00:00ladies and gentlemen there is a doctrine in scripture so offensive so hated so deeply resisted that even many within the church refuse to preach it it crushes pride shatters illusions of human goodness and strips man of every claim to his own salvation
00:19it's the doctrine that reminds us we are not the center of the universe god is this doctrine declares that man is not basically good he is dead in his sin it announces that salvation is not man's choice but god's
00:37it affirms that before the foundation of the world god elected those whom he would save not based on anything they did but solely on his sovereign will and people hate that they say that's not fair but beloved grace isn't about fairness
00:53grace is about god's mercy freely given to the undeserving to-day we are going to open our bibles and confront the most hated christian doctrine not because it's controversial but because it's true
01:07and the truth doesn't flatter it freeze so buckle in this will not be a message that pampers pride but it will magnify the greatness of our god and show that salvation all of it is by grace alone through christ alone for god's glory alone
01:22keynote one total depravity of man is offensive but biblical i remember once after preaching a message on romans three a gentleman approached me with a stern face and said pastor i'm a good man i've raised my kids right
01:36i give to the poor i don't cheat on my wife i've never committed any crimes don't tell me i'm dead in sin
01:45he was polite but offended deeply but friends this is precisely why the doctrine of total depravity is the most hated it tells the truth no one wants to hear
01:56it tells that man's heart is not just broken it's dead we don't like to think of ourselves that way
02:05from childhood we are taught we're special valuable inherently good but scripture doesn't flatter it
02:13diagnoses romans 3 says there is none righteous not even one there is none who understands there is none who
02:22seeks for god that includes you that includes me you see sin didn't just wound us it killed us spiritually
02:31like lazarus in the tomb we are helpless and unless god calls us forth we remain in spiritual death the
02:38human heart isn't neutral toward god it's hostile it hates god's rule that's what ephesians 2 says you
02:46were dead in trespasses and sins it's not that man needs moral improvement he needs regeneration he doesn't
02:53need help he needs resurrection now people hate that they want to believe they can reach up to god
03:01clean themselves up choose him when they're ready but scripture declares the opposite you were dead
03:07you couldn't even seek him unless he first sought you the total depravity of man is a hard truth but it's
03:16the gateway to grace only when we see how deep the pit is can we appreciate how great the rescue is
03:25and until you confess that you are spiritually bankrupt you'll never cherish the riches of christ
03:32keynote 2 the doctrine of election confronts human autonomy years ago i sat across the table from a
03:39young seminary student who said pastor john i love preaching grace but election that makes god look
03:47unfair it makes people feel like robots i told him a story imagine a courtroom filled with guilty
03:55criminals each one has committed terrible crimes murder theft rebellion the judge is just he could
04:03sentence all of them and be perfectly right but instead he steps down pardons a few and takes their
04:11punishment on himself now did justice fail no justice stood but mercy triumphed in an incredible undeserved
04:19act that's what election is we're not talking about good people being rejected we're talking about guilty
04:26sinners all deserving judgment and god in his mercy choosing some to save not because they earned it not
04:33because they were better but because he is gracious romans 9 declares this clearly it does not depend on the
04:40man who wills or the man who runs but on god who has mercy that demolishes human pride it removes boasting
04:50it declares that salvation is god's work from start to finish people don't hate election because it's
04:57unclear they hate it because it dethrones human autonomy it reminds us that god is god and we are not
05:06the reason so many resist this doctrine is because deep down we want control we want to say i chose god
05:13but scripture says you did not choose me but i chose you election confronts the idol of self it makes us bow to
05:21divine sovereignty and in doing so it produces worship because when you finally realize that god chose you not
05:27chose you not because of you but in spite of you you fall to your knees in awe we don't preach election
05:34because it's easy we preach it because it's true and because it puts all the glory where it belongs at
05:42the feet of christ keynote three grace is not fair it's better than fair a woman once came up to me
05:49after a sermon and said with tears in her eyes i just can't accept that god chooses some and not others
05:57it doesn't feel fair and i told her gently you're absolutely right it isn't fair and praise god that it
06:05isn't if god were fair we'd all be condemned fairness means justice and justice demands the punishment of sin
06:15no one absolutely no one could stand in a fair system before a holy god
06:21romans 6 23 says the wages of sin is death and not partial death not maybe death but grace is not
06:29about fairness grace is about god giving to sinners what they could never earn never deserve and never
06:36repay grace is better than fair grace is scandalous mercy think of the thief on the cross
06:44moments from death a lifetime of sin behind him he didn't attend temple he didn't get baptized he
06:51didn't make things right all he did was cry out lord remember me and what did jesus say today you will
07:00be with me in paradise now tell me was that fair of course not but it was glorious grace and that's what
07:09god does in election he gives mercy to the guilty he opens blind eyes he breathes life into dead hearts
07:17not because they deserved it but because he is good people who protest grace want god to operate on
07:25human terms but beloved god doesn't answer to us grace doesn't bend to human logic grace flows from the
07:34character of a holy loving god who delights in saving the unworthy when we understand grace rightly
07:41we stop asking why doesn't god save everyone and we start asking why would he save anyone at all the
07:49wonder of salvation isn't that some are not saved the wonder is that anyone is and when you grasp that
07:55your heart will erupt in humble praise amazing grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me
08:02keynote 4 god is absolutely sovereign in salvation one of the most memorable conversations i ever had
08:11was with a young man who had just come out of a life of addiction and rebellion he looked at me and
08:17said pastor i have no idea why i'm sitting here saved and my friends are still lost i didn't do anything
08:26different and i told him that's because your salvation wasn't your doing it was god's scripture makes
08:33this unmistakably clear salvation is not a cooperative effort it's not god doing his part and man doing
08:41the rest it's god doing it all jonah said it plainly salvation is of the lord god is sovereign in salvation
08:49he chose he called he regenerated he gave faith he justified he sanctifies and one day he will glorify
08:57from beginning to end it's his work ephesians 2 8-9 says for by grace you have been saved through faith
09:04and that not of yourselves it is the gift of god not as a result of works so that no one may boast
09:11think of lazarus again he was four days dead did he choose to rise did he participate in his resurrection of
09:18course not jesus called and lazarus came to life that's a picture of every sinner saved by grace you
09:25didn't wake yourself up god woke you you didn't reach for him he reached for you he gets all the credit
09:32all the glory all the praise now this sovereignty bothers people they want to believe they hold the final
09:39choice but friend if salvation were left to your decision you would never choose christ your will
09:47was bound to sin you were a slave to it you needed more than an invitation you needed a rescue when
09:55you see that god is the author of your salvation you stop boasting and you start worshiping because
10:02you know if he hadn't stepped in you'd still be blind dead and lost salvation is not man climbing to god
10:11it's god it's god coming down lifting the sinner up and setting his feet on the rock of christ that's
10:17the sovereignty of god and that's the only reason any of us are saved keynote five god's glory is the
10:26ultimate purpose of election i'll never forget preaching from ephesians 1 and seeing a man sit
10:33motionless arms folded tightly eyes narrowed after the service he came up and asked why would god save
10:41some and not others why not save everyone if he could i responded gently because salvation ultimately
10:48is not about man it's about god's glory you see in today's culture even in many churches we've made
10:55the gospel man-centered we ask what did god do for me how does this benefit me but scripture teaches that
11:01everything everything god does is for the praise of his glory ephesians 1 repeats this phrase three
11:07times to the praise of the glory of his grace to the praise of his glory to the praise of his glory
11:13why did god choose to save anyone for his glory why does he show mercy to the undeserving for his glory
11:22why does he exercise perfect justice in judgment for his glory god didn't elect you because he saw
11:30something valuable in you he elected you to put his grace on display to magnify the riches of his mercy
11:38to demonstrate his power his love his righteousness in romans 9 paul asks what if god although willing to
11:47demonstrate his wrath and to make his power known endured with much patience vessels of wrath in order to
11:54make known the riches of his glory upon vessels of mercy in other words even judgment serves his glory
12:01and even mercy is designed not to elevate man but to exalt god this is not popular theology people want
12:11a god who exists to serve them but the god of scripture is infinitely higher he doesn't orbit around us we orbit
12:21around him once you see that everything changes salvation becomes not just personal it becomes doxological
12:30your heart cries out not to us oh lord not to us but to your name give glory psalm 115 when you were
12:40chosen not just to be rescued but to reflect the glory of the one who rescued you that's the ultimate
12:47purpose of election and that is why from beginning to end salvation is worship beloved the doctrine of
12:54election may be the most hated because it is the most humbling but it is also the most glorious because
13:01it exalts god not man it reminds us that salvation is not earned not deserved not initiated by us but by the
13:11the sovereign mercy of god so let us not resist it let us rejoice in it for only when we grasp that we
13:21were dead blind lost and yet chosen called and saved do we truly understand grace you are not saved because you
13:32were good you are saved because god is good and to him alone belongs all the glory forever and ever amen
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