All right, so we are week nine and our whole series is called, What is a Reformed Baptist? Now we'll say this, most of the time, if you're out there in the highways and byways or whatever, if you hear someone say, I'm reformed, or I hold a reformed theology, probably what they mean, or at least one thing they may mean, is that they hold to the doctrines of grace. I've tried to show you in this series that being a Reformed Baptist is so much more than just soteriology. Soteriology is the doctrine of salvation. So, so much more than soteriology. However, what we're going to talk about tonight is an important component of being a Reformed Baptist and it's called biblical Calvinism. I don't know what, when you hear that word, what emotions, you know, maybe you're like, well, I don't even know what that means. Maybe some of you are like, well, is that bad? Like, what does that mean? Well, hopefully I explain it tonight. Most of people I would assume are on the same page, but if not, I'll have the opportunity to walk through some of this with you. It wasn't long ago that pastor Jacob taught on this in Sunday school. We went through the five solas and the five points of Calvinism. When was that brother? Was that okay? A year ago? About a year ago? I don't remember. So. Oh, okay. So, well, it's been a little while then. So, anyway, it's going to be a good refresher. I'm going to try to do it in one, I'm going to try to do it in one, One lesson. So just to weigh in, 1 Thessalonians 1, 4, and 5. I'm just going to read it. We're not even going to come back to this text. It's just kind of our starter text, if you will. Paul says to the church in Thessalonica, For we know, brothers, loved by God, that He has chosen you. Chosen, that's the word for elect. He has elected you. He's chosen you. Well, how do we know that you've been chosen? Because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. I read that just to say that this kind of language is unavoidable in the Bible. It's in the Bible and we have to deal with it. So one time I remember a very sweet lady. If I said her name, some of you would know who she is. She's never gone to this church. Well, maybe she used to go to this church, but way before I came here. But anyway, she said to me one time, you know, well, Quatro, I just don't believe in predestination. Well, we got to pause for a second. If you're a Christian, you believe the Bible, you believe in predestination. Now, there are disagreements about what that word may mean, but it's undeniable it's in the Bible. You understand? You can't just be like, well, I don't believe in Corinthians or whatever. Like, well, I mean, it's a book of the Bible. It's two books of the Bible, right? You have to believe. Now, we may have disagreements about what it means, but it's there. So Reformed Baptists subscribe to the doctrine of grace or as popularly termed in some circles, Calvinism. So I'll say this up front, just break the ice. We subscribe to this. We are Calvinists. However, Let me say two things about that. One, I wish the word wasn't necessary. OK, I just wish it wasn't. Secondly, the word is so often misused and hated that I don't use it very often. But if you give it the proper definition, if I get to define it, well, then I am unapologetically Calvinist. And so is our confession of faith, the Second Lenten Baptist Confession. But what's most important is, it doesn't matter. We could list all these names. The names don't matter. The confession doesn't matter so much as what? The Scripture. If the Bible doesn't teach this, then we need to reject it, okay? So that's why I wish the Word wasn't even necessary, because what I want to say is, you know, people are like, you just follow a man, and I trust the Bible, and you're like, stop. I'm not following a man. There's much about Calvin's life that is good and we should learn from. And then there's some things that he's saying, yeah, I don't agree with that, like baptizing babies. But the point is, I believe the Bible. I wish I could just say I'm a Biblicist. but fallen man has so misinterpreted and misapplied the scriptures that sometimes it's helpful to use terms, we use labels to understand what is meant. And so tonight, I'm just gonna give an overview of biblical Calvinism. All right, so what is, what do we mean by biblical Calvinism? I want you, so if someone says to you in the community, if someone says to you, sends you a message, you're like, maybe some of you've got this, I know this stuff goes out there sometimes, like, I was a Calvinist, you know, you're like, yes, I know. And here's what that means. You know, it was like, he doesn't believe you pray or evangelize or you're just robots. Well, that's not true. So hopefully I proved to you that I don't believe those things by my actions. All right. Number one, biblical Calvinism. We mean first that God is God. No, that sounds silly. Let me explain that for just a moment. What I mean is that God really is who He says He is in the scriptures. He is eternal. He is unchanging. He is all-knowing. He is all-powerful. He is love. The attributes go on and on and on. God is God. This means that God is sovereign. Now this grates against human pride. You know, I want to be in control. You want to think that you've got your whole life together and everything that's happened in your life, you know, like, well, yeah, it's me and God helps me sometimes or whatever you want. You want to you want to be in control. And the Bible slaps you in the face and says you're not actually God's in control. I give you a couple of verses we can spend all night just on this. But they're on your sheet. Isaiah 46, 9 and 10. I am God. And there is none like me declaring the end from the beginning. Now, how can you declare the end from the beginning? And from ancient times things not yet done saying my counsel shall stand and I will accomplish all my purpose. How can he declare the end from the beginning? The text is not saying because he just knows it's going to happen but he's saying his what? His counsel. his counsel, he will accomplish his purpose. Job, at the end of Job, we got to love Job, at the end of it, he puts his hand to his mouth and he's humbled. And he says to God, I know that you can do all things and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. If anybody has the right to complain, you think, well, maybe it's Job. But then God shows up to Job and is like, where were you? When I put Orion's belt on, you know, the stars, isn't that amazing imagery? Where were you at when I laid the foundations of the earth? And Job is humbled and he says, okay, I get it. You are God and I'm not. And no purpose of yours can be thwarted. So biblical Calvinism is not letting God be God. You can't let God be God, right? He's already God. You don't give Him permission. Biblical Calvinism is acknowledging that God is actually God. Now, I understand the arguments. I've heard them. I've dealt with them. I've held to this position for not 20 years, but Steph and I have been married next week 19 years. And so about 17 years then, I would say. 17. So I've heard all the arguments. I've heard the questions like, well, God has set up the world in such a way that man has free will and he just knows everything that's going to happen. Well, I don't know of a better statement than the English in the English language than our own confession. So this is on your sheet, but go read it and read the proof text. This is chapter three of our confession, paragraph one and two from all eternity. God decreed everything that occurs without reference to anything outside Himself. He did this by the perfectly wise and holy counsel of His own will, freely and unchangeably. Yet God did this in such a way that He is neither the author of sin, nor has fellowship with any in their sin. This decree does not violate the will of the creature or take away the free working or contingency of second causes. On the contrary, these are established by God's decree. In this decree, God's wisdom is displayed in directing all things and His power and faithfulness are demonstrated in accomplishing His decree. God knows everything that could happen under any given conditions. However, His decree of anything is not based on foreseeing it in the future or foreseeing that it would occur under such condition." Here's the easiest way you can think of it. God does not look down in time and learn something. You know that? You know God has never learned anything. God's never learned anything about you. God doesn't have to do science experiments and learn and gather information. He doesn't learn. He decrees. He knows. So if you want a verse to go with this, like, well, I don't know. Is this true? Well, look at Ephesians 1.11. It's in your sheet. Ephesians 1.11. In Him we have obtained an inheritance having been predestined. That's a different issue. We'll deal with that later. According to the purpose of Him, here's our issue, who works all things according to the counsel of His will. Now, I'm not being silly here, but what does God work according to the text? What does God work according to the counsel of His will? All things. Is that hard to wrap your mind around? I would actually argue that biblical Calvinism is not hard to understand. It's not for the elites or whatever. It's not hard to understand. It's hard for fallen man to accept and to submit to. So God has predestined his people in works all things. Works all things. What does this mean? Well, first, the word for works. You could probably understand that word. You could hear what English word comes from that word. It's energy. It's by the energy of God. That's not a great way to put it. It's His active working. So works all things is not this coming at God and he's just spinning all these plates and he's like, oh man, this is coming up and I didn't know Joseph was going to get sold into slavery and how am I going to figure all this stuff out? And just juggling, juggling, juggling, throw him another chainsaw. And you're like, no, that's not how he's doing it. He's active. He's working all things. According to the counsel of his own will. This is God's universe. It's not yours. And he has ordered all things, every particle of dust, every presidential election, every electric bill, every water heater going out. He has ordered all this from eternity past in his sovereign decree, in his eternal, unchangeable, sovereign plan. No, no, no, this is what the text says. He works all things according to what? The counsel of His will. So this universe is not operating haphazardly. It's not operating by the whim of Satan or whatever. It functions every planetary orbit, every raindrop, every meteor in the far reaches. Oh yeah, is there some sort of alien spaceship barreling towards Earth right now? I don't remember. What's that one called? H1B625, whatever. Okay, that's in the sovereign decree of God. He's not caught off guard. Every nail driven in the hands and feet of our Savior, it's all part of God's decree. Well, that makes me have some questions. Okay, fine. I've got some questions. What about cancer? What about childhood cancer? What about leukemia? I'm reading a story today of George Bush Sr.' 's daughter, George Bush Jr., whatever, however you say their names, his sister, I forget her name, she passed away when she was less than four. She had leukemia. Okay, what about these things? Okay, well, I have questions too, but I'm going to give you four responses to that question. One, God is unquestionably good. He is never the author of sin. He can never be accused of wrongdoing. Two, there are things that God has left us just simply not to know. You don't have a right to get to know all things. That's why Deuteronomy 29, 29 says, the secret things belong to who? Yahweh, the Lord. Number three, God uses evil and wicked things to accomplish His good purposes. Okay, how is God using leukemia to accomplish His good purposes? I don't know. But I do know this. The worst evil and atrocity in the history of man was the killing of the God-man, Jesus Christ, nailed to a cross of wood. And God has used that for the salvation of his people. If God is able and he is to use the worst evil, then he can use all for his good. And he does. And the good for sorry for the good of his people in some way, mysterious. And he does. And then fourthly, just kind of like, if you have a question, well, what about this? Well, here's the fourth answer. If none of those answers work for you, like I don't none of those those, I still have questions. Okay, number four, then. You have no right to answer back to God. I'm not trying to be mean with that. But you're not God. God is not on trial. Don't treat God as though He's the one sitting on the bench and He's under oath and you're standing there and you're pointing your finger at Him and you're accusing Him. You have no right. He's the Creator. You're the creature. If God is God and He is, that means we're not. You're not the center of the universe. He is. His glory is. We'll not read it here for time's sake, but I would also encourage you to go read chapter five on providence in the confession. It's beautiful. It's really good. Robustly biblical. And the question you need to ask yourself is if God isn't in control of everything, how are you trusting him? Let's suppose there's one particle of dust. God is sovereign over everything, but there's one particle of dust in Perry County that He's not in control of. Well, how do you know that that one particle of dust is not going to undo your entire day tomorrow? It could. Of course, we understand that God is sovereign even over that. So God is God. Second point. Biblical Calvinism understands that all sound doctrine ties together. All sound doctrine ties together. Tom Hicks says, the five points of Calvinism are inextricably linked with the doctrine of God, the Bible's covenants, the nature of Christ's work, justification, sanctification, the church, the last things, etc. So when someone says Calvinism, what they usually mean is you believe in predestination. Well, I do believe in that. It's in the Bible. I've already argued that. It's a biblical term. But the word means way more than that. You know, I'm a thousand-point Calvinist in the sense that all doctrine fits together. So you can't take a system and lay it over the Bible and make the Bible fit. Rather, what we're doing is, we are taking the Bible for what it says and articulating it rightly in all that it teaches. 2 Timothy 3.16 says, All Scripture is breathed out by God. All Scripture breathed out by God and profitable. So there is much to glean from 2 Timothy 3.16, but one thing is, all Scripture is unified in its truth. So you can't just take one concept here, one concept there, and ignore the other parts. You need to have one unified understanding of the Scriptures, and it all goes together. This is why there are some people who I would call Calvinist. You know what, I don't mind telling you. Some people try to hide these things, They shouldn't. The pastor at First Baptist Marlton, he is a Calvinist, okay? He subscribes to these five points I'm going to say. But I would argue there's a difference between being a Calvinist and being Reformed. So a Calvinist is over here, it's a subset. reformed theology Calvinism falls in that and I've tried to show you we've spent eight weeks looking at other aspects of reformed theology, reformed Baptist theology and Calvinism is a subset of that. Does that make sense? So I differentiate between those two things. So not all Calvinist are reformed Baptist but all reformed Baptist are Calvinist. Does that make sense? Hopefully that makes sense to you. Okay. So third point and this will spend the rest of our time this is going to be a super quick overview. Biblical Calvinism has a particular focus on soteriology. Biblical Calvinism has a particular focus on soteriology. So soteriology Is the doctrine of salvation? Okay, so it's much broader than soteriology I just said that but it does have a particular focus on soteriology And this is where you get the so-called five points of Calvinism, which are ordinarily summarized with the acronym tulip, okay t-u-l-i-p So Calvinism I haven't told you this yet, but I'll just explain it real quick. It does get its name from John Calvin and But he never wrote a book or anything like that called The Five Points of Calvinism. He did write a monumental work called The Institutes of the Christian Religion, but he would not have called himself a Calvinist. Like, if you saw John Calvin and was like, you're the OG Calvinist, he might have slapped you, right? No, it's like, he would not have saw himself as that, and he would not have even liked that label. So the term comes long after he's dead and it really, the tulip acronym, at least the five points, originates in the early 1600s in a meeting called the Canon of Dort, or the Synod of Dort and the Canons of Dort. come out of the Synod of Dort. But the Synod of Dort was a response to a false teacher named Jacob Arminius. And so he gave his five points, they give their five points, and that's how you get the five points of Calvinism. But these five points that we're going to walk through are subscribed to by churches in various denominations. Southern Baptists, Presbyterians, Dutch Reformed, in years gone by, even the Anglicans and the Methodists. One of the early Methodists, although he died before Methodism became its official thing, George Whitefield. But it's a staple belief of Reformed Baptists. And I would argue it's our Baptist roots. Listen to this quote. This is fascinating to me, how far we've moved. This comes from Thomas Kidd. He says, in 1793, so think about that, barely after the inception of this nation. In 1793, 956 out of the 1,032 Baptist churches in America were Calvinistic. I don't know the math there, but I mean, that's like, I mean, that's very close to 95%, right? 956 out of 1,032 Baptist churches at the founding of our nation were Calvinist churches. So today, what some people think is crazy, and I'll just tell you, one time I was out there preaching, I was out there preaching and a lady came out there and she was visibly upset, and I didn't recognize her at first, then I realized who she was, and I was like, you know, like, hey, is everything okay? And she was like, you're a Calvinist, you know? And I'm like, look, I'm out here preaching the gospel, like. You want to have, I mean, we can have this discussion, but can I evangelize right now? And then maybe, you know, but she was just she was just very, very upset about that. And so I understand that people think that's crazy, but I would argue it's historical. It's our roots. It's and most importantly, that and all that's whatever. Most importantly, it's biblical. Tom Hicks wrote, one may certainly believe the gospel without being a Calvinist, but one cannot sufficiently explain and defend the gospel without those great biblical doctrines that go by the nickname of Calvinism. So, the idea is, you don't have to be a Calvinist to be a Christian. I'm not saying, I'll be clear, clear, clear, clear, clear. You do not have to be a Calvinist in order to be saved. Right? Everyone in heaven will be. Okay. But you don't have to be a, you understand what I'm saying. I'm not, okay, don't misunderstand me about that. But I would say this, all doctrine matters. It matters. And so, as Hicks notes, the consistency and the biblical fidelity, it's going to be compromised when one rejects these scriptural truths. So Reformed Baptists are Calvinists. Now, what is Biblical Calvinism? Well, the focus on soteriology is often distilled to five points. Tulip, T-U-L-I-P. I'm going to walk through them. It's going to be real quick, though. So, oh, we got 15 minutes. Okay. T-U-L-I-P. Like it or lump it, it is what it is. That's the acronym. I think we could maybe come up with better terms at times, but these are pretty good. So number one, it's all on your sheet. Total depravity. Number one, total depravity. Total depravity. This is not saying that men are as sinful as they can possibly be, but it is to say this, total depravity. The entirety of man is tainted by sin. What is affected by the fall? His mind, his heart, his will, his affections, his motivations, all of it. Every unregenerate person. Some are more sinful than others, we shouldn't balk at that, but all are totally sinful in every aspect of their being. This has rendered them due the judgment of God and it has also rendered them unwilling and unable to do any spiritual good. Read Romans 3, 10-18, and Paul reiterates. None is good. None is righteous. No, not one. No one seeks for God. Ephesians 2 says that we're dead in our trespasses and sins. Romans 8-7 says that those who are in the flesh, that is, they don't have the Holy Spirit, those who are in the flesh, they cannot please God. There's nothing a person can do, an unregenerate person can do to please God. Because whatever doesn't proceed from faith is sin. That's Romans 14. Even you help someone cross the street, a little old lady, you keep her from getting ran over. Is that good? Well, from our perspective, certainly it's a good deed, and you ought to do that. But it's not a meritorious deed, it's not spiritually good, because the unregenerate person doing it is not doing it in faith, they're doing it in spite of God, rejecting Him. On your sheet, 1 Corinthians 2.14, the natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God for they are folly to him and he's not able to understand them. Not able to understand them because they're spiritually discerned. Right? I understand. People from our perspective, they do nice things. They do good things. I used to use my dad as an example and I can't anymore because he went and got saved. So anyway, when he was lost, I would say about my dad that he was one of the nicest guys I knew. And he would help you. He would do, you know, quote unquote, from our perspective, good things. But these weren't spiritually good. They're not bring him closer to God. In his heart, he rejected God and he went his own way. I'm not just picking on my dad. That's all unbelievers. That's with me before I was converted, all of us. And we would have nothing to do with God. Secondly, unconditional election. So we're walking through TULIP, T-U-L-I-P. So the U stands for unconditional election. You don't have a problem understanding those words. Election, right? I choose this piece of paper and not that piece of paper, okay? Unconditional. I choose it based on my own prerogative, nothing within the paper, right? Okay, Romans 8, 29, and 30. For those whom he foreknew, he also, here's the word, predestined. It means in the Greek what it means in the English. What's it mean? Destined what? What's the prefix pre mean? Before. Destined before and it's just what it means. For those whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his son in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and those whom he predestined. he also called and those whom he called he also justified and those whom he justified he also glorified now some people say well see it says foreknow there and so God foreknew everyone's choice but that's not what the text says look at it yourself for those whom he foreknew so not the choice but the people those that the pronoun those is the people so he foreknew a people in eternity past what does it mean to foreknow them means he foreloved them he loved them He set His love upon His church. He chose them out of the mass of fallen humanity. He predestined them that it is chosen beforehand that they would be saved unconditionally, not based on what they did, but on His own sovereign grace. Spurgeon put it this way, some people are dreadfully frightened at that word predestination. It is to be wisely handled, but it is not to be gagged and sent into the corner as it is by some. The whole of God's truth is to be declared. And whatsoever we find in this book, that we are to state. and the keeping back of precious truth will be required of such as are guilty of it at the last great day. Did I ever tell you about the time that I picked up the LifeWay Sunday School curriculum? And it was going through Romans. And I thought, well, I wonder what they have to say about these verses. I'm the pastor of this church and I am responsible for the teaching. So what is being said here? So I flip them, I flip open. I was like, okay, let's see what's being said. And it stops at like Romans 8, 25. And it doesn't, it skips Romans nine, which is another big passage of the sovereignty of God. And it, and it comes back in around Romans 10. Like, are you serious? It just skipped it all. Why? Well, that's too controversial. Well, here's the reality. I'm not saying it's not controversial, but I am saying we as your pastors have the responsibility to teach what the Bible says. This is what it says. So why do I believe in predestination? It's in the Bible. It's plain. You have questions. That's fine. You're wrapping your mind and your heart around this and that's fine. That's fine. But you can't deny it. Continue to wrestle with it. Our confession says it beautifully. By God's decree and for the demonstration of his glory, some human beings and angels are predestined or foreordained to eternal life through Jesus Christ. This is chapter three, paragraph three to the praise of his glorious grace. Others are left. God doesn't have to force them to go to hell or whatever. They're left to their own sin. Very well written. Others are left to live in their sin, leading to their just condemnation, to the praise of His glory, His justice. These predestined and foreordained angels are people You can read 2 Timothy. I put that chapter 1 verse 8 and 9. Let me just read Ephesians 1 verse 3. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places even as he chose us in him chose us in him. Some people say well he chose the vehicle of salvation. I heard this analogy one time. He chose the plane. The plane to go from point A to point B. He chose the plane. He didn't choose the people that would get in the plane. You make that decision. Okay, that's a fine analogy. Yay, but it's just not biblical. It doesn't say that. It does not say He chose the plane. It says He chose us, the passengers. He chose us in Him. Before, when? Before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love, he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace with which he has blessed us in the beloved. It's very, very, very plain. Number three, T-U-L. Limited atonement. You might think I was going to spend the longest on this one. I'm not. It's very simple concept. Ephesians 525 Husbands love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her. Who did Jesus give himself up for the church? Now, the atonement is not limited in power, but it is in efficacy. That is, the intent was ultimately. To save the church. to save the elect in Christ before the foundation world, that's God's plan. Now, if you say, well, how do you preach the cross? I preach the cross that there's enough power in the cross to save any soul. Any soul that will look to Jesus Christ in faith, they'll be saved. Guess what? If they look to Jesus Christ, whosoever calls on the name of the Lord, you believe those verses? John 3, 16, God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believes in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. Not only do I believe those verses, you have heard me preach those verses. Not only do I believe those verses, you have heard me from this pulpit, sometimes almost in tears, pleading with people to come to Christ. You have heard me on the streets. You have heard me in the Christmas parade and the other parades. You've seen me go door to door. You have seen one of your pastors pleading with people to be saved. So if anyone tells you a Calvinist doesn't believe in evangelism, you can say, well, look, maybe there's some out there somewhere. but not our pastors, you've seen it, right? Well, if you think that this means that you don't plead with people to be saved, you misunderstand it. Some of the greatest missionaries in the history of the world have been 1,000-point Calvinists, right? I made up that term, 1,000-point, but you understand. Okay, number four, irresistible grace. So T-U-L-I, irresistible grace. This is not saying people don't reject God. Of course they do. Of course they resist God. But what this particular phrase means is that the only way sinners come to Christ is when God effectually draws them by sovereign grace. John 6 44. No one can come to me unless the father who sent me draws him. No one can. No one has the ability to come to me unless the father who sent me draws him. And listen to this now. And I will raise him up on the last day. So you say, well, God draws everybody. No, no. The text says that the ones God draws are the ones He what? Raises up. So there is a specific effectual drawing that happens upon God's people. It's not giving grace or faith to all persons. This is how some people think. They just haven't really pushed it to the end. They said, just kind of let it sit here, simmer at the top of their little brains, and then they haven't pushed it through. And that is, God just gives grace and faith to everybody, and then we choose to act upon it. Hmm. Problem. What is the ultimate decider in the salvation of men? It's not the grace of God. It's men. They're the ultimate. Yeah, but God gives, it's all grace! And then you choose to act upon it. No. I give you an analogy real quick, real, real quick. You got two people. One person is overweight. He goes to the doctor. The doctor says, you're fat. And he's just a blunt doctor. It's RFK. And he says, you're fat, and you need to lose weight. And the guy leaves the doctor's office, and he says, that hurt my feelings. But he's right, I'm fat and I need to lose weight. So he starts jogging, he starts eating good, he lifts weights, he does all that. Six months later he goes in and he's lost 30 pounds. The doctor's like, see, good job. And who gets the glory? The doctor? No, not the doctor. The doctor just said, hey, he gets the glory. Okay, the second scenario though is the man has a heart attack and he's laying He's coded. He's on the operating table. The doctor does everything in his power, and he is able by his work and all the things that he's able to do, and it's a six-hour surgery, and finally everything's good, and he brings the man back and healthy, and the man lives another 20 years. Who gets the glory then? The man? No. What'd he do? Nothing. He coded. He was dead. He was on the operating table. You know who gets the glory? The doctor. Now listen. It's not a perfect analogy, but this is the analogy of God's work and irresistible grace. We are not the fat guy. I mean, we're a little overweight, but we're not the fat guy. Say, OK, this is what we got to do. OK, I'll do it. No, we're the dead guy. We're the dead guy. And God is the one that brings us to life. That's irresistible grace. OK, salvation is by grace alone. God draws his elect by his grace. And when he issues that effectual and irresistible divine summons, they come just like Lazarus. Lazarus. Of your own will, reach inside yourself and decide if you want to come out of the tent. That's not that's not it. Lazarus come forth. OK. Number five, T-U-L-I-P, Perseverance of the Saints. Now, I joke, everybody's the one, not everybody, but every Baptist, well, that's not true either, sorry, there's a free will Baptist. A lot of people subscribe to this one at least, Perseverance of the Saints. So back to Romans 8.30, those whom he justified, he also glorified. Meaning, those justified, how many of the justified people are going to make glorification? I'll give it to you in a percentage to understand, one hundo. All of them. 100%. You cannot lose your salvation. Why? All this fits together. Because you didn't earn it. You didn't achieve it. You didn't even come up with it. You couldn't have even come up with it. You didn't even want it in and of yourself. It began in eternity past with the triune God. You had no control over it. Choosing you in Christ. In time, the Son of God took on flesh and was born of the Virgin Mary. He kept all righteousness. He fulfilled all righteousness. He kept the law where you have failed. You shook your fist at God. He opened His hands to God, serving Him. You failed miserably. He succeeded. He went to the cross and He took your sins, very personal, upon Him. He died not merely for you, but there's another way to think of it, He died as you. under God's wrath, the wrath you deserve. He's the propitiation, the wrath satisfying sacrifice, the wrath of God that hung over you that you deserve, Jesus Christ propitiated. He was buried. On the third day, He rose again from the dead. And all of this happened before you were even thought about, before your great-great-great-great-grandparents were even thought about. And in time, in time, you think of all the sovereign things that had to happen, one single person in your ancestry line, one bullet in the Civil War goes the wrong way and kills your great, great, great, great, great grandfather. You're not here today. You think about that. And yet here you are. And in time, God, you lived however you wanted, you lived in your sin and your misery, rejected God, loving your sin, loving yourself, deserving of wrath, but then the Gospel came to you. I don't know how. Your parents told it to you. It came in a tract, it came in a sermon, it came in a conversation probably several times. And something began to change. The Holy Spirit came upon your cold stone heart, and He broke down every fortification of resistance. He used the law to just plow over your wretched stone heart until you were broken, and then He gave you life. uniting you to Christ, showing you His mercy, showing you His glory and His beauty, and you repented of your sin. He forced me to repent. No, He didn't. You chose Christ. You're not a Christian unless you chose Christ. The only way you chose Christ is God first chose you, and the Holy Spirit worked in you first. And then, you were justified. By grace alone, through faith alone and Christ alone, you were adopted into Christ's family. Right now, you're being sanctified, made more and more into the image of Christ. Seeking now to obey God with His law as your standard, out of love for Christ, by the Holy Spirit of God at work within you. So guess what? All that to say, you're not going to fall away. Those in Christ never fall away. They may fall into sin. It happens. They may fall under discipline. It happens. But God will persevere them to the end through the ordinary means of grace, through the church and reading of Scripture and prayer and all these things. Now, I'm just going to tell you, here's the deal. We can argue about it. It's fine. It's fine. We can argue about it. You want to argue with me about it, I'm not trying to be arrogant, but this is one area that's like, you want to argue with me about it, you'll have it to do, okay? I didn't just come up with this tomorrow night, or last night, definitely not tomorrow night. This is the way that it is. This is what the Bible teaches, y'all. This is the truth long held by faithful Christians throughout the centuries. We stand in line with Jonathan Edwards, and George Whitefield, and Charles Spurgeon, and Martin Lloyd-Jones, and John MacArthur, and R.C. Sproul, and John Gill, and Benjamin Keech, and Adoniram Judson, and the list just goes on and on and on. But more importantly, and most importantly, it puts us in alignment with the Scriptures. This is what God has taught us in His Word. And you say, well, I'm just not sure if I understand all this. On one hand, let me say this. So two hands. One hand, that's okay. We all need to grow. Isn't it kind of foolish? We should not explain. We better be patient. Let's say you already understand this stuff. You better be patient with others. You didn't just come up to this yesterday. This is something that God had to work in you. And maybe even I'm thinking about one person that's in our church now. He's not here tonight. Think about one person that actually Pointed his finger at us like I don't y'all are Calvinist and he left you probably know I'm talking about then he came back and he got saved And God used that Okay, we ought to be patient and if you are wrestling with these things, it's okay on one hand wrestle away But on the other hand, that's what I'm saying. Don't stay there wrestle Read, study, love the Bible, pray, search the truth. I'm going to end with a long quote from Spurgeon, but it's just so good. I'm going to end with that, and then we'll stop the recording. We can have probably, well, we could have, if there's a major question that you want to ask, we can do that, but we got to go. Okay, quote from Spurgeon. I'm reading Spurgeon's words. But there are some who say, It is hard for God to choose some and leave others. Now, I will ask you one question. Is there any of you here this morning who wishes to be holy? Who wishes to be regenerate? To leave off sin and walk in holiness? Yes, there is, says someone. I do. Then God has elected you. But another says, no, I don't want to be holy. I don't want to give up my lust and my vices. Why should you grumble then? that God has not elected you to it. For if you were elected, you would not like it, according to your own confession. If God this morning had chosen you to holiness, you say you would not care for it. Do you not acknowledge that you prefer drunkenness to sobriety, dishonesty to honesty? You love the world's pleasures better than religion. Then why should you grumble that God has not chosen you to religion? If you love religion, He has chosen you to it. If you desire it, He has chosen you to it. If you do not, what right have you to say that God ought to have given you what you do not wish for? Supposing I had in my hand something which you do not value, and I said, I shall give it to such and such a person. You would have no right to grumble that I did not give it to you. You could not be so foolish as to grumble that the other has got what you do not care about. According to your own confession, many of you do not want religion, do not want a new heart and a right spirit, do not want the forgiveness of sins, do not want sanctification, you do not want to be elected to these things, then why should you grumble? You count these things but as husks. And why should you complain of God, who has given them to those whom He has chosen? If you believe them to be good and desire them, they are there for thee. God gives liberally to all those who desire. And first of all, He makes them desire, otherwise they never would. If you love these things, He has elected you to them, and you may have them. But if you do not, who are you that you should find fault with God, when it is your own desperate will that keeps you from loving these things? Your own simple self that makes you hate them, end quote. So here's Christ. You want Christ? Never one time is a person called to reach into the recesses of the minds of God to find, if we could just find the Lamb's Book of Life. And if I found my name in there, then I would come. Never, never, never, never are you told to do that. You're told to come to Christ. I can promise you this. Never one time has Jesus Christ turned away a sinner who has looked to Him and called out to Him in faith, not one time. If you say, I tried to do it, but He told me I was not elect. I say, sir, ma'am, you are a liar. He will not turn you away. Look to Christ. You come to Christ, you realize something. God had a plan for you before the foundation of the world. You're chosen in him from eternity past, predestined before the foundation of the world. Brothers and sisters, I love you. And I'd love to talk about this more and wrestle with this more. And I'm not trying to be arrogant. I'm not trying to be a jerk. I'm sorry for the joke earlier. I'm just trying to say this is what the Bible teaches. And we're not sorry about it. We give all glory to God. Amen.