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Well, everyone needs encouragement and everyone needs conviction. If someone were to call you and to say, you know, I need to be encouraged, what doctrine would you talk about? Where in the Bible would you go to try to give them some comfort and encouragement?
What if another person called you and said, I'm struggling a little bit, I'm kind of lax in my walk, a fossilized faith and I need some conviction. I need someone to afflict me a little bit in my comfort.
What would you talk about? What would be a good doctrine? Where would you go in the Bible for such conviction? Well, it's interesting because the doctrine of election, the doctrine of predestination works both ways.
It is a very comforting doctrine and it is a very convicting doctrine. How can predestination, how can election be comforting? Well, to know that God loves you, to know that God in eternity past set His love on you, must be an amazing thing.
It is an amazing thing and it should make you say to yourself, that somebody would love me, that the God of the universe, even though He knew all about my sin, would love me. There was a wise pastor once and he said, most Christians could get over their troubles if they would only and they could only be absolutely sure that God loved them.
He said, then they could face every trial with courage and be at peace and be more joyful Christians. I mean, how rich that would be, how soul satisfying to think, I am loved by God in eternity past in and from the doctrine of election.
Reminds me of Jesus' words in John 17, that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. I mean, this would cause Christians to be joyful. God loves me, Charles Wesley said, and can it be that I should gain an interest in the Savior's blood?
Died He for me who caused His pain, for me who Him to death pursued. Amazing love, how can it be? And so election encourages that God has loved you with an everlasting love, to use the language of Jeremiah.
But it also is very convicting. It's also pride crushing to think that God, the God of the universe, is in fact God by name and God by action. Remember John the Baptist? He said, Jesus must increase and I must what?
Decrease. And the doctrine of election really helps us to think rightly and to think as God is high, I am low. Please turn your Bibles this morning to Malachi chapter 1 as we're going verse by verse through the last book of your English Old Testament.
If you can find Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, back up and you'll find the book of Malachi. And Malachi is talking early on about election, the doctrine of predestination. And it really is a pride killer because God is sovereign.
Many other doctrines Christians say we love, we like, they're so wonderful. But oftentimes when we're not thinking properly, when we're not thinking scripturally, we can push up against this doctrine of election because it is a very difficult doctrine.
Even Jonathan Edwards years ago said, from childhood up my mind has been full of objections against the doctrine of God's sovereignty. And choosing whom He would give eternal life. Rejecting whom He pleases.
Leaving them eternally to perish and be everlastingly tormented in hell. It used to appear like a horrible doctrine to me. I mean it is hard, it just goes against our nature. We start saying things like, it's not fair, God's unjust.
D. James Kennedy, when he was alive, said the reason people today are opposed to the doctrine of election, it's because they will have God to be anything but God. He can be a cosmic psychiatrist, a helpful shepherd, a leader, a teacher, anything at all, only not God.
For the very simple reason, they want to be God themselves. And so today we're going to look at Malachi chapter 1, verses 1 to 5. And then we'll look at the New Testament equivalent of this passage. Actually it's going to be quoted in the New Testament and we'll look at it as we have a little review in Malachi chapter 1.
It says in verse 1, The oracle of the word of Yahweh are the Lord to Israel by Malachi. And remember the best translation for oracle in the ESV, it's burden. It means something heavy. You put a burden on the back of a donkey, it's a beast of burden.
It carries something, it's a lot of weight. Except here, this isn't physical weight, it's spiritual weight. Can you imagine Malachi with the burden of mostly judgment to Judah? Mostly judgment to Israel.
It's hard to talk about judgment. It's hard to talk about sin. It's hard to talk about these things. That word burden or oracle was also used of parts of the tabernacle out in the wilderness. Before they would put it together, you'd have to carry the heavy parts over and assemble the tabernacle.
It's heavy. It is a burden to preach judgment. As you know, Israel was sinful. Israel was stubborn. And Israel was given the discipline of God by being exiled to Babylon for how many years? For 70 years.
And now God in His mercy, in His grace has brought Israel back to the land. And pretty much economically things are going well. Socially things are going well. But they're just not fired up. They're just not having the coals of their hearts stoked to love God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength.
And they've got kind of that attitude. For those of you that have kids, I can tell when my kids are thankful and are acting godly and submissive. I can also tell when they're just like a hair off. And they just got that attitude like, you know what?
They're just kind of like a chip on my shoulder, or on their shoulder actually. 27 times this word oracle is used. And every time it's used in prophetic books, it's always a message of judgment. And good thing though, God is a merciful God because the text doesn't say, against Israel.
Can you imagine? A burden of the word of the Lord against Israel. Why does it say an against? Because later on in the book of Malachi, there's consolation. There's a promise. There's hope. There's light at the end of the proverbial tunnel.
And here this man Malachi, he has a burden from the Lord and he begins to deliver that burden. And it is from the Lord. 55 verses in this book, 47 of them, we have the Lord of hosts speaking. Thus says the Lord God, the Lord of hosts.
And here's what's happening. It's like Malachi is writing to the Israelites and we're just eavesdropping. We're kind of peeking in on the passage and what's going on. The Lord faithful and strong and trustworthy.
And Israel backsliding, fading away. And there needs to be resolution. Israel needs to repent and be restored unto God. And it's like we just get a kind of peer in on it. And as we peer in on this relationship between Israel and the Lord, it's helpful for us as well.
And you'll see just how helpful it is. Verse 2, I have loved you, says the Lord. But you, Israel, you say, how have you loved us? It's a very wonderful word to love. It means family love. It means love of a dad and a mom for children.
It means a love for a husband has for his wife. Used in Genesis 24, Isaac brought her into the tent of Sarah, her mother, took Rebekah, and she became his wife, and he loved her. It just means to have a close affection for, an affinity toward.
Deuteronomy 10 says it this way, that the Lord set his affection to love Israel. I mean that God would love Israel. Shouldn't that be enough motivation for Israel to respond properly? I could understand if the God of Israel was the God of Islam.
I would see why they'd be kind of cold in response. The God of Islam, cold, far away, fatalistic, removed, not involved, transcendent only and not eminent, way above but not close to. And you know, when that kind of relationship exists, it's kind of like, well, okay, it breeds discontentment, it breeds coldness.
But this God, Yahweh, Israel's God, from back in Genesis chapter 12, with the Abrahamic covenant, promising the seed to Israel and her followers and her descendants, Jesus Christ himself, he loved Israel.
Unconditionally he loved Israel. And they say, they respond, these privileged people, these blessed people, they respond with, show me your love. You don't really love me. How have you loved me? When they should have been writing words like this that were penned in 1917 in Pasadena, California, could we with ink the ocean fill and were the skies of parchment made, were every stalk on earth a quill and every man a scribe by trade.
To write the love of God above would drain the ocean dry, nor could the scroll contain the whole, though stretched from sky to sky. You haven't loved me. And now God begins to show Israel some evidence of love.
And instead of going to the spiritual aspect, here he focuses in on the temporal aspect, and he does it by comparison. How have you loved us? Is not Esau Jacob's brother, declares the Lord. Yet I have loved Jacob, but Esau I have hated.
When it comes to nations, Israel has got my blessing. I choose to love. Nobody deserves the love of God. We've all inherited God's displeasure because of our own sin, because of Adam's sin. And yet he decides to love anyway.
And here God, by his own choice, decides to love. And he loves Jacob, and therefore he loves the nation of Israel as well. And it says the text, do you notice it? But I've hated Esau. He not only hates Esau, he hates the nation of Edom that comes from Esau.
I'm going to give you evidence. Take a look at the two countries. Israel, you're back in Israel, the land in Palestine. And Edomites, look at them. They're running around, what's the text say? Out in the wilderness, out in the wickedness, out running around by the jackals.
I've laid waste his hill country and left his heritage to jackals of the desert. I mean, you're back in the land, Israel. Look at Edom. You want to know if I love you? You're back in the land and they're out in the wilderness.
If Edom says, we're shattered, but we will rebuild the ruins. This pride, the Lord says, the host says, they may build, but I will tear down. And they will be called the wicked country. And the people with whom the Lord is angry forever.
Hey, Israel, take a look. Edom is this country that I'm angry against and you're the apple of my eye. He says in verse 5, even future, even future restoration. Your own eyes shall see this and you shall say, great is the Lord beyond the border of Israel.
How have you loved us, Israel said. I've chosen you. I blessed you. I've decided to love you. Look at the other options. Now, he's dealing with nations. And so why don't we take our Bibles and turn to the book of Romans chapter 9 and see how Paul uses this verse.
I think it's very important because there's an argument that's going around evangelicalism. It's been around for a long time. That when it comes to the doctrine of election and predestination, that God just chooses large groups.
That God just chooses nations. And God never selects. He never chooses out individual people to go to hell. They say it's not an individual election. It's a national election because Malachi teaches a national election.
And they're right on the second half but wrong on the first half because now Paul is going to use, Jacob have I loved and Esau have I hated. And he's going to make it in a very particular argument so that you'll realize that God in eternity past chooses who's going to go to heaven.
No one deserves heaven. But God chooses some to go to heaven. And Romans chapter 9 is one of those chapters. I'm telling you, you either love it or you hate it. Right? Some people just don't want to go there.
When I fly, I like to fly on aisle 13 whenever I book my flights. Flying out of the Shepherds Conference, I just type in 13 because it's open. And I'm hoping people are so superstitious that they won't want to sit in aisle 13 and I'll have a little free spot.
So I don't have to evangelize on the plane. No, just kidding. When I used to work in the operating room, they'd have operating room suites and maybe a small hospital, three ORs, a little bit larger hospital, nine ORs.
But the really big ones, and I've worked at some big hospitals, 25 operating rooms. And so when I first started, I'm like, okay, my assignment today is operating room suite 14. Okay, you bypass 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, you get up to 10, 11, 12, 14.
Because nobody wants to be operated on in suite 13. And similarly, I know churches that will preach chapter by chapter in the Bible. Today is Romans 1. Tomorrow is Romans. And next Sunday is Romans 2.
And they work their way up. Romans chapter 8. And oh, what a great chapter. If God is for you, who could be against you? You know, God shouldn't be against us, but he's for us. What shall separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus?
But then next week is Romans 9. And they just act like it doesn't even exist. And it's Romans chapter 10. But what does it say? And it's important for our series in Malachi. Because Jacob have I loved and Esau have I hated.
And we need to figure out how Paul uses it. And again, as we go through Romans chapter 9, two things should be happening. You should be saying to yourself that God would choose me in elective love. If I know that, I can get through anything in my life.
And secondly, what should go through your mind is God is God and I'm not God. And God is different. And this is not a God we just kind of manufacture. I was reading about Plato the other day. I think they originally made Plato something with walls or a wall stain remover or something.
I thought as a kid, why didn't I figure that out a lot earlier? It's like this God I can just form and make into my own image. And you read Romans chapter 9 and you realize this is not the God of my imagination.
This is the God who rules everything. And he does only as he pleases, as often as he pleases, always as he pleases. And Romans chapter 9 gives you the huge view of God. Steve Lawson was here preaching one year and he preached a series called Big God Psalms.
He picked the Psalms that just made God big. And when you've got big problems, you better have a big God. I mean, if you've got little problems, maybe a little pocket God might do. But here, this is God by definition, great, different.
Romans chapter 9 verse 10, we pick it up in the middle of Romans chapter 9 as God is talking about a sovereignty through Paul the Apostle, explaining the state of Israel ultimately and then moving into individual election.
Chapter 9 verse 10, see if you can spot where Malachi is quoted. And not only Romans 9 .10, not only so, but also when Rebekah had conceived children by one man. There's no complex parentage here. Rebekah is the mother of twins, same dad, same mom.
Our forefather Isaac, though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad. It's hard to do bad things before you're born, isn't it? It's hard to do good things before you're born, isn't it?
Hey, they had done nothing either good or bad. Why? They haven't been born. In order that God's purpose of election might continue, not because of works, but of him who calls, she was told, contrary to Jewish tradition, the older will serve the younger, as it is written, Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.
That the older is rejected and that the younger is esteemed, that's really different. What's going on here? And if you take a look at it, maybe some of you have the New American Standard. The second half of verse 11 is really the key to understanding election and predestination.
So that God's purpose according to his choice would stand. God is a God who is sovereign and here's what he doesn't do. Well, I see that Mike will believe, therefore I'll pick him. Because if that's the case, then God just rubber stamps me.
God just ratifies me. I take care of myself and then God will respond. No, everything in this passage is God is the mover, God is the director, God is the sovereign one. It's his purpose and his plan.
Do you see it in verse 11? That his choice would stand. In the ESV it says, God's purpose of election. That word election means to select out from. You got a big barrel of apples and you take one of those apples out.
Ech Lego. Where's Mark Arnold when I need him? There he is. Do you know anything about Legos? Now, when I looked up the definition of Lego, I wanted it to be choice. Because, you know what, if you've got a whole pile of Legos and you're building something, you, the architect, pick exactly the pieces you want to construct your empire.
State building. And it would be perfect. I choose this piece, I don't choose that piece. And that's election. But you can look up what Lego actually means. Do you know what it means? Okay. Well, you'll all have to look it up.
But it doesn't mean sovereign, predestination, election. But for our illustration, with Legos. Ech Lego. This is how you remember what the Greek word for election is, or choice. Ech Lego. Like Legos, choosing a piece.
You're the master builder. I choose this piece, I don't choose that piece. For my own purpose. For my own plan. That's the idea. God's purpose. God picking out. A selection. God's beginning through Paul to explain why some Jews are saved and some aren't.
And then he's going to move into why some people aren't saved and some people aren't. The older serves the younger. That's God's plan. Same mother, same father. Born at the same time. Contrary to the Jewish custom of the day.
And then it says, Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated. Would anybody say it's wrong for God to choose? Would anybody say, God how could you? God why did you? He chooses Jacob instead of. He chooses Jacob rather than.
This is the doctrine of election. It did not please God to choose Esau. Now we live in America. And we live in New England. And we like to vote. And when we think of elections, we think of our vote. What about God's righteousness?
God chooses Jacob. He doesn't choose Esau. And I know a lot about life. And that's not fair. It's not fair for God to choose Jacob and not Esau. That's what we want to say. It just starts blowing our minds.
It's kind of like the steam starts coming out of our ears. And we're going to be, you know, this does not compute. Paul recognizes that verse 14. Whenever you start thinking about an election. If you think from a human perspective.
If you think, I deserve to be chosen. God must choose. God ought to choose. Then we have to go back to Scripture. And you have to think about God according to Scripture. And not your own feelings. What does the Bible say?
Well, the Bible says in verse 14. What shall we say then? He's anticipating these objections, isn't he? Is there injustice on God's part? Hey, God chooses one. He doesn't choose the other. Unfair. God chooses one.
He doesn't choose the other. Unjust. And Paul says, what shall we say? Is there injustice on God's part? Who determines justice? Who defines justice? Whatever God does, by the way, is just. 2 Chronicles 19.
With our Lord God there is no injustice. Some people say when God chooses some and not chooses others. That means God's sinning. God's beginning to sin. He chooses some and doesn't choose others. How unfair of God.
How immoral of God. How wicked of God. And what does Paul say? The strongest thing he could say in all the Greek language. Your King James translation says, God forbid. Probably the best translation is, by no means.
No way. We cannot say God is unjust. Not at all. God forbid. And once we start saying when God chooses one and not another, and we don't like that, here's what we're saying. I'm God's God. I'll tell God what's fair.
I'll tell God what's just. I want to be in the place of God. We just have to remember, tuck ourselves back under the scriptural truth and say, I've got to think about this the right way. I've got to start with, God is God.
His word is true. Is there unrighteousness with God? Paul, come on. This would be such an easy argument to win. Paul, just say this. God looks down the corridors of time. He sees somebody believes, and therefore God picks them.
And then nobody would have their hand up saying there's injustice with God. Paul could have solved the problem if it's in fact true. God looks down the corridors of time. He sees Mike Abendroth in 1989 believing, therefore I pick Mike.
Paul could have easily won the argument. But Paul doesn't do that because that's not true. God isn't unjust by choosing Jacob. He isn't unjust in not choosing Esau. And here's what I like about God through Paul.
You know, sometimes when people say, you know, you're a pastor, right? Yes. What do you believe about election? Well, you know, let me tell you. Okay, first of all, you know, Israel was chosen. Some elect angels are chosen.
The Levitical priests are chosen. Only 12 apostles are chosen. And yeah, okay, at the end of the day, I do believe in election. But it's kind of like my Achilles heel. I don't really want to talk about it too much.
We don't talk about it on Sunday morning because people get mad. We talk about it on like Wednesday night at the special, you know, Gnostic, Neok, kind of. But, you know, what does Paul do? Hey, God could be unjust and he just pushes it.
He doesn't back off and kind of tap dance. He's like, okay, let's talk about what the Bible says. And this passage says, basically, I can't believe God chose me and I can't believe I could ever say, God, how could you?
Paul doesn't back down. He turns it up and he asks a question from Scripture. Is sovereign mercy unjust? Verse 15. And we're moving from nations to individuals as these are singular relative pronouns, whom?
For he says to Moses, he said back in Exodus 33, he said back when Moses was in the cleft of the rock and the goodness of God passed by Moses, what did God show Moses? What's the essence of God's godness?
I will have mercy on whom, singular, I have mercy. And I will have compassion on whom, singular, I have compassion. Sorry, you know, we're sad to say this is in the Bible, Paul says. We're sorry that, you know, we make a little defense and here's some kind of Aristotelian metaphysical distinctions.
No, he doesn't do any of that. He says, here's what the Bible says. I ask you the question. Christian, is it enough for you that in the Bible it teaches that God has prerogative to choose some and not choose others?
Say, well, but my feelings. No, what does the Bible say? I have some questions for you. Is anyone wronged when God withholds mercy? Is it true that someone is wronged when God holds back grace? Does God sin by not saving everyone?
Who is wronged when holy God judges sinful man? Who can question divine prerogatives? Now, here's the good news, congregation. If you look back at verse 15, I'm glad it doesn't say, I'll have mercy on none.
It says on whosoever I will, on whom I will. Compassion belongs to God. Mercy belongs to God. And sovereignty belongs to God. What does it mean to be God? To pick and to choose. Why doesn't God show mercy to everyone?
I mean, the second we start saying God must show mercy to everyone, God ought to show mercy to everyone. What does mercy, grace, ought and should, how does that all go together? And it's a bad porridge, by the way.
It's a cauldron of grace and must don't go together. Verse 16, so then, it depends not on the man, literally in the Greek, singular on human will, or exertion. What does heaven depend on? But on God, thankfully, who has mercy.
He can bestow mercy. He can withhold mercy. And everything you see here is singular. Whom, verses 15 and 19, singular. He doesn't say the nation he desires. Man, verse 16, singular. You, verse 17, 19 and 20, singular.
Me, verse 20, singular. No human will, no human merit, no human effort. Matter of fact, God is so sovereign. Look what he does to Pharaoh, verse 17. For the scripture says to Pharaoh, for this very purpose I raised you up, Pharaoh, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.
In other words, God hardens Pharaoh's heart. Remember, Exodus chapter 4, he hardens his heart so that they're not going to let Israel go, so it's going to take a powerful right hand of God to extract Israel out of Egypt.
Verse 18, so then, he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills. And Paul says, you know, I've got a Bible, and it's the Old Testament. And in Exodus 33, God's mercy, sovereign mercy, passes by Moses.
And also it teaches us in Exodus, God's sovereign over salvation of Moses and the damnation of Pharaoh. Okay, I will admit that you're sovereign, God. I'll admit that the sovereignty of God is an overarching doctrine.
But here's the good news. I'll admit you're sovereign, but now I have a king's ex way out. At least I can't be held accountable. Because if God's sovereign, I can't stop him. Verse 19, you will say to me then, why does he still find fault?
Hey, God's sovereign, who can resist His will? I won't deny you're sovereign, but now at least I can get out of it, because if you're sovereign over it, I'm not responsible. Verse 20, but who are you, O man, to answer back to God?
Will what is molded say to its molder? Why have you made me like this? What about this, God? What about injustice? What about mercy? What about this? Now God has the questions, and now it's God's turn to ask the questions.
Is it fine for God to choose? And we talked about it last week, too. I mean, whenever people say, I don't like the doctrine of sovereignty, I usually ask them, did you choose your wife? What's your favorite football team?
The list goes on and on. We love to choose, but we don't want God to choose. Why is that? Because we're prideful people. At least I am. Now people are asking God the question, and God's response to them is, you shouldn't ask the question.
There's a kind of question that says, you know, I'd kind of like to know how sovereignty and responsibility both could be true. I affirm God's sovereign. I affirm the responsibility of man. And how can they both be true?
Let's study that a little bit. Fair to do. But this kind of question isn't that kind of question. This is a criticism of God. God, this is not right. You do this. It's unfair. It's unjust. I don't like it.
And what's the response of God through the Apostle Paul, inspired by the Spirit? Don't be irreverent. Don't blame God for your sin. These kind of questions, we are under obligation not to ask with a sinful heart.
James Boyce said, in other words, a perfectly legitimate answer to our question is that the why, why mercy on some, why mercy not on others, is none of our business. God does not owe us an answer. Sometime this week, read Job 38, 39, 40.
Hey God, why'd you do this? Hey God, why'd you do that? Hey God, why'd you do this? And then you read verses 41 and 42, and you realize how careful we need to be. Never blame our sin on God's sovereignty.
Verse 21, has the potter no right over the clay? What a good illustration. To make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use. I remember growing up in Omaha, Nebraska, and I was at a school.
The school that I went to is called Master's Elementary School, the Master's Monarchs. How did that work out? Then I went to Master's Seminary later. And we were having a shop class, a class, and you were given some clay, and we were to make something and then put it in the kiln and glaze it and everything and give it to our parents for a gift.
And so I thought I might as well be practical, and so I made my mom and dad an ashtray. No homeschoolers are like, that's why my kid doesn't go to public school. Ashtrays. I thought it was pretty nice.
Hey, dad and mom smoke, and good to have an ashtray with my little initials at the bottom. MLA, 1969. I could make anything I wanted. I was just given some clay. And the illustration in the Bible is this.
Don't potters have rights over the clay? Yeah? Doesn't God have a right to do whatever He wants with clay? In this particular case, all sinful clay. Right? We deserve justice. Can't He say, you know what?
The angels, when the third of the angels sinned, they all got justice. No mercy, no grace. For us, we've all sinned. Not a third of us, but all of us. And God says, I'm going to take some of you out and mold you for My purposes.
Is that okay for God to do? He takes some clay and He says, I'm going to make a vase to put flowers in. He takes some clay out, I'm going to make a little container for perfume. But He takes some others out for dishonorable use.
And He takes some clay out and He says, I'm going to make a wastebasket. He takes some more clay out and He says, I'm going to make a spittoon. He takes some more clay out and He says, I'm going to make a privy pot with that.
Doesn't the potter have right over the clay? And we know what the answer is. Some are made for honorable use, that is unto salvation. And others are vessels of wrath. They're not vessels of mercy. And the questions go up.
God, are you unjust? God, how can this happen? And that means if you've picked some for honorable use. I mean, that's hard enough. God chose some people to go to heaven. We're glad we get to go to heaven.
We just wish we kind of are the initiators. We were the first cause. But, you know, we'll allow it. Finally, it goes against our pride. It goes against our grain. But we get to go to heaven. God, You are sovereign.
All right, fine. But now, if that's true, if the election unto salvation is true, it also means something about reprobation and damnation. And Paul now addresses that. Verse 22. Why doesn't he pick everyone is the wrong question.
Why did he pick anyone is the right question. And the Bible doesn't say much about reprobation, the opposite of election. But it does say some, and it says it right here. And if you weren't supposed to know about it, it wouldn't be in Scripture.
But it is in there, although uncomfortable as it might be. God determining to pass by some men. They didn't deserve heaven, but He passes them by. Verse 22. What if God, desiring to show His wrath. Remember, God isn't just love.
He's wrathful, and He demonstrating His wrath on the vessels of destruction. And to make His power known. Has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction. In order to make known the riches of His glory.
For vessels of mercy, which He has prepared beforehand for glory. Friends, that is exactly what Malachi chapter 1, 1 to 5 is talking about. Israel, do you know how much I've loved you, says God, temporally?
With promises. Take a look at the option of being someone who's not an Israelite. Would you rather be an Edomite? And so too in the doctrine of salvation. How great is salvation? Well, it's great because we're in Christ.
All the heavenly blessings we have are in Christ Jesus. They're all earned for us by Christ's perfect life. He paid for all of our sins as a sacrificial sacrifice on Calvary. He was raised from the dead, and we have everything we need.
Every spiritual blessing in the heavenly place is in Christ. And you want to know if that's a vessel of mercy? Take a look at people who are going to spend hell and eternity forever. Eternity and hell forever.
Vessels of destruction. Out of the same sinful lump, God makes some to hold mercy, some bowls to hold wrath. And this is why this doctrine is called the horrible doctrine, the horrible decree. Decretum, horrible, because it is awesome.
It is terrifying. The eternal decree where God determines to pass by some men. And then he talks later, and we don't have time to go into it, verses 24 and following. The Old Testament even talked about God sovereignly calling in Gentiles, not just Jews.
Even us, verse 24, whom he has called not from the Jews only, but also from the Gentiles. People have all kinds of questions about election. You believe in election if you're a Christian because the text teaches it.
You either believe in predestination. Destinies are determined pre-time. Or you believe in post-destination. God in time does see you do something. He gains in knowledge and then chooses you. People have questions like this regarding election.
Is there a definite number of elect people who are going to go to heaven? The answer is yes. Can it ever be changed? The answer is no. It is certain. It cannot be increased. It cannot be decreased. Never should a pastor say in a prayer, Lord, we pray that the elect should come to faith, and please elect a few more people.
People have questions about election. They want to know this question. Is election irrevocable? Is election alterable? The answer is no. Because God isn't changeable, neither then can election be. If God could change, we'd have trouble.
He'd either change from good to better, or He would change from better to worse. God is also, because of His nature, is not going to say I'll add a few more or I'll subtract a few. People ask the question, does God have a book of life?
Does God have a special book? Does God have a way we can understand that there are a certain amount of people in this book? What does Jesus mean when He says, Rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven?
Where are they recorded? Well, the language of accommodation is it's a book of life. Turn to Revelation 3, and we're going to have to end here. Revelation 3, the book of life. Can you imagine that in eternity past, God knew who was going to be saved?
And again, with the language of accommodation, it's called a book. It's called the book of life. I wonder if your name's in the book. How does your name get in the book? Do you want your name in the book?
First, let me show you the text. I could read you Philippians 4, whose names are in the book of life. I could read Daniel 12, everyone who is found written in the book will be rescued. I could read Isaiah 4, everyone who is recorded for life.
But I like Revelation 3, because there's language used, and I love figures of speech, and this figure of speech is called Elitides. And Elitides is going to emphasize something for us in a very dramatic way, by using the opposite.
And it says in Revelation 3, verse 5, Jesus' words, the one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my father and before his angels.
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit is saying to the church, or to the churches. Some people think this. I'm not a believer, but when I do come to believe the Lord Jesus Christ is my Savior, I'm writing myself in the book of life.
That would be a wrong view. Other people think, well, you know what? When a person believes, God now says, okay, good, now I can write your name in the book of life. Others say, everybody's name's in the book of life, from Judas on down to Esau, Saul and others, Jezebel, and when they do something bad and then they don't believe in the Lord's promises, then God erases them out of the book of life.
But here's the good news. In eternity past, the father, with a prearranged marriage, chooses the bride for the son, and the son goes and rescues that particular bride by name, by individual, personally saving each one of those who are called the elect, who are called the bride, who are called the chosen.
And you know what? Think about how Pilate would do things. Hey, Jesus is going to be on the cross. Don't say He's the King of the Jews. Say that He said He was the King of the Jews. And Pilate said what?
What I have written, I have written. How much more is God, when He writes people's names in the book, they're going to stay there, and they will come to faith? Can you imagine? In eternity past, all the names of the elect are in the book.
Why will you love heaven? Let me give you some reasons why you'll love heaven if you're a Christian. Number one, Jesus is going to be in heaven. Can you imagine to see Jesus? I always think, you know, first thing I want to do in heaven is look around for my mom, just say, hey mom, wanted to just tell you about a few things that's happened in my life.
You know, I'm just dying to tell mom certain things. Sometimes I'm just driving around in my car thinking if I could only tell mom that. Bad things, you know, that's happened, so she could, you know, console me, and good things, you know, so she might be proud of me or something.
But first thing you'll do in heaven is you'll just be praising the Son, Jesus Christ, forever and forever and forever. And maybe after a billion years you might look over and you go, hey mom, how are you?
That might be good. Glad we're praising together. Why would I like heaven so much? Why should you love heaven so much? You'll never forget anything you've learned about God. Everything that you've learned about God and will learn about God in heaven, you'll never forget.
Why will you love heaven so much? Because you'll never remember all those awful things in the skeleton, in the closets of your skeleton spiritually, all the things that you've done. I think of myself, if they ever put me under a lie detector test and I have to confess all the things I've ever thought or said or did that are sinful and immoral and awful, I'm just ashamed, just the tragedy of it all and that'll all be gone.
But let me give you one more reason why it's going to be great to praise the triune God in heaven. That the number of elect, the exact number in eternity past that God put in the book, are going to be in heaven to the person.
Not one less, not one more, the exact number. Kind of lucky if you ask me. Kind of a coincidence. How could that all work out? Because when the Son dies for the elect, they go to heaven. Because if the Father chooses, the Son will die for and the Spirit will apply.
The exact number chosen will be those in heaven. And after all, it's God's heaven and He sovereignly chooses anyone and everyone that He desires to go. I know what you're saying. Last question. What if somebody who's not elect wants to go to heaven?
Well, they certainly don't want to be tortured in hell. But the non-elect get exactly what they want and they don't want Jesus. Say, well, hey, the elect, they get heaven, they want Jesus because the Spirit of God has worked in them.
Ask a non-elect person, ask an unbeliever even, do you want heaven? Do you want Jesus? Do you want to be worshiping? And the answer is, I'd like to stay out of hell. But as Palmer said, let it be firmly stated that everybody gets precisely what he wants.
To put it in the most blunt way possible, hellions are glad they're in hell. Nobody's in hell against His will. Everyone there is glad that He is there. They do not want to be in hell. But when they know what the alternative to hell is, to go to heaven with a pure heart, they would much rather stay in hell.
Say, well, what if I'm not elect? Friends, settle the problem now. Settle the issue now. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and we'll know you're elect. Settle it now. Don't say it's unfair. What about this?
What about that? Friends, you're a sinner. You're going to die and stand before God and you'll never be able to say to God, I'm not elect. But you will have to say to God as you bow your knee, Jesus Christ is Lord, Savior, who died on a cross and I should have believed in Him while I was on this earth.
Let's pray. Father, I thank You for this text. I thank You that even though it's difficult, it's hopeful, it's comforting, it's convicting. Father, You're God and You do whatever You want. You're called King.
You're called Lord. You're called the God of Israel. You're called the Lord of hosts, the Lord of glory, the Holy One of Israel. And Father, You are our God as well. And Father, I pray that for Bethlehem Bible Church, the Christians, they would not buck under the pressure and the difficulty of election, but they rejoice in it.
You didn't put this in the Bible because it was to confound our minds. It was to confound our minds so that we might praise You. And even Paul at the end of Romans 11, he begins to just shout out in praise of what You've done for Your electing love.
We're thankful that You're God. We're thankful that You're sovereign. We're thankful that without the doctrine of election, nobody would be saved because there'd be no way to overcome sin on their own.
And so, Father, I just would pray that for Bethlehem Bible Church, as we think about this doctrine in light of what we deserve, in light of what other people get, that You would love us with an everlasting love.
We're thankful for that and we're thankful for You. And we realize everything we receive from Your hand comes through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray. Amen.