A meeting like this meeting sponsored by this seminary would be somewhat strange to some people because they'd actually be wondering why is it a group of strict Calvinists would come together to talk about evangelism and missions. Because there are many throughout the history of the church and many in the world today that believe that there is no compatibility. between the sovereignty of God and the salvation of the sinner and the work of evangelism and missions. In fact, this is a criticism that historically has been brought against this doctrine. Writing in a sermon entitled Free Grace, John Wesley said, it's needless to them, he's asking the question that election makes preaching vain, it's needless to them that are elected, it's useless to them that are not. He goes on to say, it has a direct and manifest tendency to overthrow the whole Christian revelation. In making the gospel thus unnecessary to all sorts of men, you give up the whole Christian course. And that was Wesley's chief argument against election, an argument that evidently he got from his mother. argument that if you believe in the sovereignty of God and salvation, you lose all motivation for preaching, for evangelism, for missions, even for holiness. And this cavil has been repeated throughout the history of the church. A recent opponent of Calvinism, Chuck Smith of the Calvary Chapel Movement, uses exactly the same criticism. And he says that this doctrine of election vitiates, destroys, weakens any motivation or desire or attempt with respect to evangelism. Now, at first glance, there surely is something about that criticism. If God has foreordained all who will be saved, then is He not going to save them? And you know that there's been some in the broader Calvinistic camp that we would refer to as hyper-Calvinist who've said, well, of course we don't evangelize. God who has chosen them will bring them to Himself. That was something of the response that William Carey met in some of the particular Baptists when he desired to go to India as a missionary. And occasionally one still runs across that criticism or argument. But though we would reject that, and we would assert as we sit here this day, I trust each of us to a person that no, as Calvinists we must be about the business of evangelism, I wonder sometimes if in fact our neglect of evangelism in our more strict Calvinistic churches does not give rise to this criticism. If your more Arminian friends around you looked at your life and at your church, would they have any reason to be suspicious of the fact that Calvinism takes away the heart of evangelism? Or would your example and lifestyle and that example of your church be such that they would recognize there can be no truth at all to such an argument? For some reason, particularly those of us who are all the more vigorously committed to the glorious doctrines of grace, the great doctrines of federal theology found in the Westminster standards, for some reason we've been greatly negligent. with regard to an aggressive work of evangelism. And so as we begin the conference, I want us to consider this topic, taking Dr. Packer's title, Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God, or really we're going to look at the sovereignty of God and evangelism. And we're going to do so in a few verses in Acts chapter 13. Now the book of Acts is an ideal place to address this question for a couple of reasons. In the first place, it seems to me that one of Luke's sub-themes in the book of Acts is wrestling with the compatibility of divine sovereignty and human responsibility. He quickly gets right to it in Acts chapter 2. as he discusses or records for us Peter's sermon on the day of Pentecost. And in verse 22, men of Israel, listen to these words. Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through him in your midst, just as you yourselves know this man, delivered up by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross. by the hands of godless men and put him to death. And there's no more compact assertion in the Bible, is there, of divine sovereignty and human responsibility. And that seems to be a burden that Luke expresses throughout this book. Of course, the second reason to go to the book of Acts is that over half the book is devoted to the labors of the great theologian missionary, Paul of Tarsus, the great theologian of election and grace, the one who lays out in such sublime form the sovereignty of God in all of life, yet the one who spent himself in great labor for the expansion of the gospel. So surely, if there is a biblical answer to this tension, we'll find it in Acts and in the ministry of the Apostle Paul. We're going to look at Acts chapter 13, at Paul's remarks in his second address in Pisidian Antioch. It's on his first missionary journey as they left Antioch and eventually made their way over to the Roman province of Galatia. After landing there at the port, Paul made his way up to Antioch Pisidian. And we have a record of the first sermon that he preached there in the earlier verses of Acts chapter 13. And as we began our reading today, we see then that as Paul and Barnabas were going out of the synagogue, the people were begging that these things be spoken to them the next Sabbath, and that when the meeting broke up, many of the Jews and God-fearing proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who were speaking to them, urging them to continue in the grace of God. Now it's in that context that we come into the next Sabbath in the synagogue. In verse 44, the whole city, that there was a huge turnout to hear the word of God. But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began contradicting the things spoken by Paul and were blaspheming. And Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and said, and this then begins our text, it was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first. Since you repudiate it and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles. For thus the Lord has commanded us. I have placed you as a light for the Gentiles, that you should bring salvation to the ends of the earth. And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing, glorifying the word of the Lord and as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed. And the word of the Lord was being spread through the whole region. Now what we see here in the response of Paul to the blasphemy of the Jews and his address to the Gentiles and their subsequent conversion is that the electing grace of God secures the salvation of his people and establishes the use of means unto that end. The electing grace of God secures the salvation of God's people and establishes the means unto that end. We're going to consider those two things. In the first place then, the electing grace of God secures the salvation of His people. As we read these verses, we note that there is an astonishing response of the Gentiles to this message, a response against the backdrop of the Jews' almost wholesale rejection now of the message concerning their promised Messiah. As the Jews, filled with jealousy, begin to blaspheme and slander the message being preached by Paul and Barnabas, Paul turns from the Jews unto the Gentiles with this announcement. It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first. And this was always Paul's strategy, you know. He went from city to city. If there were Jewish people in that city, he went to them, he went to their synagogue or their place of prayer, and he announced to them that God had fulfilled his prophecies and promises and had sent his Messiah for his people. and urged them to receive Jesus of Nazareth as Christ and as Lord. So he says, it was fitting, necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first. Since you repudiate it and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles. Now Paul makes an amazing announcement here. For thus the Lord has commanded us. I have placed you as a light for the Gentiles that you should bring the salvation to the end of the earth. In this statement, Paul collates two statements about the Messiah from the prophecy of Isaiah. Chapter 42, verse 6, and chapter 49, verse 6. In 42, 6, we read, I am the Lord. I have called you in righteousness. I will also hold you by the hand and watch over you. And I will appoint you as a covenant to the people, as a light to the nations. And then in 49, verse 6. He says, it's too small a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved ones of Israel. I will also make you a light of the nations so that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth. Now this is a common theme in Isaiah and in the Psalms that God was going to gather the nations unto his son. And there was always hope then offered that in the age of the Messiah, the Gentiles would be brought to Christ. Notice how Paul takes the language. He doesn't simply say, this is God's purpose in Christ, but he is saying that in his preaching, this purpose is now being fulfilled. Notice how he personalizes it. The Lord has commanded us I have placed you as a light for the Gentiles that you should bring salvation to the end of the earth." Paul says, this is now my responsibility as an apostle and preacher of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ to proclaim the light of the gospel of Christ to the Gentiles. But moreover, we see something of his theology of preaching. Because as Paul preaches Christ, Christ Himself is the one who speaks and causes His light to shine on the Gentiles. Now this was an astonishing announcement. These Gentiles, some of whom at least were God-fearers that had attended the synagogue, they knew the Scriptures. All week long, the city had been abuzz with Paul's message, and they knew the heart of what he had to say, that the Messiah had come. He died on the cross for the remission of sins, had been raised from the dead. But he was a Jewish Messiah. Were they going to have to become Jews? in order to enjoy the full benefits of this Messiah. And Paul's announcement to them is so glorious is that Christ has come for the nations. Christ has come for the Gentiles and thus they all come on equal footing. No, they did not have to become Jews to come to Christ. They only had to come to Christ in order to become true Israelites. Now, on the basis of this astonishing announcement, we read an even more astonishing response that the Gentiles, when they heard this, and notice it's implying a large group of people here. The whole city's turned out. It doesn't say when a few Gentiles heard this, but when the Gentiles heard this, they had a threefold response. They began rejoicing, glorifying the word of God, and they believed. They began rejoicing. For so long, this barrier has existed between God and them, the barrier of Judaism, the barrier of all of its ceremonies and its external demands. And now are they going to have to know the joy of Christ to come through the gate of Judaism? The poet said, no. The gospel is for you. This is your message. And their hearts leapt with joy. when they heard that Christ was for them. And there were no gates to go through, no rituals to observe, but rather by repentance and faith they would come to the Lord Jesus Christ. And thus, Luke says, they glorified the Word. Now, you know, in the Bible, to glorify God and glorify the Word is a phrase to express repentance. What this means is they heard what the Word of God had to say about God and His holiness and beauty, about them and their sin, and now about the way that they could be right with God through Christ Jesus, and they glorified the Word. They received the Bible's message about them, which means they repented of their own thoughts and of their own sins. And they said, God is right, what He expresses in His Word is true, and we are wrong. And thus, in repentance, they turned in faith to the Lord Jesus Christ. In fact, these three things are a remarkable description of the marks of any true Christian. To rejoice in God's salvation, to repent and submit to God's word, and to believe in Christ Jesus. And if you're a Christian this afternoon, these three things will mark your life. It matters not if you came to Christ as an infant, Never knowing a day that you were not trusting in Jesus, whether you've come to Christ later in life, I ask you, do these three things mark your life? And do they mark your life in a growing manner? So that you do rejoice in the beauty and glory of the gospel. Does it thrill you that God has loved you and chosen you and that Christ has died for you? Is it truly the best news in the world to you? Is that your response? And is it a growing response? Is it the response that drives your worship and ensures a life of repentance? Glorifying the Word of God, trembling under the Word of God, submitting to the Word of God in humility, a lifelong pursuit of repentance as God governs us by His Scripture. And is it a resting in Jesus Christ, in Him alone for salvation. You see, the simple description of the response of the Gentiles is the profoundest description of the reality of what it means to be a Christian. And I ask you right now to ask yourself, do these things describe my experience as a professing Christian? Because they must. They must. And we must be growing in them throughout our lives. And thus we have this amazing response of the Gentiles to the declaration of the gospel as preached by the Apostle Paul. But notice that the response was secured by election. And so Luke tells us that when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of God and as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed. This appointment to eternal life is a reference to God's sovereign election. The ones whom God had chosen and appointed to believe were the ones at this time who responded. And the language takes us to a place like Ephesians 1. where Paul says, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love, he predestined us unto adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to himself, according to the kind intention of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace. which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved." Why did those Gentiles believe and at that time those Jews did not believe? Those Gentiles believed because God had appointed them unto eternal life on that very day. And those Jews on that day did not believe because God's election, at least on that day, had not appointed them unto salvation. Luke could say it no more clearly. This amazing response of these Gentiles to this amazing announcement was a response secured exclusively by the sovereign electing grace of God. Now, the Bible tells us how that election relates to the response itself. Paul in 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 verse 13 shows us the relationship of election and faith, but we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren, beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth." So that salvation, election, works through faith. And in Romans chapter 8, Paul clearly shows us then theologically what happened here in the case of the Gentiles. For whom he foreknew, verse 29, he also predestined to become conformed to the image of his son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. And whom he predestined, these he also called. And whom he called, these he also justified. And whom he justified, these he also glorified. Notice that relationship. All those whom God chose because he placed his love on them from eternity were called, called unto justification, called unto glorification. And what is this calling? It is the effectual calling of the gospel. Thus when Luke says, all those that God appointed and eternal life believed, he's saying that all those whom God chose, he now worked in them effectually to draw them to faith in Christ Jesus. Just as Christ himself explains us the doctrine of effectual calling in John chapter 6 verse 44. No man or no one can come unto me unless the Father who sent me draws him and I will raise him up on the last day. And the word draw here is the word of a dragnet. There's no escaping this call. Those purposed unto salvation, when God calls them effectually and powerfully through the gospel, regenerating their hearts in the midst of that work, they respond invariably and permanently. Thus, he adds the second phrase. We had a pastors group in Houston and very fine Wisconsin Synod Lutheran pastor there, and we were discussing this passage one day, and I said, now what's the relationship of the second part to the first? Why would Christ now tack on something about the resurrection? What's he doing? He's telling us that this call is effectual. It is inexorable. It is permanent. Because everyone so drawn by the Father to the Son is going to be glorified, which is what Paul says in Romans chapter 8. Thus, those whom God purposed to believe, appointed to believe in Christ Jesus through the preaching of the Apostle Paul, he effectually drew to himself. In the same way as later Luke describes the response of Lydia to the gospel. In chapter 16, verse 14, a certain woman named Lydia from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple fabrics, a worshiper of God, was listening. Isn't that great? And the Lord opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul. That is the effectual call. That is the handmaiden of election. That's what Luke is showing us occurred on that remarkable day. in the synagogue of Pisidian Antioch as Paul's message was rejected by the Jews and a great host of Gentiles believed it's because they'd been appointed unto eternal life. And thus you see it's quite clear from this text of scripture that the electing grace of God secures the salvation of his people. But this brings us then to the second thing. And that is that the electing grace of God establishes the use of means in the conversion of His people. Now, it's quite clear that as we read this passage of Scripture, what is Paul doing? He's preaching. He's using means. He didn't sit in his tent and pray, all right, God, I know you've got some elect here in this city, so save them and bring them here to talk to me and I'll then teach them your word. No, he's out seeking them. He's in the synagogue where many will be gathered that have a serious interest in the things of God. He's having conversation with people during the week between the two Sabbaths. And so, is this not Paul's methodology? The whole second half of the book of Acts is to show us that this theologian of election is the most passionate, indefatigable missionary that has ever lived on the face of the earth except his Savior. in giving himself, in toil, in turmoil, in shipwreck, in beating, in labors, in sleeplessness, in going without food, all for the purpose of carrying the gospel to the ends of the world, that he might preach that gospel in every place where the name of Christ has not yet been proclaimed. There's obviously in his mind no disjunct between his glorious doctrine of election that he pins so often in his scriptures and the labor of the gospel. We see it as well in his message. He expected a response and he held the Jews responsible. And so he says to them in verse 46, it was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first since you repudiated and judge yourselves unworthy. He's holding them accountable. He doesn't say, well, since you are reprobate, since you're not elect, I'll turn from you. No, you repudiated the gospel. Thus, I turn from you and carry this gospel to the Gentiles. You see, his was a method of labor and of the use of means. We further see that as we read that as the gospel spread there, in verse 49, the word of the Lord was being spread through the whole region. Now, what was that? Was it radiating? Was the spirit putting it on the wind and out there and he was snatching up the elect all over the Galatian province? No. People were being converted and doing exactly what the Christians are described as doing in Acts chapter 8. And therefore, those who had been scattered went about evangelizing the word. That's what they were doing. They were out. And through that extension, the Galatian province had churches planted, not just those directly planted by the Apostle Paul. If we look at what happened in Ephesians, the Colossian congregation, the Laodicean congregations, they were planted while he was in Ephesus by others that went out. And so it would have been in Galatia. Yes, he hit some of the key cities of the Galatian province. But the gospel was going everywhere, carried by people who had been gripped by the sovereign grace of God, and were taking that message around the province. And so it's quite clear, and you don't need to be reminded of this, that the gospel spread through means. Now, what is this relationship then between election, sovereignty, and these means? Well, some of you came some distance, but any of us who are here today, that was our plan to be here, right? You purposed to be at this conference. You probably purposed to be here at 1, though some of you didn't quite make it in the doors by 1, but that was your purpose. Anyway, God's purposes never fail, ours do. But now, you purposed to be, that was your plan, but if that plan is going to happen, then you had to back up and purpose any number of means to accomplish that plan. Some of you flew on airplanes, some of you flew on airplanes and drove all night long. You had to make arrangements for food, arrangements for places to stay. So the whole thing of purposing to be here was a purpose that embraced the means as well as the end. And that is exactly how God's purpose works. That's why I say that God's electing grace establishes the use of means. As I've mentioned, Luke seemed to have this as one of the sub-themes of his gospel, of his book. He wants us to understand that sovereignty and responsibility are Siamese twins. They live together in perfect compatibility, in a God-appointed, symbiotic, healthy relationship. And there's really no clearer place to see Luke's theology of this than Acts chapter 27. The account of the shipwreck and Paul at the end of the struggle of fighting against the storm. In verse 21 of Acts 27, they'd gone a long time without food. And then Paul stood up in their midst and said, I've always marveled at this. you ought to have followed my advice and not set sail." You know, I was always told you're not supposed to say, I told you so, but here, Paul, because he's really wanting to gather their confidence in what he's about to say. And so he says, I told you so, you should have listened to me and not set sail from Crete and incurred this damage and loss. And yet now, I urge you to keep up your courage, for there shall be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. For this very night, an angel of the God whom I belong and whom I serve stood before me, saying, Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand before Caesar, and behold, God has granted you all those who are sailing with you. Therefore, keep up your courage, men, for I believe, God, that it will turn out exactly as I have been told." Okay. He has a revelation from God. Came by an angel, but he's convinced it's the infallible Word of God. He stands up, he bears testimony to that, and he says, I want you to know that I am convinced that not one of us is going to die. Is that clear? Was that God's message to Paul? Is that the message Paul delivered to these sailors? Then how do you explain verse 31? You see, the sailors wanted to get away by themselves. And so they had a plan that they were going to get off by themselves. So in verse three, the sailors were trying to escape from the ship and had let down the ship's boat into the sea on the pretense of intending to lay out anchors from the bow. Okay. The sailors want to desert the ship. You need sailors, even if the ship's going to crash, you ought to have sailors. Paul said to the centurion and to the soldiers, unless these men remain in the ship, you yourselves cannot be saved. I guess he's gone too long without food and sleep. Right? He just said, I'm convinced that not one of us is going to die. And now when the sailors try to get away, why didn't Paul let them go? God's promised to preserve us. No, he says, God uses means. If these sailors don't stay on this ship and do their job, you're going to die. And thus Luke shows us this beautiful compatibility between divine sovereignty and human responsibility. That in fact, God's eternal purposes secure the use of means because he appoints the means unto the end. And thus there is no tension between sovereignty and evangelism. Let me give you some practical things with respect to the relationship then that I get from Dr. Packer and evangelism and the sovereignty of God. What does this mean then practically for us as Calvinistic evangelists? Well, it means three things. First, negatively. In the first place, you need to understand that the sovereignty of God in salvation in no way negates the church's responsibility to do missions and evangelism. Our Savior is the one who says, go ye therefore into all the world and make disciples. And this apostle Paul, the great apostle of election, tells us in Romans chapter 10 that it is through preaching that God saves. For whoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call upon him in whom they've not believed? And how shall they believe in him whom they've not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, how beautiful are the feet of those who bring glad tidings of good things. Now, I know you understand this, but we need to be reminded that our doctrine of the free grace of God, of the sovereignty of God and salvation in no way nullifies or takes away our responsibility as the church of the Lord Jesus Christ and as individual Christians to do the work of evangelism. We have a clear command from God many times in Scripture unto that end. The second thing negatively, the sovereignty of God in no way negates the free, open-hearted offer of God to all sinners. Some people object to our doctrine by saying, well, the Bible says, whoever will may come. And that's quite true. And we ought to preach it in that manner. There's no tension there. For we know when we say that, it's no different than if we stood in a cemetery and said to the tombstones, whoever will live, get up and live. We could preach ourselves hoarse and nobody would get up and live. We're preaching to dead people. And that is God's offer to dead sinners. Whoever will may believe. It is a genuine offer of the gospel. tenderness of God is behind that offer of the gospel. And God speaks it to all who come under the call of the gospel. Think of that remarkable section in the preaching of our Savior in Matthew chapter 11. It's probably no more profound statement of sovereignty or of the deity of the Savior than in his words beginning in verse 25. I praise thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast tied these things from the wise and intelligent and has revealed them to babes. Yes, Father, for thus it was well pleasing in thy sight. all things have been handed over to me by my Father. And no one knows the Son except the Father, nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him." Now there is absolute sovereignty, isn't there? that God has hidden these things from a class of people, has sovereignly revealed them to others, has given to the Son that sovereign prerogative to reveal the gospel to those whom he will save, those he received from the Father. Clear statement of sovereignty. He comforts himself with that doctrine of election, but what are the very next words out of his mouth? Come to me, all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you shall find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my load is light." Oh, dear friends, did our Savior have any tension between the absolute sovereignty of God and an earnest call to sinners to repent and to come to Him. He saw no tension in this whatsoever. But with all of the force and compassion of His nature, He who wept over Jerusalem pleads with sinners to come unto Him. And the free grace of God in the gospel should not, if we rightly understand it, ever hinder our pleading with boys and girls and men and women to flee to the Lord Jesus Christ, in whom alone is salvation. The third negative thing here is that the sovereignty of God in salvation in no way negates the responsibility of the sinner to believe. He'd understand this. There's not one on the Day of Judgment who will be able, after God indicts them and says, depart from me, I never knew you. could look up and say, but God, it's not my fault. You didn't choose me. You didn't regenerate me. You didn't call me. He'll say, depart from me, you worker of iniquity. God holds you and me responsible for our rejection because it flows out of a heart that hates him. and love sin. I've already pointed out Paul's pleading, warning the Jews here in Acts chapter 13, holding them accountable for their rejection. It was necessary that the Word of God should be spoken to you first, since you repudiate it and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life. Behold, we're turning to the Gentiles. Well, since God doesn't seem to want to save you, Since you don't seem to be elect. No, you repudiate Christ. You reject the gospel. And you are lost. And that is the message of sovereign grace. None can hide behind the skirts of election on the day of judgment. For God shall make it perfectly clear to every man, woman, boy and girl who stands before him outside of the Lord Jesus Christ. They're outside of Christ because they love sin. And they hated God. And God had no obligation to take away that hate, but they're under the responsibility of that hate. And thus we need to understand that the doctrine of election, the sovereign grace of God, does not nullify our responsibility. does not nullify the powerful, urgent offer and call of the gospel, and does not negate the responsibility of the sinner to come to the Lord Jesus Christ. I hope you see that. I hope you understand that ability and responsibility are different in the Scripture. just as every person is responsible to be holy as God is holy, every sinner is responsible to keep the law of God and should go to hell because they do not do so, every sinner is responsible to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and they may not hide behind the fact that God did not give them grace. And thus, negatively, the grace of God does not in any way hinder an urgent proclamation of the gospel. But positively, Packard goes on to point out that at the end of the day, apart from election, we have no warrant for success in the gospel enterprise. If the gospel enterprise is a human enterprise, if the gospel enterprise is one man or woman trying to convince another man or woman to leave their life of sin and come to Christ, and that's all there is to it, why spend your time? It is doomed to failure. Because the Bible tells us, in the first place, that all people, by nature, hate God and love their sin. And you're talking to a person that hates God would be like talking to a Muslim that hates President Bush, trying to convince them to become American citizens. They hate God. And you cannot get rid of that hatred. But in fact, the hatred itself is stirred up in them by the God of this world. 2 Corinthians chapter 4, Paul quite realistically talks about the odds against which we labor and why we must not compromise the gospel with the antics and tricks of men. But he says in verse 3, even if our gospel is veiled, it's veiled to those who are perishing, who are by nature opposed to it, in whose case the God of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving. that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. What a tragedy. They're already blind, and Satan keeps them in that blindness, that regardless of the bright noonday manifestation of the beautiful glory of God in Christ Jesus, the glory of the gospel of saving grace, they're blinded. even more so than a physically blind person is blind to the light of the sun. How in the world can you and I expect to have any success in evangelism if everything's on a neutral ground and we've got to convince these people to leave their sin and to come to Christ? But you see, that's not what the Bible teaches. The Bible teaches that the electing grace of God secures the salvation of his people. And thus there's three very practical outworkings of this. In the first place, it makes us bold. Paul was in Corinth, weary, overwhelmed, undone. God appeared to him in a vision and says, do not be afraid any longer, but go on speaking and do not be silent for I'm with you. And no man will attack you in order to harm you for, because I have many people in this city. You know, if we stop and analyze the reasons why we don't witness more, one is that we're simply afraid of the fallout on us. The harm that will come to us. The rejection of us. And thus we're quiet. Other times we're quiet because we're just afraid we're going to blow it. that we're not going to say the right things or we're going to drive somebody away. What we're told here is that because this is God's work, that we may be bold in it. Fear not Him who can destroy the body, but fear Him who can destroy the body and then the soul and hell forevermore. We need not be afraid of the world. We are so easily intimidated by arrogant and proud sinners. in their intellectual folly and their hardness of heart. And we draw back in fear, afraid of these people, afraid we have nothing that can overturn them, nothing that can deal with them. We don't have the answers for their intellectual objections. And we hold back. What God wants us to understand is he has many people throughout this world, and he uses you and me. with simple, uttered words of law and gospel to gather these people to himself. Why do you worry about yourself and your reputation if it's Christ of whom you speak? The second great encouragement that comes from election and our evangelism is it gives us wonderful patience. In Romans chapter 3, or excuse me, 1 Corinthians chapter 3, Paul is addressing the matter of schism there in Corinth. He says in verse 6, I planted a polis water, but God was causing the growth. So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth. Now he who plants and he who waters are one, but each one will receive his own labor according, his own reward according to his own labor for we are God's fellow workers and you are God's Earlier, Christ says to the apostles in John chapter 4, that you will enter into the labor of others, for some sow and others harvest. The gospel enterprise is a long-term enterprise. And though God occasionally saves someone quite instantaneously and early on when they come into the gospel, someone that's outside of the covenant, that's not normally what He does. And there's a process of sowing. And that sowing is a combination of prayer and witnessing and preaching. And what we're told here is because it's not our work, we don't have to worry about the decisions. We don't have to worry about the fact that this person rejected Christ and walked away. I'd love to tell the story. I think I've told it before. former pastor from the church that I first served in Mississippi, Matt Baugh, is with us this weekend. There was a man in that church that when I first went there, I visited him and his family. His wife was a member of the church and I was warned not to go. I said, her husband, he'll gross you out. He hates preachers. He did hate preachers. He tried to gross me out. For seven years, I prayed, I talked. Occasionally, he would come to a sermon. Increasingly, he came to sermons. He came under such awful conviction of sin, he deliberately sinned. But right at the time that we left Chula, I told my wife, I said, if he has not been converted, he soon will be. He's now a minister in the Presbyterian Church of America. seven years of gospel labor, and I didn't even get to see the result. I guess John Butler did. But that's what God does. He doesn't work by our timetable. Pyrrhic, I will go someplace, and I'll get a message. So-and-so said, tell you hello. They were converted under your preaching 15 years ago. I didn't know about that. I was just with a pastor at a PCA church up in Pennsylvania, and the pastor's son sent me a message. When you preached here 11 years ago, God gave me assurance of salvation. I didn't know that. And for the few things we find out here, what's it going to be like in heaven? The words you spoke in the grocery line, the prayers you offered day after day and year after year, the faithful witness, the piece of literature, the Bible, the example of your life, all of those things appointed by God in a time span as well appointed by God. We don't have to worry about the results of the time. You want by God's grace to sow that seed because election enables us to be patient. And, of course, the third thing is it will cause us to pray. If we really understand this is God's work, yes, He uses means, but the chief of those means is prayer. In Ephesians chapter 6, after Paul completes his description of the armor, He says, what causes the armor to work is prayer. Verse 18, with all prayer and petition, pray at all times in the spirit with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints and pray on my behalf that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel for which I am an ambassador in chains, that in proclaiming it, I may speak boldly as I ought to speak. You see, if this is God's work, then above all else, we should be praying for the lost. You know, Dr. Packer says that any Christian on his knees is a Calvinist. I remember when I had a Bible study again in Shula. The lady is a faithful lady now in that church. Thirty-five years ago, she came to the church because we preached the word. She was a Methodist. She did not believe the doctrines of grace. And I, you know, some scenes are just indelibly impressed in your mind. It was a Wednesday night Bible study. I remember the house where we were. She was at the back of the room. And when I uttered those words, that when you start praying to God to save a sinner, you're acknowledging that God is sovereign. In the salvation of the sinner, the lights came on. Is it not true? If free will were true in the way it's taught by the Arminian, then we ought not to pray because God would never violate somebody's autonomy. But we know better. We all true Christians know better. When we fall on our knees and we plead with God for a lost husband or wife or child or friend or neighbor, And we plead for the preaching of God's word, it'll do something supernatural in that preaching. We are acknowledging that God alone is the one who works. But then we are so prayerless, aren't we? I wouldn't want to know how many churches here have a real prayer meeting. where you meet on the Lord's Day or on a midweek and plead with God for the lost by name and for preaching and for your missionaries. And we wonder, why in the world God does not work? We've not asked him to. But if we really believe in election, oh, you Calvinists, go on your knees. Go on your knees in your closet. Go on your knees in family worship. Go on your knees in the prayer meeting. because God is the one who converts. And thus we plead with him for this is a means that he has appointed along with witnessing and preaching. And so, dear friends, there is no tension between sovereignty and responsibility, between election and evangelism. The electing grace of God that secures the conversion of his people establishes the use of means unto that end. Now I ask you, are we going to come here this week, hear and think about these things, and go home to life as normal? Has not the day come when we who most truly believe in the doctrines of grace and glory, not just in the truth of these doctrines, but in a methodology that's consistent with these doctrines, has not the time come for us to go back to our homes and our churches and evangelize like Calvinist. When I was young, I hear people say, well, you ought to believe like a Calvinist and evangelize like an Arminian. No way. No, dear friends, but you know, it is sad. Is it not sad? Those people who have none of this hope of sovereign grace are the ones that's so aggressive and passionate in their evangelism. and we sit on our laurels. If anything comes out of this conference, may it be that God lights a fire under the churches that are here and that we'll go back, yes, better instructed in many aspects of what to do, but go back and take our neighborhoods and cities by force. Boldly and prayerfully go out there and proclaim this gospel. because God will use you to gather his people. And it's long past time that strict Calvinist gave himself aggressively to evangelism. Amen. Father in heaven, we thank you for This word is such a comfort and encouragement to us, and we ask that you will encourage us and motivate us, Lord, to do that that you've set before us. In Christ's name, amen.