump, One vessel for honourable use, And another for dishonourable use? Who are you?

[34:15] Paul says, To answer back to God. And you know, This is the point. We need to know our place. We need to see salvation, Not from a man-centred perspective, But from a Christ-centred, And a God-centred perspective.

[34:31] And you know, This is why, Many unconverted people, Will debate with you about election. They'll enter into a discussion on it, Quite easily. I always remember one man, I was working with, I was just newly converted, I was only 18 at the time, And I asked him, Well, as I still do, Why are you not a Christian?

[34:54] And he responded by saying to me, If I'm in the elect, I will be saved, There's nothing I can do about it. And as someone who was newly converted, I didn't really have an answer for him, Because in one sense, I knew that he was right.

[35:08] There's nothing that he can do about his salvation. He can't save himself, He's dead, He's in the dungeon of sin. So what do we do? Do we just tell them to sit and wait until the day of judgment, And see how they fare, If they're in the elect or not?

[35:26] God forbid. The Bible, As we know, It's full of divine imperatives. Come unto me, Says Jesus. Take my yoke upon you, Learn from me, Listen to me, Incline your ear, Hear, Ask and you shall receive, Seek and you shall find, Knock and the door shall be opened, Call unto me, Repent, Believe, Confess your sin, Come, All these are divine imperatives, The Bible is full of them.

[35:55] So therefore, Even though God is sovereign in salvation, We have a responsibility. Sinners have a responsibility, To respond to the gospel.

[36:10] But this is for us. Saints have a responsibility, To share the gospel. Sinners have a responsibility, To respond to the gospel.

[36:21] But saints have a responsibility, To share the gospel. And you know, Unconditional election, It should be the greatest encouragement to you.

[36:32] To do evangelism. Unconditional election should encourage, And enable you to speak to people about their soul, And their need of Jesus. Because, If God has an elect, Which he has, Then why should we be afraid of speaking in the name of Christ?

[36:51] Why should we worry about our feeble words, And that we might say something wrong, Or that we might put someone off? Of course, We're to make every effort to speak the truth, And to speak with clarity, And with accuracy.

[37:04] But you know, Unconditional election, It should encourage you, And enable you to speak to those, Who are out of Christ. Whether they're in your home, Or your family, Or your workplace, Or the community, Or in Tesco, Or downtown, Stonestorm, Wherever they are, Unconditional election, This wonderful doctrine, That not only reminds you of, How precious you are to God, But it should also encourage, And enable you to speak to people, About Jesus.

[37:38] Because it's the Lord who's going to draw them. Your responsibility, As we said, Sinners have the responsibility, To respond to the gospel. Saints have the responsibility, To share the gospel.

[37:53] One commentator said this, And with this I'll close. He said, A biblical understanding of election, Should help us share the gospel, Freely with all people.

[38:04] Knowing that any one of them, Could be Christ's sheep, Whom he is calling into the fold. It's not up to us, To determine if someone is elect or not. Our responsibility, Is to sow the seed.

[38:19] Our responsibility, Is to sow the seed. And my friend, When we faithfully sow the seed, Through the word, And through our witness, The Lord will draw his elect, To himself.

[38:31] Just like he drew, You and me. It's a wonderful doctrine. Unconditional election.

[38:43] So may the Lord bless these thoughts to us. And let us pray. O Lord, Our gracious God, We marvel that, We have been loved, From even before the foundation of the world.

[38:57] And the Lord of God, Who still loves us, Who still takes care of us, Who still provides for his precious children. We thank thee, We thank thee, We thank thee, That we are able to address thee, As our father.

[39:11] We thank thee, That we know thee, As our father. And help us, Lord, As thy children, To live lives, That are worthy, Of the gospel. Help us, To trust that, Lord, The God, Who is working all things together for good, To those who are the called, According to thine own purpose.

[39:30] And how thy word reminds us, That who shall lay any charge, To God's elect. Oh Lord, We thank thee, And we praise thee, That thou art the one who has chosen us, The one who will keep us, And the one who will present us faultless, Before his glory, With exceeding joy.

[39:49] Help us then, To rejoice in our salvation. Help us, Lord, We pray, To make our calling and election sure, By trusting in Jesus Christ, And Jesus Christ alone.

[40:02] Go before us, Lord, We pray, Lead us and guide us, By thy spirit, And do us good, Take away our iniquity, Receive us graciously, For Jesus' sake. Amen.

[40:18] We're going to conclude our service this evening, By singing again in Psalm 105. Psalm 105, Page 377.

[40:31] And we're singing from verse 42, Down to the end of the psalm. And the psalm, As we said, It's calling us to praise God, And to sing psalms to him.

[40:49] But the main theme is how, Israel was God's chosen people. And how Paul mentions in Ephesians 2, That we are the new Israel. We are the Lord's elect.

[41:02] And we must always remember that. So, Psalm 105, From verse 42, For on his holy promise he, And servant Abraham thought, With joy his people, His elect, With gladness forth he brought.

[41:15] And unto them the pleasant lands, He of the heathen gave, That of the people's labour they, Inheritance might have. That they his statutes might observe, According to his word.

[41:26] And that they might his laws obey, Give praise unto the Lord. These verses to God's praise. For on his holy promise he, And servant Abraham thought, With joy his people, is he led, with gladness forth he brought.

[42:06] And unto them the blessed lands he of the heathen came, of the people's labor they inherit as my town.

[42:36] The vainest that you might observe according to his words, and that they might his love so they give praise unto the Lord.

[43:05] The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all, now and forevermore. Amen.