Chad Whisnant and Heather's wedding

Election: Handle With Care

HE CANNOT DENY HIMSELF

 

http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/sermons/he-cannot-deny-himself#ooid=g0d3hnNToyCjsPp2baVv2DX5PcQOQdUC

JOHN PIPER JULY 21, 2012  2 TIMOTHY 28-19

At the desiringgod.org blog David Mathis writes, “The doctrine of election is a sharp scalpel. It can be wielded with care and skill, and taken up to give life and heal. Or, in the hands of an untrained fanatic or detractor, it can be used to harm, to sever vital arteries and mutilate hurting people by spinning out untrue implications. In this five-minute clip, Dr. John Piper encourages us to follow the apostle Paul’s powerful example in 2 Timothy 2:10 and wield the dear doctrine of election with gospel care.”

“I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.” – 2 Timothy 2:10

ELECTION: HANDLE WITH CARE

You might think Paul is simply building on the previous foundation stone here, but look  carefully at the words he uses, and ask why? He could have said, “Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the church.” Or, “I endure everything for the lost.” But he chose the word “elect”. Why? "I endure everything for the sake of the elect.” Because the tone of this text is one of triumph and confidence and certainty. That is how he is trying to help Timothy. The word elect means: God has a people. He has chosen them before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4). Timothy, in this ministry we cannot fail. God will call his elect.

We must be so careful when handling weighty doctrines like election. And Paul shows us how right here. He guards from two mistakes. One is the mistake of saying, “Well, if there are people chosen before the foundation of the world, then we don’t need to risk our lives to save them.” Paul says just the opposite: “I endure everything for the sake of the elect that they may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus.” The certainty that there are elect does not make me stop preaching or stop suffering, it makes me confident that my preaching and my suffering will not be in vain. The elect will obtain salvation (see Acts 13:48; 18:10).

And the other mistake he guards us against is saying: “Well if Paul must preach and suffer to persuade lost people to believe in Jesus and be saved, then there can be no eternal election. All there is is people’s own choice." But Paul says the opposite: “I endure everything for the sake of the elect that they may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus.” My commitment to suffer for the gospel does not mean no one has been chosen to believe it. It means I am God’s instrument to save those who are.

And then he adds one more phrase to encourage Timothy to press on in his work: “. . . that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.” Remember, Timothy, you are leading the elect to eternal glory. And you are one of them. And therefore you too will have eternal glory. Or as Paul said in 2 Corinthians 4:17, “This light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison.” Don’t begrudge your short suffering in this life. It is preparing for you an eternal weight of glory.

So foundation stone #3 is that the victory of the gospel is sure not only because Christ is risen as the eternal king, and not only because the word of God is not bound, but also because, from all the undeserving sinners in the world, God has chosen a people for eternal glory. Endure everything, Timothy, and you will be the instrument of their salvation.

1 Why I Preach The Way I Do

1 Luke 1 Zacharais meets the Angel

Isaiah 1:21-24 Sin Is Like A boa Constructor

 

HOW CAN A FAITHFUL NATION BECOME AS A HARLOT

GOD RESTORES HIS ELECT AND BURNS HIS ENEMIES

GOD’S WILLINGNESS TO HELP HIS PEOPLE

ISAIAH 1:21-31 Charles e Whisnant, July 11 2012

SIN IS LIKE A BOA CONSTRICTOR

Sin will take you further than you ever wanted to stray!
Cost you more than you ever dreamed you would pay!
Keep you longer than you ever thought you would stay!

 Isaiah 1:21:  How the faithful city has become a harlot, She who was full of justice! Righteousness once lodged in her, But now murderers.

Revelation 17:1; Isaiah 1:22; 57:3; 59:3, 14, 15; Jeremiah 2:20; Hosea 2:5 and Habakkuk 1:4; Therefore the law is paralyzed, and justice never prevails. The wicked hem in the righteous, so that justice is perverted

Isaiah 1:22 :  Your silver has become dross, Your drink diluted with water.

ISAIAH 1:23: Your rulers are rebels, companions of thieves; they all love bribes and chase after gifts. They do not defend the cause of the fatherless; the widow's case does not come before them. 

Luke 24:27, James 1:27; Exodus 23:8 "Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds those who see and twists the words of the righteous.” Isaiah 5:23; 10:2 to deprive the poor of their rights and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people, making widows their prey and robbing the fatherless.

Isaiah 1:24

Therefore the Lord declares, the LORD of hosts, the Mighty One of Israel: “Ah, I will get relief from my enemies and avenge myself on my foes.

Genesis 40;24; Deuteronomy 28;63; 32:43: Psalms 132:2; Isaiah 35:4; 49:26; 59:18; 60:16; 61:2; Jeremiah 9:9; Should I not punish them for this?" declares the LORD. "Should I not avenge myself on such a nation as this?" Ezekiel 5:13; "Then my anger will cease and my wrath against them will subside, and I will be avenged. And when I have spent my wrath upon them, they will know that I the LORD have spoken in my zeal. Micah 5:15; I will take vengeance in anger and wrath upon the nations that have not obeyed me."

ISAIAH 1:25

And I will turn my hand upon thee, and purely purge away thy dross, and take away all thy tin: OR ALLOW, OR IMPURITIES.

Deuteronomy 32:43; Psalms 119:119; Isaiah 27:9;  Jeremiah 9:7; Ezekiel 22:19;20; As men gather silver, copper, iron, lead and tin into a furnace to melt it with a fiery blast, so will I gather you in my anger and my wrath and put you inside the city and melt you. Zechariah 13:7; Malachi 3:3 He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the LORD will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness,

ISAIAH 1:26

And I will restore thy judges as at the first, and thy counselors as at the beginning: afterward thou shalt be called, The city of righteousness, the faithful city.

Isaiah 33:5; 54:14; 60:14, 17; 62:1; Jeremiah 31:23; 33:7;  Micah 4:8; Zechariah 8:3 which says: This is what the LORD says: "I will return to Zion and dwell in Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the City of Truth, and the mountain of the LORD Almighty will be called the Holy Mountain

ISIAH 1:27

Zion shall be redeemed with judgment and her converts with righteousness. (Convert: or penitent, repent, repentant, pardoned, bring back, return,)

EZEKIEL 20  SEPARATION OF THE JEWS:
REDEEMED FROM UNREDEEMED

ISAIAH 1:28

But transgressors and sinners will be crushed together, And those who forsake the LORD will come to an end. 

Psalms 8:5; Isaiah 1:4; 24:20; 33:14; 50;1; 58:2; 65:11; 66:24; Jeremiah 17;13; 44:12; Hosea 14:9, Job 31:3; Proverbs 29:1; Luke 12;45-46; 1 Thessalonians 5:3; 2 Thessalonians 1;8-9; 2 Peter 3:7 and Revelation 21:8

2 Thessalonians 1:8, and 9  He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power

ISAIAH 1:29

Surely you will be ashamed of the oaks which you have desired, And you will be embarrassed (confounded) at the gardens which you have chosen. “For they shall be..”_KJV

Isaiah 42:17; 57:5 says: You burn with lust among the oaks and under every spreading tree; you sacrifice your children in the ravines and under the overhanging crags.; 65:3; 66:17; Hosea 4:13

A BRIEF EXCURSUS ON...IDOLATRY & IMMORALITY

ISAIAH 1:30                           WHAT SIN DOES TO MEN

For ye shall be as an oak whose leaf faded, and as a garden that hath no water.

Genesis 12:6 and Isaiah 64;6

ISAIAH 1:31     And the strong shall become tinder, and his work a spark, and both of them shall burn together, with none to quench them.   Matthew 3;12; mark 8:43; Isaiah 4:4; 5:24; 9:19; 24:6; 26:11; 33:11; 34:10; 43:17; 66:17;, 24; Jeremiah 21:12

Romans 8:26 - 27 But How Are We To Pray

BUT HOW ARE WE TO PRAY  

ROMANS 8:26-27  (27 TODAY)

Charles e Whisnant, July 15^th 2012

Ever NOT  Known What To Pray?

The Holy Spirit – Romans 8:26 – ‘Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.’

8:26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness, for we do not know how we should pray, ²⁹  but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with inexpressible groanings. 8:27 And he ³⁰  who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit ³¹  intercedes on behalf of the saints according to God’s will.  ^{NET BIBLE}   

HOW ARE WE TO PRAY THEN? 

So when we are in the place of tribulations and trials in this life as Christians and how should we overcome them?

First: Christians are to face their trials and tribulations by means of hope, that it is hope which comforts us and sustains us and enables us to go on.

Plus in this journey of life, in this fight of faith, and in the middle of persecutions, and disappointments, and trials of various description we are driven to PRAYER.

BUT HOW ARE WE TO PRAY?

We are given help from the Holy Spirit. So we have hope yes, we have faith yes, but there is an additional aid in this matter.  We have the Holy Spirit’s aid.

Now what Paul is doing in this chapter is giving us a continuing exposition of the theme he established in verse one. The whole object of this chapter is to show that our final glorification is absolutely guaranteed from the moment of our justification. And Paul has given us several varieties of ways to show us this.

And the work of the Holy Spirit has been the assurance of this happening.

AN OVERVIEW OF WHAT PAUL IS SAYING IN ROMANS 8 (Lloyd-Jones)

Vs. 26  “ Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses.” And specifically in our prayer.” For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought,”

As we as true believers are traveling through this life as Christian believers in Christ the Lord, what is more important  for us than that we should know how to keep in touch with God.

THE PROBLEM OF PRAYER:         

Primarily the problem of prayer comes from our infirmities or wickedness.  Paul is referring to our general state and condition, which is one of infirmity.  Hebrews 5:2   He can have compassion on those who are ignorant and going astray, since he himself is also subject to weakness.

Weakness, lack of strength is not sinful in and of itself.  There is a difference between infirmities and sins.

Our infirmities, our character flaws, lack of strength, may lead us to sin, but our weakness is due to the Fall of man.   There is in us a certain weakness, lack of powers, certain disabilities and inabilities that result in our humanness.  But its more than just a physical thing here, it is more spiritual than physical. 

Example of our weakness:

Infirmities: lack of strength, medical conditions that causes a lack of strength or vitality

There is a physical aspect in our lack of strength. There is a connection between the mind and the soul and the spirit of us, nothing can happen to the one part without a variety of repercussions on the other parts;

For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought,

There is nothing more important than our relationship with our Heavenly Father, our ability to speak to God and to listen to God; that is the purpose of prayer really.  

Our trouble is not that we do not know how we ought to pray – it is not a question of prayer in general – but what to pray for in particular, and in certain given circumstances.

It’s been pointed out that in the Greek that the word “what”  is preceded by the definite article.  It is “the what”, We know not what we ought to pray for as we ought.

As we ought”.  Means “what is necessary in the nature of the case.” This particular case.

“We know not the what to pray for as it is necessary:” A.T. Robertson says

A.S. Way put the verse this way: “We are not even sure what boons (greater benefit)  should rightly be the object of our prayer.” (A paraphrase rather than a translation.)

So why should this problem concerning “the what’ be such a difficult matter?

One reason is that we do not understand, we do not always know what is best for us, what is right for us, and we may pray for the wrong thing.

Greater men than any of us have done so. Deuteronomy 3:;23-26 and 2 Corinthians 12:1-10

SO HEREIN LIES OUR DIFFICULTY; WHAT ARE WE TO PRAY FOR?

Because of our infirmity, or weakness, Paul tells us we do not always know how to pray for? Who would have guessed that having some kind of physical illness would have been a blessing! So we have to be really careful what we pray for!

That is why I say we need to be careful about how we pray? You might say “Pray about it” or you might say “Let us have a word of prayer about it.” And I am going to say, let’s be careful how we pray about that.               A good idea is to take the position of the writer of Psal