Thank you for downloading this sermon brought to you by the Preaching Ministry of Liberty Baptist Church of Las Vegas, Nevada, Dr. David Tice. For more sermons in both audio and video format, we encourage you to visit experienceliberty.com. Also, for a word of encouragement, insight, and biblical inspiration, follow Pastor David Tice's blog at davidtice.com. So without further ado, let's open our hearts to the Word of God. and turn to Romans chapter three. If you've got some notes, you should have the notes. Those are supposed to be in book form, but it looks like they're back in sheet form. Next week we'll have them in book form for you. But we've been doing a series called Here's Why, Bible answers to life questions. People ask questions. We asked you several months or several, yeah, several months ago now to just write out some Bible questions and we would take the time to answer those questions in this series called Here's Why. One of the questions we had was this, why don't we believe in Calvinism? What do we believe about predestination? What do we believe about election? And so we're gonna take time to answer that question tonight. Romans chapter three, Romans chapter three. is where we'll start reading this evening. We'll start with verse 10. The Bible says this, as it is written, there is none righteous, no not one, there's none that understandeth, there's none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way. They are together become unprofitable. There's none that do with good, no not one. That's a description of you and me and all of mankind since the time of Adam. No one does good, no not one. Their throat is an open sepulcher. With their tongues have they used deceit. The poison of Asp is under their lips, whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood. This is not a real pretty picture, you understand. This isn't what you want to hear you say I want to date this person. Well, this is what the Bible says about them Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness their feet are swift to shed blood Destruction and misery are in their way and the ways of peace have they not known there is no fear of God Before their eyes look at verse 23 for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God father as we're looking at this tonight I pray that you'd help us to learn, Father, some truths about your word when it comes to what we believe about salvation and why we believe it, as compared to our brothers in Christ who believe in unconditional election and those who believe or call themselves Calvinists. We pray, Father, that you'd help us, help me to communicate your truth, and I ask this in Jesus' name, amen. Now when I talk tonight about what we believe about Calvinism, some of you are going to think, what is a Calvinist? What's that all about? The term Calvinism comes from the name John Calvin who was a reformer who during the Reformation period came up with a new system of beliefs. and said this is what we believe about salvation. Now John Calvin was a dedicated Christian man, I believe, and there are many people who believe in the doctrines that he taught. And they're Bible-believing Christians. They just have a different slant on what the Bible says than we do. Now I'm gonna explain to you why we believe, why we don't believe in Calvinism tonight, and what we do believe about salvation. So let's look at, first of all, in this introduction, what do Calvinists believe? The basic theology of Calvinism has been summed up with this acronym. TULIP, and it stands for five things. T stands for total depravity. TULIP, total depravity. Now what do we mean by total depravity? That means that man is totally and completely depraved and unable to find God. This passage of scripture, which we read in Romans, describes the total depravity of man. It says you're wicked, you're vile, you're totally and completely inept. You're not seeking after God. People talk about seeker-sensitive churches. We, the Bible tells us, by nature, we don't seek after God. We're not looking for God. We are, the Bible says, all gone out of the way. We are together become unprofitable. There's none of us that do good, no not one. Calvinist says, listen, man is completely and totally and completely inept, unable whatsoever to seek God. Total depravity. Number two, he says he believes in unconditional election. Unconditional election, that is God chose whom he willed to be saved before the foundation of the earth and it has nothing to do with any actions on man's part. You had nothing to do with it whatsoever. God just looked down one time. Now I want you to understand, if you just came in, I'm not talking about what we believe, I'm talking about what Calvinists believe. I've had people get up in the middle of a message and walk out because they heard me say something they don't believe and I think, you need to stick around for a little while. So listen to what I'm saying. This is what the Calvinists believe. They believe that before the foundations of the world, God selected you. There's no way out of it, there's no way into it. If you didn't get selected, you're on your way to hell. If you did get selected, you're on your way to heaven. It has nothing to do whatsoever with you. God walked into an orphanage, said, that's the one I want, and I'll take that one. He didn't say, I'll take him because he's cute. Didn't say, I'll take him because he obeys. Didn't say, I'll take him because he just said, that's the one I want, I'll take you, and he adopted you as his son. Unconditional election. They also believe in limited atonement. That is that Christ died for those he knew would be saved. Only the sins of the elect are paid for by Christ. That is, you've trusted Christ as your Lord and Savior. That's very good. That proves that your atonement was paid for. But if a person never gets saved, Jesus didn't die for everyone. Jesus didn't die for all the sins of all the world. Jesus died for those he knew would accept him as their Lord and Savior. Limited atonement. And then, Number four, irresistible grace. That is when God calls a person to salvation, there is no resisting the call. If God called you to get saved, you can't say no. There is no way out. You are He's called you and you can't say no to God. There's no way to resist Him. There's no way to fight against the Spirit. When the Spirit of God calls you, you are called. It's irresistible, you can't say no to God. And then, number five, the perseverance of the saints. That those He calls will never lose their salvation and they will persevere to the end. That is, if you're genuinely saved, a Calvinist will say, then you're not gonna mess up. If you're genuinely saved, oh, you might slip and do something wrong, but you're going to be righteous. You're going to live a righteous life to the end. We refer to that as eternal security, but the Reformers actually take it a step farther, and they say, very simply, if the evidence that you are genuinely a child of God is that you will continue to persevere to the end. Nothing will stop you from doing that which is right. You will endure and therefore you can never, never lose your salvation. Now having said that, what does, I wrote out this but my secretary couldn't read my writing, I put down there, what does this Baptist believe? Now you say, why would you put this Baptist believe instead of the Baptist believe? Because Baptists believe a whole lot of different things. You need to understand that you are in an independent Bible-believing Baptist church. And we believe that Christians can differ on certain issues. There are independent Baptists. I had a guy one time who was teaching in our adult Bible studies. And he said, in the adult Bible study that he was teaching, he said, I just want you to know that I know independent Baptists don't believe, or believe that man has a free will, but he said, I don't believe that we have a free will. And he said, I don't believe that independent Baptists are right when they say that man doesn't have a free will, or the man has a free will because I don't believe that people have a free will. And then he went on to teach these doctrines, the doctrine of total depravity, unconditional election, limited atonement, irresistible grace, and the perseverance of the saints. And that evening somebody came up, in fact that evening I was teaching just the opposite in here, that man has a free will. And somebody came up and said, you must have heard what this teacher was teaching. And I said, no, I didn't hear that. He said, he said, independent Baptists don't teach this. And I guess he's right because you're an independent Baptist. I said, well, I wonder what he is. So I went and called him up and I said to him, I said to him, hey, did you say that independent Baptists don't, don't teach? And he said, yeah, yeah. He said, well, what happened? Somebody tell on me. And I said, well, you need to understand something. This is what we believe here. And I said, if you believe differently than what we believe here, then you won't want to be teaching here. He said, I knew you were a dictator and that you were going to kick me out of church. I said, no, this has nothing to do with me being a dictator, because I'm not. I believe in pastoral authority, but this has to do with the doctrines of this church, what this church believes. See, this church believes certain things. This church stands for certain things. And if you're not believing what we believe, then you shouldn't be teaching here. And so I talked to him, and eventually he left the church because his doctrine was different than our doctrine. But he was wrong, and I pointed out, I said, you're wrong in saying that independent Baptists don't believe in election, or that all independent Baptists believe what we believe. You need to understand that independent Baptists are independent Baptists, and they can read the Word of God and come to different conclusions, and that's okay. It's just that you don't have different conclusions in the same church. If you're gonna be teaching, there needs to be a unity in the teaching of the doctrine. So, I'm gonna tell you what this Baptist believes, alright? I'm gonna teach you what we believe from the word of God, and I hope it'll help you understand. Well, we just read Romans chapter three, verses 10 through 18, and Romans 23, that's written out there in your notes. That says, number one, that we believe that man is totally depraved. We believe that man is totally depraved. The Bible tells us in this passage of scripture that we just read that we are wicked, that we are wicked to the core. That when you were born, you inherited sin from your father, Adam. The Bible says, wherefore as by one man, that is Adam, Sin entered into this world. Now listen, death came in by sin, and death passed upon all men for that all have sinned. So the reason you sin is because you are a sinner. You were born a sinner. You inherited a sinful nature from your parents, and they got it from their parents, and they got it from their parents, and they got it from their parents, and it went all the way back to Adam and Eve, where they sinned. You inherited it. It just went from generation to generation to generation. So you were born, the Bible says, spiritually dead. Ephesians chapter two, verse one says, you had to be quickened who were dead. You were born dead. You were born sinful, and because you were born sinful, nobody ever had to tell you to be selfish. You came out of the room saying, I'm cold, I'm cold, I'm cold. That's what you did, that's what babies are saying when they're born. And then they say, why did you whack me? Or that type of thing. And then they say, feed me. And then they say, change me. And they say, it's dark, come and hold me. And they demand, why do we do that? Because we're selfish, sinful from birth. Your children were just like my children. And the reason your children were just like my children is because your children are just like you. Selfish, self-centered, self-seeking, you want what you want and your kid's got that from you. How can these kids act this way? Because they're just like you. That's what the Bible says. So the Bible says we're all sinful, we're all depraved, we are all walking away from God, we don't understand, we're not seeking after God. So the question that the Calvinist asks is then, If that's the case, how can a man get saved? How can a man decide to receive Christ? How can a man get saved if he is not even thinking? If God is in this direction and he's heading this direction and he can't even see it and he doesn't even understand it. How can a man get saved if he's totally and completely depraved? Well, that's what the plan of salvation is all about. Number two, we believe that Christ died for the sins of the whole world. Here's what the Bible says, and you need to look at these passages of scripture. He died for all mankind. Look in your notes. 1 John chapter two and verse two. The Bible says that he is the propitiation for our sins. Now, if that ended right there, if there was no other verse and that was it, we'd say, okay, well, the Calvinists are right, he died for our sins. Well, no, but that's not where it ends. It says, and not only ours, he makes this perfectly clear, not only for our sins, but also for the sins of the whole world. So John, he died for your sins, But he also died for Rob's sins. And he also died for my sins. And you got a next door neighbor? He died for his sins. But he's a pagan. He's a wicked, vile guy. He's just mean. He died for his sins. Because the Bible says it's not just for our sins. Not just for ours, it makes it real clear. Not just for our sins, but for the sins of the entire world, the whole world. Now there's no, you don't have to try and figure out, now what does he mean by the whole world? You don't wanna stretch that and say, well, he means everybody else that was gonna be saved in all over the world. When you have to interpret scripture based on the belief you already held, then you're really twisting scripture. So the Bible says that he died for our sins, but not only for ours, but for the sins of the whole world. John 1 29 says, this was John the Baptist, when he saw Jesus coming, this is what John the Baptist says, the Bible says, the next day, John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and he saith, behold, the Lamb of God that taketh away, now listen, the sin of the world. Not the sins of saints that would believe, not the sins of those who would, but he came to take away the sin of the world. First John chapter four and verse 14 says, and we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. Not of just mankind, or not just of you and me, those that would be saved, but for all of mankind. So we believe that man is totally and completely depraved, but we believe that Jesus Christ came and died for the sins of the whole world. Number three. We believe that the Holy Spirit was sent into the world to make people aware of their need of salvation. So here's this guy who is totally and completely depraved. He's walking away from God. He's heading in the opposite direction of where God is. He doesn't know there's a God. He doesn't care there's a God. He's not interested in God. He just wants to live for his flesh. He's totally depraved, but here's what happened. 2,000 years ago, Jesus Christ came. God came to this earth and he came and he lived, he was born as a baby in a manger, lived for 33 years, then he came to this earth and he suffered and he died to pay the penalty of this guy's sin. He knew that this guy was a sinner. He knew that he deserved to go to hell, but he loved him in spite of the fact that he was a sinner. And so he became a man and as a son of God, he suffered and he died and he paid for our sin. He was buried. Three days later, he rose from the dead. He paid for our sin. So we saw that. Number two, he died for the sins of all mankind. Now, what happened is when he left, he went back to heaven where God is. He went back to God the Father. And the Bible says when we went back to God the Father, he asked God the Father to send the Holy Spirit into the world. And this is what he said would happen when the Holy Spirit came into the world. Look again in your notes, John chapter 16, the Bible says, nevertheless, I tell you, Jesus is speaking here. He says, it's expedient for you that I go away, for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you, but if I depart, I will send him unto you, and when he has come, he will reprove the world of sin and of righteousness and of judgment. The Bible tells us in Acts chapter two and verse 17, same story, and it shall come to pass in the last days, this is Peter quoting the prophet Joel from Joel chapter two. Peter stands up and says that Joel said it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh. Not just a few people, not just a few, but on all flesh. And he says, your sons and your daughters, that is the Jewish sons and daughters, would preach. And that's what happened in the New Testament. And your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. When God sent the Holy Spirit, he sent him to do three things. Number one, he would convict everyone in the world that, number one, we were all sinners. He convinces us that we're sinners. Number two, he convinces us that there is a righteous God. And number three, he convinces us that judgment is coming. So here's the picture. Mankind is sinful, totally depraved, and walking away from God. Look, we'll put God on this side over here, right here, and we'll put man here. Oh no, we'll put the cross here. We'll put man over here. He's totally depraved, God's way over there, and he doesn't care, and he's wicked, and he's walking away from God. This is you and me, we're doing this thing over here, we're walking away from God. 2,000 years ago, In space and time, God the Father sent Jesus to suffer and die and pay for our sins and was buried and rose from the dead. Then, God the Son went back to God the Father and he said, would you send the Holy Spirit? When the Holy Spirit came, the Holy Spirit poured out on all flesh, which included Dave Tice. In 1955, Dave Tice was born, and when he was about 18 years old, and throughout his life, the Spirit of God said, Dave Tice, you're a sinner. You're a sinner. There's a righteous God. And one day, you're going to have to answer to that. And I want you to understand, he didn't just do that to me. He did that to you. Curtis, he did that to you. I want you to understand, Adam, he did that to you. And whenever you start denying, when you start pointing out everybody else's sin, what he does is he points out to you and he says, you're a sinner. Roger, you're a sinner. Everybody knows that. You're a sinner, and the Spirit of God tells us you're a sinner. So you're lost, you're walking away from God, and the Spirit of God says, there's God over there, Jesus died, but you don't know anything about that, because you don't care anything about that. You're living your own life, and you're going after whatever you can in life. You're gonna get all the gusto you can out of life, because you know you're only going around once, because you watched that commercial, and it said that. And so you're heading in this direction, But God had sent his son to die for you. And Jesus went back and one day the Holy Spirit said to you, Jake, you're a sinner. And there's a righteous God. And one day, you're gonna be judged for that. And it might have happened to you when you were five years old, because you grew up in church. Might have happened to you when you were 16 years old. Might have happened to you when you were 21 years old. But I tell you what, there's not a person in this world that the Spirit of God at some time didn't say, you are a sinner, there is a righteous God, and judgment is coming. Now, when that happened, you had a choice. And that's where your free will comes in. Let's go to point number four. We believe that man has a free will to believe the Holy Spirit or reject what he says. So here I am, all this distance away from God. Jesus has died in the past. God the Father is way back there and I'm a sinner. And I'm heading my own way, and God taps me on the shoulder and says, you know what, you're a sinner. There's a righteous God, and judgment is coming. The Holy Spirit does that to everyone in the entire world. I was out door knocking one time, and I walked up, there was a lady standing underneath a tree with her husband, and there was a couple other people. And I walked up and said, hey, I'm from Liberty Baptist Church, and we're just out in the neighborhood inviting people to come. I'd like to give this. She said, did you go to church? Where are you going? We were looking for a church. I said, well, we're right down the street. She said, I've got to ask you a question. How do you know that there's a God? I said, really, you want me to answer that question? I said, the same way you know. She said, what do you mean? I said, the same way you know there's a God, you know there's a God. She said, how do you know that I know there's a God? I said, here, number one, let me give you this. I said, see this tree? She was standing next to a tree. I said, you see this tree? She said, yeah. I said, you know that that tree just couldn't come from nothing. You got enough sense to tell you that tree came from something. Someone had to create that tree. And you look around and you see everything in nature and you say, wow, this didn't just happen. It just didn't pop out of nowhere. That had to come from something. Yeah, she said, that makes sense. I said, number two, before anybody ever told you that you did anything wrong, you knew you sinned, and you knew there was a God, and you knew that you were gonna answer to Him. Everybody you know knows that, you know that. She said, that's true, I know that. I said, thirdly, we have the Bible, which is God's word that tells us that we're sinners. I said, so there's three undeniable truths that tell us that there is a God. She said, whoa, that makes sense. Well, that's true, because that's what God, the Holy Spirit already told her. So when the Spirit of God tells us that, we can respond in three different ways. We can resist, the Bible says, the Holy Spirit. Unlike the Calvinist, the Calvinist says his grace is irresistible. The Bible says that we can resist the Holy Spirit. Stephen rebukes the Pharisees and says that they're like their father, their Jewish fathers. He says, you are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, and you do always resist the Holy Ghost as your fathers did, so do you. The Bible says, look, you can resist the Spirit of God. God, the Holy Spirit, says you're a sinner, and you say, no, I'm not. The Bible says if we say that we have no sin, which means we can say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and His truth is not in us. See, we can say that we have no sin, we can deceive ourselves and we can say, no, Holy Spirit, no, I don't believe that I'm a sinner. No, I'm not gonna believe that there's judgment. There are people who are atheists and they'll say, no, I think when it's over, it's over, it's over. Just listen to some guy say this on television the other day. When it's over, it's over. Yeah, they say that until it's right at the point when it's over. And then they realize, whoa, it's over. And I want you to understand, God tells us the Holy Spirit of God is there to convict us of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment. And so I can either say yes or no. We can grieve the Holy Spirit of God, the Bible tells us in Ephesians chapter four, and grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby you are sealed unto the day of redemption, and we can quench the Holy Spirit of God. He tells us quench not the spirit. So yes, we can resist the spirit of grace. Yes, we can. So again, here you have God who sent the Holy Spirit to convict me about the death of Jesus Christ. And I say, nope, I'm not a sinner. I'm not gonna have to stand before a righteous God. I can say no, or I can say yes, I am a sinner. I know that I deserve to go to hell. I know that's true. I know I don't deserve to go to heaven. I know judgment's coming. The Bible tells us, number five, that whoever chooses to call on Christ can be saved. In Romans chapter 10 and verse 9 and 10, it says that, This passage says very simply this. that there has to be a point where I say yes to God, I am a sinner. It's interesting, when the Pharisees came to Jesus, and the Pharisees said to Jesus, they said, What must we do that we can work the works of God? What do I have to do to work my way to heaven? And Jesus said the work of God is to believe on him whom he has sent. The one work that God does require of us is that we believe. We have to believe what Jesus Christ did for us, and we have to call on him. The Bible says in John 3, 16, the most popular Bible verse in the world, it says, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. And so I have to believe. I have to say, yes, Holy Spirit, I am a sinner. Yes, I know that judgment's coming, and I know that there's a God. What do I do about that? The Bible says that God wants, this is very important, all men to be saved. Look at these two verses in your notes. 2 Peter chapter three and verse nine, the Bible says God, the Lord is not slack concerning his promise. There were questions, this is an answer to a question. How come God hasn't come yet? How come Jesus hasn't come yet? All the fathers have fallen asleep and people have been saying that Jesus is gonna come forever, so why hasn't he come? Well, Peter answers the question by saying this, the Lord's not slack concerning His promise. He's not a slacker. He's going to fulfill His promise. As some men count slackness, but He's longsuffering to us. He's not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. I'm glad that Jesus didn't come in the 1800s. You know why I'm glad he didn't come to the 1800s? Because I wasn't born until 1955. And I'm glad he didn't come until after 1975. I'm glad he didn't come before 1975 because I wasn't saved before 1975. And I'd have had to have gone through the tribulation. I would be terrible. I'm glad that he waited, he's long-suffering. He's not willing, the point is, he's not willing that any should perish. Well, you say, well, that just means any Christians should perish. No, that means any. Listen to what he says in 1 Timothy 2. Read that with me, read it with me. It's there in your notes. I exhort, therefore, that first of all, now listen to what Paul tells Timothy. Paul, a preacher, tells Timothy, a young pastor, I exhort, I encourage you, therefore, that first of all, before anything else, supplications, prayers, and intercession, and giving of thanks be made, listen, for all men. You're to pray for all men, and you're to pray for kings, and for all that are in authority, that we may live a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. Now listen, what are we supposed to pray for them? For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who will have all men to be saved. He wants all men to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth. What am I supposed to pray for, for kings and for those that are in authority and for all men? I'm supposed to pray that they get saved. Because if we have saved leaders, we're gonna live a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. Is it warm in here? I thought so. I was just, I was thinking it was maybe the hot preaching, but I'm teaching here, but a little warm. Is there anybody in here who knows how to turn down the air conditioners? Okay, well then, suffer. If you're glad you're not going to hell, say amen. Amen, praise the Lord. Okay, so we'll just get on with this, all right? So, very clearly, God wants us to pray for all men. He wants all men to be saved. So, Having said that, we believe that election primarily deals with God's relationship to the nation of Israel as the elect nation. Back in Genesis chapter 12, God called out Abraham, and he said, Abram, I'm going to make of you a great nation, and out of that nation I'm going to bless the entire nation. And he had a special hand upon the nation of Israel, and many of Israel trusted him. He specially ordained Israel. When we read through Romans chapter one through eight, we hear all about God's plan of salvation. When we come to Romans chapter nine, 10, and 11, God starts dealing with the election of Israel and God working in the nation of Israel. And it's a very, very powerful passage. And it talks over and over about God's election and God's sovereignty in the nation of Israel. When you go back to chapter 12, he again begins to deal with Gentiles and believers. When we talk about election, primarily the term election deals with the nation of Israel as an elect nation. And if you remember that, when you're reading about election in the Bible, you'll see Israel is mentioned over and over again. Now, we believe this, number eight, that predestination of the believer is based on the foreknowledge of God. Does the Bible say that man was predestined? Well, look again in your notes there, or you can look in the Bible. The Bible's quoted there in the notes. The Bible says this in Romans chapter eight and verse 29, for whom he did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Oh, aren't you glad that God sent someone to turn on the air conditioning? For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom he did predestinate, them he also called. And whom he called, them he also justified. And whom he justified, them he glorified. Now, let's take a look at what he says. Number one, he says whom he did foreknow. Here it is. I was born in 1955, I got saved in 18 years later, whatever that is, so 1973, okay? The Bible says this, before the foundation of the world, God knew everything. Before the foundation of the world, God knew you, God knew me, God knew everything. Dan even knew you. He knew how much hair you would have and how much hair I'd have. He knew how big you would be, how tall you'd be. He knew everything about you. He knew that before you were born. The Bible says, whom he did foreknow. So he knew this too. He knew that in 1973, David Tice would say, you know God, I know I am a sinner. And I know I deserve to go to hell. He knew the Holy Spirit was gonna convict me just like he was gonna convict everybody else in the world. He knew that I was going to say, yes, I am a sinner, and I need to get saved, and I want to go to heaven, I don't want to go to hell, that I would believe the Holy Spirit of God. He knew that. Whom he did foreknow, based on his foreknowledge, he did predestinate me. Now listen, the Bible does not say it. Read it there. It does not say he predestinated me to get saved. The Bible says whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his son. So here's the deal. In 1973, of my own free will, I said Jesus, I said, I'm a sinner, I know I'm a sinner. God, I need a savior. Now we'll see in just a few moments that whenever somebody comes to the Father and says, Father, I know I'm a sinner, I don't know what to do about that, that the Father will take me to Jesus and that Jesus will save me. So the Father got me to Jesus and I asked Jesus to give me eternal life and he gave me eternal life. He knew, but here's the deal, I didn't know that till 1973, before the foundations of the world, God the Father knew that I was going to do that and based on the fact that he knew that I was going to call on him to get saved of my own free will. God did not say Dave Tice is gonna get saved whether he likes it or not. No, he said based on the fact that David Tice is gonna call on me and ask me to save him, I have predestinated him based on that truth according to the foreknowledge of God. Whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate, not to be saved. He predestinated somebody who was going to be saved of his own free will. He said, okay, if you're gonna get saved, then you're gonna become like Jesus. That's what it says. Read the passage again with me. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate not to be saved, but to be conformed to the image of his son. So he predestinated us, you and me, to be like Jesus. So Jesus would be the firstborn among many brethren. So we'd be like him. And those he predestinated were the called. The word called means the invited. He invited you. He predestinated those who were invited and those who accepted the call. Those who accepted the invitation. Those he invited he justified. The word justified means he declared you righteous. Now listen, that doesn't happen After you die and get to heaven, oh, you died, you made it through life, and now I'm going to justify you. It'll be like you've never sinned. It's not when you die and you get to heaven that this happens. This happens at the moment you, of your own free will, ask Jesus to save you. When you say, yes, I'm a sinner, yes, I deserve to go to hell, yes, I know that Jesus died for me, and you ask Jesus to give you eternal life, at that moment, He calls you, He's invited you, you've received Him, He predetermines or predestinates you to be conformed to the image of His Son, He declares that you are righteous, and not only that, the Bible says He glorifies you. Whom He justified there, He glorified, that is, He clothes you with splendor. He's completed the work. You are, at the moment you get saved, fit for heaven. The only thing that messes you up is your body. Your body wants to sin, your body does wrong, your body wants to eat things it shouldn't eat. You know what my wife did to me today? It's really not right. It's Christmas time and I'm trying to stay right at the 200 mark. I'm right, I got there, I got there. It took me a long time to get there. I'm trying to stay there. You know what my wife did today? She baked 150 cookies. It's just wrong. It's just wrong. She's a temptress. I smelled them. I smelled them. I walked in the house and I smelled them. And then that wasn't enough. She had them right there on the counter. I mean, how can you walk by a counter? My wife makes these cowboy cookies. Now, I don't know if you know what a cowboy cookie is, but a cowboy cookie's got everything that will kill you in one little cookie. It's got white chocolate chips, it's got butterscotch chocolate chips, it's got chocolate chocolate chips. It's got oatmeal in there, you know. And then it's got the sugar and all the other stuff. It's a horrible thing. So, getting back to sin. So when God knew all my sin, but God said this, that before the foundation of the world, he foreknew that I was going to come to him and say, God, I know I'm a sinner. I know I deserve to go to hell. I know that you died to pay for my sin, that you were buried and rose from the dead for me. The Bible says, he said, okay. And I said, I want to receive Christ. He said, okay. But now, since you've received Christ, since you have your own free will, you are predestined to be like Jesus. I've called you, you've accepted the invitation, I'm declaring that you are just and you are glorified. And in the sight of God there is no sin in my life. The only thing that sins is my body. It's my body that wants the cookies. It's my body that wants the things that are wrong. My body does wrong, but my soul and my spirit are totally and completely glorified. That's why you can never lose your salvation. because you are, at the moment you get saved, you are made just like Jesus. Isn't that wonderful? Can you say amen to that? That's all right to say amen while you're being taught something. This is really, that's what he did for you. Now, we believe that once a person has trusted Christ as Savior, they become a child of God and he cannot lose his salvation. Here's what the Bible says. Hebrews chapter 10 and verse 11 says, and every priest, oh, it's not the right verse. She couldn't read my handwriting. The Bible says, He has perfected forever them that are sanctified. The word perfected forever, you see at the end of that. The Bible tells us that He has perfected us forever. I think it's Hebrews 10 verse 14, but I'm not sure. Or 11 verse 10 or something, anyway, it's in Hebrews. In John chapter three and verse 16, again, the world's most popular Bible verse, the Bible says, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him, now listen to this, should not perish but have everlasting life. God did not say, okay, I'll save David. I'll save David. And I'll give him temporary life. And then if he blows it, I'll take it away. And then if he calls on me again, then I'll give him temporary life again. Then if he blows it again, I'll give him temporary life. He didn't say he's gonna give me temporary life. Whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have what kind of life? Okay, let me hear that one more time. What kind of life? He gave me everlasting life. If I die, if I die spiritually, if I die and I don't go to heaven, then God is a liar. Either the Bible is true and Jesus was right, he gave me life that's going to last forever, or I can lose my salvation and the Bible is wrong and I can't trust Jesus. So the Bible tells me that he, at the moment I got saved, he didn't give me temporary life until I changed my mind, until I walk away from him, or until I sin. He gave me life that lasts forever. Romans 8, 33 through 39 says this, who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It's Christ that died for me. Who's gonna go to the judge and say, This person sinned. Dave Tice has sinned. Nobody, because it's God that made me just. Who's gonna say anything about how wicked I am? It's Christ that died for me and that rose again, who even is at the right hand of God and makes intercession for us. So every time the devil comes and says, Dave Tice did something wrong, Jesus says, no, it was me, I did that. I did that. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Who's gonna separate me from Christ's love? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, for thy sake we are killed all the day long, and we are counted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, that would include you. You can't separate you. shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus. Nothing can separate us from the love of God, not even you can separate you. Isn't that great to know? What if I get really bad? Too bad, you're His. Now what will happen is you get spanked because you're a child of God, but you don't lose your salvation. You, when you receive Him, get everlasting life and it's yours forever. Can you say amen to that? It's a wonderful thing. Now, how does it work? Here's how it works. Man is born a sinner and he's absolutely hopeless. Nothing he can do. Jesus died for man's sins, he paid for his sins. Man is over here, he's Dave Tice, born a sinner, I'm absolutely hopeless, nothing I can do to save myself, I don't even care, I just wanna feed my flesh, do whatever I can for me. I don't care about anybody else because I'm selfish and self-centered. Christ comes and He suffers and He dies and He pays for my sin. The Holy Spirit comes and convicts the hopeless man of his sin. Whoa, I am a sinner. You know what, this world's going to end sometime and I'm going to answer to God. I'm going to die. I'm going to answer to God. What am I going to do? If a man responds to the Holy Spirit that convicts him of him and calls out to God the Father for help, this is what the Bible says the Father will do. The Father will draw him to Jesus. John 6, 44 says, no man can come to me except the Father which has sent me draw him and I will raise him up to the last day. So here I am, I'm this wicked, vile sinner going my own way. The Holy Spirit of God convicts me that I am a sinner and there's a righteous God and I'm gonna be judged, what am I going to do? And I say, Father, God, help me. So God draws me, the Bible says, to Jesus. Now, the Bible says, if anyone comes to Jesus for salvation, they'll not be rejected. John 6.37 says, this is Jesus speaking, all that the Father giveth me shall come to me, and he that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. I've had people throughout the years come to me and say, you know, I prayed to Jesus and I asked him to save me, but I'm not sure that he did. And I say to them, do you believe that Jesus is a liar? Do you believe Jesus is a liar? Well, I'm just doubting. Well, let me say, if your feelings are telling you one thing and Jesus is telling you another thing, then who are you going to believe? Your feelings or Jesus? That's what you've got to ask yourself. Is the Word of God true or is my feelings true? Because I'll tell you, your feelings will mess you up every time. Because I wake up feeling bad. If I have the wrong dream, I feel bad, that's it. I just wanna do something bad. I had a bad dream, I'm not happy, miserable, and so, man, if I go by my feelings, I'm not saved about three quarters of the time that I wake up in the morning. See, if you, somebody's cold, isn't that nice? It's nice to be cold. So if I, if my feelings say one thing, And if anybody else says one thing and Jesus says another thing, then I got to believe what Jesus said. And Jesus said, look, if you come to me, if you come to Jesus, this is so good. If you come to Jesus, And you say, Jesus, save me. The only way you got there, Curtis, the only way you got to Jesus is because the Father got you there. You wouldn't have even gotten to Jesus unless the Father, you wouldn't have been saying, Jesus, save me, unless the Father got you to Jesus. And Jesus said, if you come to me, you came because the Father drew you, and I'm certainly not gonna cast you out. You're his, and you're his forever. Can you say amen to that? It's a wonderful truth. It's a wonderful truth. Once we receive Christ, we become His child forever. John chapter 1 and verse 12 says, So, going back to the question, why are we not Calvinists? Because we do not believe in unconditional election. We believe that we are elected according to the foreknowledge of God. We are predestinated according to the foreknowledge of God. We do not believe in limited atonement. We do not believe that Christ died for just a few, but that that He died for all men. We do not believe that His grace is irresistible. We believe that His grace is offered to all men, and we can receive it or we can reject it. But we do believe man is totally depraved, and we believe that after we've trusted Christ as the Lord and Savior and God, that we will be preserved forever, not by our own goodness, but by the goodness and the grace of Jesus Christ. If you've never received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, tonight, do that. Let's pray. Father, thank you for your word. Help us to take your truth. Help us to live it. Father, help us to apply it to our lives. And Father, may we share your truth with others. Help us to be faithful to share your truth. Thank you for dying for us. Thank you for eternal life. Help us to share your truth with others. If there's someone here that's not saved tonight, I pray for their salvation. Heads are bound and eyes are closed. I want to ask this question. Do you know for sure if you died right now you'd go to heaven? If you do, would you slip up your hand as a testimony to that? Thank you. You can put your hands down. Maybe you couldn't raise your hand. Maybe you're hearing you say, preacher, I don't know I'm going to heaven. I'd like to know that, but I don't. And I don't remember a time where I personally called on Jesus and asked him to save me. But I'd like to do that tonight. If that's what it takes to get saved, that's what I want to do. And you'd say, pray for me, preacher. If that's you, would you let me pray for you? Slip up your hand and say, preacher, I don't know for sure I'm going to heaven, but I'd like to know that. Pray for me. Anybody like that at all? Okay. Christian, why don't you say, Lord, thank you for dying for me. Thank you for what I learned this evening. Help me to live it and share it with others. Then maybe you have a decision about baptism or church membership. I'm going to have one verse of invitation played on the piano in just a minute. If you'd like to talk to somebody about being baptized or joining the church, you can come during this invitation time and somebody will be happy to talk to you about that. Let's stand together and let's pray. Father, I pray that you'd help us to take the truth that we've heard tonight and live it and apply it to our lives. And Father, I ask this in Jesus' name. We hope that message was an encouragement to your heart. Now, for weekly updates and for information about Liberty Baptist Church, be sure to follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook at LBC of Las Vegas. Well, that's it for today. Thanks again for listening. Until next time, God bless.