Sovereign Grace
Psalm
115:3 But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.
To be sovereign is to have absolute authority and
power– to do whatever one wills, whenever he wills, and with whomever he wills.
Earthly kings strive for sovereignty over their kingdoms, but because they are
mere men, their rule and reign is short lived.
Unlike men who fail and die, God is all powerful and
all wise, and He is everywhere present to execute His divine, sovereign will– “and
none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?” Daniel 4:35.
Unlike men, God is eternal and immutable– He reigns as sovereign Lord forever!
God does whatsoever He pleases; both in saving sinners by His grace, and in
executing judgment upon the lost. As weak and sinful creatures, we stand in
desperate need of His sovereign grace and tender mercies!
The scriptures declare just how deplorable that all
men are in their natural state. We all are declared unrighteous, unholy,
unprofitable, no good, deceitful, liars, wicked, and proud. We do not
understand spiritual things, we do not seek after God, we do not know the way
of peace but only war, and violence, and hatred. We don’t fear and reverence
God our Creator, but rather turn His glory into shame. All our
righteousness is as filthy rags in His sight! We are all dead in
trespasses and sins, enemies of God, and we are all by nature the
children of wrath. No man can or will come to God for salvation! Yes, we all are in desperate need of His sovereign grace! Rom. 1:18-32,
3:10-18, 5:6-12.
2. God Provided Grace for His People
Foreknowing the sinful condition of all men, God chose to save a
people out of the mass of lost humanity. Unlike men, God chose to save the
foolish, the weak, the base, and the despised things to be heirs of His
salvation. He chose to save harlots and drunkards and all manner of
sinners. As for the “wise and noble” that are saved, they too are brought to
see their sinful condition and their desperate need for His mercy and grace.
1 Cor. 1:26-29 For ye see your calling, brethren,
how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble,
are called:
27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the
world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to
confound the things which are mighty;
28 And base things of the world, and things which
are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to
nought things that are:
29 That no flesh should glory in his presence.
Why God chose to save some people and not others is
a mystery, as all men are unworthy of the least of His favor. We only know that
it was “according to the good pleasure of His will” and “to the praise of the
glory of His grace” (Eph. 1:5-6). It is certain that salvation is all because
of His sovereign grace, and not at all because of our own goodness; for “there
is none that doeth good, no, not one” Rom. 3:12
The human response to sovereign election is to
accuse God of being unjust and affair for not giving all men an equal “chance”.
What we need to realize is that God is not obligated to His creatures, but we
are obligated to Him. We are not in a position to judge God, but He is our
judge! (Rom. 9:14,18-20, Job 9:14-15, 40:2,8, Matt. 20:15).
The scriptures do provide some answers to these
human objections. Although God is not obligated by His creatures to give them
anything, He sees fit to bestow many common graces upon all men. (Ps.
104:10-24). He causes the sun to shine and the rain to fall upon the just
and the unjust (Matt 5:45). He
freely gives life, health, and earthly provisions to all (Acts 17:25). He
gives men the light of creation and of conscience (Rom. 1:20, 2:15, Rom.
2:4) He gave mankind His Holy Word and sends His messengers to preach the
Gospel unto all without distinction (Matt. 28:18-20, Ac. 17:30). After
doing them only good, God then is patient and longsuffering toward the same rebellious
sinners who hate Him!
For all these things that God has done, men despise
His goodness and reject His counsel! They blaspheme His Holy Name, trample on
His goodness, and refuse to thank Him
for their lives and all His provisions. Worst of all, they reject the precious
Gospel of God’s beloved Son! Who are men to say that God is unfair???
3. God Provided a Sacrifice for His People
God must punish sin. His Holiness demands that every
sin receives a just recompense of reward. Before the foundation of the world
God knew that His people would need a sacrifice for their sins to make them fit
for heaven. To secure their salvation and satisfy His Holiness, God purposed to
send His Son Jesus, the Lamb of God, to die for the sins of His people.
Na. 1:3 The LORD is slow to anger, and great in
power, and will not at all acquit the wicked
Rev. 13:8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall
worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain
from the foundation of the world.
1 Pet. 3:18 For Christ also hath once suffered for
sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the
flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:
God’s sacrifice was the work of His sovereign grace.
No one ascended up to heaven to bring Christ down, or descended into the grave
to raise Christ up…The sinner’s only contribution was to provide the sins for
which Christ must shed His blood! The all-important question is, did Jesus die
for your sins? If you are not brought to believe that He did, then you must pay
for your sins in everlasting punishment.
4. God Calls His People
Sinners hear the Gospel with no effect until the
Holy Spirit begins a work of grace in their heart. When the Spirit calls,
suddenly the sinner finds himself under deep conviction of sin and terrified at
the very real consequences of dying in that state. He finds himself miserable,
knowing that He might die at any moment and perish eternally in hell. He cries
out to God for mercy, acknowledging that he is wicked and undone, and worthy of
God’s righteous judgment. God then reveals to the sinner the meaning of
Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection for his sins. Thus, the penitent
sinner responds to God’s grace from a new heart of faith, praising and thanking
God for His wonderful salvation, knowing that he is forgiven of all his sins.
This is the effectual call of sovereign grace– a
call not produced by any earthly means, but by the Holy Spirit of God…
Ps. 110:3 Thy people shall be willing in the day of
thy power… (See also Ti. 1:9, 2 Th. 2:14)
The call of the Spirit is a very mysterious thing. It
causes a man who could not understand the simplicity of the Gospel, to truly
believe that Jesus died for his sins. It causes a man who once hated God, and
hid from God, and took pleasure in every imaginable sin, to love God, and cling
to God, and to hate sin with a godly hatred! This effectual call is the work of
God’s Holy Spirit and sovereign grace giving new life to a dead sinner.
5. God Preserves His People
God chose a people, Christ died for their sins, the
Holy Spirit called them in time, and they are kept secure by the mighty power
of God. It is not possible for a man to save himself, nor is it possible for a
man to keep himself saved. Salvation is by the sovereign grace of God from
start to finish. (Jonah. 2:9 Salvation is of the Lord). We want to
notice this evening just four of the many ways that God preserves His people.
First, it is the power of God within every believer
that keeps him secure. Believers have the Holy Spirit within Who enables them
to endure temptations and the onslaughts of Satan and the world. Christians
would be foolish to suppose that we could endure such enemies in our own
strength. (Php.1:6, 2:12-13, 1Pet.1:3-5).
Secondly, Jesus intercedes for His people. Christ
died for all the sins of His people– past, present, and future. Now he sits at
the Father’s right hand in heaven making intersession for us. The Christian can
never pay for a single sin– either before or after he is saved. It is Jesus Who
must make atonement for our sins and not us! (Heb. 7:25, 1 John 1:5-10).
Thirdly, the providence of God causes all things to
work together for the good of His people. Even those things that appear to be
evil or harmful to us are working together for our good. We may not always see
the good in God’s providential dealings, but we can be sure they are for our
good. (Rom. 8:28, Heb. 12:6-12)
Fourthly, God is faithful to His promises. God has
promised to keep His people secure, and He never breaks His promises. God even
made an oath that He would keep His Word to His people.
22 It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not
consumed, because his compassions fail not.
23 They are new every morning: great is thy
faithfulness.
Heb. 6:17-20
17 Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto
the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath:
{confirmed...: Gr. interposed himself by}
18 That by two immutable things, in which it was
impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled
for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:
19 Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both
sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil;
20 Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even
Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.
Mal. 3:6
For
I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.
Saved sinners and lost sinners alike need to see
that salvation is not by our “good works”, but by God’s grace. We have no
righteousness of our own, but we need His righteousness. We can’t boast in
anything that we have done to merit salvation, but we boast only in Jesus Who
“saves his people from their sins.” (Matt. 1:21). God will not share His
glory with another! Are you saved by God’s grace? Do you know Jesus as your own
personal Savior? If not, repent of your sins and trust Jesus now. May God bless
you!