The Hope of His Calling, Part 1

In this part of the sermon: He emphasizes that the biblical word 'calling' must be understood in its full New Testament richness, not merely a modern English meaning, and uses the Confession's rule of…

The word 'calling' is like a snowball starting small in the Old Testament and gathering more significance as it rolls through Scripture, reaching its fullness in the New Testament.

hope, which is always identified with a calling, unless you first of all know, have I been called? And how can you know if you've been called unless you know what that word is? And so we're going to zero in this morning on seeking to expound this concept of the call, which is the source of the Christian's hope. What then is the precise meaning of this word calling? It's another of those biblical words, which if you simply attach to it a 20th century English meaning, you've absolutely bled it of all of its biblical blood and life. In fact, you've killed it. It's one of those words, like so many...

9:42 - 10:32 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: He emphasizes that the biblical word 'calling' must be understood in its full New Testament richness, not merely a modern English meaning, and uses the Confession's rule of…

The word 'calling' is like a raw diamond with impurities; it needs to be cut and polished to reveal its inherent beauty and fire, just as the word's external aspects in the Old Testament give way to its profound beauty in the New.

And as it comes rolling through the pages of the history of God's people, it gathers more and richer and greater significance until it comes before us in all of its beauty, in all of its fullness in the New Testament. To change the figure, there's an aspect in which it's like some diamonds that are found in the diamond fields of South Africa. When they are initially found, there are a lot of impurities attached to them and on the outside of them. And before you can see that diamond in all of its beauty, it has to be, first of all, removed, all of the impurities removed, and then it has to be c...

11:02 - 12:00 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin outlines three secular usages of 'call' (designate, beckon, appoint) and then the 'general call' of the gospel, which is sincere, universal, Spirit-attended, but can be…

The parable from Matthew 22 is used to illustrate the 'general call' or invitation to the gospel, which can be rejected.

You see, the snowball is still gathering weight and size and dimension when it comes through the gospels. So when you come to the word call, you don't take it in its fullest sense as you find it in the gospels. For you will find it used there in the specimen case, Matthew 22, verses 3 to 8. This is very familiar.

16:02 - 16:22 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: He argues that in the Epistles, 'calling' exclusively refers to the powerful, efficacious call of God that actually brings men into salvation, citing Romans 8 and 1 Corinthians 1…

A quote from a hymn ('It was the same love that spread the feast that sweetly drew me in. Else I had still refused to come and perished in my sin.') is used to illustrate the powerful, drawing nature of the effectual call.

It was the same love that spread the feast that sweetly drew me in. Else I had still refused to come and perished in my sin. Lenski, one of the most careful commentators in the New Testament says concerning this use of the word call, quote, in the epistles, noun, verb and verbal noun that is calling, called, the called ones are always used with reference to the successful call of God and not as in Matthew 22.14 with reference to the rejected call.

21:06 - 21:46 Read in full sermon

The point: Ask yourself: 'Has Almighty God called you? Has Almighty God laid hold of you and brought you into union with His Son?'

The story of Lydia in Acts 16 is used as a beautiful example of how the effectual call comes 'through our gospel' as the Lord opens the heart to attend to the preached word.

and substance he didn't say where unto he called you through a gospel or through some gospel but through our gospel that's how the call comes and the most beautiful example I know of this are not thee but one is in the book of Acts in the 16th chapter when Paul goes down to a riverside prayer meeting to preach and the scripture says in this beautiful simple language concerning a woman named Lydia whose heart the Lord opened so that she attended to the things that were spoken by Paul how did the call come is someone sitting in his or her sins indifferent and careless half asleep sitting in a se...

45:58 - 47:27 Read in full sermon