Truth Tightly Packed (Part 2 of 3)

The doctrine of election has been the focus of debate, and even some false teaching over the for example, people wonder if God shows his people before the dawn of time. What's the purpose for evangelism will today on Truth for Life or to consider the role of God's sovereignty and election as well as our responsibility.

Alistair Begggest teaching today from Titus chapter 1 verses one through four. I want us to consider the opening four versus from the perspective. First of Paul's position, then Paul's purpose then Paul's preaching and then Paul's partner so first of all, then let us look at what we are told about Paul's position. He describes himself first of all as a servant of God's servant of God. Secondly, his purpose why is he a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ really tells us for the sake of the faith of God's elect for the sake of the faith of God's elect who are God's elect. The people of God, those upon whom God has said his life pausing here for just a moment because this is a little the little phrase that sometimes unsettles people and we are not to be unsettled.

The total the story line of the Bible is the story line of God taking the initiative in seeking out a people who are his very own, completely out of the blue is aware from a human perspective, he calls Abram out of the qualities he calls Abram to himself and he entrusted Abraham the privileges that will flow from him and tells him that through his seed all the nations of the earth will be blessed by the time you get to the book of Deuteronomy, you have the record of what God is doing and why God has acted as he's acted and I just read to you. Deuteronomy 7 and verse six.

God's is for your 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. It wasn't because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord said his love on you and shows you for the you were the fewest of all people's but it is because the Lord loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers of the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery from the hand of Pharaoh the king of Egypt know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love, and so want for a thousand generations, and on when you get to the New Testament you find of the apostles pick up this terminology and use it to describe all who have been embraced by the Lord Jesus Christ, so that the elect of God comprises those who in every age have been redeemed on the basis of the work of Jesus on the cross so that the Old Testament believers have been redeemed, put right with God. On the strength of a sacrifice that was perspective to them. The New Testament believers and all subsequently are redeemed on the strength of a sacrifice that is retrospective to us but all who are included in the family of God are near. As a result of grace through faith. And so you have this amazing juxtaposition of the people of God of the Old Testament being married into those who are added in the New Testament that the one who is a child of Abram is not, says Paul, the one who is been circumcised or comes from a certain lineage and it is the one who shares the faith of Abraham and the one who, like Abraham has been declared righteous in God's sight, who has been justify this tremendous mystery and that but there is no diorama and it when you realize that it sits on the very surface of the Scriptures.

So here we are with the reality of the doctrine of election three things concerning number one. It is a biblical doctrine is a biblical doctrine. It is impossible to read your Bible without being confronted by it is revealed in Scripture and therefore it is to be believed. Secondly, it therefore follows that it is an essential doctrine is essential.

There's nothing there that is irrelevant to us. The fact that it has been and is the occasion of debate and disagreement is to be regretted because of his essential nature. And thirdly, it is practical and is practical in this sense that in the face of all that threatens to unhinge us and to undo as the children of God are able to rest in the security of the initiative of God, we saw that didn't week when we study Romans chapter 8 what shall we say then, in response to all of this if God be for us, who can be against us, who shall bring any charge against God's elect. It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn and saw so when we find ourselves confronted by all means, onslaughts when we are made aware of our own propensity to wonder and to stray our security lies in the fight that we've been in love before the dawn of time. Love before the dawn of time. Now that is an immense thought is, he chose us in him, says Paul to the Ephesians before the creation of the world that we should be holy and blameless in his sight so that the significant identifying feature of these Christians in Crete was going to be not simply the healthiness of their doctrine, by the loveliness of their life's there were other people in Crete who said a lot of things about God, but their lifestyle denied their profession.

So says Paul, let me remind you that I am writing here to you. Titus and the reason that I have been set apart as God's servant, and as Christ's apostle is in order that men and women might come to faith through my preaching and will see that later in the sentence and that they might grow in faith.

As a result of the letter that I am writing to you now, but immediately that you address these issues. Somebody says well if that is the case that God has chosen his people before time ever began.

Then surely it follows that there is nothing for us to do. There is no point in us going out to tell anybody about Christ.

If he's already made up his mind who are his own, but I would seem to be legitimate concern would until we recognize the fact that Jesus didn't operate that way. I have a very simple rule you may think it strange after my comments about your favorite bracelets but I have a very simple rule and that is that when I come to some area of doctrine, I say to myself if it doesn't work for Jesus it doesn't work for me or if it is not a problem for Jesus is not a problem for me.

And this is no problem for Jesus. Otherwise, why would he say come to me all you who are really and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. He doesn't say come to me all those that God has chosen, he doesn't and issue a call to the elect of God to waken up and come to he issues a universal call to all and any to come to Jesus as whosoever comes to me I will never turn away from God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life, so that the free offer of the gospel is exactly that the free offer of the gospel to say to people, God commands you to repent and to trust in Christ and some says you will what about the other professor John Murray is help me greatly with this and in his volume 1 of his writings, page 82.

He makes this statement. It is on the wave of divine sovereignty that the unrestricted summons comes to the weary and a heavy laden, any inhibition or reserve in presenting the overtures of grace or presenting the gospel any inhibition or reserve in presenting the overtures of grace should no more characterize our proclamation that he characterized the Lord's witness. We should be no more inhibited than was Jesus crazy what you have in the Bible.

If you have the fact of God's sovereignty and election and you have the fact of man's responsibility both to proclaim this gospel and to believe this gospel, for example, when the Philippian jailer said what must I do to be saved. Paul did not say well we can talk about that later, but it's going to depend on whether your part of the elect. No, he said, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be say invite you and your household along with you.

They believe they'll be saved to. So the temptation is to either error on one side of the other, championing the cause of man's freedom and sorrow and is is own personal sovereignty is aware freedom of his will and responsibility or championing the fact of God's sovereign purpose from all of eternity, or attempting to collapse them into one another in some strange amalgam, which usually goes along the lines of well it has to do with God's foreknowledge. He knew who was going to believe because he knew he was going to believed then he elected them. Once he knew it was going to believe denuded of any significance at all. It's a really pretty worthless argument. Know the answer to the line and in one extreme or the other dozen line collapsing them into each other but I like it a lot. It lies in believing both of them simultaneously and believing both of them entirely, absolutely and entirely that God purpose from all eternity to other people are his very own. That is her day in men and women to salvation, but he is also ordained the means whereby men and women come to salvation.

Otherwise, it was no reason for them to say go into all the world and preach the gospel through me no reason to do so. When enough of the fact that it was by the preaching of the gospel that men and women come to understand the truth and when they understood God's truth in the belief. So for example if you want it. Just look at Ephesians chapter 1, which is probably Paul's most sustained treatment off the notion and if you take it in reverse is aware. If you get to verse 13 he sees writing to Ephesians and is begun by talking about the that God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing chosen chosen us in him before the foundation of the world. And then he says verse 13 in him you also notice that when you hear the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it to the praise of his glory. So another words he says them. If you think about it here. I came with some of my colleagues and we came into Ephesus, into all of the challenge of that community and we began to tell you that if you would read the Old Testament you will discover that the Messiah of God had to suffer and die. We live in hard to try and show you from the Scriptures of the Messiah had to suffer and die. And when you came to a conviction as to the validity of that view. We then told you and this Jesus is that Messiah. This Jesus is that Messiah.

And then in the mercy and goodness of God. You actually believe the word of truth, and the Holy Spirit invaded your life and that same Holy Spirit is keeping you today and guaranteeing you an inheritance that is your own possession.

That is reserved for you and essentially has your name on it and if you've had time to ponder the immensity of God's grace and have started back from my preaching to you. If you have gone far enough back. You have now find yourself in the mysteries of God's eternal will. You will find yourself going back to say how was it that I was there on that day. Why was it that my friend brought me to that event. Why was it that I actually understood how, I really believe what is going on here, and as you get further and further back to safe long before the dawn of time. She was in my mate handling my Savior. I am his and he is my but on the day you believed what they were four years old or 40 years old and seemed like you were supposed to do everything you maven of building you didn't think you made yourself a Christian, that God can congratulate you for making a good decision, but of course you know now that he did. If that were the case should be smart, wouldn't you is now shared puts it when he thinks in terms of calling people to respond to the gospel. This is what he said when God calls upon people universally to believe he doesn't call them to believe they are elected or that Christ died for them. In particular, he calls upon them to believe that Christ died for sin, for sinners, for the world.

The atonement is not offered to an individual, either as an elective man or as a nonelected man but as a man and a sinner simply Hans Newton.

I know two things that I am a great sinner and that Christ is my great Savior Rabbi Duncan the professor of the new features college in Scotland many years ago so simply and I've never forgotten this little Triplett of his. This is how he put it, Christ died for sinners. Rabbi Duncan is a sinner.

Therefore, Christ died for Rabbi Duncan, Christ died for sinners. Rabbi Duncan is therefore Christ died for Rabbi Duncan.

You know the reason that many people balk at this is not ancient intellectual because there is no way for us in our human intellect to reconcile this antinomian to self existent truths that sat side-by-side. That cannot be reconciled within the framework of our own human intellect but I don't.

Intellect is a problem in most cases, pride is the problem right is the problem because we want to be able to contribute something to our salvation. We wanted to be like getting into a country club or achieving a postgraduate status so that we can then say you know on this is what I did and is what I did. I was rewarded for this and I was one of the true believer never operates that way because we know this is entirely gratuitous. Even my response to God's offer has only made been made possible by his grace. Even my response is only possible by his grace limit. Finishing this will come back to this tonight. This is how Spurgeon addressed his congregation when he was dealing with this. On one occasion in the tabernacle in London. He said all my hearers or my hearers. If you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ this morning.

You are saved, I beg you to get hold of this truth of God that according to his mercy. The Lord has saved us who believe in Jesus, will you tell me, or rather tell yourselves whether you are saved on. If you are not saved you are lost. If you are not already forgiven.

You are already condemned, will you not tell the person next to you, or tell yourself for they are saved or not.

Jesus Christ is not a life coach he helps is in our lives invitation. He gives is an invitation to come and die to die to myself to die to my own agendas my own initiatives to die to my own little kingdom that I'm seeking to array and to believe that he has come to be Lord and King calls us to that hymn writer says. I hear the voice of Jesus say, come unto me, and rest, and I came to Jesus. I hear the voice of Jesus say come on to me and drink. The living water thirsty one stoop down and drink, and live in, I came to Jesus and I drank of that life-giving stream is that your testimony can you sing salvation so you see when we go on and this will be going to discoveries that the whole message of salvation is about God who does for us what we cannot do for ourselves.

He regenerates us he makes is new from the inside out. We do not make ourselves new from the outside in.

So the position he's had was as a servant and as an apostle and the purpose that he had was for the faith of God's elect, which when understood, will be revealed in holiness and will be revealed in a genuine desire to see others brought into the realm of God's mercy and his goodness.

God is the one who takes the initiative to seek out people of his very own.

We have a responsibility to accept Jesus invitation and to proclaim the gospel part two of a message titled truth tightly packed your listing to Truth for Life with Alister beg.

We hope you'll keep listening. Alastair will be back in just a minute to close with prayer and as always, we'd encourage you to join us and to pray along with him in the study of Paul's letter to Titus and in all of our studies of the apostle Paul's letters, we see that Paul prayed for believers in the early church. He prayed that their faith would not waiver that the church would grow and that God would be glorified. Alastair is written a book titled pray big that takes a closer look at the apostle Paul's prayers specifically for the church in Ephesus today. You can download that book as an audiobook read by Alister it's available for free when you go to Truth for Life.org/pray big as you listen to the pray big audiobook. You learn how you can elevate the scope of your prayers by using Paul's approach as a model to follow. Again, you'll find the free download online a Truth for Life.org/pray big there's also a corresponding free pray big study guide can download as well. This is a helpful study for a small group, and again these resources come to you highly recommended. There's another book that all of us accrued for life or recommending to you. It's called love your church by Tony Marita. This is a great book to supplement our current series titled get it right.

Tony Marino's concern for the church echoes the apostle Paul's concerns.

Christians are called to worship together to care for one another in a way that's distinct from the culture and attractive to all the book.

Love, your church explores many practical ways you can contribute to the well-being of your church. The author even considers the most common obstacles that keep people from attending or participating in the church. In this book, you'll learn how to maneuver around those obstacles so you can enjoy the benefits of belonging to a community of believers.

You can request your copy of the book love your church when you donate today to give simply click the image you see in the mobile app or visit us online at truthforlife.org/donate or you can call us at 888-588-7884 and if you'd rather mail your donation along with your request for the book right to truth for that PO Box 39, 8000, Cleveland, OH 44139.

Now here's Alister to close with prayer. God help us as we think our way through these things so that we might become increasingly humbled by the overtures of your mercy increasingly irreverent before the wonder of your love to us, and increasingly keen to see unbelieving people becoming the committed followers of Jesus Christ. Help us to be of the same. Our song from our hearts, for we pray in Christ's name. Amen about the peen having extensive Bible knowledge is a good thing but we need more than knowledge to experience genuine life transforming faith. Join us tomorrow as we find out what else is necessary. Bible teaching of Alister beg is furnished by Truth for Life Learning is for Living