Election and Reprobation

[00:00:01] Speaker A: Okay, so you should see on your handouts, our topic today, but on this, I wanted to ask, who here has ever voted on anything? Doesn't have to be government, because I know many of you haven't. Okay, what are some of the things you voted in? Besides. Well, if you voted in a governmental thing, you can say that, but what are some of the things you voted on? Kellen? [00:00:28] Speaker B: I remember, like, second grade. The same grade. [00:00:30] Speaker A: Okay. Cookies or Rice Krispies? What was your vote? Rice Krispies. Weird choice. Ezra, class rep. Okay. Caleb. [00:00:49] Speaker B: In, like, kindergarten, we were, like, voting, who would like the presidential election? [00:00:56] Speaker A: Okay, wait, how old were you when that happened? Oh, my word. That was my first election that I could vote in. So that's kind of. Kind of fun. You were in kindergarten at that time. Kinsler, do you. [00:01:12] Speaker B: We tried to vote on whose trampoline. Like, we all have a trampoline that we all stand up for, but one of us had put the most money into it and tried to vote on him once. [00:01:26] Speaker A: But who one of you put the most money you're voting on? Who would put the most money into it? Like, you couldn't remember. You couldn't remember. Okay. Okay. So a vote. Wonderful. That's such a unique. Any others that you guys want to share? [00:01:45] Speaker B: Mine was his, but he just said it before. [00:01:48] Speaker A: What? No. So there were two elections for Rice Krispies versus cookies. Oh, so stop. [00:02:00] Speaker B: Well, I don't know if those were. That's actually a crazy calendar. [00:02:07] Speaker A: Okay, okay, okay. You know, there are all sorts of things you can vote for. I'm trying to remember what's the last thing I maybe voted for. It was probably the most recent. President was probably the last thing I voted. What else have I voted for? Did I. Oh, I did do that. I did do that. I contributed to Survivor vote. Your most recent one was Dancing with the Stars. You know, sometimes that's fun. Well, speaking of all this, do you guys know what Tuesday is? It's election day. You guys didn't know that Tuesday's election day. It's one of those years where nobody talks about it, so you forget about it, because things happening are typically less significant. But, yeah, Tuesday's election. So happy Election day on Tuesday. No, it's on. No, the president not for president. These are other things. There's an election day every year, but it depends on where you live, what state. So there's a lot of local things. I don't know what all is on the docket. All right, today we're talking about election. That was the intro. We're talking about election, but let's do a review. What is theology? Asher, I saw your hand. Okay. [00:03:37] Speaker B: It's the study of God and how to be more like Him. [00:03:40] Speaker A: That's right. So it's an academic and a spiritual discipline. You know, we're learning and we're trying to become more like Christ. What did we learn two weeks ago? You know, last week we heard from Anthony. He taught us from Philippians. But do you guys remember two weeks ago, what we covered? [00:04:03] Speaker B: Common grace and saved grace. [00:04:05] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah. What was common grace? Yes, that's right. So we see examples of it when people who even don't know Christ, they might do something righteous or good. We see it in art, we see it in creation. There are all sorts of ways we can see common grace, even in people's resources. People having resources is common grace. But it's different from saving grace, which saves a person. Anybody is given common grace in varying degrees as the Lord pleases. Now, that category kicked off like a big section, and we're still in that section. Does anybody remember what that section is? What I said? It's the doctrine of something. And it's like a big yes. No. Well, we did the Spirit. We just finished that. Yeah, that's right. Salvation. I think Katie was getting it, too. Yeah. So salvation is big. We have several lessons, eight or nine, I think, that will be in this category. So common grace was first. And that one is kind of just because common grace, in a way, helps maybe point people towards salvation. So that's how it's related. But these others, you'll see a lot more immediately how it's related to salvation. So we're doing election and reprobation. Now, these can be controversial. They can be very divisive. There are faithful Christians even at our church, you know, I'm not just talking about all over the world, but even here, they have very different opinions on this. So I'm going to try to be fair in how I talk about kind of like the two main camps, but I'm convinced of one. And so I'm going to teach what I think, but I'm going to try to explain both. Now, the summary sentences on your sheets at the top, that should be there with some blanks. These are like the definitions of election and reprobation. So if you want to know what those are, that's what the summary is. So first is election is God's purpose regarding the redemption of people. So election is God's purpose regarding the redemption of people. So his purpose, his will, what he does that's election regarding redemption or salvation. Reprobation. Does anyone need to. I guess that's spelled at the top of the page. So if you don't know, you can see it. Reprobation is God's purpose not to save certain people. It's God's purpose not to save certain people. Some people are saved, some people are not. And so we're going to talk about how do we think about those groups of people and how does God interact with them, you know, what is his role, what is our role, all that good stuff. So we're going to go through our major affirmations like we normally do. So the first is this. God's election is sovereign. God's election is sovereign. So S O V E R E I G N Sovereign. Weird word, weird spelling. God's election is sovereign. So a couple scriptures we can look at to understand this. There's many, but we're just going to go to a couple. So you can write these down if they're not written somewhere on the page. Ephesians 1:5 he predestined us. So talking to Christians, Paul says God predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ according to the purpose of his will. So in those summary we see according to his purpose, God's purpose. That's where we're getting the language, according to the purpose of his will. So whatever he decides in his will is what he does. Proverbs 19:21 says, Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand. It's a helpful bit of wisdom to even memorize. We make plans of all sorts, but really it is the plans of the Lord that actually come to pass. And so we see that God is sovereign here. So it's clear a couple things from Scripture that we've, we've heard in other sermons and such, that the Lord is king. So a king is also called a sovereign. And this means at least two things. He has two things. One thing he has is power. Kings have power and kings have authority. And really the Lord has the ultimate authority and he has the ultimate power. There's nothing he can't do. And he has ultimate authority in that. Anyone who has authority on earth only has it because he has delegated it to them. He's kind of at the top of the authority food chain, if you will. And he gives it down. Government. He gives government some authority. He gives parents authority. He gives husbands authority. He gives elders authority. He gives congregations of churches authority. So all these authorities, he's given them, but he's at the top. That's how it works. He is sovereign. So the second major affirmation number two, the elect will be saved. All Christians think this, whatever the elect might mean to people, they believe that the elect will be saved because of God's sovereignty. We can know without a shadow of a doubt that God's elect will be saved. Right? We know this. All Christians should be able to agree with that statement. Do I need to explain further? Does that make sense? Does anyone need a little clarification? Okay, good. If you have questions later, you can ask me. I just, I'm saying that all Christians should be able to agree with that. If that doesn't make sense to you, you can ask and I can explain a little more. But yeah, this is. The elect is just referring to the people that will be saved. However this happens, and we believe in God's promises that they don't change and they will be saved. Acts 13:48. So Acts 13:48 says, when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord. And as many as were appointed to eternal life believed. So you see, these people believed and that they had been previously appointed to eternal life. Ordained, appointed. So we have to understand, what does this mean? How are they appointed? Well, we think election is the word that summarizes what happened. Now, these two points that we just did. God, sovereign, the elect will be saved. These two points all Christians should be able to agree with. God is sovereign. People that he promises to save, he will save. Now it just gets a little messy when we start to define things. So we're going to define some things, get into the mess a little bit, try to understand. If you get lost or confused, just raise your hand, ask a question. Someone else probably has the same question. So we're going to talk about two areas of belief. Typically it's called Arminian theology and Calvinist theology or Reformed. Calvinist and Reformed, those are the same. So I might use both of those terms. Arminian is this other side, and there are people that might find themselves in between. But we're just going to talk about like the big two heads, you know, two names. So what we need to do, the reason we're talking about this debate, because we just need to decide, what do these terms mean? So we need to decide. First is predestination. Well, a word used in the Bible, is it conditional? So is it based on some condition or is it unconditional? Not based on any condition. So based on that, we'll be able to see then, you know, what does reprobation mean? Because both of them, one doesn't really believe in reprobation, the other does. Reprobation is basically the opposite of election. You could think of it that way. So, for example, the United States in the last presidential election elected Donald Trump. And therefore, in a way, they reprobated Kamala Harris. Maybe that makes sense to you. So they elect, and then reprobate is like the opposite. They're not getting elected. So we'll start with this Arminianism. It's a long word, A R M I N I A N, Arminian. And then you can do ism at the end. That's the belief. So predestination for Arminians is where God looks into the future to see who will repent and have faith, and he elects those people. So he goes, okay, that person will. That person will. They are. I'm electing them now. That's kind of how it works. It's a little bit of a crude explanation because God is infinite in his wisdom. This is before the earth was created, but that's what he's doing to them. So in other forms, you know, God might have some sort of middling knowledge where he knows that there are people who will be saved. And like, whoever they are, he's gonna. He's electing them. There's not as much intimate knowledge for Him. He's not necessarily knowing specifically who, but he knows that there will be people and he elects whoever those people are. I think that's a problematic view, but nonetheless, people do believe that. Therefore election is conditional. It's conditional. For Arminians, this is their view. It is conditional. So it's conditional on whether or not you will choose God. If you will choose God, you're elect. If you won't, then you're not. So it's conditional based on what you will decide. That's what they believe. Does that make sense? So it's conditional. To Arminians, the argument might begin with this. So we might read a verse like First Timothy 2:4. First Timothy 2:4 says, God desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. Amen. Right. For Arminians, it would not make sense for God to desire for all people to be saved, but only elect some right. That would not make sense to them. Therefore God would provide something, a certain grace. They call it prevenient grace, which is another really. Sorry, there's so many, like, hard words, prevenient grace, just a certain type of grace which means that he gives everyone the ability to choose for themselves. Like it's not enough grace to be saved, it's enough grace to be able to choose. That's what they believe. Does that make sense? Okay, so that's kind of the Arminian view. The Calvinist or Reformed view believes in both election and reprobation instead of just election. Because if God chose some for salvation, then he necessarily didn't choose others. Therefore there is a reprobate group. If he chooses some, that means he's not choosing others. So I think we have to believe in both. Calvinism sees a consistent pattern in Scripture. So I think, and this is partly why I'm convinced of this is I think there's a greater pattern from beginning to the end of the Bible of God acting in this way. So if we don't just. It's hard not to just pick and choose verses, especially when we don't have a lot of time. But I think we see a pattern here from God. So, you know, we'll see this pattern. So speaking of Israel, so all the way back Israel history, Paul writes in Romans 11:5, so too at the present time there's a remnant chosen by grace. So he's talking about Israel. He's saying, just as there was a remnant of people of Israel chosen by grace, so too there is now a remnant chosen by grace. So there's this choosing that happened way back in the Old Testament and it's still happening in the age of the church according to Paul. And he's pointing out that Israel did not choose God out of their ability to. And nobody would argue that. Nobody would argue that Abraham chose Yahweh. No, it's quite clear that God chose them. He came to Abram, called him out of Ur of the Chaldeans and brought him into the land through generations of his sons for all of Israel. So the reason for this is in the next verse, the reason that God is choosing Israel, not Israel choosing God. This Paul writes in Romans 11:6, but if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works. Otherwise grace would no longer be grace. So God's election works this way because it is tied to grace, a free gift. It is tied to Grace. Second Timothy 1, 9 says who? So talking about God, who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works, but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began. So therefore opposite of Arminians, Calvinists believe election is unconditional. There's no condition to be met to be elect. It's not based on God foreseeing the righteousness you would have by choosing him instead. There are no conditions to be met. It is unconditional. It is based solely on God's will and his love for you, not based on what you would do or decide solely on his love for you, no matter how sinful, no matter how lost you are, not on any decision. Therefore, I'm convinced that that's a better understanding of what grace is. It's not based on something you would choose. Now consider also the timing of God's election. Ephesians 1:4 says, Even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world. So this whole word predestined, which is in the Bible, so we're trying to define it, we're not arguing if it exists or not. There's no argument for it to not exist. It has to exist. We just have to know what it means. But forgot to predestine in its very nature means that he's deciding something. It makes less sense to me that he's deciding something based on your decision. It kind of makes you the first mover in salvation. When I don't think we see that pattern of God waiting on us. I think we see him always initiating, speaking creation forth predestining people before creation. Even so I think just to predestined to do that beforehand is him making this decision. Now, along with this idea, is everyone tracking so far? Are there any questions? Okay, cool. Now along with this comes reprobation. The flip side of this coin. Romans 9, 15, 16 helps us with this. Paul writes, for he says to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion. So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God who has mercy. So again we see here it's not based on human will. God's showing of mercy, his showing of compassion is clearly not based on human will. So it cannot be God's. I believe it cannot be God's decision based on what a human would decide with a free will. It depends only on God because He decides on whom he'll have mercy and on whom he'll have compassion. Now in the next verse of Romans 9, so Romans 9, 17 and 18, we read, for the Scripture says to Pharaoh, so this is referencing back to the Exodus, for Scripture says to Pharaoh, for this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you. And that My name might be proclaimed in all the earth. So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills. So God's mercy in election and his sovereignty and reprobation are fully decided by his will, not ours. I think that's what these verses are teaching us in Romans 9. Now, why does God make these decisions? Why does He? It's a good question. Well, he does it for his own glory. To some extent. We can't fully know the not. We just can't fully know the mind of God. It is incomprehensible to us. It is vastly infinite, but also far better than our minds could ever imagine. So he does this for his own glory. In some way he understands that what he is choosing and doing and working in the world is bringing him the maximum amount of glory. Saving sinners that are destined for hell glorifies him. It does. And we can understand that, right? Saving sinners that deserve hell. It glorifies him because he's the one that's doing it. He's choosing them. He's doing the work. His Son is being perfect, dying on the cross, raising again. The Spirit is empowering those believers to persevere through the faith. So he is doing the work that glorifies Him. And hardening hearts also glorifies him because it makes his justice seen. We can see his justice that brings him glory. We can imagine salvation would be a cheap trick if there is no judgment that you're actually being saved from. So there needs to be this judgment and punishment for sin, or else the salvation is really not that glorious. It's not really a gift at all. It's just what you're going to get. There is no judgment in other systems. Now, one objection. There's a lot of objections. You might even be thinking of some and you are allowed to ask. One objection is that Reformed theology teaches something called determinism. So God just determines things. And it's kind of like calling you a puppet. But that is not what this Reformed theology or Calvinism is teaching. They don't believe that we're puppets. Nobody really believes that in the Christian faith. We still teach that humans have the responsibility to repent from their sins and believe in the gospel. You must repent. You must turn from your sin and believe in Christ. And ultimately we all ultimately choose what we want. Nobody is dragged kicking and screaming to heaven or hell. People ultimately choose to reject God, or they choose to turn from their sins and trust in Christ. People will do what they ultimately love and desire. The Most. And we see that worked out in our lives consistently. And Paul shows us that God does as he pleases. So back to Romans 9. Look at verse 19. Now he says, you will say to me, then why does he still find fault? So why does God still find fault if he's making all these decisions? You know? So this is kind of the objection that many people might ask, who can resist his will? And Paul responds, 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? Has the potter no right over the clay to make out of the same lump? Why one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, 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. So what he's saying here, I believe, is that God has every right to do with us as he wills. Yet he still chooses for some to be saved. Some are still made for honorable use. He doesn't have to do that for any of us. Nobody deserves to be made into this vessel for honorable use, which means a human to be saved by God. But again, salvation would be dim and less glorious if there was not this distinction that God was. Was making. So when you think through these things, do you feel the terror of judgment that people are made for destruction? Do you want to know if you are a vessel made for honorable use? Do you want to know if you are elect? There's not some magic trick. There's not some, you know, magic eight ball or a crystal ball you can look into that tells you as much. All you must do is turn from your sins and trust in Christ. Do you want to turn from your sins? Do you want to believe in Christ and follow Him? Do you love His Word? That's good news. If you do, turn from your sins and trust in him and you will be saved. Paul also writes in this same book, we keep quoting Romans, all who call on the name of the Lord will be saved. That is absolutely true. So if you want to know, don't worry about trying to suss out where you are. Just believe. Believe in Christ and you will be saved. The Bible is consistent on that point. And that's one thing that we all believe. Everyone I've been describing all these views and everything in between. We all believe that. And that is the most important thing. Now, before we end, let's go through some errors to avoid. Try not to spend too much time on these. So number one, major errors to avoid is probably on the back of your sheet. We must not deny human responsibility. So humans have the responsibility to turn from their sins and trust in Christ. We should never deny that. It is our responsibility. If you believe you will be saved. If you don't, you will not be saved. Number two, we must not deny God's role in salvation. We can never make it just about us. It is accomplished by God through and through. Everyone believes that. Now we believe different things about the choosing and election part, but we all believe that God accomplishes salvation on the cross. Number three, we must not insist that Reformed theology is anti evangelism or unfair. That is a objection. Sometimes it's not anti evangelism. The Bible tells us to preach the gospel to all nations so that those who are predestined to be saved will be saved. That they will hear the gospel and turn and repent and believe. It's also not unfair as ultimately we. We get what we want. And really we. The fairness is kind of an interesting addition. What is. What is fair? What is unfair? What is fair is all of us being judged eternally. And God does not do that. He saves some of us. So really it is unfair that any of us get to be saved. We are clay in the potter's hands. Okay, Number four, we must not insist that Arminian theology teaches salvation by works. This is lobbed. Often I've even said this, but I don't think it's a fair thing to say. I think it's fair to say that maybe it flirts with the line a little bit, might be a little dangerous in some ways. But no, Arminians believe in salvation by works. They are not teaching that. So if you agree with me, you should not say that about people that believe differently unless they outright say it. But they do not believe that this belief is a work to perform. They believe in grace by faith alone. Fifth, we must not be casual or flippant about the doctrine of reprobation. We cannot be casual or flippant about it. It's a solemn doctrine. I think John Calvin called it a wretched, horrible doctrine because it deals with real people going to hell. This is a fate that we all deserve and real people go to hell. Now, Arminians don't believe in reprobation. But the doctrine is the key reason that Calvinists should never be prideful or arrogant. No one should be prideful or arrogant. But specifically those who believe in this doctrine should not be prideful or arrogant because we deserve reprobation. We don't deserve election at all. It is unconditional, I believe. So we should humbly worship God, who unconditionally chose us in him before the foundation of the earth. We cannot be arrogant. This is not a casual thing. This involves real people's eternities. Now, as for enacting and living this out, the last kind of main point, enacting the doctrine. We must give thanks because God saves people that don't deserve it. We should thank God, always be giving thanks, pray to him. Try to spend concentrated time in prayer giving thanks to God. Number two, we must be holy. Ephesians 1:4 is clear. Paul writes, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. That's the goal of this. You are saved to be holy. You're not saved to do what you want. You are not elected to live sinful lives. You're elected to live holy and blameless lives. So pursue holiness. And then finally, we must be humble, which I just talked about. We must be humble. Are there any concluding questions that you want to ask? I'm available for questions whenever you'd like, if you have others. But next week we're going to continue on the next link in the chain talking about salvation. Let's pray. Father, thank you for your grace that elects and saves sinners that don't deserve salvation. Lord, we thank you that you are sovereign and you are king over the earth. You have power and authority. Lord, no one could wield power and authority in a righteous way but you. Lord, we praise you for your righteousness in the world. God, we pray that many people would be saved, that you would even use us to proclaim the gospel and see people rescued from death and hell and saved into your glorious and marvelous light. Lord, we just pray that we would get to see many, many people turn to Christ in our life. We pray this in your Son's name. Amen.