The doctrine of this 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 that 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. And so this morning we look at the right use or rightly using the doctrine of predestination, rightly using the doctrine of predestination. First of all, then, special prudence and care. Confession says the doctrine of this high mystery of predestination is to be handled with special prudence and care. The first thing we notice here is that it is to be handled, not ignored. It is to be handled, not ignored. Sometimes people refer to the verse in 1 Corinthians chapter 2 and verse 2. For I determined not to know anything among you save Jesus Christ and him crucified. And they claim that this teaches that there are basics which have to be taught and there are other things in scripture that are not so basic which can, at least for a time, be ignored and only taught to those who are more instructed in the faith. That's not what it's teaching at all. The contrast in 1 Corinthians 2 verse 2 is not between the basics and other biblical doctrines. The contrast is between human philosophy and the announcement of a revealed message from heaven summed up as Jesus Christ and him crucified. In other words, the tendency among the Corinthian Christians to look for the kind of wisdom that the philosophers engaged in display of their own powers of thought and originality, he dismissed that and declared a revealed message. So this verse has nothing to do with basics over against more advanced doctrines. The Apostle teaches election and predestination in 1 Corinthians 1 and 2 very clearly. And the Lord Jesus taught this doctrine to the unbelieving in John chapter 6 and verse 44, No man can come to me except the Father which hath sent me draw him, and I will raise him up at the last day. and then verse 65, and he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my father. From that time many of his disciples went back and walked no more with him. There the Lord Jesus teaches the doctrine of man's inability and dependence upon God's sovereign grace to those who, as it became evident, were unbelieving. So that this doctrine of election and predestination is not some specialist doctrine for the more mature believer and, as it were, to be kept under wraps when dealing with the unconverted or the young believer and It's a doctrine that's kept it out of the way until a certain graduate status is reached in the faith. That's not true. This doctrine is to be openly, freely, faithfully declared to all. And it's here in our confession of faith as something that we openly and unitedly own as the teaching of the Word of God. The Lord can and has used this doctrine for the awakening and conversion of sinners, in causing them to see their desperate plight and the urgency of the situation since they are, as it were, as the illustration has been used by others, in a burning house and in a room that's on fire. The key is on the outside, not on the inside. Because sinners need to be brought to despair of themselves, this doctrine has and can be used of God to bring men to an urgent sense of their need of divine grace. But then why is it to be handled with special care and prudence or wisdom? Why is it particularly so? Well, there are several reasons. First of all, because man is too ready to argue with God. One of the proof texts given, Romans 9 verse 20, Nebat o man, who art thou that replies against God, shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, why hast thou made me thus? And no doubt that verse is given in the proofs in order to remind us that at the end of the day, we do not need to go into great philosophical defences of the doctrine of election and predestination, it's there in the word of God and throughout thou, O man, that we ply us against God. And this particular doctrine does tend to bring out the pride of the heart of man in arguing against God. Then also, because it is beyond us to fully understand God and his ways. Romans 11 verse 33, O the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and his ways past finding out! We cannot fully understand God. We are finite creatures. He is infinite. and we cannot fully understand or explain his ways. But what is revealed is to be received and the truth of God's unconditional election and absolute predestination to life of the heirs of salvation is clearly revealed. But then, thirdly, because we are inclined to pry into what is not revealed, such as the identity of the elect, rather than what is revealed, the free offer of Christ to all sinners, in the Gospel. Deuteronomy 29, verse 29, The secret things belong unto the Lord our God. that those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law. Here the distinction is being made between what is hidden from us and what is revealed and there is within us a tendency to try to find out what isn't revealed rather than paying attention to what is revealed. That brings us to our second thing. We must attend to God's revealed or perceptive will, not pry into what is not revealed. We must attend to God's revealed, perceptive will, not into what is not revealed. You see that the confession of faith says that men attending the will of God revealed in his word and yielding obedience thereunto. In other words, we are to attend to what God tells us to do, to believe the Gospel. And we are not to pry and to seek to know what is not revealed, that is the identity of the elect of God prior to their regeneration and being brought to Christ. So in Acts 13 and verse 26 the Apostle Paul says to all the hearers in Antioch and Pisidia, in the synagogue, he says to them, Men and brethren, children of the stock of Abraham, and whosoever among you feareth God, to you is the word of this salvation sent. This message of forgiveness through Christ was sent to them all. So in Acts chapter 3 And unto you first, God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities. The identity of the elect among the unconverted sinners is not revealed to us. and it is arrogance on anyone's part to think that they know in advance who is elect and who is not. Nor does God ever address elect unconverted sinners as such. He addresses sinners, all sinners, who hear the Gospel. The doctrine of predestination is not rightly used if it sends us off on a wild goose chase to find out if we are elect rather than looking to Christ. Christ is the object of faith, not some special revelation of whether we are elect before we believe. The warrant of faith, the ground of coming to Christ and expecting to be received by is not some prior knowledge of being one of the elect of God. It is the promises of mercy and forgiveness held out to all who come to God by Him. Whosoever believeth on Him shall not be confounded. To seek the knowledge of our election by special revelation outside of Scripture is to seek what God never gives, and therefore it is to seek the unobtainable. We must heed what God says to sinners. Every one of us, without special revelation outside Scripture, can know that we are sinners and the Gospel is addressed to sinners, to all sinners who hear it. If I may be allowed a quotation from Samuel Rutherford, he says, God's decree of election, or his intention to save me, is not the proper object of my faith, but rather of my sense and feeling. We go mightily beside the line in the method of believing, when we go to believe at first God's intention to save me. The order is, being humble for sin, we are to adhere to the goodness of the promise, not to look to his intention to persons, but to his complacency and tenderness of heart to all humble sinners. So Paul 1 Timothy 1.15 embrace us by all means, that good and faithful saying, Jesus Christ came to save sinners, before he put himself in as the first of these sinners, as the condemned man, believeth first the King's grace and mercy to all humble supplicants, who soothe for grace before he believeth grace to himself. So we have to look to what God says to all sinners and the promises of acceptance in Christ declared to all as the object of faith and the ground of believing and of coming to God through Christ with expectation that he will receive us. If someone who has not believed waits till they know they're elect before, or if they tell themselves, well I need to know I'm elect before I trust Christ. He will never trust Christ because God does not reveal the identity of the elect in some special, mysterious revelation given to them personally. We are to receive the truth declared to all men and embrace the promise of God. Thirdly then, the order by which we can know we are elect. The order by which we can know we are elect. The Confession of Faith says, they may from the certainty of their effectual vocation be assured of their eternal election. God's decree of election is what determines who is effectually called, who is made willing to believe, as many as were ordained unto life believed. But for our knowledge of our election, we must proceed in reverse. Salvation begins in eternity with God's decree of election. It comes to effect in time with effectual calling, making a sinner willing to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. But in terms of our knowledge, we must work in reverse. We must start downstream and work upwards. And we must ask, do I depend on Christ? Am I willing to depend on Christ and Christ alone for acceptance with God? If we are willing to depend on Christ, it's because we've been effectually called. Our hearts have been changed by the Spirit. And if that is the case, it's because we were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world. So we don't find out if we are elect first and then believe. We must believe the gospel sent to all sinners We will do that only if we are renewed by the Spirit, but a willingness to depend upon Christ alone for acceptance with God is the first effect of the renewing work of the Holy Spirit. Where a sinner is willing to trust Christ alone for acceptance before God, it is proof of his being effectually called, renewed by the Spirit, which is proof that he was chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world. 2 Peter 1.10 Wherefore the rather brethren Give diligence to make your calling and election sure. If ye do these things ye shall never fail. You notice that. Make your calling and election sure. Am I willing to depend on Christ? Then I have been effectually called. That tells me I was chosen before the foundation of the world. And we go astray if we try to know whether we're elect apart from knowing whether we've been renewed by the Spirit and made willing to depend on Christ alone. Don't look for what is unattainable. Special revelation of our election. believe what God says to sinners in general and indiscriminately in his Word. And the willingness to believe that, to depend upon Christ, is a clear evidence of election in eternity and the renewing of the Holy Spirit in time. Fourthly, the true fruit of belief of this doctrine, the true fruit of belief of this doctrine. First of all, worship. So shall this doctrine afford matter of praise, reverence, and admiration of God. We will think highly of God. We will ascribe glory to God. Ephesians 1 verse 6, To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he has made us accepted in the Beloved. 33. O the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and his ways past finding out! The right use of this doctrine should make us think more highly of God and of His marvellous The right use of this doctrine should make us think more highly of God and of his marvellous grace. It should produce humility. Romans 11 gives in verse 5 and 6, Even so at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace. And if by grace, then it is no more of work, otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then it is no more grace, otherwise work is no more work. And then verse 20, Well, because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not high-minded, but fear. It should make us think more highly of God and more lowly of ourselves that God could have justly left us in unbelief and to be ruined. The doctrine of election, properly understood, will not make us proud, but will make us humble. Because when we properly grasp the doctrine, we will understand that God has chosen us out of his mere good pleasure and not for any least iota of superiority in us. And he could have left us in darkness and sent us to hell and been perfectly just. That ought to bring us down and ascribe glory to God. Diligence, 2 Peter 1.10, give diligence to make your calling and election sure, making sure we are in Christ and thus being assured of our election. This doctrine should make us diligent to be assured that we are in Christ and therefore effectually called because we were chosen in him before the foundation of the world. And then consolation. Consolation. This doctrine is comforting because it gives the believer the assurance of eternal glory. Arminianism does not. are able to put ourselves into Christ. If we have a natural ability to repent and believe, then we have a natural ability to unbelieve again. And that is what Arminianism does, the doctrine of free will. It sounds all very well, but if we can make ourselves without God's irresistible grace. If we can make ourselves believers, we can make ourselves unbelievers. It means we can be vessels of mercy one day and vessels of wrath again the next. We have no grounds of assurance of heaven. But when we understand the doctrine of election, We know that the reason we are in Christ now is because we were chosen before the world was. And that same decree and that same grace which brought us into the faith will keep us in the faith until we are glorified with Christ. Romans 8 verse 33, Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God the justifier. This is telling us that the intended outcome of Christ's death is the justification of God's elect. And the fact that those who are justified are justified because they were chosen in Christ from eternity and brought into fellowship with Christ in time. That tells us that they will never be condemned. Not only are they justified now, but they will be justified and accepted forevermore. Luke chapter 10 and verse 20. Notwithstanding in this, rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you, but rather because your names are written in heaven. Luke 10 verse 20, those who are believers are believers because of God's grace and their names are written in heaven. They can be assured of that because he which has begun a good work in us will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. So then, the doctrine of predestination is to be handled with special prudence and care so that we are not on a wild goose chase looking for the knowledge of our election aside from the truth declared to all men and the assurance that those who believe will be accepted and that those who believe, believe because they are effectually called in time and having been chosen in Christ from eternity. The doctrine of election is not to set us on a wild goose chase. It is rather to arouse us to diligence and to attend to what God says to sinners in the Gospel and Being assured that we are in Christ causes us to humbly ascribe the whole of our salvation to God and gives us the comfort of knowing that we shall never be separated from his love.