At the end of the third chapter of the Second London Confession, we read these words. The doctrine of the high mystery of predestination is to be handled with special prudence and care that men attending the will of God revealed in his word and yielding obedience thereunto may from the certainty of their effectual vocation be assured of their eternal election. So shall this doctrine afford matter of praise, reverence and admiration of God and of humility, diligence and abundant consolation to all that sincerely obey the gospel. Let us pray. Our Father, it is with fear and trembling that we come to study this topic this evening. You have allowed us in Your Holy Word to peer behind the curtain and to see something of Your glorious workings in eternity. We pray, Our Father, that You would bless us as we study these words tonight. We pray that You would make us humble and that You would glorify Yourself in our midst that we might be full of praise, we ask in Jesus' name, Amen. Now, there are several introductory concerns which we must consider before entering into this subject. The first of them is to say this. It is a subject that is found in the word of God and therefore it is important and edifying in its proper place. The Lord Jesus Christ and his apostles, Peter and Paul, for example, were not ashamed of the doctrine of election. They were not embarrassed by it. They were not intimidated by it. In both public preaching and private discussions, they talked about this subject. Now, on the other hand, they did not overemphasize it. Election was not the only tune that was played on their musical instruments, and so it ought not to be on ours as well. At the right moment in our symphony, we must play it, but only at the right moment. At other times, it is out of place. Secondly, Our study of the doctrine of election will only hint at this fact, but it is a very difficult, complex, and as our confession says, mysterious subject which requires great care and hard thinking and especially worshipful reverence. We must at all times remember that we are bound up to the Word of God. Moses tells us in Deuteronomy 29 and verse 29 that there are some things which are secret and some things that are revealed. We must not speculate on those things that are secret. But on the other hand, we must not fall back from the things that have been revealed to us because they are difficult or such. But we must struggle, struggle to master the content of the Bible in this matter. So I hope this evening you will be able to do that with me. The third thing we need to say by way of introduction is this. is that the subject of election has been abused and misused in the past by overzealous men. And to refuse to admit this is foolish and contrary to all truth. Men have wielded the doctrine of election as a club over the people of God, sometimes misusing it in such a way as to hide their own coldness of heart, sometimes abusing it so that the people of God become introverted and dull. Election in the Bible is a comforting, joyful, zeal-producing doctrine. And it must be the same for us. It is a tragedy when people do not learn from the errors of the past. The men that we admire and follow the most, the reformers, the Puritans, the evangelical Anglicans, the Calvinistic Baptists, have all stood firmly for a full and free offer of the gospel to all men. They understood Jesus lament over the city of Jerusalem to be one of real compassion and his love for the unconverted rich young ruler to be real love. And so also should we. It seems good to study this topic of election with our minds prepared. Thinking about the compassionate love of our Lord Jesus Christ towards sinners. Let us not forget that he genuinely loved the lost. And as we will see when we come to Titus chapter one, the Apostle Paul expresses this himself. Now, before we come to that passage, which I want to be the focus of our attention tonight, there are several other things that I want to say in preparation and the first of them Or all of it really has to do with talking about the doctrine of election itself. Now, the word elect or election has many different uses in the Bible. We could really spend a lot of time looking into all of the different ways that it's used. And I've chosen not to do that simply for the sake of time. Let me summarize some of this material for you. Sometimes the word simply means to make a decision. For example, in Acts chapter six, verses three and five, we have the word used where the church is told to choose seven men. And then Luke records for us that they chose Stephen and all of the rest. It simply means to choose. That's all that it means. And we can find it used that way in the Bible. But it is also frequently used with a theological sense. And there are at least six different theological ways that the word is used in the Bible. Now, we need to notice three of them for the sake of completeness. Let me mention in the briefest of terms the other three. Sometimes the word election is used theologically to speak of vocation. For example, the workers who were chosen in Exodus 31 to help build the tabernacle were said to have been elect. Sometimes the word seems to have an ecclesiastical usage. Peter, for example, in First Peter 5.13 speaks about an elect church. And sometimes, as in First Timothy, we find the word used with regard to angels. Paul speaks of the elect angels. Those are three theological uses. We just mentioned them along the way. The other three are much more important for us, and they all demonstrate a relationship between election and covenant theology. And so I want to take a little bit more time and have you turn with me to three different passages that we will read and briefly comment on so that you might see this connection throughout the Bible. First turn, please, to Deuteronomy chapter seven. Deuteronomy chapter seven. Now, we've said that the book of Deuteronomy is something of a sermon. Moses' last words that were spoken to the assembled nation of Israel on the plains of Moab prior to their crossing the Jordan River and entering into the promised land. And in this sermon that Moses delivers to the nation of Israel, he says some very important things about the relationship that God, the Lord of heaven and earth, has with that nation. I want you to notice with me, beginning in verse 6 and reading down, I guess, through verse 11, how we have election tied together with covenant in terms of the role that Israel was to play on this earth. Notice, beginning in verse 6 of Deuteronomy 7, the Word of God says, For you are a holy people to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you. That's our concept of election. The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth. The Lord did not set his love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were the least of all peoples. But because the Lord loves you, and because He would keep the oath which He swore to your fathers, the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of bondage, from the house of Pharaoh, king of Egypt." Now, perhaps you already notice the covenantal language that is here. The swearing of an oath. The promise that God gives. The expression of love. The language of choosing. But it becomes even more explicit as we continue to read. Verse 9, Therefore know that the Lord your God, He is God. The faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments. And He repays those who hate Him to their face to destroy them. He will not be slack with him who hates Him. He will repay him to his face. Words that were spoken about the Canaanites. Therefore, you shall keep the commandment, the statutes and the judgments which I command you today to observe them. Now, what do we see here as we consider? Oh, so briefly, this text, I suppose I ought to say that the theological use of election here has to do with national Israel. Israel as a nation was the elect nation of God. But you notice here how this is covenantal, how God places the notion of the national election of Israel as a political entity, as an ethnic entity into the context of covenant. The Lord says, as he presents himself to Israel, that he is a faithful God who keeps his covenant and who shows mercy to a thousand generations for all who love him and keep his commandments. Now, here the covenant does not assure salvation to the individuals in the nation of Israel. It simply presents to them covenant privileges that are based on obedience. And the obligation which is set before the Israelites is based on the fact that God chose Israel out of all of the nations on the earth to be a special, a peculiar people for himself. You see this this teaching here and you see its relationship. I wish that we could spend more time. But you notice the intimate relationship between election and covenant here in our text. Secondly, I'd like you to turn with me to Isaiah chapter forty two. The second of these theological uses of the idea, the concept of election is found in Isaiah chapter 42, the first of the servant songs. And here again, we have an explicit relationship between election and covenant. Follow along as I read the first nine verses this time. Behold, My servant whom I uphold, my elect one in whom my soul delights. I have put my spirit upon him. He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles. He will not cry out nor raise his voice nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. A bruised reed he will not break and a smoking flax he will not quench. He will bring forth justice and truth. He will not fail nor be discouraged till he has established justice in the earth and the coastland shall wait for his law. Now, brothers and sisters, let me interrupt the reading just for a moment. Is there any doubt of whom the author is writing at this point? Now, I realize in the history of interpretation, there is a lot of doubt. But for those of us who know and understand the New Testament and who perhaps recognize allusions that are made in the New Testament back to this passage, can there be any doubt of the identity of the servant? I hope you agree with me that here Isaiah is speaking about our Lord Jesus Christ. that Jesus Christ is the elect one who was chosen by God and appointed to be the one who would not break a bruised reed, who would not quench a smoking flax, and who will bring forth justice around the world. Again, I'm reminded of the fact that he continues to establish justice so that the coastlands wait for his law. Here we are on the other side of the earth. And we are living proof of the reality of this prophecy that is fulfilled in our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the elect servant of God described in this passage. Now, let's keep reading and notice the tie explicitly to the doctrine of covenant. Thus says the God, the Lord, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread forth the earth and that which comes from it. who gives breath to the people on it and spirit to those who walk on it. Here, the writer wants us to think about the whole created order and wants us to see God in His transcendent glory over all of creation. He is its creator. He is its sustainer. He is its protector. It is by His will that it continues. And Isaiah wants us to understand God in all of His glory by this reference. Now, notice how he works this out. I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness and will hold your hand. I will keep you and give you as a covenant to the people. as a light to the Gentiles, to open blind eyes, to bring out prisoners from the prison, those who sit in darkness from the prison house. I am the Lord. That is my name and my glory. I will not give to another nor my praise to carved images. Behold, the former things have come to pass and new things I declare before they spring forth. I tell you of them. Isaiah here presents to us the Lord as the great king of all of the created order who speaks to his elect one and tells him that he is the one who is the recipient of the covenant and he will be given as a covenant gift to the people and to the Gentiles so that when he comes, his fame will spread from pole to pole and from shore to shore and all men will bow before him. Here we have an indication of the eternal covenant, that covenant of salvation that we have mentioned so many times over the last two days. This text is clearly covenantal, and it points us to the fact that Jesus Christ is the servant of the covenant of salvation, that God the Father has appointed him to be the one who will be the heir of salvation and bring salvation to the heirs of the covenant. You see the relationship. Jesus is elect and because he is elect, the covenant goes forth and we see the glory of God represented in these verses. And so the second theological sense of this notion of election is messianic, and it focuses upon our Lord Jesus Christ as the chosen and appointed servant who would bring the eternal covenant into human history in his person and in his work. Thirdly, the third theological use that we notice in some detail this evening is soteriological election. That is election that has to do with individuals. And turn with me to the passage. I probably don't even have to tell you where to turn. You probably will open there in your Bibles anyways. Romans, chapter nine. I expected someone to cry it out. The chapter that ought to settle all dispute. And we scratch our heads when we read it. And it doesn't settle the dispute in the minds of many. Let's pick up reading in verse 6 of chapter 9. But it is not that the Word of God has taken no effect. For they are not all Israel who are of Israel, nor are they all children, because they are the seed of Abraham. But in Isaac your seed shall be called, not in Israel." That is, those who are the children of the flesh. These are not the children of God. Now, I realize I'm not here to preach on baptism, but that's a really important text in the debate over the subjects of baptism. The children of the flesh, these are not the children of God. That's what the text says. But the children of the promise are counted as the seed. For this is the word of promise. At this time I will come and Sarah shall have a son. And not only this, but when Rebecca also had conceived by one man, even by our father Isaac, for the children not yet being born nor having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand not of works, but of him who calls. It was said to her, the older shall serve the younger. As it is written, Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated. Now, this is really a stunning passage when you think about it. Because the differentiation that is made by the Lord is made between two twins while they were in the womb. They were in one womb. They had the same father and they had the same mother. But God's purpose was to save one and to leave behind, to overlook the other. Jacob I have loved, Esau I have hated. And in verse 11, Paul makes this point as clearly and plainly as possible. The children not yet being born, not having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand not of works, but of him who calls, it was said to her, the older shall serve the younger. They weren't born. They had not done anything yet. But God called one and left behind the other. Now, we don't have the word covenant present here in these verses, but we have the word promise. And we have said that one of the elements that we find in the covenants of the Bible is promise. Here we have election tied together to the promise of God, and it is clearly covenantal. It was God's purpose according to election, according to the promise that was given to distinguish between even those who were children of the nation of Israel. Paul says, not everyone who is of Israel is of Israel. Now, that sounds confusing at first, doesn't it? It's like saying not everyone who is of Texas is of Texas. But if I remind you that I don't live in Texas, I'm only here as a visitor. But today I'm of Texas. But tomorrow, if I get on the plane and go home, I won't be of Texas. Perhaps that illustrates the point. Here it is the divine choice according to promise and according to the sovereign will of God. Now, we are especially concerned tonight, not with national Israel. We are concerned with messianic election and we are especially concerned with soteriological election. But what is it? Well, these texts and this one especially tell us that it is God's choice. and that it happens before the world began, and that it has to do with some individuals, and that its purpose is that those individuals would enjoy the privilege of eternal life, and the basis is solely the love of God. Now, I've just asserted that definition to you. Let's now look at a text which brings it all together, and that's Titus chapter 1. So turn over there with me, please, and we'll spend the rest of our time in this wonderful little book. We will along the way look at one or two other texts here and there. Now, the first three verses of the book of Titus provide us with an interesting description of Paul's self-identity as an apostle. and the purpose for which his apostleship is to serve. He begins his letter to Titus by reminding him that he is a bondservant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ. And at the end of verse 3, he says that this was according to the commandment of God our Savior. He was himself specifically chosen for this responsibility and commissioned to serve in this role. Well, he doesn't use the word. I think we could rightfully say here is a case, a special case of election in which we have an individual chosen to serve in the office of apostleship in a certain way for a certain purpose. But what we are concerned about this evening is noticing the purpose for this designation that Paul gives to himself as an apostle of Jesus Christ and a bondservant of God. And so I want to pick up an exposition in the middle of verse 1 and notice several of these phrases which bring together the things that we have been saying already this evening. The first thing that he says is that he is this bondservant and an apostle according to the faith of God's elect. It seems that Paul is indicating here that one of the primary reasons that God has chosen him, remember our language, one of the primary reasons that God has chosen him to be a servant and an apostle is to pick up the language from Second Timothy 210 for the elect's sake, for the sake of the elect. Here is a man who is a Jew who's dedicated himself with all of the fervor he can muster to serve the Lord his God in every circumstance of his life. And he believes that that requires persecution of Christians. He received some letters from the high priests that give him authorization to go to Damascus and persecute Christians. And while he is on the way, he meets a bright and shining light, which is the Lord Jesus Christ on the road. He falls down before that light and he is brought to faith. He's baptized in the city of Damascus and he becomes the great apostle. God chose him out of all of the rest of the Jews. I'm sure that there must have been others. who were equally as zealous, equally as well trained, equally as concerned. But God didn't choose them. He chose a man named Saul and turned him into Paul and made him to be what he was, a servant, a bondservant of God and an apostle for the sake of God's elect. God's purpose in calling him to this task is because he, that is God, has a certain group of men and women And God's intention is to do something good for that certain group of men and women who are also called the elect. And the means that God will use to reach the elect is this man, Paul, who has been called. And you know what, brothers and sisters? He still reaches the elect today. Even though he died hundreds and hundreds of years ago, he still reaches the elect today. You know how he does that? By the book that you hold in your hand. The Apostle Paul speaks to us, God's bondservant and apostle, for the sake, according to the faith of God's elect. His office has special reference to a group of men and women designated as the elect. He is sent out by the Lord Christ in order to perform specific duties with reference to this specific group. Now, you see, I'm using language very carefully here because I want to emphasize the fact of choice. I want to emphasize the fact of election. And when I say specific, I want you to understand that God is the one who makes the specific choices for his own specific reasons. It's all about election here. You see that. You see how that's woven throughout the text. Now, specifically, Paul says that he occupies this office for the faith of the elect. I think that here that's a summary term which pertains to the whole religious life of these people who are elect. To put it in terms of the recipients of the letter, Titus and the churches to whom he ministered. Remember, they were on Crete. If there were elect Cretans, They could say that God has given to them an apostle who would see that their faith was complete. And the means that he was using at this point in time was the letter that was written to Titus, who served as a pastor on their island. Now, this is an important point. It's the very point that we made just a few moments ago. Paul's presence was not necessary for him to fulfill his duties. And his written word carries the weight of an apostle of Jesus Christ and requires as much obedience as his physical presence would. His office was with reference to the elect. Now, are you one of the elect of God? Then this apostle has a task with reference to you. And you are to hear the words that he writes. Now, who are the elect? Well, we've already tried to define this doctrine of election. They are all of the people. They are all of the people who have been individually and specifically chosen by God before the foundation of the world to be the special objects of his love. In this case, he is manifesting his love to them by giving them an apostle who would be used to build them up in the faith. Now, it is important to notice the next phrase that is present in our text. Now, here we're mentioning election, but notice the other part of the phrase. The other purpose of his servanthood and apostleship is the knowledge of the truth, which is according to godliness. Paul's responsibility to the Cretan elect and to all of the rest of the elect is that they might know the truth and that the truth might produce godliness in them. This goes hand in hand with his concern for their faith, because he mentions the means by which their faith is strengthened. Their faith is strengthened by the knowledge of the truth. Now, you're all familiar with the phrase that Paul uses elsewhere. I would not have you to be ignorant. That's the other side of the same idea. You know how Paul uses that, for example, in 1 Thessalonians chapter 4. Paul realized that understanding and comprehending the truth of God was vital to every Christian. Paul here is saying that he was a man who preached doctrine, who taught doctrine, who sought to bring doctrine to the people of God so that they might recognize that their Christian life is built on that doctrine. Remember what we said in the question and answer session this afternoon, when someone asked the question, how can we head off the problem of of an overbearing kind of law preaching? Well, here Paul is helping us to understand it is by first laying out doctrine. And what does doctrine do? But always turn our attention to heaven and recognize that whatever we are is a result of God's primary work. He has worked first. It is the priority of his action. That's what grace is all about. You can't become an overbearing law preacher if you are preaching the doctrine of God's grace, you see. And that's what Paul wants to emphasize here in this place to Titus and to the elect in Crete. He wants them to understand that godliness is based upon a knowledge of the truth. But it's not merely an intellectual grasp of certain facts. It is the outworking of those facts in the life of every believer. A knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness or perhaps which leads to godliness. The truth always leads us when it is properly proclaimed and properly understood to a way of life that is characterized by piety. Some of the older translations render this word godliness with the phrase, the fear of God. And that's a good phrase. That's a good way to render the word that's behind our English word back in the original Greek. Teaching and imparting the truth is only half of the story. The other half is the practical application of the truth, which results in a godly lifestyle. And we must always emphasize that the two go hand in hand and must not be divorced. All doctrine is practical and all right practice is doctrinal. And we have to emphasize that. That's what Paul is saying here. He has been given as a bond servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ for the faith of God's elect so that they might understand the truth and live according to the truth, a life of the fear of God. that they might be characterized by a holy kind of reverence which consumes them, which causes them to live with one eye always on heaven, seeking to ask and answer the question, Lord, how can I serve you? How can I show my gratitude to you? How can I demonstrate to you how thankful I am to you for what you have done for me in Jesus Christ? That's what Paul is saying at this point. And that's why God has given him as a gift and an apostle, a bondservant, why God has chosen him, elected him to serve in this capacity. It is for the sake of the elect of God. Now, notice next, though, what Paul moves on to say in verse two. because Paul has not completed his discussion of election and the implications of election for the people of God here, I think we can say rightly, under the New Covenant. The basis for his apostleship is the hope of eternal life for the elect of God in which Paul expresses the fact that the elect are destined to be possessors of the life of the age to come. Now, Paul, of course, views himself as one of the elect. And what he says in the beginning of verse two is a natural extension of what he has said in verse one. Now, what is the hope of eternal life? Well, it is the energizing cause of Paul's apostolic ministry. And it is the energizing cause of the elect's complete devotion to God, of their fear of God. And Paul says that this is why he functioned in his ministry. Now, what is hope? Well, you know, hope in the Bible is not a wish or a desire. I hope that tomorrow I'm able to get on the plane and go home. I hope that DFW won't be closed. I'm scheduled to preach in Escondido on Sunday morning. And if I'm not able to get home and preach in Escondido on Sunday morning, the church has to face some contingency plans. Now, we've already set those plans in place. They're made thanks to the Lord that we've been able to do that. But the best thing is for me to be able to get on that plane and go home. But that hope is just the wish, isn't it? It's my desire. That's not what hope is in the Bible. Hope in the word of God is a favorable, confident expectation with reference to the future. It is a certainty that God will do what he has said, that God will be good to his word and he will complete the purpose that he has begun, whatever that purpose might be. Now, when Paul uses this language. Someone once told me that when you have sirens go by, stop preaching because everybody will notice the sirens and not what you're saying. Now, I've just distracted you from the sirens and I can go back to preaching. It works. Paul is speaking of the certain expectation of eternal life when he when he speaks about the hope that belongs to the elect, the hope of eternal life. It's not a wish. It's not a desire. It's not something that's set out there that if they're really good enough and that they work really hard enough, they'll be able to accomplish it. But he uses the language of certainty to indicate that the elect possess eternal life. It is something that is theirs and cannot be taken away from them. It is their possession now and it is also their future prize. And it is the confident assurance of this fact that gives to Paul great energy in his ministry. I think that we could say this. Paul was an optimist. Because he knew that God's plan could not be thwarted, even in the midst of fierce opposition from the Cretans. And this hope made him go on striving to fulfill his task as an apostle of Jesus Christ. Now, look at what he does immediately. We've talked about the elect. We've talked about the truth. We've talked about the fear of God. We've talked about the hope of eternal life. But now notice upon what Paul bases all of these things that he has just said. First, we find him speaking about an oath. He doesn't use that exact language here, but that's what he's talking about. in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised." Now, we'll come to the promise in just a minute. Right now, I want to talk about the oath. He presents to us an oath framed in a negation, but it is clear and plain. The basis upon which his ministry to the elect and their inheritance of eternal life and perseverance in eternal life is based is the oath of God Himself. The firm foundation of His person and His character. Paul expresses to us the reality of the fact that God is one who will not and who cannot lie. And because God speaks, it is treated as if He speaks an oath. He will not go back on the word that He has given. And when He makes a commitment, when He speaks a word, He intends to fulfill the word that he has spoken. The psalmist says, do not trust in princes and mortal man in whom there is no salvation. But Paul's work and message and ministry is rooted in the divine nature of God. He has grasped the truth of the words of the psalmist and he puts his trust in the Lord, his God. The fact of hope of eternal life for the elect is grounded in the character of God Demonstrated to us in this phrase, he cannot lie. God would not be God if he were a liar. And Paul's message does not depend on stories or on tales, but on the truthful God who always speaks according to reality. Now, the writer to the Hebrews expands this just a little. Keep your finger here and turn over to Hebrews chapter 6 just for a moment, please. Hebrews 6 verse 13 and following. For when God made a promise to Abraham, do you see how promise keeps coming up? And we're going to see promise in just a minute in Titus. When God made a promise to Abraham because he could swear by no one greater, he swore by himself, saying, surely blessing, I will bless you and multiplying, I will multiply you. And so after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise for men indeed swear by the greater and an oath for confirmation is for them an end of all dispute. Thus, God. determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath that by two immutable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope that is set before us." Now, this is certainly a commentary on the more abbreviated words that we find in Titus 1-2. The writer to the Hebrews expands the thought and he demonstrates to us that God who cannot lie is the God who swears an oath by Himself because there is none greater. And his intention in swearing that oath is to complete everything that he has promised to do. God has promised eternal life to the elect and it must come to pass. Indeed, the very being of God is at stake in the fulfillment of the word, the oath that he has given. Now, come back with me to Titus one, two, because Paul heats up the phrases here. We've noticed the oath in the form of a negation. God cannot lie. But now we notice the promise promised before time began. And Paul wants us to think of this promise in terms of antiquity. Because he tells us that this promise, which was sworn on oath by God, is an eternal promise, a promise that was given before the world began. It's not merely the Abrahamic promise. It's not merely the Abrahamic covenant, but something far greater. Paul is pointing us back to a covenant that took place in eternity. And he wants us to recognize that the faith of God's elect is not a divine afterthought, but rather an eternal purpose determined before the world was created in which he would save a certain group of people for his own purpose, to his own glory. The hope that Paul expresses at this point is not a Johnny-come-lately. It's not something new in the world of philosophies. It's not seeking to elbow its way into the Greek world and dominate all of the rest. Paul says that this hope has its roots in ages that were past. It is a determined purpose of God in a covenant. Now, just one more passage I want you to look at, and it's just a page or two away in your Bible. 2 Timothy 1.9. Well, maybe verses 8 and 9. Paul writing to his young friend Timothy, Therefore, do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me, his prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, Not according to our own works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began. Now, do you see how all of these things tie together? When Paul uses this language about the hope of eternal life which is promised before time began, he is speaking about the person and work of Jesus Christ, the covenant servant we noticed back in Isaiah 42. And remember in Isaiah 42, in the language that explicitly spoke about the covenant that was to come, he was to be a light for the Jews and for the Gentiles. He was the one who was to come as the servant of the covenant and bring justice. And when Paul writes the words that he does before us here in this place, he wants us to think about the Lord Jesus and root the salvation he is describing in the person and work of Jesus Christ. He wants the Cretans and he wants us to understand this, that God didn't decide to give you eternal life when you decided to believe in his son, but rather God determined to give you eternal life before this world was created. And he set about a plan, a covenant to accomplish just that, a promise that was given to the elect so that when the fullness of time would come, The Son of God would come, born of a woman, born under the law, completely fulfill the requirements of the law, go to the cross and offer Himself a sacrifice, be buried in a tomb, rise again on the first day of the week and ascend into heaven where He now sits at the right hand of God the Father in heaven. That, my brothers and sisters, is the covenant that God gives to the elect. And Paul here recognizes that this is a great source of comfort. He was the servant, the apostle of a God who had a great, specific and definite plan. And Paul's hope for himself, the hope that he speaks of to Titus, the hope that was to be preached to the Cretans, the hope that must be understood by us is a hope that is rooted in the covenant promise that was made before this world began, but is now being revealed. Paul is an apostle of the sovereign God, for the sake of God's elect, according to the eternal covenant promise that God Himself has given, that He will glorify Himself in Jesus Christ. And all of this, a firm hope to the glory of God. Isn't it amazing? Isn't it astounding? Doesn't it warm and thrill your heart? Well, it ought to do so. Now, we're not finished. There's more to be said in the text. Because notice, after Paul says that this covenant was promised before time began, he then says in verse three that in due time it's manifested. That God has manifested this covenant in preaching. I realize that it's late and I have to move on very quickly, and I think that I'll have to summarize some of my notes along the way here, if you'll forgive me if I have to do this. But the relevancy of the covenant is demonstrated in the fact that in due time it is manifested. The promise of God did not simply take shape in eternity and remain an unfilled promise forever, but it had a definite time to begin to take shape and to move towards accomplishment. Now, we've said that the whole history that is recorded in the Bible is an anticipation of the great fulfillment that would come in the person and work of Jesus Christ. And Paul here wants us to understand that all of the ages point together to the coming of Christ, His incarnation, His sinless life, His death on the cross, His resurrection and His ascension. But not only does he want us to think about that, he wants us to recognize that God's purpose finds expression in our lives as that work of Christ is applied to us. Because it didn't just happen to a specific group of people like the fall of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. But it has reference to all of his people in all time to use the language of the text to all of God's elect from the beginning to the end. That's what Paul is saying here in this place. Paul is not just an historian, but he is an apostle. And he doesn't just tell us about the events of the life of Jesus, but he emphasizes that the events of the life of Jesus have a burning relevance to us. That purpose has now been revealed and made manifest. And here we have the protection against hyper-Calvinism. Notice what Paul says. It is manifested through preaching. The preaching of this covenant is to be brought to men. That's how people will know that Jesus Christ came in fulfillment of the covenant. That's how people will know of His incarnation, His holy life, His atoning sacrifice, His death, His resurrection, His ascension, by the proclamation of the gospel. It is to be made known freely and fully. We are to stand before sinners and cry out to them, call to them to come to Jesus Christ, to trust in Him as their only hope of salvation. There's the protection. How can anyone say that true Calvinism is cold and dull? My friends, true Calvinism warms your heart. It energizes your evangelism. And it calls you to go out knowing that God has elect. And it's God's purpose to use the proclamation of the word to call those men and women out of the mass of humanity and bring them to saving faith in Jesus Christ. That's election and covenant theology. And Paul puts it all together here in this place. Now, I'm hurrying along because time has gone. Let me just summarize what we've said. What do we see here? Well, I am trying to be cute in my first statement. We see Paul's purpose driven ministry. Don't we? This is a purpose driven ministry, and that's what we see in Paul. Now, I was trying to be cute there. But I hope you remember that. Secondly, We see the reality of the doctrine of election summarized before us in this text. But thirdly, as Paul expresses himself, we see the roots of the doctrine of election in the eternal covenant of God, promised before the ages, before time began, but in due time manifest through preaching, which was committed to Paul according to the commandment of God our Savior. Now, what should we say? Well, just this. We need to say that the doctrine of election is intimately related to the doctrine of the covenant. And it should be no surprise to us at all that Calvinists have been covenantalists. Because Calvinists look back before time began to use the language of the text and they see God's covenant. They look at the ministry of the apostles and they see God's covenant. They know themselves to be saved only because they are the elect object of God's covenanting purpose. And one wonders how one can be a Calvinist and not be a covenantalist. Now, what should we do with this doctrine? Well, there are many, many applications. We actually began by making one, didn't we? We read that statement from the London Confession of Faith. Let me just say these few things. Brothers and sisters, let us magnify the Lord who has done this. Because He alone is great. In eternity past, He determined that He would save a people. And He has accomplished that. And you and I are living proof of that fact. Isn't that astounding? That you are living proof of that fact. God called you. Why did He call you? Why did He call me? Because He loved us. Not because we were lovely. Not because there was something attractive about us, but because he loved us. He called us. He alone is great. He alone is good. He alone is worthy of praise. To take up four of the five solas, we could put it this way. Our salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. and in light of the relationship between election and the covenants of grace, to God alone be glory. Amen.