Is Irresistible Grace Resistible？ — Shane Idleman

The Historical Divide Between Calvinism and Arminianism

The topic before us this morning, I will just tell you up front, is one in which I walk carefully and cautiously. I walk very carefully and cautiously because we're talking about a heavy, heavy weight in theological circles.

And the study we're in is theology on fire. And this part of theology is, is irresistible grace resistible? Is irresistible grace resistible? Now, many of you might know what I'm talking about. And that's one, I'll tell you also, it's hard to prepare a sermon because you know you've got to preach to the Bible students who are, you know, going through the Greek lexicon as I'm speaking.

And you also have to talk to the people who are kind of caught in the middle. And then you have to talk to people who really have no clue. Irresistible grace, what are you talking about? The concept comes from, and I'm going to go brief here.

Part of, with Roman Catholicism in the 14 -1500s, you know about the Protestant Reformation. People came out of that Reformation such as Martin Luther, John Calvin, Urich Zwingli in Switzerland, John Knox.

I love reading this guy's biography. It was said that the Queen of England feared, or the Queen of Scotland I think it was, feared the prayers of John Knox more than the armies of England. That's how powerful some of these men were that we read.

So out of that, the Roman Catholic Church was works-based, works-based, works-based, works-based, works-based. So, you know, the Protestants come out, protest, came out and said, no, it's not about works.

Sola Scriptura, it's scripture only, sola fide, you know, faith only. And I might pronounce some of these Latin words wrong. I didn't brush up my Latin this week. But all the, they came out of that. So when they came out of that, one group, John Calvin, which you'll know as Calvinist, which would be Reformed Theology, came up with an acronym of TULIP, Total Depravity, Unconditional Election, Limited Atonement, Irresistible Grace, and Perseverance of the Saints.

And from that then a certain form of theology came about. That would be known as Reformed Theology. If you want some examples, you would have Valley Bible Fellowship in Lancaster. You'd have Faith Community.

You would have John MacArthur and Sun Valley. They would gravitate towards this type of theology. But then you have other groups, another group that really splintered was Jacob Arminianists. Arminianists, sorry, pronouncing it again.

Arminianism comes from this. And they would challenge John Calvin's points on other things. So John Calvin, Calvinists would say Total Depravity, TULIP. This group would say yes, but they're not totally depraved that they still can't respond to God's offer of salvation.

And then Unconditional Election. So they would just go down the list. So that's where this comes from. Is God's grace, is his call to people, is it irresistible? Meaning, this group again, believes and teaches on election.

That there is a group of people that are elected by God for salvation. So when the Holy Spirit calls them, that's not resistible. You can't resist. When the Holy Spirit's saving you, it's unresistible.

That's why it's called Irresistible Grace. So this side would say that the Holy Spirit is convicting and drawing you. And it's up to you to respond or resist. So what I meant earlier by I'm walking carefully and cautiously is because we have both groups in this congregation.

And I have friends that are in both groups. I have strong feelings on what the Word of God says. So what I mean by that is I want to be gracious. I want to be loving. I've told them too, I don't want to be condescending in this.

I've been praying. It was a hard message to prepare this morning. I was up early praying for just humility. But what I have to do as a preacher, if I'm passionate about something, I'm certain about something.

According to God's Word, I preach that with passion. So I don't want people to ever confuse passion with arrogance. Because there's a big difference there. So what I decide to do in reading, because I do like this side.

Charles Spurgeon. Jonathan Edwards. This side of George Whitefield. One of my favorites. But I also like John Wesley. A .W. Tozer. Leonard Ravenhill. See, there's good points on both sides. However, I try to get away from sides and I just look at what the Bible says.

Irresistible Grace, Human Freedom, and Theological Disagreement

Now granted, they'll all say that. We're all going to say, well... So let's just look at what the Bible says this morning. So why is there a divide? And what is sad about this is... I don't know if you need to know some of this, but I'll just tell you this.

Because of this message, I will never share probably a stage with people like John Piper, Francis Chin, Sam Storm. I won't share the stage with those in the Reformed movement. Because they... And this side does too.

We look at this as a pretty important issue. So this is a dividing line. Right now when I'm preaching, I will get emails. I will get... Okay, well he's not going to be ever a part of our group. Because of this stance.

And this side gets upset at me. Because I disagree with them on some of their points. I'll just tell you up front. There's people in this room too. Again, I'm just being honest and loving. I believe on this side, this group would say you can lose your salvation.

I believe that once a person is sealed with the Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit is given as a guarantee. And you become born again. You're sealed. You can't undo that. Again, just personal opinion. I know people disagree.

But that's my opinion. So this side gets mad at me. No, no, you can walk away. You're giving people license to sin. No, I found the opposite. Somebody who's truly saved doesn't want to sin. So if a person says I'm just going to keep sinning, I'm saved.

You're not saved. Because that's not the right heart. So, see, this side doesn't like me, and this side doesn't like me. Not like me is not the right term. Disagree is probably the better term. So that's why this is such a heated argument.

Here's why there is a divide. Can man exercise his free will? That's why. This side says no. That there is not a free will. That the chosen will be called of God at their time. And they've got good scriptural support in some scriptures.

This side says, yes, man can exercise his free will. So what does the Bible say? Again, in my opinion, working through scripture, 18 years of studying this topic. I had Martin Luther's book, Bondage of the Will, and his debate with Erasmus, I threw against the room.

I just threw it. I'm like, I can't grasp some of this. I can't grasp how is God completely sovereign, yet he calls man to repent. And then, fortunately, I stumbled on Spurgeon, and he said, man's responsibility and God's sovereignty run like two straight lines.

And we don't know where they cross until eternity. And there's safety in a preacher preaching. I preach as if God is sovereign. I pray as a Calvinist. Lord, save my children. I pray, but I also see the other side of that.

So that's what I'm hoping to share with you this morning. I just want you to walk through this with me. So that's the divide. Can man exercise his will? Here's the other question. Is the Holy Spirit's work irresistible, or is it resistible?

Can man resist the work of the Holy Spirit? Now, this might be a surprise to some of you, and I wasn't sure if I was going to share this. But I do believe that a portion of irresistible grace in this.

When God filled John the Baptist with the Holy Spirit from his mother's womb, he really didn't have a choice in that. When he said, Isaiah or Jeremiah, before I even formed you in your mother's womb, I called you to be a prophet.

By the way, that's what you're going to be. Paul is on his way to Damascus. I'm going to persecute the church. No, you're not. Boom. Bright light. Jesus Christ appears. He says, no, I'm calling you to the Gentiles.

So I believe that God puts people on his team. That's his good pleasure. There's nothing wrong with that. When he does that according to his purpose, according to his sovereignty, I don't have a problem with that.

The Holy Spirit's Conviction and the Possibility of Resistance

Now, as we get into this a little bit more, I'll explain more. Is the Holy Spirit's work irresistible or resistible? John 16 .8 in the English Standard Version. And when he comes, the Holy Spirit, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment.

So I think we all agree that the Holy Spirit convicts. Right? I don't think there's any doubt in that, in anyone's mind in that area. So conviction is not conversion. Conviction isn't always conversion.

There's a conviction there. That's why the Bible, and I wrote down a lot of scriptures, but I had to end up taking some out because it was too many. But it would say things like this. You always resist the Holy Spirit.

You refuse correction. You do not listen. You are not willing that you have a lot of these verses in there. So I've just got a few points I'm going to share with you. Number one, salvation, we know this, is a supernatural act of God.

Agreed. Nobody would disagree with that. Jesus said, no one comes to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. But he also encourages people to turn from sin and turn to God to repent. Jesus often marveled at the unbelief of people because of their failure to respond.

So you see, that's my challenge. I see that nobody comes unless the Spirit draws. Okay, this side. Unless the Spirit draws. But I also see that he just marveled over their unbelief. Paul would just marvel.

I mean, they'd be like, what is wrong? Just this marveling. What is wrong with you? Repent and turn back to God. And this word is interesting. No one can come to me, he said, unless the Father who sent me draws him.

And the word is helco. It means to draw, to pull, to persuade. In some cases, strong is exhaustive concordance. I believe it also adds to drag, you know. So nobody can come to God unless the Holy Spirit is working in their life.

Because without that conviction, without that work, we are lost. Acts 7 .51. You stiff-necked people, you uncircumcised in hearts, you are always resisting the Holy Spirit. So in my opinion, he's talking to unbelievers.

You stiff-necked people, you prideful people, you're resisting the Holy Spirit. And then Ephesians 1 .3. And I do have these notes. If you want them later, I can email them to you. Ephesians 1 .3. Oh, I do have them up there.

Good. I'm going quick, so it'll be hard to keep up maybe. When you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, you were sealed with the promise of the Holy Spirit. And I believe it goes on to say, I didn't add all that, but you can keep reading up there.

My point was this. It says, when you heard the word of truth, they responded by believing, and they were sealed with the Holy Spirit. And I was instantly reminded of that scripture that says, how will they hear if no one has sent?

We must send preachers to them so they can hear the gospel, so they can hear the message of redemption. So I see a pattern there. Heard the word of truth. The gospel of salvation is believed in, and then they're sealed with the Holy Spirit.

The Order of Salvation and the Role of Faith

Now, I don't want to get too technical, but there's another divide on this. It's called the order of salvation. The order of salvation. This side would say, a person hears, they believe. Basically, I just read.

They hear, they believe, and now they receive the Holy Spirit. This side says you actually receive the Holy Spirit first. And then because of the work spirit in your heart, now you're able to believe and exercise faith.

So you have the Holy Spirit before believing. Did I put the sides wrong? I did. That's going to be hard to remember. Okay, you know what I'm going at here, okay? The Calvinists will believe this. This reform.

And I see, because if you take out that theology all the way through its course, that has to be true. If man can't repent or believe. So this side would say the Holy Spirit comes in you first, before conversion.

And then, because of the Spirit's work, now you can exercise faith and repent and believe. So again, personally, I don't subscribe to that order of salvation. I don't see that in Scripture. I see hearing, believing, receiving the Holy Spirit.

Again, a personal opinion. That's why there's different churches out here. The sad thing is, this has split churches before. People will leave because of this topic. And to me it's an important topic because it changes how you evangelize.

It gives you different passions, different goals, different ambitions. The way you approach discipleship. The way you approach preaching. You won't see a lot of this side having altar calls. Billy Graham's not reformed.

Greg Laurie is not reformed. Charles Finney wasn't reformed. Many of the great Methodist circuit writers weren't reformed. Because that call to people to respond. But you do have, say, a George Whitefield.

That would do massive types of awakenings and revivals. Who would still, even though you disagree with them, he would still preach that message of repentance. Knowing that God will draw his people. So the question is this.

Did God create man to receive his offer of salvation or reject it? Did God create you to receive or reject his offer of salvation? And honestly, I don't walk. When I say I'm walking carefully and cautiously, I don't walk in a spirit of doubt.

In my mind, in what I've studied, in what I've experienced, this is my firm belief. Now, when I would read other people, I would get confused. So God began in 2005, I remember God said, just stick with my word.

Because we're shaped, here's a big thing, we're shaped by who we read. Most people that have strong opinions on things are shaped by who they follow. Who they read. Show me your Facebook post and I'll show you who you read.

Right, it goes back to that. So we are shaped more than we think by outside influence. And that is good sometimes because we need godly counsel to speak into our lives to help us. So here's my thing. If God commands it, then we can do it.

He commands all men to repent in Acts 17 .30. Norman Geisler said this, Christ's death made everyone savable, but it does not mean that everyone is saved. And again, here's where the two sides depart.

Limited Atonement and Christ's Death for the World

It's on something called limited atonement. Meaning that Christ's death, his blood was shed, is limited. Only to the elect that God chooses. The reason is because Christ's blood is so powerful, if it was applied to the whole world, the whole world would be saved.

So it has to be a limited, so they say. The limited atonement. And interesting, John Calvin wasn't a five point Calvinist, he was a four point. His predecessor, Theodore Besa, B-E-Z-A, brought in limited atonement to the tulip after Calvin died, I believe.

So that's why limited Christ's blood is not shed for the whole world. It's just shed for the elect. And again, I can't, in good conscience, I couldn't tell you that. I couldn't agree with that. 1 John 2 .2.

And of course, we know John 3 .16. That Christ died for the whole world. And so again, there are scriptures on both sides, granted. But the more I tried to weigh them out, this is what I would come up with.

There is also healthy tension between God's sovereignty and man's responsibility. Listen to this, Jesus said in Mark 10 .15. Assuredly, I say to you. So if he's talking to a group of people, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.

So again, just normal reading to me. He's saying, you've got to receive the kingdom of God like a little child. What does a little child do? Here, take this. Yes, Daddy. They'll take it, won't they? There's so much trust.

I felt terrible yesterday. My son had bad chapped lips. So I said, I have some chapstick here. And it was peppermint flavor. Oh, my. He's screaming in the bathroom. I'm feeling terrible. He's like, oh, I didn't give him a good gift.

That was not a good gift. But he just took it. Okay, Dad, it could have been Lysol. And I'll give them stuff to eat. Okay, Dad, they don't even know. Same thing with God. Sometimes we come questioning and demanding.

We take so much pride. I know this. He just says, just come to me. Just come to me in childlike faith. And I will in no way cast you out. And then also, by nature, man does not receive the things of the Spirit.

The Natural Person and Spiritual Discernment

1 Corinthians 2 .14. But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit. For they are foolishness to him. Nor can he know them because they are spiritually discerned. Did you catch that? By nature, man, without Christ, does not receive the things of the Spirit.

The natural man does not receive them. For they are foolishness to him, nor can he know them because they are spiritually discerned. So the reason I'm reading this is because this side would say that that's a proof text for man being totally depraved and dead in his trespasses.

He can't grab onto God's gift of salvation. However, reading this a dozen times this week, to me, the context is knowing spiritual things, not salvation. Context. Eye is not seen, ear is not heard, nor is it entered into the hearts of man.

What? The good things that God has prepared for those who know Him. And he goes on to say, the natural man knoweth not the things of God that the spiritual man, the Holy Spirit, knows. So then you read this in context.

To me, it's dealing with you will not know the spiritual things of God. To me, it's not a salvation verse. It's not one I could hang my hat on in regard to salvation on either side. And the word receive here is decamoi.

It's an interesting word. The natural man does not decamoi. It means he does not welcome the things of God. He doesn't take hold of the things of God. And so I thought of this analogy a few times. You've seen this in articles and different things.

Oh, by the way, this is what I've taught for 18 years. This is nothing new. In clips of my sermons, I'll say the exact same thing. I'm not changing any positions. I'm just reinforcing because we're on this area of theology.

Decamoi means not to take hold of or not to welcome. So he doesn't take hold of, he doesn't welcome. Well, I don't welcome visitors at 1 a .m. But it doesn't mean I can't open the door. So just because somebody doesn't welcome something does not mean that he cannot accept them.

And this is why I believe a person has to hit rock bottom before they finally cry out to Christ. This is why a person has to hit rock bottom. Because I don't welcome the things of God. I don't want the things of God.

No natural man wants the things of God, does he? No natural man wants it. I don't want the things of God. Well, you get to rock bottom, you'll finally look at the rock at the bottom. To the rock who is at the bottom.

Often it takes tragedy, it takes failure, it takes being sick. It takes all these things to get this pride out of us and get us to see, okay, Jesus, I need you. I'm not all that and a bag of chips. I'm not who I thought I was.

I do need you, God. I cry out. So here's a couple biggies for me as I'm going to work my way to the end. We are all without excuse. I think we all would agree with that. Everyone agrees we are without excuse.

Romans 1 .20 says, For since the creation of the world, his invisible attributes are clearly seen, so that they are without excuse. In other words, he's saying, if you go back to the beginning of Romans 1 and read in context, that the wrath of God is revealed to mankind.

The nature of God, the character of God. Even his attributes are clearly seen. In other words, the person in Africa who's never heard of Jesus, there's clearly a designer. No matter where you live, there's clearly a designer.

So his invisible attributes scream creator. There's a creator. There's a creator. How did I just get here? There's a creator. Swahili, if you speak Swahili, if you speak French, wherever you're at, there's a creator.

Just look at creation. And so it goes on to say, because creation screams creator, they're without excuse. If they reject that creator. It also goes on to say that they did not glorify God. They did not glorify God.

And here's where this really was transitional for me many years ago when I was reading. On all these passages, it doesn't say they could not. It says they did not. To me, there's a choice there. So how can a person be without excuse if they do not have the ability to perform what is being asked?

Does that make sense? If I say, listen, you're without excuse because you fell to do something. Well, if they fell to do something, that tells me they can do it. So how can God desire that all men be saved, 2 Timothy, but not give them a choice at all?

How can God say, I desire that all men can be saved, but not give them a choice and only select a certain amount of people? To me, again, just reading the Scripture. I like what one theologian said, when the plain sense of Scripture makes common sense, seek no other sense unless it becomes nonsense.

Take every word at its primary, ordinary, usual, literal meaning unless the facts of the immediate context indicate clearly otherwise. So in all these Scriptures, I'm going to read briefly, I looked at the context over and over and over again.

Jesus said in Luke 13, 5, unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. The responsibility for the action falls on the person, falls on the hearer. If I said, listen, unless you repent, you're going to die.

There's an action word in that. Something must happen in order for that spiritual death not to take place. Jeremiah 11, 8. They did not obey, but they followed the dictates of their own heart. It says they did not obey.

This tells me that they could have obeyed. Again, just reading normal grammar. I looked at the Greek in these. Look at the structure of the sentence structure, the verb tenses. And he's saying here, Jeremiah, they did not obey.

And God gets mad at them for not obeying. So why would He get mad at them if they couldn't obey? So to me, these commands reinforce the fact that people have a choice. Jeremiah 26. God said to Jeremiah, tell them everything I command you.

Do not omit one word. Jeremiah. Why? Perhaps they will listen and each turn from their evil ways. So again, I didn't graduate college. Again, I'm just trying to be honest with you. The clear reading of Scripture in its context tells me when God says perhaps, each one of them will turn from their evil ways, puts it back on the hearer to take action on what God is commanding.

If God commands it, you can do it. Be filled with the Holy Spirit. You can be filled. Turn from sin. You can turn. Repent and believe. A person can repent and believe. Now, I should probably throw this caveat in here.

The reason what I'm saying is looked upon as not correct theology from one camp is because, and I don't know where they're coming from, so I'm just going to throw it out there. They say, no, that's a good work.

But I'm saying, no, if God created us, His image in us is not erased. It's not gone. It's damaged. If God created man in that shaping, in that creating, if God in the DNA structure and all that, if God created us and said, I'm giving you the ability to love me or hate me, God gets all the glory.

God gets all the credits. How is that a good work? I'm simply exercising faith that God has granted. So that one really drives me nuts. That's a good work. Well, no, it's a good work in God is what it is.

That's not a good work in me. That's a good work in God to bring that about. In Acts 2 .30, they ask, what must we do to be saved? What must we do to be saved? What was the answer? Repent and believe, putting the responsibility back on the hearer.

Persuasion, Repentance, and the Call to Respond

Jeremiah 13. I'm sorry, Acts 17. Some of the Jews were persuaded at Paul's teaching. What does persuaded mean? It means to cause someone to do something through reasoning or argument. There's other incidents of this.

Paul said, King Agrippa, I would to God that I would persuade you. Some of the Jews were persuaded at Paul's teaching. So when I read the preachers in the Bible, I read into their hearts this persuading, this come on, men, draw unto God, change your wicked ways, churn to him, repent.

There's a persuading that can take place. In Jeremiah 13 .11, it says they would not hear. They would not listen. It doesn't say they could not. Again, that's where I come to this conclusion. Here's a biggie for me.

Jesus rebuked entire cities because they did not repent. Again, I'm trying to be so careful here. I'm not poking fun. This is how it plays out in my mind. Jesus rebuked entire cities because they did not repent.

If election is true, and I'm Jesus, I'd say, of course they're not going to repent. They're not elect. God didn't chose them. I'm not going to be frustrated. I'm not going to be frustrated at God's sovereign plans that they don't turn because that's his plan.

But Jesus is weeping over Jerusalem. I see in Paul's preaching. It resonates with me. I see. Oh, God, turn from your wickedness. Turn to God. I persuade you. Oh, God. Paul said, I would give myself to be accursed if it wasn't to save the nation of Israel.

You see this persuasion. You see this yearning for people to turn. Why would Jesus rebuke entire groups of people because they did not repent? If they couldn't repent. So, again, logically, I just cannot put this together with God only choosing a certain amount of people to go to heaven.

Also, this question, why is it hard for a rich man to get into heaven? That would have nothing to do with election. God could care less if it's rich, poor, black, white, male, female, five-year-old, a 50-year-old.

It doesn't matter. But when Jesus said, oh, it's so hard for a rich man to get into heaven. Look at the context. The person loved his riches more than Christ. Same thing happens today. Same thing. That's why it's hard for many people, especially in America.

They love their things and not God. It's hard for that rich person, that person full of wealth to enter the kingdom of heaven. So, in my opinion, it appears that his possessions prevented him from following Christ and turning from what he knew to be the right course.

Divine Justice, Mercy, and the Offer of Salvation

And here's where this whole point of justice. You know God's justice, right? We hear that a lot. God's justice. It must be fulfilled. He's a just God. What does justice mean? It means to get what you deserve.

We come out of court, right? We didn't get justice. So, thinking all this through, the only way to me that God's justice makes sense is if a person can respond or decline to his offer of salvation. Because if they can't, then to me that's not justice.

That's not the God of the Bible I read about. That's not the God of love, mercy, grace, and long-suffering, not willing that any should perish. True justice puts it back on the person in which the justice is going to fall.

So, God says, I must judge you rightly and send you to hell because you rejected me. That's the term of justice. But first, mercy and grace come into play, don't they? Mercy, not giving us what we deserve.

So, coming into the world, sinners, right? We're sinners. And growing up, you know you're a young adult. I mean, you're a sinner by the time you're five, six. I mean, you know sometimes there's something going on here.

So, God says, see right there, justice should be served. Justice should be served. But God says, no, I'm long-suffering. My mercy endures. So, my mercy is what? What is mercy? Not giving us what we deserve.

So, God is merciful, long-suffering. I'm not going to give you what you deserve. I'm going to give you time to repent and believe. And then my grace can overflow and overshadow you, which is unmerited favor.

So, to me, I cannot understand the concept of justice and the God I read about in the Bible and believe that he only chooses a certain amount of people to go to heaven. And the rest are destined for hell.

I can't get my mind around that. Trust me, I've tried. I've thrown books. I've gotten bad moods. And trying to understand, I just. But it's also very freeing knowing that God is sovereign. I trust. I will tell you right now this morning, I trust that God is going to save all my kids.

I have no doubt in my mind. The enemy comes in. I have no doubt in my mind that God is going to save my children. I'm praying. I'm fasting. Lord, you. Now, he might manipulate some things. Right? Get people to the rock bottom.

He might draw. I mean, the Holy Spirit might be able to draw a normal drawing. He might be able to, hey, Holy Spirit, turn up the volume on that man. Those four kids, turn up the pressure. Turn up the pressure cooker.

And let's get them back to you. You remember a story I shared from Jim Cimbala at the Brooklyn Tabernacle? How his daughter was lost, a prodigal daughter in New York, on the streets of New York doing Lord knows what.

They had an all, I don't know, it was all night. A couple hours of prayer meeting. He said it sounded like a birthing room. He came home. He told his wife, if there's a God in heaven, our daughter will be home.

You see, what did God do? He answered the prayers of his people. And he drew that girl back by a dream, a vision of her being on the edge, the abyss of hell. God knew that would draw her back. She repented and believed and came back to Christ.

So I believe that God will hear the prayers of his people. God's in sovereign control. But I can't discount the plethora of verses I just read. As a matter of fact, there's something in the back of my Bible.

Mike, you saw it before. It's called Questions for Calvin in my big Bible at home. Questions for Calvin. And it's just four pages. I was off. It's not more than 100. It's like 150. 150 verses just like this.

Just like this. Exactly the same thing. I want to share 20 more, but I don't want to bore you. But there's just so many verses that are confirming what I feel in my heart. That God is drawing people to him.

That it's finally, it's put in their court, so to speak. Whether they accept or reject him. And here's the final point. This is why I believe so strongly about this. That God's nature, God's nature reflects love and patience.

God's Character, Repentance, and the Value of Every Person

I would encourage anybody. I don't know what side of this coin you're on or where you're at. But read the Bible through and through and through and through. And saturate your mind on who God is. See, it ticks me off when people come and try to debate theology having read the Bible.

They listen to a good podcast, watch a bunch of videos, and then they're going to come and debate the Bible. See, that's the only way to get the heart of God. Is to read and meditate and read and meditate.

I try to get through it once a year. In the New Testament, twice a year. I've been doing that for 18 years now. And I just try to get through and see the heart of God. So I can't see. This morning, I work on the sermon.

I put that song on, Reckless Love. And I couldn't stop crying. Because God's nature is reflected in his love and his patience. 2 Peter 3 .9. Now, that is written to the church, correct? But it's also written to unregenerated people who are sinners.

Shane, how do you know that? Well, he says, I'm patient. Not wishing that any of you should perish. But that you should all repent. So yes, it's written, Peter, probably to the church, 40 years old, in Asia Minor.

He's writing to the church. But he's telling, hey, repent and believe in the gospel. Psalm 86 .15. So that's my challenge. If God is a God of love, if God is a God of mercy, if God is a God of true justice.

Not our justice system. True justice. The only way that makes sense to me is that man denies or accepts God's gift. And when he denies it, the justice falls. And that's a just God. Because he gave the person the ability to accept or reject him.

That's the only way justice makes sense to me. I see no other way for that word justice to work if that's not how it works. But again, God gets all the credit. He created his creation to love him. Or reject him.

To deny him. Or embrace him. That's why I mentioned earlier, that is not a good work. It's a God work. In the fall. In the fall of Adam, sin entered in. Here's something you need to take away. You need to get this CD maybe to your children.