CREC Reformed 2- Glory to God Sermon Notes

CREC Reformed 2- Glory to God

Sermon Notes

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Ephesians 1:1-23

11/26/2017

Lynchburg, Virginia

EXHORDIUM

We are Reformed Christians. I have mentioned in previous sermons where that heritage arises. Some have called us Calvinists. We are Calvinists, in the sense that we have embraced the system of theology espoused by John Calvin, most notably in his Institutes of the Christian Religion. However, Calvinism, as understood on modern terms, generally refers to the Five Points of Calvinism.

We embrace those five points but we insist that Reformed theology and practice is much broader than this designation. That is why I started this series of sermons discussing God’s Covenant with man in an attempt to understand the overarching covenantal theme of the Bible.
That Covenant mindsight and hermeneutic is the chief characteristic of Reformed theology or of a Reformed Church.

The Five points of Calvinism are really a subset of the Covenantal scheme of Scripture taught in reformed churches. This is why you do not often here the five points articulated as particular points of doctrine.

The five points of Calvinism were articulated as such in a response to the Five points of the Remonstrance. These points were the teaching of Jacob Arminius, from whom we get the term Arminian. At most points, Arminianism and Calvinism are at odds about God’s decree in relation to man’s free will. Calvinism asserts in the strongest possible way God’s exhaustive sovereignty, including God’s sovereignty over the salvation of individual men.

I titled this sermon Glory to God because one of the sticking points for Calvinists in resisting Arminian teaching is who gets the glory. In Arminian doctrine, man is fallen but still has the free will to choose God. In classic Calvinism, apart from God’s enabling grace, man does not have the ability to choose to serve God, repent of his sins, or do anything of his own nature or will to save himself. All of the initial work is done by God’s Spirit, enlightening us to embrace Christ offered to us in the gospel.

One of the points that I am trying to make in this series of sermons is that we positively embrace who we are.  I am not insisting that we embrace every jot and tittle of Reformed Doctrine or of Calvinism. There are many important differences among faithful Christians in many of these theological and practical explanations of the Scripture. The Bible is a big book and has much to say both about God’s exhaustive Sovereignty over all things and man’s responsibility to serve God and be held accountable for his behavior. Those two theological ideas are not easily reconciled and theologians and Christians in the pews have disagreed about nuances and even fundamental views in these areas. Those disagreements are old and they will not be resolved anytime soon.

Thus, we are to respect differences in these areas among men who honestly seek to be consistent with Scriptural teaching. While I have some sympathy with the difficulty in reconciling these views, I have confidence that the Reformed system of doctrine does the best job of explaining a biblical view of these great truths.

And while it is difficult to reconcile the views of God’s Exhaustive Sovereignty and Man’s Free will and responsibility, I prefer to take Charles Spurgeon’s view on this. He says that they exist peacefully as friends in the Bible and he thinks it is not necessary to reconcile such friends.

My desire is that you see what our doctrines are and feel confident that you are in an historic stream of doctrinal understanding that does not have to apologize for itself. The doctrines of grace, or what we commonly call Calvinism, are not harsh doctrines. We reject that accusation and affirm in the highest possible way, God’s grace and kindness to His people.

If the beliefs that we hold to are Biblical, and I think they are, then we have no reason to apologize for them. If they are true, biblical, then they must be in accord with God’s character and revelation of Himself. We should never find ourselves apologizing for God being whom He has revealed Himself to be.

And so we give Him the glory for these Reformation Glories.

Sola Scriptura- by Scripture alone, scripture is the ultimate and infallible authority, not the church.

         Sola Fide- by Faith alone and no works are necessary for salvation. It is not faith and works for salvation, just faith.

         Sola Gratia- by Grace alone, not merit. Man does not merit God’s favor, thus His grace alone secures our salvation.

         Solus Christus- Christ alone is the only mediator between God and man. We do not need a priest or continual sacrifices, saints, or Mary. We are directly connected to God through Jesus Christ.

         Soli Deo Gloria- To the glory of God alone. No need to glorify Mary, angels or saints. In the modern evangelical church, the glory of man is front and center. But our job is to glorify God.

EXEGESIS

Eph. 1:1   Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus: ² Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Eph. 1:3   Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: ⁴ According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: ⁵

His choice of us and His choice of us to be holy and without blame occurred before the foundation of the world.

Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself,

The Father predestines us to be adopted as His children. His predestination was not merely foreknowledge. He did not foresee our response to Him and grant us grace based upon our actions. His predestination is the cause of our response to Him. This word predestination means to decree beforehand or to pre-determine.

according to the good pleasure of his will, ⁶ To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. ⁷ In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; ⁸ Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; ⁹ Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: ¹⁰

Why did God do this? Why did He choose us before time? Because He wanted to.

That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him: ¹¹ In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: ¹² That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. ¹³

Again, God did this beforehand because He wanted to, (to the purpose of Him who worketh all things after the counsel of His own will).

Why? For His own glory. For a man, this might be a sin if we do something for our own glory as the ultimate end. But if God is the highest good and His purposes are the reason all things exist, then it is good and right to work out whatsoever comes to pass to the end of His own glory.

This is our first catechism question. What is the chief end of man? Man’s chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.

In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, ¹⁴ Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

He Ordains Means as Well as Ends- God enlightens us so that we can hear the Word of Truth, respond in faith and repentance so that we receive the promised Holy Spirit. But God has worked this all out from beginning to end. That fact that He has done so redounds to His glory.

Eph. 1:15   Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints, ¹⁶ Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers; ¹⁷ That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: ¹⁸ The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, ¹⁹ And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, ²⁰ Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, ²¹ Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: ²² And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, ²³ Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.

This is all revealed and received in Jesus Christ. There is high theology here and many distinctions for theologians to argue about. The bottom line for you is that you embrace Christ offered to you in the gospel.

Five Points

Jacob Arminius was a student of Beza who was John Calvin’s successor at Geneva.

Five Points of Remonstrance 1610- Authored by Jacob Arminius and signed by 46 ministers of the Dutch Reformed Church. Some of them were subsequently defrocked.

The counter Remonstrance of 1611 is the bases for the Five Points of Calvinism.

Point Seven of the Counter Remonstrance (1611) focuses on the need to live a holy life. The Reformed have always asserted the need to walk in the newness of the Spirit.

Five Points of Calvinism as a response to the Five Points of Remonstrance were developed at the Synod of Dordt in 1619.

Total Depravity- or Radical Corruption

Means that we are wholly unable to save ourselves. We can do nothing that merits God’s favor. Our fallen state is one in which we deserve God’s wrath and are by nature, objects of wrath. It does not mean that we are absolutely as bad as we can be. Fallen men can and do good things. However, those good actions do not commend us to God.

Unconditional Election

Our Salvation is solely dependent upon God’s choice. He chooses us out of His mere good pleasure. Election is not foreknowledge where God looks down the corridors of time and chooses us based upon our choice of Him. Rather, His choice of us is the cause of our choice of Him. His choice is not conditioned upon anything in us but rather is based upon His free act.

Limited Atonement or Particular Redemption

Christ died for His people. He did not die to attempt to secure the salvation of His people. His death, in fact, secured the salvation of His people. All the elect, for whom Christ died, come to saving faith in Jesus Christ, have His death applied to them in atonement, are forgiven for their sins and justified in His resurrection.

This doctrine is often the one that causes people to resist Calvinism. If Christ only died for His people, then that means that His death did not secure the salvation of those who do not come to faith in Jesus Christ. This seems unfair. But Rom. 9:20 ²⁰ Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? ²¹ Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour? ²² What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: ²³ And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory, ²⁴ Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?

Irresistible Grace- Effectual Calling

         The Reformed have distinguished the outward and inward calling. The outward calling is a general call to repentance and faith to all men. Since we do not know who is elect and will respond to the gospel, we proclaim to the gospel to all men everywhere. We do this with confidence that those for whom Christ died will hear and respond by the power of the Holy Spirit.

         J.I. Packer explains this well in his little book evangelism and the sovereignty of God. The fact of God’s election ought to give us great confidence in proclaiming the gospel. It is the Holy Spirit that must apply the word preached to the particular hearts and minds of those who hear.

         Charles Spurgeon was a great winner of souls. He believed completely both in the doctrine of limited atonement as well as irresistible grace. He once commented that if God had painted a yellow stripe down the back of the elect that it would be his job as a preacher to go around and lift men’s shirts. But since God did not do that, or inform him of who the elect are, then his job was to proclaim the gospel to every man and let God apply the Spirit as He saw fit.

Perseverance of the Saints or Preservation of the saints

         Those who are regenerated to life will persevere until the end and be saved.

Negatively-Once saved always saved. The reason I say negatively is because our American Baptist culture has developed the system of getting saved through saying the sinner’s prayer. I have heard many people say of deceased loved one who had fallen away from Christ, “Well, at least he got saved.” They speak as if salvation was a thing their loved one received and that it could not be taken from them. And they act as if this were the case no matter how their loved one lived after receiving this thing called salvation.

Salvation is not a thing. It is a change of heart which necessarily causes a change of action. Saving faith lasts. Saving faith is sanctified. Saving faith can fall into a season of sin but not one that persists. The changed heart always responds to God’s Spirit with eyes of faith and a heart that turns to Jesus Christ in repentance and walks in the Spirit in the newness of life.

The Reformed have always insisted upon salvation by grace through faith alone which creates a faith that is never alone. Namely, saving faith is always accompanied by good works. This causes a change in us that is marked by sanctification. This sanctification is not perfected on this earth but is a real mark of the Christian. You shall know them by their fruits.

EXHORTATION

We Reformed are glad to own these five points of Calvinism. Remember that they are not a summary of our Reformed doctrine but rather a subset. But we also do not want to make light of them. They are important doctrines that redound to the glory of God.

         Every honest Christian can relate to these five points.

         T- What is in me, in my fallen state that makes me choose God? Even after I have come to faith in Jesus Christ, I am aware that my thoughts, words and actions, struggle to do that which is right. My natural fallen man needs made alive and kept alive by God’s Holy Spirit, in order for me to choose Him at the first and to keep choosing Him thereafter. There is nothing in me to commend me to God.

         U- If God chose me based upon some good in me, I am in trouble. It gives me great peace to know that it is God’s choice, not mine, that is the source of my salvation. Why did God choose me and not some tribesman in Africa in 1875? I have no idea but I thank God for His grace and mercy to me!

         L- I am glad to know that the cross is efficacious, that Jesus accomplished all that He set out to accomplish and that His finished work is not dependent upon the cooperation of sinful men. Thanks be to God that Jesus’s atonement on the cross worked!

         I- Why did I come to faith? It was through a series of fortunate events. This person prayed for me. That person spoke to me. I stole a Hymnal from a Baptist Church. I was born into a Christian home. I had a bad trip on drugs that scared me into Christ’s arms. There are many reasons and causes. Rarely do they add up to, “I thought my way to Christ.” Reason is rarely the reason but even if it was, who led you to reason that way? To God be the glory!

         P- I am constantly aware of sin tugging at me. The world, the flesh and the devil would have me throw in the towel. But God, by His grace and power, calls me back again and again. He rescues from the world, the flesh and the devil. He convicts me of sin. He exhorts me through His Word. He gathers me in His Church. He shepherds my soul. Left to myself, I would be completely and utterly lost. But I am not left to myself. God preserves my soul.