Effectual Call - Author and Results

Introduction: The Meaning of the Bible Is the Bible

0:03 He was a very wise man who said that the meaning of the Bible is the Bible. Now does that sound like double talk to you children? The meaning of the Bible is the Bible. Now the wise man who said that was simply underscoring what to us is one of the most wonderful points of our confession today.

0:31 as evangelical Christians, namely, that to understand this book we do not look outside of the book itself. In other words, the meaning of this book is not to be discovered by imposing some preconceived notion upon it, nor is it to be found by consulting

0:56 with the experts who have insights that are hidden from the common ordinary believer. But this book was given not to veil, but to reveal the mind and will of God to His people. And in our present course of Sunday morning studies in the Scriptures, we are seeking to understand what the Scriptures tell us and what they mean when they tell us,

1:24 that our great salvation comes to us couched in dimensions which are described with the words calling, regeneration, sanctification, justification, glorification, and other such terms. In the course of this series of doctrinal studies, we've arrived at a point in which we are concerned to examine the cardinal blessings of our salvation in Jesus Christ. In our introductory study of this part of our concern, I mention that there is an orbit within which all of these blessings come to us, what we might call the common denominator of each one of them. And that orbit is union with Christ. These blessings come to us in Christ and in Christ alone.

Review: Cardinal Blessings, Orbit, Order, and the Doctrine of Calling So Far

2:20 But the Bible also sets before us that there is a general framework of order within which they come to us. There are those blessings which come to us, as it were, on the threshold of establishing our vital union with Christ, calling and regeneration. There are blessings which become ours the moment we are vitally joined to Christ and continue to be ours, such as justification and adoption, And then there are certain blessings that await us in the future. Blessings again which come within the framework of union with Christ, but are blessings which await the return of Christ for His own. Well, for several Lord's Days we have been occupied with the first of these threshold blessings, that of calling. We first of all examine the importance of the doctrine of calling today.

3:18 in the New Testament. And we saw that it was no secondary issue. It has a place of tremendous significance in the plan of redemption. Calling has a very central place in the complex of Christian motivation, and it is one of those peculiar titles that is given to the people of God. Then last Lord's Day, we began to examine the essence of the biblical doctrine of calling.

3:45 And I set before you at that time that this is one of those doctrines which is for the most part bound up in its major and leading lines of thought in the use of one family of words. Call, calling, and called. Then we proceeded to examine the use of those words and we got only as far as what I entitled the exceptional use of the word called.

4:12 And that exceptional use is found in Matthew 22 and in Luke 14 and has reference to that general call or that free offer of mercy that is given to all men indiscriminately wherever and whenever the gospel is rightly preached. In that call or invitation, there is a setting forth of the privileges of redemption in Christ, There is a command and a plea to lay hold of those privileges. There is a promise that all who lay hold of them will enjoy those privileges. And then there is the warning that those privileges should not be despised. Well, we come now this morning to consider the normal use of the word call or calling in the New Testament.

5:05 having examined the general use of the word in a non-theological way, that is, calling that has nothing to do with that summons to life and salvation, we then examined the exceptional use of the concept of call, which is the invitation to all men in the gospel to come to Christ and to find mercy in Him. But now this morning, the normal, the general, the fixed, the predominant usage of the concept of calling in the New Testament. Having considered those exceptional usages, it perhaps would be very well to summarize what we understood by virtue of that study and to introduce our study this morning by quoting the words of Professor Murray who said on this very point, it is striking that in the New Testament the terms for calling

6:03 when used specifically with reference to salvation, are almost uniformly applied not to the universal call of the gospel, but to the call that ushers men into a state of salvation and is therefore effectual. There is scarcely an instance where the terms are used, that is, call or calling,

Plan of the Morning: Author, Results, Pattern, Means

6:28 to designate the indiscriminate overtures of grace in the gospel of Christ. In other words, when we come to consider calling in terms of its normal usage, this is the predominant emphasis, almost the exclusive emphasis of the New Testament. We are going to examine then, or begin to examine this morning, this mighty, this efficacious summons This call by which sinners are not only invited to the blessings of grace and salvation in Christ, but they are actually brought into union with Christ and made partakers of all the blessings stored up in the Redeemer. By the time we're done our study, I hope we shall have covered something concerning the author of this call. Secondly,

7:26 the blessings or results of this call, thirdly, something of the pattern of this call, and fourthly, the means of the call. This morning, we take up just the first two. As we come to the biblical concept of calling, we must ask the question, who is the author of this call? That call by which sinners are actually brought into union with Christ,

7:53 And in answer to that question, we shall examine three pivotal passages in the New Testament. The first one is found in 1 Corinthians chapter 1. Who is the author of this call? Is there a sole authorship, or is there a joint authorship? The answer to that question will be found in these three texts to which I would direct your attention.

Author 1: 1 Corinthians 1 — God Is Faithful Through Whom You Were Called

8:22 In 1 Corinthians chapter 1, we have the greetings of the Apostle to the church at Corinth in the first three verses. And then, as so often is true in the epistles of the Apostle Paul, we find a section in which he expresses his gratitude to God for the particular church or individual to which he is writing. And we read in verse 4,

8:47 the transcript of the Apostles' gratitude to God. I thank my God always concerning you for the grace which was given you in Christ Jesus. See the concept of union with Christ? All the grace they've ever had or will ever know will come to them in Christ Jesus. That in everything ye were enriched, where? In Him, in all utterance and all knowledge, Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you, so that ye come behind in no gift, waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye be unreprovable in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. He begins this paragraph by stating his gratitude to God for all the blessings that have come to the Corinthians in union with Christ.

9:43 Then he enumerates some of those blessings. They are enriched in utterance and in knowledge. Verse 7, they come behind in no gift. Furthermore, they will be there at the consummation in Christ Jesus, unreprovable in his sight. Now having said that he gave thanks to God for the blessings that were theirs in Christ, having enumerated some of those specific blessings,

10:13 the question comes, how were they introduced to those blessings and what will certify the blessings yet to come? Well, verse 9 is the answer to that question. God is faithful through whom ye were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. As the apostles

10:46 Why is it that he gives thanks to God and to God alone for the blessings of grace and salvation which have already come to the Corinthians and which shall yet come to the Corinthians? Well, he tells us in this capstone of this paragraph, it is because of the activity of a faithful God. It had nothing to do ultimately with the activity of faithful servants of God. It had nothing to do ultimately with the activity of those to whom the faithfulness of God was manifested. Ultimately, it had to do with God Himself. God is faithful.

11:28 And this faithfulness in terms of redemptive commitment to these Corinthians was manifested how? Through whom ye were called into the fellowship, the koinonia, into the orbit of relationship with Jesus Christ our Lord.

Author 2: 2 Timothy 1 — According to the Power of God

11:51 Well, you see, the dominant emphasis then in this paragraph, with respect to the author of this call, is that God Himself has not only given an invitation to grace and salvation, but it was God by whom the Corinthians were actually brought into the fellowship of Christ. It was God who effectively their union with Christ, and in virtue of that union, imparted all the gifts of His grace. Now then turn, please, to 2 Timothy chapter 1. Who is the author of this call? The testimony of 1 Corinthians 1, 9 is that God is the sole author of the call. Now we turn to 2 Timothy chapter 1. The apostle is writing to Timothy...

12:46 with respect to many responsibilities, both personal and ministerial. And one of those personal responsibilities is enunciated in verse 8 of chapter 1. Be not ashamed, therefore, of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me, his prisoner, but suffer hardship with the gospel according to the power of God. Timothy says, As you're called upon to suffer hardship, remember you're not left at your own resources. Suffer hardship according to the power of God. And it's as though Paul would then give to Timothy some tangible expression of the power of God, which will make very concrete in his mind something of the measure of that power. The power of God is a general term.

13:39 But in the midst of suffering, I need to know the power of God in terms of concrete realities. What does that power do? We read in verse 9, It is the power of the very 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 eternally.

14:08 Now you see, the point of emphasis in this text is again upon the activity of God. Calling is not an expression of God's power plus the preacher's power plus the believer's power. Calling is set forth as a monumental testimony to the power of God. Not to the power of the preacher, nor to the power of the believer. God Himself.

Author 3: Romans 8 — The God Who Foreknew Also Called

14:37 is designated as the author of the call. And then turn to the third passage, one that is very familiar to us when we were underscoring the importance of the doctrine of calling. It was this text to which we made reference, Romans chapter 8, verses 28 to 30. As the apostle is giving to the saints grounds for consolation in the midst of suffering, the third ground of consolation...

15:06 is the knowledge that all things are working together for their good, verse 28, and we know that to them that love God, all things work together for good, even to them that are called according to purpose, for whom he foreknew. And the he, of course, is the God who is mentioned in verse 28 as the object of believer's love, whom he foreknew,

15:35 He also foreordained to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. And whom He, this God, the object of the saints' love, whom He foreordained, them He also called. And whom He called, them He also justified. And whom He justified, them He also glorified.

Conclusion on Author: Calling Is God's Activity Exclusively

16:05 Now you see in this particular passage the emphasis falls again upon the activity of the God who is the object of the saint's love. And it is God who set His love upon His people beforehand, who beforehand marked them out to be conformed to the image of His Son, and it is that God and that God alone who is the author of the call. Well, from these texts, Two things ought to be very plain to the most, what shall I say, the most uninstructed of the Lord's people who has his Bible in his lap and has allowed the words of these three passages to sink into his ears. It is clear from these passages that the author of this call is God and God alone, or to state it in a more precise way, calling is God's activity exclusively.

17:05 As surely as it was God who chose us, God who foreordained us to sonship, God who justifies, it is God who calls. Now is there anyone sitting here this morning who would say that God plus the sinner elects? You say no. Election is solely the work of God. It is God's work itself.

17:30 Exclusively to set His love upon sinners and to mark them out as the objects of saving mercy. Well, you see, in the Romans 8 context, as well as in the other passages to which we've made reference, calling is as much the work of God as is justification, election, and glorification. It is God's work exclusively. Exclusively.

17:58 As we trace the links of our salvation back into eternity, we see them forged of the raw materials of grace by the hand of loving sovereignty. Those links that go back into eternity are made of grace and forged by hands of loving sovereignty. Election, predestination, foreknowledge,

18:27 Those links that anchor our salvation back to the throne of God in eternity, I repeat, are links that are made not of icy steel, but of grace. And they're forged by a hand of loving sovereignty. Now what about this link of calling? Is it made of a different substance and forged by a different hand? No, no. It is the same substance and the same hand.

18:57 Calling is a calling of grace. As we read in 2 Timothy 1 in verse 9, called us according to His own purpose and grace. And it is a link that is forged not by loving sovereignty plus the sinner's consent, plus the sinner's activity, plus the contribution of the preacher through moral suasion or psychological manipulation. No, no, no, no. Every single...

19:26 link is formed of grace in the hands of loving sovereignty. And so we must learn to look upon our calling as being God's activity exclusively. You see, what people have come to call the doctrines of grace are not an imposition of cruel, inflexible human logic upon the simple testimony of the Bible.

19:56 We are often told, well, the average person reading the Bible would never come up with the concept of a salvation that is rooted in loving sovereignty in which God chooses some and bypasses others. In which He addresses all men in the Gospel and tells them to repent and believe, and He'll punish them if they don't, and yet apart from His own activity, they cannot and will not. That's all too confusing. Simple-minded people, when they read that God commands us to repent,

20:24 God commands us to believe. We'll understand that we must have the ability to repent and believe and thereby contribute to our calling. No, no, my friends. You do not impose a meaning upon the testimony of Scripture. You let the meaning of Scripture be Scripture itself. And if these passages to which I've directed your attention say anything, they say that calling is not God's work plus.

And the Father's Activity Particularly

20:53 the work of some other human instrument or even some other celestial instrument. Calling is as much the work of God as election, justification, and adoption. It is God's work exclusively. But then the second note that comes through in these passages is that it is the Father's activity particularly. Not only God's activity exclusively,

21:22 but God the Father's activity particularly. Notice now, as we just go back over those passages very briefly, that in the 1 Corinthians passage, it is not God in the generic sense. You have instances where the term God is used, referring to the entire Godhead. But it's God particularly viewed or considered as Fathered.

21:50 God is faithful through whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son. Now you see, Christ is the Son of the Father. And therefore in this passage, the Apostle has in mind not God in the generic or general sense, but God particularly conceived of as Father. And it is the Father who in faithfulness has called us into the fellowship of His Son. You will notice that same emphasis in the 2 Timothy passage to which we made reference. The 2 Timothy 1 passage. Be not ashamed of the testimony of our Lord nor of me, His prisoner. Suffer hardship with the gospel according to the power of God who saved us.

22:43 according to His own purpose and grace given in Christ Jesus. So you see here there is this distinction among the members of the Godhead, and the emphasis for calling falls upon the activity of the Father. And certainly the same line of emphasis is clear in the Romans 8 passage. This God, who is the object of the love of the saints, is the God who has elected and foreordained, predestined that we should be conformed to the image of His Son. And again, Jesus is Son of Him who is the Father. Now you say, Pastor Martin, isn't that making a big to-do about nothing? My friends, if God the Holy Ghost has placed the emphasis with respect to calling upon the activity of the Father, He's done so for a purpose. In all of our dealings with God,

23:42 The paths that our hearts lay in expressing their love and devotion and faith to God are to be paths made up of the raw materials of God's own revelation of Himself to us. The highest reaches of devotional expression in the heart of a believer are never to leap the boundaries of the Word of God.

24:12 God is to be loved in terms of the revelation He has made of Himself. And one of the most wonderful truths of our salvation is that it is Trinitarian through and through, and therefore the response of our hearts in love and devotion and obedience is response that is pervasively Trinitarian.

24:38 We are to hold communion with God, yes, but not God in the abstract as though we were deists, but that God who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And therefore as I think of Him who is my Father, what am I to think of Him? Am I to conceive of Him only in terms of His presence? distinctive part in my salvation in eternity past, if we may use that terminology? Am I only to praise Him and glorify Him and hold communion with Him as the One who chose me in Christ before the foundation of the world?

25:20 who foreordained that I should be conformed to the image of His Son, and then as I think of my salvation breaking into time with that link of calling, is all my attention to be upon the Son and upon the Spirit? No! You see what God is saying? As I was present in the marking out and design of your salvation, I am present powerfully and actively on the very threshold of imparting that salvation.

25:50 So that we are not only to magnify the Son for His willingness to humble Himself, to take to Himself a true humanity, and then to take those steps downward to the humiliation of the cross as they are outlined in Philippians chapter 2. But when we are actually brought into union with Christ, we are to magnify the Father who has called us out of darkness, and into His marvelous light. And so if our communion is to be communion disciplined by the Word of God, if our worship is to be worship not only in spirit, but in truth, it will be worship that never leaves this Father perspective and the place of the Father in our salvation. Now you see, this has something very practical to say to us.

26:47 with respect to certain movements that are very popular in our day, which claim adherence by the millions. And everything is sweet Jesus. Jesus this and Jesus that, until one is suspicious. The kindest thing one can say is that it is, at best, distorted worship. And at worst, it may be a form of idolatry, in which Jesus has simply become the super-buru,

27:18 He's become the elevated rock star around whom all His worshipers gather. Whereas the worship that is set forth in the New Testament is worship that in its overall perspective terminates upon the Father through the Son in the Holy Spirit. In the language of Ephesians 2, for by one Spirit we all have access through Him unto the Father

27:49 You say, that's nitpicking. My friend, if that's the way you regard the Bible, you'll be very uncomfortable in this place. We don't regard it nitpicking to worship God in terms of the categories He Himself has revealed in this book. And as the Apostle is praising God for the salvation of the Corinthians, he never leaps the traces of an accurate theology in his praise.

28:14 He says, blessed be God for everything that's yours in Christ. But He says it's yours in Christ because God is faithful. God the Father has manifested His faithfulness in calling you into the fellowship of His Son. Now to bring it right down close to home. How often, Christian, have you said, oh, my Father, thank You, thank You for the mystery of Your electing love.

28:41 Thank you, O God, that before the world was framed for reasons locked up in your own loving sovereignty, in the inscrutable mystery of your own designs. You loved me. You chose me in Christ. O my Father, thank you. How often have you said, Father, thank you for so loving the world as to send your only begotten Son, That whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. Thank you, Father, for sending the Son. How often have you said, Father, thank you.

29:18 For the largeness of your fatherly heart towards me now that I'm in a state of grace, I can come to you and in the spirit of adoption or with the spirit of adoption, I can cry, Abba, Father, I've not received the spirit of bondage again to fear, but the spirit of adoption enabling me not only to say with my lips, my Father, but to enjoy that wonderful liberty of access to the living God. But dear Christian, how often have you said, Oh, my Father,

29:48 Thank You for calling me. Thank You for that mighty work, that efficacious summons, the voice that not only reached my ear, but ensnared my heart. You ought to worship the Father for His work of calling. For it is not only the work of God exclusively, but it is the Father's activity particularly.

Result 1: Fellowship and Union with Christ

30:18 Now we hurry on. What are the results of this call? When God is pleased to call us, what are the results of that call? Well, the first thing it does, according to our 1 Corinthians 1 text, is that it affects fellowship or union with Christ. Look again at the language of that text. God is faithful today.

30:45 Through whom, and if we were paraphrasing, an accurate paraphrase would be, by whose activity, on account of whom, through whose agency, God is faithful through whom ye were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. The first result of God's mighty work of calling was, is to effect in the life of every individual believer who is thus called fellowship or union with Christ. Do you see how necessary this is? Since God has stored up all of His blessings in Christ, according to Ephesians 1, 3, He does not, as it were, reach into Christ as though He were some great warehouse of blessings.

31:40 And you came up to the outside and gave in your request. And there was someone who went in and checked the computer to see if it was in stock. And then it's handed out to you. No, no. Jesus Christ is the great reservoir of blessing. And God does not parcel that blessing to men outside of Christ. But what He does is to put us in the reservoir. God is faithful by whom you were called into the fellowship. Into the communion. Into the participation.

32:08 Of Jesus Christ our Lord. So the first great effect of this calling. Is that of a vital living union. With the Son of God. And perhaps it is in this sense. That the Apostle uses a very unique phrase. Found only here. My knowledge in the New Testament. In Romans chapter 1. Romans chapter 1.

32:36 In his introductory words to the Roman Christians, he says, verse 6, among whom are ye also called, and the 1901 has in italics the to be verb. There is no verb in the original. And you have, for you budding Greek students, a genitive of possession. Among whom are ye also called of Jesus Christ.

33:06 In other words, when God calls us, He effects union and fellowship with His Son, so that in a peculiar sense from that moment on, we are the property of Jesus Christ. Calling effects so intimate, so pervasive a union, that from the moment of our calling, we are in actual experience the property of the Son of God.

Result 2: Holiness — Called Saints, From Darkness to Light

33:36 But then the second result of this call, it not only affects union with Christ, but it always issues in holiness. It issues in holiness. Turn, please, to 1 Peter chapter 2. And by the time we're done our study, hopefully next week or the following, I trust you'll be acquainted with all of the pivotal passages in the New Testament on the subject of calling.

34:04 Not every single passage, but all of the pivotal passages. Peter, speaking to the believers scattered abroad, says in verse 9, Ye are, 1 Peter 2, 9, Ye are an elect race, a royal priesthood, now notice, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, that you may show forth the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness,

34:34 into His marvelous light. Now two things need to be said as far as our purposes this morning with regard to the calling. Notice first of all, it is a calling out of darkness into His marvelous light. Now darkness and light throughout the New Testament almost invariably have moral connotations. Not merely intellectuals.

35:01 Now, there are certain contexts in which darkness and light have reference primarily to the illumination of the mind. But by and large, the emphasis is moral and ethical. You remember what Jesus said? This is the condemnation. Light is come into the world and men love what? Darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. He that doeth evil will not.

35:25 to the light. He that doeth truth cometh to the light. The whole emphasis of John. Light and darkness. Jesus again and again speaking of those who walk in darkness. Well, you see, Peter tells us that the calling of God on the very surface of it has tremendous ethical and moral implications. It is the mighty work of God in which we are not merely summoned to leave the realm of darkness. We are actually taken out Out of the realm of darkness, we are transplanted into the realm of light. Well, I must hurry on to two other passages. Back to Romans chapter 1. We're simply trying to establish that the second result of this call is that of holiness. As the apostle is sending his greetings to the church at Rome,

36:20 You'll find some very pregnant teaching in these descriptions of believers in these common addresses given in the epistles. He speaks of the Roman Christians in this language. Verse 6, Among whom are ye also called of Jesus Christ to all that are in Rome, beloved of God, called saints. Notice again the to be is in italics.

36:47 In any standard translation there is no verb. They are called saints. Grace to you and peace, etc. Now one of the descriptions you see of the believers at Rome is the called ones. But who by virtue of their calling have become saints. Now what is the basic meaning of the term saint in the New Testament? Well it doesn't mean that you hung around long enough for Rome to notice you. And to have a big boat and to elevate you to sainthood.

37:16 What it means is that God took notice of you in eternity. Set His love upon you. Gave His Son for you. And in time as the fruit of the sufferings of His own dear Son. He called you out of darkness and into light. He set you apart for Himself. And the basic concept of sainthood is apartness. Set apart unto God. But you see that setting apart is not.

37:47 As surely as the calling is experimental, calling is not something that is forensic. That is, it is not something that happens outside of me, judicially. It is something that happens to me, inwardly, powerfully, experimentally. I'm actually brought into living communion with the Son of God. Well, you see how necessary it is then.

38:13 that the result of the call will be that I am constituted a saint, not in name only, not in theory, but in reality. And the person who is only a few moments old in Christ, if we could conceive of someone who had been called under the preaching even this morning, who came to faith and repentance three minutes ago, God has constituted that person a saint by virtue of being brought into fellowship with his Son, that individual has been delivered out of darkness and into his marvelous light. He is a called saint. He is set apart unto God in union with Christ. And now Christian growth is learning to adjust all of life to that new status so that my sainthood becomes more and more actual and practical saintliness as my life is conformed to the norms of Scripture.

39:12 That's why Paul could say in 2 Timothy 1.9, He has saved us and called us with a saintly calling. Same word. With a holy calling. It is a calling which is so inextricably bound up with holiness that He designates it a holy calling. Not only holy because it comes from the Holy One, but because it produces holy ones. Saintly ones. Well then finally...

Result 3: Culminates in Glorification

39:40 The result of this call is not only that it affects fellowship or union with Christ, issues in holiness, but blessed be God, it always, always culminates in glory. Turn to 1 Peter chapter 5. 1 Peter chapter 5. The third great result of this call, it culminates in glory.

40:08 As Peter is drawing his epistle to a close, one in which he has sought to comfort the people of God in the face of suffering, and the note of suffering comes through again and again. Even in his final words, it breaks through. 1 Peter 5 and verse 10. The God of all grace, who called you unto his eternal glory in Christ, after that you've suffered a little while, shall himself perfect you.

40:37 establish, strengthen you. The God of all grace who has called you unto what? Unto nothing less than His eternal glory in Christ. Having brought us into that orbit of experimental union with Christ, that calling will culminate for every child of God in nothing short of glory.

41:07 So we have in this text a pointing to that orbit of our call. It is in Christ the eternal glory that is the end and the suffering that is our present lot while we await the fulfillment of that gracious desire. And of course that same emphasis comes through in Romans 8 so powerfully. Verse 30, Whom he called he justified.

41:33 Whom He justified then, even though it is yet future, it is so certain in the purpose of God. It can be placed as though it were already accomplished. Whom He justified then, He also glorified. No wonder then He breaks out in the following language, What shall we say then to these things? If God is for us, committed to our salvation, from His foreknowledge and foreordination into our calling, into our justification, so committed that our glorification is as sure as though it were accomplished. If God before us, who can be against us? And then He breaks into that tremendous section in which He shows that there is for us all of this commitment of redemptive design and love and purpose

42:28 And nothing shall separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Oh dear child of God. Do you see what a wonderful thing it is to have as one of your names the called of God. It means that God has done nothing less than to effect a vital union between myself and his own dear son.

42:52 thereby bringing me into that realm of experiential acquaintance with Christ, as well as legal acquaintance with Him, legal relationship, that all of the virtues that are in the Redeemer are mine. So united to Him that His salvation is mine. And I am privileged to hold communion with Him in all the glory of His compassion and tenderness. It means that I am now set apart unto God. No longer does the world bewitch me. No longer can the world claim me. No longer can the devil control me. And then in the midst of this, while God has apportioned suffering, I have the glorious prospect of being with Him and being made like Him. Why? Because I've been called with a calling which results in union with Christ, holiness,

Answering the Objection: Your Responsibility Remains to Believe

43:50 and will culminate in glorification. But someone who's a discerning listener sits here this morning and says, Pastor, all the hopes you raised last week when you spoke of the general call, of that free offer of mercy...

44:06 They've all been dashed because you've said today, and I see it in the Bible, that I can't call myself. Calling is of God. All of God. God's work exclusively and the Father's work particularly. How can I fit all of this together? Oh, my friend, listen. Listen. As surely as it is God's work to call, it is your responsibility to believe.

44:33 This is the work of God, Jesus said, that ye believe on Him whom He has sent. And may I say without being irreverent, will you leave God to do His own business and put your mind on yours? Will you leave God the prerogative of doing His own work and put your mind on yours? And what is yours? To repent, to believe the gospel. And you'll never do that unless you take your sin seriously.

45:02 Unless you take God's claim seriously. Unless you take His law seriously. Unless you take His gospel seriously. Don't you sit there and cop out and throw, as it were, God's truth in His face and say, I won't repent, I won't believe, because you've said calling is all of yourself. My friend, God takes that as an insult. The God who calls sinners effectually and powerfully In this calling that we've examined this morning is the God who calls, who invites, who entreats, who pleads in the person of His own Son and in the gospel and says, come. And He buttresses the invitation and the plea with a promise. Him that comes, I will in no wise cast out.

45:59 Oh, my dear friend, don't take this that should be of great consolation to the believer and raise it up as a barrier between yourself and the living God. Well, someone objects. Well, pastors, since these kinds of things create problems in people's minds and get them all in a muddle, just be silent about them. Why, how can we be silent when God has spoken so profusely about it? How dare we be wiser than God?

46:28 For as surely as men have gotten themselves in a muddle by trying to put their minds on God's work instead of sticking to their own, there are multitudes more in a muddle thinking that salvation is in their own hands. And when they get good and ready, they can decide for Christ with their almighty decision that will somehow set all of heaven a-scurrying to come to their aid. No, no, my friend. Salvation is in the hand of God.

46:57 That's the teaching of the Word of God from beginning to end. You better curse a God like that and go out and enjoy yourself for a few short years because the pit awaits you. Or you better fall at His feet and say, O God, O God, who is not obligated to drop a crumb of mercy in my direction. O God, show mercy to the likes of me. And plead with that God that for Jesus Christ's sake He would magnify His grace and mercy, even in your own salvation. God willing, not next Lord's Day, I shall be away in Indiana preaching, but two weeks from today, God willing, we shall then address ourselves to the teaching of the Word of God concerning the pattern and then the means of this calling of the living God. Let us pray.

Closing Prayer

48:01 Our Father, we do thank You that You are not only the God who has loved us in Christ before the foundation of the world, chosen us in Him, but we thank You that Your mighty power was exerted in calling us out of darkness and into marvelous light. We thank You that in Your faithfulness

48:29 You have called many of us into the fellowship of Your own dear Son. We pray that having been called into fellowship with Him, and in that call having been set apart unto You, having been constituted saints, having been marked out for glory, O that we may not live as though this world were yet our native sphere.

48:57 Help us to set our minds on the things that are above. Help us to live as those who are partakers of a heavenly calling. O God, write upon our hearts the truths we have examined from your word this morning. And may they bear their holy fruits in each of our lives. And may they be instrumental in bringing some to turn from sin and to cast themselves down.

49:27 at the mercy of your dear Son. Hear our prayer, and be with us the remainder of this your day, we ask through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.