Importance of the Doctrine of Calling

Introduction: Resuming Here We Stand, The Cardinal Blessings

0:02 It was announced last Lord's Day morning, as we began our study in the Word of God, that we would be resuming our series of studies in the Scriptures, regulated by the general framework of the series began a long time ago, entitled, Here We Stand. In this particular series of studies in the Word of God, our concern has been to grasp Some of the major doctrinal concerns of the Scriptures to acquaint ourselves with those portions of the Word of God which are the classic statements of those doctrines so that we as the people of God in the language of Ephesians 4 may be no more children tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine and by the slight of man and the cunning craftiness with which God

0:59 Those who propagate error would seek to seduce us, but that we might be rooted and grounded in the truth of Scripture concerning these vital issues that impinge upon our soul's safety and well-being. Now, in the unfolding of that series, we are presently in the section that I've entitled, The Salvation We Receive and Proclaim. Having considered who the objects of this salvation are,

1:29 who the central figure is, even the Lord Jesus, in the mystery of his person and the majesty of his offices, we have now begun to address ourselves to what I am calling the cardinal blessings of this salvation. When we turn to the New Testament and find such words as calling, justification, sanctification, glorification,

1:57 We must understand that these are not words placed in the Bible in order to give professional theologians some raw materials with which to work in the making of their large books of systematic theology. These words are placed in the Scriptures by the Spirit of God to express some of the wonderful realities of the salvation that God freely offers to needy sinners

2:25 and powerfully conveys upon His people as He draws them to Himself. Now, as we seek to examine these cardinal blessings, I suggested last Lord's Day that we shall do so in terms of constantly underscoring the orbit within which they come to us, namely union with Christ. Ephesians 1.3 tells us that we are blessed with every spiritual blessing

2:58 In Christ.

The Doctrine of Calling: Why the Term Needs No Additives

3:23 contemplating these blessings in terms of those by which we are actually brought into vital union with Christ, those that become ours and remain with us the moment we are brought into vital union with Christ, and those that await us in the future as the ultimate fruit of our union with Christ. Now this morning, then, we begin to address ourselves to the first of these two great blessings that come to us, as it were, on the threshold of the Christian experience. We shall begin by considering this morning the doctrine of calling. Now the term is often used in conjunction with another word, namely the adjective effectual calling.

4:17 Now, there is nothing really wrong with that use, because people have desired to distinguish between what is often called a general call to repentance and faith, buttressed with the promises of God which comes to all men indiscriminately in the preaching of the gospel, and that special call by which God not only summons men...

4:45 to repentance and faith and the blessings of His grace, but He actually draws them into the possession of the very things that He promises in the gospel. But I trust, as we shall discover, or we will discover together in our study, that the word calling, when understood in its rich biblical connotation, needs no additives. It is rich enough in itself to stand alone. And so I will not be using the term effectual calling, but I will be using the biblical term in its nakedness, the term calling. Now, this morning, and I will probably only have time to do but one thing, I'm prepared to do more, but I doubt we shall have time to do more, I want to underscore with you first of all the importance of the biblical doctrine of calling.

5:40 Why should you be concerned to have a precise grasp upon the significance of this biblical concept of calling? Why should you expend the mental and spiritual effort to come to grips with this doctrine so that when you read the word call, calling, called, the called ones in the New Testament, That will not be a vague and nebulous concept floating, as it were, before you or merely being threaded through your eyes, but that when you see that Word and confront that idea bound up in the Word, there will be an intelligent, believing, and grateful response to the mind of God in that Word. Why should you be concerned to have that kind of grasp? Well, for the simple reason...

6:33 that your salvation comes to you in terms of calling. And unless you are wickedly indifferent to your salvation, you dare not be indifferent to the doctrine of calling. And what I propose to do this morning is to trace out three lines of thought with you from the Scriptures which underscore the importance of the biblical doctrine of calling. Now, the first is this.

Importance 1: Strategic Place in the Plan of Redemption (Romans 8)

7:02 Consider with me its strategic place in the plan of redemption. The importance of the doctrine of calling can be seen when we understand its strategic place in the plan of redemption. Turn please to the eighth chapter of Paul's letter to the Romans. Romans chapter 8.

7:32 Those of you who were here several Lord's days ago will remember that we focused our attention upon verse 28, this great word of consolation. It forms one of the three strands of consolation that are laid out in this chapter. The Apostle having said that suffering is part and parcel of the experience of the people of God, in verse 17,

7:59 He then goes on, beginning with verse 18, to give distinct lines of consolation to the suffering people of God. And one of them, you'll remember, was this consolation that all of their sufferings are working together by design and by the hand of a powerful providence for the good of those who suffered. Now, as he describes the people for whom this is true, you'll remember, that we underscored the description came in two ways. The people of God are described in verse 28 as those that love God, and at the end of the verse, those that are called according to purpose. Now, after the apostle mentions this distinguishing characteristic of the people of God, namely that they are called according to purpose,

8:55 He then, as it were, dilates on that subject of purpose. He then expands upon the purpose which lies behind the call of God's people. That brings us to the thought of verse 29 and 30. For whom he foreknew, he also foreordained to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

9:24 And whom he foreordained, then he also called. And whom he called, then he also justified. And whom he justified, then he also glorified. Now as the apostle conceives of the calling of the people of God, which is according to purpose, his understanding of that purpose in this passage has two facets or two prongs.

9:56 It is a purpose which brings us into the orbit of foreknowledge and foreordination. Look at the language. Called according to purpose for whom he foreknew, he also foreordained or predestinated. Now foreknow in this context means nothing less than to love beforehand.

10:22 to regard with distinguishing love and affection. Its significance in this passage is precisely what it is in Romans chapter 11, when the people of God, God's ancient people, are spoken of in this language. Romans 11 and verse 2, God did not cast off His people which He foreknew.

10:50 And his ancient people Israel he foreknew, that is, he loved them beforehand. He regarded them with distinguishing, discriminating love and affection. Then he says that purpose is not only connected to foreknowledge, but also to predestination or to foreordination, which simply means to determine beforehand.

11:18 And in this passage it says God determined beforehand to conform all of those upon whom He set His love, that they should ultimately reflect the moral likeness of His Son. Now, what in the world does this have to do with calling? Well, think with me now. And if you at this point spare yourself the labor of thinking, you will rob yourself of the fruit of the blessing of this text.

11:47 He speaks of God's people as called according to purpose. Then, as it were, he opens up these two strands of thought regarding the divine purpose which lies behind their calling, and he does so in terms of God's disposition towards his people. It is one of distinguishing, discriminating love, and with reference to his design for those people, he is determined to beforehand that He shall make them into the image of His Son. Now it is that disposition and that design which the Apostle says lies behind the calling of God's people. So we read in the next verse, Whom He foreordained, them He also called, and whom He called He justifies and He glorifies.

12:47 In other words, our being loved beforehand, our being part of that eternal design mentioned in this passage, breaks out of the secret design and counsel of God and into our own experience when we are called by God into vital union with His Son.

13:15 If I may use the term that has often been used with respect to this text, it is the golden chain of redemptive design and accomplishment, and the first two links of that chain go way back into eternity. They are enveloped in the clouds of divine mystery and eternity. We cannot see them. We cannot read them. The link of faith foreknowledge and of foreordination. They are out of sight. They stretch back into eternity. And the first link that breaks into human awareness and into human view in that great chain is the link of calling. Calling is linked to foreordination, which is linked to foreknowledge, but we can't see those first two links.

14:12 But the one that we do see and experience and powerfully know is that of calling. And God's gracious designs of salvation break, as it were, out of the thick clouds of eternity and divine mystery into human experience and consciousness in the realm of calling. But now here's the glory of this passage.

14:40 Once they break into that realm and a man is called, God says the other links which again end up enshrouded in the glory and the majesty of the eternal state are embedded there. Whom He called, He justified. Whom He justified, He glorified. So you should view this chain in this way.

15:07 On the one hand, the first two links shrouded in the blazing light of the mystery of an eternal God and an eternal mind. Mysteries that we cannot plummet. But one thing we know, that amidst that mystery, there is a people upon whom God set His distinguishing love. He foreknew them. And the disposition of His heart was linked with a design.

15:36 that when He is done with giving then to that love, He shall have a people made over into the moral likeness of His Son. And so we see the first two links embedded in that mystery. Then we see this link that breaks out of the clouds and into time and space in our own experience, the link of calling. And then we see next to it the link of justification,

16:04 And this is not a complete list. There are other blessings. But then as we look at the final link, it too is shrouded in a blazing glory that we cannot look upon, even the eternal state, our glorification. And you see in the thinking of the apostle, calling then has this strategic place in the plan of redemption, It is, and I don't know a better word to use than the word the nexus. It is the connecting point between a salvation that is bounded by eternal purpose on the one hand and eternal glory on the other and calling brings the chain together in my poor sinful hell deserving life.

16:53 Now you see, to be indifferent to calling is to be indifferent to something that occupies a strategic place in the plan of redemption. As surely as no one would ever be saved if there were no foreknowledge and foreordination, no one is saved if there is no calling. It is a vital link

Illustration: The George Washington Bridge Cables

17:24 in that entire scheme of redemption. I was trying to think of something that could help illustrate this and embed it in your minds, and because I quite frequently have to make the trip into one of the New York airports, I immediately thought of the George Washington Bridge. Now, if you know anything about the George Washington Bridge, you know it's quite high above the Hudson River.

17:51 And from a distance you wonder how in the world are those little cables that look so thin from a distance going to hold up my car and all the hundreds of other cars and the tons and tons of steel and concrete until you do a little study about how that bridge is made. And you will discover that the main cables on that suspension bridge are no less thick than a full yard. They're 36 inches thick. And those things that look like little pencils coming down, each of them is 4 inches thick.

18:22 But the secret to the success of the suspension bridge is not so much the thickness of its main cables, though it must be adequate to bear the load. It's where they are embedded. And that suspension bridge has its main cables embedded in the palisades of the New Jersey shore on the one side and of the rock island of Manhattan on the other. Now they're embedded out of sight. All you see is the cables strung very nicely there. But dozens of feet in the heart of the earth, those cables are embedded. And you're able to drive across that bridge and whistle your favorite tune, if you dare to indulge in that luxury going across the GW Bridge, only because of the anchorage of that bridge on the New York shore and on the Jersey shore.

19:17 Now you see where I'm going with that simple and homely illustration? What is it that can give the child of God any confidence as He makes His sojourn through this life beset with a thousand dangers on the left hand and on the right? It is this, that if I have been called, and I know what calling is, and I know in my own experience that I have been called, and I have been brought into vital union with Christ,

2 Timothy 1 Parallel: A Holy Calling Before Times Eternal

19:46 What a wonderful thing to know that on the one hand, that great work of God is embedded in eternity. When I was foreknown and foreordained to be conformed to His Son, and the cable is embedded on the other side in the glorification that is sure to come as God is God and His Son has died for sinners. So you see, this is no Light matter, the importance of the doctrine of calling can be seen in its strategic place in the plan of redemption. A passage that is somewhat parallel, I will not take the time to expound it, simply direct your attention to it so that you will be familiar with the pivotal passages on the subject of calling, is 2 Timothy chapter 1, verses 9 and 10.

20:46 The apostle, in seeking to encourage his younger friend and labor in the gospel, Timothy, is bringing to bear upon Timothy's conscience many strands of thought to motivate him to faithfulness. And now he says in verse 8, "...don't be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me, his prisoner." but suffer hardship with the gospel according to the power of God who saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given us in Christ Jesus before times eternal. Timothy, are you tempted to be ashamed? Are you tempted to be timid? Are you tempted to vacillate? Timothy,

21:39 Meditate upon your calling. You've been saved and called with a holy calling. Something has happened in time, but Timothy, it did not begin in time. It is a calling that is what? It is according to His own purpose and grace given us where? There's that orbit again. In Christ Jesus, when? Before times eternal. And He encourages Timothy.

22:07 to trace His calling back to its roots in the divine counsels and purpose. And when a man has his mind and his spirit suffused with the wonder that he stands in the present moment, a child of God, called into vital union with Christ, because Almighty God set His love upon him from eternity and marked him out, And His calling is no afterthought. It's not the fruit of His own notions or His own good use of the means of grace. But it's the expression of divine intent and purpose. How can a man be timid when he knows that Almighty God has set His love upon him and included him in that purpose from eternity? Well, this first line of thought then, the importance of the doctrine of calling itself.

Importance 2: Dominant Place in the Pursuit of Maturation

23:02 as it is seen in relationship to the plan of salvation. But then in the second place, its importance is seen in its dominant place in the pursuit of maturation. Its dominant place in the pursuit of maturation. Now, I'm not using nickel and dime words to impress you,

23:28 But I'm trying to use words that will embody what the Scriptures teach at this point. Now, one of the major strands of emphasis in the New Testament is that those who are joined to Christ are to grow up in Christ. We have the command of 2 Peter 3, grow in grace, or in the language of Ephesians chapter 4, to grow up into Christ in all things. or the language of Colossians 2, rooted and builded up in him. There is this constant emphasis upon growth and maturation. Now, no little part of that process of growth and maturation is the responsibility to understand what we are in Christ, what we have in Christ, and then to live accordingly.

24:21 In other words, the emphasis of the New Testament with regard to Christian growth is this. You are, therefore, be. It doesn't say, do that you may become. It says you are, therefore, do. Having then been justified, we have peace with God. Having been raised with Christ, let us.

24:49 In other words, the exhortations are based upon the privileges that are already ours. Now, when the apostle would lock in with various biblical writers to that train of biblical emphasis, you will find that calling is brought to the fore again and again. In other words, in the mentality of Paul and Peter, whose words we'll look at shortly, It was no little part in the process of spiritual maturation for the people of God to understand what calling meant and what it implied. Turn please to Ephesians for two examples. This is that church you will remember that came to birth under the labors of the apostle. Approximately five years have passed.

25:42 Since he has seen them, he is encouraged by the reports that they are continuing in the way they had begun. And in this letter in the first chapter after the greetings, we have this great hymn of praise to the triune God for his great salvation in verses 3 to 14. And then from verses 15 and following, we have a record of what the apostle prays for them.

26:12 Verse 15, For this cause I also, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which is among you, and the love which He showed toward all the saints, cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers. Now, what does he pray? What is he asking God to do for these Ephesians? He tells us, beginning with verse 17, That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory,

26:40 may give unto you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, having the eyes of your heart enlightened, that ye may know what is the hope of His calling. Now try to picture what the Apostle is saying. He's expended more than three years of his own labors in Ephesus. He has been privileged to see God call no little group of people out of darkness and into light, and he has had the privilege of nurturing them in their spiritual infancy. He has charged their leaders, as we read in Acts chapter 20, with respect to their responsibilities. And now as he hears reports that they are going on, that there is continuous faith in Christ and

27:30 the manifestation of virile life in love to one another. He pleads for them that the work so wonderfully begun, so graciously carried on, would increase and expand. Now what is it in the apostle's mind that will contribute to that end? He says, my prayer is that the Spirit would grant you illumination to know what? The hope of your calling.

27:55 Whatever that meant, one thing is clear. It was no little factor in the Apostle's thinking with regard to continuous spiritual maturation. It is so central in his own mind that he makes it the first item in his prayer. I pray that by the Spirit's illumination you may know what is the hope of His calling. So you see, it holds a dominant place.

28:25 in the pursuit of this maturation. Turn to chapter 4 for a similar example. The rigid parceling up of Ephesians into the first three chapters, doctrinal, last three practical, is both artificial and untrue. But there is a marked transition beginning with chapter 4,

28:52 From that which is primarily instructive to that which is primarily hortatory in nature. That is, he's going to exhort them. Now, in the midst of the exhortation, he'll give some tremendously rich doctrinal statements, because that's the way God always exhorts his people. It's in the light of truth.

29:14 So there is that broad transition, and as he moves into it, notice the language that he uses. I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, chapter 4, verse 1, beseech you, and what note is going to be dominant in the opening up of the hortatory section? I beseech you to walk worthily of the calling wherewith ye were called.

29:44 You see how central was this matter of calling in the mentality of the apostle? There are so many things he could have said with regard to the matter of Christian conduct, with respect to the matter of Christian ethics, but on the very threshold he says, if you will but walk worthily of your calling, then all my longings will be fulfilled. Now, suppose the Ephesian sat in and says, what in the world does it mean to be called, and what does it mean to walk worthy of the calling? Well, he's going to expound that second question. But if they were ignorant of the significance of their calling, and some of the major strands of biblical truth that relate to calling, they would not feel the pressure of this exhortation. How can you walk worthily of a thing to which you're indifferent, or concerning which you are totally ignorant? It's impossible.

30:38 So you see, it has a dominant place in the pursuit of maturation. Ephesians 1, Ephesians 4, and you find the same mentality in the Apostle Peter. And I want you to look very quickly at two references from Peter. 1 Peter chapter 2.

Peter's Use of Calling as Motivation (1 Peter 2, 2 Peter 1)

31:07 And in verse 9, Peter is describing what the people of God are, and he says, But ye are an elect race, borrowing language rich in its Old Testament roots. Ye are an elect race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession. Well, wonderful. Why are we all those things? Why has God given to us such privileges as are embodied in those countries?

31:36 Concepts. Elect race. Royal priesthood. Holy nation. People for God's own possession. Here's the intent. That ye may show forth the excellencies of Him. Now of all the things Peter could have said about God. Notice the one thing he picks up. Who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. These people.

32:03 Privileges are granted to the end that God may be magnified as the God who has called His people in order to confer such privileges upon them. So you see, He weaves it into this exhortation, or into this statement. It's not an exhortation. It's a statement of intent, and it is a dominant thing in the mind of the apostle with regard to the people of God and their growth in grace. And then in his second letter, a verse familiar to many of us, having mentioned that the people of God are greatly privileged in grace in the opening words of the second letter,

32:55 He then exhorts them beginning in verse 5, "...and for this very cause, in the light of all that God has given freely and graciously." Don't sit back. "...for this very cause, adding on your part all diligence in your faith, supply virtue." And then he mentions these seven graces which we are to actively cultivate. And then he goes on to say, "...to buttress the exhortation."

33:25 Verse 10, Wherefore, brethren, give the more diligence to make your calling and election sure. For if ye do these things, ye shall never stumble, for thus shall be richly supplied to you the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Now again, you see how dominant is the concept of calling. As the people of God are being prodded to increase in the development of these graces, to add on their part all diligence, it's as though the apostle says this is no life matter. This is bound up in making certain, making sure your calling and your election. These are matters of life and death. They are not secondary issues.

34:16 Well, I trust these texts and the brief comments upon them will suffice to convince you that calling is no secondary or minor issue in the pursuit of biblical Christian maturation. If God has determined that our consciousness of being called, our awareness of the nature and the implications of the call should hold a dominant place in our Christian growth,

34:45 I trust you see how vital it is to have an intelligent grasp upon the nature of that call. If God has linked calling and our appreciation of that call to stability, assurance, and practical godliness, why, how can a man be interested in stability? growing assurance, and practical godliness while being indifferent to the very thing that God says is calculated to increase and to produce those qualities. There's a sense in which you can cry to God day and night for stability, increased assurance, and practical godliness, but if you will not take the time to meditate hard and long upon the nature of your calling, to that extent you are despising one of the very means God has ordained to that end.

Importance 3: Central Place as a Distinct Designation of God's People

35:35 And to expect God to give what you ask for while despising the means is to tempt God. It's to tempt God. And the scripture is plain, thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. Well then, finally, the importance of this great doctrine of calling is to be seen. I hope you can remember now its strategic place in the plan of God.

36:02 its dominant place in the pursuit of maturation. Thirdly, its central place as a distinct designation of the people of God. Its central place as a distinct designation. A designation is a distinct name or title. And one of the wonderful things about God's dealings with us is the way He condescends to help His children appreciate what they are in Christ, By giving them names and titles which epitomize what they are. Now you kids, you do this in your neighborhood. Now it may not be kind at times, but many times it's not nasty. There's the kid on the block who's about a foot shorter than everyone else. And he gets a nickname. What do you call him? Well, you call him Shorty. Or Half-Pint. Or you may call him Runt. And when you do it,

36:55 good nature and the rest. He doesn't mind. He kind of likes it. That's the affectionate name by which all his friends address him. Hey, Shorty, how you doing? Well, you didn't just stick the name Shorty on him for no reason. Shorty epitomized what he is in his physical stature. Or you may know that fellow that's about a foot taller than everyone else. He sprouts an Adam's apple usually about two years before anyone else does. And he looks like he's all Adam's apple elbows and ankles. And so he gets nicknamed Stretch.

37:24 And that name is just a constant reminder that he's taller than the rest. Or as a dear friend of mine who's very serious in his external countenance, he got nicknamed Stoneface. Because in most situations he looks very serious, very serious. Well, there's a sense in which, you see, God has condescended to put nicknames on his people.

37:49 To remind them of what they are in distinction from what they were and what the rest of the world is. You know what one of those nicknames is? The called ones. That becomes an official name for the people of God. Just like the names saint, beloved, brethren. Those are precious names. And bound up in each one of them is a world of Christian theology. We are called beloveds.

38:18 in terms of God's affection towards us, a distinguishing, discriminating affection, so that the biblical writers can say to the people of God, holy and beloved. We are called saints, the holy ones, the separate ones. And that has reference to what has happened in the ethical and religious realm. We have been set apart unto God. We are called brethren in terms of the bonds that knit us to one another.

38:47 And in the language of the text with which we began this morning that knit us to our elder brother, even the Lord Jesus, He is not ashamed to call us brethren. Well, this word called comes into that same family of words by which God is saying, Hey, Shorty, and reminding us of what we are. Hey, Stretch, reminding us of what we are. Now look, please.

39:13 at several texts which indicate this. Turn to the book of Jude, if you will, please. The book of Jude. As the biblical writers often do, Jude begins by identifying himself, Jude, a bond slave of Jesus Christ and brother of James. To them...

39:42 And now he's going to describe the people of God. And notice how he does. To them that are called, beloved in God the Father, and kept for Jesus Christ. Now here the people of God are designated as the called ones. And the primary designation is the word called. Then you have the two participles which modify that.

40:11 They are the called ones who are the beloved of God and the kept for Jesus Christ. It's not as though you have three things in a parallel construction. They are both called and beloved and kept. No, no. The dominant word is the called ones. Jude, as he thinks of the people of God, to whom he is writing, how shall I describe them? He picks out this word as above all others significant words.

40:41 They are the ones who have been called. Now they have been called because they were beloved. And because beloved and called, they are kept by the same love and power which called them and has drawn them. But you see, the term called becomes then a specific definition designation for the people of God. Calling is so much a part and parcel of their entire Christian experience that it gets one of these special names. Now, in the book of the Revelation, we find a similar thing. Although here we have a parallel construction of the names by which the people of God are identified. In Revelation chapter 17,

41:31 We have this graphic account of the judgment of God upon the great harlot. The aggregate powers of evil war against Christ, but Christ will conquer them. And we read in verse 14 of Revelation 17, These shall war against the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them, for He is Lord of lords, and King of kings, and...

42:00 They that are with Him, His triumphs are not His alone. They will be triumphs in conjunction with His people. And how are His people described? Look at the language. They that are with Him, called and chosen and faithful, or it could possibly be translated, believing, as that word is in several instances. But here again, As surely as the people of God are designated as the chosen one, the elect of God, the faithful or the believing ones, they are designated initially as the called ones. And here you see both our first and our last points intertwined. Here they are described as called, called because they are chosen, and because chosen is

42:58 unto everlasting life, they shall be faithful even unto the end, for they are kept by the power of God. And so there's a wealth of great biblical concepts bound up in the titles, not the least of which is the called ones. And then, of course, I simply remind you of Romans 8, 28, when Paul would describe those for whom this gracious promise is applicable, or to whom it is applicable, and They are the ones who love God, the ones who are the called according to purpose. So I suggest that these three lines of biblical thought underscore emphatically the tremendous significance and importance of the biblical doctrine of calling. We have discovered together, we have examined together its strategic place in the plan of God. It is the nexus, the point at which

Closing Appeal: Engage Your Mind; Flee If You Are Uncalled

43:57 The eternal purposes of God are bound together with all that He has designed in the future for His people. We have seen its dominant place in the pursuit of maturation, a tremendous motivational element in Christian growth, and then its central place as a distinct designation for the people of God. Well, you say, Pastor, this has been pretty much an academic exercise this morning, hasn't it? Yes, it has.

44:27 It has. But my friend, if you would be blessed with the understanding of God's Word, you've got to start by first of all being convinced it's worth the pains to exercise your head and your heart to grow in knowledge. Sin, you see, has not only left us morally impotent and perverse, but it's left us mentally lazy.

44:52 And remaining sin in the heart of a believer will manifest itself again and again in terms of an indisposition to close, hard, concentrated thought even upon the most glorious privileges that God holds forth in His own dear Son. And in a very real sense, mental laziness is not only the mother of of spiritual sluggishness, but it's often the mother of heresy. For it's when the people of God have not expended sufficient mental labor to have precise understanding of the truth of God that they are exposed to error, which often comes in statement as a rather loose and broad and imprecise expression of truth.

45:43 Heresy never came down the street all dressed out in loud garb with letters printed all over in neon lights. I am heresy, please court me. Heresy often comes very modestly in truth's garb. But there's a peace sown in here and there that ought not to be there. And if your eye is not keen to recognize it, you may court heresy thinking that you have truth.

46:14 And so as I wrestled with this matter, I said, Lord, is there not some other way? And I labored before God in thought and prayer. I said, no, and I'm not going to apologize for it. I'm going to lay the onus squarely on your shoulders to wrestle with the doctrine of calling. Because as a Christian, it is your responsibility to do so.

46:39 And I trust you will find that any pains expended are more than rewarded in those holy fruits to which we have alluded this morning. And if you're here this morning and say, well, I don't care whether you're taxing the head or going after the heart, it's all the same to me. I could care less. My friend, my friend, if that's your attitude, I can only plead with you. I can only plead with you this morning not to treat in so cavalier a way that that without which your eternity is full of darkness and bleakness. For if you are not called, if you are left among the mass of the uncalled ones, you will be one of those upon whom the Son of God will vent His holy fury when He destroys His and all His people's enemies. For the only ones who will be with Him in His triumphs in the last day are those who are called

47:38 and chosen, and faithful. God willing, next week we'll actually move then into the subject of the call of God, and I trust as we do, our hearts will be instructed and moved to love Him who has so graciously called us in time that we might share the blessings of salvation in Christ. Let us pray.

Closing Prayer

48:14 Our Father, we thank You for the Scriptures. We thank You for those words indicted by the Spirit. We thank You for the calling that has come to all of Your people. We praise You that You have manifested both Your grace and Your power in that calling.

48:40 We bless you for all of that which the calling involves, both now and for the life to come. And we pray as we stand, as it were, on the threshold of entering into the richness of this truth, that you by the Spirit would open the eyes of our understanding that we may know the hope of that calling. that we may understand both the privileges and responsibilities which this calling lays upon us as the people of God, to the end, O Lord, that we may more effectively show forth the praises of You, the God who has called us out of darkness and into Your marvelous light. We pray that You will seal to our understanding that which we have considered from Your Word this morning

49:37 Receive our thanks and be pleased, O God, to give us, even during the course of these studies, living monuments of what it is to be called out of darkness and into light. O God, put forth the arm of Your power to call some to Yourself, even from the ranks of those who may sit here this morning, strangers to You and to Your grace. Hear our prayer and receive our thanks for the privileges of this hour of worship this morning. Help us by that same grace to sanctify the entirety of this day as it stretches before us. That your name may be praised as we hallow it and that we may be greatly refreshed as we attend to all of the means of grace.

50:35 Hear our prayer and receive our thanks in Jesus' name. Amen.