Effectual Call - Pattern and Means

Introduction: Salvation as a Precious Word

0:02 For men and women, for you boys and girls, for all of us as the fallen sons and daughters of Adam, few words should be more precious to us than the word salvation. In that word and what it contains is the entire scope of God's mighty activity in rescuing sinners

0:31 from their sin and misery, and conferring upon them all of the blessings of grace which will result one day in their being made like the Lord Jesus. In our present series of Sunday morning studies in the Scriptures, we're examining the biblical witness concerning this glorious salvation of God in Jesus Christ.

1:00 the salvation which the people of God have received, and the salvation which it is their privilege to proclaim. Thus far in the examination of the biblical teaching concerning salvation, we have contemplated the objects of this salvation, the central figure of this salvation, even the Lord Jesus in the mystery of his person and in the majesty of his offices, and now we are considering the cardinal blessings of this salvation. For this salvation comes to us couched in various dimensions, and those dimensions are couched in differing biblical words and terms. And it is our concern to come to grips with those terms that we might appreciate more fully the glory of salvation in Jesus Christ.

Review of the Doctrine of Calling So Far

1:59 We have seen from the Scriptures that all of these blessings come only in union with the Lord Jesus Christ, but that they do not all come to us at once. Some meet us on the threshold of our Christian experience. Some are ours immediately upon our being united to Christ, and some yet await us when the Lord Jesus returns.

2:26 Well, we've begun a study of those two cardinal blessings which meet us on the threshold, namely calling and, subsequently, regeneration. We've considered from the Scriptures the importance of the doctrine of calling. And then we began, two Lord's Days ago, to consider the essence, or three Lord's Days ago, the essence of the doctrine of calling.

2:53 First of all, we contemplated the exceptional use of the word call or calling in the New Testament. It has the significance of invitation. And this exceptional usage is found in Matthew 22 and again in Luke chapter 14. And in principle, it is found in many parts of the word of God. That calling which is a divine invitation to the blessings of grace and salvation is a divine invitation.

3:23 in the Lord Jesus. But now we are concerned to examine the essence of the doctrine of calling in its normal usage in the New Testament. For apart from that very limited exceptional use, which we've already considered, whenever you come across the word call or calling or the people of God are described as the called ones, those terms have a very fixed meaning and they mean nothing less

3:53 than that efficacious summons by which the people of God are brought into union with Christ and actually partake of all the richness of salvation that is in Christ. There is more than divine invitation. There is more than summons. There is the efficacious work of God actually uniting the sinner to Christ.

4:20 And in our study of that aspect of calling, we have noted that God himself is the author of that call. 1 Corinthians 1.9 God is faithful by whom ye were called into the fellowship of his Son. And then we noted that the results of this call are not one, but at least several. This call affects vital union with the Son of God.

4:49 1 Corinthians 1.9. It issues in holiness, 1 Peter 2.9. And it will culminate in glory according to 1 Peter 5.10. Well, so much for that brief overview of where we have been in our study of the biblical doctrine of calling. And now this morning I wish to trace out two more major lines of biblical truth with respect to the essence of the doctrine of calling.

The Pattern of Calling: God Never Works Haphazardly

5:17 having seen that God is the author, God exclusively, God the Father particularly, having seen that the call results in actual fellowship or communion or union with Christ, issues in holiness and will culminate in glory, we now address ourselves to what I am calling, borrowing the terminology of Professor Murray, the pattern of this call.

5:46 pattern of this call. God's work, both in creation and in redemption, is never haphazard, confused, or capricious. Now, you children, I want you to answer a question for me this morning. Not out loud, but you answer in your head, all right? You may even whisper to your mom or dad if you whisper real softly. What would you think of your mom if you saw her going into the room where she does her sewing, Maybe it's the living room, maybe it's a special sewing room, or maybe it's the den, or wherever she does her sewing. What would you think of your mom if she went into the place where she does her sewing and she had a bolt of cloth under one arm, and she had a pair of scissors in the other arm, and she just began to cut the cloth, and she had no pattern in her head or pinned onto the cloth? Most of you kids, if you've seen your mommy sew, usually...

6:42 The pattern is there in a cloth. And she lays that pattern on the cloth and pins it. And then she very carefully, not with her left hand like I do, but probably with her right hand, she cuts the cloth. But if she doesn't have the pattern actually there on the cloth, at least she has a pattern in her head. Now, what would you think of a mummy who went in and started to make a dress, and she had no pattern in her head or on paper, And she just hoped that by cutting somewhere, somehow, everything would turn out all right once she zipped it up together on the sewing machine. Now, what would you think if you had a mummy that went about sewing like that? Huh? I know what some of you are thinking. You'd say, my mummy wouldn't be very smart. You might even be thinking something a little stronger than that. You'd say something wrong with my mummy up here. Because your mummy never sets out to make a dress, to make a shirt.

7:35 to make trousers without a pattern. She does all of her work in terms of a pattern that is either previously in her mind or most often laid out on paper. Now for you fellows who are not so interested in mummy making dresses, but you are interested when you see men building, what would you think of a builder who ordered his block, ordered his two by tens, two by twelves, two by fours, ordered all his wood, all his nails, all his shingles, And all the material was there on the lot where supposedly he's going to build a house. And he didn't have any blueprints in front of him. And he had no plan in his head. He just grabbed the nearest board...

8:15 And started pounding away ten-penny nails, twelve-penny nails, finished nails. He's just pounding away. Any board he can get his hands on. Any nail he can get his fingers on. And wherever he can meet a nail with the hammer and a board, he's just pounding away, pounding away. And you say, what are you doing, sir? He says, well, I'm hoping to build a house. Now, what would you say of a builder like that, kids? Huh? What would you say of him? You'd say, he's a crazy builder. He's never going to get a house. You've got to have a plan.

8:45 if you're going to have a house. And that's true. Well, you see, when God sets out to construct His church, when the Lord sets out to constitute a people, He does not work haphazardly. He does not work without design or purpose. And so when we come to the doctrine of calling, one of the elements that is prominent in that biblical doctrine is is this element that there is a pattern to God's calling. In other words, whenever God breaks into the life history of a boy, a girl, a man, or a woman, and actually calls that sinful man, woman, boy, or girl into union with Christ, He does it according to a previous pattern. And everything that He does in calling is true.

Pattern 1: Eternal Design (2 Timothy 1)

9:43 That which is performed according to and in strict relationship to that pattern. Now what then is the pattern of calling? I suggest that the Scripture gives a fourfold answer to that question. It is first of all the pattern of eternal design. The pattern of eternal design. Turn once more to 2 Timothy chapter 1.

10:13 One of the pivotal passages that we have come back to again and again as we've examined the doctrine of calling and we've not seen the last of it. As the Apostle Paul is encouraging Timothy not to be timid but to be bold in ministry, he does so by reminding him of his great privileges as a Christian.

10:38 And he says in verse 8, Be not ashamed therefore of the testimony of our Lord, 2 Timothy 1, 8, 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. Now notice, here's a negative. What was the pattern of that call? Not according to our works, but

11:07 according to his own purpose and grace which was given us in Christ Jesus before times eternal. And here the apostle states that Timothy's calling and his own calling and the calling of all believers by implications

11:32 is a calling that is in accordance with the pattern of an eternal design. It was not a pattern determined by our performance in time. God did not see someone who had a little bit of hunger for himself, a little bit of thirst for religious reality and spiritual truth, and thereby say, oh, look at that, therefore I will

11:58 call that person according to the pattern of what I see in them. Paul says, no. He saved us and called us not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace given us in Christ before times eternal. In other words, he says, Timothy, as you're laboring in the gospel and you're tempted to Timothy, how can you do this?

12:54 And you were marked out in the eternal purposes of God as one who should be called. Let the glory of that fill you. Let the glory of that nerve you. And face your own generation with courage and with spiritual fortitude. Now what does it mean before time's eternal? How can we who are creatures of time, whose lives are lived here, in sequences of minutes and hours and days and months. How can we conceive of eternity? We can't. But though we cannot conceive of it, we must think of it. Though we can form no adequate conception of eternity, we must think of eternity because the Bible forces upon us language which enables us at least to begin to think

Pattern 2: Determinate Purpose (Romans 8, 9, Ephesians 1, 3)

13:51 of that vast concept of unendingness. And when God is pleased to call a sinner, the pattern is always the pattern of eternal design. But then secondly, it is the pattern of determinate purpose. Now, don't let those big words scare you. The word determinate simply means faithfulness.

14:21 unshakable, deeply settled purpose. And when God calls a sinner, he does so according to the pattern of determinate purpose. And where do we learn this? Well, we go back again to one of our key calling passages, Romans chapter 8. Romans chapter 8.

14:46 As the apostle is giving consolation to the people of God in this period, until the consummation, when there will be suffering as their inevitable lot, he assures them that their sufferings are not without purpose. They are not something to be regarded as their enemies. Verse 28, And we know that to them that love God,

15:13 All things work together for good, even to them that are called according to purpose. Now, the people of God in this text, as you were reminded a few weeks ago, are described both subjectively and objectively. They are described subjectively at the first part of the verse. And we know that to them that love God, all things work together for good.

15:42 What is a Christian? A Christian is a man who loves God. He loves the God of the Bible, the God revealed in Jesus Christ. He loves Him with a love that is the fruit of faith. There's the Christian described as to his subjective condition. But how did he come to be such a lover of God? Well, now he's described as to his objective position before God.

16:10 He loves because he was first loved even those that are called according to purpose. When you find a man in time loving God, it's because he was called in time by the grace of God. But that call in time was according to the pattern of determinate purpose.

16:38 You will find this word purpose brought into the closest proximity with election and foreordination in several other passages in the New Testament. For instance, in chapter 9 of this same epistle, Romans chapter 9, verse 11, For the children, being not yet born, neither having done anything good or bad, that the purpose of God,

17:04 according to election, might stand. And here, determinate purpose and election are brought into close proximity. You find a similar emphasis in Ephesians 1.11 and in Ephesians 3.11. Ephesians 1.11 and Ephesians 3.11. Speaking of the great privileges of the people of God, in that great hymn of praise to the triune God for life, Triune salvation or salvation from the triune God. Verse 11 says, In whom we were made a heritage, having been foreordained according to the purpose of Him who worketh all things after the counsel of His will. Foreordination and purpose are brought into close proximity. Chapter 3 and verse 11 says,

17:57 Speaking of God's purpose now, that through the church may be made manifest to the entire intelligent creation, the wisdom of God, this is all in according to the eternal purpose which He purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord. Well, you see, these passages then establish that the concept of purpose

18:21 is very closely akin to that of eternal design, the immutable and settled commitment of God to do something. And whenever a sinner then is called into fellowship with Christ, it is because there was the previous, determinate, settled intention of the living God, so to call Him.

Pattern 3: Electing Love (1 Corinthians 1)

18:47 Then in the third place, the pattern is not only one of eternal design, determinate purpose, but it is the pattern of electing love. Turn, please, to 1 Corinthians chapter 1. The pattern is one of electing love. Here in this chapter is the Apostle is seeking to show the fallacy of the divisiveness that was occasioned by the differing preachers at Corinth,

19:18 He's attempting to show how foolish it is to glory in men since it was not men but the gospel that was the instrument of their salvation. And he says in verse 24, But unto them that are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God, because the foolishness of God is wiser than men and the weakness of God is stronger than men. For behold,

19:48 your calling brethren. Now notice the train of thought. We are to reflect upon our calling. We are not simply to have an irresponsible, unintelligent grasp upon our calling. We are to reflect upon it. Behold your calling brethren that not many wise after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called, but God

20:17 Now you see how he moves from calling to choosing? But God chose the foolish things of the world that he might put to shame them that are wise. And God chose the weak things of the world that he might put to shame the things that are strong. And the base things of the world and the things that are despised did God choose. And the things that are not.

20:40 that he might bring to naught the things that are, that no flesh should glory before God, but of him by his causation are ye in Christ Jesus, who was made unto us wisdom from God and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, that according as it is written, he that glorieth let him glory, not in the preacher who was the instrument of his salvation, but glory in the Lord who was the author. And how was he the author? He was the author because it was God who called them. But unto us who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ has become the power of God and the wisdom of God. But why were some Jews called and some Greeks called and other Jews and other Greeks not called? Why, the apostle says, behind the calling is the pattern of electing love. Behold your calling, God hath chosen you.

21:38 So we see in this passage then that the pattern is the pattern of electing love, or in the language of Romans 8, 29 and 30, of divine foreknowledge, whom he foreknew, it is such that are eventually called those whom he loves beforehand. And so when a sinner is efficaciously summoned into fellowship with Christ,

22:05 and made a partaker of salvation in Christ, it not only reveals an aspect of eternal design, of settled or determinate purpose, but also it is a revelation of God's heart in His electing love. Therefore, in Revelation 17, 14, one of the titles that the people of God are given as the called is put right next to the chosen. And they that are with him are called and chosen and faithful. They are called, and why are they called? Because they were chosen. And because chosen, they shall endure and be more than overcomers through him that loved them. And then, finally, the pattern of this calling is the pattern, and here I fished for it,

Pattern 4: Christ-Centered Grace (2 Timothy 1, Galatians 1)

23:02 term, a phrase, and the one I give you I'm not satisfied with, but the moment of truth had come and I had to give something to describe this biblical concept. It is the pattern of Christ-centered grace. It is the pattern of Christ-centered grace. And here we turn back to the 2 Timothy 1 passage. The pattern is not only one of eternal design according to the language of this text, But notice, he hath saved us and called us not according to our own works, but according to his own purpose. Now here's the part that we're concerned with. Purpose and grace which was given us in Christ Jesus before times eternal. And that entire statement is,

23:57 Given us in Christ before times eternal is descriptive of the grace. It is the given to us in Christ Jesus before times eternal grace. Now how do you describe all of that in the heading of a sermon? So I simply called it is the pattern of Christ-centered grace. And grace given is grace given in Christ.

24:26 This is why the Apostle Paul could say in Galatians 1, But when it was the good pleasure of God who separated me from my mother's womb and called me, how? By His grace to reveal His Son in me. Well, you see, grace immediately brings us into the realm of God's favor to the ill-deserving.

24:52 And the name of Christ immediately reminds us that the orbit of every blessing is union with Christ. And though we are speaking primarily of that vital union established in our calling, here there is a union that is before that, that predates our actually being brought into the fellowship of the Son of God. This, then, I suggest, is the pattern by which God calls sinners

25:21 So that this very day, there in Kenya, if God is pleased to call a sinner into union with Christ through the preaching of our brother Keith, there in East London through the preaching of our brother Pastor Blaise, and there in Onyarade in the Gothenburg section of Sweden through the labors of our brother Don Ritter, if there is someone who begins the day blind to the glory of God in the face of insensitive to the claims of God's law and God's gospel. No love to Christ. No love for His law. If there is anyone who sits in this place today in that condition, and there are no doubt not a few of you, who have no genuine love for the Son of God, no genuine love for His law, no desire to honor and serve Him,

26:14 No ambition that all of your faculty should be employed to the end. That he should be praised in your redeemed humanity. My friend, if before you pillow your head tonight, and if there in Onyarade and in Kenya in the suburbs of Nairobi, and there in East London, there should be found such who begin the day in the manner in which I've described, and yet they end the day.

26:39 with genuine love for the Savior, a genuine longing to serve Him, to honor Him, to obey Him, it will be because God has been pleased to call them into the fellowship of His Son. But if He calls them, He calls them according to the pattern that He has laid over humanity. And that pattern is the pattern all of the angles of which are comprised of these things that we've sought to open up from these passages.

27:08 It will be the pattern whose first angle is eternal design, and the second settled purpose, and the third electing love, and the fourth Christ-centered grace. Now do you see why there's a basis for stability in the face of dark and strange dealings? Why the apostle, of all the things he could have used to describe God's people in terms of their relationship to God in Romans 8, 28, when he said, all things work together for good, even to them that are the called according to purpose. You see the line of argument that is implicit in that. If I stand today as a called sinner, and that calling is according to the pattern described, then surely the God, who does not do anything capriciously,

28:02 who does not work haphazardly, but works according to purpose, that God has not suspended that working in the midst of these present trials, that God has not suddenly become confused and allowed things to get out of hand. You see, the basis for boldness in the face of opposition as Paul uses the reasoning with Timothy, or the basis for panting and longing for a life of consistent holiness as he uses this Motivation in Ephesians chapter 4. You see it is in the interest of the Christian's own stability and usefulness that he understand that the pattern of his calling is the pattern that has been opened up in your hearing in these past moments. But now, finally, as we consider the subject of the doctrine of calling, what is the means that God uses to effect this calling?

The Means of the Call: 2 Thessalonians 2 and the Gospel

28:57 having seen the importance of the call, and as we work through now the essence of the call, God is the author, the results, the pattern. Now what means does God use to effect this call? When God in time is prepared to put into execution that eternal design and settled purpose to manifest the secrets of his electing love

29:28 and to confer that Christ-centered grace on a given sinner, what means does he use? Does he act without means? Does he simply, by a sheer act of naked power, bypassing all means, unite the sinner to his Son? Does he use a diversity of means? Well, the answer to that question is most clearly given in what is the key text on this whole subject in 2 Thessalonians chapter 2.

29:58 And this is the text upon which we'll focus our attention for the remainder of our time this morning. In 2 Thessalonians chapter 2, the apostle has been describing the frightening effects of God giving men up to believe lies because they love sin.

30:23 May I pause to remind you that's one of the most frightening doctrines in all of the Word of God. If you love your sin long enough, you know what God will do? God will give you up to believe lies that will let you hug your sins and go down to hell with them. You see, truth and sin are in constant conflict. Error and sin are in a constant embrace. They make passionate love to one another day and night.

30:54 And in the preceding context, the apostle has said, verse 11 of chapter 2, And for this cause God shall send them a working of error, that they should believe a lie, that they all might be damned who believe not the truth. And why didn't they believe the truth? But they had pleasure in unrighteousness, you see. It wasn't that the error was so attractive in itself.

31:22 It's that it gave them an excuse to cling to their sins. But now, having spoken that sobering word, he turns in a positive note and says, But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord, for that God chose you from the beginning unto salvation in sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth, whereunto He called you through our gospel to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now look at the lines of thought as they open up very simply in this text. He blesses God that in spite of this frightening reality of men who will so love their sins as to be given up to believe lies, that they might be damned by their lies and their sins.

32:19 He's grateful that there are people who are beloved of God and who love the truth. Now notice how he describes them. God is to be praised for this great reality of the presence of true believers. Why? Number one, because He chose them from the beginning. We are bound to give thanks, brethren beloved of the Lord, for that God chose you from the beginning. Secondly,

32:47 That choice was unto salvation. He chose you from the beginning unto salvation. Thirdly, this salvation consists in the sanctifying work of the Spirit and belief of the truth. It is choice unto salvation in the realm of sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth. Now, how were they introduced into that salvation?

33:15 That salvation which involves the sanctifying work of the Spirit and belief of the truth. He says, whereunto he called you. They got into the orbit of that salvation by calling. And they were in the orbit of that salvation by calling because God had loved them. They were elect in Christ. But now, what was the means that was used to affect their calling? Well, he tells us, whereunto he called you.

33:46 through, that is, by the instrumentality of our gospel. And then, of course, the ultimate end of that calling is the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. If you want one text that has all the whole marrow of the glorious doctrines of grace bound up in it, here it is. And there's no way to exegete this text and be honest with its language if salvation is in any way of man.

34:17 God be thanked. And then he tells us why. But now for our purposes this morning. It is this point of emphasis that we want to zero in on. As Paul expresses his thanks to God for the Thessalonians and their salvation. He does so in language that makes it abundantly clear. That he regarded the gospel as the instrumental means of their calling. He called you God.

34:47 Through our gospel. That is, in the proclamation of the gospel. In the sending forth of the truth concerning Christ, His person and work. In the sending forth of that divine invitation. In the sending forth of the command to repent and to believe.

35:11 in the sending forth of the warning of impenitence, in other words, in the simple, biblical, full-orbed proclamation of the gospel, God was pleased to lay hold of those who were included in that eternal design, who were the objects of electing love, who were the ones for whom He had this determinate purpose that they should be brought to faith and repentance,

How the Voice of Christ Is Heard: John 10, Romans 10

35:41 And it is by the instrumentality of the gospel that such words as the very ones we read in our scripture reading this morning are fulfilled. Jesus said in that passage read in your hearing today, John 10 and verse 16, Other sheep I have which are not of this fold, them also I must bring. There are sheep other than those to be found within the fold of national Israel. The remnant for the most part at the time our Lord spoke existed with but few exceptions within national Israel, within ethnic Israel. He had true sheep within that great mass of people. But he says, Other sheep I have that are not of this fold, them also I must bring.

36:36 And they shall hear my voice. And they shall become one flock, one shepherd. Now how in the world do Gentiles hear the voice of Christ? He went back to glory. Short time after this. He died. He rose from the dead. Forty days later he ascended to the right hand of the Father. And yet he says, all those sheep for whom I lay down my life will be brought in when they hear my voice.

37:06 Now how do they hear His voice? Romans chapter 10 answers that question. Romans chapter 10, beginning with verse 12 and following. For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek. For the same Lord is Lord of all and is rich unto all that call upon Him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. See the unfettered freeness.

37:35 The unfettered breadth of that promise, whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Now the question, how shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in him, now notice, not of whom, but how shall they believe in him whom they have not heard?

38:02 They must hear Him before they can believe upon Him. How shall they believe in Him whom they have not heard? They shall hear My voice. Well, who or what becomes the instrument of the voice of Christ? How shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach except they be sent, even as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that bring glad tidings of good things.

Lydia: The Lord Opened Her Heart to Attend to the Things Spoken

38:31 How is the voice of Christ heard? If the instrument in effectual calling is the proclamation of the gospel, which becomes the very voice of Christ, that voice is heard through those that are sent to proclaim in His name salvation by His own work on behalf of sinners. You have that beautiful example of this in Acts chapter 16. Paul goes by a riverside and there he's going to preach. And you have the simple account of Luke whose heart, speaking of Lydia, whose heart the Lord opened so that she what? Heard a whisper from heaven saying, Thou art elect, therefore believe. No, now that's the trouble with some of you still. You say, if the Lord ever calls me,

39:23 He's going to call me in such a way that it won't simply be the general invitation of the gospel that becomes, as it were, the handle by which I lay hold of salvation. There's got to be some special thing attached to it. No, no. Look at the record. It says of Lydia, whose heart the Lord opened not to hear the voice of an angel saying, Thou art elect.

39:50 Not to hear the choirs of heaven singing a song with her name in it, Thou art included in the divine purpose. No, the record says, Whose heart the Lord opened so that she attended to the things that were spoken by Paul. And what were those things? The same things you hear in this place week after week. That God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. The same things that you hear in this place, week in and week out, that God bruised His Son. God raised Him from the dead. God has exalted Him to His right hand. And God has pledged that whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord,

40:45 shall be saved. What is the means of a man's effectual calling? It is not a special revelation from God that he is elect. It is not some intimation brought by the voice of an angel or by some powerful impression from above that he is marked out as different from among all others. No! The means is that message that comes

41:26 And my friend, I don't want to oversimplify, but in your calling you will know that you have been called. But don't reverse that. We've seen from the Scriptures that calling is of God.

Call Upon the Name of the Lord on the General Promise

41:44 We no more call ourselves than we justify ourselves, than we sanctify ourselves, than we glorify ourselves. And we're not backing up an inch on that biblical truth. It's as plain as the nose on your face and mine. God is faithful by whom ye were called. But my friend, listen. It is in calling upon the name of the Lord.

42:12 into the fellowship of His Son, and if you will not call upon Him on the grounds of the general indiscriminate promise, it is right for God to leave you in your sins, in your unbelief, and leave you to perish. Because what you're saying is, I don't like God's method. Here He says that some are elect and some are non-elect. Some are love from eternity, some are not.

42:41 There are some Jacobs that he loves, some Esau that he hates. He tells me in his word, no man can come except the Father draw him. He tells me, it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that hath mercy. And then God has the nerve to say, I must dare to venture my soul upon a general promise, whosoever will may come. My friend, that's the way God's revealed it. And you better stop arguing with God.

43:19 And then only giving a general invitation. I want a special invitation. My friend, you'll go to hell waiting for it. You'll perish waiting for it. It will never come. God will say no more to you than what He said in the Gospel. Whosoever will, let him come. You go to God with that promise. And you know what's going to happen?

43:50 You're going to find he means it. You come in trembling and say, God, it seems too good. It seems too good to be true. Whosoever with this promise, O God, I venture, no one has ever thus come and found God to be an unwilling God.

Application: Purity, Proclamation, Prayer, and the Nerve of Evangelism

44:18 And to you who are the people of God, may I bring this concluding word of exhortation? Do you see why, as the people of God, we need to maintain the purity of the gospel? It's the divinely appointed means of effecting the effectual call. If it is by my gospel, Paul says, that's apostolic gospel in all its purity,

44:46 with its exaltation of God in His holiness and in His mercy, with its call to repentance as well as to faith, with its demands that men stack arms and bow to the Savior, if the instrument of the effectual call, if the means is the gospel, then every Christian must have a concern.

45:11 defend the purity and maintain the integrity of the gospel in all of its comprehensiveness. Furthermore, Christian, do you see the need and urgency for proclaiming this gospel? He that sows little will reap little. And it's just a law that is generally operative in the kingdom of God, that where you've got Christians more zealous in giving out the gospel, God calls more sinners.

45:40 into the faith of the gospel. Does that mean if we get more active, that will make God adjust His electing designs? No, it doesn't mean that at all. But it is an observable fact that where there is a church full of people, full of zeal, to proclaim the gospel and to spread the gospel, there generally you will find God calling more sinners than where there is a narrow, constricted,

46:08 unconcerned heart and attitude amongst God's people. And then, Christian, if this is the means by which God calls sinners, do you see why all true gospel concern must be fused with earnest prayer? For you see, it is the power of the Spirit that makes the general call the effectual. And though God is the author,

46:35 As we have seen, Christ is involved in that calling, for it's his voice that is heard. And who is it that enables men to hear his voice? It is the Spirit. Paul could say to the Thessalonians in chapter 1 of the first epistle, Knowing, brethren beloved of God, your election, how our gospel came unto you, not in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance. Though we can never fathom the mystery of it, there is this Deep relationship between the prayerfulness of the people of God and the mighty movings of the Spirit of God. And again, generally speaking, those who pray most see most of the Spirit's mighty working. And then my final word of application to you who are believers is this. Do you see the fallacy of the objection? Well, if we teach salvations all of grace, that cuts the nerve of evangelism.

47:33 You see how ridiculous that is? For this gracious salvation that comes according to the pattern that we've studied this morning, the pattern of eternal design, the pattern of determinate purpose, the pattern of electing love, the pattern of Christ-centered grace, that salvation rooted in all of the richness of divine sovereignty is only conferred by means of

48:03 Of the gospel. In terms of what is revealed. We're not talking about what God may do with imbeciles and infants and all the rest. That's not in the scope of our concern this morning. How can that cut the nerve of evangelism? If we claim to love God and love the souls of men. Then we must be active in the fervent prayerful proclamation. Of that which is his ordained means of calling sinners to himself.

48:32 Some of you sit here this morning saying that stuff hopelessly confuses me. On the one hand, that preacher pleads with sinners and he's preaching to them like he really believes that they ought to repent and they must repent and must believe. And yet in the first 45 minutes, he showed us things from the Bible that make it plain. If God doesn't do it, it won't. I can't put all that together, my friend. Who asked you to? Who asked you to sort it all out and put it together?

49:01 God asks you to bow to His Word. God says, this is My Word. Believe it! He didn't ask you to sort it all out. He didn't ask you to squeeze His mind into your little teacup head. He asks you simply to embrace it and to glory in it. And this great truth of calling is revealed to the people of God for their stability, for their encouragement, for their direction. May God grant That as we leave it now and, God willing, next week move on to the doctrine of regeneration, that work of divine quickening by which we're brought in, may God grant that we shall always hold before us the wonder, the privilege of being the called of the living God. Let us pray.

Closing Prayer

50:05 Father, we would magnify you this morning as the God who calls sinners according to purpose. We thank you there is nothing capricious, nothing haphazard, nothing unplanned in your scheme of redemption. And we bless you this morning that it has been our privilege to contemplate something of the wonder and the glory of of a salvation rooted in determinate purpose and electing love. But, O God, we long this morning that there would be those who would heed that call by which alone they shall discover themselves to be the call of the living God. We pray, O God, break down all the pride of human reasoning, all the opposition of

51:01 Questions that arise not from your word, but from our attempts to fit you into the mold of our own thought. And grant this day, O God, grant that this day there may be boys and girls, men and women, who will embrace the offered Savior, who will dare to come before you pleading your own promise, whosoever shall call shall be saved.

51:31 And then, O God, preserve the purity of the gospel in this place. For we know that the salvation of sinners is at stake. Fill us with new zeal to proclaim this gospel. Give us, we pray, new channels by which to herald it in our neighborhoods, in our schools, and in our offices, and in all of our associations. O God, we ask that we may not be a people who grow fat in the enjoyment of the exposition of the gospel, but may there be that vigor born of the Spirit's work within us, finding us engaged in its proclamation by every legitimate means at our disposal. Seal then your word to our hearts, and may the blessing of your own presence rest upon us and abide with us. Enable us to sanctify the remainder of this day

52:31 Amen.