Sunday, November 25, 2018

"P" Sermon: John 10:27-30


“P”
[John 10:27-30]
November 25, 2018, Second Reformed Church
            Is God sovereign over our salvation, or is God partially sovereign and we partially sovereign?  Has all authority and power be given to Jesus, or not?
            This is the issue before us as we consider the rulings on doctrine by the Synod of Dort.  And on May 9, 1619, the Synod ruled that God is absolutely sovereign in salvation.  We contribute nothing to our salvation except our sin (cf. R. C. Sproul).
            The Synod ruled and affirmed five doctrines which show us that all thanks and praise and glory belong to God and not to us.  They define our work as Christians as proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ, whereas God – our Triune God – brings salvation to pass.
            We saw that Total Depravity affirms that all mere human beings are born with Original Sin, inclined towards sin, unable to do any spiritual good because we are spiritually dead.  Every part of us has been effected by sin.
            We saw that Unconditional Election affirms that since we are dead in sin, we cannot choose salvation.  God, for His own reasons apart from us, chose – in His astounding love – to save some out of the mass of humanity doomed for eternal suffering.
            We saw in Limited Atonement that God chose us specifically to save:  Marla, Maria, Malcolm Muggeridge – and the Son of God incarnated in the person of Jesus to save those specific people that God the Father chose to save.  Jesus did not live and die for any others.
            We saw that Irresistible Grace affirms that God the Holy Spirit raises the people that God the Father chose and Jesus died for to spiritual life – applying Jesus’ atonement to them.  And when the Holy Spirit raises us to new life, we are drawn with an unstoppable compulsion to Jesus and His salvation, and we follow Him and do the good works He has called us to do.
            Finally, today, we look at the doctrine of the Perseverance of the Saints.
            Here the question is, does God preserve us in the faith, or do we preserve ourselves in the faith?  Does God keep us from falling away, or do we keep ourselves from falling away?
            First, Christians sin.
            Some people argue that if God is Sovereign, we must be robots with no ability to make choices.  But that is not what the Scripture teaches:  God is Sovereign over everything.  God has predestined everything.  But, still, we freely make choices and are responsible for our choices.  How does that work?  Well, we are free, but God is more free than we are.
            We can easily see sad examples of believers who sinned horribly and yet remained believers.
            We remember King David – the man that Scripture calls the “man after God’s own heart.”  David was on the roof of his palace and saw a woman – and he lusted after her – he wanted her for his physical pleasure.  And when he found out that she was married to Uriah the Hittite – well, that was no problem – David sent Uriah to the frontline of battle to secure his death – his murder.  And David took Bathsheba as his wife.
            And Nathan the prophet came and told David that a rich man had stolen the only lamb of a poor man to serve as food at his table.  And David flew into a rage and commanded judgment against the man, and then Nathan said, “You are the man.”  (2 Samuel 12).
            Still David is preserved in the faith.  David remains a believer and repents of his sin.
            We remember Peter, that fateful night when Jesus is taken in the Garden, and we read:
            “Then they seized [Jesus] and led him away, bringing him into the high priest's house, and Peter was following at a distance. And when they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat down among them. Then a servant girl, seeing him as he sat in the light and looking closely at him, said, ‘This man also was with him.’ But he denied it, saying, ‘Woman, I do not know him.’ And a little later someone else saw him and said, ‘You also are one of them.’ But Peter said, ‘Man, I am not.’ And after an interval of about an hour still another insisted, saying, ‘Certainly this man also was with him, for he too is a Galilean.’ But Peter said, ‘Man, I do not know what you are talking about.’ And immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed. And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the saying of the Lord, how he had said to him, ‘Before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times.’ And he went out and wept bitterly” (Luke 22:54-62, ESV).
            And yet, Peter remains a believer.  He repents of his sin before the risen Lord, and Jesus sends him out – forgiven – the Apostle to the Jews.
            And Paul writes, “For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.  Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.
            “So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin” (Romans 7:15-25, ESV).
            This is the forgiven Apostle to the Gentiles – a believer.
            What is the point?
            The point is that Christians can commit horrible sins – even remain in sin – for a period of time and not fall away – not lose their salvation – but remain in the faith.  Not that we should ever sin!  Of course, we are to be striving after holiness by the power of God the Holy Spirit.  But even these awful sins, like murder, adultery, and publicly denying Jesus, will not cause us to lose our salvation.
            Have you ever sinned a sin and wondered if God would forgive you?  Have you ever continued to sin the same sin and wonder if repentance was futile?  Have you ever been so disgusted with yourself that you almost didn’t repent and ask for God’s help to stop?
            We must be striving after holiness.  We must continually ask God the Holy Spirit for the strength to say “no” to sin and to do what is right.  We must continually turn away when temptation comes – and it will come and come and come, and we will sin – but we must be sinning less – and we are able because God the Holy Spirit indwells us.  Let us keep the work and the sacrifice of Jesus before us and see how beautiful and astonishing it is that God would ever give Himself for His creation.
            John, the beloved disciple, writes, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us” (I John 1:8-10, ESV).
            Christians sin, but if we confess our sin, sincerely, repentantly, desiring to follow after God’s will, Jesus will forgive us and cleanse us.
            Second, God preserves the believer.
            Hear again what Jesus says:
“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand.  I and the Father are one.”
Jesus is talking about His sheep – those people that God the Father elected from all eternity to be His and to give to His Son.  And Jesus, being God, knows very well that His people will not achieve perfection – sinlessness – holiness – in this lifetime.  He will come again to glorify us and perfect us and make us sinless and holy.
            And yet, Jesus says:
            His sheep will follow Him.  Not, they will follow Him now and then.  Not, they will follow Him, but some will fall away.  No, all of His sheep.  All of the elect will follow Jesus to the end of days.
            He gives His sheep eternal life, and they will never perish – not some of them will never perish – every single one of the elect that God chose and gave to His Son – will never perish and will have eternal life.  Not one of those He chose will lose the gift of eternal life.  Every single one will believe.
            No one will ever snatch them out of His hand.  The devil cannot take any of those God chose from Jesus – every one of the elect will always be His.
            No one will ever snatch the elect out of the Father’s hand because there is no Being greater than the Father – so it is not possible that any member of the elect could be lost or choose to be lost or be stolen away from the Father.  And Jesus and God the Father are the same one God – so it is impossible for anyone in all of Creation to cause a believer to lost His salvation, because Jesus is God – the greatest Being in all of existence.
            Hear what Paul tells the Philippians:  “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6, ESV).
            Paul says he is sure of this – and he is writing under the guidance of God the Holy Spirit, so this is inerrant and infallible – God, Who began a good work in you – salvation – will bring it to completion.  Not may bring it to completion unless you fall away.  No, His will will be done.  The God Who chose each member of the elect from before the Creation, the God Who came to earth to live and die specifically for each member of the elect, the God Who raises each member of the elect from spiritual death and applies the once and eternal salvation secured by Jesus for each specific one – this God will bring the believer to glorious completion in Jesus on the last day – not one will be lost – every one that God chose will believe and be received into the Kingdom – glorified.
            God preserves the believer in salvation.  If you are a believer – one of those elected by God from before the foundation of the world, you will never totally fall away.  You may engage in gross and damning sins – which you must repent of – but you will never be lost, because God preserves you in your salvation – and God is the greatest Being in existence.  No one can stop God from doing what He wills.
            But…have you ever known someone who said he is a Christian and appeared in every way that you could tell to be a Christian, but, at some point, he renounces Christ?
            The eldest of my sisters professed and renounced faith in Christ.  The couple that led me to the Reformed understanding of the Scripture professed and renounced faith in Christ.
            Third, anyone who denies Christ totally and finally never was a believer.
            John writes, “Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us” (I John 2:18-19, ESV).
            And we read about Jesus and the disciples:
            “When many of his disciples heard it, they said, ‘This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?’ But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, ‘Do you take offense at this? Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But there are some of you who do not believe.’ (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.) And he said, ‘This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.’
            “After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him” (John 6:60-66, ESV).
            The same question and problem existed in the first century:  there were people who were following Jesus and coming into the church, and they seemed to be believers – they confessed the creeds, they knew what the Bible said, they could state the Gospel, they participated in the Sacraments and in the care of the members – but then something happened.
            In the context of John’s letter, it is the insistence that Jesus physically rose from the dead – as shall we.  John says that those who deny the physical resurrection are the antichrists.  They could believe in the message of Jesus, in a spiritual reality, even in Jesus’ appearing – but a physical resurrection – that they wouldn’t believe – and the truth came out as they denied Christ and left the church – they never really believed.
            Jesus had far more followers at one point in His ministry – He gave them food and healed them.  But when Jesus said that all the other gods were false gods and that salvation is entirely the work of God – that Jesus Himself is the One God – well, then, they waked away.  They denied Him – they never really believed.
            Someone can seem to be a Christian – someone can even believe he is a Christian – but if he doesn’t really believe in his mind and in his heart that God came to earth in the person of Jesus, lived a perfect life under God’s Law, died for the sins of everyone who will every believe, physically rose from the dead, and ascended back to His throne – he is not a Christian.
            Being a Christian is having an intellectual understanding and heart belief in Who Jesus is and what He did.  If you don’t truly have that and you can’t truly confess that – you are not a Christian.  Sadly, men and women will show themselves to not be who we thought they were until the last day.  But God knows the heart.  God knows who are His.
            And so we hear the Gospel preached again and again in the Church – because believers need to hear it and be reminded of it and continually be re-formed to what the Scripture teaches.  And, because there are people in our churches who call themselves Christians who are not – and they need to know they are not and understand what the Gospel is if they are to have the hope of salvation.
            D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones tells the story of being a guest preacher at a church and an elderly woman – who was a long-time member of the church, well thought of, and a faithful giver to the ministry – who heard him preach and went up after the service having realized that she was not a Christian at all, and she wanted to know more – how she could be a Christian.
            Still, there will be others who hear that you must believe in your heart and mind in Who Jesus is and what He did, and they will be turned off and renounce the faith – I can’t tell you how many of my Christian friends in college have renounced Jesus.  I hope they are going through a “phase” now.  But if they never confess faith in Jesus again, they were never Christians in the first place.  They were people who found something enjoyable – likeable – appealing – about what was said, but when push came to shove, they didn’t believe or love Jesus.
            They were wrong – not God. God knows – and chose – everyone who will ever believe in His Son, Jesus.  And by the indwelling of God the Holy Spirit, every one that God has chosen to be His out of the mass of humanity – each one specifically – by name – each one will be raised to spiritual life and receive eternal salvation and life with Jesus.
            Why are the Canons of Dort – these five doctrines – important?  Because, if they are true – if they are the correct understanding of the Scripture – then salvation is all of God and all to the glory of God – an outrageous gift of love to specific beings who hated God so much that they were dead in their sin – but now believe and are assured of everlasting life, because it is God’s work – the work of the most powerful Being in all of existence Who says He loves you and will never lose you.
            If they are wrong, then we, at least partially save ourselves, God is not sovereign, and we can never be sure of our salvation.  Because – one day we can be walking down the street, after ninety years of faithful belief and service to Christ and in strange slip deny Him and get hit by a bus – and we will go to Hell.
            No.  God is God, and He has saved and preserves a people for Himself.  Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
            Let us pray:
            Almighty God, we thank You that You are God and we are not.  We thank You for reasons beyond our comprehension, You chose to save a specific people for Yourself through the gift of Your Son.  Thank You for the assurance of hope in knowing that our salvation is totally in Your hands, so we can never be lost.  And keep us telling our friends and family Who Jesus is and what He has done that You would be glorified in the salvation of others.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Tuesday, November 20, 2018

"I" Sermon: John 6:44


“I”
[John 6:44]
November 18, 2018, Second Reformed Church
            We continue our look at the five doctrines affirmed by the Synod of Dort in 1619.  As we come into the 400th anniversary of their affirmations, we remember that we consider these to be accurate summaries of the teaching of the Scripture.
            We saw that the Scripture teaches that all mere human beings are born spiritually dead and inclined towards sin.  We saw the astounding love of God Who, for His own reasons, chose to save some out of the mass of humanity.  And last week we saw that the work of salvation that Jesus merited is a gift specifically for each member of the elect – those God chose – not generally for anyone or, even, no one.
            The fourth doctrine, Irresistible Grace, looks at the question of how the gift is applied to the spiritually dead sinner who has been chosen by God and for whom Christ merited salvation.
            Think about our dead friend in the open casket again:  he is dead.  But he is one that God has chosen to raise to spiritual life.  And Christ has specifically merited the salvation of our dead friend.  All he has to do is apply it to himself.  Can he?  No.  He’s still dead.  A dead person can do nothing to help himself.  He must be raised from the dead to be able to do anything.
            Another way of thinking about this is thinking about being born.  How many of you gave birth to yourself?  How many of you caused your birth?
            Jesus says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3b, ESV).
            So, how do you give birth to yourself?  You remember how you did it the first time, right?
            Of course not – birth is something that is done to you.  When my niece was born a couple of months ago, her mother birthed her.  Emersyn had no part in choosing to be born or in effecting the act of being born.
In fact, God regenerates the dead elect sinner to spiritual life and gives him the gift of faith, so he can receive the Gospel and be saved.  Again, God regenerates the dead elect sinner to spiritual life and gives him the gift of faith, so he can receive the Gospel and be saved.
Let’s break this down.
First, God regenerates the elect.
We are born spiritually dead – that is the foundation of the whole discussion for the five weeks we are looking at the Synod of Dort and it’s proclamations. 
First, logically, God must spiritually raise the elect from the dead.
Paul writes, “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:1-7, ESV).
All mere human beings are born spiritually dead, incapable of doing any spiritual good.  But God, in that astounding love that we talked about – God chose to love some and raise them to spiritual life – everyone who believes savingly in Jesus.  God raises us to spiritual life as a gift – for His own reasons – that we would know “the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness towards us” – so we would glorify our Triune God and worship Him and give Him thanks.
Jesus tells Nicodemus, “Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit” (John 3:7-8, ESV).
Jesus tells Nicodemus that regeneration – spiritual life – being born again – is not something that anyone can do or choose – God the Holy Spirit gives spiritual life to those whom He chose from before the foundation of the world.  And we don’t know who those are or when God will cause them to believe.
God regenerates the elect.  God gives spiritual life to the people He chose.
Second, faith is a gift.
Faith is the means by which we receive the Gospel and believe it in our hearts and minds.  Like the gutters and leaders on a house that collects the rain and directs it to where you want it to go, faith receives spiritual truth.  But, spiritually dead people don’t have faith.
Paul writes, “because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9, ESV).
Two things must be true for this to happen:  you must be spiritually alive – God must have regenerated you.  And, you must have faith to receive the Gospel – God must give you the gift of faith.  Then you can confess Jesus and believe in Him.
Paul writes, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9, ESV).
“For by grace” – by God’s gift to you – “you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing;” - what is the “this”?  Salvation through faith.  “it is the gift of God,” what is the “it”?  Salvation through faith. “not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And [salvation through faith] is not your own doing; [salvation through faith] is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
God the Holy Spirit raises the spiritually dead elect person to life – God the Holy Spirit regenerates him.  And, God the Holy Spirit gives him that faith he needs to receive the Gospel – “so that no one may boast” – salvation is the gift of God from start to finish.
            This is summarized in the Scripture we heard this morning:
            Jesus says, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.”
            Jesus says that no one can – no one has the ability to come to God to repent and believe and confess Jesus – it is not possible for anyone to come to God to repent and believe and confess Jesus – unless God the Father draws him.
            What does that mean?  What does it mean that the Father “draws” him?
            Does it mean that the Father says, “Look at all the rewards you’ll get for being a Christian.  Com’mon – come over to our side’?
            Does it mean that the Father says, “Here human, human, human, come be born again?”
            No.
            It helps to know that the same word that is translated “draw” in this text is used when it is said that someone “draws” water out of a well.
            Now, if you have ever drawn water up out of the well, or if you have seen someone do it, or even if you can imagine what would be involved in drawing water up out of a well, would you stand at the top of the well and draw it up by saying, “Here water, water, come to the top of the well!”?
            No, the water, like the spiritually dead human adds nothing – does nothing – being drawn is done to the water – to the human.  In the case of water, a bucket is lowered down and it is drawn up – pulled up – hauled up to where it is wanted.
            The same word that John uses can also be translated, “compels” – “no one can come to the Father, unless the Father compels him.”
            Something has to be done to the spiritually dead person to make him able to do spiritual good and to be able to receive the Gospel.
            What happens is “irresistible grace.”
            God the Holy Spirit raises the person to spiritual life, gives him the gift of salvation through faith, and the “compulsion,” the desire, the irresistible draw to the Gospel – and he receives it.
            Some have said that the doctrine of irresistible grace forces people to come to Christ against their will – when they don’t want to – but that is a misunderstanding of what this doctrine teaches.  What this doctrine teaches is that when God chooses a person, raises him to spiritual life, and gives him the faith to receive the Gospel – there is nothing else in the world that will keep him from it.  When God raised us and gave us faith, we want Jesus and His salvation – we understand that there is nothing greater and we want it with everything that we are – we want Him with everything that we are – and so we are saved by the work of God alone and that work applied to us.
            When God raises us and gives us the gift of salvation through faith, we run to Christ because we want Him more than anything.  That is irresistible grace.
            Then, third, we exercise our faith and bear fruit.
            Once God chooses us and raises us to spiritual life, applying to us the work that Jesus did specifically for each one of us who believes, we are now able to respond to the salvation God gifted us through being obedient to all He has commanded.  We are to do good works in Jesus’ Name in obedience and thanksgiving to Him, and we can do them because God indwells us and empowers us.
            Our lives are all about showing how great our Triune God is and giving Him thanks in all that we do.
            Let us pray:
            Almighty God, we thank You for raising us and giving us faith so we would see how amazing grace is – how great is the salvation that Your Son has merited and the Holy Spirit has applied to us.  Grow our astonishment and our love that we would run after obedience – away from sin – and proclaim Your Gospel to the world.  Even at Thanksgiving.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.